Luke 11:14-28
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“Luke-Warm Christians”
“Luke-Warm Christians”
welcome
today we are talking about living a life fully for God and not sitting on the fence being LUKE-warm Christians
Blessed Are Those Who Hear And Obey
Here is a deep, philosophical question this morning. I hope you get it right. Concentrate hard.
What is the purpose of a lamp? The purpose is to give light.
You walk into a dark room, and what is the only way to cast out the darkness? Turn on a light.
Quiz is over. You passed.
This morning we are in the Gospel of Luke. Chapter 11.
One of several topics we will examine this morning is our mind
In the Scriptures light is commonly a metaphor for God and for truth. Darkness is a metaphor for lies and deception.
We are going to read several scenes and topics here, there seems to be a connection between most of it.
lets stand and read this morning
Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,” while others, to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
recap what we just read
lets break this down shall we
Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons,”
Vs. 14-15:
Jesus demonstrates once again his remarkable power over demonic forces as he sets people free from their oppression.
People have three responses to him:
Some people are amazed at the power to cast out demons.
But others are skeptics and critical.
And a third group demand more signs.
The skeptical ones claim that his power must be from Beelzebul. This is the name of a pagan god.
Lets tall ab out this name real quick
no where else in jewish literature will you find this name used except here in the gospels
now many believe that this name was created by combining to Hebrew words 1. baal which was a pagan god and zebul which translated “exalted dwelling”
most jews would have understood this term as refereeing to satan prince (or leader) of the demons
So their audacious claim is that Jesus is casting out demons by the authority of the leader of demons, Satan himself.
At issue here is Jesus’ authority. Is it from Satan or from God?
I want to take a break here and address something = preach on connection to the worship of Baal
preach
But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Jesus now speaks about their accusations.
He uses arguments of logic.
If Satan is casting out his own demons, then his kingdom will fail.
A civil war in any kingdom is devastating. So how can Jesus’ work be by Satan’s authority?
But if what Jesus is doing is by the finger of God…that is, the power of God… then they are witnessing the coming of God’s kingdom on earth.
the prophets spoke of this event
“And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.
Something heavenly is happening right before their eyes. Will they believe in him or reject him?
When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe; but when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.
Here Jesus offers an analogy, that of a strong man protecting his own house but then someone stronger comes along.
Satan is the strong one, but Jesus is stronger, and he is going to bring Satan down.
One thing we see here is that the kingdom of God is not a matter of nice words and soft things.
God is not sitting down at a table with Satan to negotiate peaceful terms.
God is overthrowing evil.
This really is a war. And God is going to win.
In just a matter of months from the time of this story, God will allow his Son to be killed, but then he will raise him from the dead.
Colossians 2 tells us that Jesus, through his death and resurrection, has disarmed the spiritual forces of evil. He will put Satan to shame by the cross and triumph over him.
And all of God’s people, those who believe in the Son, as Colossians 1 says, will be transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.
So for us today, Satan has already been defeated, yet from elsewhere in Scripture we also learn that he has some authority left on the earth. He is still active today.
However, his final defeat is coming when Christ comes to earth literally and bodily the Second Time, which we pray is soon.
In vs. 23, Jesus’ conclusion about all this is important and emphatic: Pay attention to this:
Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
If one is not consciously FOR Jesus, one is against him. There is no middle ground. No neutrality.
In World War II all of Europe raged in battle against Nazi Germany. But Switzerland—geographically stuck in the middle of all these warring nations— claimed neutrality. They took no side.
In the kingdom of God, there are no Switzerlands. You and I cannot remain neutral. We are either FOR Jesus or AGAINST him. We have to choose sides.
Preach it
“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and finding none it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
Jesus is speaking about demon-possessed people who are set free…the demons are cast out.
But once the people are set free, they don’t turn to the Lord for him to fill them. They leave themselves spiritually empty.
They have a vacuum in their heart.
Knowingly or not, they try to remain neutral.
Choose no sides. They obviously don’t want the demonic side, for that is oppressive.
But neither do they want God’s side.
Because they leave themselves empty, they end up worse than before.
A greater evil comes upon them.
God has not designed our hearts to work in the way of neutrality. Something will fill the vacuum.
Jesus is speaking specifically of demonic exorcism.
And although I am unaware that any of us are dealing with such a situation,
I find there is application here for every one of us.
Many of us in this room are on Jesus’ side. We are for him.
We believe in him.
And so we have received eternal life. He has placed his Spirit inside us.
So we’re not neutral. We’re not Switzerland.
But practically speaking, sometimes we leave ourselves in a place of emptiness more often than we realize.
We’re not filled with Jesus. Not thinking of him. We’re not against him, but we may not be actively walking with him.
And this leaves us in this unhealthy and even dangerous position of a spiritual vacuum.
Here is a question to consider for us today:
What am I filling my mind with?
God gives us some direction from the Scriptures.
Here’s a verse I memorized 40 years ago, and it’s still paying dividends in my life.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Let us answer the simple question that springs from Paul’s words here: “What am I thinking about?”
