Turn with me once again into God's Word to the book of Luke. We want to look at Luke chapter 4. We'll begin with verse 31 and read to the end of the chapter. Luke chapter 4, beginning with verse 31, reading to the end of the chapter. It's found on page 1184 of the Bibles there in Euros. Let's give our attention once again to the reading and hearing of God's Word. Luke writes, then he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority. Now in the synagogue, there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice saying, let us alone. What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet, and come out of him. And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, What a word this is! For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out. And the report about him went out in every place in the surrounding region. Now he arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house. But Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever. And they made request of him concerning her. So he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him. And he laid his hand on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, you are the Christ, the Son of God. And he rebuked them, did not allow them to speak, for they knew that he was the Christ. Now when it was day, he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought him and came to him and tried to keep him from leaving. But he said to them, I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent. And he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. Remember the grass withers and the flower falls, but God's word abides forever. In 2000, VH1 did a poll of 700 music industry movers and shakers. And they determined that there was one song that was the top rock song up to that time. It was a song that the guitarist of the band had written simply because he woke up at night, he had a guitar riff going through his mind, he fumbled around in order to find his guitar, his pick, and a recorder, he strummed out the eight notes, and then he fell back asleep. When they heard the recording, they heard the noise, they heard him mumble something, and then they heard a bunch of snoring. It was about a week later that this individual, along with his bandmates, went into the studio and they recorded this. I can't get no satisfaction. This particular song, put together by the Rolling Stones, basically addresses commercialism and relationships. You're in the car, someone comes on the radio telling you more and more about some useless information. Other aspects, I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get someone to respond. I intentionally didn't rhyme it. And yet, what does this have to do with what we've heard this weekend, and what in the world does it have to do with Jesus casting a demon out of an individual, and healing a bunch of people. Well, it's this. Oftentimes, we forget who Jesus is, as is put forth in our text regarding his power and his compassion. because our focus becomes more geared as to what's happening in our present circumstances or in our situation. We become so focused on what is it that satisfies us now or secures us for the moment, what allows us to get from this point to the next, That we forget what Luke shows us regarding the greatness and the glory and the wonder and the love and the compassion of our Savior. Think about this for a moment. How often do we note this in our relationships? We think to ourselves that, well, if I can just find that special someone that can carry me through high school, then I'll be more satisfied and things will be good in my life. But let's say that special guy or girl carries you forward and you actually do marry them. And wedding day bliss turns into honeymoon, oh no, what did I just do? And I'm now stuck with this guy? You see how it changes. Well, maybe it'll change if we add a child into the, yeah, right. Parents, you know what I'm talking about. Now you've added three or four or however many kids you end up having and yet it's all a sense of how are we walking through this? And if it's all simply about satisfaction or meeting certain things in relation to ourself and it neglects then God and Jesus Christ, how are we gonna carry ourselves? We'll only continue to sing. I can't get no satisfaction. I try and I try and I try and I just can't get no. You understand this in the context of employment? if it only were better, if I was only moved up, if I only made more money. the acquisition of possessions, the larger house or the better vehicle, only to move into the house to find out that the contractor wasn't as good as he promoted himself to be, or that beautiful new sports car that you have that you drive off the lot, just immediately depreciated in value, you pull into the parking lot, you pull far, far, far away from everyone else, only to find out that one guy decided to park next to you, and surely he opens the door and dings it right into the car. How about our health? We watch out for various things, we attend to it rigorously, some not so much, but then we hear from the doctor and we get that report about what happens next and what do we now do. Whatever efforts we were making has all changed. And then we lead into retirement. What satisfies us? It's just the misses in me and here we are. The kids are gone. The investments have been made. Our house has been paid off. How will we spend our time? What appeals to us? What satisfies us? What is our longing? Well, I believe that Luke, in our passage this morning, sets forth to us or sets before us the power of Christ and the compassion of Jesus. in order to direct our hearts to see that even though we may appeal to all sorts of things, satisfaction will not be had there. But if we look to the Lord Jesus, it will be found there securely forevermore. Notice how Luke brings forth the power of Christ. We see some allusions to it in verses 31 and following. Firstly, he interacts with a guy who has an unclean spirit in him. And then we see his power is noted in relation to an individual who is sick of all people, Peter's mom-in-law. And then people in the community just start bringing others and others to him. And then more and more show up and here are all these demons. How do we understand all this? Luke is wanting us to see our Lord's power. How so? Well, remember from chapter one up into this point, he's really shown us the person of Christ. He's a unique individual who, yes, is like us in all things except without sin, and yet he's also the God-man. And so this one then was conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary, expressed by means of an announcement. And then we have all these individuals who testify to us about this one, Zacharias, and we see Elizabeth, and we see the shepherds and the angels in Luke chapter two, and we hear of Simeon and Anna, and throughout the life of Jesus, we are reminded that this is a unique person, this is a special person, this is a significant individual. John the Baptist, his cousin, says the same thing in chapter three. Even God the Father himself speaks out of heaven and says, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. And the Spirit descends on him, giving that testimony. Even the temptation of Satan shows just what an amazing person our Lord is. For the evil one had no power over him. But here's the question. If Jesus is this amazing person, and he himself even makes this declaration, as we heard in Sunday school, about being in Nazareth, reading from Isaiah 61, and says, the spirit of the Lord who has anointed me and is upon me to come forth and to deliver the captive and to free the poor and open the eyes of the blind and make the lame walk and do all kinds of amazing things, if that is this one, Well, how do we know it? Luke is going, let me show you how you know it. Because through the rest of chapter four into chapter five, he shows every one of those lines to be true in order to speak to us about his power. Because it's one thing for Jesus to have power in relation to the evil one. Hey, he can't affect me. It's another thing for him to show I have so much power that I am able to actually go into the evil one's kingdom and extract the souls of those that I love and bring them to me. And that's what we see Jesus then doing as he engages with these demons. The power of Christ becomes manifest to us here and of all places, Capernaum. Luke notes that he went down to Capernaum. The reason for this is it's almost 700 feet below sea level. Anywhere to get there, you're going down. And so he traveled. He went to this place because it was a Jewish center of agriculture and fishing. And it was also the place where Peter lived. Peter's introduced to us in this text, not called Peter, but rather his given name, Simon. No real introduction given because everyone knows who Peter is. Jesus would stay at Peter's home whenever he was in the area, became a home away from home. as it were. And yet, as was Jesus's custom, he then comes into the town. He is there with him over a Sabbath. He enters into the synagogue. He's given the privilege of reading the law and expounding on it. And as he teaches, all who hear him are just amazed at what he says. Another display of power. How so? Well, the tradition of the Jews was that simply the one who would read the law would read it and that they would appeal to tradition. Well, we know this is the case because so-and-so who quoted so-and-so who quoted so-and-so who quoted so-and-so on back however many generations said this. There was no sense of independent exposition of God's word, but rather simply setting forth. These are our traditional understanding. These are the places that we're comfortable with. These are the things that are brought forth. Jesus didn't quote anyone. You recall in the Sermon on the Mount, you've heard it said, but I say to you, Jesus didn't appeal to their history as it were or to any older rabbi. He powerfully, clearly, profoundly, truthfully was able to speak in such a manner that these individuals said, this is an amazing thing for us to hear and to see and to stand before because he has set before us the truth. And so what happens If they were to sing a hymn back then, I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Galilee because of what they heard and how profound he was. But even through this expression, as they observe these things, an even more amazing thing occurs. Luke records for us the first miracle of Jesus's ministry. Many authors like to say this is the first miracle in Luke. I say no. It was a miracle that Jesus was conceived in the womb of Mary. That's the first miracle in Luke. And take it back even further, John the Baptist. And Zacharias being deaf or mute because of his unbelief. But this is clearly the first miracle of Jesus's ministry. What is it? While in the synagogue, an individual who had a spirit of an unclean demon cried out with a loud voice saying, let us alone. Can you imagine what that would have been like? Luke's doing that by the way, he's putting us in the audience, in the setting to be an observer. Can you imagine if someone walked in here? I wasn't gonna say if someone stood up, that would be insulting to you. But if someone walked in here and with that began then saying something, interrupting the sermon and calling out particular ideas. And it was the expression of an unclean spirit. What would have been even more shocking is this was someone that they would