A Surprising Sabbath

Let us begin our worship of God by singing together in Psalm 46 of the Scottish Psalter version.

You'll find that on page 271 of the Blue Books.

Singing to the Tune Lingam.

Psalm 46, we'll sing verses 1 down to verse mark 6.

God is our refuge and our strength, and straight at present aid.

Therefore, although the earth remove, we will not be afraid.

The hills amist, the seas be cast, the waters roaring make.

And troubled be, yea, though the hills by swelling, seas do shake.

We'll sing from the beginning of that psalm down to the end of verse mark 6.

And we'll stand to sing, if we can.

God is our refuge and our strength.

God is a refuge and our strength.

In streets of present aid.

In streets of present aid.

Therefore, although the earth remove,

We will not be afraid.

We will not be afraid.

We will not be afraid.

We will not be afraid.

We will not be afraid.

Though hills amids, the seas be cast.

Though water's roaring make.

Though water's roaring make.

Though water's roaring make.

And troubled be, yea, though the hills.

Menschet, how it is.

By swelling, seas do shake.

By swelling, seas do shake.

By swelling, seas do shake.

By swelling, seas do shake.

shady

Most high hath his afford

God in the midst of heart doth dwell

Nothing shall her remove

The Lord to have and help us well

And that right there he flew

And that right there he flew

And that right there he flew

And that right there he flew

The heathen rage to much us see

The kingdoms move and where

The kingdoms move and where

The Lord God God direct his voice

The earth is meant for fear

The earth is meant for fear

The earth is meant for fear

We'll join together in a short word of prayer

Let us pray to God

Our Father in heaven

We ask that we would know your peace

As we come to you

That you would still our hearts

That we would be quiet

And know the quietness of your presence

So that we would hear your voice

And it would speak to us

And as we come to your word

May we know the riches of it

And we pray for the young ones that are here with us

We thank you for them

We thank you for them

It enriches and it brings joy to their heart

To see children coming and singing praises to God

That they may learn of your ways

And learn all about Jesus Christ

Learn of the biblical stories

And the power of God

And the authority that he has over all creation

God created us

And God made us so that we may bring forth his glory

And that we may know what he has given to us

In Jesus Christ

Jesus came and died for us on the cross

And that through that

We can enter into heaven

And we can be with God

And we have the right to call God our Father

A loving Father that looks after us

A loving Father that always hears us when we cry to him

And so we have confidence when we come to you in prayer

That you will listen to us

And that you will hear our voice

So Lord we just ask

Bless us in the gathering of your people

In this time and this hour

Bless the children as they go into Sunday school

And tweenies and creche

That they may hear of the beauty of God

And the wonders of Jesus Christ

All this we ask in your name

Amen

Just a short word to the boys and girls

Before you go into Sunday school

Holiday twinies and creche

Have you ever seen them before?

Do you know what they are?

Sweeties

Do you like them?

We love sweeties

We love sweeties

We love sweeties

And supposing there were seven sweeties in here

Supposing I had to go out one, two, three, four, five, six, seven

And I left them all there

And I said well you can have six of them

But I want you to leave one of them

It would be very hard to leave one wouldn't it?

You'd eat this one

Yummy

You'd eat the two

Oh that was good

You'd eat the three, four, five, six

You'd eat them all

I think that was great

I love them sweeties

It tastes so good

But there'd be one left

And you'd be looking at it

You'd be thinking hmm

Will I eat that one?

I've not meant to eat that one

But what we do is

We love these sweeties

And we think well

No one will notice

I'll just slip it in my mouth

And I'll enjoy it too

Yeah, that's what we do isn't it?

We're tempted by these things

And it's very like what we do with the days that we have

God has given us six days

And then one day is for God

That's one day where we come to church

But what we do

And what people do

And what we like to do

Is to do all the things that we want to do

Even on God's day

Just like the sweeties

We enjoy doing all the things we love doing

Through the week

The days were Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

And then Sunday

We have to give that to God

But it's pleasing to God

To come and remember his day

To give God his day

That we come to church

And we learn all about God

Because it's good for us

Too many sweets aren't good for us

No

But God knows that it is good for us

To have a day set apart

Where we come and worship God

It's good for children

And it's good for grown-ups

To have a rest on Sunday

And to give our time

To thinking about all that God has done for us

The hardest thing to give is our time

Because we want to do all the things

We're so busy

But God asks us

To give us time

To share our time

With him

Because he wants to share time with us too

And that's what happens on Sunday

When we come to God

That we share our time

And that he would share time with us

So we'll say the Lord's prayer together

Before we go through

Our Father

Which art in heaven

Hallowed be thy name

Thy kingdom come

Thy will be done on earth

As it is in heaven

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our debts

As we forgive our debtors

Lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil

For thine is the kingdom

The power and the glory

Forever

Thank you for listening to me

Now we'll continue by singing

In our praise to God

In Psalm 36

Of the Sing Psalms version

Psalm 36

In the Sing Psalms

You'll find that on page 44

Of the blue book

Singing from verse mark 7

Through to verse mark 12

How precious is your steadfast love

What confidence it brings

Both high and low find shelter

In the shadow of your wings

They feast within your house

And drink from streams of your delight

For with you is the source of life

In your light we see light

To those who know you as their God

Your steadfast love impart

Maintain your righteousness

To those of pure and upright heart

Let not the ruthless foot of pride

Approach and threaten me

Nor let the hand of wickedness

Force me to turn and flee

See where these evildoers lie

Who righteousness despise

Thrown down they are

And there they stay

Unable to rise

God's steadfast love to us

God's protection of his people

From the wicked

And that he will ultimately

Cast them down

That they will not rise up

So we'll stand to sing

To God's praise from verse 7

How precious is your steadfast love

To the tune Jackson

How precious is your steadfast love

What confidence it brings

What high and low find shelter in

The shadow of your wings

The shadow of your wings

They feast within your house and drink

From streams of pure delight

For with you is the source of light

For with you is the source of light

Find shelter in the shadow of your wings

To the tune of your wings

To the tune of your wings

They feast within your house and drink

From streams of pure delight

For with you is the source of light

In your light we see light

To the tune of your wings

To those who know

To those who know you past

God, you steadfast love impart, maintain your righteousness to those of pure and upright

Let not the ruthless fruit of pride approach and threaten me

Nor let the hand of wickedness force me to turn and flee

See where these people doers lie, who righteousness despise

Roadmen are red and their lives still are able to abide

Turn now to a reading from scripture and we'll find that in the Gospel of Mark chapter 1

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Gospel of Mark chapter 1 and we'll read it from verse Mark 14 through to the end of that chapter

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Gospel of Mark chapter 1 reading from verse Mark 14

Mark 1 · chapter mention

Let us hear God's word

Now after John was arrested, John the Baptist, Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the Gospel of God and saying

The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand

Repent and believe in the Gospel

Passing alongside the sea of Galilee

He saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon

Casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen

And Jesus said to them

Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men

And immediately they left their nets and followed him

And going on a little further he saw James the son of Zebedee

And John his brother

Who were in their boat mending the nets

And immediately he called them

And they left their father Zebedee in the boat

With the hired servants and followed him

And they went into Capernaum

And immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching

And they were astonished at his teaching

For he taught them as one who had authority

And not as the scribes

And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit

And he cried out

What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us?

I know who you are

I know who you are

The Holy One of God

But Jesus rebuked him saying

Be silent and come out of him

And the unclean spirit convulsing him

And crying out with a loud voice came out of him

And they were all amazed

So they questioned among themselves saying

What is this?

A new teaching with authority

He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him

And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout

And all the surrounding region of Galilee

And immediately he left the synagogue and entered into the house of Simon and Andrew

