Luke 11:14-28—A Sermon

Lent III 3/10/96

The text before us this morning is about the KINGDOM OF GOD. It is one of the most encouraging passages to be found in all of Holy Scripture, a source of comfort, strength, reinforcement, commitment.

The Kingdom of God is simple enough to be understood and appreciated by the young, yet it is profound beyond measure—leading its students to the foundation of life itself. Requiring a lifetime of study to plumb its depths.

The Kingdom of God is wherever the Almighty reigns. Wherever He is revered. Wherever His holy laws are kept.

At its basic level you find the Kingdom of God wherever families govern themselves by His royal decree.

In its more developed form, you find the Kingdom of God wherever societies and cultures govern themselves by the discipline and rigors of God’s precepts.

This earth has seen hundreds of thousands of kings come and go. Yet there is a mightier King. Whose days have bridged them all the LORD of Hosts is His name. The King of Glory.

The heavens have looked down upon the waxing and waning of tens of thousands of kingdoms. This led Shakespeare (in his tragedy Antony and Cleopatra) to observe: “Kingdoms are clay.” But there is one Kingdom which stands immovable amidst the rolling years—a kingdom of splendor governed by wise laws and composed of humble citizens—the Kingdom of God.

This morning’s lesson falls into four sections:

• • The casting out of a devil.
• • The response of our Lord’s critics.
• • A brief discourse on unclean spirits.
• • The response of a sincere woman in the crowd.

Each tells us something important about the Kingdom of God. Let us briefly examine each in turn….

The Deliverance of the Kingdom

Verse 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.

We discover here a key aspect of God’s Kingdom. It is a sphere of deliverance. A reclaiming of that which was lost at the Fall.

Sometimes in the Gospels we read of unclean devils. Sometimes we read of raging and violent devils.

But this poor man was possessed of a devil that was dumb. He could not speak.

Perhaps his wife brought him to Christ. Perhaps his parents. Perhaps he sought out the Great Physician on his own.

But Jesus understood the situation, and delivered this poor man from his bondage.

In so doing. He demonstrated His grand purpose for coming into the world. To deliver His realm and those in it from the works of the devil.

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. (1 Jn. 3:8)

There are many in our own day who are afflicted by the same dumb devil—who never speak to God/. Who never employ their tongues in prayer and praise to the ALMIGHTY.

May it not be so among us.

The Conquest of the Kingdom

Verses 15-22: When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace:

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.

These are among the most revealing words ever spoken by our Lord.

They furnish us a brief glimpse down the corridor of time. Though we cannot make out the details of the years, we nevertheless behold with clarity the general direction of history.

And it is a beautiful sight indeed!

History will see the growth of God’s Kingdom, the progressive development of His dominion.

It is inevitable. Wickedness has God’s curse. Righteousness has His blessing. The outcome can be none other.

When our Lord declares He will overcome Satan, the word used is nikaw—to conquer (it is from this word that we derive the name Nicholas—the “victorious one”). This is strong, straightforward language. The Almighty will conquer, disarm and impoverish the Evil One.

It was with a strong hand and an outstretched arm that God brought forth His people from the land of Egypt.

But note that devils were cast out with the finger of God.

The word Kingdom occurs 371 times in Holy Writ. The first occurrence (in Genesis 10:10) mentions Babel and the kingdom of Nimrod.

But by the time we reach the Book of Revelation (11:15), we find something altogether different. We are looking at the culmination of history. And what do we find?

The kingdoms of this world are become [the kingdoms] of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining.
Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;
So from the beginning the fight we were winning:
Thou, Lord wast at our side: all glory be thine!

Who are we told will inherit the earth? The powerful No. The perverse? No. Kings? Princes? No. It is the MEEK who shall inherit the earth.

The future belongs to Christ and His people. “If God be for us, who can be against us?”

I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and!, lo, he [was] not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. (Ps.37:33-36)

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous. (Ps. 37:17)

In his comments on this text, Matthew Henry sums it up well: “… we must be entirely, faithfully, and immovably on Christ’s side; it is the right side, and will at last be the rising side.”

The Opposition to the Kingdom

Verses 23-26: 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.

With such an assurance of victory, many ask the question: Why does God not advance His Kingdom in our day? Why does there appear to be no progress?

The answer is the same as it has been throughout the ages: SIN.

