A Kingdom Divided: Jesus, Demons, and the Stronger Man

Today, we're in the gospel of Luke, right? You're in Luke, right?

Luke chapter 11, right? Luke chapter 11.

Luke 11 · chapter mention Luke 11 · chapter mention

And here today, we see that Luke actually transitions away from the theme of

prayer abruptly, and we now turn our focus to Jesus, much to everyone's astonishment here in verse 14.

He's casting out a demon, right? That was causing a man to be mute.

How many of you use the mute button on your TV remote? I'm just curious.

I have heard other people say they wish they had a mute button for certain people.

But anyway, this was a demon that was causing a man to be mute.

And this puts some of the bystanders, namely the Pharisees, according to Matthew

9 anyway, verses 32, 34-ish, in a difficult position because they didn't like

Jesus, to put it mildly, right?

But they couldn't deny his power here to actually heal and to cast out demons.

And it's really difficult to compete for people's respect with a man who can cast out demons.

And so their preferred course of action here, as we see in this text,

is to attribute Jesus's extraordinary powers to who?

To the devil, right? To the workings of the devil.

And that brings us to our first section today, a kingdom divided.

In fact, as we see, they alleged here in verse 15 of chapter 11,

by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.

Well, there's nothing in the Bible confirming the existence of a demon named Beelzebul.

It was a common notion in Jesus's day. And that name, anybody know what it means?

Lord of the flies. And it comes from the name of a Canaanite God, actually.

And by linking Jesus's power here to the realm of demons, they seek to discredit

that which they cannot deny.

Right? They seek to discredit what they cannot deny.

And so their plan is perfect, if you will, except for the fact that it makes no sense at all.

Jesus actually, according to the text, he what? He knew their thoughts, didn't he?

And it bluntly points out here the failure in their logic. Look at verse 17 again.

Any kingdom that's divided against itself will what?

It'll be ruined. It's going to be ruined and a house divided against itself will fall.

So Satan is a murderer and a destroyer. He loves to spread misery and suffering.

His demons actually possessed people and made them miserable.

And Jesus, on the other hand, he came healing and reviving. He brought joy and

forgiveness. He cast out demons.

He brought relief to those who actually suffer. And given that,

how exactly does it make sense to attribute the actions of Jesus to demonic power?

Why would Satan, in other words, empower Jesus to fight against him?

What ruler would divide his kingdom against himself or against itself as a kingdom?

He points out in verse 18.

And so Jesus actually presses the point even further there in verse 19. He says what?

He says, if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your,

the Pharisees, in other words, followers, literally your sons, drive them out?

In other words, if Jesus is working through the power of Satan as his opponents

claim that he is, then so must be the Pharisees, right? They are too.

Well, no, what his opponents here consider to be evidence of satanic activity,

get this today, is actually proof that, as it says in verse 20,

that the kingdom of God has come upon you.

And Jesus actually here if you remember he uses

a simple illustration to help his hearers actually to

understand his relationship to the demonic

you know forces at work in the world in verses

21 and 22 here in this passage what does he say remember this he says Satan

is like a strong man with a lot of treasure guarding his house without fear

people are like his possessions if you will they're enslaved to sin they're

oppressed by demons as long as nobody's stronger than the devil comes along,

they'll never be delivered.

But when someone stronger than the strong man comes and attacks, then what?

The treasures of his house can be liberated, right?

You can imagine, as we see on this next slide, the crowd's collective jaw dropping here, right?

Jesus is claiming that he is the one who has the power, according to verse 16,

to walk into the devil's house and take his stuff.

Yeah, right? Amen. Amen. I mean, Satan has been in control on earth,

albeit in a provisional way up to this point, but now the kingdom of God has come.

He has been overpowered. In other words, that's the true explanation for what

Jesus is doing when he cast demons out of people.

And life looks a lot different, by the way, when you view it through the lens

of what Jesus is saying here in this passage.

No matter how wise, beautiful, or wealthy somebody may be, apart from Jesus,

that person is a captive of the devil in desperate need of rescue.

And so followers of Christ should be what? We all sitting here today should

be humble, grateful people.

On one hand, we might be tempted to think highly of ourselves.

On the other hand, we might be jealous of others who seem to have much more

talent and confidence than we do.

But as I shared before, the ground is level, as D.L. Moody says, at the foot of the cross.

If we were left to our own devices, in other words, we would all still be Satan's

captives, slaves of sin.

If we really take to heart, Eastwood, the truth of this passage,

there's no room for either pride or fear of man.

But what just gratitude to Jesus

but I want you to know something today you have

to choose you have to choose

Luke tells us that the crowd was split regarding Jesus's ministry look at verse

15 you'll see that some opposed him and accused him if we've seen by working

by the power of Satan but others were more open-minded and these people were

respectably you could call them agnostic.

They wanted more information. And so after seeing Jesus actually cast out a

demon, y'all got to realize that. Let me say that again.

