Living Miracles: Spiritual vision
Notes
Transcript
I would like for everyone in here to close their eyes. Close them tightly and do not peek. With your eyes closed I want you to stand up after I count to 3 and I want you to make your way to the back exit without opening your eyes. When you get to the back exit I would like you to keep your eyes closed and make your way down the stairs. After you are down the stairs keep your eyes closed and make your way to your car. After you get to your car I want you to keep your eyes closed and I want you to unlock your car, get in and start your car. After you have started your car you can open your eyes. Are you ready? One, Two, Im just kidding we are not going to attempt that. How many of you were thinking I was completely out of my mind? Most of you I’m sure. I thought it sounded crazy. So what was the big deal? This is something that most of you have done 33 times this year. It was a big deal because I asked you to do so with your eyes closed. It is a big deal to do anything with your eyes closed. I pray this morning that we will listen to the spirit of God and we will be a church of believers who are willing to open our eyes. To stop seeing things from the perspective of believers with our eyes closed. What do I mean by this? Today in the scripture we will find Jesus delivering a teaching at the synagogue on the sabbath. This is much like what we are experiencing here today. As Jesus was teaching He was interrupted by a man who was deamon posessed man. Could you imagine being here today and having someone standing up and screaming at me while I preached? What would the response be? We would have a few deacons making their way to that person. Some little lady would be pulling out her concealed carry, lot’s of people would tell the person to hush. There would be many people upset about the person not respecting the church. You would see me thrown off and confused by the outburst. Why would we react to this? Some may say, because we have morals and expectations. Some may say it’s because we have respect and dignity. Can I present a possibility? What if we would react in this way because while our eyes have been opened by Christ in Salvation many people choose to close their eyes and walk as if they were blind. This morning through a miracle we will see the profound proof that Jesus has power over spirits and deamons. The cultivated conviction to utilize spiritual vision as we walk in this world. The declared destiny to help free others from spiritual opression. Earl Palmer who is a presbyterian minister, while we share doctrinal differences that I will not get into today. He shares a story of how not seeing things can affect us as believers.
Earl Palmer frequently tells the story of a cross-country with two other young pastors early in his pastoral ministry.
They were making a cross-country trip from the East Coast back to California. In a money-saving plan, they developed a rotating system of drivers, while passengers slept. At one point Earl was sleeping when the driver came into a small town late at night and the only gas station was on the opposite side of the road.
Earl was the next driver but had not been told that the car was now facing east, not west. The other two guys went promptly to sleep. As Earl was driving, he saw a bus coming towards him with a destination sign that said “Denver.”
He thought, “Somebody forgot to change the sign.” He kept driving. He encountered a second bus with a sign that read “Salt Lake City,” and reflected on how corporate America couldn’t pay attention to details.
Then the sun came up. This was a sign he understood.
Let’s read the scripture this morning.
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
This morning I pray that our hearts will be turned towards the cross. Towards seeing things from a spiritual perspective, changing our responses, and reactions.
Profound Proof- Jesus has power over all
Profound Proof- Jesus has power over all
31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, 32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority.
Jesus is providing a profound proof of himself in this miracle as one who has the authority to cast out deamons and spirits. One who has the authority over all spirits. In the name of Jesus we have power to do things of a spitirual nature that many people often overlook. Not that we have the power to do it ourselves, but the power of Jesus in us and through us allow us to see things clearly to be the hands and feet of God in our world. Notice here what Jesus has done even before He performs his miracle. Jesus comes into the synagogue and He speaks as one with confidence. In Mark it says that Jesus spoke with a confidence that the scribs did not speak with.
22 And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes.
What is the importance of this? The importance is that when Jesus spoke He spoke from a first person position. When the scribes taught, they tought from a position of this person said this or this person said that. Much like I do. When I teach here I am relating you back to scripture to a place where a disciple or a prophet, or even Jesus said something and I am trying to get you to see the importance of what they said. When Jesus spoke He spoke as one who made the commandments and one who dictated the expected behaviors. Jesus was not speaking as one who was appealing to the crowd but one that was commanding the crowd. Jesus was providing in this a profound proof of His Authority.
