In Matthew 12 and verse 22 to 37.
And I want to speak to you this morning on the subject that ministers and preachers don't like to speak on.
! I want to speak to you on the subject of war.
I'm not the wars that we remember as lots of anniversaries out there at the moment with wars.
But this war has outlived every other conflict through history.
Every other conflict compared to this war has been short-lived.
It has been small-scale.
But this warfare to which Jesus makes reference to in a kind of more expanded way here in Matthew 12 than in any other parts of the Gospel.
This war has been going on since the beginning of time.
And there's been no peace.
And it's intensified undoubtedly at the coming of the Lord Jesus into the world.
And in the course of his ministry.
One day it will end.
It will end at Jesus' return in glory.
And the consummation of God's purposes.
But this war covers the whole earth.
There is no corner of the world where this war is not being fought.
And there is not one of us this morning who is not involved in this war.
Because Jesus said, did you see it in verse 30?
Did you notice that?
That whoever is not with me is against me.
And he who does not gather with me scatters.
That we are engaged this morning in this conflict.
There is absolutely no doubt.
And the only question for you this morning and for me is which side are you on?
And that question is settled, Jesus tells us, by our commitment to him.
He who is not with me is against me.
And at the centre of this war that I'm describing is the church of Jesus Christ.
A little bit later on in Matthew's Gospel in chapter 16, we'll get there in a few months.
At Caesarea Philippi we'll read of Jesus setting out really what in many ways is the agenda for the rest of his ministry.
And what is Jesus' agenda this morning?
He is saying, I will build my church and the gates of hell, the forces of hell will not prevail against it.
Now you notice how Jesus is describing to the disciples what he is going to do in the world.
And beneath all the things that we read in the Gospels about Jesus, this is the underlying reality.
That Jesus first is going to build a church.
That is his fundamental business.
That is his number one priority for which Jesus came.
He came to redeem.
He came to call to himself, to gather to himself a people.
So he says, priority number one, I will build my church.
But secondly, he tells us, doesn't he, in that little statement, that the forces of hell are going to be combined to resist the building of this church.
Of his church.
The gates of hell is a description of the forces of evil and the powers of evil.
And the third thing tells us that resist as they may, they will not prevail.
That resistance by the powers of evil will not be successful.
On this occasion in Matthew 12 and verse 22, Jesus' discussion of this whole area of the ultimate war that is taking place in the world.
That puts all other wars, no matter how horrific, into the shade.
And the occasion which he discusses this is a contrariety with the Pharisees.
You'll remember from the reading that there is a demon-possessed man, who is 22, who is both blind and mute, and was brought to him and he healed him.
So that the man, without ever having seen a speech therapist, spoke.
And without having been to an optometrist, saw.
So wonderfully understated.
And Jesus deals with that man and his demon possession.
And as he does so, there are two opposing views of how he does it.
Two opposing views of how he casts out the demon.
And how he brings the man who could not speak to speak, and the man who could not see to see.
Verse 23, the first response is, and the people hazard a guess, is this the son of David?
That is, is he the one we've been waiting for?
Is he the one who was promised in the Old Testament, and the whole of the Old Testament has been building up to?
Is he the king?
King David's greatest son.
Is he the one descended from the royal line of David?
He is.
You'll remember that when Jesus makes his triumphant journey on that donkey into Jerusalem, what do they say?
They call upon his name, don't they?
And they say, Hosanna to the son of David.
That is, that they recognise at that point they're coming to the Messiah.
And here the people are asking, could it be?
Can this be?
Is this finally the one who we've been waiting for?
Because when the Messiah came, the whole world of the demonic would bow at his word.
And they would be dealt with.
The demons would be dealt with by his authority.
And so in verse 23, the people, all the people were amazed.
And say, can this be the son of David?
But in verse 24, there's a very different reaction.
The Pharisees dismiss what Jesus has done as the work of the prince of demons.
Beelzebul.
It's probably a word for Satan himself.
But when the Pharisees heard about what he'd done to the demon-possessed blind-moot man,
they said he's only done it by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons.
The word literally means, I'm kind of lord of the flies.
It's only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow draws out, drives out demons.
Now this passage that was read, I'm sure as you can hear it being read,
raises all sorts of questions.
And it's very easy to miss, I think, the central thrust.
And more important than demon-possession,
and more important, even than I think,
the sin against the Holy Spirit,
against the Holy Spirit, which we read of in verses 31 to 32,
is this central theme of conflict.
