The Authority and Power of
Christ (2)
Matthew 8:28-34; 2 Peter 1:3-9;
John 14:9-14
Jim Davis
“The great danger in education today is the fact
that we have failed to see the difference between knowledge and wisdom.
“We train the head and let the heart run wild.
“We allow culture and character to walk miles
apart, stuffing the head with mathematics and languages – leaving manners
and morals out of the picture.” -Theodore H. Palmquist
The purpose of education is to reveal our
need to change, but education alone doesn’t change anything.
Education may only bring frustration as we recognize our need to change but feel as
though we are locked into a changeless powerless life.
I was talking to a woman this past week that
was afraid she couldn’t change. I walked into a place of business
and was greeted with Happy New Year. The date was January 4, 2004. The lady
happily exclaimed it was her birthday, and she was even happier that she
hadn’t taken a drink of liquor all year—seemingly that was a great victory
for her. She expressed to me that she was hoping she would make it through
her birthday without taking a drink.
I finished my business and upon leaving I
expressed my hopes for her to be successful in not taking another drink. But
she said in an optimistic tone, “I don’t know what the day will bring; but I
have learned that if I don’t make any plans, I won’t get let down.” She was
locked into failure for she was making no plans to overcome her problem. She
felt it was beyond her control. She had the idea that “whatever will be,
will be.”
I thought, “How sad that her fear of failure keeps
her from making any plans to overcome. Her fear of failing keeps her
confined to the realm of defeat. She recognizes the demons in her life, but
she feels hopeless, and doesn’t want to let herself down by making plans to
rise above them.” I couldn’t help but think—"Her problem is the same problem
most of us have in facing the demons in our lives."
Discovering the power for change is the most
crucial aspect of change. Christ’s authoritative power is the
solution. Without Christ the demons will rob us of our sanity, and
self-control as they rob us of the true joys of living. They seek to
convince us that Christ has nothing to offer to one whose whole life is in
bondage to the battles raging within and without.
Facing the Demonic World
I need to be convinced that the demons are
as real as Christ. The demons are as real in my life as they were in
the life of Christ. The demons in our lives are as real as the sacrifice of
Christ.
Immediately after Christ’s baptism he was led up
into the wilderness to face Satan head on. Satan has no doubt about
Christ—he sought to destroy him before he began his ministry—he believes in
Christ and trembles in his presence (James 2:19). Christ faced demons
throughout his ministry in one manner or another. Amazingly the demons knew
who he was. They feared him greatly.
Matthew 8:28-34
28 When he arrived
at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men
coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass
that way. 29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you
come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
30 Some distance
from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31 The demons begged Jesus, "If
you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
32 He said to
them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd
rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. 33 Those
tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this,
including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 Then the whole
town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to
leave their region. NIV
Today the devil's demonic powers may work in
different ways from when the Lord was on earth, but they are at work just
the same. One man is beset with pride; another, with lust; a third
with a love for money. The difficulty is that we don’t see the problems we
face to grow spiritually as demonic in nature. Yet, they are just as real as
the messenger of Satan who was sent to torment the apostle Paul (2
Corinthians 12:7).
The Bible makes no allusions about the
demons in your life.
Ephesians 6:10-14
10 Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor
of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For
our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on
the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able
to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand
firm then . . . (NIV)
We need to look to the source of our
problems. The furious battlefields you see in the images of the book
of Revelation are the battlefields every generation faces. Our only
consolation is that Jesus says hell will not prevail against his kingdom
(Matthew 16:18-19). We must be as convinced of their onslaught against the
kingdom gates as they are about the surety of Christ and his kingdom.
It’s not as difficult to see the demons
making havoc of world peace as it is to see the demons in our own life.
This is because these demons masquerade as angels of light.
We may strive to confine the demons to only one
facet of our lives while we manage other facets well, but the demons want
stay confined for long. They are stronger than you—they will eventually
break the chains. They will break lose to torment and consume you.
Matthew reveals what happens the second time
Christ meets demons head-on. This time Christ meets his enemy in a
graveyard. These demon possessed men in Matthew’s account resided in the
tombs—it was an apt place for the spiritually dead. The citizens of the
country had driven them out of their presence. Mark’s gospel account of this
story reveals the citizens’ attempt to chain them, but the demons broke the
chains and haunted those who came by. They thought that if they could keep
the local demons out of sight they would be out of mind.
How often do we seek to restrict the demons
to the recesses of our minds? We strive to put them out of sight. We
fool ourselves into thinking “out of sight out of mind.” We seek to restrain
them, but they can’t be restrained. They must be driven out. Seeking to
chain demons to the catacombs of our minds only makes their rule more
deceitful and powerful. We must face our demons head on. The demons chained
in the catacombs of our minds prevent the knowledge of Christ from invading
our hearts as they make us afraid to face the truth about ourselves.
