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Jan. 10, 2023 - Just Informed Talk - Craig James
14:24
Jesus Drives Out Demons - Luke 4:31-44 | God's Grace Is Greater
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episode of God's Grace is Greater where we do a deep dive into the scripture.
Today we're studying the book of Luke, the gospel of Luke.
We're in chapter 4, we're finishing chapter 4 with this amazing story of how Jesus was driving out these demons and these unclean spirits in the name of God.
He was doing it in this amazing way of his own authority that he was receiving through God.
And this is a powerful story and there's a lot that we can take out of it.
So we're going to read it.
We left off in our last scripture reading, we left off with the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth.
Now, what was the lesson that we were taught through that, I believe?
It was the same lesson that the members of his own hometown community in their synagogue were learning from Jesus firsthand.
When he came up and read verses from Isaiah that proclaimed that he was essentially the Messiah, he was met with anger and hatred.
And they wanted to condemn him to death.
They tried to throw him off a cliff.
Yet, by a miraculous...
And divine intervention from God.
Jesus was able to just simply walk away from those in his own hometown of Nazareth who were trying to condemn him for the hypocrisy of saying the truth of who he was.
Now, this all came after they had challenged him to perform miracles, to prove he was the Son of God, who he said he was.
But he said to them, he mentions two examples in the Bible of times where God had sent prophets to do miracles on his behalf, in his name, that didn't affect the people who were a part of God's chosen people as they say.
And that was to make a point that the gospel is not just for the Jews.
It's for all Jew and Gentile alike.
And he gives two examples of miracles that were performed for Gentiles while the Jews still suffered.
And this was Jesus explaining to them that you're not meant to test God.
As we learn in his encounter with the devil in the wilderness during the temptation, he says, It is written, do not test the Lord your God.
And in the same way here, he says, do not test God, do not test me.
Rather, if you have trust in me, you will be saved.
And this is the example that we have right after that in Luke chapter 4, verse 31 through 44, where it tells us about how Jesus healed people by this faith that was shown in him.
Now, let's read these verses and then we'll talk about it real quick.
This is 31-44 in Luke chapter 4.
We're finishing the book of the gospel.
Chapter 4 in Luke.
We're finishing it.
Watch.
Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath.
They were astonished at his teaching because his message had authority.
In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice, Leave us alone!
What do you have to do with us, Jesus Nazarene?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are, the Holy One of God.
But Jesus rebuked him and said, Be quiet, come out of him.
And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.
Amazement came over them all, and they kept saying to one another, What is this message?
For he commands the unclean spirit with authority and power.
and they come out, and news about him began to go out to every place.
In the vicinity, after he left the synagogue, he entered Simon's house.
Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her.
So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and began to serve them.
When the sun was setting, all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to him.
As he laid his hands on each one of them, he would heal them.
Also demons were coming out of many, shouting and saying, You are the Son of God!
But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.
When it was day, he went out and made his way to a deserted place, but the crowds were searching for him.
They came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them.
But he said to them, I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose.
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Now, this is a very powerful portion of Luke chapter 4, especially when you look at it in conjunction with what we read before in the earlier part of this chapter, where Jesus was being rejected in his own hometown, right?
Right?
And after he was rejected in his own hometown, he essentially goes and starts performing these miracles in Capernaum.
So this is a town in Galilee, and he's essentially left his hometown of Nazareth, and now he's in Capernaum, and he's doing the miracles that they were begging him to perform in Nazareth.
And he's teaching there on the Sabbath, and they're amazed because usually when people taught in those times, they would reference previous rabbis and previous scripture, or not scripture, but other rabbis who had been rabbis of authority, and they would reference those rabbis' teachings in their teachings, and that's how the teaching would go in the synagogue.
But what they were astonished about with Jesus' message is that it had authority, meaning Jesus was not referencing anybody else.
He wasn't referencing anybody but God in heaven.
He was directly telling them the truth without any other filter, without any other layer, and that was astonishing the people.
But in the midst of this teaching that was happening on the Sabbath, a demon or a demonic spirit cried out, For them to leave them alone.
And that he shouldn't have anything to do with them.
And that he had come to destroy us.
So the demon had recognized Jesus' power and authority.
And he starts calling him out in front of everyone.
But Jesus rebukes him and says, Be quiet and come out of him.
And again, by his own authority, without invoking anything else, which is this is what tells us that Jesus is God and was God.
Is that he demands that the demon leave him and he does.
And the demon throws the man on the ground but without hurting him was able to leave and everyone was amazed.
And they ask, what is this message?
They say he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power.
Again, not by referencing other demons or the authority or power.
He just tells them to leave and they do.
Meaning he is the authority, which is telling us that he is God.
He is God incarnate.
He is God in human flesh as we know he was and is.
So, this news begins to spread.
And people come from all over to be healed.
