CONVINCED: Authority & Power
Luke 4:31–37 (ESV) And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region.
Where are all the demons today? Why don’t we see them being cast out as in Biblical times?
They Are Common And All Around Us.
We Identify Them In Scientific, Medical And Sociological Terms.
Mark 9:17–18 (ESV) “Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute.
Luke 13:11 (ESV) And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself.
Mark 9:17–18 (ESV) “And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid.
Matthew 17:15 (ESV) For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.
Mark 5:4–5 (ESV) 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 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.
Luke 8:27 (ESV) For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.
Supernatural Activity (voices) - Acts 16:16–17 (ESV) As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”
Addicts, Crazy, Homeless, Suicidal, Out Of Control, Evil
Instead Of Evicting Them, We Treat Their Host. Counseling. Drugs. Incarceration.
We Don’t Recognize Our Authority And Lack Power.
Luke 4:36 (ESV) And they were all amazed and said to one another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”
AUTHORITY: the legal right to give orders
Ex: wedding officiant, property title, law enforcement
Failure to take authority allows presence
POWER: the strength to enforce obedience
Some things are simple to enforce, others harder
A persona can gain in power or call in reinforcements
Job 1:9–10 (ESV) Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.
Job 1:1–5 (ESV)
Jobwas blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
His sons and daughters used to “feast and drink”
Job would consecrate them, rise early and offer burnt offerings. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually.
Mark 3:14–15 (ESV)
And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons.