Demons on SermonAudio

We should not interpret God's silence or God's refusal to grant our prayers in our time frame as an indication of his disfavor or his lack of love, or even that he isn't going to answer our prayers. We shouldn't interpret it that way. But it is just here that many would stop trying and they would go away. Isn't that true? Many right here, upon this rebuff, would have just turned on their heels and left, right? We need perseverance in prayer. And this woman showed her great faith by not ceasing to pray. She showed great faith because of her perseverance. And perseverance in prayer is an indication of faith. She would not let the silence of Jesus keep her from coming to Him. She would not be sent away. What did the disciples say? She cries out after us. They were a nuisance to her. Notice, they would send her away, but Jesus does not.

The sermon examines Revelation 20:1-6 to argue that Satan's binding signifies a definitive shift in spiritual authority following Christ's resurrection and ascension. By contrasting the defeat of the beast and false prophet with the vindication of the martyrs, the message asserts that the enemy's power to deceive the nations has been legally restrained, allowing the gospel to advance without the previous demonic interference. The preacher emphasizes that this binding is not merely a future event but a present reality that secures the sovereignty of Christ over all earthly and heavenly powers. This theological framework provides comfort to believers, assuring them that the second death has no power over those who reign with Christ in the intermediate state. The tone is pastoral and encouraging, urging the congregation to face persecution and death with boldness, knowing that their ultimate victory is guaranteed by the finished work of Jesus.

This sermon explores the reality of spiritual struggle, using the account of the boy possessed by a demon in Luke 9 to illustrate the contrast between mountaintop experiences and the daily valleys of life. The message highlights the disciples' failure to cast out the spirit due to a lack of faith and fervency, emphasizing that power without trust in God is ineffective. It further examines the tenacity of the adversary, noting that Satan attacks most fiercely when believers are seeking genuine help and restoration from the Lord. The central theme is the sufficiency of Jesus, who rebukes the unclean spirit and restores the child to his father, serving as a picture of salvation and the reunion of the believer with God. The tone is pastoral and encouraging, urging listeners to trust in Christ's ability to lift them out of despair and defeat.

If Satan can't get the messengers to stop preaching, if he can't destroy or intimidate them, then Satan seeks to cause division about the truth of the gospel. We will study the special council at Jerusalem in Acts 15.

The sermon examines the dual nature of Jesus' authority as presented in the Gospel of Mark, focusing on the call of the first disciples and the exorcism in the synagogue. It argues that Jesus' command to 'follow me' establishes him as the supreme loyalty of a believer's life, requiring the renunciation of self-governance and the submission of career, family, and wealth to his lordship. Simultaneously, the encounter with the unclean spirit reveals Jesus' divine power to defeat the kingdom of darkness, demonstrating that his presence is both a source of grace for the willing and a terrifying judgment for the demonic. The central message is that true discipleship involves a personal, living encounter with the incarnate Son of God, who is both the desirable King to be followed and the Holy One whose presence exposes sin and defeats evil.

In this installment of a verse-by-verse Adult Sunday School series through Luke, Charles Sebold takes up Luke 9:1-17 and picks up Luke's unanswered question from the storm on the lake: "Who then is this?" Having shown His authority over wind, demons, disease, and death, the Lord now lends that authority to twelve men and sends them out deliberately empty-handed, with no staff, bag, bread, money, or second tunic, so that when a fever breaks or a demon flees no village can mistake whose power it was. He makes each of them a beggar before He makes him a missionary, and the shaking of dust off the feet leaves a covenant town that refuses the kingdom outside it by its own refusal. Word reaches Herod Antipas, who asks the same question from a throne rather than from a sinking boat; Luke withholds the spectacle of John's beheading and keeps the camera on the question, because Herod wants a show and not an answer. Withdrawing across the border to Bethsaida, Jesus welcomes the crowd that ruins His rest and hands the twelve an impossible assignment: "You give them something to eat." In a wilderness, seated in fifties as Moses once seated Israel, God spreads a table; the Lord takes, blesses, breaks, and gives, the four verbs Luke will sound again at the Supper and at Emmaus; and twelve men who said "send them away" carry home twelve baskets of His provision. The lesson presses the slowness of disciples the Lord refuses to discard, and the widening sense of God's true scale that marks a maturing Christian life.

Teaching on the Doctrine of Angels using selected Scripture

This sermon explores the authority of Jesus Christ over the spiritual realm and physical sickness as depicted in Luke 4, emphasizing that God's Word possesses limitless power to rebuke evil and heal the afflicted. The message reassures believers that while they may encounter demonic oppression or disease, they need not fear because God remains sovereign over all circumstances, using even suffering to conform believers to the image of Christ. By citing Romans 8, the text argues that all things work together for good to refine God's people, pointing ultimately to the future resurrection where sickness and evil are vanquished. The sermon concludes with a call to actively expand the kingdom of God through the proclamation of the gospel, asserting that the Word of God is the primary weapon against darkness and the source of true comfort for the church.