When I was here in the late 2000’s I was working odd jobs and worked at the YMCA and other jobs. I decided one day that I would attempt to substitute teach. My mother had done it and was really good at it. I figured that even though I was not a teacher and I had no credentials to teach, I was a good candidate for someone who would keep students in line and help fill in when teachers were out. I got a job as a substitute and I went into a middle school math class. As I sat there students began to go crazy. No matter how much I raised my voice and tried to get the students in line, it was not working. After a few moments of trying my best I made a call to the front office. The principal made her way into the classroom. The principal was my old math teacher and when she stepped into that room you could hear a pin drop. Every student sat down and started back to their work. Her authority and position the students understood. While she took to dealing with the worst 2 students the remaining students kept quiet and I did not have another problem out of them.
This is the image we get of when Jesus was speaking. It would be like me preaching this morning and Jesus saying, Hey would you mind if I came and spoke to your church? Of course I would say yes and of course Jesus would step in and everyone in here would listen differently than you do when I speak. This is because Jesus has authority. Jesus in this time was proving that He was not just a good teacher, a prophet, a fantastic preacher. Jesus had authority and power. The scripture tells us of Jesus authority.
29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
Let me tell you this morning the Jesus of our Salvation is not just a good speaker, a good prophet, a good teacher. Jesus is the Son of God, the one who God gave all authority to. Jesus was providing this profound proof of who He was. It was imporant for what was to come that those around Him saw Him as having the autority and understanding the power given to Him. The profound proof for us this morning is that Jesus has all authority over all things on earth. The second part to that is that as believers Jesus has given us that power.
19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.
Now let us make a clarifying statement here. Jesus in no terms was calling for people to go play with snakes, to go drink poison, to prove their faith. Jesus was however saying that those who believe in my name will overcome this world. There will be nothing that hurts them, when they follow the will of the Father, He will allow them to speak languages they do not know, He will give them power to drive out deamons, He will give them power to heal the sick. The precursor to this though is the Will of the Father. We are given power to perform signs and wonders in our lives with the power of Christ. But pastor are you being pentacostal on us this morning? No I am not, I am being Biblical on you this morning. Am I telling you that unless the Spirit is giving you the ability to speak other languages, to play with snakes, to heal the sick that you do not believe in Jesus and are not saved? No I am not. I am saying thought that if you are a believer in Christ and following the will of the Father you do in fact have the authority through Jesus to do all these things. The profound proof this morning is that Jesus has all power and authority and through Christ so do we. Jesus did not stop with this profound proof though, He moved forward with conviction for the believers to see from a spiritual perspective.
Cultivated Conviction: See things spiritually
Cultivated Conviction: See things spiritually
33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
Jesus was in the synagogue teaching and in the middle of His teaching He was interrupted by a man who cried out with a loud voice. In this voice the man interrupted what Jesus was teaching. Bud did you see that Jesus reaction was not how many of us would react? Jesus did not call to His disciples and tell them to throw the man out. Jesus did not tell the man to sit down and be quiet becuase He was speaking. Jesus made no direct comment to the man. Read what was said.
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm.
Jesus did not start telling the disciples or the crowd that the man was a horrible person and that the man was interrupting things. No Jesus saw from a spiritual perspective and said to the Deamon not the Man to come out. Jesus had compassion on this man because He knew that the man was deamon opressed and that the deamon was harming this man. My heart breaks as I read this and am convicted of this. Why? Because I wonder how many people I have rebuked, telling them that they need to be better, they need to change this, they need to change that. How many times have I prayed for the spirit of God to cast out a deamon that was opressing someone. We often times shy away from these conversations because we do not want to act like every persons bad actions are a deamon or spirit, we want to say that every person has control of their behaviors. Scripture though paints a different picture for us.
