Authority

Good morning. And welcome to Grace Church. If we have any first-time visitors with us this morning, if you would please raise your hand, one of the ushers will provide you with some information regarding Grace. Over here we have one. Before we turn to the announcements this morning, uh just a couple of praises.

First, Nancy Starcher is back with us today from COVID. Eric and Rachel Hampton are back with us today. Jenny Bracefield is not here this morning, but she will be here, according to Elsie. She will be here with us this evening for the lessons in Carol.

So Jenny's also restored to health. Praise God.

So, tonight at 6 p.m. is our annual Lessons in Carol service. Join us as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. This is always a wonderful event. And please bring some finger food with you also and share.

That we can share and enjoy some fellowship in a fellowship hall this evening following the service. Join us Wednesday night at 7 o'clock p.m. in the Fellowship Paul as Jay Crestar continues his study on the parables of Jesus. For those of us that have been with Jay through this thing, I think we would all have to agree that it's been an extremely edifying experience. If you all have an opportunity, please come and hear Jay speak.

Also, it's time now this time of year for our shoebox offering. This year, the offering is going to be used to support missionary. Um Young Om. Who is distributing Bibles and food in Madagascar? And as many of you know, they've been suffering in Madagascar from COVID, but also.

Oh. Extreme famine and hunger. As a result, Of a severe drought. And it's been an extremely long, long time that they've been dealing with this.

So we're going to be doing we're going to be collecting this next Sunday at the morning worship service.

So please, please, prayerfully consider contributing to this very important offering. If you would like a tithe or offering envelope for 2022, you can sign up for that in the foyer. And I ask this morning again for your prayers. For Joni Presley, who's in the hospital and she continues to suffer from the effects of COVID. Pray for the Robinsons, if you would, please, Charlie and Trudy, who were in a vehicle accident this past week, and they're recovering.

And Nanette Brown, who will be going for brain surgery later this week. It'll be her second time. very critical surgery that she's going to be undergoing.

So please keep all these people in your prayer during the course of this next week. And at this time, I would ask you to please join me now as we pray our hearts and our minds. worship. Please rise now for our call to worship. Our call to worship comes to us today from Psalm 5, verses 11 and 12.

Now in Psalm 5, David tells us that God does in fact hear our prayers. And he gives God all the glory. Specifically, in verses 11 and 12, which we're going to read this morning, David prays for all the Lord's people. That God will give them joy. and that he would keep them safe.

Hear now the word of God. But let all who take refuge in you rejoice. Let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them. That those who love your name may exalt in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord.

You cover him with favour. as with a shield. Please be seated. Please now join me in prayer. Heavenly Father.

Living and most gracious God. To you be all the glory, the majesty, dominion, and authority. Father, we give praise to you. For you are the provider and sustainer of our very lives. Through whose word creates all that lives, moves, and has being.

And we praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who in life and death identified with our humanity. who rose and ascended. Reconciling us to you, dear God. And who remains our advocate and our judge, all-powerful to save. And we praise the Holy Spirit who dwells within us and around us, our guide and our teacher and our comforter during times of need.

and distress. Father, we are grateful for your loving kindness. That is shown to each and every one of us each and every day. In spite of our failings, in spite of our continual struggles with sin and rebellion. You remain faithful to us.

You continue to love us unconditionally, and it is your love that signifies divine goodness and forgiveness to sinners like us. As believers, we should take comfort in knowing That as we come before you this day, Christ Jesus sits triumphantly at your right hand. interceding on our behalf. on the basis of his shed blood. And there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And, Father, this morning we pray for all those who are experiencing trouble in their lives. That the sick and those with severe illness or injury may be cared for. Specifically, Father, we pray for some of those in our congregation. We pray this morning. For Joni Presley, Father is She continues to struggle with COVID.

continues to be in the hospital. We pray this morning, Father, for for for Charles and for Trudy. Who this past week, father, had to endure a very difficult time as they had a severe vehicle accident. And Father, we pray for Nanette Brown. as she will be going through some very difficult surgery this week.

on her brain. Dear God. You truly are the great physician. And we ask this morning, dear God, that you place your healing hand on these individuals. and restore them to full health, if it is your will.

And father, We pray. that the lonely in our lives be sustained and the oppressed be strengthened. That those who mourn be comforted, and those close to death may know the presence of the risen Lord. And Father, we pray for those in the mission field. We pray that you protect them from harm and that the Holy Spirit guide and direct them in their efforts to bring those spiritually.

closer to you. As many of them are lost.

Now, as we proceed through this worship service, may our minds be illumined by the presence of the Holy Spirit, and may our eyes, our ears, and our hearts be opened to receive your holy word. And may all that we say And do. Bring you praise. Honor and glory. These things we pray in the blessed name of our Lord and Saviour.

Jesus Christ. Amen.

Well, this certainly is a joyous season. It is a season to rejoice. Um The Son of God has Emptied himself and become one of us, identified with us, and that's cause for joy. But it's not a glib, shallow joy, is it? Think of the world's joy.

Think of secular radio Christmas songs and how shallow that joy is. The joy that we as believers ought to be full of as we contemplate the incarnation is a sincere joy, but it's a joy that's tempered with awe. With amazement, that God the Son became man to save sinners like us. We have no cause for joy outside of Grace. Grace from the infinite glorious God.

A becoming man, taking on our sin. becoming one of us so that we might live with him for all eternity. Let's contemplate this awesome joy that's ours because of the grace that's ours in Christ as we stand and sing songs of the incarnation this morning. Would you stand with me as we worship? Angels from the realms of glory, meet your flight o'er all the earth.

Demons and the ancient story now proclaim Messiah's birth. Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the newborn King. Shepherds in the field abiding, watching o'er your flocks by night. God with us is now residing. Yonder shines the infant lights.

Come and worship, come and worship, worship. Christ, the newborn King. Sages, leave your contemplations, brighter visions beam afar. Seek the great desire of nations. He has seen his fatal star.

Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the newborn King. Saints before the altar bending, watching long in hope and fear. Suddenly the Lord descending in his temple shall appear. Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the Newborn King, all creation join in praising God, the Father, Spirit, Son. Evermore, your voice is raising to the eternal three in one.

Come and worship, come and worship, worship Christ, the newborn King Let all mortal flesh keep silence and with fear and trembling stand under nothing earth. He minded, for with blessing in his hand, Christ our God to earth descend our full homage to the man, King of kings, yet born of Mary, as of all honor he stood Lord of Lords in human vesture in the body and the blood, he will give to all the faithful his own self for having food rank on rank, the hosts of hands. Heaven spread its vanquard on the way as the light of light descended from the realms of endless day that the powers of hell may vanish as the darkness clears away at his feet. The six weeks, Sarah cherubim with seamless eye, pale their faces to the presence as with ceaseless voice they cry: Hallelujah, Hallelujah. Hallelujah, Lord Most High, and you can be seated.

Christ's condescension. To become one of us is an amazing condescension, an amazing act. of humility And divine love. We are sinners. We don't deserve.

any of this grace. And so it is good. In our worship of this great Gracious God to run to him. and confess our sin and acknowledge. Our need for His mercy.

Would you pray with me, church? God is light. And in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him, Yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, We have fellowship with one another.

And the blood of Jesus his Son purely. purifies us from sin. If we claim to be without sin, We deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Most holy and merciful Father, We confess to you and to one another that we have sinned against you by what we have done. and by what we have left undone.

We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not fully loved our neighbours as ourselves. We have not always had in us the mind of Christ. You alone know how often we have grieved you by wasting your gifts. by wandering from your ways.

Forgive us, we pray, most merciful Father. and free us from our sin. Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit. For the sake of Jesus Christ, your Son, our Savior. Amen.

Take a moment to silently confess your particular sins to the Lord now. Listen to these words from Lamentations 3. Reminding us that God is a God who delights to pardon, He delights to show mercy. The prophet says, The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. Our God is a gracious God, and the right response to that mercy is not to wallow in our guilt, but to rejoice, to sincerely rejoice in what is ours in Christ. And that's what our Old Testament reading declares to us this morning. We're going to read from Zephaniah chapter 3, verses 14 through 20.

Commanding us to rejoice over the redemption that God has brought. Zephaniah 3, beginning at verse 14. Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion. Shout, O Israel. Rejoice and exult with all your heart.

O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord has taken away the judgments against you. He has cleared away your enemies. The king of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst. You shall never again fear evil.

