Fall Session 2: Demons
The Dark Side • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 21 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Session 2: Demons
Session 2: Demons
If we deny the existence of demons, we are denying the truth of God’s Word
Background of our Study Verses
Background of our Study Verses
Jesus was returning with Peter, James, and John after His transfiguration and was confronted by a father trying to have his son exorcised from the demon that had been possessing him for some time. The remaining nine disciples were unable to cast out the demon.
Someone read and someone else pick up
And someone from the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.” And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.” And they brought the boy to him. And when the spirit saw him, immediately it convulsed the boy, and he fell on the ground and rolled about, foaming at the mouth. And Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he said, “From childhood. And it has often cast him into fire and into water, to destroy him. But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
And Jesus said to him, “ ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!” And when Jesus saw that a crowd came running together, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You mute and deaf spirit, I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose. And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?” And he said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
Examples of other encounters between Jesus and demons:
1. Demon in the Synagogue:
2. The possessed swine:
3. Driving out demons by the power of demons?
4. Approached by demons:
5. Greek woman’s daughter: ;
6. Mary Magdalene:
Our study is about demons today, but it actually centers around something bigger: lack of faith
Did they have the authority to do so? Look at
Did they have the authority to do so? Look at
And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.
Were they successful in the past? Look at
And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
Why do you think they failed this time?
Consider they have had precious successes and now felt the power was generated from within themselves,
What is your takeaway from ?
And he answered them, “O faithless generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me.”
“Why could we not cast it out?” Besides lacking understanding (, ; ), the disciples lack the ability to fully carry out their commission from Jesus (). Their failure is an occasion for encouragement to more prayer (; ; ), implying that more time and effort in prayer (and therefore in closer fellowship with God) leads to growth in faith.
And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?
And he said to them, “Do you not yet understand?”
And Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good that we are here. Let us make three tents, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.”
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable.
And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter.
Having experienced success, the disciples felt the power to cast out demons was within them now instead of through God
Can we see ourselves in this?
They have dealt corruptly with him;
they are no longer his children because they are blemished;
they are a crooked and twisted generation.
And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;
I will see what their end will be,
for they are a perverse generation,
children in whom is no faithfulness.
Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
Do you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, “Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
WRITE ON BOARD: “STRENGTH THROUGH WEAKNESS”
WRITE ON BOARD: “STRENGTH THROUGH WEAKNESS”
(ESV)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
What does God think of us when we rely on ourselves and our own wisdom?
Refer to ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
He catches the wise in their own craftiness,
and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.
It’s pretty clear what the Lord thinks of those who puff themselves up.
Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
For in much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes,
and shrewd in their own sight!
Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”
See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
It is our own intellect that often gets in the way of faith. We seek to understand first before believing, when it should be the opposite. We want to remain strong in and of our own self, yet this is the very thing that hinders our relationship with God.
Indeed, God calls on us to be strong—but not in ourselves, but in Him and His Word (; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ).
But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
The Lord is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
“Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.”
He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
How do these verses relate to our study today and the nine disciples?
However, We still must allow Him to use us, to change us, and to refine us. This requires an active faith, not just letting go and waiting for God to solve every problem that we encounter.
If we do not allow God to help deliver us, we will try to suppress the sin in our life by our own attempts to overcome it.
However, the truth of the matter is that we are in this predicament because of a failure, not of power, but in leading a life in holiness.
This is not the design of the Christian faith.
What Strength through Weakness Means
What Strength through Weakness Means
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
only when we are at our weakest, only when we can truly surrender ourselves to Him, can we find our true strength.
this does not mean to just “Let Go and Let God”
We wrongfully beg to God to make us stronger so we can prevail of our own merits, thus making the ability to conquer sin within our own power.
We seek deliverance through our own internal strength rather than reliance on Him.
God wants us to come to Him in our state of brokenness and contrition (read the 51st Psalm as a perfect example from an adulterous and murdering David).