True Victory in Jesus
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Where are we going?
Where are we going?
“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
Luke 8:
I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
Ps 22:
Demons? For real?
Demons? For real?
The reality of demons (then and now)
The reality of demons (then and now)
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
How much sense would it make to believe in angels and not demonic spirits?
The persecution of men and swine
The persecution of men and swine
Men
Men
And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
No dignity
No community
No rest from suffering
Only pain
Swine
Swine
And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission.
The demise of the pigs was not the end of the demons, but rather a furtherance of their goal of injury and mayhem
This obvious example is a pattern
This obvious example is a pattern
If physical healing is ultimately about spiritual healing, so is physical persecution
Physical harm and destruction of property are only some of the tactics employed by the forces of darkness
And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them.
2017 stats:
10th leading cause of death in U.S.
47,173 deaths by suicide in U.S.
estimated 1.4M attempts
The Sovereignty of Jesus
The Sovereignty of Jesus
It is unquestioned and absolute!
It is unquestioned and absolute!
First the storm, then the demons:
And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they were afraid, and they marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
(followed up by healing and raising from the dead)
Legion had no doubt
When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.”
And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
There are no agnostic demons
You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
Only humans, blinded by the lies of the age are foolish enough to question the rightful reign of Jesus as Lord of all!
Jesus is Sovereignly on mission!
Jesus is Sovereignly on mission!
One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they set out,
Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned.
Jesus went TO encounter the storm, TO cast out demons, and TO force the encounter with the people
Also, an object lesson:
Also, an object lesson:
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name. I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and making offerings on bricks; who sit in tombs, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pig’s flesh, and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels; who say, “Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.” These are a smoke in my nostrils, a fire that burns all the day.
isa 65:1-
The disciples saw this played out, but would’ve known that Isaiah said this about Israel… as Paul wrote in Romans 10-11
What do you want?
What do you want?
The many wanted no Jesus - v34-37
The many wanted no Jesus - v34-37
"Why was I made to hear Thy voice,
And enter while there's room,
When thousands make a wretched choice,
And rather starve than come?"
The man wanted to join with the disciples - v38-39
The man wanted to join with the disciples - v38-39
A good desire
nevertheless, Thy will, not mine!
He was left in mercy, and was greatly blessed
“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?”
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.
…and they marvelled
“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Mk 5:
You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
The dark reality of demonic activity and persecution ought to cause us to run in thought, in prayer, in life to Christ Jesus, who is Lord! May God help us who have been unshackled from sin and devilish bonds to proclaim the victory found only in Jesus!