Mark 1:21-28
Paonia United Methodist Church
February 2, 2003
I have a confession to make to you this morning.
I am not always the best listener.
Now, don’t get me wrong,
When I am in the office and people are in trouble,
I am at my best and I listen intently.
But, when I am at home,
I must admit that I go into a “scan” mode looking for “do” words.
What does this mean?
It means that unless I am actually paying attention,
It goes in one ear, and out the other.
Now, Mary has figured out a way around this.
Anyone who knows me very well knows
that I have an obsession with power tools.
I’ve got it bad.
I can build, create, or fix just about anything,
And I often do.
So, when Mary gets the impression I am not listening,
She inserts words into her sentence like,
“A new air compressor,” or “radial arm saw.”
What!?
Yeah, I am awake now.
Its as if I just woke from a sleep.
Now, this phenomenon of selective hearing is not just limited to yours truly.
In fact, it is quite the epidemic.
One New York columnist set out to prove that no one really
listened to what anyone said at social occasions.
When he was invited to a party, he always would arrive late.
When he arrived the hostess greeted him and he would explain why he was late.
"I had to stop for a moment and murder my mistress,
and it took longer than I thought."
You would be surprised by her answer.
Without blinking an eye, the hostess said she understood perfectly,
"I was almost late myself, everyone is quite busy.
Enjoy yourself. Have a good time ."
As he mingled around the party, someone asked him what I he did for a living.
"Oh, I am the executioner for the State Penitentiary."
The person continued, "Well, that must be an interesting line of work.
How does business look this year?’’
I often wonder how many people who show up to church are actually
listening at any given time.
What words should I substitute to get people to sit forward and listen?
Chances are it would have to be something other than
“New air compressor.”
Well, like I said, this phenomenon has been going on for a long time,
And this morning, we get a picture of just this very thing happening
During Jesus’ ministry…
A moment when the sleeping synagogue wakes up
And takes notice.
Our lesson comes from…
Mark 1
21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. 23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil[1] spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
25"Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
27The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching--and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
This is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is this?
A new teaching? And with authority?
It kind of makes you wonder what all the other teaching
Was about, doesn’t it?
So, what made Jesus’ teaching this day so much different than
Every other day as the teachers got together?
Well, something clearly happened here.
The teaching ceased to be hypothetical and the
Power of his teaching became concrete in the exorcism
Of a demon.
I suspect if we were to do that today,
2000 years later, there would be a great number of people
suddenly sit forward in their pews and wake up from the slumber
of all the happy Sunday morning sermons they have heard in
the past.
I think that is what happened then.
I think that is what would happen now.
All the people who sit and scan the message while
Thinking of something else would suddenly wake up
And take notice.
Now, if you are wondering just exactly what I have in mind
For you this morning,
Let me first ease you fears…
I have no intention of doing any exorcisms this morning.
But, what I would like to share with you is something we often
Don’t spend much time talking about in the Methodist church.
And that is, the presence of evil.
We don’t spend much time focusing on the presence of evil because we are
A social gospel church.
That is, a church that focuses on being the hands and feet
Of Christ in this world.
Love God with your whole heart,
And love your neighbor as yourself.
That’s what we are about…
And rightfully so.
With that said,
I still believe that it is important that we take a look at these interactions
Between good and evil,
And, in this case, a demon that professes the lordship of Christ.
Take a look at this…
23Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil[1] spirit cried out, 24"What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are--the Holy One of God!"
Now, what is this?
Are we to believe that Satan and his minions have
Suddenly taken to preaching the gospel?
Of course not!
But, what we do have here is another testimony to the Lordship of Christ.
Even the demons in hell know exactly who he is.
After all, that is what it means to be Lord.
And these stories are the kind of stories we expect to here from
These ancient texts.
Thankfully, we now live in a world that has been sterilized by
Rational thinking and we just don’t believe in these things anymore, right?
Folks, I would like to say that’s true.
I would like to think that we live in a world where everything could
Be understood and thus controlled…
But I would be lying to you if I told you that is true.
And, as I share this with you,
I have come to expect two different responses.
I either get the “interesting sermon pastor” as people duck out the door
Wondering what asylum I have escaped from,
Or I get “you know pastor, I have seen something like this,
But I was afraid to talk about because people
Would think I am crazy.”
What I would say to you this morning is that the
Battle between good and evil,
Heaven and hell,
God and Satan is every bit as real today as it was 2000 years ago.
Satan has just gotten better at hiding and entrenching himself in our modern world.
Most folks don’t believe in him anymore.
Well, let me tell you something…
He is quite real, and ignoring him doesn’t work.
Believing he is not real is just as effective as standing in the middle of the
Interstate believing that 18 wheeler heading right at you isn’t real either.
Why am I so convinced?
Well, it isn’t because of anything I have read…
It is because I have had several experiences that would just
Knock your socks off.
I can tell you the story of one young man that I will call by the name “Joe.”
Joe had been molested by his babysitter at the age of seven.
Joe was now 21 years old, and still very much effected and
Plagued by his past.
Joe had been expelled by his college for drug use.
He was chronically depressed and was considering suicide.
During an afternoon together, I led Joe to Christ.
Later, we sat together in his home,
And I was looking through some of his Cd’s.
I was amazed at how many of them, even seemingly innocent
One’s had the devil printed on them.
When I mentioned he might want to get rid of some of this stuff,
He casually smiled, and gave me some answer of, “yeah right.”
It was the same sort of way that I respond when I blow someone off.
“I’ll get right on that.”
And, as we sat there, I remember looking up at a Smashing Pumpkins
poster he had on the wall.
But, it wasn’t the poster that bothered me.
It was what was behind it.
I saw it smile a twisted smile at me.
I stepped back and said “Joe, that thing is looking at me.”
He started laughing at me and then he turned and looked.
His jaw dropped and he turned ghost white.
At that moment, a black, shadowed presence came from behind that wall and left.
The presence of the Holy Spirit poured in that room with an intensity
That I have only felt once before.
Joe fell back in his seat and gasped…
“My God, the whole time I have been thinking about killing myself
I have been staring into that poster for answers…”
Joe’s life is much different now…
And so is mine because of the experience.
Folks, like I said,
There are going to be people who think I am nuts…
And there are going to be people who have had some experience
With what I am talking about here.
My job, as your pastor,
Is to share with you this battle,
The battle between good and evil,
Is still very much happening.
And, the power, the authority, the Lordship of Christ
To come and deliver those who are lost, or are in the grip
Of evil is still very very real.
Again, as Methodists, we don’t spend a lot of time talking about
Angels and demons and such.
Our focus always has been and always will be about being the
Hands and feet of Jesus Christ.
But, I want to give you something more this morning.
Like the people from 2000 years ago who
Questioned amongst themselves…
“What is this? A new teaching with authority?”,
We live under that teaching and have been given
That authority.
You see, the evil presence in that room 2000 years ago knew him,
And fled from him…
And the evil one still knows him today,
And still flees from him.
And you, and I, and all those baptized into the name of Jesus Christ
Have been given the authority to call upon his name
When we stand in the presence of evil.
You know, there are a few things that are worth sitting up
And taking notice of…
And I believe that this is one of them.
Evil is real.
But you have the call,
You have power,
And you have the authority in the name of Jesus Christ
To stand against it when you feel that you are in
Its presence.
This is also a part of being the hands and the feet of Christ in this world.
