Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. You celebrate. The victory of Christ. That he has authority over the demons himself.
Now, very quickly, our Lord Jesus has authority not only over the demons. He has authority over This is Welcome to the verdict with Pastor John Monroe, Senior Pastor at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Isn't it true that many people are fascinated by the occult? Demons, vampires, and witches are featured in many forms of popular entertainment. Today, we're learning what the Word of God teaches us about the power and authority of our Lord Jesus Christ over the forces of darkness.
To introduce today's lesson, here's Pastor John Monroe. As we continue the series in the Gospel of Matthew, We see Jesus confronting the reality of demonic darkness, evil, and disease. Many people have a fascination with witches and ghosts and vampires and the like. What do you think of it all? Is it a bit of a joke or is there truly a dark side to reality?
Where does evil and wickedness come from? And why is it that we're sometimes drawn into that darkness? The Christian Gospel Is that God in great love sent his Son from the light of heaven into the darkness and evil of our world. And our Lord Jesus is greater than the darkness, the demonic world, and Satan himself. Today, we will see the Lord demonstrating that authority.
Isn't it interesting? I find this interesting that the demons know who Jesus is. Verse 29. Notice how they describe Jesus. What have you to do with you, with us, O Son of God?
Have you come to torment us here before the time? Just think of it. God incarnate. comes through a storm. and comes right to your hometown.
and you tell him, go away. Go away. See, the greatest problem of sin is not what it does to yourself. Drastical though that is. The greatest problem of sin is not what it does to others, devastating although that is.
The greatest problem of sin. Is You are alienated from God. It is a spiritual Problem. Yes, your sin impacts yourself. Yes, it impacts others.
But your greatest problem is that you're alienated from God. Your sin. There's a tremendous cloud. Between you And God. And these demon-possessed men.
want nothing to do with Jesus. And did you notice as the herdsmen go back and tell the gatherings what had happened? You think the Katarines would say, this is wonderful. We've always wondered about these terrible men, and now the demons have gone out of them. How wonderful.
We must learn more about Jesus. That's what the Samaritans did when Jesus said, when the woman said, To the Samaritans, come see a man that told me all things that ever I did. Is not this the Christ? And the whole town of Samaria come to Christ to learn about him, not here. What are the gatherings concerned about?
They're concerned about their pigs. The whole herd of pigs. went down. And to the sea. When it comes to it, their lifestyle, their livelihood is more important to them than the salvation and the transformation which Jesus brings.
I've seen that as I've witnessed to people. Their life is an absolute mess. But they will not bow the knee to Jesus Christ because when it comes to it, their lifestyle, their livelihood. Their friendships are more important than following Christ. This is the reality.
of the world of demonic darkness and evil. Our Lord Jesus has authority over the demons. Jesus comes and brings spiritual deliverance. With Jesus, the kingdom of God has come. How wonderful!
The kingdom of heaven is now invading the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of sin, and the kingdom of Satan. And Jesus casting out these demons is demonstrating that the kingdom of God is greater than the kingdom of darkness. Isn't that good to be on the right side? Matthew 12 verse 28, a key verse. If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
The kingdom of God has come. It's true, it's not come in its fullness. But the kingdom of God with King Jesus is invading the kingdom of darkness, and the light of the kingdom of God is dispelling the darkness of the kingdom of Satan. And Jesus specializes in seemingly hopeless situations, doesn't it? He heals a leper.
He calms the sea. He's now casting demons out of man. in circumstances of overwhelming hopelessness and despair and gloom. What is Jesus doing? He's bringing peace, he's bringing deliverance, he's bringing healing.
He's bringing life itself. Perhaps you think your situation is hopeless. Perhaps you've gone so deep into the darkness. Perhaps you've resisted the Spirit of God for so long. And you've gone in a lifestyle and an attitude and a thought process that has taken you further and further away from Jesus Christ.
And you have not bowed the knee to Christ. You're living your own life. Can I tell you? No situation is too difficult. Because who Jesus is the Son of God.
Even these men recognize that. And he can do what no one else. can do. Unclean. Spirits dwelling in unclean man.
living in unclean Ooms enter unclean pigs. These demons are so fierce That they can destroy anyone in their way and they end up by destroying the pigs.
Now the demons, not Jesus, caused the pigs to stampede down the steep bank and to drown in the Sea of Galilee. The demon's hatred of God Extends to their hatred of God's creation. You say, why did they... the uh demons enter the pigs. Anyone asking a question?
I don't know. Matthew doesn't tell us. You say it's a strange thing. It is a strange thing. I don't know why.
This happened. You can speculate, but I do know this. From scripture, also from my own experience. that evil is often senseless. and irrational.
Sometimes Someone will say about someone else.