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Behaviors of the people around us are because there is a devil and there is a spiritual influence that draws and intices those into a position where the devil and his deamons can control others. We often see people and we tell them or others that their behavior is their own bad choices. I the scripture we can see that, it is not intierly incorrect to make that statement. They are lured and enticed by their own desire. But once they are enticed and lured, the devil and his deamons take over and this is what we call spiritual opression. When we see things we should not simply assume that others are making bad choices. As Christ did we should have the correct vision to realize that this is a spiritual battle. When we deal with things we often deal with them from a physical perspective. This is why I love celebrate recovery. Clebrate Recovery, introduces the concept of Hurts, Habit’s, and Hang-up’s. But it also introduces the one thing that can truly heal from what the devil has done in people’s lives. Jesus. Are you living in a place where you are offering others the solution to their sin? Are you driving deamons out by introducing the spirit of God into people’s lives? We often times simply teach people to act good, to look good, to sound good. We want them to look presentable, to speak clearly, to look well. The problem is that when a program simply seeks to change a behavior without changing a heart, the behavior will come back but worse.
45 Then it goes and brings with it 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. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
When we do not view things from a spiritual perspective two things happen. First we become self righteous. Have you ever looked at someone and saw yourself as better than they are? Whe you see or hear someone you look at them and you see that you are a better Christian. When we see things from a spiritual perspective it brings us to a place of understanding who we are in the presence of God and how we are all on the same playing field when it comes to our holiness.
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
Are you a person with a self righteous view? If so you may want to consider that you are not living in the spirit. If you want others to act like you, then you are living in a place of self-righteousness. The second thing that happens is that we beginn to address things from an earthly perspective. When we are not seeing things from a spiritual perspective, we do not have compassion on others but we pass condemnation on them. We do not seek to help we seek to harm. Are your actions leading someone closer to the cross and to salvation? Is what you are about to do , going to show someone Jesus or show them how good you are? Jesus is calling the church to live in a place of compassion, seeing spiritually to address problems spiritually. The flesh will wreck a church that God is building. We must be people who seek to understand the conviction Jesus is drawing us to to live in the Spirit and to view all things from the Spirit. I was going to find a funny sermon illustration to insert here but I am going to insert some scripture. With this Scripture I will also make our last point which is the declared destiny to free others from spiritual opression and to live in the greatness of God. With this scripture I will close us out today. In this scripture we find that when we see things from God’s perspective we can defeat armies of the devil without ever hurting those opressed by him.
8 Once when the king of Syria was warring against Israel, he took counsel with his servants, saying, “At such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 But the man of God sent word to the king of Israel, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Syrians are going down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God told him. Thus he used to warn him, so that he saved himself there more than once or twice.
11 And the mind of the king of Syria was greatly troubled because of this thing, and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not show me who of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “None, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 And he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and seize him.” It was told him, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 14 So he sent there horses and chariots and a great army, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O Lord, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And when the Syrians came down against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness in accordance with the prayer of Elisha. 19 And Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek.” And he led them to Samaria.
20 As soon as they entered Samaria, Elisha said, “O Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So the Lord opened their eyes and they saw, and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 As soon as the king of Israel saw them, he said to Elisha, “My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 He answered, “You shall not strike them down. Would you strike down those whom you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and go to their master.” 23 So he prepared for them a great feast, and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the Syrians did not come again on raids into the land of Israel.
As we close this morning I have a homework assignment for you. Go home and read 2 Kings 6:24-7:19. In this scripture you will see again that viewing things from an earthy perspective will prevent you from living in the power of the Spirit and in the greatness of what God is calling us to live in. Jesus provided a profound proof of His authority in this scripture, cultivated in us the conviction of living in and seeing things from the spirit, and declared a destiny of living in the power of God .
3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.
