A Kingdom Divided

Join me as we pray father. We come before you Humbly to your throne of grace

For Lord if errors were what you counted who could stand If it was only or sin that you saw

Who can approach thee? But Lord we approach you Not by our own strength nor by our own merit

But we approach you in the name of and by the merits of another even

Jesus Christ the Righteous One our Redeemer our Creator by whom we now have access into this grace in which we now stand and Even more so Lord this morning.

We exult in the glory and the presence of Christ We thank you

Redeemer For your finished and exalted work of salvation

Which you accomplished by your own obedience which you have purchased for?

this distinct people to be a unique peculiar possession by God a

People of every tribe nation and tongue and language from all kindreds to be gathered before you

Even this morning on the Lord's Day We thank you a Redeemer For this privilege status of adoption as you've taught us this morning through the catechism

That by means of adoption we have the right to become heirs of the

Almighty We thank you For this great privilege of knowing you we pray

Lord this morning That as we endeavor to open your word to receive instruction

To receive that which you've laid before us by means of spiritual nourishment that you'd prepare our hearts

That you would remove from us every distraction Every high and lofty thing that would so easily hinder and entangle us away from today's instruction

And we pray Lord that in all these things and more Through the mouth of your preacher and through the admonition of the

Saints we would look not to the preacher But to the Shepherd Jesus Christ the great

Shepherd of the sheep who for the joy that was set before him endured the shaming scorn of the cross and Purchased for his people an eternal salvation that cannot be neither destroyed nor denied

Well Redeemer we come before you again Recognizing our shortcoming recognizing our sin, but also recognizing our great

Savior in Jesus Minister to us today by means of your word and by means of the

Holy Ghost who has been sent to be a deposit of the good inheritance that we share as adopted sons and daughters and Lord that you'd grant us even now wisdom and Eyes to see ears to hear and hearts to receive that which you've laid before us

For the glory of the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth to him be glory

Amen well church. I ask that you turn to your

Bibles in Leviticus chapter 7 As we continue our

Old and New Testament readings we bring the chapter 7 in its entirety

When I chose this scripture reading as we're going systematically through the scriptures

I envision pastor Conley would be reading this but instead I'll have to read this for you

Hear you this morning the word of the Lord from Leviticus chapter 7 This is the law of guilt offering

It is most holy in the place where they kill the burnt offering

They shall kill the guilt offering in its blood shall be thrown against the sides of the altar and all its fat shall be offered the fat tail the fat that covers the entrails the two kidneys and the fat that is on them at the loins and the long lobe of The liver and he shall remove with the kidneys the priest shall burn them on the altar as a food offering to the

Lord It is a guilt offering every male among the priests may eat of it. It shall be

Eaten in a holy place. It is most holy the guilt offering is just like the sin offering

There is one law for them the priest who makes atonement with it shall have it and the priest who offers any man's burnt

Offering shall have for himself the skin of the burnt offering that he has offered and every grain

Offering baked in the oven all that is prepared on a pan or a griddle Shall belong to the priest who offers it in every grain offering

Mixed with oil or dry shall be shared equally among all the sons of Aaron And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offering that one may offer to the

Lord if he offers It for a Thanksgiving then he shall offer with Thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil

Unleavened wafers smeared with oil and loaves of fine flour mixed with oil with the sacrifice of his peace offering for Thanksgiving he shall

Bring his offering with loaves or he shall bring One loaf from each offering as a gift to the

Lord and it shall belong To the priest who throws the blood of the peace offering and the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering

For Thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering He shall not leave any of it until the morning

But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a free will

Offering it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice and on the next day

What remains of it shall be eaten? Well, what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire

If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day

He who offers it shall not be accepted Neither shall it be credit to him.

It is tainted and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity

Flesh that touches any unclean things shall not be eaten It shall be burned up with fire all who are clean may eat flesh, but the person

Who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lord's peace offering while an unclean this is on him

That person shall be cut off from his people and if anyone touches an unclean thing whether human uncleanliness or an unclean beast or any unclean the testable creature and Then eat some flesh from the sacrifice of the

Lord's peace offering that person shall be cut off from his people the Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel saying you shall eat no fat of ox or sheep or goat the fat of an animal

That dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use

But no account shall on no account shall you eat of it for every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the

Lord shall be Cut off from his people Moreover, you shall eat no blood Whatever whether a foul or of an animal in any of your dwelling places

Whoever eats any blood that the person that person shall be cut off from his people

The Lord spoke to Moses saying speak to the people of Israel saying whoever offers sacrifice of His peace offering to the

Lord shall bring his offering to the Lord from the sacrifice of his peace offering His own hands shall bring the

Lord's food offering He shall bring the fat with the beasts with the breast and the breast may be waved as a wave

Offering before the Lord and the priest shall burn the fat on the altar But the beast or the breast shall be for Aaron his sons

The right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offering whoever among the sons of Aaron offer the blood of the peace offering and the fat shall have the right thigh and For a portion for the breast that is waved in the thigh that is contributed

I have taken from the people of Israel out of the sacrifice of their peace offering and have given them to Aaron the priest and To his sons as a perpetual due from the people of Israel This is the portion of Aaron and of his sons from the

Lord's food offering From the day that they were presented to serve as priests to the

Lord And the Lord commanded this to be given them by the people of Israel and from the day that he has anointed them

It is a perpetual through do throughout their generations this is the law of burnt offerings and the grain offering and of the sin offering and of the guilt offering of The ordination offering and of the peace offering which the

Lord commanded Moses on Mount Sinai and on that day He has commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the

Lord in the wilderness of Sinai You might be wondering what is up with all of these various?

