The Good News According to Luke: Part 2
Pastor: Rollan Fisher
Focus: Jesus came to give us victory over Satan, heal our brokenness and preach good news to all.
Winning Victories over Satan
Healing the Sick
Preaching Good News to All
Victory Over Satan
Jesus came to establish his victory over sin and Satan.
Luke 4:1-15
“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'" And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, "'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'" And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, "'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,' and "'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'" And Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'" And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time. And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and a report about him went out through all the surrounding country. And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.”
How is God incorporated into every aspect of our lives?
It’s by understanding that God has a plan for this world, your place in it and that there will be a fight to walk in that plan.
Just as there is a real God, there is a real devil and demons which want to lead you into sin.
Satan is God’s adversary who looks to detract from the glory of God, God’s creative order and loving blueprint for all creation.
Sin is not only lawlessness, but it is missing God’s mark in any area of our lives.
The truth is, how you live matters.
What you do for work matters.
What you choose to do with your time, talent and resources all have eternal consequences.
Your family dynamics, relationships in the church and the community in which you live matters.
Jesus came to teach us how to live in God’s good, pleasing and perfect plan.
Satan tries to divert us from God’s word and that plan, as we see exemplified in the temptation of Jesus.
There are times, though, that the Father will allow intensified moments of confrontation with demonic forces in your life so that you might actually grow in strength - learning to overcome temptation, be done with sin and live in the power of the Holy Spirit.
God does not lead you into battle to lose, but to learn how to fight and win (Psalm 144:1).
As the warfare increases, we see from Jesus’ example that fasting and prayer are to become a weapon of choice.
In this way, Christ is allowed to become greater in our lives as we become less (John 3:30; Galatians 2:20).
*Jesus was entering a new season of his life and he did so with prayer and fasting.
As we follow Jesus by faith and in obedience, his victory over sin and Satan becomes our victory as well.
We begin to live in victorious faith and freedom as we look to fulfill our Heavenly Father’s directives in our lives.
Christ’s Kingdom focus becomes our daily focus.
***As you mature in Christ, the battle is not over whether you will commit petty sin for which you have been forgiven, but whether or not you will fulfill the will of God for your life.***
This is what the temptation of Jesus clearly exemplified and is the battle which Christ continually fought and won (Hebrews 10:5-7).
In the desert temptation, it wasn’t merely a matter of whether or not Jesus was going to commit adultery, but whether he would fulfill his calling.
I John 2:14
I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
Jesus' response to the devil in the wilderness marks the reality that the Word of God MUST be central to (the foundation of) our responses to the attacks and temptations of Satan.
The word of God is the only ground upon which we are to stand because in such a sense we are allowing God to respond for us (with his authority and backing as Creator and ruler).
What do each of the temptations show us?
Jesus’ special relationship with the Father was challenged.
Jesus responded with the firmness and security of God’s written word to maintain his:
clarity of identity,
precision of conviction and
steadfastness of vision to accomplish the Father’s will.
We must learn to do the same in a world that daily challenges the:
definitions,
statutes and
purposes of God around us.
Jesus’ encounter with Satan answers the question for us - “should I ever have to suffer and forgo my God-given needs if I am a child of God?”
The answer is yes as God teaches you how to sacrifice as he builds you for his eternal glory and greater Kingdom good.
When God is calling you to sacrifice, don’t try to meet your needs your own way and in your own timing by trying to turn your rocks into bread (in regards to marriage, career advancement, etc.).
Trust God that he makes everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3) and has your best interests in mind as you follow him.
Times of fasting and prayer help make this clear, and should be the “go to” before any big life transition or decision.
*Again, fasting and prayer preceded Jesus entering into a new season of his life and ministry (Acts 13).
Most people make big decisions or changes in their lives without consulting the counsel of God, his word or his people (Proverbs 3:3-12).
They simply announce the changes to everyone once a decision has already been made without consideration for how their decisions impact others and are a part of God’s grand design, in need of God’s help.
This should not be because God does not build that way.
Whether in your family life, education, career or moments of relational transition, each point of entry into a new season of life should be preempted by the trifecta of:
God’s Word (reinforces God’s ways),
fasting with prayer (introduces God’s specific direction through practical application of that Word) and
godly counsel (helps bring confirmation to those eternal purposes).
DON’T TRY TO BE A SOLO ACT!
Proverbs 12:15
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.”
Proverbs 15:22
“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.”
Proverbs 20:18
“Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.”
Proverbs 24:5-6
“A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might, for by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.”
It is especially important that we make this a lifestyle.
Why?
Just as the devil left Jesus until an opportune time, so he returns to us after moments of victory to try to steer our walk with God off course.
Times of fasting empty us of our self-reliance to increase our awareness of God that we might live with a dependence on his Holy Spirit, counsel and power.
This is how Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish God's Kingdom plan.
What did Jesus come to do and why does it matter to us?
God has so much to do in the world around us and wants to use us, his body, to do it!
Healing the Sick
Jesus came to heal the sick, liberate the bound, repair the damaged and mend the broken.
Luke 4:16-41
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, '"Physician, heal yourself." What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.'" And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away. 31 And he went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. And he was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word possessed authority. And in the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, "Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God." But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be silent and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him down in their midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. And they were all amazed and said to one another, "What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!" And reports about him went out into every place in the surrounding region. And he arose and left the synagogue and entered Simon's house. Now Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and they appealed to him on her behalf. And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately she rose and began to serve them. Now when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them. And demons also came out of many, crying, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.”
In reading that passage in the synagogue, Jesus was reaffirming both his identity and calling.
And thank the Lord, because Jesus came as God our healer, our Savior!!
Pain is what we’re all trying to escape.
Jesus came to provide a many times present, but always eternal, healing to our pain.
The rhythm of Jesus’ life included the custom of physically going to the local synagogue whose entrance was built to face Jerusalem as a continual reminder of the centrality of both public and private worship in our lives.
If it was important and a custom for Jesus, it needs to be for each one of us.
What was the importance of being in the synagogue?:
God can use your church participation to help draw attention to and surface demonic oppression that has remained dormant or hidden as you have encounters with Jesus and his people, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you’ve been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”
-Toni Morrison
Preaching the Good News
Jesus came to preach his good news of the Kingdom to all.
Luke 4:42-44
“And when it was day, he departed and went into a desolate place. And the people sought him and came to him, and would have kept him from leaving them, but he said to them, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose." And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.”
Jesus’ ultimate victory over Satan, sin and death would be accomplished at the cross where he would not only take the punishment for our sin, but provide forgiveness for those sins.
By Christ’s historic resurrection from the dead, he would usher us into the freedom of an eternal life where we would be forever healed in the presence of God (Revelation 21).
He preached the good news of the Kingdom so that all would have access to this new life as they turn away from their sins and put their trust in Jesus’ substitutionary, completed work.
Let’s begin this next season prayerfully considering who we might invite to Christ and his cross that he might bring victory and healing to those that we know and love.
Make invitations before and for Back to Church Sunday, and be encouraged by the testimony of God using our team’s work even in Madison.
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher