WWUTT 2388 Whoever is Not With Me is Against Me (Luke 11:14-23)

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Jesus cast out an evil spirit, causing a man to be mute, and when that evil spirit went out, the man praised

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God. So it is with us, when we come under the power of the Holy Spirit, we praise God, when we understand the text.

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This is When We Understand The Text, a daily study in the word of Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness.

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Find all our videos and other ministry resources at www .utt .com.

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Here once again is Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. In our study of the Gospel of Luke, we've been in chapter 11, and today we get to an account of Jesus casting out an evil spirit, and the people accuse him of being in league with Satan.

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Let me read the section here, Luke 11, verses 14 -23, hear the word of the

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Lord. Now he was casting out a demon that was mute.

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When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.

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

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

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

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For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?

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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.

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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 trusted and divides the spoil.

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Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

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And so Jesus casts out this mute spirit, as said in verse 14, and this is contrasting with the section that we just finished up.

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Remember what we've been reading since last week, Jesus teaching his disciples how to pray.

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That was the question they asked him. Teach us to pray as John taught his disciples. So what is he teaching them how to do?

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He's teaching them how to talk to God. And that they should eagerly desire to talk to God.

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Not keep those things bottled up or silent or suppressed. But if you ask, you will receive.

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If you seek, you will find. If you knock, the door will be opened unto you.

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Our Father in heaven loves us, and he wants to give good gifts to his children.

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But he also wants us to ask. He wants us to communicate with our Father in heaven.

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So Jesus teaches his disciples how to talk to God. We go right from that into Jesus casting out a mute demon that's causing a man to be mute.

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We'll talk further about the implications of that here in just a moment. But then after casting out this demon, the people accuse him of casting out demons by the power of Satan.

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So Jesus responds to this with two arguments, and then he gives illustrations to make the point that there is no neutrality.

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You're either on the side of God or you are on the side of the devils, of Satan and his demons.

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So Christ cannot be on the side of Satan. And so you're either with Christ or you're against him, and therefore you are in league with Satan.

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Jesus kind of turns it around that way. So let's come back to verse 14 here, where Jesus is casting out a demon that was mute.

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When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the people marveled.

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So this evil spirit upon this man causes him, or I guess you could say prevents him from being able to speak.

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Causes him to be silent, prevents him from being able to speak. And this is a picture of how

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Satan can have such a hold on a person, or Satan's minions, however you want to define that, can have such a hold on a person that he cannot proclaim

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Christ. He cannot confess sin. He is under the power of the evil one.

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And this is why, the way Paul words this with Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, verse 25, he tells

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Timothy that the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.

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And he goes on to say, God may perhaps grant repentance, bringing him to a knowledge of the truth that he may escape from the snare of the devil after being captured by him to do his will.

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So a person who is under the power of the evil one has been captured by Satan and therefore does the will of Satan.

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And it is through the preaching of the gospel that the Holy Spirit will loosen those bonds, open those ears, and even loosen the tongue that the person may speak, confessing their sins, proclaiming

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Christ that Jesus is Lord, humbling himself, exalting the one who has come to save us, all of this by the power of the

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Spirit. So the Spirit completely changes the heart from someone being under the power of Satan to now being under the power of God.

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As Paul also told Timothy, we do not have a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power and of love and of self -control or a sound mind, that's 2

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Timothy 1 .7. So all of that under the power of the Holy Spirit who comes upon us when we hear the gospel message and even stirs in us that faith that we may believe, loosening from us the chains that we are bound in by Satan, who has control over all those who have been born in or descended from Adam.

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We must be born again in Christ, and that is the power of the Spirit that does that.

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Again, loosening those chains, opening those ears, loosening the tongue that the person who was previously under the power of the evil one may speak and confess the

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Christ. So that's shown here in Christ's power to cast out this evil spirit.

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When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke and the people marveled.

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And I've known people, maybe you have as well, who have been so transformed by Christ that their words are completely different than who they were before Christ.

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It's almost as if even the cadence of their voice, the way they speak and carry themselves, like something about them was completely changed, totally altered.

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The words they say are not so negative and cursing and disparaging and angry and bitter.

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It's instead pleasant and sweet and praising and loving and encouraging.

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You hear such a difference in the tongue of a person who is under the power of the

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Holy Spirit versus the tongue of a person who has been ensnared and enchained by Satan.

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So hear this, mute man is now speaking and the people marvel at it. They recognize the change.

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They know something has happened. But some of them said about this, yeah, he cast out an evil spirit.

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But how did he do that? They said he cast out demons by Beelzebul, the prince of demons.

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Beelzebub would be another way to say that name. And it's Beelzebub.

