1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,083 2 00:00:09,167 --> 00:00:14,083 [music] 3 00:00:14,167 --> 00:01:03,917 4 00:01:04,000 --> 00:01:05,333 All righty, Mars Hill. 5 00:01:05,417 --> 00:01:09,417 We continue our 2 1/2-year, yes, 2 1/2-year journey 6 00:01:09,500 --> 00:01:10,750 through Luke's gospel. 7 00:01:10,833 --> 00:01:14,250 Today we look at the fact that Jesus heals a demonized boy 8 00:01:14,333 --> 00:01:17,625 in Luke 9:37-45. 9 00:01:17,708 --> 00:01:19,708 As you're turning there in your Bible, 10 00:01:19,792 --> 00:01:21,542 I want to show you something. 11 00:01:21,625 --> 00:01:24,292 This is actually a well-known painting from Raphael, 12 00:01:24,375 --> 00:01:25,958 the great master. 13 00:01:26,042 --> 00:01:32,083 This was his final piece of work and it is taken from Luke 9. 14 00:01:32,167 --> 00:01:35,375 He was inspired by the section of Scripture that we find 15 00:01:35,458 --> 00:01:39,750 ourselves in today, and he was struck, rightly so, 16 00:01:39,833 --> 00:01:44,167 by the distinction between Jesus in glory, 17 00:01:44,250 --> 00:01:46,417 and a young boy in misery. 18 00:01:46,500 --> 00:01:49,917 And what happens in Luke 9 is there is an occasion where Jesus 19 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,708 goes up onto a mountainside with his disciples, 20 00:01:52,792 --> 00:01:56,833 and he is transfigured, revealed as the God of glory. 21 00:01:56,917 --> 00:02:00,792 Meanwhile, below that mountain, there was a crowd that was 22 00:02:00,875 --> 00:02:04,875 gathering, and among them was a young boy who was attacked, 23 00:02:04,958 --> 00:02:09,917 troubled by a demon and was suffering in great misery. 24 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:14,375 And so the great painter Raphael in examining the Scriptures was 25 00:02:14,458 --> 00:02:19,167 struck by this stark contrast, and so he painted this painting 26 00:02:19,250 --> 00:02:22,750 showing some of the transition that Jesus had to go 27 00:02:22,833 --> 00:02:27,792 from as he enjoyed his moment of revelation in glory, 28 00:02:27,875 --> 00:02:31,250 back to his ministry in misery. 29 00:02:31,333 --> 00:02:35,458 And so we pick up the story that inspired Raphael, 30 00:02:35,542 --> 00:02:38,917 and the first thing we learn is that Satan causes suffering. 31 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,792 In Luke 9:37-39 "On the next day," 32 00:02:42,875 --> 00:02:45,125 that's the day after the glorious transfiguration 33 00:02:45,208 --> 00:02:48,750 of Jesus, "when they had come down from the mountain, 34 00:02:48,833 --> 00:02:50,417 "a great crowd met him. 35 00:02:50,500 --> 00:02:53,417 "And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, 'Teacher, 36 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:57,375 "'I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 37 00:02:57,458 --> 00:03:00,708 "'And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. 38 00:03:00,792 --> 00:03:03,708 "'It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, 39 00:03:03,792 --> 00:03:07,042 and shatters him, and will hardly leave him.'" 40 00:03:07,125 --> 00:03:09,708 Let me give you a bit of a cultural understanding 41 00:03:09,792 --> 00:03:11,250 of what's going on here. 42 00:03:11,333 --> 00:03:15,250 In that day, children were highly treasured, 43 00:03:15,333 --> 00:03:18,625 greatly valued among the people of God. 44 00:03:18,708 --> 00:03:21,292 The culture, in general, would oftentimes throw children away 45 00:03:21,375 --> 00:03:24,125 and discard them, and these children would be used for 46 00:03:24,208 --> 00:03:27,458 prostitution, and gladiatorial games, and the like. 47 00:03:27,542 --> 00:03:29,958 But the people of God who believed the Bible, 48 00:03:30,042 --> 00:03:33,083 they read the Bible's words that children are a blessing. 49 00:03:33,167 --> 00:03:37,167 And so God's people aspired to be married, and have children, 50 00:03:37,250 --> 00:03:39,917 and they considered that a blessing from God. 51 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:42,458 That's why earlier in Luke's gospel when Elizabeth, 52 00:03:42,542 --> 00:03:45,458 as an older woman, was still unable to have children, 53 00:03:45,542 --> 00:03:48,625 and then God enabled her to give birth to John the Baptizer, 54 00:03:48,708 --> 00:03:52,333 she said that, "The Lord has lifted my shame," 55 00:03:52,417 --> 00:03:54,833 taken her disgrace. 56 00:03:54,917 --> 00:03:56,917 She felt blessed of God. 57 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:01,500 Additionally, alongside of this spiritual reason why they'd want 58 00:04:01,583 --> 00:04:05,625 to have children, there was also a very practical reason, 59 00:04:05,708 --> 00:04:08,042 and that was that unlike our modern day, which is very 60 00:04:08,125 --> 00:04:11,583 urban--for the first time in the world's history, 61 00:04:11,667 --> 00:04:14,333 the majority of its citizens live in major cities, 62 00:04:14,417 --> 00:04:17,042 and the demographers tell us that by 2030, 63 00:04:17,125 --> 00:04:20,333 60% of the world will live in cities and urban centers. 64 00:04:20,417 --> 00:04:23,667 It was exactly the opposite in the days of the first century, 65 00:04:23,750 --> 00:04:26,500 where the majority of people lived in very small towns. 66 00:04:26,583 --> 00:04:29,583 Most of the towns that Jesus travels to, as you've seen, 67 00:04:29,667 --> 00:04:32,042 are less than a hundred people. 68 00:04:32,125 --> 00:04:35,292 And in that day, being a rural society, 69 00:04:35,375 --> 00:04:38,125 most people were involved in fishing, farming, and the like, 70 00:04:38,208 --> 00:04:40,583 and so the more children you had, the better, 71 00:04:40,667 --> 00:04:43,583 because it was more hands to help the family 72 00:04:43,667 --> 00:04:44,958 earn a living. 73 00:04:45,042 --> 00:04:46,750 It's exactly the opposite of today. 74 00:04:46,833 --> 00:04:49,708 The closer you get to a city, less people get married, 75 00:04:49,792 --> 00:04:53,167 less people have children, and children are very expensive. 76 00:04:53,250 --> 00:04:55,833 They're not a financial contribution to the family. 77 00:04:55,917 --> 00:04:57,333 I know this. 78 00:04:57,417 --> 00:04:59,833 I have five children, they contribute zero 79 00:04:59,917 --> 00:05:01,708 to the family income. 80 00:05:01,792 --> 00:05:03,583 I love 'em. I adore 'em. 81 00:05:03,667 --> 00:05:06,083 They're absolutely worth it all, 82 00:05:06,167 --> 00:05:09,917 but they're not a huge financial support system. 83 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:12,792 Recently after vacation, getting ready to go back to work, 84 00:05:12,875 --> 00:05:15,292 Gideon, my 4-year-old asked, "Dad, what are you doing?" 85 00:05:15,375 --> 00:05:17,125 "I'm getting ready to go to work." 86 00:05:17,208 --> 00:05:18,625 "Why?" 87 00:05:18,708 --> 00:05:20,458 "Well, how many of us are there?" 88 00:05:20,542 --> 00:05:22,958 "One, two, three, four, well, there's seven of us, Dad." 89 00:05:23,042 --> 00:05:26,208 "How many of us have a job? Well, one of us gets paid. 90 00:05:26,292 --> 00:05:27,917 "Okay, yeah, your mom has a job. 91 00:05:28,000 --> 00:05:30,708 "Your dad has a job. I'm the one who gets paid. 92 00:05:30,792 --> 00:05:33,042 I gotta go to work and pay the bills." 93 00:05:33,125 --> 00:05:35,875 In that day, the whole family would work on the farm, 94 00:05:35,958 --> 00:05:38,917 or work in the fishing industry, or work in the family business, 95 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,583 and the more hands, the more helpers, the more income. 96 00:05:41,667 --> 00:05:43,583 And here was the one of the problems: 97 00:05:43,667 --> 00:05:45,583 the infant mortality rate was very, very high. 98 00:05:45,667 --> 00:05:48,417 Only about half of children lived to see their 5th birthday. 99 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:50,917 They oftentimes wouldn't even name a child till the child 100 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:53,917 was a week old because so many children died during the first 101 00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:56,417 week, they didn't want to suffer even more grief with 102 00:05:56,500 --> 00:05:59,833 an intense emotional attachment like a name. 103 00:05:59,917 --> 00:06:04,042 Less than 40% of people who were born would actually live 104 00:06:04,125 --> 00:06:07,083 to see age 20. 105 00:06:07,167 --> 00:06:09,125 So if you can imagine this, 106 00:06:09,208 --> 00:06:12,792 if you wanted to have two adult children, 107 00:06:12,875 --> 00:06:18,792 you would need to birth five and bury three. 108 00:06:18,875 --> 00:06:25,000 And so it was a very difficult day in which to have children. 109 00:06:25,083 --> 00:06:28,083 Furthermore, one of the reasons you would want to have a child, 110 00:06:28,167 --> 00:06:30,750 in addition to the spiritual and the financial, 111 00:06:30,833 --> 00:06:32,250 was this issue of legacy. 112 00:06:32,333 --> 00:06:33,667 The Bible's filled with genealogies, 113 00:06:33,750 --> 00:06:36,500 and the hope is that from one generation to the next, 114 00:06:36,583 --> 00:06:39,000 God's people have children who love and serve God, 115 00:06:39,083 --> 00:06:41,000 and that legacy continues. 116 00:06:41,083 --> 00:06:43,833 That's why even in our own day people have last names 117 00:06:43,917 --> 00:06:47,750 like Jackson, or Nicholson, or Michaelson, why? 118 00:06:47,833 --> 00:06:50,917 Because it's Michael's son or it's Jack's son 119 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,167 or it's Mick's son. 120 00:06:53,250 --> 00:06:54,750 There's something of that lineage 121 00:06:54,833 --> 00:06:57,750 and legacy carrying on the family name. 122 00:06:57,833 --> 00:07:00,750 And so children were important for a multitude of reasons, 123 00:07:00,833 --> 00:07:04,750 and sons, in particular, were valuable 124 00:07:04,833 --> 00:07:07,208 because there wasn't social security. 125 00:07:07,292 --> 00:07:10,583 There wasn't retirement as we know it. 126 00:07:10,667 --> 00:07:12,250 There wasn't Medicare, Medicaid. 127 00:07:12,333 --> 00:07:16,792 There weren't such things as hospice or nursing homes. 128 00:07:16,875 --> 00:07:21,083 Instead, you had a son, and when your son was little, 129 00:07:21,167 --> 00:07:23,167 you'd look after him, and change his diaper. 130 00:07:23,250 --> 00:07:25,833 And when you were old, he would return the favor, 131 00:07:25,917 --> 00:07:27,375 and that's how it worked. 132 00:07:27,458 --> 00:07:30,042 And so there were a multitude of reasons to aspire 133 00:07:30,125 --> 00:07:31,750 to want children. 134 00:07:31,833 --> 00:07:34,917 There would be a multitude of reasons to have a number of 135 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,333 children, and particularly to pray for sons. 136 00:07:37,417 --> 00:07:39,083 That leads us to the story. 137 00:07:39,167 --> 00:07:41,250 Jesus comes down the mountain after being revealed 138 00:07:41,333 --> 00:07:45,500 as the God of glory, and to him comes a father, 139 00:07:45,583 --> 00:07:50,000 a desperate father who says something that is terrifying. 140 00:07:50,083 --> 00:07:54,167 He says, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my," 141 00:07:54,250 --> 00:07:55,667 what? 142 00:07:55,750 --> 00:07:57,167 "Only child." 143 00:07:57,250 --> 00:07:59,250 We don't know if they've had other children, 144 00:07:59,333 --> 00:08:00,958 and they've died. 145 00:08:01,042 --> 00:08:03,292 We don't know if this man's married, widowed, divorced. 146 00:08:03,375 --> 00:08:05,458 We don't know if they struggled from infertility. 147 00:08:05,542 --> 00:08:07,875 We know nothing of his wife, his marital history. 148 00:08:07,958 --> 00:08:10,542 At this point, all we know is here's a man 149 00:08:10,625 --> 00:08:14,542 who has one child, a son. 150 00:08:14,625 --> 00:08:17,250 Everything's riding on this boy. 151 00:08:17,333 --> 00:08:21,208 This son is all that he has. 152 00:08:21,292 --> 00:08:24,792 "And behold, a spirit," a demon, an unclean, unholy, 153 00:08:24,875 --> 00:08:28,875 unhelpful spirit "seizes him, and suddenly he cries out. 154 00:08:28,958 --> 00:08:31,625 "It convulses him so that he foams at the mouth, 155 00:08:31,708 --> 00:08:34,000 and shatters him, and will hardly leave him." 156 00:08:34,083 --> 00:08:37,417 The language here is of a young boy, not an infant or a toddler, 157 00:08:37,500 --> 00:08:41,542 and not a boy who is in puberty or later. 158 00:08:41,625 --> 00:08:45,375 Gideon Joseph is my 4-year-old son, 159 00:08:45,458 --> 00:08:47,833 Calvin Martin is my 8-year-old son, 160 00:08:47,917 --> 00:08:51,750 and Zachariah Blaise is my 10-year-old son. 161 00:08:51,833 --> 00:08:55,333 The language here of this son being a child would fit 162 00:08:55,417 --> 00:08:57,750 that kind of age range. 163 00:08:57,833 --> 00:09:00,542 So think about a boy who's entering into elementary school 164 00:09:00,625 --> 00:09:03,750 or who's in elementary school, 165 00:09:03,833 --> 00:09:06,083 and this boy has a horrible condition. 166 00:09:06,167 --> 00:09:11,083 He's being physically attacked by an unclean spirit, a demon. 167 00:09:11,167 --> 00:09:13,333 If you forget everything that I say, remember this, 168 00:09:13,417 --> 00:09:16,750 God is good, Satan is bad. 169 00:09:16,833 --> 00:09:19,917 I know that sounds simple, but what's amazing is some people 170 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:22,625 get confused about that because of eastern religion, 171 00:09:22,708 --> 00:09:25,958 or pantheism, or panentheism, where God is good and evil, 172 00:09:26,042 --> 00:09:27,292 and all is one. 173 00:09:27,375 --> 00:09:30,917 No, the Bible says God is good, Satan is evil. 174 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:34,000 God is only, always, altogether good. 175 00:09:34,083 --> 00:09:37,875 Satan is only, always, altogether bad. 176 00:09:37,958 --> 00:09:40,917 There is a conflict between God and Satan. 177 00:09:41,000 --> 00:09:43,708 God is creator, Satan is created being 178 00:09:43,792 --> 00:09:45,292 who's rebelled against God. 179 00:09:45,375 --> 00:09:47,750 With Satan, there are unclean, unholy, 180 00:09:47,833 --> 00:09:53,042 unhelpful angels called demons, and we see repeatedly in 181 00:09:53,125 --> 00:09:58,167 Jesus' ministry, these kingdoms collide in conflict as Satan, 182 00:09:58,250 --> 00:10:00,833 and those who are suffering from his work, 183 00:10:00,917 --> 00:10:03,375 are presented before Jesus to be conquered 184 00:10:03,458 --> 00:10:07,417 and delivered through the power of God, present in the person 185 00:10:07,500 --> 00:10:09,708 and work of Jesus Christ. 186 00:10:09,792 --> 00:10:14,292 And here the battlefield is the body of a little boy. 187 00:10:14,375 --> 00:10:18,583 And Luke is seeking here to get us to emotionally identify. 188 00:10:18,667 --> 00:10:22,500 For those of you who are daddies or granddaddies, 189 00:10:22,583 --> 00:10:26,250 imagine this is your son, your grandson. 190 00:10:26,333 --> 00:10:30,125 This is your boy. 191 00:10:30,208 --> 00:10:35,750 This account appears as well in Matthew 17 and Mark 9. 192 00:10:35,833 --> 00:10:38,167 So as you study for yourself, with your family, 193 00:10:38,250 --> 00:10:41,000 and in your community group, there's a bit more detail that 194 00:10:41,083 --> 00:10:42,750 is added in those accounts. 195 00:10:42,833 --> 00:10:44,250 Luke's was written last. 196 00:10:44,333 --> 00:10:46,875 He gives us the briefest account I think, 197 00:10:46,958 --> 00:10:49,375 knowing that the other accounts already existed, 198 00:10:49,458 --> 00:10:51,958 and that we would fill in the details from them. 199 00:10:52,042 --> 00:10:55,708 But a few other details are given in Mark 9 and Matthew 17. 200 00:10:55,792 --> 00:10:58,292 It says that sometimes this unclean, unholy, 201 00:10:58,375 --> 00:11:02,250 unhelpful spirit, this demon, would take the boy, 202 00:11:02,333 --> 00:11:05,250 and throw his body into the fire. 203 00:11:05,333 --> 00:11:08,333 It says as well that sometimes it would throw him into water. 204 00:11:08,417 --> 00:11:09,583 Why? 205 00:11:09,667 --> 00:11:11,000 Because Satan is a murderer, 206 00:11:11,083 --> 00:11:12,833 that's what Jesus says in John's gospel. 207 00:11:12,917 --> 00:11:14,667 He's always about death and killing. 208 00:11:14,750 --> 00:11:16,417 He's never about life and joy. 209 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:19,417 We also learn in those accounts that occasionally this boy 210 00:11:19,500 --> 00:11:22,083 would also be rendered mute. 211 00:11:22,167 --> 00:11:25,542 Now, if you're a parent, imagine this, imagine a boy 212 00:11:25,625 --> 00:11:30,083 who has the equivalent of epileptic seizures, 213 00:11:30,167 --> 00:11:33,708 who is overtaken by a demon, 214 00:11:33,792 --> 00:11:36,125 whose body is ravaged and wracked. 215 00:11:36,208 --> 00:11:38,625 This is a little boy covered in burn marks, 216 00:11:38,708 --> 00:11:41,833 and scars, and scabs. 217 00:11:41,917 --> 00:11:47,750 You have no idea when this demon might attack and harm him. 218 00:11:47,833 --> 00:11:49,375 And occasionally if he's rendered mute, 219 00:11:49,458 --> 00:11:53,000 that means he won't scream or cry for help if he's burning 220 00:11:53,083 --> 00:11:55,417 or drowning. 221 00:11:55,500 --> 00:11:59,042 Parents, this is our worst nightmare, right? 222 00:11:59,125 --> 00:12:02,667 I just back from a nice break with my family, no computer, 223 00:12:02,750 --> 00:12:06,333 no laptop, just like heaven, no Internet. 224 00:12:06,417 --> 00:12:08,875 The kids are swimming every day, which is wonderful, 225 00:12:08,958 --> 00:12:11,875 but you're terrified that one of them's gonna drown. 226 00:12:11,958 --> 00:12:14,542 And at night you build a fire to roast marshmallows, 227 00:12:14,625 --> 00:12:17,625 but you're terrified that one of them's gonna fall into it. 228 00:12:17,708 --> 00:12:21,375 That kind of heightened anxiety and concern is this 229 00:12:21,458 --> 00:12:25,792 father's constant concern. 230 00:12:25,875 --> 00:12:29,500 I'm speculating, but I can see this dad fearful of going 231 00:12:29,583 --> 00:12:34,917 to work in case his son might die in his absence. 232 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:39,750 I can see this dad literally pulling his son from water, 233 00:12:39,833 --> 00:12:43,583 and from fire, holding his son weeping, crying, 234 00:12:43,667 --> 00:12:47,417 praying as his son shakes violently, 235 00:12:47,500 --> 00:12:49,750 and is being destroyed. 236 00:12:49,833 --> 00:12:53,417 As a daddy, I can tell you he probably slept at the foot of 237 00:12:53,500 --> 00:12:57,208 his son's bed, just to be there in case in the middle 238 00:12:57,292 --> 00:13:00,583 of the night, something happened to his son. 239 00:13:00,667 --> 00:13:03,500 This father is in a desperate condition, 240 00:13:03,583 --> 00:13:06,542 and Mark 9 adds this additional bit of information, 241 00:13:06,625 --> 00:13:10,667 that this boy has been like this since infancy. 242 00:13:10,750 --> 00:13:14,875 This has been his whole life, essentially. 243 00:13:14,958 --> 00:13:18,542 It's always been like this, and he comes to Jesus, and he says, 244 00:13:18,625 --> 00:13:21,542 "Jesus, he's my only son. 245 00:13:21,625 --> 00:13:23,958 Please help me." 246 00:13:24,042 --> 00:13:28,750 The truth is that some people do have physical, emotional, 247 00:13:28,833 --> 00:13:36,375 chemical, hormonal troubles, and sometimes it's demonic. 248 00:13:36,458 --> 00:13:39,042 God is good, Satan is evil. 249 00:13:39,125 --> 00:13:42,542 Don't forget that because what will happen is when you are 250 00:13:42,625 --> 00:13:45,750 suffering or someone you love is suffering, 251 00:13:45,833 --> 00:13:48,667 Satan will whisper in your ear and say, 252 00:13:48,750 --> 00:13:51,250 "God has done this to you. 253 00:13:51,333 --> 00:13:56,083 God has done this to you." 254 00:13:56,167 --> 00:13:58,583 The truth is when God was done with his work, 255 00:13:58,667 --> 00:14:01,125 he said that everything was very, what? 256 00:14:01,208 --> 00:14:02,458 Good. 257 00:14:02,542 --> 00:14:04,125 Was there suffering? No. 258 00:14:04,208 --> 00:14:05,792 Sickness? No. 259 00:14:05,875 --> 00:14:07,458 Death? No. 260 00:14:07,542 --> 00:14:09,125 Satan arrives. 261 00:14:09,208 --> 00:14:11,083 Lies to, tempts our first parents. 262 00:14:11,167 --> 00:14:14,958 They participate with him in his rebellion against God-- 263 00:14:15,042 --> 00:14:21,375 sin, suffering, sickness, and death come into human history. 264 00:14:21,458 --> 00:14:23,542 God is good, Satan is evil. 265 00:14:23,625 --> 00:14:27,417 And don't let your Reformed theology confuse you. 266 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:30,417 Many of my pastoral counseling appointments in recent months 267 00:14:30,500 --> 00:14:33,333 have been, Christians who are suffering asking, 268 00:14:33,417 --> 00:14:35,125 "Why does God do this?" 269 00:14:35,208 --> 00:14:39,000 My answer is, "God's not evil, Satan is." 270 00:14:39,083 --> 00:14:40,542 God is good. 271 00:14:40,625 --> 00:14:43,750 If something evil is happening, that's not God. 272 00:14:43,833 --> 00:14:48,000 Now, God in his sovereignty can use everything for his good. 273 00:14:48,083 --> 00:14:50,250 He used something as horrible as the betrayal 274 00:14:50,333 --> 00:14:53,583 and murder of Jesus to atone for the sin of the world. 275 00:14:53,667 --> 00:14:56,417 So God is sovereign, and God does work out everything 276 00:14:56,500 --> 00:14:59,250 for good, but that doesn't mean that everything that happens is 277 00:14:59,333 --> 00:15:01,625 exactly what God wants because there's sin, folly, rebellion. 278 00:15:01,708 --> 00:15:03,750 God's not in heaven, for example, saying, 279 00:15:03,833 --> 00:15:05,792 "I want her raped, him beaten, 280 00:15:05,875 --> 00:15:08,875 and that kid demonically tormented." 281 00:15:08,958 --> 00:15:11,167 That's not our God. 282 00:15:11,250 --> 00:15:13,083 Our God is grieved at sin. 283 00:15:13,167 --> 00:15:14,667 He is angered by sin. 284 00:15:14,750 --> 00:15:20,083 He comes to take away sin, to crush Satan who instigates sin, 285 00:15:20,167 --> 00:15:22,917 and who brings suffering. 286 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:24,250 Satan causes suffering. 287 00:15:24,333 --> 00:15:27,417 Satan is bad, and he's real, and some of you would say, 288 00:15:27,500 --> 00:15:29,333 "I do not believe in a devil. 289 00:15:29,417 --> 00:15:31,625 I do not believe in a spiritual evil." 290 00:15:31,708 --> 00:15:38,417 And I would say you have already succumbed to his great lie, 291 00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:42,625 to tell you that he does not exist, so that you will overlook 292 00:15:42,708 --> 00:15:46,375 him, and just continue forward with your life, oblivious to 293 00:15:46,458 --> 00:15:49,583 the fact that there really is a war, there really is an enemy, 294 00:15:49,667 --> 00:15:52,583 and there really are casualties. 295 00:15:52,667 --> 00:15:55,042 There is darkness and light. 296 00:15:55,125 --> 00:15:57,625 There is lie and truth. 297 00:15:57,708 --> 00:16:00,417 There is Satan and God. 298 00:16:00,500 --> 00:16:05,042 There is hell and heaven. 299 00:16:05,125 --> 00:16:10,083 And Satan is so horrendous that he actually sends a demon-- 300 00:16:10,167 --> 00:16:13,167 and let me say that Satan is not equal to God. 301 00:16:13,250 --> 00:16:15,750 He's a created being, but he's powerful nonetheless, 302 00:16:15,833 --> 00:16:18,250 and he commissions one of his demons to, what? 303 00:16:18,333 --> 00:16:21,083 To attack a little boy. 304 00:16:21,167 --> 00:16:25,542 Some of you are curious about the darkness and spirituality. 305 00:16:25,625 --> 00:16:29,667 You're fascinated with, perhaps, dark spirituality, Wicca, 306 00:16:29,750 --> 00:16:35,000 witchcraft, the occult, clairvoyance, powers, 307 00:16:35,083 --> 00:16:36,708 supernatural ability. 308 00:16:36,792 --> 00:16:39,042 Some of you have, what you believe to be, 309 00:16:39,125 --> 00:16:41,542 spiritual insight, or power, or a comforting spirit, 310 00:16:41,625 --> 00:16:44,208 or a guiding force. 311 00:16:44,292 --> 00:16:49,750 Here the Bible shows us what demons do. 312 00:16:49,833 --> 00:16:54,250 They pick on children, and they torment little boys, 313 00:16:54,333 --> 00:16:57,042 and they break fathers' hearts. 314 00:16:57,125 --> 00:16:59,375 Mars Hill, trust me, there's nothing in Satan 315 00:16:59,458 --> 00:17:01,417 that is of any benefit to you. 316 00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:04,542 There's nothing that a demon could bring to you that would be 317 00:17:04,625 --> 00:17:08,833 of benefit to you, because Satan causes suffering. 