Conditions and sacrifices Why can't there be one sacrifice that would satisfy all of these conditions?

And the good news is that the Lord has provided one eternal sacrifice the sacrifice of his own son

Jesus Christ to fully satisfy the wrath of Almighty God But prior to that dispensation of Christ coming into the world being born of the

Virgin dying a death that we deserve being raised on the third God had made an arrangement with his people to deal with the issue of sin

To you on the other side of this dispensation You may think of this as trivial

Why all of these regulations why their distinction between sin offering guilt offering peace offering and all these other offerings?

first The reason why our minds go there is because we have minimized the issue of sin

We've minimized it Partly because we are kind of like the spoiled child on the other side if you have a father who it was an immigrant and had lived in a foreign land and saw the difficulties of Living in a foreign land and all that entails to be successful as a immigrant son

Now you get to enjoy the rights and privileges of being an American being a part of an affluent Community you take for granted the things that your father had to go through So too

I feel today in the church We take for granted that which God's ancient people had to go through in order to atone in order to deal with the issue of sin

And so we've minimized it and we say well, thank goodness for Jesus and amen. Thank goodness for Jesus Recognize also that even in this dispensation

God treats sin Seriously, and though we no longer have to go through the regulations of following certain burnt offerings

The priests or the pastors today don't operate as as ancient

Butchers as in the Old Testament where the Old Testament priest was in a sense a butcher he had to come and regulate the the

Sacrifices that were coming to him and and and portioned them off and then offered them as a as an appeasement

To God's divine wrath, but now we have but one true living

Exalted high priest and his name is Jesus Christ and he stands before the throne of God perpetually and He is now even for us interceding for our sins

And so Jesus Christ is once and for all that atoning sacrifice For our sins and he sits at the right hand of the

Father interceding for us today And so indeed we are thankful for our Redeemer in Jesus Please turn to Mark chapter 10 as we look at our

New Testament reading this morning This one I promise you will be a lot shorter

Mark chapter 10 verses 32 to 34 our

New Testament reading again is Mark 10 32 says the following and They were on the road going up to Jerusalem and Jesus was walking ahead of them and they were amazed and those who followed were

Afraid and taking the twelve again He began to tell them what was to happen to him saying see we are going up to Jerusalem And the

Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn him over to death and deliver him over to the

Gentiles and They will mock him and spit on him and flog him and kill him after three days

He will rise One of the things that we notice time and time again in the gospel narratives are the expectations that the

Apostles of Christ had in regard to the work Christ would accomplish Time and time again

Jesus speaks in parables and often confuses his disciples Then there are other times in which

Jesus plainly speaks to them and even when he plainly speaks to them It's like his words go right over their heads

So here you have Christ speaking plainly to them. They're asking what's gonna happen Jesus What are we to expect as we go to Jerusalem and Jesus speaks clearly to them?

He says the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests He says that they will condemn him put him to death and deliver him over to the

Gentiles and that he will be spit upon flogged and killed And after three days, he will rise

Now I don't think it's in Mark's gospel But I think it's in Matthew's gospel or Luke's gospel where after this saying is said to them

It says and they ponder amongst themselves what he had meant. I Think he was pretty clear, wasn't he?

Exactly. What was to happen and transpire, but the Apostles were incredulous They couldn't believe that their

Savior that their Redeemer the Messiah of Israel would have to go through these things Their expectations were not always correct

So we too at times have to check our expectations whether it's

Our expectations of how God is going to show up in our lives how God is going to help us in daily

Circumstances or whether it be regarding the glorious second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ himself We may not have all the expectations correct

This is where scripture instructs us to wait and trust upon the

Lord And so with that being said Let's turn to him 217 and we can stay seated for this hymn.

Look ye Saints 217 and we will stay seated as we sing

See the man of sorrows now from the fight he turned victorious

Every knee to him shall bow crown him crown him crowns become the

Victors brown Round the Savior angels crown him

The Savior King of Kings Kings Seniors in derision ground him walking thus the

Savior's claim Saints and angels Around him on his title praise his name crown him spread abroad the

Victors Are those bursts of acclamation,

Are those loud, triumphant chords? Jesus takes the highest station,

Oh, what joy the sight affords! Crown Him, crown

Him, King of kings and lords!

Amen. Church, our main text for this morning's message is going to be found in the gospel of Luke chapter 11 verses 14 to 26.

