2023.06.25 Worse Than It Was

Worse Than It Was

Psalm 143 • Matthew 12:43-45

Matthew 12:43–45 NASB 2020

43 “Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

I had a seminary professor who taught me to always look for the crazy in Jesus’ parables. This is not exactly a parable, although it sort of fits the bill. It’s only 4 sentences long … where is the crazy (or maybe the shocking) in this teaching?

[allow responses]

As we move to our questions, I want to add a question this week.

What do you learn about REALITY?

What do you learn about REALITY from this story?

Evil is real. And it is present. Jesus calls his time “this evil generation”. What do you think he thinks about today’s times?

He paints a picture of demonic activity, and we’ll get to the details in a minute. But just talking about demons as a part of reality may be shocking to some of us.

On one extreme, I’m sure we’ve all known people who seem to see a demon in anything that isn’t the way they think it should be. Congress passed legislation I didn’t like … must be a demon. My boss yelled at me for missing that deadline … probably a demon. My neighbor keeps playing music so loud I can’t even sit in my yard and read a book … gotta be a demon. Cancer … demon. Heart disease … demon. Diabetes … demon. Migraine … demon. Hangnail … demon.

We can likely agree that such an extreme is not connected with reality.

But in response to that extreme, many of us are guilty of adopting the opposite extreme. We reject the notion that demons even exist. Well, I’m sure to the simpletons of Jesus’ day, these things looked like demonic activity, but there’s surely a scientific explanation for all of these strange things.

Friends, let’s look at reality for a minute: Not everything is a demon! But some things ARE! Most of us would agree that if Jesus’ day was an evil generation, ours is worse. Well, he teaches that demons are real, and they are evil.

In the spiritual dimension, some spiritual beings work for God’s desires. They are called angels. Also in the spiritual dimension, some spiritual beings work for Satan’s desires. They are called demons (or “unclean spirits” or “evil spirits”). Both are real, and your belief or disbelief in them has ZERO impact on the reality of their existence.

What do you learn about GOD?

What do you learn about GOD from this story?

God may be unequaled, but he is not unopposed!

Again, some act as if Satan isn’t real. The devil doesn’t really exist. Some would even say that evil isn’t real. Those people are disconnected from reality.

But, others act and talk as if Satan is equal with God. Those people are disconnected from the Scriptures!

Satan is God’s enemy, and has been since he concluded he could be equal with God and got kicked out of Heaven. He will ultimately get what he deserves for his idolatry, but until then we’re stuck contending with him … because Satan is also the enemy of humans.

God may be unequaled, but he is not unopposed.

As God’s people, we are given power over demons, so we can cast out demons when we recognize them. Know how many demons I’ve recognized in my ministry? zero. I feel certain I’ve encountered them, but I haven’t recognized any of them as demons. But that doesn’t mean I don’t believe they exist.

What do you learn about HUMANS?

What do you learn about HUMANS?

Humans can indeed be possessed, influenced, or controlled by demons.

Last week’s story talked about a man possessed by several thousand demons. Jesus casts them out, and the man immediately returns to his right mind.

Humans can be possessed by demons...

And those demons can be cast out!

But Jesus warns us that throwing out evil leaves a void.

Look at verse 44:

Matthew 12:44 NLT

44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order.

He finds his former apartment empty and put in order! So what does he do?

Verse 45

Matthew 12:45 NLT

45 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation.”

Expunging evil from your life can actually leave you WORSE OFF than you were before … if you don’t fill that void!

What do you learn about YOURSELF?

What do you learn about YOURSELF?

So how do you fill that void?

Well, it’s a spiritual void, so you can’t fill it with temporal stuff. You can try … but the void will not be filled.

When I was younger, I tried to fill the void in my life with all sorts of temporal … STUFF:

baseball

Beatles

school

friends

girls

A spiritual void, must be filled with a spiritual being. You can be filled with the things of the world or the things of God. Which will it be?

Before you simply say you want to be filled with the spiritual things of God, consider whether you’re willing to do what that would require.

What needs to CHANGE?

What needs to change as a result of what you’ve learned?

The things of the world will automatically fill the void just like the evil spirits in today’s reading … and it will soon lo longer be just one. Clean up the void, and your evil friend will find 7 more to bring along to take up residence in your life.

Filling yourself with the things of God takes commitment and intentional action.

Filling yourself with God requires:

daily time in the Scriptures

daily time set aside for prayer and listening to God

regular times of study and contemplating God

Knowing that the default is that evil fills the void, the choice may seem easy enough. But are you willing to make the commitment necessary and submit, truly submit to Jesus Christ as Lord of your life?

As you consider your answer: Jesus is not a subscription service where you choose your level of commitment. He does not offer to give you just “a twist of Jesus” in your life. A whole-hearted “Yes” is his offer, and anything else is a whole-hearted “No”.

Jesus will be Lord of your all, or not Lord at all.

You must submit and exchange:

his will for yours;

his desires for yours;

his plans for yours;

his preferences for yours;

Serving Jesus is not for the faint of heart.

His expectation is nothing short of full submission.

So … what will it be?