Sermon # 74 Luke
Sermons
Title: The
Text: Luke 11:14-20
Subject: Christ’s Confrontation with the
Pharisees
Date: Sunday Evening –
Tape # W-89a
Introduction:
The claims of Christ are the
claims of the sovereign King: No King—No Savior! We are all his subjects, some
willingly, others unwillingly, some loyal, some rebel, but we are all his
subjects. And, sooner or later, we will all bow to him. Bow to him now, and
life eternal is yours. If you refuse to bow to him now, you will bow in the day
of judgment, but eternal death will be your portion. May God give you grace now
to bow. O “kiss the Son, lest he be angry when his wrath is kindled!”
The title of my message
tonight is The Kingdom of God is
Here. The
Our text
tonight is Luke 11:14-20. Let’s read it together.
(Luke
11:14-20) "And he was casting out a
devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the
dumb spake; and the people wondered. (15) But some of them said, He
casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. (16) And
others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. (17) But
he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against
itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house
falleth. (18) If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his
kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. (19)
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out?
therefore shall they be your judges. (20) But if I with the finger of
God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you."
Context
Let me repeat what I tell you so often.—In interpreting Holy Scripture, it is of utmost importance that we interpret every passage in its context. In this case, the context is strikingly instructive. Our Lord Jesus has just told us how sinners obtain God’s salvation in him. He said, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” That is the promise of God held before sinners throughout the Book.
(Romans
10:13) "For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
(Mark
16:16) "He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned."
(Acts
16:31) "And they said, Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."
(Isaiah
45:22) "Look unto me, and be ye
saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none
else."
The fact is, all who are
lost, all who are without Christ, all who perish under the wrath of God do so
because they stubbornly refuse to seek mercy through the merits of Christ, the
sinner’s Substitute. “There is none that seeketh after God!”
How many of you are yet in
your sins, yet without Christ, yet under the wrath of God! You are lost for no
reason but this—You refuse to trust Christ!
Hope
Yet, I have hope for you. I
have hope for you because I know that though our Savior waits to be gracious,
his grace does not wait on you. You are like the man in our text, possessed of
the devil and dumb, so dumb that you cannot and will not call upon the name of
the Lord, except the Lord himself come, cast out the devil, set up his kingdom
in you, loosen your tongue and cause you to call upon him by his sweet,
omnipotent, irresistible grace.
(Psalms
65:4) "Blessed is the man whom thou
choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy
courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of
thy holy temple."
Proposition: The great miracle recorded
in Luke 11:14-20 is intended to show us how lost sinners are compelled by
almighty grace to call upon Christ in faith.—He who promises that if we ask it
shall be given unto us is he who destroys the power of Satan in us and causes
us to call upon him for mercy. Yes, as old Cowper put it, it is still true…
“He breaks the power of
cancelled sin,
He sits the captive free,
He makes the lame to walk
again,
And causes the blind to see.
Hear
Him, ye deaf! His praise, ye dumb!
Your loosened tongues
employ!
Ye blind, behold your Savior
come,
And leap, ye lame for joy!”
May God the Holy Spirit be
our Teacher, as we look at this great miracle of grace together. I want to call
your attention to five things clearly set before us in this passage.
I. Satan’s
Devices—Satan’s
devices by which he seeks to destroy our souls are legion.
We read here of a man
possessed of a devil that was dumb. In other places, we see Satan’s imps described
as unclean spirits. Sometimes they are violent. In other places they come as
blind spirits, in other places as deaf spirits. Whatever the appearance,
Satan’s devices are many; and they are always designed for destruction.
Do not imagine that because
demonic possession is not so glaringly obvious and common today as it once was
that the fiend of hell is less active or his designs less destructive. That is
not the case. Men and women are still taken captive by Satan at his will. Some
of you here tonight are possessed of a dumb spirit, just like this poor soul!
Does that offend? I am sorry if it does. But I am not here to entertain you. I
am here because I care for your soul. Honesty compels me to tell you the truth.
You are, just like this man, possessed of a dumb spirit.
·
You speak much, but never speak to God.
·
You call upon many for many things; but you do not call upon the name
of the Lord.
·
You do not call upon him because you have neither the will nor the
ability to do so. You are spiritually dead and spiritually dumb.
Thanks, eternal thanks, be
unto God, the Lord Jesus Christ still makes the dumb to speak. He who cast this
demon out is still in the business of casting Satan out of the hearts of men! O
Son of God, come here tonight! Come in omnipotent mercy! Wherever Satan rules
in the hearts of lost, dead sinners, bind the strong man, cast him out, spoil
his house, take all his armor, and establish the dominion of grace in the
hearts of chosen sinners, for the glory of God!
·
Only Christ can raise the dead!
·
Only Christ can give you eyes to see the glory of God shining in his
face!
·
Only Christ can open your ears to hear the glorious sound of his grace!
·
Only Christ can give you the tongue of supplication.
·
But, blessed be his name, HE CAN!
(John
12:32) "And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me."
(Hebrews
7:25) "Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to
make intercession for them."
II. Willful
Unbelief—Next,
I want you to see that unbelief is a willful, deliberate act.
Unbelief is not something
about which you are passive, for which you have no responsibility. Oh, no. Your
unbelief is the deliberate, willful defiance of your rebel heart. You are just
exactly like the people described in our text.