I ask that you turn to your Bibles there and when you have that please do stand for the reading of God's word. Again, the text this morning will be

Luke chapter 11 starting in verse 14. Hear ye this morning the word of the

Lord. Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. And when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the people marveled.

But some of them said he cast out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, while others to test him kept seeking him a sign from heaven.

But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub.

And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?

Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusts and divides his spoil.

Whoever is not with me is against me. Whoever does not gather with me scatters.

When the unclean spirit had gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest.

And finding none, it says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.

Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.

And the last state of that person is worse than the first. This is the word of the

Lord. You may be seated. Let me pray.

Father, we do again come before you thankful for your provisions of this past week, that despite the trials and tribulations that we've encountered and faced, you have proven to be faithful yet again in bringing us to this place of worship, to receive instruction from your

Word. We pray, Lord, that as we receive this instruction, that we would recognize the kingdom to which we belong to, a kingdom that cannot be shaken, a kingdom that cannot be deterred, a kingdom that has been firmly established by the

King of kings and Lord of lords Himself, even King Jesus, to whom be glory this morning and forevermore.

Amen. Well, church, as we endeavor to look at this passage of Scripture in the gospel of Luke, you are now familiar with some of the earmarks of Christ's ministry.

In the ministry of Christ, Christ is delivering people from bondage and bondages of various types.

An example that we see in the gospels of one of the bondages of which Christ delivers is the bondage of sickness.

We've seen Christ heal the sick. We've also seen Christ deliver from the bondage of demonic oppression.

This is not the first instance in which we see Jesus speaking of demonic possession.

And in this case, in verse 14 of Luke 11, we see, now He was casting out a demon that was mute.

When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled. We see Jesus also bring forth deliverance in the area of death itself, where Jesus even raises the dead.

Jesus is the great deliverer in every sense of the word. In the

Old Testament, the term deliverer had a connotation, that connotation being directly linked to Moses as the great deliverer of God's people, as God's people being in bondage in Egypt, were looking forward to a certain type of deliverance.

This was a political deliverance. This was also a deliverance from the bondage of slavery from foreign oppressors.

Now, the people in Israel, as Jesus was living and walking, were looking forward to a similar type of deliverance.

Their deliverance that they were looking forward to was to be delivered from their oppressors by the

Roman state. The Roman Empire ruled the world with an iron fist, and they ruled over the land of Israel.

And upon that land was great oppression. And so, they were looking forward to the

Messiah to relieve them, to deliver them from their Gentile oppressors.

And yet, as Jesus fulfills His ministry, we see

Jesus delivering, but of a type and of a different kind. His deliverance, again, is that which

He delivers people from their sickness, delivers people from demonic oppression, delivers people from the bonds of death itself.

But even more importantly, as you begin to see time and time again, Jesus is delivering people from the despair of sin and death.

All the effects of the endemic sin that infects the world, whether it be sickness, whether it be demonic oppression, whether it be death itself,

Jesus is demonstrating that He is the true deliverer of God's people. He is indeed the greater

Moses in every single way. And He demonstrates this by exercising

His authority. If you came in this morning, you received a bulletin, and that bulletin should be an insert if you want to follow along today's teaching.

Jesus continues to exercise authority by cleaning the house of Israel.

You see, Israel was looking for a certain type of deliverer. Well, they received the greatest deliverer man can know in Jesus of Nazareth.

And He is indeed delivering them. And among the way that He delivers them is by delivering them from demonic oppression from unclean spirits.

And so Jesus, again, continues to exercise authority by cleaning the house of Israel from unclean spirits.

Again, during the earthly ministry of Jesus, we observe this phenomenon that is not strange to the world of the

Old Testament, this phenomenon of demonic oppression or possession. And in the times of Christ, these things were actually amplified.

Demonic activity was at an all -time high even compared to the Old Testament. Why?

Because as Jesus was coming into the world, as this kingdom was breaking into the world, certainly the kingdom of darkness also was ramping up its activity to try to deter, to try to meet the kingdom of God in the person and work of Jesus.

So you might ask yourself the question, why is there more or seemingly more demonic activity in the

New Testament stories of the Gospels than in the Old Testament stories? Though we do see demonic possession and oppression in the

Old Testament, we see it at a very far more rampant pace in the

New Testament. The reason being, again, God's kingdom is breaking into the world through Jesus Christ. And the kingdom of darkness is well aware of this, and its activity is ramped up to try to deter the prince of peace because the prince of darkness was at work.

What we see here transpire in Luke's gospel in verse 15 of Luke 11, it says this, but some of them, after seeing the miraculous deliverance from demonic oppression by the hands of Christ, it says some of them said, he cast out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons.

Can you imagine seeing the deliverer, seeing the redeemer, seeing him at work, seeing how even the forces of darkness tremble at his voice, and then attributing to that one, the chosen one of Israel, that to him, the reason why he's able to fulfill these things and deliver people is not by the power of God, but instead by the power of Beelzebub.

Who is Beelzebub? Beelzebub is the prince of demons.

I want you to write this in the notes. His opponents claimed he was using Beelzebub, or the prince of demons, to cast out demons.

Now, the word Beelzebub literally means Baal, the Old Testament foe of God, Baal, the prince, or Baal, the prince,

Baal being the Old Testament false god of the Canaanites, who was the ancient and prominent god of the

Canaanites, and he was, in a sense, a false impression of Yahweh, a false impression of the true

God of Israel. The opponents of Christ link

Jesus to the pagan god of the

Canaanites, and they say it's not by Yahweh's hand that Jesus is accomplishing this, but rather it is by Beelzebub, Baal, the prince, the prince of demons.

It is by this Canaanite false god that this man is accomplishing these works.

This is utter blasphemy. To attribute to Christ, to attribute to the

Holy Ghost, a false deity, a false god, and a false narrative is indeed among the highest forms of blasphemy that one can engage in.

Part of the criticism that also accompanied the work of Christ here as deliverer in verse 16 says, while others to test him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven.

So they were saying, Jesus, if you're truly the deliverer, if you're likened unto

Moses, show us great signs, for even our father Moses gave great signs.

In the wilderness, he was accompanied by the splitting of the Red Sea. His miraculous works were accompanied by fire coming down from heaven to deter the

Egyptians. Upon the marks and the signs of Moses was also the presence of the

Lord Himself upon that great and powerful sign in Sinai, where the

Lord descends as a flaming fire. Prove to us that you're the greater Moses.

Prove to us that you're the great deliverer. Give us signs from heaven. What they were missing is that the greatest sign from heaven was standing before them, because Jesus said

He is that bread of life that came down from heaven. Jesus is that eternal word, made flesh, dwelt among us.

He's the one who pitched His tabernacle among men, so that in Jesus, the eternal, infinite

God can be handled and touched and seen, the only Son from the Father full of grace and truth.

The greatest sign had been made known through and in the person and work of Jesus.

So though they were clamoring for signs from heaven, He was indeed that very sign from heaven given to men.

And what a shame it is indeed that they demanded these signs and attributed to Jesus this false narrative, this false identification with Beelzebub or Baal when

He is indeed Yahweh come in human flesh. It goes on,

Jesus responds to the critics in verse 17, but He, knowing their thoughts, again, another subtle way that the gospel writers point to the divinity of Jesus, but the fact that Jesus knows the hearts, knows the thoughts, who can know the thoughts and intentions of the human heart and mind but Christ, but God Himself?

He responds by saying these words, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?

For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. So Jesus responds again by saying that every kingdom and house divided will what?

It'll fall. It'll fall. You should write down the notes as well. Jesus said that every kingdom and house divided will fall.

He explicitly in this text links Satan to Beelzebub.

So though they're trying to attribute Christ to Beelzebub, Jesus actually brings out the true and right identification of Beelzebub by in verse 18 saying, and if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?

For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. Again, He's identifying Beelzebub rightly in this scenario with Satan.

Now, this brings up an interesting point of reference in Scripture that in the world, the

Old and New Testament, a spiritual worldview is at play. So what

I mean by that is that clearly in the Old Testament, there was but one true

God to be recognized, to be worshiped, and this is Yahweh, Jehovah, the very

God to whom we express thanksgiving and praises in our song and our hymnal this morning, that Yahweh, Jehovah, to Him belongs the hallelujahs, all praise be to this one true

Creator God. And yet in the Old Testament world where Beelzebub or Baal was at work and at play, these were true spiritual principalities, guising themselves, demonic powers, guising themselves as divinities.

And so the Bible says that the Old Testament, those who the pagans once worshiped, what they once sacrificed to, they indeed were sacrificing to demons.

So it's not to say that the gods of the nations, even today, there truly is a

God that is being worshiped under the guise of Allah, for instance, in the

Muslim faith. There is no doubt that there is a divinity, a power, a stronghold that is inspiring individuals to strap bombs to themselves and carry out holy jihad, holy warfare against the enemies of Allah.

But that is not the true God of Israel. This is a false God. And in the

Old Testament, Satan is the principality associated with Baal.

And the New Testament, we see that other principalities, and for instance, in the book of Revelation, Jesus likens the god

Zeus to Satan. So these principalities, these powers are very real, but these are principalities that are guising themselves, or as the apostle

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians, that these are demonic beings who masquerade as angels of light.

So here again, Jesus does indeed equate Satan to Beelzebub, and the kingdom of God here is now elevated as distinct and different from the kingdom of Satan and the world.

Notice again what the text says in verse 17 and 18. Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls.

And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? So there are two kingdoms at play in this world.

There's God's kingdom, and then there's Satan's kingdom. The kingdoms of this world are under the fellowship of Satan the devil.

How do we know this? Well, the Bible says this, considering the state of this world. 2

Corinthians 4 .4 says that Satan is a god of this age, blinding the minds of the unbelievers so they may not see the glorious light of the gospel of Christ.

