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Message Notes
“But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, ‘He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.’ Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. ‘How can Satan cast out Satan?’ he asked. ‘A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse. Similarly, a family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive. Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house. ‘I tell you the truth, all sin and blasphemy can be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. This is a sin with eternal consequences.’ He told them this because they were saying, ‘He’s possessed by an evil spirit.’” —Mark 3:22-30 (NLT)
Jesus is incredible, and he’s worth following with your whole life!
- The ministry of Jesus represents the decisive turning point in the contest between good and evil for the control of the world and its inhabitants.
“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” —2 Corinthians 3:17 (NLT)
- Jesus is the one in and through whom the Spirit of God is now dramatically at work.
“For indeed Christ died for sins once for all, the Just and Righteous for the unjust and unrighteous [the Innocent for the guilty] so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit;” —1 Peter 3:18 (AMP)
- “Jesus will baptize you with the Holy Spirit”
“John announced: ‘Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit!’” —Mark 1:7-8 (NLT)
- “The Holy Spirit descended (remaining) on Jesus”
“As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.” —Mark 1:10 (NLT)
- “Jesus surrendered to the Holy Spirits authority”
“The Spirit then compelled Jesus to go into the wilderness, where he was tempted by Satan for forty days. He was out among the wild animals, and angels took care of him.” —Mark 1:12-13 (NLT)
- We cannot complete our ministry assignment without our provision!
“For though we walk in the flesh [as mortal men], we are not carrying on our [spiritual] warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man. The weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood]. Our weapons are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ, being ready to punish every act of disobedience, when your own obedience [as a church] is complete.” —2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (AMP)
“But the teachers of religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said, ‘He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.’ Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. ‘How can Satan cast out Satan?’ he asked. ‘A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.’” —Mark 3:22-24 (NLT)
“Then he said to me, ‘This [continuous supply of oil] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel [prince of Judah], saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of whom the oil is a symbol],’ says the Lord of hosts.” —Zechariah 4:6 (AMP)
“Let me illustrate this further. Who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.” —Mark 3:27 NLT
“Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have [already] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind].” —1 John 4:4 (AMP)
Scripture clearly says to us, that there is a very real war between Jesus and Satan, and sinners have been taken as captives in war:
- Jesus said there’s no way that Satan would release sinners from his captivity and no way that sinners could liberate themselves.
- Jesus confirmed that at the beginning of his earthly ministry, he came to set sinners free from Satan’s bondage!
“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” —Colossians 2:13-15 (NLT)
- The point of the parable is the fact that Jesus is plundering Satan power and this fact proves that he has subdued him.
- In the ministry of Jesus, the kingdom of God is being established as greater than the kingdom of Satan.
The Application:
- Discipleship is a relationship that involves listening to (reading) God’s Word and growing daily in our submission to the Holy Spirit.
- Discipleship is keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, learning his way of life to live his way of life!
- We are transformed more and more into Jesus’ mind, Jesus’ image, and Jesus’ attitude/mindset. In the process, the Holy Spirit changes us. THE PROVISION OF DISCIPLESHIP!
Let us begin to confidently make use of OUR PROVISION FOR DISCIPLESHIP by doing this one thing:
- Surrender to God by challenging ourselves to take one more step closer to Jesus with each thing he teaches us by living what he said daily!