318 00:17:08,917 --> 00:17:13,583 And this little boy is, to be sure, suffering. 319 00:17:13,667 --> 00:17:15,750 The story continues that Satan cannot be defeated 320 00:17:15,833 --> 00:17:17,667 apart from Jesus. 321 00:17:17,750 --> 00:17:21,917 Religion won't cast out a demon; morality, spirituality, 322 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:28,292 medication, counseling cannot, will not deal with a demon. 323 00:17:28,375 --> 00:17:31,542 None of those things have authority, spiritually speaking, 324 00:17:31,625 --> 00:17:36,167 over a demon, only Jesus does as Creator God. 325 00:17:36,250 --> 00:17:38,333 We read that here in Luke 9:40-43. 326 00:17:38,417 --> 00:17:41,417 The Father says, "'And I begged your disciples to cast it out, 327 00:17:41,500 --> 00:17:42,750 but they could not.' 328 00:17:42,833 --> 00:17:45,833 "Jesus answered, 'O faithless and twisted generation,'" 329 00:17:45,917 --> 00:17:49,250 echoing Deuteronomy 32, "'How long am I to be with you 330 00:17:49,333 --> 00:17:50,542 "'and bear with you? 331 00:17:50,625 --> 00:17:52,042 "'Bring your son here.' 332 00:17:52,125 --> 00:17:55,917 "While he was coming, the demon threw him to the ground 333 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,083 "and convulsed him. 334 00:17:57,167 --> 00:17:59,875 "But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit and healed the boy, 335 00:17:59,958 --> 00:18:01,750 "and gave him back to his father. 336 00:18:01,833 --> 00:18:06,625 And all were astonished at the majesty of God." 337 00:18:06,708 --> 00:18:09,083 Satan attacks people. 338 00:18:09,167 --> 00:18:12,500 We don't get the impression here that the boy is demon-possessed. 339 00:18:12,583 --> 00:18:14,125 He's demonically oppressed. 340 00:18:14,208 --> 00:18:15,417 He's attacked. 341 00:18:15,500 --> 00:18:20,042 Some of you, this is your life, night terrors, physical injury. 342 00:18:20,125 --> 00:18:21,042 You hear voices. 343 00:18:21,125 --> 00:18:22,167 You're terrified. 344 00:18:22,250 --> 00:18:23,208 You're harassed. 345 00:18:23,292 --> 00:18:24,542 You're harangued. 346 00:18:24,625 --> 00:18:27,625 You're hounded. 347 00:18:27,708 --> 00:18:32,042 There's fear, and pain, and suffering in your life. 348 00:18:32,125 --> 00:18:33,708 What do you do? 349 00:18:33,792 --> 00:18:36,542 And see, it looks here as if, up until this point, 350 00:18:36,625 --> 00:18:38,625 it appears as if God has failed. 351 00:18:38,708 --> 00:18:41,292 God has not failed this little boy. 352 00:18:41,375 --> 00:18:43,792 Now, the father failed his son. 353 00:18:43,875 --> 00:18:46,792 I say that not to be cruel and criticize the father, 354 00:18:46,875 --> 00:18:49,292 but to give heed to all the other fathers, 355 00:18:49,375 --> 00:18:51,583 including the mothers. 356 00:18:51,667 --> 00:18:54,458 See, Jesus is the Creator God. 357 00:18:54,542 --> 00:18:56,292 Demons are created beings. 358 00:18:56,375 --> 00:19:00,708 They're under his authority, and for the believer who is a 359 00:19:00,792 --> 00:19:06,708 Christian, and belongs to Jesus, his authority is granted to us 360 00:19:06,792 --> 00:19:09,458 that we might command demons in the name 361 00:19:09,542 --> 00:19:14,417 and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. 362 00:19:14,500 --> 00:19:18,458 But for that to happen, we need to be a Christian, 363 00:19:18,542 --> 00:19:23,583 and we need to actually have ongoing faith in Jesus, 364 00:19:23,667 --> 00:19:27,917 and we need to be living a life of repentance so that we're not 365 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,750 giving Satan a foothold, to use the language of Ephesians 4, 366 00:19:31,833 --> 00:19:34,042 and we're not opening ourselves to his lies, 367 00:19:34,125 --> 00:19:36,125 and his works, and his ways. 368 00:19:36,208 --> 00:19:38,292 And if we live humbly and repentantly as Christians 369 00:19:38,375 --> 00:19:42,167 in relationship with Jesus, then the authority of Jesus is 370 00:19:42,250 --> 00:19:46,250 delegated to us, and we can command unclean spirits away 371 00:19:46,333 --> 00:19:53,583 in the name and authority of Jesus Christ as his ambassadors. 372 00:19:53,667 --> 00:19:56,708 The father has seen his son suffer 373 00:19:56,792 --> 00:19:59,583 since he was a little boy. 374 00:19:59,667 --> 00:20:02,917 And there's no indication that he sought to, 375 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,333 or was successful to cast this demon away 376 00:20:06,417 --> 00:20:09,333 from his suffering son. 377 00:20:09,417 --> 00:20:13,083 And again, in Mark 9, part of the reason is he really 378 00:20:13,167 --> 00:20:16,125 doesn't believe that God is powerful enough 379 00:20:16,208 --> 00:20:18,750 and real enough to deliver his son 380 00:20:18,833 --> 00:20:22,750 from demonic attack and torment. 381 00:20:22,833 --> 00:20:25,958 That's why he looks at Jesus and says, in Mark 9, 382 00:20:26,042 --> 00:20:32,042 the similar account, "Help me with my unbelief." 383 00:20:32,125 --> 00:20:35,042 He's saying, "Jesus, I really struggle to believe 384 00:20:35,125 --> 00:20:38,083 "that there really is a God, that he really is powerful, 385 00:20:38,167 --> 00:20:41,292 "that Satan and demons are real, and that if I have faith 386 00:20:41,375 --> 00:20:43,625 "in the God of the Bible, that his authority 387 00:20:43,708 --> 00:20:47,292 will allow me to command evil spirits to leave." 388 00:20:47,375 --> 00:20:51,125 Some of you are here like that today, and you say, "I'm there. 389 00:20:51,208 --> 00:20:54,917 "I struggle to believe that Jesus is the Creator God, 390 00:20:55,000 --> 00:20:56,750 "and that Satan and demons are real, 391 00:20:56,833 --> 00:20:58,583 "and that authority is delegated to me, 392 00:20:58,667 --> 00:21:01,250 "and that I can humbly exercise that spiritual authority 393 00:21:01,333 --> 00:21:03,917 to be liberated from demonic attack." 394 00:21:04,000 --> 00:21:06,292 Then you need to pray like the father did, 395 00:21:06,375 --> 00:21:08,125 "Jesus, help me with my unbelief. 396 00:21:08,208 --> 00:21:12,125 The truth is my belief here is real weak." 397 00:21:12,208 --> 00:21:14,625 And the truth is, and I've done demonic counseling 398 00:21:14,708 --> 00:21:17,625 over the years, and dealt with people, 399 00:21:17,708 --> 00:21:20,000 and I have had occasions, one comes to mind, 400 00:21:20,083 --> 00:21:22,917 about a woman who was being demonically attacked, 401 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,083 and oppressed, and harassed, 402 00:21:26,167 --> 00:21:28,625 and it was very obvious with physical manifestation, 403 00:21:28,708 --> 00:21:32,500 and torment, and voices, and it was a horrible situation. 404 00:21:32,583 --> 00:21:36,125 And as I was working with her, the demon manifest itself 405 00:21:36,208 --> 00:21:38,750 and started speaking. 406 00:21:38,833 --> 00:21:43,292 And so I asked this unclean spirit, "If she were to command 407 00:21:43,375 --> 00:21:47,208 "you to leave, depart from her in the name of Jesus Christ, 408 00:21:47,292 --> 00:21:49,042 "is there any reason that you 409 00:21:49,125 --> 00:21:51,292 would not need to obey that command?" 410 00:21:51,375 --> 00:21:54,250 And the demon said, "Yes, I would not obey that command 411 00:21:54,333 --> 00:21:56,875 "because she doesn't really believe that Jesus loves her 412 00:21:56,958 --> 00:21:59,875 more than me, and is more powerful than me." 413 00:21:59,958 --> 00:22:02,208 That's essentially what he said. 414 00:22:02,292 --> 00:22:03,875 I know that demons do lie. 415 00:22:03,958 --> 00:22:06,458 John 8 says that Satan is the father of lies, 416 00:22:06,542 --> 00:22:08,042 and lying is his native language, 417 00:22:08,125 --> 00:22:10,875 so I checked with her to make sure it's a fact. 418 00:22:10,958 --> 00:22:12,542 "Is that true?" 419 00:22:12,625 --> 00:22:14,208 She says, "It is true." 420 00:22:14,292 --> 00:22:16,875 She said, "When I was little, I would be abused, 421 00:22:16,958 --> 00:22:20,375 "and I had a comforting spirit who would come to be with me 422 00:22:20,458 --> 00:22:24,750 and was my friend, my invisible friend." 423 00:22:24,833 --> 00:22:28,500 And she said, "That comforting spirit has grown up with me." 424 00:22:28,583 --> 00:22:32,250 And she said, "So I do wonder if Jesus loves me more than this 425 00:22:32,333 --> 00:22:36,250 "spirit, but sometimes now this spirit does things, 426 00:22:36,333 --> 00:22:38,917 "says things that are harmful and damaging, 427 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,750 "and I'm afraid of it. 428 00:22:40,833 --> 00:22:43,458 "It's been with me since I was a little girl, 429 00:22:43,542 --> 00:22:46,625 "and I do wonder if Jesus has enough authority to get rid 430 00:22:46,708 --> 00:22:50,375 of it because it seems very powerful to me." 431 00:22:50,458 --> 00:22:55,125 I told her, "Unbelief is a sin, to be repented of. 432 00:22:55,208 --> 00:22:59,167 "You need to confess that you've sinned against Jesus by thinking 433 00:22:59,250 --> 00:23:03,250 "that a demon loves you more than he, 434 00:23:03,333 --> 00:23:05,917 "and that a demon is more powerful than he. 435 00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:08,250 "You need to repent of that as sin, 436 00:23:08,333 --> 00:23:10,000 "and then command the demon to go. 437 00:23:10,083 --> 00:23:11,833 "But as long as you're believing lies, 438 00:23:11,917 --> 00:23:14,333 "you're giving your enemy a foothold, and how can you, 439 00:23:14,417 --> 00:23:15,833 "in your heart and mind believe, 440 00:23:15,917 --> 00:23:17,833 "'I don't really know if Jesus loves me, 441 00:23:17,917 --> 00:23:19,917 "'I don't really know if he's powerful. 442 00:23:20,000 --> 00:23:23,167 "'I don't really know if he can help me, and in Jesus' name, 443 00:23:23,250 --> 00:23:25,042 "'I command you to go.'" 444 00:23:25,125 --> 00:23:30,208 Because faith is this: faith is an internal conviction 445 00:23:30,292 --> 00:23:34,333 that demonstrates itself with an external action. 446 00:23:34,417 --> 00:23:37,458 Faith is an internal conviction that demonstrates itself 447 00:23:37,542 --> 00:23:39,458 with external action. 448 00:23:39,542 --> 00:23:42,958 So men like Paul in the Bible, they write a lot about faith. 449 00:23:43,042 --> 00:23:45,250 They're talking a lot about the internal conviction, 450 00:23:45,333 --> 00:23:46,333 your heart and mind. 451 00:23:46,417 --> 00:23:48,917 You trust Jesus as Lord God, Savior, Christ, 452 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:51,042 helper, and friend. 453 00:23:51,125 --> 00:23:56,458 And guys like James, they focus on the external action of faith. 454 00:23:56,542 --> 00:23:59,583 If you really trust Jesus, you live like it. 455 00:23:59,667 --> 00:24:04,625 You live a life of faith, and trust, and obedience. 456 00:24:04,708 --> 00:24:07,917 457 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:13,500 And this father apparently lacked that. 458 00:24:13,583 --> 00:24:18,083 So Jesus uses this language, "O," what? 459 00:24:18,167 --> 00:24:22,583 "Faithless and twisted," crooked, bent up, broken, 460 00:24:22,667 --> 00:24:24,542 confused generation. 461 00:24:24,625 --> 00:24:26,583 "Faithless." 462 00:24:26,667 --> 00:24:30,250 The dad could have cast this demon away from his son many 463 00:24:30,333 --> 00:24:33,750 years prior, had he trusted in the God of the Bible, 464 00:24:33,833 --> 00:24:37,042 walked humbly repenting his sin, understood his identity 465 00:24:37,125 --> 00:24:41,958 in Christ, and commanded it to go trusting internally, 466 00:24:42,042 --> 00:24:46,250 and commanding externally in the name of the God of the Bible 467 00:24:46,333 --> 00:24:49,917 that this spirit would leave. 468 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,750 So God didn't fail, the father did. 469 00:24:52,833 --> 00:24:55,125 Additionally, the disciples failed. 470 00:24:55,208 --> 00:24:57,208 He says, that's exactly what he says, 471 00:24:57,292 --> 00:25:00,667 "I begged your disciples to cast it out, they could not." 472 00:25:00,750 --> 00:25:02,500 He brought his son to the disciples, 473 00:25:02,583 --> 00:25:04,333 "Okay, you guys are trained by Jesus. 474 00:25:04,417 --> 00:25:06,250 You're his pastors," as it were, 475 00:25:06,333 --> 00:25:09,125 it's the equivalent in that situation. 476 00:25:09,208 --> 00:25:10,333 "My son is suffering. 477 00:25:10,417 --> 00:25:13,958 "I've heard that you guys have a demon-casting-out ministry. 