August 14th, 2011
INTRODUCTION – Our theme – Your Kingdom Come – – Jesus came to set the captives free – – in case that is nebulous or vague to you – – Jesus Christ came to not only save people from their sins initially so that they could be born again and gain eternal life; He came to set us free from every sin, every destructive passion and thought and attitude – – anything and everything not in keeping with His life and character and righteousness – – until He returns and fully and completely and forever sets us free!
Clash of kingdoms. the kingdom of darkness does not give up its captives without a fight. Our enemy is cruel, and his power is very real.
This passage is going to teach us how to fight better and more effectively for those that have never once tasted of His power and saving grace.
I. The deliverance of the demonized boy vs. 14-18 A. who is “they” – vs. 14 – – probably Jesus, Peter, James and John rejoined with the other 9 disciples.
B. condition of the son – vs. 15 “lunatic” 2a “moonstruck”? reflects the ancient superstition that seizures were caused by changes of the moon. Sounds crazy, but not much worse than many of the so called solutions and explanations being thrown around today for our bondages and problems A condition similar to modern day epilepsy This boy would repeatedly fall into water that could drown him and fire that could burn him
One of the things we know about demonization is that demons once they get a hold of a person always try to find ways to kill them. That’s why Satan is called the “destroyer” in the book of Revelation Extreme destructive behaviors often will have demonic sources behind them; this didn’t stop in the first century.
C. The disciples’ inability to heal – vs. 16 This “Your” or “they” probably refers to the 9, but it wouldn’t have necessarily been any different if the other 3 were with them. Well what about their commissioning?
Matthew 10:1 “Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”
We know they obeyed Him and had a degree of success. Luke 9:6 says, “Departing, they began going throughout the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.”
We also know later He sent out 70 disciples with the same basic commission; and they came back and reported with joy, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” (Luke 10:17) We will learn more about their failure later on in the passage
D. Jesus’s rebuke of the people – vs. 17 Not because of bothering Him; not because He was put off with the man’s request Rather because of their unbelief and their perversion (could be how the demons got entrance into the boys’ life). And it could be their unbelief affected the disciples who tried to cast the demons out, which is no excuse for them, but a reason for their spiritual impotence. “generation” = genea = has the idea of “a race of people alike in character and pursuits”
Because of the rife unbelief and perversion among the Israelites and in their culture – demonization was having a hay day. And that greatly troubled and grieved Jesus.
Can demons get an entrance into the lives of children at least partly through the ungodliness of their parents and the other relatives and the general culture around them? I believe they can. And that belief has caused me to be much more sober about what I allow in my home than I would have been otherwise.
E. Jesus’s rebuke of the boy and the demon – vs. 18 “him”, not the demon; in Mark’s account Jesus did speak to the demon Doesn’t really matter – perhaps this just shows how inseparable they were. With a word there was instant complete healing and deliverance by the power of God So what was the secret to Jesus’s power and thus for ours?
II. The secret to Jesus’s power vs. 19-21 A. The disciples’ question vs. 19 A question we should ask Him every day until we operate like He did
B. Jesus’s answer: because of the littleness of your faith vs. 20 Our faith doesn’t have to be enormous to see enormous things happen; because ultimately it is the object of our faith and not the size of our faith that makes the difference. But in saying that – we do need to have a measure of faith beyond what the average Christian has.
C. How do we obtain this kind of faith? Vs. 21 Notice in brackets – – and the 1a “early manuscripts do not contain this verse” Even though that is true, those who decided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit what would be in this supernatural book – decided to keep this in there. But Mark 9:29 is in the early manuscripts, but leaves out the fasting part. This is where knowing your Bible and knowing the role fasting played in Jesus’s earthly life comes into play.
Fasting quotes from bulletin
Faith, absolute confidence and trust in God – via prayer and fasting = power over demons
Assignment: Brenda?
III. Jesus’s coming suffering and victory revisited vs. 22-23 They grieved because they did not understand the healing that would come through the cross/blood, and the power that would come through the resurrection as Jesus proved once and for all that He alone is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and absolute ruler over all. We need to boast in, rejoice in, revel in the cross! With the cross and the resurrection in full view – – nothing can ever stop us; nothing is unsolvable; nothing is unchangeable; nothing is intractable, nothing is unlodgeable.
Communion: We as a congregation and I dare say as a region appear to be in a season where the Holy Spirit is allowing sin patterns that we have never gotten the victory over to surface in such a way that we have to either deal with them in humility and brokenness – – or go into denial and bury them with things or substances – whether that be food, alcohol, constant media interaction, marijuana or doctor prescribed sedatives or psychotropic drugs.
The clear word I have heard from God this week is : “Only Jesus heals; everything else at best numbs the pain.” Only Jesus gets at the roots and truly sets us free from sin in all its forms. The enemy will always try to get us to settle for less.
He doesn’t care if we serve. But he desperately does not want us to be set free from our sin. Many in the body of Christ I’m afraid are hiding behind their serving or finding false security in light of their serving, while limping around with gaping wounds that Jesus is longing to heal.
Galatians 6:14, 15 “But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.”
Jesus Christ came to make you new – like Him – in every imaginable way.
“Just As I Am” – p. 94
CONCLUSION – Ministry Time?