Now the first thing he does is he goes to Capernaum to Simon, one of his disciples' home, where his mother-in-law was having a high fever and she was sick.
Now we're led to believe, I guess, that this was some sort of demonic force that had taken over her maybe because Jesus rebukes the fever and it left her.
And what does she do?
She just pops up and starts serving them immediately like nothing had happened.
Talk about a miracle, right?
You're sick in bed one second, and then Jesus tells whatever is making you sick to leave, and then you're fine, and you just go right back to what you were doing.
Then, because it was the Sabbath, everybody waited until the sun went down to go to Jesus to ask him for healing.
So as the sun sets, Jesus is confronted by a crowd of many people, all of them.
They ask to be healed.
And what does it tell us here?
It says, as he laid his hands on them.
Now, this is the first time we've been told that Jesus laid his hands on the sick to drive out demons, I believe.
I don't think it's mentioned in that kind of detail in Mark or Matthew yet.
So, the first time we're getting this is from Luke, who's telling us that he laid his hands on each one of them, and he would heal them.
And that the demons were coming out of these people, shouting that he was the Son of God.
Now, of course, why are we being told all this?
Well, essentially, this is a historical recount.
This is eyewitness testimony and account of what happened, what was happening when Jesus was healing these people, that these demons were coming out, and they were saying, you are the Son of God.
And he was telling them to be quiet, because it wasn't time yet for him to be known.
So then finally, he goes and he tries to find a quiet place, because you can imagine he's being swarmed and swamped by maybe hundreds, maybe thousands of people who are seeking to be healed by Jesus.
And he is healing them all.
So he goes to try to find a deserted place, but the crowds have searched and kept searching for him, and then they find him.
And then he says to them, as they beg him not to leave and to continue to stay and teach, I must proclaim the good news about the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because I was sent for this purpose, and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.
Now, that final message, I think, is one of the most powerful messages of the whole gospel, I think, is that Jesus' gospel was not just for some, it was for all.
And that his ministry was not just for some, it was for all.
And that his sacrifice on the cross was not just for some, it was for all.
And it can be accepted by you right now.
If you're sitting there wondering, did Jesus do all of this for me?
Yes, he did.
And you can be saved.
And it's not impossible for you to live forever.
And I know people go, oh, that's crazy.
Well, guess what?
There is a ticket out of this earth alive, out of this world alive.
There's only one, though.
For you, at least.
We each have one, and it comes through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And what is it made up of?
It's made up of belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, accepting Him as your Savior, and going to Him with your heart open and saying, Lord, I accept you as my Lord and Savior.
Please, God, have mercy on my soul and show me the way.
And that's the simple way to start the process.
I mean, it's going to be a lifetime from there on of fighting with the things that come up, our own imperfections, our own shortcomings, our own affliction, the things that we don't foresee coming, the battles that we surely will have to fight in the future, the things that we can't see right now but that exist all around us that will be roadblocks and hindrances to our ability.
But God will show us a way.
When you turn your life over to God, what's He going to do?
He's going to show you the way to a fruitful and productive life in Him.
But most importantly, even if your life is cut short tomorrow and there's nothing else, you will have life everlasting and eternal life through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Now, I don't know what your relationship with God is going to look like.
And I don't know what your path is going to look like.
I don't know what your life is going to look like.
I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.
I get up every day and I remind myself to say, if God wills it, I will get up and I will be able to do great things in His name to His glory with Him in my heart.
And I'll be able to be there for those who need me.
And I think that's a healthy way to live our lives.
It's prescribed through the scripture how we should look at each day.
As a gift and a blessing.
Not as a guarantee.
Not as something that is to be taken for granted.
It is something to be cherished.
But how do we get that in our hearts, I think?
How do we get the solace of knowing that no matter what happens, we'll be okay?
And that is through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for your sin and my sin alike.
So I encourage you right now, if you're...
Facing adversity or if you're in great times of abundance, wherever you're at or somewhere in between, take this moment to not only thank God for what you have, but ask God to enter your life and show you the way.
Now we're going to say a prayer for that and then we'll go ahead and wrap it up.
Lord and Heavenly Father, thank you so much for allowing us to share this gospel together, to breathe this air today, to have all the blessings that you've given us.
Lord, if we're facing affliction right now, help us overcome it.
If we're facing times of trouble in our family, with our own personal lives, or with our friends, or coworkers, or classmates, or wherever we're at in our life, Lord, Help us find a way to you.
Lord, we give thanks for all you've done.
Lord, I pray that there will be those out there watching who may take this moment now to give their lives to you and then to continue to work towards you every day.
Lord, I thank you for that opportunity.
I thank you for your Son.
We thank you for the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In Jesus' name, amen.
All right, guys.
Hope you enjoyed that episode.
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Thank you for watching.
We're going to sign off there.
My name is Craig.
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