Sermon
Title: Dealing with Demons
Scripture
Reading: Colossians 2:6-23
Introduction
This
morning, by the grace of God, we are going to look into the unseen demonic
realm. This morning we will read of the first of
twenty-three instances where Jesus encounters demonic activity in Luke’s
Gospel.
“There are two equal and opposite errors into
which our race can fall about the devils. Once is to disbelieve in their
existence. The other is to believe, and to feel and excessive and unhealthy
interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a
materialist or a magician with the same delight” (Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape
Letters [New York: MacMillian, 1977], 9).
Behind all flesh and blood evil that we see is a strategic power of influence
that we cannot see. There is a depth dimension to
human evil, an underlying influence.
In the C.S. Lewis quote above, he names the two errors of
interpreting the demonic as materialist and magician:
Materialist Magician
Underestimate
presence/involvement/power Overestimate
the “”
Satan
isn’t a factor bc Jesus reigns Everything
is a Satan thing that requires rebuke
Virtually no interest or mindfulness Very unhealthy
interest/always mindful
What
are Demons?
Originally demons were holy angels with Satan
being the highest-ranking of all. They lived in heaven, where they served and
worshiped God. But through pride, Satan rebelled against God (Isaiah 14:12-14;
Ezekiel 12:3-4), and one third (Revelation 12:3-4) of the holy angels joined
him in an attempt to take God’s throne.
In the present age, demons operate in the world
to achieve the purposes of Satan and thwart the purposes of God. They are
behind the evil world system that dominates through strategies of influence and
temptation. The demonic realm desires to blind unbelievers to spiritual truth
(2 Corinthians 4:4) and lead people to deception (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).1
Satan and demons are real, personal,
intelligent, organized spiritual beings that are very aggressive, active,
present, and influential in your life and world. We need to know how to deal with demons.
After Jesus’ baptism, genealogy, and wilderness
temptation, Luke records the first two events in Jesus’ ministry (Luke
4:14-41): Jesus’ preaching of the Word and authority over the unseen demonic
realm.
Luke
4:31-37
Luke
wrote 4:31-41 to display Jesus’ authority over the demonic realm (Satan and
demons).
Read
Luke 4:31-37
The introductory events of Jesus’ ministry are
representative of Jesus’ entire ministry upon the earth.
·
“Whoever practices righteousness is righteous,
as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for
the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God
appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a
practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on
sinning because he has been born of God” (1 John 3:8-9).
Again, this passage is not instructive. The subject of our text is
to show Jesus’ authority over the unseen realm.
In our text Luke documents Jesus’ divine power
over three realms1:
·
The natural realm (Luke 4:38-40)
·
The supernatural realm (Luke 4:41)
·
The eternal realm (Luke 4:42-44)
Jesus’
Authority Over the Natural Realm (Luke 4:33-40)
Here we notice one result of the fall: physical
sickness. Although our Lord has redeemed us, we still suffer affects from the
fall. Some would say that because Jesus has disarmed the Devil, we should not
suffer physical sickness. Scripture teaches that we live in a fallen world with
fallen flesh. Although delivered from the penalty and slavery of sin, we still
live under many affects related to the fall. I believe the greatest argument
for this is the fact we all die. If we were designed to be completely delivered
from the effects of the fall while living on the earth, we wouldn’t die, work
would always be a joy, and women wouldn’t suffer pain in child bearing.
When thinking about sickness we do not want to
underestimate or overestimate demonic involvement. This story shows Jesus’
authority over forces that handicap the body and show the deeper reality of His
purpose: to free the soul of man from the forces of darkness that blind and
enslave.
Is there something spiritually wrong with us
because we are sick? Not necessarily (The blind man in John 9). When sick,
should we rebuke the sickness? Not necessarily (Paul in 2 Corinthians 12).
Could sickness mean we are giving ourselves over to demonic influence? Maybe
(The “house” in Matthew 12). Does Jesus heal sickness today? Yes. Does the
Father allow sickness to sanctify you and glorify Him? Absolutely.
How
do I make sense of modern-day healing?