The conflict between Christ and Satan.
And I want us to try and grasp four things this morning.
Four things that seem to be dominant in our Lord's teaching.
There's more here than I can deal with.
But four things about this particular fundamental war.
The first is, the competence in it.
Who are the competence in it?
That's a possible way of saying, who's fighting it?
Who's fighting it?
Who are the competence in this war?
Jesus speaks, as he, of two kingdoms sat against each other.
And at the end of verse 26,
when he asks the Pharisees,
he says,
if Satan casts out Satan,
he is divided against himself,
how then will his, Satan's kingdom, stand?
So the first competence
is the kingdom of Satan.
The other is in verse 28.
But if it is by the Spirit of God
that I cast out demons, Jesus says,
then the kingdom of God has come
upon you, or among you.
So you have two spheres of power
and rule.
You have the sphere in which Satan
is recognized as Lord
by his minions.
And then you have the sphere
of the rule of God.
And they are irreconcilably
against each other.
Set against each other.
And these two spheres,
these two kingdoms,
are headed by two princes.
The devil, well, verse 24,
he is the prince of demons.
He uses that language.
And Jesus is, by contrast,
he is the prince and saviour
whom God has highly exalted
according to Acts 5.
And so you have this conflict
between Christ and Satan.
And that is the underlying theme
of the whole of the Gospels.
And it's a vital thing
for you and I to cross.
What is happening
from the very beginning?
What is happening
at the start of Jesus' life?
The book of Revelation
tells us, for example,
that when Herod went
to slaughter the innocents
at the beginning of Jesus' life,
do you remember?
Kill all those baby boys
in Bethlehem.
But what was happening there?
That is an attempt
to destroy the one
who is coming.
That is an attempt
to destroy
the kingdom of God's kingdom.
Why did Jesus come?
Why are we told
Jesus came?
Jesus came to destroy
the works of Satan.
And that is how
the New Testament
describes what Jesus
has come to do.
The Son of God
appeared to destroy
the works of the devil.
And from the beginning,
right from the beginning,
there's this conflict.
So then you come
to the beginning
of Jesus' public ministry
where he's baptised.
And he's driven out
by the Holy Spirit
into the wilderness.
And there he summons
the Prince of Darkness
onto the battlefield
in the wilderness.
And he canvies him
and he beats him.
He experiences
the onslaught
of the devil.
And that is a thread
which goes right
through Jesus' ministry.
That at every crucial point,
what is our Lord doing?
He is engaging
in this ultimate conflict,
this ultimate war.
Between the whole world
of evil
and the kingdom of God.
That's why you find,
for example,
in that 16th chapter
when Jesus says,
I will build my church
and the gates of hell
will not prevail against it.
Almost immediately,
Simon says,
doesn't he,
Jesus,
the way that you're going
to build this kingdom
by dying the death
of a sin bearer
on the cross,
that is not an idea,
Jesus,
you want to entertain.
And Jesus immediately says,
do you remember
what he says?
Get behind me,
Satan.
Because Jesus recognizes
that the real issue
in the whole of his ministry,
and not only so,
it goes into the book of Acts,
doesn't it?
But the real warfare
that the church of Jesus Christ
is involved with
is that against Satan.
So think about chapter 5,
you're about Ammonia,
and Sapphira,
and they imperil the church,
don't they?
The church is at risk.
The church of Jesus Christ
is at risk of being eroded
with deceit,
and lies,
and hypocrisy,
and the apostles say to them,
do you remember what they say?
They say,
why has Satan
filled your hearts
to lies with the Holy Spirit?
And all the way through,
through you discover
that is exactly what is happening.
The competitors
are the kingdom of Satan
and the kingdom of God.
And they are headed up
by two princes,
the prince and saviour,
who is our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the prince of darkness.
And as the shadow
of the cross
comes
into sharper focus,
again,
do you remember,
Jesus speaks of it
to his disciples,
and he says,
the prince of this world
comes
and has nothing in me.
Now the sign
that the kingdom of God
has come
upon them
is that Jesus
is defeating
the minions
and the messengers
of Satan.
It is,
if I drive out demons
by the spirit of God,
verse 28,
it is by the spirit of God
that I cast out demons,
then the kingdom of God
has come upon you.
And so there's not only
two kingdoms,
and not only two princes,
we are every one of us
caught up in this world.
Not one of us.
And I want to press this
home to you this morning,
not one of us
is excluded from it.
You might not want
to accept that.
It is,
I think,
completely absent
in pretty much
nearly every evangelistic book
that is published
at the moment.
But we are either
in one army
or the other.
There is a total
mobilisation
of the world.
And we are either
in Christ's army
or we are in
Satan's army.
Because Jesus says,
he who is not with me
is against me.
There is no middle ground,
there is no sitting
on the fence.
And we are all
of us caught up in it.
Not only,
the second question
that arises,
not only are we,
not only are we
who are the competence,
but secondly,
what is the sphere
of this war?
Where is this war?
What is the sphere
of this war?
Well,
in a more general sense,
it is wherever
the church of Jesus Christ
is being called out
and being built up.
From verse 22,
you have the power
of Christ,
the power of Christ
invading the kingdom
of Satan.
And he calls this man
out of the kingdom
of Satan
into the kingdom
of Christ.
Because Jesus
is here
engaging in his
great work
of creating
a new people
of God.
And the Pharisees
at that point,
when they see
what Jesus has done,
they cry out,
this is the work
of Satan.
You could not get,
could you,
more naked
opposition
than that.
And note,
it is at this point,
it is in the world
of established religion.
it is in the world
of churchy-anity.
You ask any
contemporary
with Jesus
in the street,
where would you find
the world of religion?
And they would have
pointed you
to the Pharisees.
And they would have
said,
they represent
the world of religion.
But yet,
you could not have
found more naked
opposition
and more hostility.
And so let me just
say this in passing,
that the Pharisees
attributing
to Satan
the work of Jesus,
that is the essence
of blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit.
It's specific.
It is looking
at the work
of the Lord Jesus Christ
and what he has done
and what he is doing
and saying,
that is the devil.
And that's the essence
of it.
I might say a word
on that later.
That is the essence
of what we're talking
about when we say
blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit.
Let me apply this.
Where are we likely
to find this opposition
today?
Where are we likely
to find ourselves
engaged in this
kind of warfare?
Well,
wherever we are involved
in seeing the church
of Jesus Christ built,
and I hope you realise
I don't mean a building,
literally,
but seeing the body
of Christ built,
that will certainly
attract opposition.
That's why,
isn't it,
when Jesus,
as it were,
took the field
in his public ministry,
when he was born
and entered it
upon his ministry,
there is this huge
increase
in the activity
of the demonic.
It was because
Jesus
was standing there
as the one
who has come
to destroy
the works
of the devil,
that he drew
out the demonic.
And that is why
there is more
demonic activity
there at that point
in scripture
than at any other time.
let me try
and press in more.
When you're engaged
in building
the church
of Jesus Christ,
wherever,
however,
whenever,
in whatever capacity,
you will find
that people
will be hindered
in coming to
repentance and faith.
You will find
that people
will be hindered
in spiritual growth.
and they will be
hindered
in Christian service.
Do you remember
the Apostle Paul
he writes,
I had intended
to come to you
so often,
but Satan
hindered me,
he said.
You will find
that people
will become
confused
about the truth
and will have
so many
into their minds
doubts about it.
And it's happened
from the very
beginning of time.
You will find
that people
become alienated
from each other
and the conflict
becomes very personal.
I often see
in church life
a petty
and stupid
conflict
between people.
I can tell you
numerous examples,
I can think of a church
I know well,
and the church
suffered great hindrance
and loads of problems
because two leaders
in the church
fell out.
One of them
had discovered
the other one
taking his place
in a particular activity
and he resented
it deeply.
It turned into
turf war,
a power struggle,
resentment.
They avoided
each other,
they spoke politely
or coughing tea,
but they spoke
more often
against one another
behind each other's
back.
They went into
a huff
with each other,
there was a cold
war,
there was no
harsh words,
no public blow up,
just avoidance.
I know it's
possible,
I think,
to go to those
men and say to
them,
will you please,
please,
please grow up
and will you
stop being so
stupid?
But actually
there was something
very sinister
behind it
because what
happened is
it put people
off the church
and it put
people off the
gospel
and it
puts people
off the
Lord Jesus.
And that's
why when you
have little
silly falling
out in church
life,
when you have
that sort of
thing going
on in church
you must realise
it's not just
a human
phenomenon.
Because Paul
says we wage
war not against
flesh and blood
but against
principalities
and powers.
And that is
the kind of
realistic place
where the war
is waged.
And no wonder
Jesus says
he put things
right with your
brother and
sister,
get things
right and
then come
and make
your offering.
You see the
nasty campaign
that's going
on in
Laudet,
the church
where I
preached last
week,
against them
being able
to buy
this land
that has
all the
sophistication
of a
kind of
modern
secular
world.
It's not
very hard
is it when
you come
to a passage
like this
to see
behind that
is a
personal
enemy.
But just
notice a
more specific
help that
Jesus deals
with.
It's worth
studying on
its own
from verses
25 to
28.
That Jesus
is saying,
and I think
this is so
helpful,
that it's
often a
battle for
the mind.
So verse
25,
Jesus
known
their
thoughts.
He said
to them,
every kingdom
divided against
itself is
laid waste,
and no
city or
house divided
itself will
stand.
And if
Satan casts
out Satan,
he is
divided against
himself.
How then
will his
kingdom
stand?
And if
I cast
out demons
by Beelzebub,
by whom
do your
sons cast
them out?
They were
saying,
weren't they,
they were
saying,
you are
casting out
demons by
the power
of Beelzebub.
the prince
of demons.
So it
was the
devil
casting out
the devil.
Jesus
says,
this is
utterly
irrational.
It's like
having a
rowing team
with eight
rowers,
and four
are in the
boat,
four are
rowing one
way,
and the
other four
are rowing
the other
way.
What happens?
It's just
nonsensical,
isn't it?
And so it
is with the
devil,
casting out
the devil.
Jesus
points out
that it
is utterly
irrational.
You see,
the
unreasonableness
of the
whole realm
of Satan's
thinking.
It's so
often striking
isn't it?
How can
the kingdom
divide it
against itself
sound?
If Satan
is casting
out Satan,
then the
whole kingdom
is going
to collapse,
which is
manifestly
not done.
He's pointing
out to them,
isn't he,
the utter
irrationality
of so much
of what the
devil does
in our
mind.
And we
need to be
aware,
don't we?
We need to
be aware
when something
is so
ridiculously
irrational,
like the
transgender
movement,
like so
much of
what we
hear from
the
K-lobby,
we need
to recognise
that behind
that.
It's not
flesh and
blood.
We must
be careful
of the
sinister,
irrational
way the
devil begins
to invade
our minds
and oppress
us.
Here's the
third thing,
competence in
the warfare,
the sphere of
which it's
fought out,
and thirdly,
the strategy
of Christ
in this
war.
It's
compared in
verse 29,
to entering
the house
of a strong
man.
It's a great
illustration.
You've a
strong man,
and then an
even stronger
man who
comes and
ties him
up before
carrying off
all his
possessions.
But when
somebody comes
into a
strong man's
house,
who has
lots of
gold,
and lots
of possessions,
well, the
person breaking
in needs to
be stronger.
Not to
deal first
with the
possessions,
but to
deal with
the strong
man himself.
And Jesus
is clearly
describing himself
as he is
saying,
I'm stronger
than the
strong man.
I'm the
one who
comes in
and I
bind the
strong man
by spoilers
goods.
And that
of course
is in
so many
ways the
way that
Christ deals
with the
kingdom of
evil.
When he's
in the
world,
what is
he doing?
He's not
tinkering with
the odd
demon here
or there.
We've
missed the
point,
and that's
our whole
focus.
No, he
goes to
the
headquarters
of evil,
to the
strong man
himself,
and what
is Jesus
doing on
the cross?
He is
disarming
Satan.
He's
defeating
him by
his death
on Calvary.
So listen
to how
Paul puts
it in
Colossians
2.15.
He has
disarmed the
powers and
authorities,
and he's
made a
public spectacle
on them,
triumphing over
them by the
cross.
Jesus'
strategy is
to deal
with the
prince of
darkness
himself.
And what
has happened
by the
cross and
resurrection
of our
Lord Jesus
Christ?
Well, it's
this, it's
that Satan
has been
defeated.
He's not
yet been
destroyed.
That will
happen, won't
it, when
Revelation 20
is fulfilled,
and Satan
will not only
be defeated,
but destroyed
and cast out
forever.
But Satan
is defeated
now, and
we need to
recognize that.
There are
these two
great errors
that churches
make in this
connection.
One is the
error of
ignoring Satan
and laughing
at him.
You think of
this kind of
horn-headed,
fork-carrying,
spiky-tailed
monster that
really is a
laughable
figment of
imagination,
a cartoon
character.
Will God
help you
if you
think it's
that?
