Does this talk about the devil and spiritual warfare, which has been the focus of our attention over these past few months, make you feel somewhat apprehensive and afraid? If so, then don’t worry because this is not unusual; the majority of Christians feel a degree of trepidation when the subject of Satan and his forces is raised. Trepidation is a feeling of fear or anxiety about something that may happen. This fear of the devil, ‘said Corrie Ten Boom, “is most likely from the devil himself.” Satan will do everything in his power to prevent you from seeing your true authority in Christ, because if you are mature enough in Christ to see and know the authority that you have in being in Christ then you will know that it is the devil or Satan that should be afraid of you than your being afraid of him. If Christ is truly in you, Satan knows and sees Him, and Satan is aware that Christ in you is seeing everything about him Satan and will be impressing/inspiring the things He sees of Satan in your heart/mind where He resides in you and thus making you too to know Satan’s intents/plans through Christ in you and since everything about Satan is evil and bad, Satan is always afraid of being exposed by Christ in you, do you now see why Satan should be afraid of you if you are in Christ which is why God’s Word said that no one of evil wants to come to the Light (Christ) for fear that the Light will expose him! But today Satan himself have worked very hard through all his agencies of humans and other evil spirits to dwarf the Christ Contents of many people in diverse ways especially through worldliness making it virtually impossible for the Christ in these Christ-dwarf people to function in impressing/inspiring them, thus by this act of dwarfing the Christ in people Satan and his cohorts can do anything evil/bad around and in them without their knowing thus fooling them, fooling everybody and destroying in them/in the world. Satan will try to keep you away from every good book, every divinely inspiring sermon and every inspiring situations/discussions in which you might discover that although he is a cunning and tremendously influential wicked foe, yet, because of what our Lord Jesus Christ did for us when He died on Calvary, he Satan is a defeated foe. The reason the Son of God, God Himself in form of a human appeared on earth was to destroy the devil’s work’ in its entirety as seen in 1 John 3:8, saying “8 [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].” Can you now see why God Himself came into the world in human form called Lord Jesus and it is also interesting to know that after God destroyed the devil’s work’, He gave that same power Christ which He used to man, so that man too will have the same ability that God has to face Satan any time Satan tries to challenge him man but you see Satan always play a smart one on man in deceit through his cunning acts! Now listen to me carefully and please do not misunderstand what I say. If you could only see the power that is available to you in Lord Jesus Christ and would reach out to possess it then, instead of you being afraid of the devil, the devil would be afraid of you. Some Christians view the devil as great and powerful while they view God as relatively small and insignificant. If you want to see how much greater God and Christ are than the devil then consider the passage before us right now. Lord Jesus seems to be saying, ‘You wonder how I cast out devils? Well, such is the supremacy of My Father that I do not need to use God’s arm, or even God’s hand –I simply use His finger.’ Praise God there is more power in God’s little finger, so to speak, than in all the might and energy of Satan and his forces put together. This is the truth but do not try to claim it or pretend to have it hypocritically otherwise you are on your own. Christ ability is inborn and you have got to be living life based on true knowledge of God and God’s Word on a daily basis to grow and keep growing the indwelling Christ in you by feeding it with the fruit of the spirit as detailed in Ephesians making you to be mature in Christ so that you will be amongst the people that Christ is using on earth. It is simple, but you just don’t have to live life in a worldly way as many others are doing, you have to follow the example of how our Lord Jesus Christ lived life on earth, notice that as from age twelve He began being interested in God’s activities in the Church but not following the activities of those He saw in Church but following according to how God’s Word said Church activities should be, He read and know virtually everything in God’s word to His finger tips and practicing it in His daily life on earth doing good.

Now let us read Luke 11:14-23; 14 Now Jesus was driving out a demon that was dumb; and it occurred that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled. 15 But some of them said, He drives out demons [because He is in league with and] by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, 16 While others, to try and test and tempt Him, demanded a sign of Him from heaven. 17 But He, [well] aware of their intent and purpose, said to them, Every kingdom split up against itself is doomed and brought to desolation, and so house falls upon house. [The disunited household will collapse.] 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom last? For you say that I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub. 19 Now if I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub, with whose help and by whom do your sons drive them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 20 But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has [already] come upon you. 21 When the strong man, fully armed, [[a]from his courtyard] guards his own dwelling, his belongings are undisturbed [his property is at peace and is secure]. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil). 23 He who is not with Me [siding and believing with Me] is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me [engage in My interest], scatters.