have known. What are we to do with this? I mean, after all, if you read through the Old Testament, there's only a couple of times where there's reference to demonic activity, or at least the presence of demons in somebody. And if you read through the epistles, you don't hear a lot of instruction about this is how you handle anyone who's demon-possessed. But in the Gospels and in Luke, or in Acts, you hear an awful lot about this. Why? Because of the significance of what was happening. Because of the power of Jesus Christ. For He was coming in, in order to lay hold of the kingdom of the evil one. He was coming in, in order to show His power, His greatness, His supremacy, His glory, His authority. To then raid the kingdom of the evil one. And bring the souls of the elect unto him. And hell was unleashed in order to stop him. This was a real demon. Demons were fallen angels. It was a third of the angels that God had created before during the first week of creation that decided that they wanted to go with Lucifer who had revolted against God himself because he wanted to be in the place of God because of his pride. And a third of the angels went with Him and they set their fate as it were. Can I say fate? They set their course based on their decision. And so here they are coming in order to get Him. Here they are coming to stand in the way of Jesus. And yet this is quite powerful. Why? Remember what we sing in O Come O Come Emmanuel. I think it's the third verse, it's number 194 in your songbook. Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan's tyranny, from depth of hell thy people save, and give them victory, or the grave. That's what's happening. That's the work that Jesus is entering into. And he's testifying to us that he is able. The scriptures affirm this. We are recognized to be dead in our trespasses and sins. God saves us. Paul in Colossians 1 notes that we then, by the power of Christ, are brought forth from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Other passages affirm that it is Christ who has the power in order to deliver us from the influence and from the possession of the evil one. This happens when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and declare Him to be the all-powerful One. Notice how Jesus' power is brought forth in our text. This one cries out, he says, let us alone, what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? This is in verse 34, I believe. Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. Jesus rebuked him, saying, be quiet and come out of him. Notice it's a real thing. It's not a mental illness. It's not someone who's just crazy. Notice Jesus is also dealing with this in the context of an individual, not in terms of a difficulty in a vehicle. a bad mechanic or some other hardship or situation. It's not some wild fantasy. It's not something that is irrational. Jesus noted in Luke chapter 11, when I cast out demons, the kingdom of God comes. And that's why he shrieked. Notice Jesus's power. He used only words. There was no crazy situation where he had to show a crucifix, where he had to go through a certain ritual or an incantation, or somehow this person was overpowering and elevating themselves. You know what I'm referencing. There was no dialogue, no conversation. There was no back and forth between this one. Jesus simply says, be quiet, come out, and he must respond. Think about this testimony. John tells us in 1 John 3, the Son of God was manifest to destroy the works of the devil. This testifies to us that Jesus is able to overcome evil. He's able to overcome the wicked one. He is the holy one, the Christ, the promised one. Luke is affirming to us his power and his greatness. Two things that should come to mind. Maybe there's more. Two things that come to my mind that I'll share with you. Put it that way. If this is Jesus, what do you then do with him? Some of you are searching even now. wondering how do I deal with my circumstance in life? How do I deal with that aspect of a lack of satisfaction, a lack of hope, a lack of belonging or a sense of security? And yet here is this one that scripture testifies to us that is able to overcome the one who speaks lies to you, who puts falsehoods before you and causes you to think that it's in your best interest and of your best benefit. Only to once he snares you, pull the rug out from under your feet and go, huh, gotcha. The evil one hates you and he wants your destruction, but not Christ. Are you going to remain with the evil one? Or are you going to look to this one and cry out to him and say, Jesus, you are the powerful one who shows himself to be authoritative and victorious. Please receive me. into your kingdom. Here's the second piece. If you know that this is Jesus, why are you trying to take control? Have you ever stopped the demon? You ever resolved all your problems so that when you go to bed at night, everything's, You ever made it so that it's all just good? But here's this powerful one able to go at the kingdom of hell itself. And yet you can't trust him. He loves you and uses his authority and his greatness for you, his child. Why would you not trust this one who's seen you at your worst, who still loves you, who has gone to bat for you, who is victorious for you, and has brought you into his kingdom? But that doesn't leave us just at his power, but also then at his compassion. Look at what happens. He goes through this event, church is over, they all are going home, and he goes to Simon's house somewhere in the afternoon, probably early afternoon, for their big meal. This would be like Sunday dinner, only it's Saturday. And as they show up, Peter's mother-in-law is sick. Now this is usually where ministers insert some sort of mother-in-law