Society at large offers no hope to those
fighting with the demons. Society seeks to restrain them, but offers
no help to relieve the bondage. Society seeks to isolate troubled
individuals through threats, but threats are unable to change a person.
Society seeks to diminish the impact of the demons on our lives by
succumbing to their influence. Society convinces itself that the demons
wishes for our lives aren’t all that bad. By minimizing them society
pretends they don’t exist.
To fight the demons of immorality society
hands out birth control, if that fails society offers abortion to teenagers
without the consent of their parents. Society offers counseling on
how to live with sexually transmitted diseases once contracted through
immoral practices. Society provides same sex marriages to those so inclined,
or no marriage for those who want to live together without commitment.
Society deals with an angry society by taking away our guns so we want kill each
other.
Society allows the demons to rage on as society
seeks to change everything but what needs changed, and in essence that
changes nothing. It allows the demons to break any bonds to roam
freely up and down our streets. Our biggest problem is that we want to
change everything but us.
The demons convince us to forget about them
as we push them into the recesses of our minds. Have you ever
noticed the darkness of a drug infested neighborhood. I see them portrayed
in movies and I wonder how could anyone making so much money selling dope
end up in those dark depressing places. It’s because it’s the demons
dwelling place. It’s only natural for those who are drawn to them to live
there. It is little wonder why they want to stay on drugs. Waking up from a
drug high in places like that would make you want another fix just to cope
with such a depressing place. The demoniacs in Jesus story are living in
such a place. Jesus’ story is too real to be doubted.
Demons are also alive in high class places.
They hide behind the luxurious surroundings deceiving us into believing the
luxury we live in is a sign of their absence. The persuade us to worship the
demons named—Health, Wealth and Prosperity.
How do we Face the Demons?
Jesus can do the same thing for you that he
did for the demoniacs—he can drive them out of your life. Jesus
Christ today has power over Satan (John 12:31; 14:30; Colossians 2:15).
God’s divine power is available today. But you must be willing to face your
demons.
2 Peter 1:3-4
3 His divine power
has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge
of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has
given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may
participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world
caused by evil desires.
God’s “divine power has given us everything
we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him . . .”
But Peter emphasizes the knowledge of God is given so that “you may
participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world
caused by evil desires.”
The key to discovering God’s power is
participating in his divine nature. Participating in God’s divine
nature is to allow God to develop his character in you—it is to become one
with God—now that is powerful. How do we participate in God’s divine nature?
Listen as Peter further explains:
2 Peter 1:5-9
5 For this very
reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness,
knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these
qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective
and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But
if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten
that he has been cleansed from his past sins. NIV
God’s supernatural power is given to those
who seek to use the knowledge of God to live productive Christian lives by
allowing God to reproduce his character in them.
Adding goodness to your faith—and to goodness, knowledge, and to knowledge,
self-control, and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance,
godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness,
love, makes our knowledge in the Lord productive.
God's power comes as we strive to allow God’s word to become
effective in our hearts. It becomes effective when we seek to allow God to
reproduce his nature—character within our hearts. When we allow God to do so
God’s power becomes our personality reality.
Our greatest difficulty is that we labor to
be productive but we don’t depend upon the authoritative power of Christ for
deliverance. Church of Christ members are working people—to us faith
and work are synonymous--they are. But do we depend upon Christ or our work to accomplish
God’s will? Do we pray for God’s intervention to be productive? Are we
really
praying people?
I was reading an excerpt from a well know
author that stated the church of Christ believes almost solely in work.
We are not praying people. He made this statement: “When we work, we work;
when we pray God works.” When God works Christ authoritative power becomes
our reality.
You can’t handle your demons all alone.
The demons, Shame and Guilt, may persuade you to hide the other demons in your
life because of shame and guilt. They convince you that you are all alone, and it would be a shame to
admit their presence. When they do this they confine you to a gruesome
debilitating life of guilt. You don’t have to hide the demons in the recesses of your
mind. Allow Christ to face the demons head-on as you depend upon
him to make his knowledge productive in your life.
Jesus reveals in the following story what
happens when we seek to drive out, or restrain the demons on our own power
without striving to allow divine knowledge to become productive in our
hearts.
Matthew 12:43-45
43 "When an evil
spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does
not find it. 44 Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it
arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45
Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself,
and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse
than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation." NIV
Knowledge collected in the mind that isn’t
allowed to penetrate our hearts and lives only cleans out a place for the
demons to invade.
One reason we don’t want to open our eyes to
behold Satan’s onslaught against us is because we are too frightened.
What Jesus did for these two Gadarenes he will do for anyone else who needs
him.