When Satan was tempting our Lord Jesus Christ, what did he offer him but all the kingdoms of the world?

What indeed does it say in 1 John chapter 5 verse 19, but that the whole world is lying in the hand of the evil one?

Truly, Satan is the power, as the apostle Paul says, the power of the prince of the air, who is at work in the sons of disobedience.

And so we have two kingdoms at play here. God's kingdom, that in the gospel of Luke and in the incarnation and through the life and ministry of Jesus, is breaking into the world and pushing back against the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Beelzebub, the kingdom of Satan.

We see the kingdom of God is distinct, and it's different from every other kingdom, in that it is the only kingdom that is truly undivided.

There are not two or more political parties vying for power in God's kingdom. The world today that we see is a divided kingdom, and all we have to do is turn on the media, for instance, to see it.

And so there's a danger that happens when we invite the world's division into the church of Christ.

When you look at today's world, how divided it is through political lines, social lines, economic lines, racial lines, we need not invite those divisions into the church.

For in Christ, in God's abode, in the body of Christ, though we are all distinct and the church has many members, yet we are all one in Christ Jesus.

So that all those who truly profess Jesus Christ and know him as savior and come under the rightful lordship of Jesus Christ, we have a same inheritance, we have a same brother in Jesus, we have the same father in Yahweh.

And so we must beware not to invite the world's division into God's household.

Charles Spurgeon wrote this, and he said, you cannot cast out Satan by Satan, nor correct error by violence, nor overcome hate by hate.

The conquering weapon of the Christian is love. It's love.

Love is what helps us to conquer within the church. Love is what helps us to conquer in the world.

It's not by being hateful in meeting division with division, but rather it's meeting division with Christian love and unity, because it's in Christian love that we find true in abiding unity.

For he loved us first, therefore we can now love one another as he has taught and instructed us to do.

Christian love is the answer to Satan's divided kingdom.

Christian love is indeed the currency of God's kingdom and economy. Jesus goes on to continue his rebuke of these

Pharisees and Jews when he goes on in verse 19 to say this, and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?

Therefore they will be your judges. What does Christ mean when he says, by whom do your sons cast them out?

He's referring to the Jewish people. He's referring to the sons of Israel. If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by Satan, well then those among you who are casting out demons as well, by what authority, by what name are they casting out demons is the rhetorical question that he meets them with.

He goes on to say in verse 20, he says this, but if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

This is very important in recognizing the good news of Jesus Christ.

If Jesus indeed is casting out demons by God's finger, then

I want you to the present tense, has come upon them.

Here's the implication. The kingdom of God is a current reality.

If it is indeed by the finger of God that the Lord Jesus Christ is expelling these demonic forces.

Jesus uses the sons of the prophet that stood with Elijah as an example of God's supernaturally again anointing individuals to confront these demonic powers of darkness.

He says that these sons, the sons of the prophet will be their judges on that day.

Since someone greater than the prophet is here in the person of Jesus Christ.

This has implications for our understanding of the church today. This has implications for our understanding of the future.

There are those even within Christendom, those amongst the brotherhood of fellowship of believers who wrongly hold to a view that it says the kingdom is yet future.

That the kingdom is a future reality and that it will be a reality that will be realized amongst in a thousand year future reign of Jesus and the declaration from Christ himself in this narrative is that the kingdom of God has come upon them in the person and work of Jesus.

We know this even more truly now today because Christ after accomplishing his ministry, his earthly submission to the father, his humble obedience, his death and burial and resurrection and his subsequent glorification at the right hand of God the father, he now and today and forevermore is enthroned as we sang earlier today.

He is king of kings and Lord of lords. It doesn't get higher than that.

He is as the apostle Peter proclaims in the exalted one.

He cannot be more exalted than he is today. Why? Because he has accomplished the work of redemption.

He is the one to whom the book of Revelation speaks of when it says that there was a scroll in the midst of the heavens of heavens and there was no one among even the throngs of God who was worthy to open its seals.

Yet, silence fell upon heaven and among that silence came writing in the perfect lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world.

Amen. This Jesus was the one who alone was found worthy to open its seals to bring us the decree of God because he is the exalted and forevermore enthroned king of kings,

Lord of lords, prince of peace. He is God, the eternal word made flesh and he is reigning today.

Amen. He's reigning. We're not waiting for a future enthronement.

He's king today. Therefore, we ought to have an optimism about the

Christian church and its mission. Why? Though I agree that things in the world may go from bad to worse, what that means for the church is that we are a victorious people riding with Jesus, who is the conqueror.

Some folks would put Jesus as among the four horsemen of the

Apocalypse. He's the rider who is conquering. He's the one who is bringing forth conquering in his robe.

Certainly, Jesus gives that image to us in Revelation chapter 19 where he is the one who comes forth from heaven with a sword protruding from his mouth, a double -edged sword, and his robes are dripped of blood, the garments being soared with the blood of his own enemies.

He comes forth as a conqueror. Therefore, we know that even if the world gets more and more chaotic, and more divided,

Satan's system, as Satan's kingdom crumbles, we belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Amen? We have a true hope for the future.