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You can find that same name in the Old Testament. So it is a reference to Baal, the god of the

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Canaanites, but it also becomes an alternate name for Satan. So saying that Christ is able to cast out these demons by the power of Beelzebul, it's just straight up blasphemous to say such a thing.

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Then verse 16 says, while others detest him, kept seeking from him a sign from heaven. Now, we'll see this come up occasionally in the

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Gospels where the Pharisees or the people or whoever, they are requesting of Jesus a sign from heaven.

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What does that mean? Especially when in their midst, he's performing miracles like he just did. So there's your sign and Jesus is from heaven.

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So isn't that a sign from heaven? Generally, what is meant by we want to see a sign from heaven is they want to see fire fall like they want to see something like Elijah did when

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Elijah the prophet was here. If you'll remember, Elijah proves himself against the priests of Baal by calling upon the

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Lord that he would bring fire down to incinerate the sacrifice that he had made. Remember the contest between Elijah and the priests of Baal?

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They have to call upon Baal to take up their sacrifice that they have prepared. And Elijah is going to call on Yahweh to burn up the sacrifice that he has prepared.

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And of course, even though he poured water on it, had a moat around it, all this kind of stuff, the fire of God not only consumed the sacrifice, but even the entire altar and lapped up all the water around it as well.

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So the power of God was demonstrated in this sign from heaven that Elijah called down fire and convinced the people of Israel that Yahweh is

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God and Baal is nothing. And then the priests of Baal were slaughtered that day under the order of Elijah as well.

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Then you get to second Kings chapter one. At the start of second Kings, Ahaziah, who was the king in Samaria, the king of Israel, he had sent messengers to inquire of Elijah if he was going to survive this sickness that he had.

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And he would send a group of 50 men to go and inquire of Elijah, who was sitting up on Mount Carmel.

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And as they approach Elijah, fire comes down and burns them up. So Ahaziah sends another 50 and they get burned up and another 50.

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And one of those captains comes before Elijah and goes, hey, look, you're going to burn me up like you have those before me.

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So can you chill for a second and listen to me? Because I know that I'm as good as dead, but I have to say this to you.

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Okay. And so then Elijah comes back and says that Ahaziah is indeed going to die.

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That was what he wanted to know. Am I going to survive this sickness or am I going to be killed? But there was wickedness in his heart, wickedness against God.

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So Elijah had these signs from heaven that he would do with fire coming down from heaven.

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Even when he was taken up from the presence of Elisha, his protege, he was taken up by a whirlwind, surrounded by chariots of fire, horses and chariots of fire.

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So the signs of fire that Elijah would do. And that's what it was that the people wanted to see when they want a sign from heaven.

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If Jesus is the return of Elijah, the prophet, then he'll prove it to us by causing fire to come from heaven.

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And even the disciples kind of expected this to a certain degree. If you'll remember back to Luke chapter nine, when it was

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John and James, the two brothers, the sons of thunder asked Jesus if he wanted them to call down fire from heaven to burn up these people that oppose

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Jesus. Because Jesus had been rejected by the Samaritans.

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James and John are going, hey, we'll take care of this fire from heaven. And then Jesus rebukes them. So James and John, they were kind of expecting the same thing.

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Jesus is sent from God, so he should be able to show a sign from heaven and call down fire from heaven.

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So that's likely what is meant here in verse 16, where the others seeking to test him are looking for a sign from heaven.

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So some are accusing him of being of Beelzebul, but the others are like, no, no, no. We think he's from God.

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Let's see a sign from heaven. Verse 17. But he knowing their thoughts said to them, and that's demonstrating

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Christ's power as God, that he knows their thoughts. I mean, the power that he has over the demons is demonstrating the authority that he has that he can cast out these evil spirits.

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And so we see Christ's authority. So he's kind of he's going to put it to the people here in a little bit.

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This is where this is headed. And you're on one side or the other. Are you with God or are you with Satan?

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And you see how Christ, who is God, has the power and authority over the devil and his angels.

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And so Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said to them, every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste and a divided household falls.

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So he's presenting to them these two arguments. The first one is no house that is divided can stand.

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And you're telling me that I'm casting out demons by Beelzebul. So how would Satan's kingdom even be able to advance?

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And if it can't advance, then his demons can't afflict anybody, which you've just seen.

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Now they are. So I can't be casting out a demon which would divide the house of Satan, and he would not have any power or authority at all.

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

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So that's the first argument that Jesus presents. Second argument. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out?

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Because, you know, there were some other Jews that work to cast out demons as well. We even read of some of them in Acts at Ephesus, where you have the sons of Sceva, who are the sons of an itinerant

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Jewish preacher, and they believed that they were casting out demons. So there were other Jews that did this.

