Jesus' Authority over Demons

Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat. Good morning, Cross Church Phoenix. How are you? >> Good. Good morning. I'm Pastor DJ. I'm the pastor here at Cross Church Phoenix. Um, and I want to invite you to open your Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. Matthew chapter 8 and we'll be begin at verse 28. And if you don't have a Bible, there's one in the seat back in front of you or around you probably. Um I need to order some more which is great. Um but you can have it if you don't have a Bible. You can take that one home with you. That is our gift to you. We'll gladly replace it and um you can mark it up, highlight it, use it um and bring it every Sunday would be wonderful. Um, as you turn there and before we get into the text this morning, I want to share our Let's Go Initiative update. And I'm going to move out of the way so you can see the slides. Um, but we have a Let's Go update to share. As you know, we've been uh we spent all of March uh going through the great commission and talking about this 2-year disciplehip journey we're calling Let's Go. And there's more information uh back in the uh in the foyer here if you would like if you're new to this. But we've been uh talking about this for a few weeks now. We have updates to give you. So drum roll please. We have over 800 people participating. You say there's not even 800 people here. Yes, I know. Um that is collectively. So across the cross church collective there are 800 people participating. And then, drum roll, please. 79 new families started their giving journey, meaning that um 79 new families who have never given to Cross Church before began as a result of Let's Go. And now the moment we've all been waiting for. Here we go. That's right. That's right. We have 6,30, 490 committed. And to that we say yes and amen, too. Yeah. And if you know if you've been around and you know the goal was $7 million. Yes, it is. And you say, "Well, how well, man, that's not that's awesome. $6 million is amazing." Um, and also I will add, you say, "Well, what how do we close the gap?" And I, in my humble opinion, we just keep doing what we're doing, right? We So, what is that? Well, let's keep inviting people. Let's keep discipling. Let's continue to do what God calls us to do, which is be his witness. make Jesus known in our corner of the world and see what happens, right? Let God take care of the rest. Uh we we we want to just see my heart, my conviction is that the answer is simple. People getting saved, baptized, and discipled. That's my conviction. And we'll let God take care of the rest of it. Amen. >> Amen. But we are grateful and thankful for that. I love it. Also, I have another announcement for you. You say another announcement. Yes, I am. But this one's very important. So, we are doing a full like hard push for VBS this year. So, beginning this Saturday and every Saturday leading up to VBS from 11:30 a.m., so after women's ministry, 11:30 to 2:00 p.m., Chris and uh I don't want to speak for Linda, but Chris for sure, cuz he's heading this up. uh Chris and his and and a team will be here doing work on VBS because we have u huge plans for VBS and it's going to take a lot of time, effort, and power um oomph to to get through it and to get it done. And so we are going to be here every Saturday. Say, "Well, I can't come every Saturday." That's okay. If there's like one or two Saturdays you can come between now and VBS, which begins uh Sunday, May 31st. So, I haven't counted how many Saturdays, but there's a handful in there that we have to get everything done. And so, if you have the time or uh if you want to come join us uh this Saturday and every Saturday until VBS, 11:30 a.m. to about 2:00 p.m. Couple hours we will spend doing uh some work on VBS. So, I invite you to join us for that. And we look forward to what God will do through our our VBS. It's going to be great this year. And uh we're going to do some outreaches, too. some flyers, hit up the neighborhoods, all of that. So, it's going to be fun. With that, let's pray. Father, we thank you for this morning. Thank you for your word. Pray now that as we come under it, all of us, myself included, we come under the authority of the scriptures. I pray God that you would help us to see the truth that is in it. the point of it, the applications. Pray that we would rightly handle the word of truth. I pray that you would give us eyes to see and ears to hear, what your Holy Spirit has to say to the church at Cross Church. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Well, if you are able, let's stand as we read the word of God together. And if you're not, that's okay. You can stand with us in spirit. Um, but uh I invite you to stand with us as we honor God's word. I'm going to read our text this morning, which is Matthew 8:28-34. And then um we I will also read a few verses out of Mark 5. So Matthew 8 beginning at verse 28. When he had come to the other side to the region of the gatherines, two demon-possessed men met him as they came out of the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. Suddenly, they shouted, "What do you have to do with us, son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" A long way off from them, a her a large herd of pigs was feeding. If you drive us out, the demons begged him. Send us into the herd of pigs. Go, he told them. So when they had come out, they entered the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and perished in the water. Then the men who tended them fled. They went into the city and reported everything, especially what had happened to those who were demon-possessed. At that the whole town went out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. In Mark 5:18 says, "As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him, and he did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the decapus how much Jesus had done for him. and everyone marveled. Thanks. You may be seated. The reason I read Mark, a portion of Mark chapter 5 is because it is the parallel to this. So Mark 5 and Luke chapter 8 are the parallels here to Matthew 8. to best understand the the miracles and and really the parables of Jesus uh we have to consider what the other gospel writers say. And here Matthew 8, Matthew's documentation of this scene is the shortest. He is straight and to the point. Mark and Luke provide extra details that will help us along the way. Now, I want to address something at the forefront. Matthew says there are two demoniacs. Mark and Luke only mention one. Now, this is not a contradiction. If there are two apples on a table and you were hungry, I could say you can have the apple on the table. I could say there's an apple on the table. Go for it. I'm just saying that there's I'm saying there's an apple on the table. There's one. There's the apple. Definite article the right. There's the there's the apple if you want it. But there's two. There could be 10 on the table for all that matters. If I said there's an apple on the table, I'm not lying to you. Even though there's two or more, it would not be a contradiction. Now, if I said there's only one apple on the table, when in fact there are 10, we'd have a problem, right? But neither Mark nor Luke claim that there's one and only one demoniac. They only mention one possibly. possibly focusing on the one who wants to be with Jesus after he's healed. Perhaps the other one didn't. We don't know for sure. And I'm not going to speculate beyond those comments because we don't know. Kind of like when Jesus healed 10 lepers, but only one came back um and and thanked him. Um it could be that he he it is he healed two demon-possessed men. Maybe only one wanted to be with him. We don't know. But this is not a contradiction. And we can talk more later if you have questions on that. The big picture of Matthew chapter 8 is establishing Jesus authority over all things. He has authority over sickness, paralysis, demon possession, nature. That's the big picture. But in this specific miracle, this specific miracle, there is more going on as well. Matthew already established in chapter 8:1 16, if you were to look up there, that Jesus has the power and authority to cast demons out with a word. Verse 16 says, "When evening came, they brought to him," this is before this incident, "they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were ill." So, yes, our text this morning is another illustration of that, but there's more. There's different responses to Jesus in this scene that the writers want us to see. One of the things that you'll notice if you put the whole picture together, what I mean is Matthew, Mark, and Luke's documentation of the same incident. If you put it all together, you will notice something. You will see this. Everyone mentioned in the scene is a beggar to Jesus. Everyone's a beggar to Jesus. Now, you say, "But his disciples are over here watching." Okay, yeah, I'll grant you that. They're not mentioned in the text, but they're there with him. Of course, they went across the sea. But everyone mentioned in the passage is a beggar. So, as we uh work through this, we will see the difference though is what they're begging him for. The demons beg to Jesus, the town's people beg to Jesus, and at least one of the delivered men beg to Jesus. Their motives behind their begging are very different. So, as we work through this, we're going to see not only that Christ has authority over demons, but we'll see the three different responses to it. And I'm going to submit to you that these are the three responses we have today. You and I will fall under one of these three, right? So, our main heading this morning, if you have a handout, they're in the back. if you don't, if you want one. But our main heading is three different beggars pleading to Jesus. The first beggars we see are the demons, the demons. And