It could not be denied that
the Lord Jesus had cast out a devil, that he had loosened to tongue of a man
who could not speak before. Those who were present could not dispute the
miracle. The work of grace was as glaring and obvious as the noon day sun.
Still, they would not believe.
A. Some wondered and marveled;
but they would not believe!—How many there are like them today!
·
You marvel at electing love.
·
You stand in awe at predestination.
·
You wonder at the display of God’s saving grace.
·
You are astonished by substitutionary redemption.
·
Yet, you believe not!
B. Others sought to discredit
the Lord Jesus, saying he cast out the devil by the devil!
They could not deny the work. So they tried to discredit the Son of God.
C. Still others, said, show us
a sign from heaven!—Is that not amazing? Yet, it is ever the betrayal of rank unbelief in
the hearts of men that demands a sign.—It is ever the cry of hell, “If one
were to rise from the dead!”
·
The Jews require a sign.
·
The Greeks seek after wisdom.
·
We preach Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God!
D. The fact is, all unbelief is
inexcusable!
It is not your adultery that will take you to hell, but your unbelief!—It is not your theft that will take you to hell, but your unbelief!—It is not your drunkenness that will take you to hell, but your unbelief!
Your unbelief is blamable. It is willful. It is deliberate. You believe not because you choose to believe not. If you continue to believe not, you will forever die!
(John
3:14-19) "And as Moses lifted up
the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
(15) That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal
life. (16) For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world;
but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on
him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because
he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (19) And
this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
(John
3:36) "He that believeth on the Son
hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life;
but the wrath of God abideth on him."
(1
John 5:1) "Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth
him also that is begotten of him."
(1
John 5:6-10) "This is he that came
by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water
and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is
truth. (7) For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. (8) And there are
three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and
these three agree in one. (9) If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath
testified of his Son. (10) He that believeth on the Son of God hath the
witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he
believeth not the record that God gave of his Son."
III. Christ’s
Divinity—There
are several incidental, but divinely inspired, displays of our Savior’s eternal
divinity in this passage.
We trust him who is both God
and man in one glorious person. That man who died for us at Calvary is himself
God the eternal Son. Because he is God…
·
His Obedience is of infinite worth!
·
His death is of infinite merit!
·
His grace is of infinite efficacy!
Here are three great
manifestations of our Savior’s eternal divinity.
·
His Dominion Over Hell!—Devils obey Him!
·
His Omniscience!—He knew their thoughts!
·
His Marvelous Grace!—He made the dumb speak!
IV.Family
Strife—Our
Lord Jesus here declares in a parable a word of warning that needs frequent
repetition, it is a warning against needless strife.
(Luke
11:17-19) "But he, knowing their
thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself[1]
is brought to desolation; and a house divided[2]
against a house falleth. (18) If Satan also be divided against
himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils
through Beelzebub. (19) And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom
do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges."
Without question, our Master
is here telling these rank, ridiculous rebels that their blasphemous assertions
were as absurd as they were blasphemous. If Satan casts out Satan, his kingdom
would soon fall. But there is a much needed lesson here for us. It is a lesson
we are mournfully and sinfully slow to learn. Strife between brethren is both
shameful and destructive. – To the Nation! – To the Family! – To Churches!
Understand what I mean.
A. We cannot and must not
compromise the gospel of the grace and glory of God in Christ. – With regard to the
gospel, all God’s people and all God’s servants see eye to eye.
(1
Corinthians 16:22) "If any man love
not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha."
(Galatians
1:6-9) "I marvel that ye are so
soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another
gospel: (7) Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you,
and would pervert the gospel of Christ. (8) But though we, or an angel
from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached
unto you, let him be accursed. (9) As we said before, so say I now
again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have
received, let him be accursed."
(Galatians
5:12) "I would they were even cut
off which trouble you."
(Philippians
3:18-19) "(For many walk, of whom I
have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies
of the cross of Christ: (19) Whose end is destruction, whose
God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who
mind earthly things.)"
(2
John 1:9-11) "Whosoever
transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. (10)
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not
into your house, neither bid him God speed: (11) For he that
biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds."
B. When it comes to matters that do not involve the gospel of Christ and the glory of God in Christ, in all matters of indifference, we must cease from strife.
There is no place in the house of God for petty quarrels and proud strife. The best remedy for this horrid evil is grace! O, may God teach us to be gracious!
· Slow to anger!
· Quick to forgive!
· Anxious to serve!
· Ready to make concessions!
· Hard to offend!
V. A Confrontation—Our text ends and I will conclude my message with a confrontation.
(Luke
11:20) "But if I with the finger of
God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you."
A. The Lord Jesus Christ has, by the finger of God, cast out devils.
· At Calvary
· In Grace
B. The kingdom of God has now come upon you.
C. Will
you bow; or will you go on still in your obstinate rebellion and unbelief?
(Proverbs
1:23-33) "Turn you at my reproof:
behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto
you. (24) Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my
hand, and no man regarded; (25) But ye have set at nought all my
counsel, and would none of my reproof: (26) I also will laugh at your
calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; (27) When your fear cometh
as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and
anguish cometh upon you. (28) Then shall they call upon me, but I will
not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: (29) For
that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: (30) They
would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. (31) Therefore
shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own
devices. (32) For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and
the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. (33) But whoso hearkeneth
unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."