With James and John

Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever

And immediately they told him about her

And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up

And the fever left her

And she began to serve them

That evening at sunset

They brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons

And the whole city was gathered together at the door

And he healed many who were sick with various diseases

And cast out many demons

And he would not permit the demons to speak

Because they knew him

And rising very early in the morning

While it was still dark

He departed

And went out to a desolate place

And there he prayed

And Simon and those who were with him

Searched for him

And they found him and said to him

Everyone is looking for you

And he said to them

Let us go on to the next towns

That I may preach there also

For that is what I came for

And he went throughout Galilee

Preaching in their synagogues

And casting out demons

And a leper came to him

And imploding him

And kneeling said to him

If you will

You can make me clean

Moved with pity

He stretched out his hand

And touched him

And said to him

I will

Be clean

And immediately the leprosy left him

And he was made clean

And Jesus sternly charged him

And sent him away at once

And said to him

See that you say nothing to anyone

But go

Show yourself to the priest

And offer for your cleansing

What Moses commanded

For a proof to them

But he went out

And began to talk freely about it

And to spread the news

So that Jesus could no longer

Openly enter a town

But was out in desolate places

Where people were coming to him

From every quarter

Amen

May the reading of God's word

Be a blessing to those

Who hear it this day

May we join again

In prayer before God

Our Father in heaven

We give thanks that we are here

On this day

On your day

A day in where we will remember

The power of your resurrection

A day where we find out

Found out that the tomb was empty

The grave cloths had been folded

Signifying your return

And return you did

And as we read there in the passage

The people were astonished even

At your teaching

And they wondered

What is this?

But you revealed to them

Things that were kept for secret

Of the Old Testament

And you fulfilled the Old Testament

Through your life

And you showed forth

The ways of God

And the glory of God

And the power of God

And the authority of God

That you were indeed

Undoubtedly

The son of God

When we look at you

We see the characteristics of God

We learn about God

And so let us

Have our focus upon you

This morning

That we may see the riches

Of your glory

That we may understand

What is set before the people

Who have faith in you

And trust in you

That they will be in your presence

And it is a wonder

That you would have us

And that you would listen to us

When we come and pray to you

That we seem so insignificant

In our eyes

That you would be mindful

Of me

That you would be mindful

Of each one of us

That is gathered here

But so you are

We know it from your word

And we know it

That you speak to us

Each individually

In the mysterious outworkings

Of your ways

We know it to be true

And we are

With confidence

Draw near to you

This morning

To hear you speak

That we may learn of you

And know your direction

That you would show us your paths

The paths in which we are

To walk our lives

The ways in which we are

To be obedient to you

And how we are

To bring glory to you

That we may know

What are calling us

In this life

And that may it

Bring forth

The riches of your fruit

Things that are heavenly

Not of this world

Things that are pure

And undefiled

Things that are rich

And everlasting

Lord

We bring before you

The expectations

Of the week ahead

That we may draw to you

Prayerfully

Seeking your presence

With us

That we as your people

May come with joyous hearts

Remembering

All that you have done for us

In your death

And resurrection

And that it will be a source of strength

For the Christian

That is weak

A source of encouragement

For those who are downcast

That we may come

And sit at your feet

Like Mary did

That we would not be busy

With the things of the world

Like Martha

That we would choose the good part

That we would be wise

To give of our time

As we said to the young ones

That we would be willing

To be willing

And come with willingness

To sacrifice the time

And to give pleasingly

Cheerfully

Our time

And that you may bless us in it

For we know it is good

To sit at your feet

To hear your word

To know your ways

And to remember

What you have done for us

What you have done for us

Otherwise

Without it

We would be lost

We would have no hope

Without the death of Christ

But you give us hope

And you are

An anchor in our lives

When we have no hope

To whom else can we go

That we can turn with confidence to you

You are the one

You are the one that holds us

You are the one that carries us at times

And it is in you

That we place our faith and trust

In the days ahead

And our lives

Whatever is set before us

We commit to you

Faithfully

Lord we just pray

That you would be mindful of each of us

In our circumstances

Those who have difficulties in life

Those who have difficulties of health

We pray that you would draw near to them

And be their strength and comfort

Give them assurances from your word

May your presence be ever felt in their hearts

And knowing that you are with them by their side

We pray for those who mourn

Be their comforter

May they know your loving arms

Wrapped around them

As the loving fatherly arms

Of the heavenly father

Draws near calling you to come

And be embraced by his love

We pray for those who are on mission for you

Who seek to go out into this world

And reveal to people that are hidden in the darkness

The light of the gospel

We remember Muriel in Cambodia

And the work that she does with the girls in that area

We pray that you would continue with her

Be a strength and may she see fruits for her labour

As she sows the seed

May she see it grows in the hearts of many

Remember Kenny John's work in Uganda

And across Africa

God is good

Remember the schools that have been established

They are in the clinics

That it may bring forth questions from people

And wondering why such a man would do these things

And yet it is the love of Christ within him

That drives him to give of himself

And to care for his fellow beings

And to share the gospel message

Lord we pray

That you would be with us

As we come to your word

May it be rich in our eyes

May we understand what it says to us

May your glory be revealed to us

May we come and trust in it

So be with us in our time together

Keep the evil one from us

Give our focus and attention

To the wonder of Jesus Christ

And we ask all of these things

By the name and power of your son

And our saviour

Jesus

Amen

We will continue in our praise of God

By singing in Psalm 9

Of the Sing Psalms version

From page 8

Psalm 9a

In the Sing Psalms version

Page 8

Singing from verse Mark 6

Down to verse Mark 11

The enemy have made their doom

Destroyed eternally

And you have uprooted all their towns

They are lost to memory

The Lord as ever reign on high

His throne for judgment stands

He will judge the world in righteousness

With justice rule the Lamb

The Lord as ever

The Lord as ever

The Lord as ever

The Lord is the King

And the Lord as ever

The Lord is the King

The King

The King

The King

The King

Who has saved them

And destroyed eternally

The enemy's threat

They are lost to memory

So we will stand together

Singing from verse Mark 6

Down to verse Mark 11

To God's praise

The enemy have made their doom

Destroyed eternally

The enemy have met their doom

Destroyed eternally

You have uprooted all their towns

And lost to memory

The enemy have met their doom

Destroyed eternally

You have uprooted all their towns

And lost to memory

The enemy have met their doom

Destroyed eternally

You have uprooted all their towns

You have uprooted all their towns

And lost to memory

The Lord forever reigns on high

His throne for judgment stands

He'll judge the world in righteousness

With justice through the lands

The Lord will be a hiding place

For those who are oppressed

And He will be a strong defense

For those who have oppressed

All those who know Your name, O Lord

And You their trust will play

For you do not abandon those

Who seek Your gracious face

Sing praises to the Lord who sits

Sit Zion on His throne

Among the nations of the world

Proclaim what He has done

Turn back to the passage that we read, the Gospel of Mark.

We'll consider the account there of the unclean spirit coming into the meeting on the Sabbath day in the synagogue.

Particularly verses there, 24, 25.

Well, the spirit cried out, what have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.

But Jesus rebuked him, saying, be silent and come out of him.

This reading sets forth the beginning of Christ's ministry.

John the Baptist has been arrested. He is in jail.

Jesus has been led out to the wilderness, already to be tempted by the devil.

And in that account, it tells us that he returns to Galilee, the region that is Galilee.

And particularly that western coast of that region on the Sea of Galilee,

where we read that he recruits his first disciples at that coast, his disciples being the fishermen.

But he comes to the words of verse 15, saying to the people,

The time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent and believe the Gospel.

This account that we come to here in Capernaum, Capernaum,

seems that it would be after, follow after the events of Cana,

where Jesus went with his disciples to the wedding feast.

If you can imagine, just briefly, the Sea of Galilee is like an egg-shaped, upside-down egg-shaped sea,

Galilee like a lake, the River Jordan, directly north, directly south.

That River Jordan's subdivision in the land, to the west is the region of Galilee.

Capernaum sits at the kind of near the top of that egg-shaped lake.

Out directly to the west is Cana, and directly below that, you have Nazareth, where, of course, he grew up.

And we come into this passage, it seems he has gone to Cana to the wedding,

and he returns to Capernaum, or Capernaum, as people say,

where he enters into the synagogue, as he did on the Sabbath day,

and he meets with this evil spirit, this unclean spirit,

as they join together to worship in the synagogue.

The people had gathered as normal on that Sabbath day,

which would have been the Saturday.

Forgive me if Sunday slips out of my mouth when I'm referencing the Sabbath,

but it would have been the Saturday for them.

Nothing is out of the ordinary for their worship.

Apart from the visitor, Jesus has come with his disciples.

And the practice was that they would read from the Old Testament, of course,

the reading from the law, a section of the law,

they would read from a section of the prophets.

And if there were any visiting rabbis or teachers,

they would be invited to say a word about the readings,

or to take the readings.