But the
other extreme
is that there
are people,
aren't there,
they become
more Satan
conscious than
God conscious.
And the
whole balance
and the
emphasis in the
New Testament
is that in
Jesus Christ
there is
victory not
only over
Satan,
but over
Satan and
all his
kingdom.
There's a
beautiful
illustration of
this in the
Old Testament
tucked away.
Let's think of
that lovely
little story of
Elisha's servant
at Dothan.
And Elisha's
servant comes to
his master and
he sees,
outside their
little bungalow,
he sees the
host of the
Midianite army
surrounding the
whole of the
mountain.
He sees the
enemy, he sees
the horses and
the chariots,
and Elisha
says to him,
he says,
more are they
that are for
us than be
for them.
Elisha's servant
goes back out
and he looks
back at the
mountainside and
it's filled with
the horses and
the chariots of
the enemy and
he runs back to
Elisha and he
says to Elisha,
will you not
look at reality,
man?
And Elisha
prays to see,
he prays,
Lord,
open the
mountain's
eyes.
And then
the young man
goes back
outside and
he opens his
eyes and
when he opens
his eyes,
well, God
opens his
eyes,
he sees that
the mountain
is full of
the horses
and the
chariots of
the Lord.
And there
are more
of the horses
and the
chariots and
the angels
of the Lord,
more of
they that
be for us
than they
that be for
them.
God's victory
was glorious
that day.
The apostle
John says,
greater is
he that
is in
you
than he
was in
the
world.
Now
that's the
strategy of
Jesus.
Therefore,
he's dealt
with our
foe,
with our
enemy,
and so
Martin
Luther
says,
a word
shall
quickly
slay
him.
Last
thing,
what's the
final outcome
of this
war?
What's the
final outcome
of this
war?
Well,
the indication
is given
in this
illustration
is given
in verse
22.
The casting
out of
every
demon.
The final
outcome is
simply
foreshadowed
again and
again through
the gospel.
That it
will be at
the coming
of our
saviour
when Satan
will not
only be
defeated,
but destroyed.
And so
the last
issue is,
I think for
you and I
this morning,
is we've
got to
decide
whose
side
you're
on.
Because
whether you
like it
or not,
we're all
engaged in
the fight
this morning.
how do
I know
we're on
the right
side?
Well,
Jesus
gives you
three
indications.
Verse 30,
the first
is by the
commitment we
show.
The second
side,
the sign
we're on
the right
side is in
verse 33,
it's the
fruit that we
bear.
And the
third is in
verse 34,
following the
words that we
speak.
Let's take
them in
reverse order.
You will
know them
by the
words they
speak.
Verse 34,
you brood
of vipers,
you bunch
of snakes,
how can you
speak good
when you're
evil,
for out of
the abundance
of the
hearts the
mouth speaks.
He goes
on to speak
about the
significance
of the
tongue,
and the
words we
speak,
and the
things we
say.
Why?
Well,
because the
words we
say are
an index
of our
heart.
And so
remember that
every time
this week,
when you're
tempted to
let a
careless,
Christless,
godless
word out of
your lips.
That by
your words
will you
be
acquitted,
and by
your words
will you
be
condemned.
Secondly,
it's a
fruit we
bear,
verse 33,
I either
make the
tree good
and its
fruit bad,
or make
the tree
bad and
its fruit
bad,
for the
tree is
known by
its fruit.
How do
you know
inside your
arm?
By the
words you
speak,
by the
fruit you
bear in
your life,
in terms
of character.
And here's
the last
thing,
which in a
sense is
the first,
it is by
your
commitment
we
shall.
Look at
verse 30.
Whoever is
not with
me is
against me,
and whoever
does not
gather with
me,
statters.
And the
evidence of
being on
the Lord's
side,
and the
evidence of
being on
the Lord's
side is
that we're
with him.
And so
can I
ask you to
imagine this
morning that
the Lord
Jesus Christ
is walking
around this
room,
and he
goes round
chair by
chair,
through the
whole of
the gathering
and he
says these
five words,
he says,
with me
or against
me.
He stops
in every
chair,
with me
or against
me.
because that
is the
issue,
nothing
matters more
than the
level of
our
commitment
to Jesus
Christ.
Nothing.
And how
the war
goes here
in this
place,
which will
largely
depend upon
that.
And may
God help
us that we
would have
such clarity
in our
lives,
that nobody
could possibly
mistake which
side we're
on.
Let's
pray.