Thank you for reading the Weekend Sermon. I am sorry that the sermon is so late today. I had to go to a job interview this morning, and this is the first chance I've had to get in here to the library and get the sermon posted. I hope that everyone is having a good day.
I have good news to report, and I want to give thanks to the Lord. I was offered the job at the interview today. This is a part-time job just as I was hoping to get. I will now have time to work on writing and ministry work, and I will have the part-time job to make sure I have enough to get the basic bills paid. I want to thank you all for your prayers on my behalf in this matter.
In prayer this week, please remember those in Mexico who suffered through the terrible earthquake. They are still working to pull survivors out of the rubble there. Let us pray that survivors might be rescued and that all those who were injured might recover quickly.
There was terrible devastation in the Virgin Islands and on Puerto Rico. Dominica also suffered terrible damage from the hurricane. Pray that these people will receive the help that they need to recover. Please continue to pray for those affected by the hurricanes in Texas and Florida.
Remember to pray for peace in this troubled world. Pray that tensions will relax between the United States and North Korea. Pray for peace in Syria and around the world.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us all pray for the nations of Senegal and Bhutan. Pray that many people in these nations will hear about the love of Jesus.
Today, we are continuing with our series on the parables of Jesus. After our message today, we will have just one more message in our parables of Jesus series.
When Jesus began His public ministry, the religious leaders of His day did not want to listen to what He had to say. They went so far as to blasphemously accuse Jesus of using the power of Satan to cast out demons and perform miracles.
Jesus responded by saying, "How can Satan cast out Satan? A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand." Jesus went on to say, "No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man: then indeed the house can be plundered." He went on to say that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was the unpardonable sin.
So, what did Jesus mean by binding or tying up the strong man? Jesus was trying to demonstrate to His critics that He was not in league with the devil. Jesus was actually the one who was going in to the house, binding the power of Satan and setting free those whom Satan had held captive.
When Jesus arrived on the scene, the powers of hell could not stand against Him. He cast out demons, healed the sick and brought people out of the darkness into the kingdom of His marvelous love and light.
Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus dealt one blow after another to Satan. Satan tried to tempt Jesus, but Jesus did not succumb to Satan's futile attempts at temptation. Jesus quoted the Word of God to the devil, and the devil departed.
When Jesus went to the cross and died so that the sins of the world might be forgiven, the devil thought that he had won a victory. But, Jesus rose in triumph from the grave defeating the devil once and for all.
When Jesus returns at His Second Coming, He will bind Satan, and he will no longer be able to tempt the people and the nations of the world into sin. His reign of terror will be over once and for all.
The only way that we can be set free from the power of sin is by the power and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. When we call on Him in repentance and faith, He forgives our sins and takes it away. In its place, we receive the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. We are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit living in us is greater than any power that the forces of hell can unleash.
Now, there is another way I believe that we can look at these words of Jesus about binding the strong man. Many of us have issues in our lives that are holding us back from living for the Lord to the fullest. It may be habit or some hurt from the past that is exercising power over us. The only way that we will be effective in our service for the Lord is if we deal with the issue and move on for the Lord.
What we need to do if this is the case, is to pray and ask the Lord Jesus to come, and by His power remove those areas in our lives that are keeping us from going full out for Him. The only way that we can overcome in life is through the power of Jesus. We can do nothing in our own strength. With Jesus, nothing is impossible.
Now, this could be a message on its own, but Jesus ends the parable by stating that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the unpardonable sin. Much has been written as to what constitutes blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. I think that it plain from the context. When someone attributes the work of the Holy Spirit to the devil, as did the religious leaders in Jesus' day, that is the unpardonable sin. Someday, I might post a whole sermon on this.
Next week, I will post the verses on Monday. On Wednesday, I will have a review. I will post the final sermon in our parables of Jesus series on Friday. May God bless you all. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment