Instructions and Indictments
Book of Luke Chapter 11 Verses 17-28
The first part of Chapter 11 deals with prayer, and it is a great day when we finally realize the power of prayer.
The Lord Jesus prayed often, and it was another fulfillment of prophecy.
Psa 109:4 For my love they are my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer.
We all need the Lord's help to pray properly.
The Lord Jesus taught that prayer is one of the greatest needs we have in our Christian life.
I know I do not pray enough, and there is power in prayer.
Our lesson does not go into prayer, but we need to read what the Lord says here in this chapter.
What is the truth that we need to deal with? Our Lord Jesus has been rejected, denied, and cursed by most of this world, and this is not going to change.
There is a lot of evidence that proves that Jesus was exactly who He said He was.
There has been a lot of archaeology that has proven the Bible is accurate.
Old underground churches have been found in Israel that state that they were part of the Church that Jesus planted.
King David has been proven to have existed.
Jeremiah, Baruch his scribe, Isaiah, King Solomon, the Temple that Solomon built, and when it was rebuilt, King Cyrus and his directive to allow the Jews to go home have all been proven. The Moab stone proved of war with Israel, many things in Egypt, and much more has been proven that shows the Bible is full of the truth.
The Bible is accurate, and the Lord Jesus did really come to this earth just as the Bible says.
The information we read in the Book of Luke came from eyewitnesses to the life and death of Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus cast out the devil from a deaf and dumb man, and the wicked rulers of Israel said the power of Jesus came from the prince of devils, Beelzebub.
This is just another name given to Satan.
We must understand how the wicked work in our world.
When evil and wicked men cannot deny a good man's deeds, they will do their best to destroy his reputation.
In fact, this is what is driving the wickedness in our nation today, and why we cannot get good people to run for office.
There are no perfect people in this world. Almost all of us have something in our past that we are not proud of.
The Lord Jesus, who took on the flesh of a human, is the only one who walked this earth as a perfect man and is the perfect God.
To say these things about the Lord Jesus Christ, whose power comes by the Holy Spirit, is the unforgivable sin.
The Scriptures speak of sins against the Holy Spirit called quenching: 1Th 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.
There is the sin of grieving the Holy Spirit: Eph 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
We only think of blaspheming the Holy Spirit when we think of sins against the Holy Spirit, but these others are also sins against the Holy Spirit; He will forgive, but not blasphemy against Him; He will not forgive.
We should understand that the Lord Jesus had made Himself known to Israel throughout the Gospels, but look into the Book of Matthew, Chapters five through seven.
The Lord Jesus had done many miracles also in Matthew Chapters 8 through 10.
The Lord Jesus had fulfilled many of the Messianic signs, and the Jews had witnessed all these things and knew they were true.
Many of these same things are written about in the Book of Luke.
Now the religious leaders came who had witnessed all these other things, and they decided that the power of the man Jesus came from Satan.
Mat 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.
Mat 12:23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David?
Mat 12:24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.
God had already said: Mat 12:18 Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
We should not doubt that every sin committed is a sin against the Lord Jesus Christ.
The world of that day should have recognized that the Lord Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
The religious people could not deny the work of Christ or the miracles; they just denied that He was the promised Messiah and pointed to the Devil as the source of His power.
This is the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit!
This sin is final, and it is unforgivable because they had witnessed these great works of the Lord Jesus, themselves.
Mat 12:32 And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
There will be no opportunity for repentance for this sin!
There will be no opportunity for a pardon!
There will be no opportunity for forgiveness!
Where does the power of every Christian come from? It comes from the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
Joh 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
Joh 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Joh 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
It is believed that this sin cannot be committed today because it requires the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ and the work that He does Himself.
Thank goodness that most all sinners get more than one chance to accept the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
If saved, it meant we finally repented and turned to Christ.
Those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ before their death cannot be forgiven.
Those elders and religionist that claimed that the power of Christ came from the Devil, knowing better, are now burning in the hottest part of Hell reserved for Satan Himself.
The Lord Jesus always knows the thoughts that are in our heads.
*****Luk 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered.
Luk 11:15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.
Luk 11:16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.
Luk 11:17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
Luk 11:18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.
Luk 11:19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
The Lord Jesus claimed to be of another house and another kingdom than that of Satan.
The Lord Jesus set before these people a logical example, that a divided kingdom or house will surely fall.
They understood what the Lord was saying because they knew it was the truth.
We had better be careful here in America because we are more divided than we ever have been, at least this is the message our government is sending along with most news sources.
These things make us really weak, and it is all because of sin.