478 00:25:14,042 --> 00:25:17,083 "My son has a demon. Do it. 479 00:25:17,167 --> 00:25:18,750 Cast out the demon." 480 00:25:18,833 --> 00:25:20,417 Didn't work. 481 00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:22,083 Why? 482 00:25:22,167 --> 00:25:23,750 Did God fail? 483 00:25:23,833 --> 00:25:25,417 No. 484 00:25:25,500 --> 00:25:28,375 The disciples asked Jesus that very question in Mark 9, 485 00:25:28,458 --> 00:25:31,750 "How come we couldn't cast the demon out?" 486 00:25:31,833 --> 00:25:37,083 Jesus' answer was, "You should have prayed." 487 00:25:37,167 --> 00:25:40,333 Should have prayed. 488 00:25:40,417 --> 00:25:44,708 You can't do Jesus' work without Jesus' power. 489 00:25:44,792 --> 00:25:48,500 Think of it this way, an electronic device and an outlet. 490 00:25:48,583 --> 00:25:51,000 The electronic device is without power unless it's 491 00:25:51,083 --> 00:25:53,125 plugged into the outlet. 492 00:25:53,208 --> 00:25:57,625 Faith, faith is like that. 493 00:25:57,708 --> 00:26:00,958 God is the living God, and we have spiritual life, authority, 494 00:26:01,042 --> 00:26:03,708 and power when we're plugged into him by faith, 495 00:26:03,792 --> 00:26:06,458 but if you don't really trust him, 496 00:26:06,542 --> 00:26:08,958 you're disconnected from the source of spiritual authority, 497 00:26:09,042 --> 00:26:10,583 power, and life. 498 00:26:10,667 --> 00:26:13,083 And so he looks at the disciples, he said, 499 00:26:13,167 --> 00:26:15,583 "You thought you could go out and do ministry, 500 00:26:15,667 --> 00:26:17,583 "and cast out demons, 501 00:26:17,667 --> 00:26:19,583 "and command unclean spirits in my name, 502 00:26:19,667 --> 00:26:22,083 "and you didn't even talk to me, didn't even pray? 503 00:26:22,167 --> 00:26:24,583 You weren't even seeking help, or guidance, or power." 504 00:26:24,667 --> 00:26:26,083 You're like, "We got this covered. 505 00:26:26,167 --> 00:26:27,583 "We went through demon-casting-out school, 506 00:26:27,667 --> 00:26:29,917 "some of us got Cs, but we all passed. 507 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:31,750 "We've kicked out a few demons already. 508 00:26:31,833 --> 00:26:33,750 "We got this, no need to pray today. 509 00:26:33,833 --> 00:26:35,583 We're just going to work." 510 00:26:35,667 --> 00:26:38,083 Question: how much of our life is like that? 511 00:26:38,167 --> 00:26:39,833 You say, "You know what? 512 00:26:39,917 --> 00:26:42,333 "I don't even need to pray about my job today 513 00:26:42,417 --> 00:26:44,500 "'cause I know how to do my job. 514 00:26:44,583 --> 00:26:46,500 "I don't need to pray about this decision, 515 00:26:46,583 --> 00:26:47,500 or activity, or relationship." 516 00:26:47,583 --> 00:26:48,500 Why? 517 00:26:48,583 --> 00:26:50,333 "Because I know exactly what I'm doing. 518 00:26:50,417 --> 00:26:52,083 "I've done this before. I'm trained. 519 00:26:52,167 --> 00:26:54,250 "I'm skilled. I'm seasoned. 520 00:26:54,333 --> 00:26:55,792 "I got this one nailed. 521 00:26:55,875 --> 00:26:58,458 "I don't need to pray about it, and talk to God, 522 00:26:58,542 --> 00:27:00,042 "and connect with him relationally, 523 00:27:00,125 --> 00:27:01,708 "and look for power and wisdom. 524 00:27:01,792 --> 00:27:04,917 I could just take care of this." 525 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:07,917 Jesus says, "That's why you failed. 526 00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,250 "Apart from me, you don't have any power. 527 00:27:10,333 --> 00:27:12,792 "Apart from me, you don't have any authority. 528 00:27:12,875 --> 00:27:15,083 "You're faithless. 529 00:27:15,167 --> 00:27:16,958 "You don't trust me. 530 00:27:17,042 --> 00:27:20,750 I told you guys what do, and you didn't do it." 531 00:27:20,833 --> 00:27:23,250 How does Jesus feel about all of this? 532 00:27:23,333 --> 00:27:25,750 The failure of the father and the disciples, 533 00:27:25,833 --> 00:27:30,042 to have faith, to trust him. 534 00:27:30,125 --> 00:27:32,417 He's annoyed. 535 00:27:32,500 --> 00:27:34,083 Does that shock you? 536 00:27:34,167 --> 00:27:36,292 Jesus got annoyed. 537 00:27:36,375 --> 00:27:40,542 Some of you are hyper spiritual, you will criticize your friends. 538 00:27:40,625 --> 00:27:43,958 You'll say, "You should never be annoyed. 539 00:27:44,042 --> 00:27:46,417 "The Bible says to be loving, and patient, and kind, 540 00:27:46,500 --> 00:27:48,750 and you should never be annoyed." 541 00:27:48,833 --> 00:27:50,250 You say, "You know what? 542 00:27:50,333 --> 00:27:54,208 "I find that very annoying, that you would tell me 543 00:27:54,292 --> 00:27:56,250 "that I cannot be annoyed. 544 00:27:56,333 --> 00:27:59,792 "That doesn't help my problem at all. 545 00:27:59,875 --> 00:28:03,500 In fact, now I'm really annoyed with you." 546 00:28:03,583 --> 00:28:04,458 Jesus is annoyed. 547 00:28:04,542 --> 00:28:09,458 Here's what he says, "How long am I to be with you 548 00:28:09,542 --> 00:28:12,083 and bear with you?" 549 00:28:12,167 --> 00:28:14,958 Most of the translations say, 550 00:28:15,042 --> 00:28:18,000 "How long do I have to put up with you?" 551 00:28:18,083 --> 00:28:20,583 Okay, and Jesus says this in front of 552 00:28:20,667 --> 00:28:22,250 a large crowd. 553 00:28:22,333 --> 00:28:25,083 This is a bummer day to be a disciple, right? 554 00:28:25,167 --> 00:28:29,250 You are now an illustration for a negative point, right? 555 00:28:29,333 --> 00:28:32,417 Some of you are like, "I don't want to talk about my sin 556 00:28:32,500 --> 00:28:33,417 "or my unbelief. 557 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:34,417 "It's a private matter. 558 00:28:34,500 --> 00:28:36,250 "We're not gonna talk about it in community group. 559 00:28:36,333 --> 00:28:38,083 We're not gonna talk about it with my friends." 560 00:28:38,167 --> 00:28:40,250 Jesus just calls him out in front of everybody, 561 00:28:40,333 --> 00:28:42,250 "Faithless and twisted generation, 562 00:28:42,333 --> 00:28:45,083 "how long do I have to put up with you disciples?" 563 00:28:45,167 --> 00:28:47,667 Oh, I'm sure that's a weird moment. 564 00:28:47,750 --> 00:28:53,333 Like, "I don't know. 565 00:28:53,417 --> 00:28:55,708 I hope for a long time." 566 00:28:55,792 --> 00:28:57,708 That's an odd moment. 567 00:28:57,792 --> 00:29:00,542 "How long do I have to put up with you?" 568 00:29:00,625 --> 00:29:04,708 How many of you would say, "Boy, that, I don't know"? 569 00:29:04,792 --> 00:29:08,583 Now, what this tells me, there's a holy way to be annoyed. 570 00:29:08,667 --> 00:29:11,458 I know this is tangential. 571 00:29:11,542 --> 00:29:16,333 It's okay to be annoyed if they're annoying. 572 00:29:16,417 --> 00:29:19,792 573 00:29:19,875 --> 00:29:21,417 Hang with me on this. 574 00:29:21,500 --> 00:29:23,917 Now, how many of you are easily annoyed? 575 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:25,958 Okay, how many of you are easily annoyed? 576 00:29:26,042 --> 00:29:27,167 I am. 577 00:29:27,250 --> 00:29:29,000 We just had a nice long vacation, 578 00:29:29,083 --> 00:29:32,125 I was with my wife and children continuously for about a month. 579 00:29:32,208 --> 00:29:35,208 Like I said, no phone, no Internet, no computer, 580 00:29:35,292 --> 00:29:38,250 no demons, none of that stuff. 581 00:29:38,333 --> 00:29:43,917 And on a few occasions my wife said, "You're very picky. 582 00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,167 "And you're kind of grouchy, a little irritable, 583 00:29:46,250 --> 00:29:50,167 and you get annoyed easily." 584 00:29:50,250 --> 00:29:52,500 Yes. That's true. 585 00:29:52,583 --> 00:29:53,833 It's not a redeeming quality. 586 00:29:53,917 --> 00:29:56,792 I get annoyed with myself. 587 00:29:56,875 --> 00:29:59,833 That's how picky I am. 588 00:29:59,917 --> 00:30:01,167 589 00:30:01,250 --> 00:30:03,583 Most of the time that I get annoyed, 590 00:30:03,667 --> 00:30:06,250 it's really not for a holy righteous reason like Jesus. 591 00:30:06,333 --> 00:30:08,750 Jesus is annoyed 'cause a little boy's been suffering 592 00:30:08,833 --> 00:30:11,750 for a really long time, and the dad says he's a believer, 593 00:30:11,833 --> 00:30:14,417 and the disciples are believers, and they haven't helped him, 594 00:30:14,500 --> 00:30:17,250 and they could have, and they should have, and they didn't, 595 00:30:17,333 --> 00:30:18,917 and this boy is suffering. 596 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:21,917 And it frustrates Jesus that he didn't get the help that he 597 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,083 needed from the men who were supposed to give it to him. 598 00:30:25,167 --> 00:30:29,083 Most of my annoyances aren't that redeeming. 599 00:30:29,167 --> 00:30:31,917 It's like, "You're talking on the phone, and driving, 600 00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:35,083 "and you're in front of me. 601 00:30:35,167 --> 00:30:41,625 "You should die, or pull over, 'cause you can't do 602 00:30:41,708 --> 00:30:45,125 "two things at one time. 603 00:30:45,208 --> 00:30:49,417 Don't you know who I am?" 604 00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:50,708 I just--people annoy me. 605 00:30:50,792 --> 00:30:54,208 Just I can give you--we could do this for a long time, 606 00:30:54,292 --> 00:30:56,958 but there are a lot of people who annoy me. 607 00:30:57,042 --> 00:30:59,292 I went to a water slide park in Idaho. 608 00:30:59,375 --> 00:31:02,417 I was annoyed. 609 00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:04,458 From bathing suits to corn dogs, 610 00:31:04,542 --> 00:31:07,583 I mean, just everything about it was profoundly disturbing 611 00:31:07,667 --> 00:31:08,583 at every level. 612 00:31:08,667 --> 00:31:13,500 I am always constantly annoyed 'cause I'm the guy 613 00:31:13,583 --> 00:31:14,792 with a critical eye. 614 00:31:14,875 --> 00:31:18,792 I notice everything that's wrong with everything, 615 00:31:18,875 --> 00:31:22,208 so I'm always annoyed, and I've had to repent of being annoyed. 616 00:31:22,292 --> 00:31:25,833 For those of you who are like me, this is not a verse for you. 617 00:31:25,917 --> 00:31:27,167 You're like, "Jesus was annoyed. 618 00:31:27,250 --> 00:31:28,917 I'm annoyed. I'm like Jesus." 619 00:31:29,000 --> 00:31:31,250 That's not the point. 620 00:31:31,333 --> 00:31:34,083 No, that's not the point. 621 00:31:34,167 --> 00:31:37,083 The point is though that sometimes there is a holy, 622 00:31:37,167 --> 00:31:40,458 righteous reason and way to be frustrated or annoyed, 623 00:31:40,542 --> 00:31:42,958 and that is when people who profess to know, 624 00:31:43,042 --> 00:31:46,375 love, and serve God, don't listen, don't pray, don't serve, 625 00:31:46,458 --> 00:31:49,125 don't obey, and other people are suffering. 626 00:31:49,208 --> 00:31:52,083 That can be a little frustrating. 627 00:31:52,167 --> 00:31:54,958 And Jesus is a bit annoyed. 628 00:31:55,042 --> 00:31:56,458 629 00:31:56,542 --> 00:31:58,333 Jesus is a bit annoyed. 630 00:31:58,417 --> 00:32:05,708 Let me ask you a hard question: how annoyed is Jesus with you? 631 00:32:05,792 --> 00:32:10,917 Because see, what annoys Jesus in the context of this story 632 00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,500 is they don't trust him. 633 00:32:13,583 --> 00:32:17,125 They're not praying. 634 00:32:17,208 --> 00:32:20,208 How annoyed is Jesus with you? 635 00:32:20,292 --> 00:32:23,750 You don't trust him, and you don't talk to him. 636 00:32:23,833 --> 00:32:27,083 And what parts of your life are just kind of on autopilot? 637 00:32:27,167 --> 00:32:29,333 Like, "I don't need to pray about that. 638 00:32:29,417 --> 00:32:32,500 "I don't need to start my day in prayer for my commute, 639 00:32:32,583 --> 00:32:34,167 "or my job, or my relationships. 640 00:32:34,250 --> 00:32:37,125 I've got all that figured out." 641 00:32:37,208 --> 00:32:38,792 And see what happens is sometimes 642 00:32:38,875 --> 00:32:41,792 we don't even talk to Jesus until we've made a mess 643 00:32:41,875 --> 00:32:43,833 of everything, and that's exactly what happens here. 644 00:32:43,917 --> 00:32:46,167 This boy is suffering. Everything is a mess. 645 00:32:46,250 --> 00:32:48,917 "Oh, I guess now's the time to talk to Jesus." 646 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,583 And Jesus is saying, "You know, we call it prayer, 647 00:32:51,667 --> 00:32:55,250 but you should have talked to me before you made a mess of it." 648 00:32:55,333 --> 00:32:57,917 And see, that is the way that we, as disciples, 649 00:32:58,000 --> 00:32:59,750 oftentimes work. 650 00:32:59,833 --> 00:33:01,458 We just live our life. 651 00:33:01,542 --> 00:33:03,125 It falls apart. 652 00:33:03,208 --> 00:33:05,417 We wonder if God is good, 653 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:08,417 and then we talk to him as a last resort. 654 00:33:08,500 --> 00:33:14,000 God is good, and we should talk to him as a first priority. 655 00:33:14,083 --> 00:33:16,833 Aren't you amazed at how normal and average these disciples are? 656 00:33:16,917 --> 00:33:19,333 I mean, they've been with Jesus for a while, 657 00:33:19,417 --> 00:33:21,167 and they have some pretty impressive moments, 658 00:33:21,250 --> 00:33:23,333 and other times, you're just not that impressed. 659 00:33:23,417 --> 00:33:26,167 To be a disciple is to be a follower of Jesus, 660 00:33:26,250 --> 00:33:28,167 the truth is if you're a Christian, 661 00:33:28,250 --> 00:33:31,792 you're a disciple and we, you and I both, are often like this. 662 00:33:31,875 --> 00:33:33,917 We're not praying. 663 00:33:34,000 --> 00:33:35,958 We're not listening. 664 00:33:36,042 --> 00:33:37,917 We're not trusting. 665 00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:41,000 We're just living our life, wondering if Jesus is good, 666 00:33:41,083 --> 00:33:47,250 and then asking him to help when it all falls apart. 667 00:33:47,333 --> 00:33:53,208 It's really this simple: faith or failure. 668 00:33:53,292 --> 00:33:55,583 Faith, I'm gonna trust God internally, 669 00:33:55,667 --> 00:33:57,333 and obey God externally. 670 00:33:57,417 --> 00:34:01,917 Or failure, life is just going to eventually fall apart, 671 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:06,000 and I or someone I love is going to suffer as a result. 672 00:34:06,083 --> 00:34:07,958 It's faith or failure. 673 00:34:08,042 --> 00:34:10,917 And he says that they are a faithless 674 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:12,417 and twisted generation. 675 00:34:12,500 --> 00:34:13,833 They just lack faith. 676 00:34:13,917 --> 00:34:16,917 But I want you to see here that Jesus is the one 677 00:34:17,000 --> 00:34:18,417 who casts out the demon. 678 00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:21,917 The only way to cast away an unclean spirit is in the name 679 00:34:22,000 --> 00:34:26,167 of Jesus, the name above every name, 680 00:34:26,250 --> 00:34:29,500 the name at which every knee shall bow, 681 00:34:29,583 --> 00:34:34,250 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord 682 00:34:34,333 --> 00:34:36,583 to the glory of God the Father. 683 00:34:36,667 --> 00:34:40,083 There is no name like the name of Jesus Christ. 684 00:34:40,167 --> 00:34:41,708 That is a strong name. 685 00:34:41,792 --> 00:34:43,208 That is the powerful name. 686 00:34:43,292 --> 00:34:46,750 That is the revealed name of the Creator God of the Bible. 687 00:34:46,833 --> 00:34:51,750 And when you and I are humbly, repentantly walking with Jesus, 688 00:34:51,833 --> 00:34:55,125 connected to him by faith and prayer, 689 00:34:55,208 --> 00:34:59,417 we positionally enjoy his authority, so that in his name 690 00:34:59,500 --> 00:35:04,417 as his children, we can command with his authority those kinds 691 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:08,333 of unclean spirits to depart from us. 692 00:35:08,417 --> 00:35:11,500 This is an amazing gift to the children of God. 693 00:35:11,583 --> 00:35:14,333 And Jesus' frustration is that he has made all of this 694 00:35:14,417 --> 00:35:17,708 available to a father and disciples who do not access it, 695 00:35:17,792 --> 00:35:19,375 just like you and I. 696 00:35:19,458 --> 00:35:22,625 And so the truth is that you and I, we frustrate him, 697 00:35:22,708 --> 00:35:25,583 I am sure, as well. 698 00:35:25,667 --> 00:35:26,750 So what is the hope? 699 00:35:26,833 --> 00:35:28,917 If the hope is not in the father, 700 00:35:29,000 --> 00:35:31,333 and the hope is not in the disciples, 701 00:35:31,417 --> 00:35:34,583 then the hope must be in Jesus, and there we learn that Jesus 702 00:35:34,667 --> 00:35:36,792 suffered to defeat Satan, forgive sin, and end suffering. 703 00:35:36,875 --> 00:35:40,167 Luke 9:43-45, "While they were all marveling at everything 704 00:35:40,250 --> 00:35:42,167 "he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 705 00:35:42,250 --> 00:35:44,083 "'Let these words sink into your ears--" 706 00:35:44,167 --> 00:35:45,750 he's saying, "Listen to me," 707 00:35:45,833 --> 00:35:48,083 "'The Son of Man is about to be delivered 708 00:35:48,167 --> 00:35:49,750 "'into the hands of men.' 709 00:35:49,833 --> 00:35:51,708 "But they did not understand this saying, 710 00:35:51,792 --> 00:35:53,375 "and it was concealed from them, 711 00:35:53,458 --> 00:35:55,292 "so that they might not perceive it. 712 00:35:55,375 --> 00:35:57,958 And they were afraid to ask him about this saying." 713 00:35:58,042 --> 00:35:59,625 The crowd is mesmerized. 714 00:35:59,708 --> 00:36:03,625 We've never seen anyone like this Jesus. 715 00:36:03,708 --> 00:36:05,583 There were Jewish exorcists in that day. 716 00:36:05,667 --> 00:36:07,333 We read about them in Acts. 717 00:36:07,417 --> 00:36:10,333 They apparently have no luck. 718 00:36:10,417 --> 00:36:13,958 The father couldn't get it done, the disciples even failed. 719 00:36:14,042 --> 00:36:15,958 The demon is victorious. 720 00:36:16,042 --> 00:36:20,250 Oh, wait, here's Jesus, easy. 721 00:36:20,333 --> 00:36:24,000 There's no talking television, no freaky priest, no holy water, 722 00:36:24,083 --> 00:36:27,125 no bizarre cross, no voodoo. 723 00:36:27,208 --> 00:36:31,917 Jesus just says, "Demon, go," done. 724 00:36:32,000 --> 00:36:35,583 So much of what passes as demonism and spirituality in 725 00:36:35,667 --> 00:36:39,500 our day is just to cause Satan to look big, and powerful, 726 00:36:39,583 --> 00:36:42,375 and spooky, and religious leaders to look crazy 727 00:36:42,458 --> 00:36:44,667 and kooky. 728 00:36:44,750 --> 00:36:48,917 With Jesus, he just exercises his authority. 729 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,917 "I'm Creator, you're creation, good-bye." 730 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:53,583 Done. 731 00:36:53,667 --> 00:36:56,833 And as the crowd is mesmerized, they've never seen this 732 00:36:56,917 --> 00:36:58,333 kind of authority. 733 00:36:58,417 --> 00:37:02,667 Jesus is in a category unto himself. 734 00:37:02,750 --> 00:37:05,958 He tells the disciples, and those who are present, 735 00:37:06,042 --> 00:37:07,792 "Listen to me. 736 00:37:07,875 --> 00:37:12,792 "All right, you've not been talking to me, maybe listen. 737 00:37:12,875 --> 00:37:17,125 "The Son of Man is going to be delivered 738 00:37:17,208 --> 00:37:18,458 into the hands of men." 739 00:37:18,542 --> 00:37:20,708 What he's saying is "I'm gonna be arrested. 740 00:37:20,792 --> 00:37:22,625 "I'm gonna suffer. 741 00:37:22,708 --> 00:37:23,875 "I'm gonna be crucified. 742 00:37:23,958 --> 00:37:25,875 I'm gonna die." 743 00:37:25,958 --> 00:37:28,375 Something very important is gonna happen in just a few 744 00:37:28,458 --> 00:37:30,208 verses that we'll hit next week. 745 00:37:30,292 --> 00:37:34,750 In Luke 9:51, it says that Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem. 746 00:37:34,833 --> 00:37:37,208 Up until this point, all of his ministry essentially has 747 00:37:37,292 --> 00:37:41,542 happened in smaller towns, rural villages, dozens of people. 748 00:37:41,625 --> 00:37:44,917 And Luke 9:51 it says, that Jesus set his face toward 749 00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,583 Jerusalem, and he begins his journey toward the big city 750 00:37:48,667 --> 00:37:50,792 of Jerusalem, toward the temple, and the priest, 751 00:37:50,875 --> 00:37:54,000 and the sacrificial system, and the atonement for sin, 752 00:37:54,083 --> 00:37:57,417 and he is going there to fulfill all prophecy, and to die, 753 00:37:57,500 --> 00:37:59,583 and to shed his own blood. 754 00:37:59,667 --> 00:38:02,583 As our temple, the presence of God, as our priest, 755 00:38:02,667 --> 00:38:05,583 our mediator between us and God, as our sacrifice, 756 00:38:05,667 --> 00:38:08,500 the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. 757 00:38:08,583 --> 00:38:11,125 He's coming to fulfill all prophecy, 758 00:38:11,208 --> 00:38:14,250 all righteousness, all history. 759 00:38:14,333 --> 00:38:17,292 And we're right on the brink of his beginning journey 760 00:38:17,375 --> 00:38:19,542 toward Jerusalem. 761 00:38:19,625 --> 00:38:22,417 And he reveals to them who he is because they're wondering, 762 00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:25,208 "Who is this Jesus?" 763 00:38:25,292 --> 00:38:27,250 And he says, "I'm the Son of Man, 764 00:38:27,333 --> 00:38:30,208 and it won't be long before I suffer." 765 00:38:30,292 --> 00:38:33,708 What he's saying is that he's a greater son than this son, 766 00:38:33,792 --> 00:38:38,667 and he will endure a greater suffering than this son endured. 767 00:38:38,750 --> 00:38:42,875 That yes, a great battle had been won in that moment for 768 00:38:42,958 --> 00:38:46,750 the life of this boy, but a great war was still looming, 769 00:38:46,833 --> 00:38:49,542 that Satan and demons still had access 770 00:38:49,625 --> 00:38:52,750 and authority over people because of our sin. 771 00:38:52,833 --> 00:38:55,792 And here's the way it works, because we are sinners by nature 772 00:38:55,875 --> 00:38:58,750 and choice, we have aligned ourselves with Satan 773 00:38:58,833 --> 00:39:02,792 in rebellion against God, and Satan has claim to us 774 00:39:02,875 --> 00:39:04,000 because of sin. 775 00:39:04,083 --> 00:39:06,042 And Jesus, our great God and Savior, 776 00:39:06,125 --> 00:39:09,833 he comes to live without sin, to die as a substitute in our place 777 00:39:09,917 --> 00:39:14,625 for our sins, to break, to break the bondage that 778 00:39:14,708 --> 00:39:17,875 binds us to our enemy. 779 00:39:17,958 --> 00:39:20,667 This was prophesied early on in Luke when Jesus was born, 780 00:39:20,750 --> 00:39:25,417 and it was said that he would come to set the captives free. 781 00:39:25,500 --> 00:39:28,958 That's why the Bible says that we are by nature, 782 00:39:29,042 --> 00:39:33,250 children of wrath. 783 00:39:33,333 --> 00:39:37,542 Jesus comes to cancel our debt of sin, 784 00:39:37,625 --> 00:39:41,583 to release us from the possession of Satan and demons, 785 00:39:41,667 --> 00:39:46,417 and to delegate, designate to us his spiritual authority to live 786 00:39:46,500 --> 00:39:50,667 in spiritual victory, to have a new life like this little boy 787 00:39:50,750 --> 00:39:54,042 did that ultimately one day culminates with our own 788 00:39:54,125 --> 00:39:57,375 resurrection from the dead patterned after Jesus' 789 00:39:57,458 --> 00:40:00,542 where like this boy, we enjoy physical healing, 790 00:40:00,625 --> 00:40:04,917 spiritual deliverance, and a brand-new life. 791 00:40:05,000 --> 00:40:08,667 That's what Jesus does. 792 00:40:08,750 --> 00:40:13,917 He says he's going to suffer, and that's why. 793 00:40:14,000 --> 00:40:18,083 And he does so as the Son of Man. 794 00:40:18,167 --> 00:40:20,125 This is a very important title. 795 00:40:20,208 --> 00:40:22,792 In the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, 796 00:40:22,875 --> 00:40:27,417 Jesus refers himself as the Son of Man roughly 80 times. 797 00:40:27,500 --> 00:40:32,083 This is his most favorite self-designation. 798 00:40:32,167 --> 00:40:35,542 If you walked up to Jesus, and asked him, "Who are you?" 799 00:40:35,625 --> 00:40:38,833 It's very likely he would have said, "I am the Son of Man," 800 00:40:38,917 --> 00:40:41,625 because he said it about 80 times. 801 00:40:41,708 --> 00:40:42,917 What does that mean? 802 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:45,250 And some would say, this is where it's theologically 803 00:40:45,333 --> 00:40:47,750 important, some would say, "Jesus was a moral man, 804 00:40:47,833 --> 00:40:50,625 "a good teacher, an enlightened guru, 805 00:40:50,708 --> 00:40:54,083 "a great example, but he was not God. 806 00:40:54,167 --> 00:40:56,583 "And he didn't consider himself to be God, 807 00:40:56,667 --> 00:40:58,583 "and he didn't claim that he was God. 808 00:40:58,667 --> 00:41:00,500 "That is something that Christianity invented 809 00:41:00,583 --> 00:41:02,125 long after his death." 810 00:41:02,208 --> 00:41:03,417 It's not true. 811 00:41:03,500 --> 00:41:07,833 Jesus repeatedly, emphatically, clearly declared himself 812 00:41:07,917 --> 00:41:10,250 to be the only God. 813 00:41:10,333 --> 00:41:13,583 And this is one way that he does it, "the Son of Man." 814 00:41:13,667 --> 00:41:18,083 And he takes this title from Daniel 7:13-14, 815 00:41:18,167 --> 00:41:20,833 the prophet Daniel under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, 816 00:41:20,917 --> 00:41:24,583 hundreds of years prior, looking at sin, and rebellion, 817 00:41:24,667 --> 00:41:29,250 and human folly in history is answering the question, 818 00:41:29,333 --> 00:41:31,792 who will be our deliverer, who will be our redeemer, 819 00:41:31,875 --> 00:41:35,542 who will be our savior, to deliver us from Satan, 820 00:41:35,625 --> 00:41:37,375 sin, and death? 821 00:41:37,458 --> 00:41:40,542 And he says this, "With the clouds of heaven there came one 822 00:41:40,625 --> 00:41:43,625 like," very important word, "a son of man, and he came to 823 00:41:43,708 --> 00:41:45,958 "the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. 824 00:41:46,042 --> 00:41:49,208 "And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, 825 00:41:49,292 --> 00:41:51,958 "that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; 826 00:41:52,042 --> 00:41:53,875 "his dominion is an everlasting dominion, 827 00:41:53,958 --> 00:41:56,000 "which shall not pass away, and his kingdom 828 00:41:56,083 --> 00:41:57,792 one that shall not be destroyed." 829 00:41:57,875 --> 00:41:59,167 Who's coming? 830 00:41:59,250 --> 00:42:01,875 A savior, a rescuer, a deliverer, a hero, 831 00:42:01,958 --> 00:42:03,875 a conqueror is coming. 832 00:42:03,958 --> 00:42:05,833 He'll be coming from heaven. 833 00:42:05,917 --> 00:42:09,583 He does not originate from earth as a mere man 834 00:42:09,667 --> 00:42:11,208 like the rest of us. 835 00:42:11,292 --> 00:42:14,208 He's coming from heaven, from the kingdom. 836 00:42:14,292 --> 00:42:15,917 He's the King. 837 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:17,667 This is God. 838 00:42:17,750 --> 00:42:20,375 And he's coming like a Son of Man. 839 00:42:20,458 --> 00:42:22,250 He's not just a son of man. 840 00:42:22,333 --> 00:42:26,583 He's the God-man, but he's God who becomes a man, 841 00:42:26,667 --> 00:42:29,250 so he's like the son of man. 842 00:42:29,333 --> 00:42:32,500 So we're looking for this one to come from heaven who would be 843 00:42:32,583 --> 00:42:35,583 God become a man, and he came to the Ancient of days, 844 00:42:35,667 --> 00:42:38,833 that is God the Father, and was presented before him, 845 00:42:38,917 --> 00:42:43,292 and then commissioned on his ministry into history. 846 00:42:43,375 --> 00:42:46,708 "And to him was given," and this is all God language, 847 00:42:46,792 --> 00:42:50,917 "dominion, glory, kingdom," that he would rule 848 00:42:51,000 --> 00:42:55,208 and reign as King of Kings, Lord of Lords, 849 00:42:55,292 --> 00:42:58,375 "that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him." 850 00:42:58,458 --> 00:43:02,458 The language of serve there is a word for worship, honor, 851 00:43:02,542 --> 00:43:05,250 obey him as God. 852 00:43:05,333 --> 00:43:07,917 All nations, all languages. 853 00:43:08,000 --> 00:43:09,875 We don't need multiple religions. 854 00:43:09,958 --> 00:43:12,083 Everyone needs Jesus. 855 00:43:12,167 --> 00:43:14,917 It doesn't matter where you live, when you live. 856 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:19,208 It doesn't matter your race, your ethnicity, your heritage, 857 00:43:19,292 --> 00:43:24,083 your socioeconomic status, your gender, your skin color. 858 00:43:24,167 --> 00:43:30,125 Here's what matters: Jesus, one God for all people. 859 00:43:30,208 --> 00:43:33,083 "Which shall not pass away." 860 00:43:33,167 --> 00:43:36,000 "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not 861 00:43:36,083 --> 00:43:40,292 pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed." 862 00:43:40,375 --> 00:43:43,000 He would establish a kingdom as a king, 863 00:43:43,083 --> 00:43:46,625 as an eternal king with an unending kingdom. 864 00:43:46,708 --> 00:43:49,958 That kingdom was inaugurated at his resurrection, 865 00:43:50,042 --> 00:43:53,500 and it will be culminated at his second coming. 866 00:43:53,583 --> 00:43:58,583 And so Daniel the prophet signified for the people of God, 867 00:43:58,667 --> 00:44:04,083 here's the one who's coming to defeat Satan, to forgive sin, 868 00:44:04,167 --> 00:44:07,750 to reconcile people back to God, to--like this little boy-- 869 00:44:07,833 --> 00:44:12,292 deliver them from demons and give them new life. 870 00:44:12,375 --> 00:44:15,792 And Jesus says, "I'm the Son of Man." 871 00:44:15,875 --> 00:44:20,667 Back to Luke 9, that's exactly what he says. 872 00:44:20,750 --> 00:44:25,500 "Let these words sink into your ears," "listen to me, hear me." 873 00:44:25,583 --> 00:44:28,667 Jesus is saying, "Please don't miss this. 874 00:44:28,750 --> 00:44:33,333 "Let me be as clear as I possibly can. 875 00:44:33,417 --> 00:44:35,333 "I'm the Son of Man, 876 00:44:35,417 --> 00:44:38,083 and I'm going to suffer and die for you." 877 00:44:38,167 --> 00:44:39,750 To what? 878 00:44:39,833 --> 00:44:44,750 To defeat Satan, to forgive sin, and ultimately, 879 00:44:44,833 --> 00:44:48,250 to end suffering, that we may have a season of suffering 880 00:44:48,333 --> 00:44:51,833 as this boy did, the king and the kingdom are coming, 881 00:44:51,917 --> 00:44:56,083 and the suffering will come to an end. 882 00:44:56,167 --> 00:44:59,833 This is amazing. 883 00:45:00,833 --> 00:45:03,125 This is amazing. 884 00:45:03,208 --> 00:45:07,958 This is our Jesus. 885 00:45:08,042 --> 00:45:11,375 Let me ask you a few questions. 886 00:45:11,458 --> 00:45:14,292 Number one, do you have faith in Jesus? 887 00:45:14,375 --> 00:45:17,292 Are you part of the faithless generation? 888 00:45:17,375 --> 00:45:20,292 Do you have saving faith in the person and work of Jesus? 889 00:45:20,375 --> 00:45:23,292 Some of you would say, "I have faith, but not in Jesus." 890 00:45:23,375 --> 00:45:24,833 Faith alone does not save. 891 00:45:24,917 --> 00:45:26,417 Faith in Jesus alone saves. 892 00:45:26,500 --> 00:45:29,625 You can have faith in the wrong object, the wrong person, 893 00:45:29,708 --> 00:45:33,250 and it does not save. 894 00:45:33,333 --> 00:45:36,667 If you're sick, you can have faith in a medicine 895 00:45:36,750 --> 00:45:39,500 that does not cure. 896 00:45:39,583 --> 00:45:42,708 You could be sick with sin, and have faith in someone or 897 00:45:42,792 --> 00:45:46,833 something other than Jesus, and there's no forgiveness. 898 00:45:46,917 --> 00:45:48,000 Do you have faith? 899 00:45:48,083 --> 00:45:49,417 How is your faith? 900 00:45:49,500 --> 00:45:52,250 Is it in the person and the work of Jesus? 901 00:45:52,333 --> 00:45:54,083 Number two, how's your prayer life? 902 00:45:54,167 --> 00:45:58,958 Are you talking to Jesus, before it all goes bad? 903 00:45:59,042 --> 00:46:02,458 Now, what I love about Jesus is they talk to him after it 904 00:46:02,542 --> 00:46:05,417 all goes bad, and he still helps and serves them. 905 00:46:05,500 --> 00:46:08,208 That's amazing. That's amazing. 906 00:46:08,292 --> 00:46:10,958 I mean, I'm amazed Jesus, at the base of the mountain, 907 00:46:11,042 --> 00:46:14,167 didn't have a job fair, right? 908 00:46:14,250 --> 00:46:19,417 Like, "These disciples are obviously defective. 909 00:46:19,500 --> 00:46:24,750 I'm now accepting applications for the office of disciple." 910 00:46:24,833 --> 00:46:26,417 He doesn't do that. 911 00:46:26,500 --> 00:46:29,917 One of his disciples gives up on him, a man named Judas Iscariot, 912 00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:31,583 but you know what? 913 00:46:31,667 --> 00:46:34,583 Jesus doesn't give up on his disciples, and you know what? 914 00:46:34,667 --> 00:46:36,250 Jesus doesn't give up on you. 915 00:46:36,333 --> 00:46:39,667 I talked to a woman today, she was bawling because her husband 916 00:46:39,750 --> 00:46:43,333 who is now 65 years of age, had not walked with the Lord for 917 00:46:43,417 --> 00:46:45,750 many, many, many, many years. 918 00:46:45,833 --> 00:46:49,333 Like the story here, he hadn't prayed, and he hadn't listened, 919 00:46:49,417 --> 00:46:52,750 and he wrecked his life. 920 00:46:52,833 --> 00:46:56,333 But now he asked God for forgiveness, 921 00:46:56,417 --> 00:47:00,375 and he's applied for pastoral training, and at 65, 922 00:47:00,458 --> 00:47:02,708 he wants to work toward doing ministry. 923 00:47:02,792 --> 00:47:04,708 He doesn't know how many years he has, 924 00:47:04,792 --> 00:47:06,875 but he doesn't want to waste anymore of them. 925 00:47:06,958 --> 00:47:08,375 You know what? 926 00:47:08,458 --> 00:47:11,042 Jesus this is the God who says, "Yeah, you wasted years, 927 00:47:11,125 --> 00:47:13,375 "and you didn't listen to me, you didn't pray, 928 00:47:13,458 --> 00:47:15,375 "and that's pretty frustrating, but I'm still here. 929 00:47:15,458 --> 00:47:16,875 "I love ya. 930 00:47:16,958 --> 00:47:18,875 "As long as you're breathing, I'm gonna help. 931 00:47:18,958 --> 00:47:20,875 "I'm gonna help you be sanctified. 932 00:47:20,958 --> 00:47:22,375 I'm gonna help your life count." 933 00:47:22,458 --> 00:47:24,542 I love that our Jesus is like that. 934 00:47:24,625 --> 00:47:28,458 People give up on him, but he doesn't give up. 935 00:47:28,542 --> 00:47:29,958 How is your faith? 936 00:47:30,042 --> 00:47:31,958 How is your prayer life? 937 00:47:32,042 --> 00:47:34,708 Are you talking to Jesus? 938 00:47:34,792 --> 00:47:36,500 Are there parts of your life, 939 00:47:36,583 --> 00:47:38,917 you don't even talk to him about it? 940 00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:40,125 You got that covered. 941 00:47:40,208 --> 00:47:41,583 No, you don't. 942 00:47:41,667 --> 00:47:43,250 Number three, how's your listening? 943 00:47:43,333 --> 00:47:45,250 He tells the disciples, "Listen," 944 00:47:45,333 --> 00:47:47,833 and then he teaches them, and they don't know what 945 00:47:47,917 --> 00:47:50,500 he's talking about 'cause they weren't listening. 946 00:47:50,583 --> 00:47:52,500 That's amazing. 947 00:47:52,583 --> 00:47:54,417 That's what it says, right? 948 00:47:54,500 --> 00:47:57,125 He said, "Now listen, I'm the Son of Man." 949 00:47:57,208 --> 00:47:58,292 "What'd he say?" 950 00:47:58,375 --> 00:47:59,750 "I don't know, something about listening." 951 00:47:59,833 --> 00:48:01,583 "Were you listening?" "I wasn't listening." 952 00:48:01,667 --> 00:48:03,167 "You listening?" "I wasn't listening." 953 00:48:03,250 --> 00:48:04,667 "Why don't we ask him?" 954 00:48:04,750 --> 00:48:06,167 "I don't think we should. 955 00:48:06,250 --> 00:48:08,000 "He just said he's annoyed with us. 956 00:48:08,083 --> 00:48:09,500 We'll let this one go." 957 00:48:09,583 --> 00:48:11,000 How's your listening? 958 00:48:11,083 --> 00:48:13,167 Are you reading the Bible, you redeeming your commute? 959 00:48:13,250 --> 00:48:15,167 You listening to Scripture, Bible teaching, good counsel, 960 00:48:15,250 --> 00:48:17,500 people in your community group, all right, the sermons? 961 00:48:17,583 --> 00:48:18,667 Are you listening? 962 00:48:18,750 --> 00:48:20,042 How's your listening? 963 00:48:20,125 --> 00:48:24,125 And number four, are you aware of the reality of spiritual 964 00:48:24,208 --> 00:48:27,417 warfare, and the work of demons in our world? 965 00:48:27,500 --> 00:48:28,875 Are you aware of it? 966 00:48:28,958 --> 00:48:32,042 And I think one of reasons that Luke keeps interjecting, under 967 00:48:32,125 --> 00:48:35,417 inspiration of the Holy Spirit, these power encounters between 968 00:48:35,500 --> 00:48:39,417 God and demons, between Jesus and demons, 969 00:48:39,500 --> 00:48:42,167 is to show us that Satan is alive and well, 970 00:48:42,250 --> 00:48:44,708 and demons are at work in the world, 971 00:48:44,792 --> 00:48:48,417 and we can't be oblivious and blind to it. 972 00:48:48,500 --> 00:48:51,333 Are you aware of spiritual warfare in your own life, 973 00:48:51,417 --> 00:48:56,875 temptation, lies, accusations, vain regrets, maybe, terror, 974 00:48:56,958 --> 00:49:01,583 attack, physical illness, deception, false religion? 975 00:49:01,667 --> 00:49:04,750 Are you aware of the work of your enemy in your life, 976 00:49:04,833 --> 00:49:08,208 and in our world? 977 00:49:08,292 --> 00:49:10,167 Talk about those things in your community group, 978 00:49:10,250 --> 00:49:12,208 talk about those things with your family. 979 00:49:12,292 --> 00:49:13,833 How is your faith? 980 00:49:13,917 --> 00:49:15,250 How's your prayer life? 981 00:49:15,333 --> 00:49:17,250 How's your listening? 982 00:49:17,333 --> 00:49:21,292 In closing, let me go down a rabbit trail. 983 00:49:21,375 --> 00:49:24,250 A theological excursus, and a cultural critique. 984 00:49:24,333 --> 00:49:28,083 Let me preface it by saying, I'm not an old-school, 985 00:49:28,167 --> 00:49:30,708 angry fundamentalist. 986 00:49:30,792 --> 00:49:32,792 All right, I watch TV. 987 00:49:32,875 --> 00:49:34,792 I Tivo. 988 00:49:34,875 --> 00:49:36,083 I like music. 989 00:49:36,167 --> 00:49:37,125 I like film. 990 00:49:37,208 --> 00:49:39,083 I like sports. 991 00:49:39,167 --> 00:49:41,250 You know, smoking is not a sin. 992 00:49:41,333 --> 00:49:43,250 I don't think it's a good idea. 993 00:49:43,333 --> 00:49:45,750 You wheeze a lot, but it's not a sin. 994 00:49:45,833 --> 00:49:49,083 Drinking is not a sin if you're of age, and don't get drunk 995 00:49:49,167 --> 00:49:50,583 or 'cause anyone to stumble. 996 00:49:50,667 --> 00:49:54,250 Feel free to get a tattoo, I don't necessarily need to see 997 00:49:54,333 --> 00:49:56,417 it, depending on where you put it, but yeah, 998 00:49:56,500 --> 00:49:59,250 you know, whatever. 999 00:49:59,333 --> 00:50:00,875 I'm a pretty flexible guy. 1000 00:50:00,958 --> 00:50:03,708 I'm not an old-school, you know, guy in a suit, 1001 00:50:03,792 --> 00:50:06,458 angry fundamentalist against everything. 1002 00:50:06,542 --> 00:50:13,667 But, but, I do want you to be discerning when it comes to 1003 00:50:13,750 --> 00:50:16,917 culture because I believe some of the ways that Satan works in 1004 00:50:17,000 --> 00:50:20,958 our day, is he will take things out of the category of religion 1005 00:50:21,042 --> 00:50:24,458 and spirituality, put them into the category of entertainment, 1006 00:50:24,542 --> 00:50:27,792 and we completely fail to be discerning. 1007 00:50:27,875 --> 00:50:29,792 We just think, "Oh, that's not demonic. 1008 00:50:29,875 --> 00:50:31,375 That's a movie." 1009 00:50:31,458 --> 00:50:34,167 A movie is a sermon with pictures. 1010 00:50:34,250 --> 00:50:37,417 "That's not demonic, that's a song." 1011 00:50:37,500 --> 00:50:41,375 Satan can write music. 1012 00:50:41,458 --> 00:50:46,417 He can inspire story-telling and filmmaking, music. 1013 00:50:46,500 --> 00:50:50,583 He sets ideology, and worldview, and he's at work in the world. 1014 00:50:50,667 --> 00:50:54,292 I'll back this up, give you an example. 1015 00:50:54,375 --> 00:50:55,708 I have a 13-year-old daughter. 1016 00:50:55,792 --> 00:50:57,917 My daughter, Ashley, recently turned 13. 1017 00:50:58,000 --> 00:51:00,708 So now I am the proud daddy of a teenage girl. 1018 00:51:00,792 --> 00:51:01,750 It's awesome. 1019 00:51:01,833 --> 00:51:03,042 I love her. 1020 00:51:03,125 --> 00:51:05,208 Some people say, "Oh wait till she's a teenager." 1021 00:51:05,292 --> 00:51:06,208 She's there. 1022 00:51:06,292 --> 00:51:07,208 It's fantastic. 1023 00:51:07,292 --> 00:51:08,208 It's great. 1024 00:51:08,292 --> 00:51:09,208 I adore her. 1025 00:51:09,292 --> 00:51:11,208 She's a voracious reader. 1026 00:51:11,292 --> 00:51:14,500 She reads a lot, and she's got a big library. 1027 00:51:14,583 --> 00:51:16,083 She's a discerning reader. 1028 00:51:16,167 --> 00:51:18,333 She's starting to write, and we're getting ready to 1029 00:51:18,417 --> 00:51:21,208 publish her blogs, which are recommended readings 1030 00:51:21,292 --> 00:51:24,417 and critical book reviews for preteen and teenage girls 1031 00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:27,292 so they don't read garbage, which I think is awesome, 1032 00:51:27,375 --> 00:51:29,542 and I really am excited about that. 1033 00:51:29,625 --> 00:51:31,542 It was her idea. 1034 00:51:31,625 --> 00:51:35,042 So I was talking to her, and she was telling me about reading, 1035 00:51:35,125 --> 00:51:36,708 and what her friends are reading, 1036 00:51:36,792 --> 00:51:38,708 and some of the garbage that's out there. 1037 00:51:38,792 --> 00:51:40,708 'Cause I don't know if you know this, 1038 00:51:40,792 --> 00:51:43,208 I'm not really up on all the preteen girl literature. 1039 00:51:43,292 --> 00:51:46,250 It's not where I just go to in my free time. 1040 00:51:46,333 --> 00:51:49,750 So she orders a lot of books for her Kindle, and you know, 1041 00:51:49,833 --> 00:51:51,167 in print through Amazon. 1042 00:51:51,250 --> 00:51:54,875 So Amazon recently sent a "Hey, it's summertime, 1043 00:51:54,958 --> 00:51:59,417 "here are the best-selling big new books for preteen 1044 00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:01,167 and teenage girls." 1045 00:52:01,250 --> 00:52:03,667 And I thought, well, I don't know what that is, 1046 00:52:03,750 --> 00:52:04,875 but I have one. 1047 00:52:04,958 --> 00:52:05,958 I better click. 1048 00:52:06,042 --> 00:52:10,083 So I clicked on it, and it was unbelievable what it brought up. 1049 00:52:10,167 --> 00:52:15,583 It brought up all these vampire, werewolf, blood-sucking, 1050 00:52:15,667 --> 00:52:21,125 weird relationships books that all come out of 1051 00:52:21,208 --> 00:52:22,333 the "Twilight" series. 1052 00:52:22,417 --> 00:52:25,750 I'll show it to you, some of these books. 1053 00:52:25,833 --> 00:52:29,958 The first one that came up was "The Necromancer: 1054 00:52:30,042 --> 00:52:33,792 The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel." 1055 00:52:33,875 --> 00:52:37,542 Now, that means you're consulting with dead people. 1056 00:52:37,625 --> 00:52:42,542 It's about sorcery, witchcraft, divination, Wicca, dead people. 1057 00:52:42,625 --> 00:52:43,625 You know what? 1058 00:52:43,708 --> 00:52:45,833 Dead people don't talk to you. 1059 00:52:45,917 --> 00:52:48,750 Demons pretend to be dead people. 1060 00:52:48,833 --> 00:52:50,583 "I'm your Grandpa." 1061 00:52:50,667 --> 00:52:53,083 "Oh, hi, Gramps." 1062 00:52:53,167 --> 00:52:54,542 No! 1063 00:52:54,625 --> 00:52:58,750 That's a really bad idea. 1064 00:52:58,833 --> 00:53:03,250 The book should be called, "It's a Really Bad Idea." 1065 00:53:03,333 --> 00:53:09,833 Next book, "Eclipse," part of the "Twilight" series. 1066 00:53:09,917 --> 00:53:13,083 We'll come back to that since you asked. 1067 00:53:13,167 --> 00:53:16,042 The other one on the preteen/teen Amazon.com 1068 00:53:16,125 --> 00:53:21,958 bestseller list was "Spirit Bound: A Vampire Academy Novel." 1069 00:53:22,042 --> 00:53:25,292 That is a girl giving her neck to a vampire. 1070 00:53:25,375 --> 00:53:27,583 Some of you are like, "Don't be a hater." 1071 00:53:27,667 --> 00:53:35,542 Okay, I don't think it's a good idea for any boy to suck blood 1072 00:53:35,625 --> 00:53:40,250 out of your neck under any circumstances! 1073 00:53:40,333 --> 00:53:42,083 I'm old school that way. 1074 00:53:42,167 --> 00:53:43,875 That's just how I roll. 1075 00:53:43,958 --> 00:53:45,208 "Here's my neck." 1076 00:53:45,292 --> 00:53:48,042 No! 1077 00:53:48,125 --> 00:53:50,917 "Dark Flame: The Immortals." 1078 00:53:51,000 --> 00:53:53,583 Most of these take like young girls, 1079 00:53:53,667 --> 00:53:58,208 dress them up like divas around candlelight, practicing 1080 00:53:58,292 --> 00:54:02,750 witchcraft, waiting for a vampire or a werewolf. 1081 00:54:02,833 --> 00:54:06,750 I'm not even making this up. 1082 00:54:06,833 --> 00:54:08,375 "It seems like he's against it." 1083 00:54:08,458 --> 00:54:09,583 Mmm-hmm. 1084 00:54:09,667 --> 00:54:13,875 Okay, now, "Twilight," "Eclipse." 1085 00:54:13,958 --> 00:54:19,542 There's the beast, the false prophet, and the Antichrist. 1086 00:54:24,333 --> 00:54:27,625 We'll get back to that in a minute. 1087 00:54:27,708 --> 00:54:31,542 Another book in the series, "The Sorceress." 1088 00:54:31,625 --> 00:54:35,125 That's not even subtle! 1089 00:54:35,208 --> 00:54:36,917 "Honey, why don't you read your Bible?" 1090 00:54:37,000 --> 00:54:39,500 "I don't have time, I'm reading 'The Sorceress.'" 1091 00:54:39,583 --> 00:54:42,167 That doesn't sound good, "The Sorceress." 1092 00:54:42,250 --> 00:54:45,667 That's not even, you don't need to have the gift of discernment 1093 00:54:45,750 --> 00:54:47,667 to go, "That does not sound good." 1094 00:54:47,750 --> 00:54:48,667 "The Sorceress." 1095 00:54:48,750 --> 00:54:50,167 We'll just keep going. 1096 00:54:50,250 --> 00:54:53,458 "Love Bites: A Vampire Kisses Novel." 1097 00:54:53,542 --> 00:54:56,458 Look at that! 1098 00:54:56,542 --> 00:54:57,875 That's wrong. 1099 00:54:57,958 --> 00:55:00,792 She's like 12 waiting for a vampire to kiss her 1100 00:55:00,875 --> 00:55:03,458 on her lipsticked lips. 1101 00:55:03,542 --> 00:55:05,208 I'm a dad, no! 1102 00:55:05,292 --> 00:55:08,042 Don't do that. 1103 00:55:08,125 --> 00:55:11,250 It should say, "If he loves you he'll never bite you." 1104 00:55:11,333 --> 00:55:15,708 That's what it should say. 1105 00:55:15,792 --> 00:55:17,875 "Spells." 1106 00:55:17,958 --> 00:55:19,875 Spells! 1107 00:55:19,958 --> 00:55:22,042 Do you know what a spell is? 1108 00:55:22,125 --> 00:55:23,417 "No." 1109 00:55:23,500 --> 00:55:26,417 You're under a spell if you don't know what a spell is. 1110 00:55:26,500 --> 00:55:29,750 A spell is where a witch casts a spell on you. 1111 00:55:29,833 --> 00:55:33,000 It's called "Brilliant and Lovely." 1112 00:55:33,083 --> 00:55:36,542 "Oh well, it's a lovely spell. 1113 00:55:36,625 --> 00:55:39,833 Well, that doesn't even count." 1114 00:55:39,917 --> 00:55:41,750 It's like a lovely car wreck. 1115 00:55:41,833 --> 00:55:44,708 It's a good one. 1116 00:55:44,792 --> 00:55:47,750 All right, this was on the list. 1117 00:55:47,833 --> 00:55:52,125 I'm--I gotta watch it. 1118 00:55:52,208 --> 00:55:55,292 It's called "Hell's Heroes." 1119 00:55:55,375 --> 00:55:59,792 Just so you know, hell doesn't have any heroes. 1120 00:55:59,875 --> 00:56:02,417 That's the whole point of hell. 1121 00:56:02,500 --> 00:56:04,750 It's called the "Demonata." 1122 00:56:04,833 --> 00:56:06,875 I can't even believe some parents are like 1123 00:56:06,958 --> 00:56:08,625 "Well, at least they're reading." 1124 00:56:08,708 --> 00:56:11,500 Oh, oh, yeah. 1125 00:56:11,583 --> 00:56:13,208 Just look at that. 1126 00:56:13,292 --> 00:56:15,750 It's a werewolf, a girl, and some guy who's 1127 00:56:15,833 --> 00:56:17,417 into rave or something. 1128 00:56:17,500 --> 00:56:22,333 I can't even figure out what's going on. 1129 00:56:22,417 --> 00:56:24,667 "Twilight." 1130 00:56:24,750 --> 00:56:30,250 Now, does this imagery harken anything? 1131 00:56:30,333 --> 00:56:31,875 A woman holding an apple. 1132 00:56:31,958 --> 00:56:35,250 This is Genesis 1 and 2 where the whole deception started, 1133 00:56:35,333 --> 00:56:37,667 and you open it up and it quotes Genesis 2:17. 1134 00:56:37,750 --> 00:56:41,625 It actually goes right back to Genesis when Eve was deceived. 1135 00:56:41,708 --> 00:56:44,250 It's like, "Oh, it's a good thing." 1136 00:56:44,333 --> 00:56:49,625 All right, I think that's the last one. 1137 00:56:49,708 --> 00:56:55,000 "So what's he gonna say? 1138 00:56:55,083 --> 00:56:57,583 "Is he gonna lose his mind? 1139 00:56:57,667 --> 00:57:01,292 I see the vein in his neck." 1140 00:57:01,375 --> 00:57:07,667 These books are a whole genre about the occult, witchcraft, 1141 00:57:07,750 --> 00:57:13,250 sorcery, divination, consulting with the dead. 1142 00:57:13,333 --> 00:57:16,375 They all come out of the "Twilight" series. 1143 00:57:16,458 --> 00:57:18,375 These are all part of a new genre. 1144 00:57:18,458 --> 00:57:20,875 So I'll give you a little bit of history on 1145 00:57:20,958 --> 00:57:22,708 the "Twilight" series. 1146 00:57:22,792 --> 00:57:26,292 We'll start with Mormonism, okay? 1147 00:57:26,375 --> 00:57:30,750 Just hang in there. Just hang in there. 