I love the way the writer of Hebrews points out this optimistic eschatology of the future by pointing to the current reality that is enjoyed within the church today.

In Hebrews chapter 12, likely the Apostle Paul says and writes this.

He says, this phrase, yet once more, indicates the removal of things that are shaken.

That is things that have been made in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving. Notice he's not talking about the future. He's grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our

God is a consuming fire. What kingdom was he pointing to? What kingdom was he alluding to but the kingdom that Christ established in His ministry and in His work?

This kingdom is even spoken of in the same chapter, chapter 12 of Hebrews, where it says in verse 22, but you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living

God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are rolled in heaven, and to God the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkle blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Yes, indeed we have come to this Mount Zion. Yes, indeed we belong to this kingdom that cannot be shaken.

Why? Because Jesus has established this kingdom rule in Himself, and we are

His offspring through faith in this precious gospel. So again, beloved, we have much reason to be optimistic about the future of the church because the kingdom is now,

Jesus is ruling today, and I've shared with you time and time again, how do we know this exegetically to be true?

One of the most quoted scriptures in the New Testament from the Old Testament is Psalm 110. Psalm 110 gives us this grand vision that says that the

Lord, Yahweh, Jehovah, sit on to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool.

And the word goes forth from Zion, verse two, go rule in the midst of your enemies.

Jesus today demonstrates by clear exegesis of scripture in the

New Testament that He is indeed enthroned at the right hand of the

Father. Stephen, before he's martyred, this is the vision that he sees heaven opened up, and he sees the

Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power. It's exactly what Jesus told to His opponents when He was put before human trial in a human tribunal.

He said, you shall see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power when

He will return and come in judgment for them, which He accomplished in the year 70 AD when He destroyed the

Jewish system and its temple worship. Therefore, exonerating the claim that the kingdom is now, the kingdom is here because all of the sacrifices, all of the regulations of the

Old Testament, like we read today in Leviticus chapter seven, centered around temple worship. And what more clear declaration that there can be that God's kingdom now rules than the old system now being completely gone and done away with.

I believe there's an error in the church today that teaches that there will be another temple, a third temple that will arise in Jerusalem, and that we will then return to the things that God has already done away with.

Why return to the things, to the elementary things of the world? A return to temple sacrifices when we've received once and for all the only sacrifice that can make man whole in Jesus Christ.

We're not waiting for a third temple. The Bible makes it that the church is the temple of the living

God. And so, beloved, we're not waiting for a third temple.

We're not waiting for a future throne. We're not waiting for a future kingdom. We belong to that kingdom today. Therefore, take your place and your mantle in that kingdom arrangement and do the work that Jesus has called us to.

Jesus, again, is demonstrating with clear and concise power that the finger of God is upon him and the kingdom of God has come upon the people.

He goes on to demonstrate this in verse 21 when he says, when a strong man, fully armed, guards his own place, his goods are safe.

But when one stronger than he attacks him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoil.

Now, it is evidenced by Jesus's power over demonic forces as was established in earlier verses where Jesus is casting out demons by his authority, by his power, by his kingdom proclamation.

He's making it now clear that he himself has disarmed the strong man.

I want you to write this in the notes. It is evident by his power over the demons that Jesus has disarmed the strong man.

Now, who is the strong man? The strong man is the one who he alludes to in verse 18,

Satan, the devil, Belzebub, the prince of demons.

In the Old Testament, there was a festival that was called

Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks. In the

New Testament, we see this festival. We see it at the inauguration of the New Testament church in the

Feast of Pentecost. And the Feast of Pentecost was the visible and tangible representation that the kingdom of God had been established through the church and for the church to be its representative on earth.

What happened on that day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2? Again, the nations are gathered together in Jerusalem.

The Spirit of God descends upon the 120 in the upper room and they all begin to speak in tongues.

No, not unintelligible tongues or languages, but as is evident in Acts chapter 2, went forward into the crowds, the crowds began to hear the gospel in their own native tongue, in their own native language.

The gospel had now begun to infiltrate the nations and the world, even on that very first inaugural day of Pentecost, demonstrating that the kingdom of God had been established and that God was using the church as its embassy, as its representation here on the earth.

And it was evidence of the disarming of the strong man, Satan, the devil, who in the

Old Testament is depicted as the one who is leading astray the nations under a gloomy darkness.

The New Testament even continues this language by demonstrating that Satan is still the God of this world, that Satan is indeed still the one in whom the world is lying in his wicked power, but Satan no longer has comprehensive authority or power over the nations, and it is evident on that very first Christian Pentecost when the

Spirit of God descends upon his people and the people are now empowered by the Spirit to preach in every nation, language, and tongue.

It is evidence of the disarming of the strong man, that Satan, the devil, can no longer keep the nations in total darkness, and that Satan cannot stop the advancement of God's kingdom by means of this gospel proclamation.

And so we confess and we believe that Satan is indeed disarmed today. That is not to say that Satan is no longer effective, that Satan is no longer powerful.