And such, we see that Jesus Christ spoke with the people as a visiting rabbi.

And we read of the reaction that the people had to his words in verse 22.

And they were astonished at his teaching,

for he taught them as one who had authority, not as the scribes,

not like the people that they knew.

There was something remarkable about Jesus Christ and the way he taught.

The words that he spoke came with great power.

There was great authority in his words.

And even when you consider that Jesus Christ came to join with the people,

he had a desire to meet in the synagogue with others who had the intent desire to worship God.

There's a lot in that, that Jesus Christ, Jesus himself,

desired to come with the people as they met in the synagogue.

And there was an immediacy about his worship.

You can see there in verse 21,

when they came into Capernaum,

immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue.

There's more, you know, it doesn't just come out of routine.

It's purposeful.

It's like the first thing on his mind to come and gather with the people.

The other gospels tell us that it was his custom

to gather in the synagogue for worship on the Sabbath.

And as it was his desire to come and join with the people,

as it should be for the Christians' desire,

Jesus had the desire to teach them,

not of the things of old,

the things that were new,

the powerful things of the gospel

and the kingdom of God

that he had insight to.

And he leaves the people that were listening to him

in complete awe and astonishment.

They joined together to worship God

and he astonished them

when they grasped,

when the people grasped what Jesus was saying,

they couldn't believe it.

And we, as we gather together to worship God,

we pray

that as we likewise incline our hearts

with an intent to worship God,

that we would be astonished

by the words of Christ

and that we would be in awe

as we join together in worship,

that we would know his presence

coming to be with us,

the pleasing custom

that would be for the Spirit

to join with his people,

to reveal us things of the gospel,

things that are new to us,

and the richness of his words

would come forth to every one of us

and speak to every heart

that is gathered here

that would leave us

in astonishment and awe

of what Christ has done for us

and what God has revealed to us

through his word.

But of course,

that's not an everyday occurrence for us

that we are in awe

as we come to worship,

nor would it have been

an everyday occurrence for Jesus

to come and join with them

for Sunday worship,

for Sabbath worship.

though we wish it would be.

We wish when we come

to join together

that we would come out

astonished and amazed

about what Christ has done for us,

as the people were astonished

when Christ spoke there.

It's not always the case for us.

It wasn't always the case for them

that Christ was there to teach them.

But the Christian can certainly say,

that there have been days

when that has happened.

As you look back in your memory,

even if you sat in the seat

that you sat in,

you've listened to a different preacher come,

and there have been days

where you can say,

the Spirit was with us.

Christ was here.

And we have left in awe

of the words that were spoken to us.

This Sabbath day,

where they joined together,

it was a surprising day for them,

because there are two distinct things

that happen on that day

in that worship in the synagogue.

The first thing is,

the demon causes disruption.

The demon comes in

into the middle of that service.

But also,

we see that the Son saves.

Two points to hang our thoughts on this morning.

The demon's disruption

and the Son's salvation.

So let us first look at the disruption

that was caused in this passage.

The people are astonished by Christ.

And in then comes this man

in verse 23.

Immediately in the synagogue

was a man with an unclean spirit.

The timing of this

is just perfect,

well, typical,

in a sense.

Spiritual battle commences.

Spiritual warfare enters into the room.

As soon as people

become interested in the gospel,

as soon as people

show wonder in Christ

and question who is he,

the devil's not far away.

This man who is seemingly

controlled by the power of the Spirit,

a spirit which we read of

has been unclean,

could easily be translated,

has been evil,

from the Greek.

But if you look at Luke's

parallel account of this chapter,

it calls this an unclean demon

or possessed the man.

And we can say for sure

that it is the work of the devil

and we can identify it as such.

And though this account

may seem so foreign to us today,

it's difficult to understand

what is meant by the unclean spirit

to know exactly

what the demon possession

looked like.

It is true that it is still

a valid characteristic

of the works of the devil today

to use any means he can

to disrupt us

from the awe of Christ,

to disrupt us from that wonder.

When we show an inclination

towards Jesus,

when we show an interest

in this man,

when you find Jesus wonderful,

when you seek him out,

the devil will not be far away.

It's his characteristic

to distract us,

to disrupt us,

to interrupt us

as we join together

to worship God.