1148 00:57:30,833 --> 00:57:33,833 Mormonism was founded by a guy, started by a guy named 1149 00:57:33,917 --> 00:57:39,750 Joseph Smith who says, "I got a visit from a spirit being, 1150 00:57:39,833 --> 00:57:43,333 and this spirit being said that all the Christians are wrong, 1151 00:57:43,417 --> 00:57:46,750 "and they alone were right, and they had books in addition 1152 00:57:46,833 --> 00:57:52,708 to the Bible, and we should start a new religion." 1153 00:57:52,792 --> 00:57:54,667 The angel's name was Moroni. 1154 00:57:54,750 --> 00:57:59,500 I would just say as a general rule, any angel named Moron, 1155 00:57:59,583 --> 00:58:00,750 "What's your name?" 1156 00:58:00,833 --> 00:58:03,250 "Moron...i" 1157 00:58:03,333 --> 00:58:07,500 You should probably not go with that. 1158 00:58:07,583 --> 00:58:12,375 And Joseph Smith would say, "Oh, this was an angel, not a demon." 1159 00:58:12,458 --> 00:58:16,458 But Galatians says, even if an angel should come from heaven 1160 00:58:16,542 --> 00:58:21,042 and preach a false gospel, don't listen them, they're cursed. 1161 00:58:21,125 --> 00:58:22,417 They're cursed. 1162 00:58:22,500 --> 00:58:24,250 So a demon comes to Joseph Smith, 1163 00:58:24,333 --> 00:58:26,083 gives him a crazy new religion. 1164 00:58:26,167 --> 00:58:28,292 He invents Mormonism. 1165 00:58:28,375 --> 00:58:30,292 What does this have to do with "Twilight"? 1166 00:58:30,375 --> 00:58:34,583 Years later, a woman named Stephenie Meyer, 1167 00:58:34,667 --> 00:58:41,417 who's a Mormon, has a dream. 1168 00:58:41,500 --> 00:58:44,458 She says, quote, "In my dream, two people were having 1169 00:58:44,542 --> 00:58:48,000 "an intense conversation in a meadow in the woods. 1170 00:58:48,083 --> 00:58:50,750 "One of these people was just your average girl. 1171 00:58:50,833 --> 00:58:53,375 "The other person was fantastically beautiful, 1172 00:58:53,458 --> 00:58:56,667 "sparkly, and a vampire. 1173 00:58:56,750 --> 00:58:59,000 "They were discussing the difficulties inherent in the 1174 00:58:59,083 --> 00:59:02,250 "facts that A, they were falling in love with each other while B, 1175 00:59:02,333 --> 00:59:05,875 "the vampire was particularly attracted to the scent of 1176 00:59:05,958 --> 00:59:08,583 "her blood, and was having a difficult time restraining 1177 00:59:08,667 --> 00:59:13,708 himself from killing her immediately," end quote. 1178 00:59:13,792 --> 00:59:19,417 So a religion started by a demon is adhered to by a woman 1179 00:59:19,500 --> 00:59:20,625 who has a dream-- 1180 00:59:20,708 --> 00:59:23,458 this is all very spiritual-- where a young girl gets visited 1181 00:59:23,542 --> 00:59:27,542 by a vampire who loves her but wants to suck her blood. 1182 00:59:27,625 --> 00:59:31,542 And she writes a series of stories that result in movies, 1183 00:59:31,625 --> 00:59:35,208 and T-shirts, and promotional material, 1184 00:59:35,292 --> 00:59:38,083 and kids meals at some burger joint, called 1185 00:59:38,167 --> 00:59:40,833 the "Twilight" series. 1186 00:59:40,917 --> 00:59:42,583 It all very spiritual. 1187 00:59:42,667 --> 00:59:47,458 And in that we see humans, vampires, and werewolves. 1188 00:59:47,542 --> 00:59:53,333 We see as well this bridging between good and evil, 1189 00:59:53,417 --> 00:59:56,583 darkness and light, the living and the dead. 1190 00:59:56,667 --> 00:59:59,083 We see the co-mingling of that which is spiritual, 1191 00:59:59,167 --> 01:00:02,500 human, and animal. 1192 01:00:02,583 --> 01:00:05,917 We also have a concept of how to be born-again, and live forever, 1193 01:00:06,000 --> 01:00:08,542 but it's not through faith in Jesus and resurrection. 1194 01:00:08,625 --> 01:00:12,292 It's through becoming a vampire so that you're forever young 1195 01:00:12,375 --> 01:00:14,250 with an eternal life. 1196 01:00:14,333 --> 01:00:16,125 So the whole concept of salvation, 1197 01:00:16,208 --> 01:00:18,583 and eternal life has nothing to do with Jesus. 1198 01:00:18,667 --> 01:00:21,667 There's the repeated attempt of the murder of a young woman. 1199 01:00:21,750 --> 01:00:23,917 There is blood lust and blood thirst throughout 1200 01:00:24,000 --> 01:00:25,667 the course of the book. 1201 01:00:25,750 --> 01:00:31,208 There is the birth of a baby who's half human, half vampire. 1202 01:00:31,292 --> 01:00:35,750 And what's crazy is this is for preteen and teenage girls, 1203 01:00:35,833 --> 01:00:38,667 and you know who else has really picked it up 1204 01:00:38,750 --> 01:00:40,292 as the rabid fan base? 1205 01:00:40,375 --> 01:00:43,917 Their cougar mothers with fetishes 1206 01:00:44,000 --> 01:00:47,750 for 16-year-old vampires. 1207 01:00:47,833 --> 01:00:50,083 1208 01:00:50,167 --> 01:00:54,042 Like, let that sink in. 1209 01:00:54,125 --> 01:00:56,083 That's nasty. 1210 01:00:56,167 --> 01:00:58,583 They get together and have "Twilight" parties, 1211 01:00:58,667 --> 01:01:00,625 and mom's asking her 13-year-old daughter, "Oh, 1212 01:01:00,708 --> 01:01:03,208 would you rather be with the werewolf or the vampire?" 1213 01:01:03,292 --> 01:01:06,583 She should rather be with Jesus. 1214 01:01:06,667 --> 01:01:08,500 This is crazy. 1215 01:01:08,583 --> 01:01:10,917 Now, some of you say, "That's twisted. 1216 01:01:11,000 --> 01:01:12,583 You're just overstating your case." 1217 01:01:12,667 --> 01:01:14,875 Okay, let me reverse it. 1218 01:01:14,958 --> 01:01:17,833 Let's say that I really like Miley Ray Cyrus, 1219 01:01:17,917 --> 01:01:22,125 and I don't, but for the sake of this point. 1220 01:01:22,208 --> 01:01:25,250 And I knew a lot of teenage and preteen boys who really liked 1221 01:01:25,333 --> 01:01:29,167 Miley Ray Cyrus, so I started buying all of her albums and 1222 01:01:29,250 --> 01:01:33,125 T-shirts, and I was her BFF, and I followed her on Facebook. 1223 01:01:33,208 --> 01:01:36,042 And every time she Twittered, I just--I stopped everything I was 1224 01:01:36,125 --> 01:01:38,250 doing to just meditate on it. 1225 01:01:38,333 --> 01:01:41,250 And I decided to get all of the preteen boys together from 1226 01:01:41,333 --> 01:01:44,917 the local junior highs to do Miley Ray Cyrus parties, 1227 01:01:45,000 --> 01:01:48,458 and we talked about how awesome she looked and how hot she was. 1228 01:01:48,542 --> 01:01:52,042 Would that bother you? 1229 01:01:52,125 --> 01:01:54,250 Yeah, 'cause it's nasty. 1230 01:01:54,333 --> 01:01:58,083 It's extra nasty with a side of nasty, 1231 01:01:58,167 --> 01:02:01,458 because I would be a pedophile. 1232 01:02:01,542 --> 01:02:03,708 But somehow you could be a cougar pedophile, 1233 01:02:03,792 --> 01:02:08,667 oh and it's okay because they're a vampire. 1234 01:02:08,750 --> 01:02:11,000 It's a nasty little world we live in. 1235 01:02:11,083 --> 01:02:12,250 It's weird. 1236 01:02:12,333 --> 01:02:16,958 So you got these cougar moms lusting after sons, 1237 01:02:17,042 --> 01:02:21,583 boys the age of their son. 1238 01:02:21,667 --> 01:02:23,417 It's unconscionable. 1239 01:02:23,500 --> 01:02:26,042 And then the Christians come along, some, and say, "No, 1240 01:02:26,125 --> 01:02:29,583 it's a good story 'cause they didn't have sex until marriage." 1241 01:02:29,667 --> 01:02:32,417 Oh, well, then it's totally fine. 1242 01:02:32,500 --> 01:02:35,833 I mean--are you kidding me? 1243 01:02:35,917 --> 01:02:42,167 She was 17, married a 108-year-old vampire. 1244 01:02:42,250 --> 01:02:46,500 If my daughter brings home a 108-year-old vampire, 1245 01:02:46,583 --> 01:02:48,750 I'll be like, "Well, you haven't slept together. 1246 01:02:48,833 --> 01:02:51,833 "I think you guys have a fantastic relationship. 1247 01:02:51,917 --> 01:02:55,417 "I've been praying all my life for a 108-year-old vampire 1248 01:02:55,500 --> 01:02:57,417 "to marry my daughter. 1249 01:02:57,500 --> 01:02:58,750 "Praise God. 1250 01:02:58,833 --> 01:03:00,458 Answer to prayer." 1251 01:03:00,542 --> 01:03:03,708 They then do consummate their relationship and give birth to 1252 01:03:03,792 --> 01:03:07,292 a half-human, half-vampire baby. 1253 01:03:07,375 --> 01:03:11,042 At no point is this a good idea. 1254 01:03:11,125 --> 01:03:13,917 The Christians are like, "Well, they practiced chastity." 1255 01:03:14,000 --> 01:03:19,083 It's vampire chastity. 1256 01:03:19,167 --> 01:03:23,667 Do you really think that things are any different than 1257 01:03:23,750 --> 01:03:25,875 the days of Jesus? 1258 01:03:25,958 --> 01:03:27,667 Do you? 1259 01:03:27,750 --> 01:03:31,333 Do you think that Satan doesn't do anything? 1260 01:03:31,417 --> 01:03:33,375 You think he's not teaching anybody? 1261 01:03:33,458 --> 01:03:36,250 You think he's not deceiving anybody? 1262 01:03:36,333 --> 01:03:37,917 He is. 1263 01:03:38,000 --> 01:03:40,583 And see, if you were to take a Hebrew from 1264 01:03:40,667 --> 01:03:43,292 2,000 years ago and plant them in our culture, 1265 01:03:43,375 --> 01:03:47,292 and put a "Twilight" T-shirt on them, and take them to a movie, 1266 01:03:47,375 --> 01:03:51,208 they'd be like, "You guys are the most demonically obvious 1267 01:03:51,292 --> 01:03:53,292 culture I've ever seen." 1268 01:03:53,375 --> 01:03:55,625 We'd go, "No, it's a movie." 1269 01:03:55,708 --> 01:03:59,375 And so we can look back into the story of Luke and say, well, 1270 01:03:59,458 --> 01:04:02,250 this obviously demonic, and I'm telling you they would look into 1271 01:04:02,333 --> 01:04:06,375 our world and say, "Oh, you're blind to your own blindness." 1272 01:04:06,458 --> 01:04:07,917 Satan is alive and well. 1273 01:04:08,000 --> 01:04:09,042 He's deceiving. 1274 01:04:09,125 --> 01:04:10,208 He's lying. 1275 01:04:10,292 --> 01:04:12,083 He's preaching sermons through music and film. 1276 01:04:12,167 --> 01:04:14,250 I'm not against culture. I'm not against music. 1277 01:04:14,333 --> 01:04:16,833 I'm not against film. I'm not against creativity. 1278 01:04:16,917 --> 01:04:20,167 I just don't think it's good to encourage young women to be 1279 01:04:20,250 --> 01:04:23,417 in witchcraft, and to want to consult with the dead, 1280 01:04:23,500 --> 01:04:26,250 and to be spiritual which is to invite demons. 1281 01:04:26,333 --> 01:04:29,292 I don't think it's good when their mothers encourage that, 1282 01:04:29,375 --> 01:04:31,542 and participate in that, and model that, particularly 1283 01:04:31,625 --> 01:04:34,625 if they claim to be Christian. 1284 01:04:34,708 --> 01:04:38,917 Are your eyes open to the darkness of our day, 1285 01:04:39,000 --> 01:04:44,250 and the deception that surrounds us? 1286 01:04:44,333 --> 01:04:45,917 I'm gonna pray. 1287 01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:49,667 Jesus rebuked the disciples for not praying. 1288 01:04:49,750 --> 01:04:52,875 We need to pray, and some you need to pray for discernment, 1289 01:04:52,958 --> 01:05:00,250 wisdom, faith, open ears. 1290 01:05:00,333 --> 01:05:03,958 Lord Jesus, we pray against Satan, and demons, 1291 01:05:04,042 --> 01:05:06,625 their works, and effects. 1292 01:05:06,708 --> 01:05:09,833 We believe the Scriptures that Satan is a liar, and a deceiver, 1293 01:05:09,917 --> 01:05:12,250 and a murderer. 1294 01:05:12,333 --> 01:05:15,583 We ask for the Holy Spirit to fill us, and lead us, 1295 01:05:15,667 --> 01:05:17,750 and guide us, and protect us. 1296 01:05:17,833 --> 01:05:19,958 Jesus, please help us in our unbelief. 1297 01:05:20,042 --> 01:05:23,542 Please teach us to pray, and when we fail to pray and we 1298 01:05:23,625 --> 01:05:27,500 suffer, God, teach us to be humble to pray even then, 1299 01:05:27,583 --> 01:05:31,208 knowing that you will still help because you are good. 1300 01:05:31,292 --> 01:05:34,667 God, I pray for those parents who would hear this sermon 1301 01:05:34,750 --> 01:05:38,125 and realize that they have not, in any way, discipled, 1302 01:05:38,208 --> 01:05:43,625 trained their children, their children are watching, reading, 1303 01:05:43,708 --> 01:05:48,750 studying things that they should be involved with and engaged in. 1304 01:05:48,833 --> 01:05:51,458 Pray for those, Lord God, who have been involved 1305 01:05:51,542 --> 01:05:53,625 in that which is darkness. 1306 01:05:53,708 --> 01:05:56,792 They claim to be Christian and because it was in the category 1307 01:05:56,875 --> 01:06:00,292 of entertainment somehow they didn't even consider it to be 1308 01:06:00,375 --> 01:06:04,542 something to be discerning of. 1309 01:06:04,625 --> 01:06:06,750 Please forgive us of our sins, cleanse us 1310 01:06:06,833 --> 01:06:10,750 of our unrighteousness, and give us a new life like this little boy experienced. 1311 01:06:10,833 --> 01:06:12,833 In Jesus' name, Amen.