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem. Fear not, O Zion. Let not your hands grow weak. The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with gladness.

He will quiet you by his love. He will exult over you. with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors, and I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.

At that time, I will bring you in. At the time when I gather you together, For I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the Lord. This is the word of God. God is full of riches, and He lavishes those riches on His beloved, on His chosen. Let's think again about the condescension of God the Father emptying Himself to become one of us that we might enjoy these blessings.

Would you stand with me as we sing? Yeah. Thou who was rich, beyond all splendor, all for love's sake became best for thrones for a man did surrender sapphire-paved courts for savoor thou who was rich, beyond all splendor, all for love's sake became messed up. Thou who art God. And words by thy eternal plan.

Thou who art God, be all praising, all for love's sake, became best man. Thou who art love, be all charling, savior and king, we worship thee man who within us. Make us what thou wouldst have us be. Thou who art love me all in Savior and King we worship thee Let us pray Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day you Yeah. Dear Lord, we thank you for the many things in our lives.

that you give us, dear Lord. Dear Lord, I just pray for Pastor Doug. As he delivers your word this morning, just be with him. Lift him up, dear Lord. Lord.

Lord, we know that everybody is. Everything comes from you, dear Lord. everything. We thank you for the many blessings that you You have given us and bestowed upon us, dear Lord. Lord, we Just ask now as we give back up portion of What you've given us, these tithes and offerings, we just ask that you would use them to further your word all over the world.

And we asked it in your name, dear Lord Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Christ is for you please stand in honor of God's word as we have. as we read it together this morning. They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.

And he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, come out of him. And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching of authority? He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obeyed him. And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. Bow with me as we go to our Lord in prayer.

Heavenly Father, we pray a prayer of thanksgiving this morning for what you did for the Harpers in Austria. Father, we've been praying for them. They have been having trouble getting their visa. They've had to go to many different countries in Europe just to wait to see if it was going to happen. And you miraculously provided.

And they've gotten their visa and they are now at work in Austria, and we praise you for that. Heavenly Father, I I pray for Joni. Presley this morning.

So I was praying early for her this morning, Lord, and realizing the very serious condition that she is in. You brought to my mind the fact that this world is not our home. That we are just passing through. And Heavenly Father, I thank you that Joni knew you in a very special way. That she loves you.

With all of her heart, Father, we would pray that you would do a miracle. That Lord, you would bring her back to health and strengthen her. Uh father does not look good right now. And I pray for her husband, Randy, that you would strengthen him and encourage him. Give him that peace that passes all understanding.

And I pray, Lord, as he thinks. uh about his wife that That he will Understand how much Jesus loves her. Lord, that he too would be Broken, Lord, over the fact that We are all sinners and all in desperate need. of your grace. Father, be with Joni.

Strengthen her. Encourage her. Encourage Randy. We pray, Lord, for a miracle again. But ask, Lord, that you prepare us.

If it is her time to go to be with you, That Lord you might bring that about and that we might be able to have the peace that we need. Heavenly Father, I pray for Trudy and Charlie as they have gone through a very difficult Car wreck this week, and both of them were injured. I thank you, Lord, that you spared their lives. They could have easily been taken. Pray for Shelby Key, Lord, as she is still suffering with uh uh problems with COPD and I ask Father that you minister to her and for Nicole Lose.

Lord, I pray that you would be with Nicole and help her over the dizziness that she has experienced. Father, we pray for Nanette Brown as she's got the surgery coming up this week. She would be with her in great power. Heavenly Father, we have a passage before us today that forces us to look beyond what we can see with our eyes and hear with our ears. This passage teaches us about the spiritual reality of the demonic.

The secular elite would mock us for giving this story any credence at all. They would laugh at us for being intellectually naïve and foolishly superstitious. Father, help us to stand for your truth. Believe your truth. Be moved by your truth.

No matter what the secular world has to say about it. We pray that you'll give us the ability to stay godly balanced in spiritual warfare. Don't let us run off to extremes. Don't let us get so caught up with what demons are doing that We take our eyes off of you. And forget the calling.

to simply obey your word. Help us to never forget that Satan is real and his purpose is to kill, steal, and destroy. May your word come alive to us today. May Jesus be glorified through this message. For it is in the precious name of Jesus that we pray.

