Pastor Slaughter
Sunday Pentecost
6-19-2022
God’s Word Has Power Over Evil
Luke 8:26-39
Today we are starting a new sermon series titled “God’s Words Possess God’s Power” When we speak words, they can be meaningless. Sometimes one’s words are meaningless because they are spoken without true knowledge. Other times, they were spoken insincerely, or they lack the ability to do what they said. But everything that God is true. He speaks with absolute knowledge, and he never lies. God’s Word possess God’s awesome power.
Sometimes do we question that? When we look at the world around us what do we see? violence and hatred. We hear of shootings at schools. We look at history and see terrors of War. With so much evil all around us, do we question if God has power over evil? Or does it make it seem like God and the devil or God and evil are just two equal opposing forces vying for control. Today we see how God’s Word has power over evil. As he speaks his Word and we speak them.
Right before our lesson Jesus and his disciples got into a boat to go to the other side of the lake. There was a terrible storm, and they were in danger. Jesus calmed the storm, and the Bible says about the disciples, “They were afraid and amazed and said to one another, ‘Who, then, is this, that he commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him?’” When they landed, they were about to see just how powerful Jesus was.
They landed on the other side of the shore in the region of the Gerasenes, a place that was firmly in the grip of forces of evil. It was gentile territory where the Word of God was a rare commodity and as he lands who is the first one to meet him? A man possessed by demons. Demons who lead him to be an outcast. Drove him out of town to live among the tombs. Lead him to not wear clothes for a long time. People tried chaining him up, keeping him under guard but he broke the chains and escaped, driven by the demons into deserted places.
There you have it. The first person to greet Jesus was a naked man who was experiencing evil of the worst kind, being possessed by demons, secluded from society, an outcast. And this man possessed by demons falls at Jesus’ feet and said in a loud voice, “What do I have to do with you, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torment me.” Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion.” This man was possessed by many demons. A Roman Legion numbered 6,000 soldiers.
Talk about a person who was experiencing evil! Talk about a person who needed Jesus to rescue him! Demons aren’t something that you just see on tv or you watch some scary movie. They are a real, evil spiritual forces who know they deserve eternal punishment. We don’t want to dabble in wiki boards, terra cards, and other things like that. We don’t want to open the door to that kind of thing in our lives. I personally don’t think we see that kind of thing as much in America, because what could be more beneficial for Satan with his fallen angels to convince people that the spiritual doesn’t exist to drag them straight to hell with them.
This man was helpless. Helpless against demons who possessed him. He was powerless to save himself. He was completely controlled by the power of evil. And we see Jesus’ love for the lost. We see Jesus’ love for this man. But we also see Jesus’ power over evil. At the presence of Jesus, the demons fell before him. They begged Jesus to let them go into the heard of pigs. And it was only by Jesus’ permission that they were allowed to do so. They entered the pigs and the herd rushed down the steep bank intuit the lake and drowned.
We see how Jesus has power over evil itself. We see at the very words of Jesus the evil spirits had to obey him. There was no fight. It is not like it was equal opposing forces. Jesus demonstrates his total authority over them. But we also see Jesus’ care and love for this man who was helpless, who couldn’t save himself by his own power or might.
Jesus showed that same care and love for us who rescued us from clutches of evil and the power of Satan that was ours through unbelief. By God’s Word, He created faith in our hearts. By God’s word, he raised us from spiritual death to spiritual life. He showed his care and his love for the lost by defeating sin, death and the devil by his death and resurrection. Sin does not hold its grip over us because Jesus’ Word tells we are forgiven. Evil of unbelief no longer holds its grip on us, because we belong to Christ.
The man was saved! Great news, right?! For him, absolutely! But not for everyone. After the people who were feeding the pigs saw what happened, they ran and reported to the town what they saw. Listen to what the Bible says, “They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet. He was clothed and in his right mind, and the people were afraid.” They should have been happy and grateful, but they were afraid and scared.
Notice what they were afraid of. They were not afraid of the demon possessed man. They had grown accustomed to him. Yes, they tried to bound him but he broke free. As long as he was living in the deserted places and among the tombs, as long as he remained out of arms reach then they were fine. What does Jesus do? He upsets everything. Drives the demons into the pigs. They were afraid of Jesus, the one who upset the status quo. What did they do? “The whole crowd of people from the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were gripped with great fear” (8:37).
Evil is around us. Have we grown so accustomed to existing along of it that we simply don’t notice? Maybe it’s not the evil that is around me or the sin that is so close to me and within me, that bothers me, but maybe it is when Jesus comes to do something about it. When he comes through his law to address my sin, or through consequences that come as a result of my sin.
When Jesus does something about the evil in our lives or the evil around us, we should be grateful! But at times he doesn’t always do things the way we would expect. There was another evil that was hanging over that town. It was the evil in the hearts of the people there through unbelief. When they saw what Jesus did, they asked Jesus to leave them. The surprising thing, Jesu got into the boat to leave them.
We would almost expect that Jesus should stay among them. To continue his work there. But he didn’t and he was going to leave. And the man who was possessed by demons, went to Jesus and begged Jesus to be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home and tell how much God has done for you.” Jesus saved this man. And he sent him out to proclaim what God, what he had done for him.
The gospel Jesus left behind was as powerful as the gospel Jesus had brought with him. The man testified to what Jesus had done for him thought that region. When Jesus visited this region again, great crowds brought their sick to Jesus. God blessed that his Powerful Word through the mouth of this man who was once possessed by demons.
Sometimes we wonder why God doesn’t do something about evil around us. But he has. He as rescued you and given you salvation. He has equipped you with his Powerful Word! He has equipped you with the powerful word to go and tell people what God has done for you and for them.
We need to open our eyes to the evil around and us the things the devil uses as a mask to scare people away from using God’s powerful word which crushes evil. Is it a cultural thing, like the person wearing a head covering? Is a personality thing where you are afraid of disturbing the status quo? Is it a fear thing where you are afraid of what someone may say do or think? Or is it a lack of trust that God’s word spoken through you could conquer someone’s unbelieving heart?
We do have a great and powerful God whose love and and care for people is awesome. He crossed the stormy waters, landed on shore and who did he save? The countless people in that region? No. It was the naked man possessed by many demons. Did he leave the people in that region to their evil of unbelief? No! He sent the man he just saved by his powerful Word. And he gave him that same word of power to go out into the region and tell what God, Jesus, had done for him. He gives you that same powerful Word to go out with.
Today we see how God has power over evil. He uses his powerful Word and evil falls before it. But he doesn’t take care of evil all the times in the way that we want. A snap of the fingers and poof it’s gone. Jesus’ Words have Jesus’ power even when they are not coming from Jesus’ mouth. As we speak Jesus words, Jesus still drives Satan and his allies. Even though we must wait for the day of Satan’s final banishment to the abyss, the gospel has the power to break Satan’s hold on mankind wherever it is preached and heard. Amen.