You know,

we may come this morning

with great intentions

to listen to what has been said

and we struggle

to keep our focus.

We may leave

with good intentions

to live our lives

devoted to Christ

with greater resolve

and we're so easily

distracted,

disrupted

and we turn away

from the desires

of our hearts.

There is a war

between the Christian

and the evil spirits

at our present.

the evil

in our hearts.

The closer

we draw to Christ,

you can be sure

that the more active

the work

of the devil

will be.

But in this passage here

we have

a vocal

voice

from this spirit.

Verse 24,

it says,

What have you to do

with us,

Jesus of Nazareth?

Have you come

to destroy us?

I know who you are,

the Holy One of God.

And you may look

at this

and think,

why on earth

did this spirit

come in

on the Sabbath day

into the synagogue?

And it sounds like

he's revealing

for the good

of Jesus' cause

and the good

of God,

to reveal

the goodness

of God

by revealing

who Jesus is.

He's revealing

that this is

the Messiah

set before you.

Why on earth

is an evil spirit,

unclean spirit

doing this?

I think there's

more to it

than meets the eye.

I think there's

more to it

than we can

understand.

This entering line

is,

what have you to do

with us,

Jesus of Nazareth?

It's not,

what have you to do

with me?

It's,

what have you to do

with us?

And looking at it,

there's significance

in this plurality

that is emphasized here.

What have you to do

with us?

Is it the us

of the people

gathered there

in the building?

Is the devil

trying to associate

himself with

the people?

Jesus is a visitor

and he's speaking there.

Or is the us

there?

The possession

of the spirits

within him.

Cast your minds

to the passage

again,

or passage of

where Jesus meets

Legion

and he asks

him his name,

my name is Legion

for we have many,

the many possessions

of spirits

within him.

Is the us

there?

Speaking of

the spirits

within him,

this may be true.

Picture the scene

if you will though.

We're in the synagogue.

It would be a very

simple sort of

building like we

have here.

This man walks

in.

Is he trying

to include

the people

as part of the us?

Is the demon

trying to excite

with the many?

Associating himself

with the people

to turn them

against God

and say,

you have nothing

to do with us,

the visitor,

Jesus of Nazareth.

If you look

into that,

it seems that

there's nothing

too good

to come from Nazareth.

There was no

good reputation

in Nazareth

at that time.

Nathaniel questioned

the disciples.

Can anything

good come out

of Nazareth?

The devil

is saying,

what have you

to do with us,

Jesus of Nazareth?

The people

are not waiting

for someone

from Nazareth,

the people of God.

They are waiting

for someone

from Bethlehem.

In the scriptures

that was revealed.

He's instantly

trying to cause

a divide

by his words.

He's trying

to stir doubt

amongst the people.

if this is the case.

People that were

just in awe

of him prior

are now forced

to question

his identity

and question,

well,

who is this man?

This man's

from Nazareth.

The devil's,

is he instigating

that this man

is some sort

of a fraud?

Is he there

only to deceive you?

It says that

are you there

to destroy us?

And a rendering

of this word

destroy

is cause us

to lose.

Are you there

to cause us

to lose?

Now,

if the devil

was trying

to influence

the people

to turn against God,

that's an interesting

phrase

because it is

very suitable

for him to use

that if they would

listen to his words,

they would be

at a loss.

Take this phrase

in its essence.

What have you

to do with us,

Jesus of Nazareth?

You have come

to destroy us.

What it's saying

is,

Jesus,

you have nothing

to do with us.

Jesus,

you have nothing

to do with me.

You're

from somewhere

that I don't want

to know anything about.

I don't regard

anything

of your people.

You're coming here

to deceive me

with your words.

you're coming

here to deceive

others with your words.

And if people

listen to your words,

they're going

to be at a loss.

Have you heard

that before?

Something similar

like that?

Have you heard

people say

they don't want

Jesus to have

anything to do

with them?

Have you heard

people say

if you listen

to these words,

you'll be at a loss?

We don't have

to look far

to find that.

I'm not saying

that people

that have these

views are demon

possessed,

but it's the evil

inclination of our hearts.

It is the evil

that is within us.

But we do not

desire God.

We only love

because he first

loved us.

Our heart

is turned

against God.

We don't want

to have anything

to do with Jesus.

Our heart

desires.

You take

that's a possibility.

I don't know

if it's right,

but there's an element

of truth to it.

The other

case is

that if it were

the Spirit

speaking,

have you come

to destroy us?

They knew fine

that Jesus

had authority

to destroy them.

They wanted

to be left alone.

They wanted

to go about

causing

stirring contempt

against the people

of God.

They wanted

to be left

alone,

the spirits

if it was.

But why

did this

spirit enter

into

when the people

were in awe

of God

if it were not

to distract them,

to turn them

away from God?

The last

phrase here

that he speaks

is,

I know

who you are,

the Holy

One of God.

Why did he

say this?

But there's a

change in this

phrase.

It's not us

anymore,

it's not we,

it's I.

I know

who you are.

Why change

that singular

pronoun now?

Because if it

were a spiritual

sense that

they had been

speaking about,

the devils

know fine

who Jesus

was.

There are no

questioning,

why is it a

single pronoun

there?

Why?

The we

of the

spirits

evil within

him would

have all

known who

Jesus was.

The devils

know more

of God

than we

do.

R.C.

Sproul says

that the

devils would

score 100%

in their

theology exams.

They know

exactly who

Jesus is.

They know

exactly who

God is.

They know

full well,

every one of

them knows

full well,

so why has

it changed

to an

I now?

Why does

it not

say we

know who

you are,

the Holy

One of

God?

You wonder

at these

things,

but you've

seen evil

in your

life.

You know

what evil

looks like.

And if

someone

stirred evil,

they may

come in

shouting.

And if

they have a

problem with

someone,

they may

come up and

speak directly

to that

person.

It is,

I know

who you

are.

I may

be wrong,

but did

the devil

spirit then

come and

directly

attend to

Jesus by

saying,

I know

who you

are.

You are

the Holy

One of

God,

and I

am against

you in

every way.

I will

do everything

in my

power to

oppose you

and frustrate

your plans.

you rejected

me in the

wilderness.

I will

do

everything

to speed

up your

demise and

turn the

people against

you.

There's a

deep-rooted

hatred in

this man.

But when

we seek,

when we as

the people

of God,

we seek to

do good,

we draw near

to God,

we pray,

we read,

there's moments

when we are in

awe of God,

as we

said,

the devil

will be

on your

heels.

If we

succeed in

something,

he won't

be far

away to

cause us

to fall,

to doubt,

cause us

to distraction.

I don't

know if

you're

considering

coming to

sit at

the Lord's

table next

week.

Maybe you

have resolved

in your

mind that

you would

come,

but the

devil's at

you saying,

no,

don't go,

you're not

good enough.

He'll be

on your

heels when

you decide

to turn

you away.

He'll do

everything he

can to

make a

doubt

salvation

in Christ.

But if we

hold on to

Christ and

hold on to

his words,

the one who

spoke,

be silent,

depart from

us,

come out

of this,

be silent,

come out

of him.

Christ has

the power

and authority

to separate

us from

that evil,

power.

That is

what he

is saying,

the son

that saves.

It is

Jesus Christ

that saves

us.

And the

doubts of

our hearts

as we

stick faithfully

to him,

and it is

our custom

to come

to him,

he has

the power

to cast

out every

evil that

grows within

our hearts

and says,

be silent,

come out

of him.

Jesus is

the son

that saves.

And we

gauge from

the reaction

that Christ

has here

in verse

25.

He rebuked

him saying,

be silent,

come out

of him.

Be silent,

it's not

your place

to reveal

who I

am,

he's saying

to the

spirit.

You're

not to

reveal who

I am,

I will

reveal who

I am,

and by

my own

means.

He reveals

in his

word and

in his

practice.

You

remember

John the

Baptist

when he

questioned,

he heard

about all

the things

Jesus had

done,

and he

was in

the prison

cell there,

and he

sent his

disciples,

go and

ask that

man if

he is the

one that

is to

come,

or should

we wait

for another?

Jesus'

response to

him was

not to

say,

I am

the Holy

One of

God,

I am

the Messiah,

I am

the one

you have

waited for.

He said

to the

disciples,

return to

John and

tell him

of all

the things

you have

seen and

heard.

That is

how Jesus

reveals

himself,

that we

see what

he has

done,

we hear

his word,

and it is

likewise in

our lives,

we see

that word

taking root

in someone's

heart,

and we

see that

power taking

hold of

their hearts

and lives,

someone that

we didn't

expect maybe

to come

to God.

And we

say,

well,

what is

this?

What power

is in

this word

that it

would turn

such a

man to

God,

that it

would turn

me to

God?

It is

by the

word and

power and

authority of

Jesus Christ.

Jesus reveals

his authority

through his

word and

through the

practice,

of his

actions.

You know,

this account,

it's strange

to us,

as we

said,

to consider

what is

evil and

what is

spiritual.

There's

things in it

we cannot

grasp,

there's

things that

we don't

have answers

for.

There's a

battle between

two great

authorities

here,

but which

one comes

out the

greater?

which one

succeeds.

When Christ

comes and

we meet

with him,

only one

can succeed

in our

heart.

It is a

great

conversion

within us

that when

Jesus draws

near to

us and

he speaks

a word

to us,

the

authority of

good

conquers,

the

authority

of evil.

It's the

same in

our

hearts.

Spiritual

warfare may

enter into

us for a

time and

we may

battle with

these things.

The spirit

did not just

come out of

the man,

it convulsed

him and

cast him to

the ground.

God and

the word

of his

power and

authority

comes to

us.

We don't

like to

separate

ourselves

from the

world.

It takes

difficulty.

It's a

war that

goes on

within us

because we

love the

things of

this world

and we

want to

hold on

to them.

But the

only one

that can

succeed

is the

power and

authority

of God.

Even what

we have in

this passage

here, the

power of

Christ and

his authority

overrules the

whole situation.

And that is

a power that

overrules your

situation today.

The whole

world is

under the

authority of

God ultimately.

But what the

devil does is

he comes in.

He knows

he's a

defeated

foe.

But he

stirs us

against God.

He stirs the

people against

God.

He does

what he

can by

his power

to distract

us from

God, to

turn us

from God.

But you

know what?

He's

defeated.

The power

of God

through Jesus

Christ

is a great

reassurance

to us.

God

will be

to

God.

When we

have our

doubts,

when we

know that

we have

failed,

ultimately,

if we

trust in

him,

trust in

his word,

trust what

he can do

for us,

that greater

power will

reveal to

us greater

things.

We will be

welcomed into

his glory.

God's

glory will

be revealed

to us.

It will be a

wonder like

no other.

We'll say,

what is

this beauty?

What are

these things

that words

cannot

express?

We come

next week

hopefully

to remember

what Christ

has done

for us.

And there

is no

greater

place

where we

can come

that we

sit at

the feet

of Jesus

so you

can expect

that there

will be no

greater

disruption

in your

lives and

distraction

from it.

But

ultimately,

Jesus

is in

control of

everything.

And you

ask him

to silence

these voices

that come

to us

and the

worrying

that happens

within our

hearts.

And we

focus our

minds and

our sight on

Jesus and

his words.

It opens

our perspective

to things

eternal

and what is

set before

us.

the people

gathered in

the passage

here.

After the

Sabbath day,

the Sabbath

ended in

the evening

and all

the people

gathered

because they

heard about

what Christ

had done.

And wouldn't

it be

wonderful

if we

saw the

people of

Stornoway

gathered

because

we saw

the wonderful

things of

Christ Jesus

in each

of us.

And they

saw his

beauty

and his

power and

his authority

revealed to

them in

the way

we conduct

ourselves,

in the way

we speak

to them.

That they

may question

in their

hearts,

what is

this in

that man,

in that

woman,

in that

boy,

in that

girl.

that they

may come

and draw

near to

Jesus and

see his

glory and

that all

would be

revealed to

him.

Praise

God

for the

Son

has come,

the Son

who loves

us.

He is the

Son that

saves us.

And he

is a

Son that

we can

rest,

assure us

in with

confidence

that he

will watch

over us,

guide us,

and keep us

in every

step of

the way

and protect

us in

life's

journey.

May these

thoughts be

blessed to

us.

We'll

conclude our

worship by

singing in

Psalm 105

of the

Scottish

Psalter on