What is filling my mind? If my mind is blank, it won’t be blank for long. It’s a spiritual principle.
So Paul says, “Think about holy and pure and good things.”
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
So what does this look like?
Am I full of thankfulness to God? Or am I grumbling, like I was last night before dinner?
Am I reflecting on God’s power and so walking in Spirit-inspired courage?
Or am I consumed with fear because I have forgotten God’s wisdom and care?
Am I trusting in God with my financial situation or am i letting fear dictate my decisions and life?
Am I considering how to love other people as Christ has loved me? or am i filled with anger and hate twords those who have differing beliefs?
Not only do our thoughts matter, so do our actions.
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
Paul told Timothy, “Yes, run hard and fast AWAY from sin. Sin is not some cuddly pet we hold on our lap.
It is a wild, untamed animal that wants to eat us alive.
So yes, FLEE from it. But don’t stop there. Pursue…go after… God and what he desires. Run after God and his ways. ”
We cannot leave ourselves empty.
Eastern religion tells us to close our eyes and empty our minds… that this is the way to inner peace.
But our Creator God tells us, Yes, empty yourself of sin and evil thoughts, but don’t leave yourself empty.
Now come to me and fill yourself with me. Fill your mind with heavenly things. Run after holiness.
So from all this, let us choose to walk with Jesus and fill our minds and hearts with glorious, heavenly, eternal things.
stand as we conclude
As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Jesus’ earthly mother, Mary, was indeed blessed by God, we read in Luke 2. She was permitted to carry the Savior of the world in her womb.
But Jesus says that God’s blessing has long arms, reaching out to anyone who simply and humbly hears what Jesus says and obeys him.
When Jesus says, “to hear” the Word of God, he is speaking of much more than simply having ears that capture sound.
Animals have that capacity. He speaks of a “hearing” that means “to heed, to understand, and to receive it.”
In other words, we respond in faith to his words. We respond and we obey.
And Jesus says, “The person who does this will find blessing from God.”
“Blessing” is much richer than an overused religious word can seem like.
To be blessed by God means to have his divine touch on our lives.
That he brings good to us. He gives us his grace. It means that his tender care and protection is on us.
God’s blessing comes in many forms and many ways.
It can come by way of a Spirit-led peace in our souls.
It can come as strength when we’re tempted to give up.
The Holy Spirit can strengthen us to love someone when they don’t deserve it.
And to believe our forgiveness is in Christ when we’re guilty.
And the grace to walk in freedom from sin that has previously enslaved us.
Basically all of God’s goodness is upon us.
So what can we take from Jesus’ words here?
Let us keep the Christian life simple:
Seek God’s blessing by hearing and obeying
We need to simply believe that the place of greatest blessing is to humbly and faithfully hear the Word of God and obey it
wholeheartedly. To OBEY is not a dirty, four-letter word.
Let me address some common errors in our thinking when it comes to receiving blessing.
I wonder if we often think that blessing comes only when we have the most of something. Having the best.
For example, when we think of what the woman said in vs. 27, a mother today could think, “Wow, if I had given birth to the Savior, my life would be so fulfilled. So meaningful. But I don’t have that opportunity, so I guess I’m stuck missing out.”
It’s tempting for us all to think that blessing is wrapped up in our pedigree. In what we have to offer.
Our moral background. “Only if I have a long track record of good morals can I find God’s blessing.”
Our intelligence. If I had a great intellect to offer God, that is where blessing is.
Our money. If had thousands and even millions of $$ to give away, that would be a fruitful life.
Our family background. If I had grown up in a solid Christian family, then my life would be blessed.
A few months ago we looked at Luke 7 in a sermon.
Simon the Pharisee had all that we might deem important. He was highly religious, well-educated, and probably wealthy.
In sharp contrast, the sinful woman came up to Jesus and shed tears on his feet and anointed him with oil. She had nothing to offer, for she was a great sinner.
But which of them was blessed by Jesus?
The sinful woman, for she humbled herself before Jesus and found life, forgiveness, and salvation.
And Simon missed out, for he was filled with contempt, arrogance, and self-righteousness.
If we believe that God’s blessing comes from our human pedigree, then we will experience one of two errors.
The first error: we have too high a view of ourselves. We are boastful in our heritage, our good looks, intelligence, experiences, money, career.
Even our moral history. But this view is rooted in self-centered pride.
It is a house of cards, and one small breath will knock it all down.
The other error is that we have a defeatist view of ourselves. a victim mind-set
We mope around because we feel we have nothing of value.
We’re not important enough, smart enough, beautiful enough, don’t have the right family upbringing, don’t have enough money.
Surprisingly, though, if this describes us, we just as proud as the first person. We are absorbed in self.
But the beauty of the gospel is that it is a message of grace coming from the God of all grace.
Everyone is on a level playing field. All need his help. And all can receive it.
Life is simpler than we might think.
Jesus said simply but powerfully, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Let us present ourselves to the Lord with whatever we have today.
We hear what he says, and we believe who he is. We trust him. Then we do whatever he says, by the strength he provides.
THIS is the blessed life.
Preach
HOLY SPIRIT TAKE OVER…