The Lord’s healing ministry sets the pattern
for the true biblical gift of healing. Five features characterized Jesus’ healing
ministry and set it apart from the fake “faith healers.”1
1)
Jesus healed instantly
with a word or touch. There were not progressive healings; the people He cured
did not gradually get better (Matthew 8:13; Mark 5:29; Luke 5:13).1
2)
Jesus healed totally.1
3)
Jesus healed everyone
(Matthew
4:24; Matthew 12:15; Luke 6:19; Luke 4:40). Jesus did not invite crowds to come
to heal only some.1
4)
Jesus healed specific
and
noticeable disease. Jesus did not heal vague, ambiguous, invisible ailments
such as lower back pain and headaches (not that He was unable).1
5)
Jesus’ healings were not
contingent on faith. Jesus raised the dead. How
can a dead man exercise faith to unlock his healing? Most of those Jesus healed
were unbelievers and hence unable to make a positive confession to claim their
healing.1
The following is a direct quote from John
MacArthur’s commentary on Luke which is documented in “sources” below:
The
apostles (Luke 9:1), the seventy (Luke 10:1-9), and a few close associates of
the apostles (Barnabas [Acts 15:12], Philip [Acts 8:6-7], and Stephen [Acts
6:8]) were also granted the gift of healing to authenticate them as the
preachers of God’s truth. Their healing was characterized by the same features
that marked Christ’s healing. The gift of healing in the New Testament was not
given to keep believer’s healthy, but as a sign to unbelievers verifying the
truthfulness of the gospel and the authenticity of its preachers. To claim that
healing is the norm in the church undermines its unique role in authenticating Jesus
and the apostles as revealers of divine truth. In keeping with that purpose,
healings faded from the scene as the apostolic era drew to a close. Paul
(Galatians 4:13-15), Epaphroditus (Phil. 2:25-27), Timothy (1 Timothy 5:23),
and Trophimus (2 Timothy 4:20) were all recorded to have been sick. None of
them were healed. Nor do the New Testament Epistles, which define the life and
theology of the Church, refer to a ministry of healing. There is no evidence
that the kind of healings seen in the era of Jesus and the apostles was to
continue beyond them (2 Corinthians 12:12). Healings are extremely rare in the
OT; for example, none are recorded for the 750 years from Isaiah to Jesus
Christ. God may
choose to heal through the prayers of His people, but not through
miracle working men as in the case of our Lord and His associates.
Jesus’
Authority Over the Supernatural Realm (Luke 4:41)
Read
v. 41
Jesus’
Authority Over the Eternal Realm (Luke 4:42-44)
Jesus compassionately cared for people. Jesus
was moved by love to heal. However, the primary purpose of Jesus’ healing
ministry was to show people that Jesus didn’t merely teach with authority.”
Jesus was the Word, so He was the authority. There is a tremendous difference
between hearing the world’s most knowledgeable expert on Walt Disney tell the
tale of his life and legacy. It is quite another thing to hear it directly from
Walt’s mouth. The historian speaks authoritatively. Walk would speak as the
authority. See the difference?
The people were amazed at Jesus’ power to heal
from disease and demonic influence. Notice that the Lord did not rebuke them as
they continued to draw near. We see Jesus here leaving the ministry of healing
for the higher priority, the ministry of the Word.
Jesus healed for the primary reason of
authenticating his authority as The Word and Messiah. Jesus’ miracles serve as
visual representations of deeper spiritual realities. For example, in Luke
5:1-11 a miraculous catch of fish becomes the basis for Jesus’ call to catch
men.2
How
Should I Handle Demons?
“Christ has left the devil only whatever power
our unbelief allows him” (Heinrich Schlier).
Remember the Scripture reading today, namely
Colossians 2:15? Read, think, and pray about Colossians 3:1-17 this week.
Remember, there were not chapter separations in the original manuscripts.
Colossians 3 continues the thought from Colossians 2.
Wrong
thinking: Jesus has defeated Satan and demons, therefore
it is my role to exercise that authority because Christ lives in me.
Correct
thinking: All authority has been given to Jesus (Matthew
28:16-20), therefore I will flee to Christ through Word and prayer and entrust
myself to His wise plan as He empowers me to obey. Regarding healing, I will
pray. However, my faith will not be placed in the fact of my healing, but in
the goodness, power, and providence of God.
Sources
1) MacArthur, John. The MacArthur
New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009.
2) Brock, Darrell. The NIV
Application Commentary: Luke. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House,
1996.
No comments:
Post a Comment