After seeing Jesus actually cast out a demon, they asked, apparently without

a sense of irony, for Jesus to show them a sign.

Hello, you know, duh, right?

Verse 16. And when Jesus finally gets around to addressing their request,

He tells them that while their desire for a sign might seem like open-minded

neutrality, guess what?

It's actually evidence in verse 29 that they are wicked.

And as such, they'll receive no sign except the sign of who?

Jonah. For as Jonah was assigned to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man

be to this generation, it says in verses 29 and 30.

Just as Jonah preached God's message to the ancient people of Nineveh,

in the same way Jesus, y'all, was God's messenger to the crowds of his day.

So if the wicked Ninevites repented at Jonah's preaching, why could these people

not see what was required of them now?

That someone greater than Jonah had arrived in verse 32.

If the pagan queen, it even brings up, of the south traveled to learn from Solomon,

as it talks about in 1 Kings 10, how much worse would it be for them if they

failed to respond to one greater than Solomon?

Even mentions that in Luke 11, verse 31 here.

Luke 11:31

There will be judgment, Eastwood, for those who hear the messenger and reject him.

Signs and miracles and exorcisms are great, but spiritually speaking,

the most important thing, according to Jesus, verses 27 and 28,

is that we hear the word of God and we keep it.

So such that is the case, though, right here this morning, when it comes to

Jesus, there are no neutral people, in other words.

There's no middle ground, he says here in this passage.

What does he say in verse 23? Whoever is not with me is what?

And whoever does not gather with me, what?

Scatters, right? Lots of choices in our lives are trivial, and you could say,

therefore, unimportant, but when it comes to the Son of Man,

there cannot possibly be a middle ground.

Either he is the stronger man who has come to bind the devil,

or he is working by the power of Beelzebul.

If you're not for him, in other words, as he said in this passage,

you are against him by default.

Y'all, it just reminds me of the passage that talks about, you know,

that you talk about being ashamed of Jesus and his words, right?

Because a lot of people can wear that t-shirt that says, Jesus,

Jesus, Jesus, but they're ashamed of his words on abortion, on other matters

in our society, homosexuality, whatever it is that's addressed in his word.

Pride, all of it.

They're ashamed of what Jesus said and they got to try to doctor it up and think

somehow, boy, I'm a lot more loving than God is.

You see, are you for him? Are you with him? Are you against him?

Because if you're against what his word says, you're against him, right?

You're not with him. You can come to church all day long, but if you don't believe

God's word, you're against him.

And Jesus illustrates the principle in verses 24 through 26 here.

And while there can, you know, there are confusing details that could potentially trip us up.

Actually, if we look here at the broad area of Jesus' teaching,

it leads us to a clear point.

He describes a scenario here, hang with me, where a demon has been cast out

of a person and then proceeds to wander around in the desert before going back to the man.

And finding the man's life swept clean, if you remember, and put in order,

he brings seven other spirits with him and makes the man's life worse than it was in the beginning.

And as we look at this next slide, you'll see this point. The point is that

there is no such thing, Eastwood, as a spiritual vacuum.

If you do nothing, you will be under the influence of the devil.

There are no spiritual orphans, so to speak. Either God is your father or Satan is your master.

One of the two. No middle ground. And so there can be no neutrality,

no split loyalties in this conflict between Jesus and the devil.

And you have to ask yourself today, have you thrown your lot in with Christ?

If not, don't imagine that you can somehow be neutral in this cosmic war,

because Jesus says we cannot. Are you ashamed of him?

You're not talking about just his name, but are you ashamed of some of his words?

Do you have to make up something to get around it?

Are you with him or are you against him? And if you throw your lot in with the

stronger man, then you have to realize that you live your daily life in enemy territory.

The world doesn't share your loyalty to Jesus, does it? And it doesn't care

about the good of your soul.

It's default setting. The world's default setting is animosity to the things of the Lord.

And while all people are made in God's image, as we've learned,

and thus capable of doing all kinds of good things, their fundamental loyalties

are different than yours if you know Jesus.

And so you have to be prepared to walk cautiously in the world.

If that's why Jesus says, see to it then, see to it then. Let's look at this section.

How do we do that? How do we see to it then on this next slide?

Jesus, again, addresses those who might want to delay making a commitment or

surrendering to him. That's the better word.

What does he say? Look quickly with me in verse 33.

He says, no one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it'll be hidden or under a bowl.

Instead, they put it on a stand so that those who come in may see the light.

You see, this is a direct rebuke to those who claim, remember earlier,

to need a sign before they can surrender to Jesus?

Their problem is not a lack of information, Eastwood, for Jesus has not hidden

his light, but he shed it abroad.

Instead, what is it? The problem is with their eyesight, spiritually speaking.

If your spiritual eyes, Eastwood, are healthy, your world, it says according

to this passage, will be full of what?

Light. If your spiritual eyes do not work, your world will be full of what?