Jesus came to demonstrate his power over the
demons seeking to hold us in bondage. What Jesus did for the
demoniacs during his earthly ministry is an indication of what his
authoritative power can do for each of us.
The demons will continue to attack Christ’s
kingdom gates. As long as you are in the kingdom the demons will be
present. Jesus promises us that hell will not prevail, but his need to give
us his reassuring promise assures us they will seek to prevail. They will
always be tormenting demons on the prowl in our lives. Many of their names
are familiar to us: Fear, Discouragement, Anger, Bitterness and Hopelessness
these are the most persistent demons.
We must seek the help of God through prayer to make the knowledge
of his Son productive in our lives. We may spend all our time cultivating
the soil, planting the seed and irrigating the crop, but we need God to make
our work productive. We access God through prayer.
Matthew 17:14-20
14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him.
15 "Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering
greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to
your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I
stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me."
18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed
from that moment.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we
drive it out?"
20 He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if
you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for
you." NIV
You must develop a mustard seed faith in
God's power to drive out the demons in your life.
Motives for Productive Lives
Jesus promises us
that whatever we ask in his name, he will do.
John 14:9-19
9 Jesus answered:
"Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long
time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us
the Father'? 10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the
Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is
the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the
evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has
faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things
than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you
ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may
ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
15 "If you love
me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another Counselor to be with you forever- 17 the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But
you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave
you as orphans; I will come to you. NIV
We may want to take these verses to mean
Christ will give us anything we want. It’s not what he is saying.
This is what he is saying—the key to getting
powerful answers to our prayers is listening to what heaven is saying. What
is it God is asking of you? Seeking to do what God is asking us to do as we
pray to that end is the key to receiving powerful answers to prayer.
Your prayer life may be amiss because you are not seeking God’s will—because
you are not striving to be productive with what knowledge you have.
Failing to use Bible knowledge productively
is one of the biggest reasons Bible study is so boring to so many.
Bible study becomes exciting when it is applied to life’s battle against the
onslaught of the demons. It's exciting when we study solely to hear and obey
heaven’s will.
Jesus continued to reiterate throughout his
earthly ministry that his words were not his own—they were from the
Father—listening to the Father was the key to his authoritative power.
Paul emphasized the words he spoke and lived came from the Father—his wisdom
and the power it commanded came from God (1 Corinthians 2:1ff). The only way
we can experience God’s power for living is by listening to what heaven is
saying.
We ought to allow
the reality of hell to motivate us to face our demons head on.
Hell is so bad that these demons don’t want to go back. If you don’t
believe in hell you ought to listen to the demons testimony about it.
Mark 5:6-13
6 When he saw
Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He
shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of
the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" 8 For Jesus had
said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"
9 Then Jesus asked
him, "What is your name?"
"My name is
Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10 And he begged Jesus again and
again not to send them out of the area.
11 A large herd of
pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, "Send
us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13 He gave them permission,
and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two
thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were
drowned. NIV
Jesus gave the demons what they wanted, but
I strongly believe they ended up where they didn’t want to go. They
were like many of us whom they have convincingly persuaded to take a certain
direction in life assuring us we wouldn’t end up destroyed, but we have
ended up where the demons persuaded us we wouldn’t.
What can we do when this happens? Face the
demons head on with the authoritative power of Christ.
James says, “Demons believe and tremble”
(James 2:19). The trembling of the demons reveals the depth of
their soul shaking faith in Christ. The demons expressed their belief in the
deity of Christ as they proclaimed “What do you want with us, Son of God.”
They expressed their faith in the future judgment of Christ as they asked,
“Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” They expressed
their belief in the authority and power of Christ as they proclaimed, “If
you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.” They believed in prayer,
for they are asking Christ to grant them their wish.
There is a difference in the demon’s faith
and a Christian’s faith. The faith of the demons leaves no doubt in
their minds about their defeat—they are trembling at this moment about the
very thoughts of it. The faith of Christians must leave no doubt about
Christ victory for the Christian. The demons believe in the Christian’s
victory—they know they are fighting Almighty Christ.
Conclusion:
I want to encourage you to face the demons
in your life with Divine power. Accept Christ’s authority for your
life—depend upon his power to overcome as you obey Christ.
Demons must obey Christ Word—Christ one word "Go!"
expelled them from the men. You must obey the Word of Christ—there is none
other name or authority under heaven by which you must be saved (Acts 4:12).
It begins by confessing Christ name as a name
above every name. Confess his name to the world as you seek to repent of
your sins depending upon the power of Christ for any true change. Die with Christ in baptism so
that you can enter into his kingdom, which is his true church today. Remember Christ’s spiritual kingdom is
a refuge for sinners—demons are pounding on its gates—only the power of
Christ can keep them out. Claim Christ's power to resurrect your life for
yourself as you are baptized into Christ today?