Amen.

You may be seated. Two sets of brothers, James and John, and Peter and Andrew. left their fishing business to follow Jesus. And they first went to Capernaum.

Now Jesus himself was born in Bethlehem, which is just a little bit south of Jerusalem. But Jesus was reared in Nazareth. Nazareth was just a few miles away from Capernaum. And Jesus lived there for 28 years. It was a small little village.

And it was the place where Jesus worked in his father's carpenter shop.

Now let me ask you something. Did anybody In Nazareth, Ever see Jesus sin? And the answer to that is absolutely not, for Jesus never sinned. There was nobody there that ever looked at Jesus as a little boy and saw him disobey his parents. There was nobody that ever saw Jesus beat up a little boy in the neighborhood.

There was nobody that ever saw Jesus stump his toe and curse a blue streak. There was nobody that ever saw Jesus take advantage of a little girl. There was nobody that ever saw Jesus do anything that was wrong whatsoever. He never would make a beautiful table and then overcharge for it. Folks, everything that Jesus did was godly and without sin.

So it would seem that when Jesus started teaching in Nazareth, everybody would have got excited about this godly young man and what he had to say. And we have to believe also. That there were probably Many people from Nazareth that had gone down to the Jordan River. Along with the other thousands that went to hear John the Baptist. And they were there that day that Jesus appeared there on the top of the hill and started walking down, and John the Baptist pointed up the hill.

And said, behold, the Lamb of God. that taketh away the sin of the world. There were probably many in Nazareth that day that saw Jesus baptized, which was a part of his ceremonial ordination into the priesthood. And they watched him as he was coming up out of the water, and then all of a sudden, the Holy Spirit of God descended upon him like a dove, and the Shekinah glory, the visible priesthood. The presence of the Lord in a glory cloud just rested upon his shoulders.

They saw that happen, and then they heard the voice of God the Father speak from heaven, saying, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Don't you know those people from Nazareth went running back to their hometown? And I'm sure they said to everybody: man, you're not going to believe what happened. Our hometown boy. Jesus, the one who belongs to Joseph and Mary.

We saw him. We saw him baptized, and we saw the Holy Spirit descend upon him visibly. We heard the voice of God the Father speak from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And they said this is not just Our imagination. This is not just something that we're telling you.

We have thousands of witnesses that saw the very same thing, it happened.

So then Jesus went to preach. Came back to Nazareth. And he started to preach and What was the attitude of the people in Nazareth toward his preaching? They summarily rejected him. They said, who do you think you are, Jesus?

You're just one of us. You're just a a commoner like we are? Who do you think you are? And what did Jesus do? Jesus left Nazareth.

And he said a prophet is not honored in his own country. He went up to Capernaum after that. The word Capernaum is a Hebrew word, and it means kaphar nehum. And that word means the village of Nahum.

Now, who is Nahum? Nahum was an Old Testament prophet. We have a book in the Bible that was named after him, Nahum. And the word naim in the Hebrew means compassionate. It means a city there that was a village that was filled with people who were concerned for others and cared for others.

Jesus went first of all to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And the synagogue, well, they all got started back in the Babylonian captivity. During that time, the children of Israel were in Babylon. They were away from their homeland, and there was no temple for them to worship in. And so they started building these little local groups, and they would bring these people together so they could read and study the Word of God, so they could worship together.

So, a synagogue required to be a synagogue. There had to be at least 10 adult men all over 13 years of age. When the children of Israel left Babylon, they came back home to their homeland in Israel. They brought this concept of the synagogue back with them. And the synagogue became the place where the community life would take place.

It was not just used for a local worship place. But it was also used as a meeting house, a school, and a courtroom. There was a leader of the synagogue. And the leader was a man who was not necessarily a teacher, but he had to be an administrator, for it was his responsibility to be sure that somebody was preaching and teaching that day. And on this particular day, Jesus walks in.

And this man begs Jesus to come and teach. That takes us to the text that I want us to look at today. We're looking at the subject of authority, and there are three points I want to share with you about the authority of Christ. Point one, the authority of his word. Look with me at verses twenty-one through twenty-two.

And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes. John MacArthur said the following about Jesus' speaking in the synagogue. He said one of the primary functions fulfilled by the synagogue was the public reading and exposition of Scripture. A practice that went back at least to the time of Nehemiah.