a description of them, they know Jesus but don't love Jesus. From what we can tell biblically, there's different levels of demonic possession. There are those like in verse 16 that we saw who are demonpossessed but still part of society. They're not as violent. Um they're able to be brought to Jesus by family or friends for healing. And then there's these guys. All of the gospel writers go out of their way to describe how bad this demon possession is. So, Matthew says, "They're so violent no one can pass by them." Mark adds in Mark 5:3, "He lived among the tombs. No, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces." No one, don't forget this, no one, no one had the strength to subdue him night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And if you read Luke's account in chapter 8, he adds, "He's naked. This gentleman wears no clothes and lives in the cemetery. We also know from the other accounts that this the name of this demon is legion accounting for how many there are. There's so many demons. Their name is Legion. But this is demon possession on steroids. This is severe. And they come to Jesus. And the first thing they say is, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, or us, Jesus, son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?" Did you catch it? What have you to do with us, son of God? Demons know exactly who Jesus is. They know exactly who he is. In Mark and Luke, the demons say, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most high? I beg you, don't torment me." What is being said? that the demons know Jesus is the son of God, the son of the most high. Not only that, but they have good esquetology. Esquetology is a fancy word for the study of end times. They know their fate. They know that Jesus has the power to torment them and will one day bring final judgment on them in the future. That's why they ask, "Have you come to torture us early?" Jesus. But here's what we need to understand. What does it mean that they're confessing Jesus as the son of God and son of the most high? They are confessing Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one, and that he is God. This is Messiah language. Earlier in Jesus ministry, we read in Luke 4:41. This is before this incident. In Luke 4:41, it says this, "And demons also came out of many, crying, you are the son of God." But he, Jesus, rebuked them and would not allow them to speak. Why? Because they knew that he was the Christ. He's saying demons shut your mouths because you know I'm the Christ. But what is happening? It is equating son of God language being the son of God with being the Christ, the Messiah. And it's not just uh uh the demons who who make that statement. Uh what Luke is saying is that Jesus declaring uh the demons declaring Jesus is the son of God stems from the fact that they know he's the Christ. And Peter the disciple Peter knows and declares the same thing. So after this in Matthew 16:16 it says as Simon Peter replied you are the Christ the son of the living God Messiah Christ the anointed one the promised one to come you're the Christ which and also the meaning the son of the living God the two go together this is messianic language you see the demons have a more accurate spirit confession of who Jesus is than every other world religion. Every other world religion that's not named Christianity and denies the deity of Christ. The demons have a more accurate understanding of who he is. The demons know who Jesus is and have a more accurate understanding of who he is than Muslims, than Islam, than Jehovah's Witness, than Mormonism. He is the Christ, the son of God. And because they know who Jesus is, they beg to him. They beg to him. We could say they have a prayer request. They're begging and pleading with Jesus. What is their prayer request? Their prayer request is to go into the large herd of pigs feeding nearby. Mark tells us that there's 2,000 pigs about approximately. And Jesus gives the command, "Go." Do the demons have a choice? No. Can they say no, Jesus? I'm not leaving this man. They don't have a choice. They must obey. They cannot disobey Jesus command. This kind of goes back to what the disciples asked in our last miracle where he calmed the storm. What kind of man is this? Matthew is saying he's the Christ. He's the Messiah. He's the son of God. The son of the most high. That's what kind of man this is. Oh, and by the way, if you think that demons have the option to disobey him, you're wrong. Let me show you. They have no choice. They must obey Christ. So, we could say this, demons both know Jesus and obey Jesus. What do we know holistically, biblically, the full picture of Satan and his demons? What do we know? They believe in God. They know the Bible. If you read Matthew chapter 4, Satan quotes the Psalms to Jesus trying to tempt him to sin. He knows his Bible. They believe in God. They know the Bible. They know who Jesus is and recognize his authority