Can all of us be able to see Wisdom Spoken by our Lord Jesus in a way that challenges the brain: Every kingdom split up against itself is doomed and brought to desolation,… And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom last? Now if I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub, with whose help and by whom do your sons drive them out? But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has [already] come upon you. This morning we shall be challenged to examine who we are fighting with and against, I say this because true children of God should know exactly who they are fighting against and not this one that Christian denominations are very busy fighting themselves just because of fame and supremacy gathering the whole money in the world and doing nothing tangible with it for God. In our passage today Lord Jesus tells His followers “23 He who is not with Me [siding and believing with Me] is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me [engage in My interest], scatters. (v23) There is no Neutrality in God hence God asks are you with Me? The choice for most, if not all, of us is clear; we know John 10:10, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” and we will say that we desire to gather with Lord Jesus because that is much better than the alternative. But while we may say that we want to gather with Lord Jesus and fight against the spiritual forces of evil, our actions betray that we really wish to remain neutral. The problem, however, is that there is no neutrality in spiritual warfare and in God. You just have to identify the side that you belong to, hence Prophet General Joshua asked the people of Israel who they will serve, and told them that for him and his household, they will serve the Lord! So chose Ye whom you will serve…our Lord God or Satan? Satan’s Kingdom and Mission; In verse 14, we discover that Lord Jesus has cast a mute demon out of a man. So it means that there are so many different types of demons that can torment people: blind demon, deaf demon, cripple demon etc. This mute demon was causing the man to not be able to speak or talk. So Lord Jesus cast out the demon, “14 Now Jesus was driving out a demon that was dumb; and it occurred that when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke. And the crowds marveled.” (v14). Verses 15-16 tells us that some people attributed Lord Jesus’ ability to cast out the demon to “Beelzebul, the prince of demons, while others, to test Him, kept seeking from Him a sign from heaven to authenticate His claims and ability.”: 15 But some of them said, He drives out demons [because He is in league with and] by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, 16 While others, to try and test and tempt Him, demanded a sign of Him from heaven.” Lord Jesus “knowing their thoughts”, replies: “17 But He, [well] aware of their intent and purpose, said to them, Every kingdom split up against itself is doomed and brought to desolation, and so house falls upon house. [The disunited household will collapse.] 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom last? For you say that I expel demons with the help of and by Beelzebub.” Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? (Vv17-18); are we getting the message here, this means that by people’s activities you can tell where they belong either to God or to Satan. In Lord Jesus’ discussion about the absurdity of Satan fighting against himself we are told that Satan has a kingdom. I do not know if many of us realize this. Satan not only has a kingdom that is fighting but his kingdom has a mission and a vision. The mission is to “steal, kill, and destroy” as seen in John 10:10. His vision is to excel at robbing God of the glory He deserves through keeping as many people as possible from serving and obeying God. The devil wants to either destroy people’s love, peace, and joy from them or at the very least seek to separate people from God’s love as much as possible. So you can see that God and Satan are at war over who claims man’s allegiance but God does not force man, He wants man’s allegiance out of love for Him not forced. But Satan wants man’s allegiance by force! God’s Kingdom and Mission; In the same sense we are also told about God’s kingdom. In verse 20 Lord Jesus says, “20 But if I drive out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has [already] come upon you.” God has a kingdom, a mission, and a vision. God’s mission is to “to destroy the works of the devil” as seen in 1 John 3:3 and bring “life more abundant” as seen in John 10:10 to “all who call upon the name of the Lord” as seen in Rom 10:13. On the other hand God’s vision is to call “a great multitude that no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” as seen in Rev. 7:9 “to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” as seen in 1 Peter 2:5 so that they would “cry out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ ” as seen in Rev. 7:10. God brings love, peace, and joy and reminds us that these are gifts from Him and cannot be fully enjoyed without Him because His enemy the devil, Satan seeks to rob you off these gifts but if you are in God Satan cannot. No Neutrality; I am sure that there are some in this world who are depraved enough to say they would rather work for the devil than for God. But I am positive that most, if not all, of us reading this would recognize the vast difference between the two kingdoms, missions, and visions. What we must recognize is that you are either gathering with Lord Jesus or scattering with the devil. There is no neutrality in spiritual warfare. When Lord Jesus said “23 He who is not with Me [siding and believing with Me] is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me [engage in My interest], scatters” (v23), He affirmed the truth that there are only two groups of people: 1) Those who are gathering with Lord Jesus and 2) those who are scattering with the devil. Those who Gather; Who are those who gather? These are the ones who are “10 For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), [a]recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live].” As seen in Eph 2:10. In other words, the gatherers are the ones who are doing the good works they are told to do in the kingdom of God. The gatherers are the ones who are loving God and loving others. The gatherers are the ones who are humbling serving one another through acts of kindness and praying for one another. John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.” Basically, the gatherers are the ones who are seeking to do all that they can do whenever they can do it out of love for God and love for others. The ones who are His workmanship are those who have “by grace been saved through faith”, “8 For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved ([a]delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;” as seen in Eph. 2:8 and “toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me”, “29 For this I labor [[a]unto weariness], striving with all the [b]superhuman energy which He so mightily enkindles and works within me.” As seen in Col 1:29. Those who Scatter; Who are those who scatter? Lord Jesus said, “whoever does not gather with Me scatters” (v23). Anyone who is not gathering with Lord Jesus in His kingdom is scattering against the work of His kingdom. While this includes professing non-believers, it also includes people who made a profession of faith yet think, speak, and act like non-believers. Lord Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “21 Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father Who is in heaven.” Tragically there are many people who live with a false profession of faith scattering instead of gathering.

If you think, speak, and act like a non-believer then you must “5 Examine and test and evaluate your own selves to see whether you are holding to your faith and showing the proper fruits of it. Test and prove yourselves [[a]not Christ]. Do you not yourselves realize and know [thoroughly by an ever-increasing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless you are [counterfeits] disapproved on trial and rejected?” as seen in 2 Cor 13:5. If you are a follower of Christ and He has forgiven your sins then gather with Christ and fight against Satan knowing that Lord Jesus is God, “22 But when one stronger than he attacks him and conquers him, he robs him of his whole armor on which he had relied and divides up and distributes all his goods as plunder (spoil).” (22). Today, I just simply wish to ask you to not be like this crowd. Today, I simply want to remind you that you are presently in 1 of only 2 camps. You are either those who are 100% for Lord Jesus. Or you are those who are 100% against Lord Jesus. Don’t deceive yourself as though you are Switzerland And just choose to remain neutral. There is no neutral here. You either acknowledge, and bow to, and serve God the King or you don’t. And the greatest fraud of Israel was that They were religious and claimed to love God All while actually declaring war on God’s Anointed King. They were the ones who were fake. Don’t be them. Serve Christ.