Luke 11:21 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up his plunder. 23 "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 24 "When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first” (NIV).
Today is Christ the King Sunday. It is always the last Sunday of the year before we begin the season of Lent. On Christ the King Sunday, we celebrate the King of all kings and God’s Kingdom on earth. Today’s text illustrates religious leaders who should have recognized God’s Kingdom.
Consider what provoked Jesus to teach this parable. ?Jesus had healed a man who was unable to speak. His opponents in the crowd accused Jesus of working for the devil (Luke 11:15) whose works Jesus came to destroy (I John 3:8). Jesus said, “If Satan is divided against himself how can his kingdom stand” (Luke 11:18)? Other opponents in the crowd tested Jesus by asking for a sign (Luke 11:16). Is it not ironic that they are asking for a sign after witnessing a miracle? They should be praising God and recognizing that God’s Kingdom had come (Luke 11:20)! What does it say about them being religious leaders who refused to see God’s work among them?
What about God’s Kingdom priorities for us as a nation? God has created us in such a way that there is a God shaped space that only God can fill. Benedict Spinoza once said that "Nature abhors a vacuum". (Ethics.? Part I. Proposition 15: Note). That is a principle that is certainly true of nations and people.
This parable helps us to understand that there are three things to consider: Spiritual Hunger, Spiritual Vacancy, and Spiritual Well-Being.?
SPIRITUAL HUNGER
How do we as a nation satisfy our spiritual hunger? How did the nation of Israel satisfy their hunger? Psalm 33:12 says “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance” (NIV). Even though God chose them for His inheritance they rejected God! “He [Jesus] humbled himself and became vulnerable, choosing to be revealed as a man and was obedient. He was a perfect example, even in his death—a criminal’s death by crucifixion!” (Philippians 2:8 TPT). “He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him“ (John 1:11 NIV). Today’s text is an example of how the religious leaders of Jesus’s time of visitation refused to receive Him. In His Triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Jesus even warned them and wept over them saying, “You didn't recognize the time when God came to you. So your enemies will smash you to the ground. They will destroy you and all the people inside your walls. They will not leave one stone on top of another" (Luke 19:44 NIrV).
1) Our beginning as a nation: There was a time when America was being founded that we were thought of as a Christian nation, a city set on a hill. Have we forgotten our first love (Revelations 2:4)?
2) Prodigal nation: “In the hit U2 song, "The Wanderer," Johnny Cash sings the line, "They say they want the Kingdom, but they don't want God in it." The verse seems very appropriate to the results of the latest study on belief in the United States. Americans are losing their belief in God, but strangely, they are keeping their belief in Heaven”. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=they+want+God%27s+kingdom+but+God+in+it&t=newext&atb=v294-1&ia=web
3) Bad national image: It has been said that one of the ways our nation is seen today is as an “ungodly exporter of pornography, immorality, and debauchery”. The point is that we cannot be blessed by God if we do not walk with God as His people!
4) Influence and consequences: Psalm 55:11 says, “Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets” Pro 2:11-13? Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. (12) Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, (13) who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, (NIV). Therefore, it is no wonder that they call good evil and evil good (Isaiah 5:20).
How has God called us to represent Him?
It started with Adam and Eve who were made in God’s image and placed in the in the Garden of Eden. We know that the serpent deceived them mixing truth with falsehood. Satan was getting them to lean to their own understanding which is the opposite of what Proverbs 3:5 tells us. Little did they know that Satan was looking for an advantage to get a toehold.
In his book The Unseen Realm, Michael S. Heiser said, “We are created to image God, to be his imagers. It is what we are by definition. The image is not an ability we have, but a status. We are God’s representatives on earth”. (Bellingham, Washington: Lexham Press, 2015, pp. 42 - 43). The first Adam blew it.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are made new creatures in Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 5:17) who is the image of God (2 Corinthians 4:4b)? says “The god of this age (aka the serpent Satan and the devil see Revelation 12: 9) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (II Corinthians 4:4 NIV).
Our spiritual hunger must be fed. Just as it is possible to eat junk food, it is possible for us feed our spiritual hunger with junk. Satan will invade any space in our spiritual hunger that we leave open. There is a saying that goes like this: “If you put garbage in, you get garbage out”. There is a God-shaped hole in our lives that only God can fill!
SPIRITUAL VACANCY
What happens if someone leaves their cleaned house empty and vacant?
1) Squatters: According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of a squatter is “One that settles on property without right or title or payment“. When it comes to vacant real estate, there is always a possibility of a squatter who could take up residence. Who wants a squatter?
2) Security: "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe” (Luke 11:21 NIV). “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong, they are weak but He is strong”. There is no one stronger than Jesus who holds the keys of Hell and death (Revelation 1:18) because Jesus conquered sin, death and the fear of death on the cross!
I once knew a flight instructor who talked about how he went to repossess a plane.? After his first episode, he said never again. Why? The answer is because usually people get held at gun point and sometimes shot at when trying to repossess someone's property. It is funny how people will fight for material things while they will leave their soul vacant and vulnerable for Satan to come in and attack and take over.
3) Soul: There is a huge difference between a house and your soul. A house is inanimate and man made real estate, but a soul will live forever either in heaven with God the Father or separated for eternity from God in hell. Satan is not concerned about real estate because he wants to possess all the vacant and vulnerable souls.? Jesus said, “I am the Beginning and I am the End,? [the Alpha and the Omega] the Living One! I was dead, but now look—I am alive forever and ever. And I hold the keys that unlock death and the unseen world”?(Revelation 1:18?TPT). In Acts 4:11-12? we are reminded that Jesus is "'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' ?(12)? Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (NIV).
What are the reasons for Spiritual vacancy? Could it be neutrality, selective obedience, or complacency? Does a place tilled for a garden grow on its own? What will happen if the soil is tilled and prepped but nobody plants anything there?
What can happen in the case of neglect ? Consider the following story as an example. "A young woman left for college one autumn. Before she left, she asked her mother to look after the potted violets and her aquarium in her bedroom. Her mother, who often seemed distracted, assured her that she would water the plants and take care of the fish. The daughter left with assurances from her mother that everything would be cared for. Two weeks after leaving, the girl called home, and, in the course of the conversation asked how the violets were doing. The mother apologized that she'd forgotten to water them and that they all died.? A couple of weeks later, the daughter telephoned and inquired about the goldfish, the mother confessed that she had been busy and had neglected to feed them, and had found them all dead. After a long pause, the young woman asked with anxiety in her voice, "And … how is Dad?" (William P. Barker. Ed. Tarbell's Teacher's Guide. 86th Annual Volume. Elgin: David C. Cook Publishing Co., 1990, pp. 144-145). The point is that neglect can be deadly.
SPIRITUAL WELL-BEING
What must happen after someone’s spiritual house---soul has been cleaned?
We must invite Jesus to live in our hearts---to be not just our Savior, but our Lord! In order to have spiritual well-being, people cannot remain neutral, once his/her house is clean because “Neutrality invites disaster”.
Much like the point of a country song recorded by South Carolina's own Aaron Tippin in a song entitled something like "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." It repeats that theme a few times.
A second reason that neutrality invites disaster is that evil needs a place to dwell. Consider Mark 5:1-20, in the story of the Garasene demoniac where some 2,000 evil spirits dwell in this one man. Once Jesus exorcised these evil spirits from him, they entered the herd of swine, ran down the cliff and ran into the sea and drowned as a result (Mark 5:13). The point is that those evil spirits have to have a resting place (Luke 11:24). That is the same reason that Jesus warns us that evil spirits can return to the host that they just left to fill the vacancy, vulnerability, and neutrality due to neglect. Reformation is never enough. Jesus does want to be a butler! No! Jesus wants to be your Lord and Savior!
What will happen to a person if the evil spirit that was cast out returns with seven others worse than himself? How many people have you known who have experienced this kind of chaos? If one was bad, then how bad will seven evil spirits be? Whether is is a nation or a person who has been spiritually cleansed, the point is that if we don't fill that spiritual with the Lord, then the evil spirit who was exercised will come back with seven more spirits more wicked than the original spirit (Luke 11:26). The intent of the original evil spirit is not bringing seven more evil spirits than itself to make a point. No! They are coming to gain a stronghold!
1) Stronghold: Would that not give Satan a stronghold? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 10:4 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (NIV). We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
2) Personal strongholds: The Greek word for stronghold is “orchuroma” which means to “fortify by holding safely … Now imagine the limits of personal strongholds such as fortified bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, pride, [denial, resistance, addiction and complacency] within you. (Liberty Savard. Shattering Your Strongholds. Newberry, Florida: Bridge Logos Foundation, 1992, pp. 29, 39). If we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13), and we can, then how well will we do on our own strength? Are we not lukewarm (Revelation 3:16) in our own strength? Lukewarmness will not do!
3) Outnumbered and ill equipped: How well will you handle things on your own without God’s omnipotence (all powerful), Omniscience (all knowing) and omnipresence (always present)? If strongholds are bad for individuals, and they are, then how bad are they for they for prodigal nations? “Christians should live in the world but not be filled with it. A ship lives in the water but it goes to the bottom if water gets in the ship." (Hyman J. Appleman. Pointed Sermon Outlines and Illustrations. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1953, p. 99). Christ’s kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36) and the power of Christ is greater in us than the lying thief (John 8:44) who is in the world (I John 4:4) to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). As John Wesley put it, “Ye have overcome these seducers, because greater is the Spirit of Christ that is in you than the spirit of antichrist that is in the world.” (John Wesley’s Notes on the Bible).
4) Prayer and prevention: It is as Christian writer Paul Bunyan, the author of The Pilgrim's Progress once put it: "Prayer will make a man cease from sin; or sin will entice a man to cease from prayer." (Ralph Spaulding Cushman. Compiler. A Pocket Prayer Book. Nashville: The Upper Room, 1969, p. 8).
5) Citizens of God’s Kingdom: When Jesus is the Lord of our lives, then earth can no longer be our home!
For Christians, there is no place like home when Jesus is our spiritual Landlord. St. Augustine once said that “we are restless until we find our rest in God!” Unless we devote ourselves fully to Jesus, and let His Kingdom reign in our hearts, then we will remain restless. Christ can help us overcome anything that becomes a stumbling block. Consider an excerpt of a song by Steven Curtis Chapman: “A Vacant house comes alive when somebody moves inside. A light shines in the window means someone’s home. I say Jesus lives in me, but can everybody see the light of His love that shines in my heart?” (Steven Curtis Chapman. The Steven Curtis Chapman Songbook. “Do They Know”. Chatsworth Canada: The Sparrow Corporation, 1989, p. 29). We must walk and talk with Him daily to receive the kind of help that we need. This is why prayer is so important for what we do for God’s kingdom in the world and also His kingdom in our hearts! Can others see God’s light shining in us and through us? Are we troubled by strongholds that Satan uses against us or have we completely surrendered those strongholds to Jesus Christ?
On Christ the King Sunday, we celebrate the King of all kings and God’s Kingdom on earth. “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me son, little ones to Him belong for they are weak, but He is strong!” Does Jesus live and reign in your heart and life so that you know that strength.
In the Name, of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