Yes, he is still that lion seeking to devour, seeking to destroy, but know this, he is a disarmed opponent.

And one of the errors I see in Christendom is that we make Satan to be scarier and bigger than he actually is.

When you recognize this about Christian eschatology, that Satan today's rightful place, according to the

Apostle Paul in Romans chapter 16 verse 20, is underneath our feet.

That's his proper place. Why? Because that's the promise to us in the garden, that God, by means of the seed of the woman, would bring forth victory over the serpent, so that under the feet of God's people, chiefly and princely in Jesus Christ, that serpent will be brought to an end.

Indeed, we are living in such times today. We should consider ourselves among those counted blessed because we belong to this kingdom.

Notice what it says here in God's word. What is of interest is what

Jesus goes on to say in verse 22. In verse 23,

I'm sorry. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

I want you to write this in the notes. Christ and his kingdom are exclusive.

If you do not gather to him, you will be scattered. You will be scattered.

Jesus is not just a good, mere moral teacher in the same ranks as Buddha or Muhammad or other gurus or teachers throughout history.

Jesus stands unique in his claims, where he claimed to be

God in human flesh. Among the claims of Jesus was not just that he was the king of God's kingdom, it wasn't just that he had mere authority to heal the sick or to cast out demons, but among the unique claims of Christ is that he said this to the

Jewish leaders in John 8 .58, before Abraham was, I am.

In the Greek, very clear, very emphatic.

Before Abraham came into existence, Jesus says, I am the eternally existent one.

The Jews knew exactly what he was claiming because in the following verse in John 8 .59, they pick up stones to kill him.

They finally catch up to him later in John 10, and Jesus asks them, for what good work do you try to stone me?

They respond saying, it is not for good works that we stone you, but rather because you, being a mere man, claim to be

God. What does Jesus do? He does not deny it, but rather he goes on to say in John 10 .30

that I and the Father are one. He claims true divinity in that Jesus is

God incarnate and he demands exclusive devotion, which is why we see in Deuteronomy 4 .24

that it says that our God is a consuming and a jealous God. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 12, like we just read earlier, also quoting from Deuteronomy chapter 4, says that our

God is a consuming fire. Jesus is the true and eternal

God in human flesh, the second person of the Holy Trinity, and he demands true and worthy and exclusive devotion, worship, and praise.

Why? Because I alluded to earlier in Revelation 5, only one amongst the heavens and the earth and all that is in them was found to be worthy.

Only one was worthy. You see, the Jews, they did not heed

Jesus' word and instruction, and they were indeed scattered again when the

Romans came and destroyed the second Jewish temple, and they were sent into the disparate, which has lasted now nearly two millennia.

The Jewish people are still scattered today. Evidence of the words that Jesus spoke being true that those who do not gather to him will be scattered, and the

Gentiles along with the Jewish people will continue to be scattered until they gather to Jesus Christ.

Jesus puts it this way, they shall not see him, they shall not be blessed by him until they say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the

Lord. And truly we ought to consider and remember our privileged position as the people of God and not forsake the blessing of our

Savior, for truly those who do not gather to him will be scattered.

Jesus is not just one way to God, he is the only way to God. He says of himself among his divine claims in John 14, 6, he says,

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. There is only one way to God.

It's not through a church, it's not through an organization, it's not through any human being other than the man,

Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. He's the only mediator between God and man. We need not other mediators, whether they be so -called saints or whether they be other gurus or teachers or other so -called ways to God.

There is only one way and it is through Jesus Christ. He's who we proclaim to you, it's who we bring to you this morning.

Now Jesus, to close this sermon, to close our time, Jesus shares a word which is quite frankly confusing and interesting.

And so I'm going to try in the short time that we have to parse this out in a way that hopefully brings some clarity.

He goes after speaking about the kingdom of God coming upon them, the fact that Jesus through his work of deliverer and delivering people from demonic oppression, he goes on to say this about demonic oppression.

Verse 24, when the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest.

And finding none, it says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.

Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there.

And the last state of that person is worse than the first. This is a pretty almost esoteric saying that is coming from Jesus.

Very mysterious, very confusing on the onset, but I actually want to simplify this.

And I want you to think of this in maybe a way that you've never considered before. You see this message ends with a sobering warning.

And I think it has more to do with the house of Israel than with actual individuals who are possessed by demons.

Jesus, for instance, is the one who comes and he ministers to who first and foremost.

But as he himself said, he came to seek and save those of the lost sheep of Israel.

He comes to his people, to his covenant people, those who were his own.

And what do they do? They reject him. Jesus comes, he tries to clean the temple.

Remember, he goes to Jerusalem, he cleans the temple. This was a picture of him cleaning Israel. He runs out, he chases out the money changers with a whip representative of the religious leaders that are coming and exploiting

God's people. But what instead do the people of God in Israel at the time do?

Do they welcome their savior that came riding on a donkey? They did for a moment until just a few days later they ask for him to be crucified and they exchange him for an enemy, for a thief, for a murderer.

So I believe that Jesus here is pointing to the state, the spiritual state of Israel.

When he says, when the unclean spirit has gone on a person, so Jesus metaphorically speaking of the people of Israel in this way, saying that he has come, he has now delivered them, he has now cleansed the house of Israel.

And it passes through one of those places, seeking a place to rest and find that it says, I'll return to my house from which

I came, the demonic powers. And when it comes, it finds the house swept and put in order.

Why? Because Jesus has come, he's disarmed a strong man. This language is all coming together.

And then it goes and brings seven other spirits, more evil than itself. And they enter and dwell there.

The last state of that person is worse than the first. Demonstrating that even though Jesus came to his own, came to the house of Israel, the house of Israel on wholesale rejects him.

And they invite what? They invite powers of darkness to dwell with them again.

Therefore the first state or the last state is worse than the first. And so again, this message ends with a sobering warning from Christ that just as he cleansed the house of Israel from demonic lies and activity and left that house in order, the people did not want it so.

And by large, ethnic Israel rejected God's son and crucified the Lord of glory.

There later, destruction by the hands of the Romans was God's just wrath and vengeance for their unbelief, for their denial of the

King of glory. So we too, in a sense, can come under the same judgment.

If once receiving the grace and loving kindness of God, we trample over it by not maintaining the house that Jesus cleaned.

Let me be clear, as a confessional Baptist, I do not believe that one can lose their salvation.

So I'm not talking in salvific terms. One of the errors of evangelicalism today, I think, is that we look at everything through the lens of salvation in salvific terms.

But I think that there's a truth here for the Christian as well to warn against and to be careful with.

That Jesus, just as he comes and he makes us new, just as he cleanses the house of our heart, and we too can again, after being cleansed, after receiving the

Lord Jesus, can then again invite demonic influences into our lives.

And then we trample upon the precious work of Christ.

When he purchased us. Recognize this, when Paul argues against sin in 1

Corinthians, one of the arguments against his argument with sin is that he says, do you not recognize who purchased you?

Who you belong to? You are a purchased, blood -bought possession of the most high

God. Therefore, run from sin. Run from it. Why?

Because of who you belong to. So beloved, be careful that after belonging to Jesus, you not then again invite the things of the world into your life.

That you do not once again invite sin, invite demonic influences into your life.

And I've seen this happen in Christian ministries, in churches. I've seen this happen with men in recovery, where they accept the truths of God, maybe even be regenerated by faith, and yet again open their lives to the chaos and mess of this world.

Do not open your life and your heart to the lies of the enemy or to sin.

So I want you to write this, after receiving deliverance through Jesus Christ, and I mean this in the general sense, not necessarily demonic deliverance as you would see in certain types of movies or by certain charlatans in the evangelical church.

But after receiving deliverance through Jesus Christ, you can again open the door to unclean spirits, and your state will be worse than the first.

Please don't confuse us in terms of salvation. But just as Israel, Jesus came and cleaned the house of Israel, and they again brought forth demonic influence, so we too in a microcosm can do likewise.

Which again, this sobering warning from Christ. So what's the answer here, beloved?

The answer is to embrace the regenerative work of the

Holy Spirit by daily repenting of sin, choosing to walk in the light of God's truth, and not forsaking the

Christian gathering where we receive instruction for life and for holiness. Or as the apostle

Peter, quoting from the Proverbs says, do not be like the dogs that return to its own vomit.

Do not return to the vomit of this old world which is fading away. Instead, be steadfast and resolved to do

God's will. For the Bible says, he who does the will of God shall live and remain forever.

You can live forever today by embracing the gospel of our reconciliation, the gospel of our salvation.

That because we are sinners, God in the fullness of time sent forth his son to be born of the virgin, to live the life that we could not live, die the death that we deserve, and was raised again on the third day.

And he now lives forevermore enthroned at the right hand of God the Father, where he intercedes for you and me today.

Which is why again, while it is still called today, you have the opportunity to repent, turn from sin, and to trust in the

Savior. Jesus puts it this way, you must be born again.

May you have this gift and this grace to hear these words and to respond to it by believing in your heart that God raised this

Jesus from the dead and believing that he is Lord over all. So that not only may you be saved from the wrath to come, but you may have deliverance.

Yes, even true deliverance today. May you make that commitment and may you make that profession today.

Let's pray. Precious Savior, our true deliverer, our greater

Moses, we thank you for all that you have done for the deliverance of your people from the bondage of sin, death, and Satan.

We know, Lord, that you are powerful to save. We know, Lord, that your salvation is an everlasting salvation of which you promised to your people that your sheep hear your voice and no one will be able to snatch them from your hands.

Lord Jesus, may you watch over us as our great shepherd, the great shepherd of the sheep, who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought a people for God from every tribe, nation, and tongue for his own glory and his own namesake.

Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are good. We thank you that you are a loving

Savior. And so, Lord, more love to thee, O Lord. We do sing and we do proclaim unto the glory of your name.