and they obey Jesus. Sounds like a Christian, right? A Christian is one who believes in God, hopefully knows their Bible, knows who Jesus is and obeys him. But the difference is one word, love for Jesus. That was three words, but love, right? Satan and his demons believe in God, know the Bible, recognize who Jesus is, obey him, but they hate him with all of their being. These demons are submitted to Jesus out of bitterness and hatred, not love and devotion. They hate Jesus. A Christian loves Jesus and has an affection for Jesus. That's the difference. A Christian's belief in God, knowledge of the Bible, recognition of Jesus, obedience to Jesus comes from a heart that loves Jesus. The Bible says one day every knee will bow and every tongue confess every There's two different kinds of people on that day who will bow the knee and confess Jesus as Lord. Those who hate him but have to because of his authority and do so unwillingly and begrudgingly and those who bow the knee and confess him as Lord because they love him. They love that he saved them from their sins and they have an affection for him and a desire to worship him. Those are the two different kinds of people who will bow the knee. But all of them will. All of them will. All of y'all, right? That's a y'all and a and a me included. That's a me and y'all. And the whole world is included in that y'all. Everyone will. And we see here Satan's uh Satan and his demons. They know Jesus but don't love Jesus. So Jesus casts them out. They go into the pigs. They run off the steep bank into the sea and perish in the water. And you say like, man, like what? That's a bummer. You know, like all these pigs. Yeah. What's the point of that? It is evidence evidence of the miracle. It is evidence of demons entering them. The pigs were not suicidal before. Matthew said there is a large herd of pigs. All the writers say there's a large herd of pigs eating over there. Um they are not suicidal before. Now they are. It is clear that demons left this guy and entered those pigs and they run off the cliff. It is evidence that the miracle occurred. And we have a gentleman uh who attends our 9:00 service. His name is Wayne. He is a barbecue pit master, a professional pit master. So, I had to console him after church that all this pork that could have been smoked has gone down the hill, you know. No, I'm just kidding. I didn't have to console him. Uh but uh but he's not in this service, so it's a little different. But um it was it was good. But 2,000 pigs run off the cliff cliff as evidence of Christ's authority and evidence of the miracle. So that's the demons. This brings us to our next group of beggars, the town's people. The town's people. We can describe them as them as those who know Jesus but don't love Jes or I'm sorry who don't know Jesus and don't love Jesus. In verse 33 we're introduced to the people who tended the pigs. They went and told the people of the city what had happened. And behold the whole town went to meet Jesus. Meet Jesus. Hadn't met him before. Meeting him now. and beg him to what? Leave. The town's people have a prayer request, too. Their prayer request is leave. Jesus, please, we're begging you. Leave our region. Why? Why do they want him gone? And there's been different uh explanations for this. And some will say uh that the owners of these pigs are disobedient Jewish people um who shouldn't have them in the first place because pigs are unclean animals according to the law of Moses. That's one option. The others other um theologians and people who study things would say, well, no, this is gentile territory um the decapus and it's across the Sea of Galilee and so it didn't matter that they had pigs. Um, I'm going to submit to you that either way it doesn't that part whether they were Jewish or Gentile doesn't really matter. It's not the point. Either way, the bottom line is this hit them in their pocketbooks. That's what's up. That's what's going on. Jesus upset the status quo. They took a financial hit. They were negatively affected financially um and economically. In Mark and Luke, we read that when the town's people arrive, they not only see the pigs are missing, but they also see the previously demon-possessed man sitting at Jesus' feet, calmly at the feet of Christ, clothed fully and in his right mind. They see the guy that, do you remember what we read? that no one no one could tame. No, he can't. The shackles on him cannot contain him. He keeps breaking it. No one can take control of this guy. And with one word, Jesus casts the demons out of him. And this guy is sitting calmly at the feet of Jesus. And they're afraid. And they beg beg Jesus to leave. This isn't like, "Bro, bro, this is crazy, man. You should get out of here. though that's what they're saying in a light-hearted sense, but in a more serious sense, this is not, "Bro, you should go. This is crazy." This is, "Jesus, please, please go. Please go. We don't want you