Edwards puts it this way. He says, a sound eye allows the kingdom of God inaugurated

by Jesus to enter and infuse one's life.

People who are receptive to the kingdom are thus given light and guidance necessary

to negotiate a dark world.

You see, the key to us, we're living in a way that's consistent with the kingdom of God.

The key to being for Jesus and not against him is to have what?

Good spiritual vision.

If we have it, according to Jesus, we're going to be full of light.

If we don't, Jesus said, we'll be full of darkness.

If we see the things of the world is more precious than the things of the kingdom,

then we'll be in darkness.

But all the while thinking we have light, he says in verse 35.

You see, sometimes I think the enemy just tries to steal the God's word, doesn't he?

Tries to steal that because we think, hey, we're walking in the kingdom. We like Jesus.

We love him, yeah. We're at church. We come to worship him.

And then we think because we darken the door of the church, somehow we're walking in light.

Just because God even uses you to do kingdom work does not even mean you're right with God.

I didn't hear an amen on that one. Maybe it was under your breath,

but I just want us to all know that.

For heaven's sake, God used a donkey. He can use anybody. He wants to.

I'm just saying that when the kingdom has come, when the kingdom is more precious

to you than the things of this world, you're walking in the light.

When it's not, you're walking in darkness, and you're leading your family there

because God's kingdom in number one.

You remember that verse, Matthew 6, 33?

Seek first, what? The kingdom of God and his righteousness. and all these things

that you have need of will be added to you.

And so the most important question is, how do you get good spiritual eyesight?

If that's the key to having a life full of light, as he talks about in verse

36, then we need to know how to get it.

It requires our effort for Jesus actually tells us what in verse 35, see to it.

So that means it requires some effort, right? That the light in us is not darkness.

And we can be sure that we're not

going to get this eyesight church from the wider world

are we because those who are not those are those who are not with jesus they're

actually against him and so instead one of the best ways these would to develop

our spiritual sight are you ready for this is to spend time with other people who love jesus.

They are the ones from whom you will learn kingdom priorities and values.

That's not to say that you should seal yourself like a hermit from nonbelievers

or anything like that, but you should not neglect regular times of fellowship with God's people.

It's so important as we come together, as we study God's word.

For that's one of the ways that God has established for us to improve what?

Our spiritual eyesight.

You see, in verse 28, as we hear God's word preached regularly,

taught regularly, and work it out in obedience together with other brothers

and sisters in our church, guess what?

We find our eyesight sharpened and the light within us stronger, do we not?

As we hear God's word preached regularly and work it out in obedience together

with other brothers and sisters in our church, we find our eyesight sharpened

and the light within us stronger.

I want y'all to know today, there is no middle ground with Jesus.

And if you hadn't already settled this, which side are you on?

Are you with him or are you against him?

There's no middle ground. How does that shape the way that you see the world around you?

How can you make sure you see to it that you have healthy spiritual eyesight even this week.

And I encourage you, we're going to pray in just a moment, but I encourage you,

if you didn't get a copy of the sermon guide today, there's still some left

in the back on the way out.

The whole reason that we do that, y'all, is not to provide homework or anything

like that, but the whole reason that we do that is to actually allow each of

us to flesh out what you've heard from God's word on Sunday morning.

It's actually how to strengthen your spiritual eyesight throughout the week.

And so in there, you'll find discussion questions to think about,

what we talked about this morning. You'll find actually application points there

of what we can do this week, what you can do this week to improve that eyesight.

And today, I want to invite you just briefly to stand with me just a moment.

And I want you just to think for a moment, where do you stand today?

Where do you stand with Jesus?

Are you with him? Are you against him? Are you following him?

Are you ashamed of him in any way?

Maybe it's okay for you to call yourself a Christian.

Maybe you like that part. Maybe you like to wear the Christian t-shirts.

But do you believe his word? Do you feed on his word? Because that's what Jesus said.

Really the most important thing is to hear his word and obey it,

right? Put it into practice. Right?

How we grow. And if that's you today, maybe you just need to get right with God.

Maybe you need to stay right where you are, come to the altar and just say,

Lord, forgive me, Lord, for getting distracted, Lord.

Forgive me for letting some darkness enter into my thinking.

Lord, help me to depend upon you. There could be some here today that possibly

maybe you realize that you're still a captive of the devil.

Maybe you have never experienced that liberating salvation that Jesus offers

you. Today can be your day.

Others of you may be here. Maybe you've visited Eastwood. Maybe you feel that

today, you know what? I want to join Eastwood Baptist Church.

I want to serve God here. Whatever God lays on your heart today, you do it.

Let his word sink deep into your heart today.

Father God, I pray in these next few moments, Lord, God, that we will not be

thinking about what we're going to do next as far as leaving this place,

but we'll be thinking about, Lord, what are you speaking to us about?

What's your Holy Spirit revealed to us today, Lord, that we need to deal with today?

I pray you'd help us to follow you in obedience. In Jesus' mighty name.