In the story of Jesus delivering a boy from an evil spirit, we see an illustration of Jesus freeing people from the power of sin and raising them up to newness of life.
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A Picture of Conversion
Luke 9:37-45
Bible students have often noticed the rich spiritual lessons that we learn from the miracles of Jesus Christ. When Jesus healed those who were blind, we see in that His ability to take away our spiritual blindness and enable us to see His glory. When Jesus healed those who were deaf, we see His ability to heal our spiritual deafness, and enable us to hear and love and obey God’s voice. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, we see a picture of Him raising up those who are dead in sin. When Jesus cleansed the lepers, we see a picture of Him cleansing those who have been defiled by sin. When Jesus healed paralytics, we see a picture of Jesus granting spiritual healing to those who are powerless to do anything to save themselves. And when Jesus cast out an evil spirit from someone, we see in that a picture of Him freeing people from the enslaving power of the devil and bringing them into His own kingdom.
Jesus has just been up on the mountain where He was transfigured before Peter, James, and John. Those disciples had just experienced a glorious spiritual mountaintop experience as they beheld Christ in His intrinsic Deity. Now, we find them coming down from the mountain to meet a desperate father with his demonically tormented son. Isn’t that like us? We will occasionally have just a wonderful mountaintop experience with Christ, where we get a clearer glimpse of His majesty and glory, and we just want to stay there. Perhaps that’s what Peter wanted to do. He suggested that he build three tabernacles, or tents. “Hey, we can all just hang out in these tents on the mountain!” Wouldn’t it be nice if our whole life was spent away from the troubles and stresses of life, on the mountain with Jesus, just beholding His glory? However, that’s not what life is like, isn’t it? These disciples came down the next day, and sooner or later, we will also have to come down to the real world in which we live. We live in a fallen world, full of sin and trouble and pain. And the Lord has called us to be on mission in this fallen troubled world. For us, that means that we need to be on mission right here in Rancho Cordova, in the midst of all of the sin, and addictions, and perversion, and pain that we see everywhere.
Now, as we study this particular story of Christ’s almighty power over Satan, we are going to look at it in six parts. Let’s look first of all at,
1. A Desperate Case 9:38-39.
Notice the situation. A father shouts out from the midst of a large crowd.
My only boy. 9:38. This would make his situation as a father all the more difficult to bear. This boy was his only child. He didn’t have any other children that he took love and enjoy. His only son was living a life of hell on earth, being tormented constantly by an evil spirit.
The spirit seizes, throws, and mauls him. 9:39. This boy was the helpless victim of an evil spirit living inside of him. He could be going along, minding his own business, when all of a sudden he could be seized, and thrown down, and mauled. This could happen at any time of the day or night. This boy never knew if he would go through a day without being tormented by this spirit.
Convulsions, foaming at the mouth, lunatic. In Mt. 17:15, the father calls his son a “lunatic” while the ESV translates it as an “epileptic.” The father was simply saying that at times his son acted like a lunatic. When he would fall to the ground, and start shaking, and foaming at the mouth, his boy would look and act like a lunatic.
Spirit throws him into the fire and the water. When this boy was seized by the spirit, he would afflict himself with pain and torture. This was exactly what the demoniac did. He gashed himself with stones. Both of them are intent on harming themselves. It makes me suspicious as to who is at the root of those who cut themselves or burn themselves on purpose today.
He was deaf and mute. In Mk. 9:25 Jesus says, “You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.” This boy could not hear or speak. Can you imagine how difficult it would be for the father! His son couldn’t hear him, and couldn’t speak back to him, even if he could hear. All verbal communication was cut off between father and son. Not only that, but imagine how difficult it would be for the father to protect his son. If his son was in danger of being trampled by horses, or bitten by a poisonous snake, the father couldn’t protect him by shouting to him.
This was a desperate case, both for father and son. The father never knew when his son would be seized, slammed to the ground, mauled, foaming at the mouth, or thrown into the water or the fire when he wasn’t around. The son, must have lived in terror every day of his life, never knowing when this horrible thing would come over him, and helpless he would be thrown around like a limp rag doll.
Who did this spirit go after? A boy, a youth, a member of the next generation. It is interesting how Satan chooses to afflict young people. This is not the only case in Scripture. There was also the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman who was cruelly demon-possessed. Just as Satan was going after young people in the first century, he’s going after them today. Evidence of this is not difficult to find. We are facing major problems in our country with teenage suicide, teenage promiscuity, teenage pregnancy, and violence in schools. There are thousands of schools now with metal detectors in the hallway where the students muss pass daily. When I was a high school kid, the deans were on the lookout for the kids smoking in the bathroom, or late for class. We’ve come a long way, haven’t we? Sadly, it’s been in the wrong direction.
Folks, this is the very case of every lost person today. They are living in the grip of the devil, though they don’t know it. The Bible says in 2 Tim. 2:26 that lost people are “in the snare of the devil, being held captive by him to do his will.” And, not only that, but Satan makes life miserable for millions. Through his influence, people turn to drugs, and alcohol, and pornography, and crime. What does it result in? Happiness, and joy, and freedom? No, bondage and misery! What do those kinds of things lead to? Liver disease, unable to hold down a job, homelessness, poverty, time in jail or prison, and the list could go on and on. Although most people don’t realize it, they are in a desperate situation. They are slaves to sin and Satan, under the wrath of God, and dead in trespasses and sins. Their situation is humanly hopeless.
2. A Divine Commission 9:41
Notice the command of Jesus Christ to this father, “bring your son here.” This is really the essence of the Great Commission. We need to bring people to Jesus. However, who was commanded to bring this boy to Jesus? It was his father, wasn’t it? Not only are all of us commanded to bring lost people to Jesus, but specifically Moms and Dads are commanded to bring their children to Jesus. Now, Jesus didn’t command the father to cast out the demon from his son. He simply commanded this father to bring the son to Him, and He would cast out the demon. Only Christ can save our children from sin. But we have a responsibility to bring our children to Christ.
Listen to what Moses told the children of Israel in Deut. 6:6-7, “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Did you hear that? Fathers and mothers in Israel were given the specific responsibility to teach the Word of God to their children. They were to do it diligently, which means to do it with persistent and painstaking effort. And they were to do it all the time, whether it was sitting, walking, lying down, or rising up.
Ephesians 6:4 says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Dads, listen to me. God has given you the responsibility of bringing up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. You are to bring them to Jesus. You are to teach them about Jesus. Teach them that Jesus is full of mercy and love, and welcomes any who will turn from their sin and trust fully in Him. Dads bring your children with you to church. Dads, teach your children by your example, that it is more important to be in church than to watch football on Sunday. Gather your children around you in the evening and read from the Bible, answer their questions, and pray with them and for them. Get everyone in the family involved. When you serve the Lord, get your children involved with you. If you are reaching out to a neighbor who is ill, have your kids go with you when you bring them a meal. Have them help you when you mow their lawn. Involve them in praying for others who need salvation. Dads, you are the Pastor over a little flock, your family. You need to be doing for your family what every Pastor of a church does, teaching them and watching over their souls. The stakes are way too high for you to neglect this responsibility. Ultimately salvation is of the Lord, and no parent is able to confer it upon his children. But the Lord uses the efforts of parents to nurture and train their children in the home. Only eternity will tell how many conversions were the direct result of parents bringing up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
3. A Directed Correction 9:40-41.
In this section of Luke’s gospel, Luke focuses on the failures of Jesus’ disciples. In this incident, they failed to be able to cast out this evil spirit. In vs. 43-45 they failed to understand Jesus statement about His death. In vs. 45-48 they failed to be humble. In vs. 49-50 they failed to accept others that did not follow along with them. In vs. 51-56 they failed to love those who would not receive them.
Let’s look a little closer at their particular failure here. In vs. 40, we are told that they could not cast out this evil spirit. The father begged them to cast it out, but there was nothing they could do. Jesus responds in vs. 41, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you and put with you?” Don’t you get the sense that Jesus is pretty exasperated with these guys? For him, faith was constant, and unwavering. For these guys, faith came slowly and in fits and starts. I can understand why their failure would exasperate Jesus. In Luke 9:1 Jesus had called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons. So, if Jesus had given them all authority over all the demons, why couldn’t they cast this one out? The real problem was that they were unbelieving. In Mt. 17:19, Matthew tells us that the 9 disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him why they could not cast out this spirit, and Jesus replies, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
So, the root problem was a lack of faith. But why was their faith so low? Well, I can imagine it didn’t help when Peter, James, and John got to go with Jesus to the mountaintop, and they were left behind. They must have felt like they were second string, the B team. While the Varsity team is up on the mountain, the Junior Varsity team was sitting on the bench down below. Perhaps they were feeling a little deflated, a little down, a little alienated from Jesus, because they didn’t feel as good or special as other 3 disciples. And then, because they were feeling down, they stopped praying and pursuing the spiritual disciplines. Jesus told them in Mark 14:29, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer.” I don’t think Jesus meant prayer for the demon to come out. Surely, they had already done that, and were unsuccessful. It is more likely Jesus meant that this kind of demon can only come out by a lifestyle of prayer. As we pray daily, and draw near to the Lord, our faith is strong and ready to encounter any issues that might come up. But if we live prayerless lives, it is no wonder we will fail when the test comes. Have you ever felt like these disciples? Have you ever got kind of down and depressed, and the first thing you stop doing is praying? Folks, that is when you need to pray the most! Learn not to live by your emotions and feelings, but by a disciplined obedient life. Whether we feel like it or not, we must seek the Lord, pray, and read and meditate on the Scriptures.