here anymore. Get out of our region. Get out of here." And their fear is a combination of not knowing Jesus, not loving Jesus, and caring more about the pigs than the fact that a demoniac had been delivered. One writer wrote this, quote, "All down the ages, the world has been refusing Jesus because it prefers pigs." End quote. All down the ages, the world has been refusing Jesus because it prefers pigs. Do you have any pigs? Not real ones, but do you have anything that you prefer over Jesus? Never mind the fact that uh the demoniac is sitting here fully clothed in his right mind, sitting at Jesus' feet. No, no, no, no. It was get out of here, whoever you are. get out of here. They fear him, yes, but they also miss their pigs. So, they don't know Jesus, don't care to know Jesus, and obviously then don't love him. That's the town's people. Don't be the town's people. Okay. Our third beggar pleading to Jesus is the delivered. The delivered. He knows Jesus and loves Jesus. So Mark and Luke pick up where Matthew leaves off. Matthew leaves us with the fact that the town's people are begging him to leave. Mark and Luke add the final details that once the man was delivered, he too begged to Jesus. Intentional language by Mark and Luke. He's begging him. He begged to be with Jesus. Now, one of the most fascinating things, and there's many fascinating things about this text, but one of the fascinating things of this text is this. Demons beg Jesus to go into the pigs. He says, "Yes." Town's people beg Jesus to leave. He does. The healed man begs to be with Jesus, and Jesus says, "No." But why? The Lord has a better plan for the delivered man. The fate of the demons is settled. The town's people are left to their own devices, but the delivered man is sent on mission. In Mark 5:19, the words, "Go and tell are commands." Jesus commands the delivered man to go and tell his family and his friends what the Lord has done for him. And it's cool because then it says, "And he went and did and told the people what Jesus had done for him, Lord Jesus." In Luke, it also says, "And go and tell them how much God has done for you." And it says, "And he went and said how much Jesus had done for him." Just another little nugget of the Jesus is God in scripture. He is Lord and God. The healed man. The delivered man knows that. Go home and be a witness. The delivered man is still following Jesus just maybe from afar. Instead of walking by his side, which was his desire, he's sent out to obey his commands to be a witness in his hometown. still a follower of Jesus, still with Jesus, just in a different way. And the guy becomes a preacher. He's a preacher. It says he goes and proclaims in the decapus, which means 10 cities. There's 10 cities in in this region across the Galilee on the east side of like the Jordan that are called like the 10 cities. and he proclaims. That word proclaim is kuso in Greek and it's the same word we use for preach. He goes and he proclaims Jesus in 10 cities beyond the Sea of Galilee. Does the mission Jesus sends him on sound familiar to you? Go tell others about Jesus. That is our mission too. Matthew 28, go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the father, the holy s uh holy spirit, and then um teach them everything I've commanded you. And lo, I'll be with you to the end of the age. It's our job. That's what we do. Go tell others about Jesus. You and I, if you're a Christian, you've been delivered from the domain of darkness. delivered from sin. And now our mission is to go proclaim Christ to those around us, our family, our friends, our neighborhoods, our communities. That is what our mission is. I want you to take a second. I invite you take a second and think about how difficult, how hard, or how heavy your life feels right now. You can take a second. I want you to consider everything you're going through, the tough times that you're experiencing. Just ponder it for a minute. Now ask yourself this question. But are you living in a cemetery naked, kept under guard, constantly being shackled and breaking cha shackles, possessed by thousands of demons? I'm not looking to or trying to minimize what you're going through. I am asking you to consider what you're going through in light of this text. The power of Christ to transform this man from a demoniac to a missionary is the same power of Christ who will transform your life and make you a new creation. It's the same power. The same power of Christ. I venture to say none of us have it worse than these dudes did. And if you think you do, that's between you and the Lord. I'm not going to like say you don't. But I'm going to venture to say most of us, if not all of us here, would say we don't have it worse than those dudes in our text did. It didn't matter how bad this guy was. Jesus delivered him, changed him, and sent him. Now, yes, I understand that this is pre-acts 2 and pre-church and pre- Pentecost and all that, but he's a