You will recall it was sin that prevented the children of Israel from entering the Promised Land at Paran (Num. 14).

It was sin—the sin of Achan (and his family)—that kept God’s people from defeating Ai (Josh. 7).

And it is sin that delays the progress of God’s Kingdom today.

What were the first words of John the Baptist regarding the Kingdom?: Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

What were the first words of our Lord regarding the Kingdom?: Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

A people who are captive to sin have nothing to offer the Kingdom of God. They are a part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Consider the sins of God’s people in our own day. Several could be mentioned. We will name but one: DEBT.

God commands us through Moses (in Deut. 28):….thou Shalt lend unto many nations …. thou shalt not borrow.”

Solomon observed almost three thousand years ago: “… the borrower is servant to the lender.”

Debt saps the spirit of independence from a people, it corrupts a people’s character, it orients a culture toward consumption rather than production. As Moses observed, it makes them the tail—and not the head.

Yet, when the demon of debt seduced twentieth-century Christians with the lure of “just a little borrowing,” they moved forward as an ox goeth to the slaughter.

The same demon has now returned to a compromised people, and finding no resistance, it has brought back seven other spirits more wicked than itself. They have taught debt as a way of life, and boldly opened Pandora’s box.

Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

America now stands awash in a sea of red ink. And you cannot distinguish Christians from the rest. They have eaten at the same table furnished by the same unholy host. Beware, for it is deceptive food.

As a nation, we are not only the biggest debtor nation in the Western Hemisphere; we have acquired the sinister distinction of being the greatest debtor nation in all history!

Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

We have incurred debt that will never be paid off. Our total debt (private, public, and municipal) stands at a staggering $20 trillion… and rising. And average household debt stands at 95% of “disposable income.”

Our children and grandchildren have been sold into slavery. We have robbed them of the satisfaction and character building that might have been theirs by hard work….scrimping…. saving…. and THEN purchasing a cherished item.

As it is, they must swim upstream against the current of debt….against the barrage of “buy now”-”pay later” schemes.

And we have the gall to ask Why God does not advance His Kingdom in our day!

Our Father Who art in heaven …. Forgive us our debts...

If anyone should don sackcloth and sprinkle ashes upon their heads, we as Christians should.

We have hindered the chariot wheels of the LORD with our sins.

We have bogged them down in the mire of our disobedience.

Repent ye, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

There are Christians, who upon hearing God’s clearest of commandments, OWE NO MAN ANYTHING, brush it aside as though it did not exist.

MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD—We have a Kingdom to build. And the first step is to repent of our sins:

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chr. 7:14)

If we will not repent, if we do not consider ourselves worthy of such a great task, God will set us aside and raise up another people—a more noble people—who will heed and will honor the word of the Almighty. And they will assuredly witness the growth of His Kingdom.

What will it be?

Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.

The Citizens Of The Kingdom

Verses 27-28: But he said, Yea rather, blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

These words are so basic, so primary, so fundamental—we might easily misread them if we pass by too hastily.

But he said. Yea rather, blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

He did not say: Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and edit it—striking out the portions with which they disagree.

He did not say: Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and screen it—to make sure they do not appear too radical to the dying culture in which we live.

He did not say: Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and alter it—to make sure they get what they want.

What He said was: Blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Blessed are they that trust My judgment. That lean upon My wisdom. Blessed are they that apply themselves to the rigors and discipline My word requires.

If we think we know better than the Almighty, we are in serious trouble.

But he said. Yea rather, blessed [are] they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

If we think we know better than the Almighty, the Kingdom is not for us.

The kingdom is for citizens who will hear and obey.

The Kingdom belongs to those who pray: Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done.

The King’s favor belongs to those who….seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

The Bible tells of several kingdoms.

It tells of the kingdom of Nimrod.

The kingdom of Qg.

The kingdom of Sihon.

The kingdom of Cyrus.

The kingdom of Xerxes.

But there is one Kingdom that supersedes them all. The Kingdom of God.

It is a Kingdom founded by the Almighty Himself.

It is a Kingdom of DELIVERANCE.

It is a Kingdom of CONQUEST.

It is a Kingdom with OPPOSITION.

It is a Kingdom of obedient CITIZENS.

It is a Kingdom that cannot be shaken.

It is a Kingdom that cannot fail.

Amen.