So, here was the situation. This father came up and literally begged these nine disciples to cast this evil spirit out of his son. They had already been given the authority to do it. However, they lacked faith, because their prayer lives had gone out the window. You and I are going to run into opportunities to deliver people from the devil’s grip, but we will never be used of God to see people freed and saved and delivered, unless we are men and women of faith and prayer. Do you want God to use you to bring people to Christ so that they are set free? It begins with your walk with Jesus. If you are not seeking God daily, it should be no surprise if at the end of the year you look back and see that you brought no one to Christ. I challenge all of you to discipline yourself to seek God every day! Probably the greatest hindrance to a daily, vibrant time with God is the things we allow to distract us. I confess that I was allowing myself to get distracted from my time with the Lord, because when I woke up the first thing I would do is check my phone for text messages, or look on the computer to how we were doing on Yelp. I justified it by telling myself that I was so sleepy, that it would be good to do this and take a little time until I got fully awake, and then I would read and pray. However, it was just last Sunday that I felt the Lord direct me to make a commitment not to look at my phone or the computer until after I had spent time with Him. So, that’s what I’ve been doing this last week, and it has made a big difference in not getting so distracted when I’m praying or reading the Word. Folks, if you are not in the good habit of starting out every day with Jesus, before you do anything else, I exhort you to start! Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. Interestingly, if you examine the lives of those men of God throughout church history that accomplished something significant for the kingdom of God with their lives, to a man, they were those who had learned to discipline themselves. If you live an undisciplined life, you will accomplish little in this life. So, discipline yourselves, when you feel like it, and when you don’t, to start every day with Jesus. Then, when opportunities to share your faith, or pray for someone come along, your faith will be strong and ready for that challenge.
4. A Demonic Convulsion 9:42.
Note what took place in verse 42, when the father was approaching Jesus with his son. “While he was still approaching, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into a convulsion.”
Now, what’s going on here. This evil spirit sees Jesus coming, and knows its over. However, he’s not going down without a fight. Have you ever seen a little child throw a tantrum when he was told to share his toys with another child? They know they have to give the toy to the other child, but they don’t want to, so they throw the toy on the ground right by the other child. Well, that is what this demon is doing. It knows it must leave, but it is going to do its best to inflict some damage on the way out.
You know, often when a person is first coming to Christ, they experience difficulty, and strife, and problems. Satan slams them with doubts and fears. He tries to convince them that they don’t really want to surrender their lives to Christ. They don’t really want to repent of their sin. They don’t want to give up drugs, or alcohol, or pornography, or fornicating, or stealing. He whispers, “You don’t want to lose your life, now do you? If you come to Christ, He is going to require that you surrender all to him. You don’t want that. Just keep living the way you’re living, and you can do whatever you want.”
Now, hear me, those of you who are new to the things of God. Those of you who have only been coming to church and learning God’s Word for a short time, it may get worse before it gets better. If you are in the process of coming to Jesus, don’t be surprised if you face some heavy attacks. That’s normal. Keep the goal in your sights. Do you truly want forgiveness of sins? Do you want a clean slate before God? Do you want the gift of eternal life? Do you want to be freed from sin? Do you want to get off drugs, or alcohol, or pornography? Do you want to know God and enjoy Him? Then, when Satan slams you to the ground with doubts and fears, keep your sights on the goal, and realize this will soon pass. Like a spoiled child, the devil knows his dominion over you is through, so he’s slamming you down one last time.
Oh, for those of you who are just coming to Christ out of a background of darkness and ignorance of spiritual things, hang on to what you know is true. Jesus is God. He is the Savior of the world. The Bible promises you life and forgiveness and peace and acceptance through turning from sin and trusting Him fully. Don’t forget in the dark, what you learned in the light! Even if things get worse for you, know they will get better. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Pr.3:5-6).