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So if they're going to accuse Jesus of being of Beelzebul, does that mean that their sons are too?

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Therefore, they will be your judges. And verse 20, Jesus says, but if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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You are seeing the presence of the kingdom of God right before your very eyes, the son of God, who has the power to free a man from the bondage of Satan, that he may speak and proclaim and give praise to God, where previously he cursed

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God and others. And now he is a man whose speech is pleasing unto the

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Lord. Christ has the power and the authority to do that very thing. So if you are seeing the casting out of demons that are happening before you, it cannot be by the power of Satan, because if Satan is casting out

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Satan, then he doesn't even have the power to afflict anybody because he's divided. He's divided against himself.

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But you're seeing demons being cast out by the finger of God. So you know that the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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And this is leading up to, once again, Jesus making the argument, you're either with Satan or you're with God.

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So he gives this illustration, verse 21, when a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe.

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

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So who's the strong man here? The strong man, as first identified in verse 21, is

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Satan. Satan's the strong man. Remember what Paul said in 2

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Corinthians 4, 1, Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced disgraceful underhanded ways.

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We refuse to practice cunning or tamper with God's word. But by the open statement of the truth, we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God.

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And even if our gospel is veiled, Paul says, it is veiled, in other words, not seen, not understood, not confessed.

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It is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the

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God of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

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And as it's also said in 1 John 5, 19, we know that we are from God and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

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So here you have Satan being described as the strong man in verse 21. He is holding the world as the

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God of this world, small g, the God of this world, holding these people in his grip, in his grasp, by his power, under his influence, causing them to do what is contrary to God.

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But when the strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are safe.

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

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And that is what Christ is doing. That's what's happening when he says, if this is by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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So he is bound the strong man. He has disarmed him and now plundering his kingdom, his fallen kingdom.

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But Christ is plundering his kingdom, winning souls out of it and bringing them into the kingdom of God.

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Remember that Jesus said this is not in Luke, of course, it's back in Matthew 16. But he said, I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

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So we are storming the gates of hell and rescuing people out of the flames, drawing them into the kingdom of God.

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When we go out to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, those who believe in Jesus, who died for our sins and rose again from the dead, they will not perish, but they will have everlasting life.

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Jude encouraged the church also have mercy on those who doubt, save others by snatching them out of the fire to others, show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh, snatch them out of the fire.

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How do we snatch them out of the flames? Well, everybody who is in sin, in rebellion against God is on that trajectory that would lead them to eternal judgment by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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They could be snatched from the flames and be saved. And so finally,

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Jesus says he makes this statement in verse 23. Whoever is not with me is against me and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

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So you could you could bring the demon back into this. Was the demon for Christ? No, against Christ.

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So right there, as Jesus is showing to this people, here's a contrast. You know, the demon was with Satan.

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We opposed one another. So who am I with? Whoever is not with me is against me.

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The Satan or the Satan, the the demon was against me. Are you going to be against me too?

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Whoever does not gather with me scatters. So whoever is not bringing people into the kingdom.

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That's not your heart's desire is that people would be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.

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If you are pushing people away from coming to understand and know God through Jesus Christ.

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Then Jesus says that puts you in league with Satan. Whoever is not with me is against me.

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So here's the dichotomy. Here's the contrast. You are either with Christ or you're with Satan.

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Christ can't be with Satan. Christ can't be the one who is acting out of the power of the evil one, because then

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Satan would be divided against himself. You saw Jesus cast out a demon. It's not Satan casting out

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Satan. It wouldn't work. And so he's putting this before the people.

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So where are you going to stand? You have seen with your own eyes that I'm in opposition to Satan.

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So are you going to be on Satan's side or are you on God's side? Whoever is not with me is against me.

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That's not a good place to be. You will not win against God. And whoever does not gather with me scatters.

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You're not bringing people into the kingdom. You're pushing them away. And so Jesus took this accusation that was being made of him.

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You're of Beelzebul to turn it back on the people. Who are you going to stand with? You're going to stand with God or with the devil.

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And my friends, if we are in Christ, we are a new creation. The old is passed away. The new has come.

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So we cannot go back to the ways of this world. Under the power of the Holy Spirit, let us walk in the way of Christ.

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Heavenly Father, we thank you for this particular section. And through Jesus casting out this evil spirit, we see the power that Christ has over even us.

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We have come into the kingdom of God, into faith in Jesus Christ, because of what the spirit has done in our hearts, because the

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Father drew us to himself so that we may believe in Jesus and so be saved.

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Thank you for your grace toward us, for the salvation that you have provided for us in Christ Jesus, our

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Lord. It's in his name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to When We Understand the

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Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .tt

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.com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page. Join us again tomorrow as we continue our