Well, they wouldn't be so stupid as to do such-and-such. They're a smart person. Yes, they are a smart person. And if their eyes on Jesus Christ, they wouldn't do such and such. But Isn't it true?
as you look back over your life. that you have done Stupid. even irrational Foolish things. when you've been involved in sin. Sin Certainly, as we continue down that pathway, it impacts how we think.
I was talking to to uh drug addicts. And say, you get really happiness with this lifestyle. No, no, I don't. It's a terrible lifestyle.
Well, why don't you stop?
Well, I really can't. Why did you do such and such?
Well, I really can't explain that. Sin makes you do foolish and irrational things. Here is a man. who's happily married to a beautiful Christian godly woman. And he does something very stupid.
And he does something very sinful. He leaves that beautiful, godly woman. and has an affair with some other woman. And when you look at the other woman that he has chosen, and you look at her, and you look at his beautiful wife that he's left, you say, what are you thinking about, man? I mean, if you're going to leave your wife, why would you choose her?
She seems an ugly person. Even externally, you can see the hardness in her. And she's certainly an ugly person inside that would destroy your marriage. What have you done? What's happened?
Sin makes us do Stupid. irrational Things. That's why you've got to keep your eyes on Christ. And sin, can I remind you? I've said this before recently, sin never ever ends well.
Yes, you get temporary pleasure. Yes, it seems very thrilling at the moment, young man. But sin, when you choose that path, it never ends well. The way of the transgressor is hard. And it always leads you down, down, down.
The very pigs are destroyed as they come steep down that bank. A demonstration of evil and the result of evil because the very wages of sin is Yeah. their magnificent Lord. He directly confronts Sin and the demons and evil and death. And he is victorious.
John writes in 1 John 3 verse 18 and verse 8. that the Son of God appeared to destroy the works of the devil. Why did Jesus come to earth? One answer is he came to destroy the world. The works.
of the devil. We by ourselves can never destroy the works of the devil. We ourselves can never be victorious by ourselves. Our Lord Jesus is the only one who can deliberate us. From our desperate situation and reconcile us to God.
to ourselves and then to others. At the cross, the cross of Christ, what happened? Our Lord Jesus triumphed over death, and darkness, and Satan. Paul writes in Colossians 2:15 that our Lord disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. That was the victory of the resurrection, demonstrating that our Lord Jesus had gone into the darkness, had gone into the darkness.
had taken on the devil. and his demons and rises victorious. And therefore He has all authority. To deliver you what from the kingdom of darkness. And to deliver you, as Paul says in Colossians 1, into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
Everyone here today is either in the kingdom of darkness or in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. You say, how can I be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. The only one who can do it is Jesus Christ. He's a reconciler. He's the only one who can defeat sin.
He's the only one, as we'll see in a minute, who can forgive sins. Peter says we're called out of darkness into his. Marvelous. Light. For the followers of Jesus, isn't it wonderful to live in the light?
When you've had a taste of the darkness, You celebrate. The victory of Christ. That he has authority over the demons himself.
Now, very quickly, our Lord Jesus has authority not only over the demons. He has authority over disease versus One of Matthew 9. And getting into a boat, he crossed over and came to his own city. That's Capernaum. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic lying on a bed.
And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, take heart, my son. Your sins are forgiven. And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, This man is blaspheming. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier to say, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, Rise and walk.
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. He then said to the paralytic, Rise. Pick up your bed and go home. And he rose and went home. When the crowd saw it, they were afraid.
And they glorified God. who had given What? Such authority. To men. Authority over demons.
some authority over disease. And later Matthew is going to demonstrate his authority over death. Here is a man who's paralyzed brought to Jesus. He's paralyzed. He's unable to fulfill his physical potential.
He can't come to Jesus by himself. A wonderful thing happened to this paralyzed man. Friends of his bring him to Jesus, to Capernaum, to Jesus' own city. You know, if you've got friends or family that Bring you to Jesus. You're greatly blessed.
I grew up in a home where my mom and dad, in a sense, brought me to Jesus. Many of you are similar. Don't resent some friend or family member. who tries to bring you to Jesus. You see, sin is a destructive force in our life and it paralyzes us.
And this man who is paralyzed is a picture again of what sin. Yeah. And the greatest thing that you can do to anyone in your family. friends is to introduce them to Jesus. There are many of you who do that.
And as you do that, there are always obstacles. Have you found that it isn't easy sometimes? This man is paralyzed. There are crowds preventing Them from bringing him to Jesus, Mark tells us they've got to open the roof and lower him down. Matthew doesn't give us that detail.
Uh but The crowd, the house is full, and there's critics there, there's the Pharisees just waiting to find fault. in spite of all of the obstacles. These friends are determined to bring the man to Jesus. Faith in action.
Now this paralytic What was his greatest need? Physical restoration? No. His greatest need was forgiveness of sins. His spiritual condition was far more important than his physical healing.
And as Jesus speaks to him, Jesus almost ignores the fact that the man is paralyzed. Did you notice that in verse 2? People bring the paralytic, he's lying on a bed, it's more of a stretcher, a mat. This is not your king-size bed at home, just a mat. And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, Well, you're in pretty bad shape.
Maybe I can do something for you. This is what he says. Don't you love this? Take heart, my son. Have courage is the point.
Your sins are Forgiven. You see, forgiveness of your sin, not your health. Not your wealth. Not your happiness. The forgiveness of your sin is your greatest need.
And the greatest gift that I have ever received. It's the forgiveness of my sin. See, all sin is against God, isn't it? We thought of the darkness of sin. And it's only God who has the authority to forgive all sins.
And so Jesus says here, verse 6, but that you may know that the Son of Man, this is a royal term marking Jesus as the Messianic king who ushers in the kingdom of God, the Son of Man, as he's referring to Daniel chapter 7, but that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. The king has come, God himself. He has come to earth. And he is the only one who has authority to forgive your sins. Verse 6: He has present tense.
He has, now, ever had, will have, the authority to forgive. Sense. And as he says that, there is then this conflict with the Pharisees. He's blaspheming only God has the authority to forgive sins and rights. Jesus is claiming to do what only God can do, is to forgive sins.
And the paralytic is healed and forgiven. He rises and he goes home. The proof of his forgiveness of sin is demonstrated by. getting up and going home. the invisible spiritual transformation.
that is forgiveness of sins, is demonstrated by the visible Healing. In this life, Of this paralytic man, can you imagine a man who's paralyzed, doesn't need to go through rihab. To get his muscles in tone, no, immediately, transformation. The man is totally healed. He gets up.
Picks up his bed. And goes home. As simple as that. See the miracle. of a changed life is far greater than A storm.
The miracle of this man's Forgiveness of sins is much more important, isn't it, than the miracle of the coming of the storm. And forgiveness leads to transformational life. Do you think as he went home, he told his friends about Jesus? Yeah. I'm sure he did.
Or what's easier to say is the question. Is it easier to say Your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise up and walk.
Well, Jesus does both. But before Jesus could grant forgiveness, He knew He had to die as a sacrifice. for that man's sin. on the cross. Speaking these words of forgiveness, verse 2: Take heart, my son, your sins are forgiven.
Jesus must have tasted of the agony. of the cross. See, when you ask God to blot out your transgressions, you're asking that your transgressions, your sins, will be obliterated by the blood of Jesus. In asking God to wash you, to cleanse you, you're asking that the filth of your sin, your many sins, will overwhelm Jesus like a flood. This is the cost.
of forgiveness. Listen to Paul. In Ephesians One verse seven: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness. Over trespasses. according to the riches of his grace.
which he lavished upon us That's it. What does Paul say? In Colossians 1, I've already referred to it a little bit. Colossians 1, verse 13, listen to it. He has delivered us.
From the domain of darkness And transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness. Of sense. We're all spiritually paralyzed. Paul says it was when you were weak, it was when you were helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly in Romans 5. And the cross of Christ is the only place.
where you can receive forgiveness. of your sin. How can my sins be forgiven? It's through trusting Jesus Christ. As the one who paid the price for all of my sins, all of my darkness, all of my evil.
Only God can do that. Forgiveness of sin is the prerogative of God, it's His speciality. Matthew is telling us: the king has come. and has authority in his teaching. He has authority over leprosy.
He has authority over disease. He has authority even over the creation. And he's the only one who has the power and the authority to forgive your sins. God In his grace through the blood of Jesus Christ, forgives your sins. He guarantees he will never ever.
Bring them back before you. The scripture says, your sins and your iniquities I will remember no more. And if that is the case, why do you go back to them? The devil wants you to go back to them, to revel in them. Don't.
They're gone. Psalm 103, your sins are separated as far as the east is from the west. Immeasurable is the point, an infinite distance. Micah says that he has cast your sins in the depths of the sea. Wonderful pictures.
to describe the magnificent, unique forgiveness of our Lord. Jesus Christ, hear his words. My son. My daughter. Your sense.
are forgiven. This is the verdict featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity, to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. but to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God.
To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled Eternal Security, Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World. Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony, along with a careful examination of Scripture, to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at the verdict. org. While you're there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, What's your verdict? If our Lord Jesus has authority over the demonic world and over disease itself, Doesn't it make sense that we place our trust in Him? Greater is he who is in us, followers of Jesus, than he who is in the world.
So, If you're following the Lord Jesus, there's no need to fear the darkness or the devil. Resist the devil and he'll flee from you. and all who trust in Jesus will spend eternity with him. Where there is no darkness or death. or disease.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