5. A Deathlike Condition Mk. 9:26
In Mark 9:26 the Bible says, “After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, “He is dead!” After Jesus cast that spirit out, the boy looked like he had died. He was still and quiet, just as though he had died.
In the case of the person who has just come to Christ, he also goes through a deathlike experience. Romans 7:9 says, “I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died; and this commandment, which was to result in life, proved to result in death for me; for sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me.” What is Paul describing? He’s describing the time in his life when God’s Law came home to his heart so powerfully, that he died to any hope of achieving salvation by his own character or efforts. He died to any thought of his own inherent goodness. He died to any dream of being justified by law-keeping.
My friend, have you experienced this? Or, do you still believe that somehow your goodness is going to get you into heaven? Do you believe that God will accept your own righteousness? Do you believe that you are basically a good person, and you’ve never done anything really bad, and God will overlook your faults and let you into heaven? My friend, if that’s what you believe, you are still lost. You are not saved. You will surely perish forever.
Although it’s never easy or fun to go through a deathlike experience, it is necessary for every person who would enter the kingdom of heaven. The Law of God must slay us. It must show us that we are thieves, liars, and adulterers at heart. It must show us that we have not loved God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, nor our neighbor as our self. The Law must slay any false hope that I can save myself. The Law must kill your self-righteousness, so that you can be clothed in His own perfect righteousness. Oh, may God slay you, that you might then be made alive.
6. A Dynamic Cure 9:42
In Mark 9:27 the Bible says, “But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.” Here is a beautiful picture of resurrection and New Life. After that boy was raised up by Jesus, his life would never be the same. His old life was characterized by misery, alienation, suffering, anguish. His new life was characterized by happiness, joy, communion. One minute he looked like a corpse, and the next minute Jesus had raised him up, and he was fully alive.
Again, this provides us with a beautiful picture of our new life in Christ. Do you realize that every person who becomes a Christian experiences a spiritual resurrection? Jesus Christ Himself raises them up from death to life. Once they were dead in sin and dead to God, and then they are raised up to a new life in Christ.
In Ephesians 2:5 it says, “even when we were dead in our transgressions, God made us alive together with Christ.”
Colossians 3:1 says, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
My friend, have you experienced a resurrection of your soul? Have you ever experienced the New Birth? Have you ever completely changed on the inside, so that you now love what you once hated, and hate what you once loved? My friend, without this, you are not a Christian. You may attend church, and you may even pray and read the Bible. But without the impartation of a new life, you are still lost. Do not settle for being religious. Do not settle for attending church. If you do, you will be damned in the end. Never settle until you know you have been born of the Spirit of God, resulting in a spiritual resurrection!
Conclusion
Every one of us is somewhere in this story.
1) Maybe you are the boy when he is being tormented by Satan. You know the devil has grip on you, and you can’t get yourself free. And the evil things you are doing are destroying your life. You need to know that Christ can set you free! Come to Him this morning. Trust Him. Look away from your self and all your problems and look long and hard at Jesus. If the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed!
2) Maybe you are the boy who is being led to Jesus by someone else. Maybe your parents, or a friend, or a co-worker, or someone here at The Bridge is leading you to Jesus. You need to remember, it may get worse before it gets better. Satan won’t give you up without a fight. Just keep your sights on the end goal. Keep your eyes on Jesus. He offers life, forgiveness, peace, acceptance and heaven.
3) Maybe you see yourself in the father who is leading his boy to Jesus. Oh, fathers, take up your God-given responsibility to shepherd and disciple your children. You will never be fully done with this task. It will last as long as your children are living under your roof, and even then, you will still pray for them. Be faithful and diligent to bring up your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
4) Maybe you see yourself in the disciples who couldn’t cast out the spirit. If you feel like you lack spiritual power, get back to the basics. Begin to seek the Lord. Abide in Him. Pray to Him. Walk with Him. Pour over His Word, and make it your joy and delight. Fight anything that distracts you from it. Grow strong in faith, and God will use you mightily!
5) Maybe you see yourself in the boy who was cured and raised up. If that’s you, you need to get busy finding other people who were just like you that need Jesus. If God has caused you to be born again, and given you new life, I want to challenge you this morning to be on mission with us here at The Bridge. God has called us to make disciples here in Rancho Cordova. Start thinking about how God can use you to do the work of disciple-making. Get involved in a Missional Community. Make that commitment to this church by becoming a member. God has raised you to serve.
Wherever you see yourself in this story this morning, may God work in you to will and do of His good pleasure. Let’s pray.
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