joke. I'm not going to make one. My mother-in-law is probably listening. I just did. But here she is sick. They asked Jesus, would you do something? Would you act? Can you take care of this? And so he comes to her. In the Gospel of Mark, it notes that she was lying down, and so he stands over her, reaches out, takes her hand, and in tenderness and sympathy and compassion, rebukes the disease, and it leaves. And how do we know this? Because when it was all said and done, immediately she got up and went to work. That wasn't a sense in which, well, I'm getting better, give me a few days and I'll take some aspirin and I'll get a ice pack or I'll get a heating pad and I'll get through my aches and I've got maybe a little bit of a cough left over or I've got some sniffles, but I'm getting there. That's not the way Jesus healed. He took care of it all completely. Notice his further compassion then as we see in verse 40 and following. The sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. Notice the compassion there. Various diseases, any that were sick, he laid his hands on every one of them. and healed them. Some of the so-called healing services on church today, they kind of line up just a group of people, and the minister somehow goes through and says, all right, you know, be healed. And he breathes on them, or he waves his coat on them, do different things, or he slaps them on the forehead. Not so with Jesus. He takes his time with each one, touching them and seeing to it that they are complete and full and whole. A few comments about the healing that he provides. It's not fake. It's not a trick. He didn't sort these people through a screening process in order to say, okay, you're qualified. I can handle you. You're a little bit beyond my pay grade. It wasn't staged. They came to Him. Word had gotten out about this Jesus, the demon slayer, and now then the mother-in-law healer, and so they are coming to Him in droves. And He takes care of everyone. With a word or a touch, He makes them well. It's instantaneous, not progressive. It's completely, not partially. Everyone who comes, none are disappointed. These are true, real diseases. And elsewhere in the Scriptures, we even see that He raises those from the dead. What does this say about our Savior? This one is full of compassion. This one cares. This one loves. This one is mindful of sinners and the lost and the outcast. And he showed that throughout his ministry. There was none too low nor too great that he didn't come alongside of. There was none group that was so large that he couldn't look upon and say, I move with compassion regarding these ones. He weeps over Jerusalem and he notes the destruction that is coming. His heart is moved. He's a savior. That is powerful. But he cares. Now think about this in your circumstances. Those of you who still are hesitant or reluctant regarding this Jesus, notice the love that is demonstrated in this text for sinners. Notice the love that he has for those who are hurting, those who are weak, those who are overcome by grief and disease and are just heavy laden and overburdened with this. And here he sees them and he cares for them. Why can't Jesus care for you? Why do you think that he can't care for you? Is there something too much in your life? Is there something too significant? Is there something too great? Yes, maybe for you, maybe for doctors, maybe for others, but not for this powerful one. Come to the Savior who is compassionate and loving. But how about you, dear believer? We love the compassion of Christ for us, do we not? But notice who this compassion was for. The hurting and the afflicted. How does this all fit in with our theme this weekend? Jesus goes into the kingdom of darkness. He shows his power to take them. But as he then comes to show himself to others, he does so in a loving manner. What did we hear yesterday? We heard about the significance of our culture and the various narratives that are there, the challenges that are there, and recognizing the philosophies and the ideologies that are affecting it. What then were we encouraged regarding our steps to engage individually through the royal law of love? Jesus does so as these individuals reach out. That's how he meets them. How much more so than for your neighbor who needs this powerful Savior to address their sin and their misery? How about this powerful Savior to be brought forth to them through you? Not in a manner of winning the argument. Not in the manner of distance. Not in the manner of simply being gone from your house from 9am to noon. but in the manner of coming to them, engaging them, and loving them. The struggle that we have in terms of our lives regarding the issue of satisfaction is present. It's present because we have forgotten the power of Christ and we have forgotten the compassion of Christ. And as much as we desire that satisfaction for ourselves, so our neighbors are also desirous of that. Why not show them the power of Christ through you and your words and your example and demonstrate to them the compassion of your Savior to strengthen them and overcome their turmoil? Let's pray. Our Father in heaven, what a wonderful Savior is Jesus our Lord. He is great, he is mighty, he is glorious. And yet he's real, and he's tender, and he's loving. Lord, help us to see both sides that we might fear him, but that we might also then come and embrace him with a believing heart in all aspects of our lives, and to take comfort and encouragement in knowing that he is able to do beyond all we could ask or think because of his strength, and yet he also desires to do so because of his love. Encourage us in this, even as we pray, saying, our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.