When the Lord Jesus spoke these things, He acknowledged the existence of Satan and his kingdom, both of whom struggle against righteousness and good.
Satan is not divided, and you will never hear of him doing good or being righteous, but he is deceiving.
Satan wants his own kingdom, and he does not want any of God's people to be in it.
Satan wants to be worshipped as God, even though he is just a created being like the rest of us.
Satan is certainly not going to cast out the wickedness and evil in this world because he then would have no power at all.
Joh 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
There were, at that time, Jewish exorcists who were of the Jewish nation who tried to cast out devils and demons in the name of Jehovah God, and they were not accused of using powers from Hell.
The Lord Jesus deserved far more respect than these exorcists.
One of the biggest mistakes of the Jews was that they exalted priests and religion above God and the Holy Scriptures.
We still see this today in many denominations!
We know these people honored God and the Holy Spirit, but they rejected the Son of God, who was also the Son of Man.
Without the Son of God, there is no payment for sin!
Without the Holy Trinity, there is no salvation!
What the Lord says next is interesting.
*****Luk 11:20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.
All the acts of the Lord Jesus Christ were through the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God.
Every action the Lord Jesus took on earth was in obedience to His Heavenly Father, God the Father.
Since the Lord Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He has been busy establishing the Kingdom of God.
The Holy Trinity, the Triune God who is One God, cannot be divided.
Jesus said He had enough power in one finger to cast out the house of the Devil.
I believe Him!
*****Luk 11:21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:
Luk 11:22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.
When the Lord Jesus Christ died on Mount Calvary, He went into the house of the strong man (Satan)(the Devil) and robbed him of his household goods (all the people he had in his power)( the keys to hell).
He then bound the strong man (the Devil) when Jesus defeated him in the wilderness.
Then Jesus went through all the land doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil.
He is still doing this through the Church today!
Jesus gave old Satan a swift kick in the head on the cross, and Satan is still dizzy from that today.
Wherever the power of God is located, this is the Kingdom of God.
The only thing lacking is accepting what the Lord Jesus has done for us!
1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Eph 4:8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Eph 4:9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
Eph 4:10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
*****Luk 11:23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.
The Lord Jesus Christ is the greatest gift this world has ever seen because He is our Creator, but He is also our Great Shepherd.
Where we choose to stand in relationship with Jesus Christ will determine the impact we make in this life!
It is the Lord Jesus Christ who determines our destiny!
There is no neutrality with Jesus Christ: we are either with Him or we are against Him.
We either fight against evil or fight against righteousness.
We either fight for the Kingdom of God, or we fight for the kingdom of evil.
Standing still is fighting against the Kingdom of God by doing nothing for God.
Standing still is allowing evil to continue in our homes, our nation, and this world.
A voice of silence is a voice for evil!
1Co 10:21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.
*****Luk 11:24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
Luk 11:25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished.
Luk 11:26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
Many in our world claim they do not need the Lord Jesus to clean up their lives.
Deliverance from wickedness and evil is not the same as being set free and living for the Lord Jesus.
Maybe someone can get the unclean spirit to leave him.
Maybe someone can let go of a wrong religion or religion itself.
Maybe someone can stop worshiping material things in this world.
These things will not make someone a new man, though some may say that.
All that emptiness in that person must be filled with something, and the only thing that will work is the presence of God and the possession of a New Nature.
Without this, that person will just feel empty with no purpose.
Unless that emptiness is filled with the Holy Spirit, some new evils far worse than the first will return, and the last state of that person will be far worse than he was at first.
Many make a confession of Christ, but they remain an empty house, and they fail.
It is unlikely that this man would ever clean his house again.
2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
*****Luk 11:27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
Luk 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
All mothers want to see their children do well, and this woman was saying how blessed the mother who had raised such a son as Jesus.
We do not know if this woman even knew Mary, the mother of Jesus.
We do know that Mary was blessed by God.
This woman does not go beyond the natural feeling of the Lord's good deeds.
The Roman-Catholic church has gone much further by introducing the worship of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and God does not honor this.
Mat_4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Luk_4:8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
How did the Lord Jesus respond to this?
The Word of God is not about being impressed by the goodness of the Lord Jesus.
It is certainly not about His mother Mary, who had to be a wonderful, godly person.
If we want true blessings, then we need to hear God's Word and do our best to follow the Word of God all our days.
A personal relationship with Jesus Christ is far better than any relationship one can have here on earth.
No book on this earth has the importance of the Word of God!
There is nothing on this earth that should come between us and the Word of God!
1Jn 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Amen