A policy known as freedom of the synagogue allowed any qualified man in the congregation. to deliver the exposition of the Old Testament passage. That privilege was often extended to visiting rabbis. as it was on this occasion to Jesus. The Apostle Paul similarly used such opportunities to proclaim the gospel in various cities throughout the Roman Empire.

Because the news about Jesus' miracles had already spread. The attendees in Capernaum would have been eager to hear him teach.

Well, Mark doesn't tell us what Jesus preached on, but he tells us about the impact that Jesus' preaching had. It said that they were amazed, and they said about him, he taught as one having authority. and not as the scribes. The Greek word for authority is exousia, and that word means dominion or power. Jesus spoke with passion and great clarity.

When Jesus preached, you understood exactly what he was saying. His preaching and teaching was just as clear as a bell. And when he taught, there was great conviction. The listeners would hear Jesus, and it forced them to look at their life, to look at their heart. and to look at their behavior.

Folks, Jesus focused on what was important.

Now when the scribes preached, they were different. They were unclear. And their teaching was muddled. They wanted everybody to know that they were something special. They wanted people to look up to them and they would just fill with pride.

It just oozed from them. And they would stand there and they would teach and people would look at them and say, wow, they are so intelligent, we can't understand anything they're saying. Wow, they are such great wise men that their sermons just go right over our head. We have no idea what they're talking about. And so they would start quoting all these rabbis.

And they say, well, this rabbi said this, and this rabbi said that, and we really just don't understand. What it means. Let me tell you something folks, that kind of preaching is not godly. That kind of preaching is not helpful. It doesn't convict, it doesn't challenge.

It's not clear, it doesn't permeate the heart. Jesus's was exactly opposite. It was clear as the bail. And it was convicting, it was challenging, and it permeated the heart. And it it was the word of God.

And so when Jesus taught, he let people know this is the word of God, and so you've got to deal with it. Jesus was not shy. He calls sin sin. Jesus often spoke on heaven, but did you realize he spoke twice as much? on the subject of hell.

And Jesus spoke about all these common things that we have to deal with. He spoke about money. Do you know he spoke twice as much about money as he did about heaven or hell? And Jesus talked about sin. I think one of the great sins that We have in our society today is a sin of lust, but that's kind of an embarrassing sin.

So, is Jesus superficial about that? Absolutely not. What did Jesus say? Jesus said, You heard it said, By them of all, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you: if you even look upon a woman as to lust after her, you've committed adultery already with her in your heart.

And what about anger? Jesus said, You've heard it said by them of old, Thou shalt not murder. But I say unto you, if you are even angry against your brother and libel him, then you are in danger of hell fire. No one ever walked away from a sermon that Jesus preached without feeling deep conviction. and a need for grace and mercy.

Mark describes the hearers of Jesus as being absolutely amazed. They were so shocked and awakened by his words that they were just stunned and silenced. They felt guilt, they felt conviction, they felt somewhat exposed. And yet they still felt hope. Wow.

I think that's what amazed them most. They said, this teacher, Jesus, is telling us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear. We hear his sermons and we feel guilty but not hopeless. We hear his sermons and we feel convicted but not condemned. Jesus makes us want to hate sin.

and love God. Folks, that is the preaching of Jesus. That is the authority of Jesus. Jesus makes the Bible jump to life. It's not a dusty old history book.

It's not a manual of rules and regulations. It is a life-giving spring. They were amazed and they were silenced. The scribes just spoke about God, but Jesus spoke for God. Jesus' teaching was reminiscent of some of the Old Testament prophets, men like Elijah and Jeremiah and Isaiah.

And what was the favorite phrase that they would use? It was, Thus saith the Lord God. What do you think when you hear that? I think about finality. That God said it, that settles it.

Doesn't really matter what anybody else thinks about it. A few weeks ago, I encouraged you and your witnessing to use the Word of God. Don't just defend the word of God. Don't just use apologetics. That has its place.

But not just defend it, but proclaim it. Because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

So, when you're trying to witness to a Muslim, don't spend your time talking to him about comparative religions. Just quote the word of God to him. Thus saith the Lord Jesus. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.

That's the authority of Christ. That's what the people in Capernaum were so amazed at. All right, point to the authority of his judgment. Look at verse 23 through 24. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit.

And he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are. The Holy One of God. Folks, we need to approach the The subject of spiritual warfare with care and deep concern.

In 43 years of ministry, I've seen two extremes when dealing with spiritual warfare. I've seen liberal theologians laugh at the idea of a literal devil and literal demons. And they've laughed at it because they said, well, this is mental illness that they're looking at in the Bible, and they just don't know that it's mental illness. And so they call it demon possession. I've heard liberal preachers say that the men who wrote the scriptures were just uneducated men, and their problem is they just didn't know the science.

Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe. And he didn't know the science. Wow. He just didn't know how to handle mental illness. or aberrant behavior.

Folks, that is the epitome of spiritual stupidity. Yet, on the other hand, I've seen some Christians. Get so caught up. in supernatural evil if they start seeing demons behind every bush. You have to be very careful there not to do that, not to start blaming all temptations on the devil.

Some of you are old enough to remember the comedian Flip Wilson. Flip Wilson, he'd come on television and he'd do a little skit, and he'd fall into some temptation, and people would say, Why did you do that? And he'd say, the devil made me do it. And you know, I hear that from believers all the time. Everything that they do wrong, they want to blame on the devil.

So, you're sitting at your computer, and all of a sudden, you decide that you want to check out a pornographic website, and you do that. And for some way you get caught. And they say, why did you do that?

Well, the devil made me do it. No, the devil didn't. Your flesh made you do it. You wanted to do it because your sin nature, what you are down on the inside, the old self. Had a desire to fulfill some lust in your heart, and so you gave into it.

Don't blame that on the devil. Maybe you go out and you drink too much, or you take some illicit drugs.

Somebody says, Why do you do that? Oh, the devil made me do it. No, that was a problem with your flesh.

So to give too much attention to the satanic realm is unscriptural and I think it's unhealthy. But don't buy into liberal so-called intellectual elitism. Folks, the stories that we read here are historically. and theologically accurate. I'll say this.

If the Bible is the Word of God, then we have no recourse. than to acknowledge the satanic and demonic existence. And realize that we are in a genuine war. with genuine evil spiritual beings. The question arises then, then why don't we see more evidence of satanic activity today?

Well, I think we see plenty evidence of satanic activity today, a lot of it. But we need to remember Satan is extremely wise and is extremely deceptive. Let me share a few verses with you. 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 14, Paul said this: Satan disguises himself. as an angel of light.

Jesus said in John 10:10, The thief that is Satan cometh not but to kill, steal, and destroy.

So um uh He transforms himself into an angel of light in order that he might carry out his purposes of killing, stealing, and destroying. And he brings a temptation into your life and makes it look like that he's a good guy that really has your best interests in mind, and he wants to do this to benefit you. And that's how it comes across. And you fall into it. and you realize that you have been deceived.

by one who disguises himself As an angel of light. In John 8, 44 through 45, Jesus said this to the wicked Pharisees. He said, You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth. Because there is no truth in him.

When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.

So, if Satan can deceive us into believing that he doesn't exist or that he's kind of like a cartoon character with a red suit and a pointed tail and a pitchfork, he's got us right where he wants us. There's a man in the crowd that day. As Jesus was preaching in the synagogue, And he was listening to what Jesus had to say. The man was possessed by a demon. And when everybody else got quiet after Jesus taught, And they were contemplating the things that Jesus said.

All of a sudden, this demon-possessed man stands up and he begins to shriek. He begins to shriek out loud. And what does he say? He said, What business do we have with you? Are you here to destroy us?

You are the Holy One of God. Folks, this situation here in the synagogue had to be disconcerting. Had to be very upsetting. These folks had just been blown away by the authority and the power of Jesus' teaching. And this demon-possessed man then jumps up.

And he starts shouting. And what is he shouting? He is saying, What business do you have with us? He is saying, you, have you come here to destroy us? You, we know who you are.

You are the Holy One of God. Folks, this demon is controlling this man's body. He is controlling his vocal cords. And the demon is absolutely terrified. That's very interesting.

Those who'd been listening to Jesus' preaching felt guilty, they felt broken, they felt convicted, they did not feel terrified. But the demon, they'll absolutely terrified. Why is that so? Because the demon understands exactly who this is. And the demon knows what his end is going to be.

He knows that this is the Holy One of God. Who is going to send him to his final judgment, which is the burning lake of fire?

Now, some of his fellow fallen angels have already been sent to hell. We see this in 2 Peter 2, verse 4, where Peter said this. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell, and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept. unto the judgment. The Greek word for hell in this passage in 2 Peter Is not the normal word that's used in the Greek for hell.

That's the word Gehenna. This word is the word Tartarus. It's only used one time in the scripture, and it's used right here. When a third of the angels In heaven, followed Satan in his rebellion. It's from Revelation chapter 12, verse 4.

There were some of those angels that the Lord dealt with. and and judged right there on the spot. And the LORD ushered them into this place called Tartaris. And I have to believe that the other Other Fallen angels that were following Satan in his rebellion, that they had to watch that. And then you saw exactly where these Demons went.

And they knew that that was going to be what was going to happen to them. That it was going to take place. They didn't know when. But they knew that it was coming. And the one who would send them to to their final judgment.

was standing right before This man. John MacArthur said the following. He said, The demon called Jesus, the Holy One of God, because he was fully aware of Jesus' divine authority. This unclean spirit, a being characterized by ultimate depravity and incurable wickedness, cringed in the presence of perfect virtue and holiness. Listen to these two verses.

They illustrate it well. 1 John 3.8. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. For the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

In Matthew 25, 41, Jesus said, Then he will say to those on the left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. When this demon saw Jesus speak with that kind of authority, He thought, the final hour of destruction has come and it is over. He was terrified and he trembled. You know, when I'm witnessing to somebody, and that person is an unrepentant person. And he tells me, Oh, I'm fine, don't worry about me.

I'm going to heaven because I believe. I share with them very quickly James chapter 2 verse 19. Thou believest in one God, thou doest well. The demons also believe and tremble. Folks, that's what this demon was doing.

He knew exactly who this was. He knew exactly what the gospel would be. He knew exactly what was coming. And he knew that he was headed For a burning like a fire. He was concerned that that might come sooner than later.

Point three, the authority of his power. Look at verse 25 through 28. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent and come out of him. And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this?

A new teaching with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee. So, the eschatological day of final judgment for Satan and his demons. had not yet come.

But this demon was given a foretaste Of the authority of Christ. overheam. Jesus was totally unfazed by what this demon was doing. And what did Jesus do? He just immediately, despite all the annex and the loudness and the confusion.

Jesus just rebuked him. It's kind of interesting to read what our modern-day translations, how they say it. I think they're a little too soft. The ESV says that he said to this demon, Be silent. The ASV says he said to this demon, Be quiet.

The King James Version says, He said to the demon, Hold your peace. I like what R. C. Sproll said better. R.C.

Sproll said that Jesus probably looked at this demon and said, You filthy demon, shut your mouth. And he did. There was no exorcism. There was no formula. There was no ritual.

Now these exorcisms were done all the time by the scribes. And the rabbis of that day They would sometimes take all day long trying to do one of these, just going through this long ritual. And at the end of the day, it would have done no good at all. They never had any success. All Jesus did was just speak the word.

and there was always 100% success And it happened very quickly. not all day long, but very quickly. Jesus simply ordered this demon to hush, and then immediately. The the stop the talking stopped. And he was commanded out of this man.

The demon shrieked first. and then he threw the man into convulsions, and then he left.

Now, what the demon said about Jesus was true. Have you ever noticed that? He said that Jesus was Jesus of Nazareth. that he was the holy one of God. This was not a praise of Jesus.

This was a fearful acknowledgement that Jesus was his most feared and hated enemy. Folks, as we go through the book of Mark, you're going to see a whole lot of these instances. where demons Speak to Jesus. And they say things about Jesus and who He is, and they are true things. And what does Jesus do?

Jesus always makes them hush. He makes them shut their mouths. They're not allowed to do it.

Now, you would think, well, Jesus might have just turned around to the Pharisees and said, Gas You want proof that I'm the Son of God? Here it is, right here. Listen to what the realm of Satan is saying. They are even acknowledging that I am the Holy One of God, the Son of God, the Messiah. Jesus would not let that happen.

Jesus did not care for their testimony. He did not want the testimony. He did not need their testimony. and he would not allow it. It's interesting to me that Mark provides no biographical information about the man here in the story.

We don't know his name. We don't know what he did. We don't know who he is. Um the and this lack of information is intentional. Jesus doesn't want us to, or the scripture doesn't want us to get caught up in who the man is because the man's not important.

The fight that's going on here is between Jesus and the demon. You see, the demon is just a tool, and I mean, the man is just a tool in the demon's hand to try to harm Christ.

So picture the scene. with no formula, with no ritual, no showy fanfare, Jesus just speaks the word. The demon is cast out of the man. And the man convulses. And the demon leaves, but the man is totally unharmed.

Verse 27 says, And they were all amazed.

So that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits. And they obey him. The crowd began to buzz with excitement.

over what has just happened. First, Jesus blew them away with teaching like they had never heard before. The teaching of Jesus just lit them up. It was convicting, it was challenging, it was comforting to them. It was clear as a bail, and it drove them Godward.

But Jesus not only spoke with authority, He also did spiritual warfare. with authority. The demons fled at his command. They were terrified. Demons understand judgment.

They understand the reality of a present hell. and a future burning like a fire. They also understand God's hatred for sin. And what do they do? They tremble.

Would to God. That the nation that we live in right now would understand The judgment of God. Would understand that there is a present hell. That there will be a future burning lake of fire. And those who don't know Christ We'll spend eternity there.

If that doesn't make you tremble. Nothing will. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, this passage focused on the sovereign, all-encompassing, absolute authority of Jesus Christ. We saw a powerful demonic being cower and tremble before the Son of God.

That happened 2,000 years ago. They still tremble before you. Those spirits under the satanic reign of the devil are without hope. They know that their eternal destiny is the lake of fire. They hate you with an everlasting hatred.

But they respect your authority. When you say stop, they stop. When you say bow, they bow. When you say cower, they cower. The unbelieving world has less respect for you than the demonic realm.

The secular world has no fear of God. They sense no reality in the gospel. They deny your existence. The demons hate you. But they don't deny you.

Father, we know that the day is quickly approaching When you're going to return. And every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. It's difficult to live in a world where there's so little respect for the God we know and love. Lord, please help us to be a bright shining witness. To people who have no fear of God.

and no love for God. May they see the reality of Jesus. You know us. Four days and the precious In holy name of Jesus, that we pray. Amen.

We try to sing a psalm every worship service when we're gathered here at Grace Church. And as I was reading over Doug's Sermon Texas last week, a particular psalm kept coming to mind, and it's Psalm 2. Psalm 2 is a messianic psalm. It's a psalm looking forward to the Messiah. More specifically, it's a kingship psalm.

It's a psalm that stresses the authority that Christ, God's anointed one, would have over all authorities, especially over those who were resisting him. And the right response to that authority is to bow before God's anointed and worship him. Let's sing together Psalm 2 as we respond to the truth we've heard this morning. Stand with me as we sing. No.

Why do the he, the nations rage? Why do the people plot in vain? Where's kings combined in and meeting? The rulers join against God's reign. They take their stand against the Lord and challenge his anointed one.

Let us break off their chains from. With their restraints, let us be done. The one enthroned in heaven lasts, the Lord on high device them all, and he rebukes them in his wrath, his rage and terror on them fall. The Lord has made it known to them. My chosen king I have installed on Zion, my own holy hill.

He is the One whom I have called now, therefore, kings through wisdom find you judges of the earth give reverence come and serve our Lord, bow down with joy and trending fear. Pay homage to the royal Son, lest you in wrath aside our thrust, for swiftly can his anger blaze. Blessed Old Woo in In trust. Thank you for coming to worshiping with us today. Let me really, really encourage you to come back tonight.

Yeah. Is our Lessons in carols. The gospel will be presented, some in song.

Something the scripture People that come tonight will hear the gospel. I would like to encourage you to invite your neighbors. A lot of times neighbor won't come on Sunday morning 11 o'clock. Uh but they'll come to a music service often. And so get out there and invite them, do some evangelism.

If they come tonight, I promise you this, they'll hear the gospel. In closing, let me encourage you with these words: receive the benediction. I have chosen you. and not cast you off. Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed.

For I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will withhold you. with my righteous right hand.

And all God's people said. Amen.