changed man. He is a completely changed man from the inside out. Possessed demoniac living naked in the tombs in a cemetery to a man fully clothed seated at the feet of Jesus in his right mind. He's a changed man. And the same power that changed him can change you. It doesn't matter how bad you've sinned. It doesn't matter how messed up you may think you are. If you come to Christ today now, he will free you from your sin. He will set you free, deliver you from your sin, and then send you on mission to go do what this guy did. Tell others about what Christ has done for you. If you're here and you say, "I' not a believer in Jesus." Um, you have not been delivered from your sin. Your greatest need, your greatest need is not to pay the bills, though we need to pay our bills. I get that. Your greatest need isn't relief from a headache, though that's nice. Our greatest need is forgiveness of sin. And if you have not been delivered from your sin by coming to Christ, you're in the greatest bondage of all. Those shackles are way heavier than the demoniacs were. These are 10 million pound shackles. And you ain't going nowhere on your own. Oh, you may have a job, a car, four walls, and a roof, but you're in bondage to sin. Shackled by sin. And these are shackles you cannot break on your own. And you might say, "No, DJ. Uh, no, no, no, no. Freedom to sin is freedom. I get to do whatever I want. It's the church. It's the Bible. It's those Christians who are so limiting. Such a joy kill. I can't go out and get drunk and sleep around and do whatever I want. That's so limiting. I like to have my freedom to do that." News flash, that is slavery to sin. You're in bondage, not freedom. You are a slave to sin. If that's your mindset, true freedom is slavery to Christ and true slavery is freedom to sin. Do you understand the difference? Paul talks about being a servant, a bond slave. He literally uses the Greek word dulos, which is slate. He says, "I'm a slave to Christ." But what does he mean? I'm free from my sin and I'm free to serve Christ and I want to follow and obey him. That's what he is saying. True bondage is being owned and ruled by sin. True freedom is being owned and ruled by Christ. You need Christ. All of us do. He, you and I, we need him to deliver us from bondage to sin. And if you're listening to this and you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, can I beg you? Can I plead with you to come to him today? Not tomorrow, not next week. Today. Not after lunch. Today, I have good news to report. After our 9:00 a.m. service, there's a lady um who met me in the back who prayed to receive Christ. She says, "DJ, I'm ready. I've been doing this too long on my own and I can't do it anymore." And she prayed right there to receive Christ. And I have to follow up with her to do baptism. She was going to come to pizza with a pastor, but had a a a job to go to. And so I will follow up with her this week. But the Bible says today is the day of salvation. Today is the day to be delivered from bondage to sin. No matter how much fun you think sin is, it is slavery and bondage, not freedom. If you're here and you're a Christian to exhort you to go do what this guy did. Tell your family, tell your friends what Christ, what God, what Jesus has done for you. Be about that mission. I want to invite the worship team to come up as I uh close in a word of prayer. But if you're here or listening online um to my voice and you say, "I don't know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior." The invitation is wide open. You can know about Jesus, but that is very different from knowing Jesus. You can know about Jesus and not love him. Or you can not really know him and not really care about him. Not know him and not love him. Like the town's people, they don't have a clue who he is. They don't have a clue that God is standing in front of them and they're asking God to leave. They don't have the slightest clue. But the delivered man, he knows Jesus and he is in love with him. Are you in love with Jesus? Do you have an affection for Jesus? I hope so. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. I am just so uh overwhelmed myself and humbled by just the fact that you saved me um from my sin. You delivered me from the greatest shackle of all, which is bondage to sin and death. And you broke the chains that I couldn't. You set me free when I couldn't set myself free. I pray that if there is anyone, anyone here who needs freedom from their sin, yes, freedom from sin. You don't want freedom to sin. You want freedom from sin. You want to be a servant of Christ, not a servant of sin. I pray God that you would impress upon their hearts their need for you. I pray for their conviction. I pray that the Holy Spirit would show them their sin and then show them their need for Christ and that the invitation is there. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Let's stand as we sing our last song.