 In chapter one, we're going to look at verses 21 through 28 as we continue our series. We just began here in the Gospel of Mark. So I'll begin reading at verse 21. I'll read to verse 28. We'll get into our study. Mark chapter one beginning at verse 21, reading to verse 28. Then they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath, he entered the synagogue and taught. They were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit and he cried out saying, Let us alone, what have we to do with you Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him saying, Be quiet, come out of him. And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with the loud voice, he came out of him. They were all amazed so that they questioned among themselves saying, What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority he commends even the unclean spirits. They obey him and immediately his fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee. And so let me once again give you some context and we'll move into our study. Mark began his presentation of his Gospel by first revealing to us who Jesus Christ is. He began by saying Jesus is the Son of God and he began to paint a picture for us. He is one of the prophets. He is one rather that the prophets wrote about the prophets Malachi and Isaiah. He's the one that is the anointed Messiah. He is the one that resisted and overcame the temptations of the enemy. And so as we've seen he was being presented in this way and then we began to see his ministry. Jesus came and he came with a simple and direct message and the message was very simple. Repent and believe in the Gospel. Repent, trust in the message of redemption. Now the message of redemption when truly believed produces what is called a transformed life. This is the message that God intends for all generations to hear because of this Jesus began selecting men in order that he might entrust his message to these men. And as we've already seen Jesus has selected four men to come and to follow him. He said to Simon and Andrew James and John he said follow me I will make you to become fishers of men. And the response as we saw on the part of these four was immediate. They left their nets they followed him and they didn't make any excuses and there was no delay. And so the thought behind that is obvious when God calls us we need to respond. We need to respond immediately. We see that in the scriptures. I was thinking of this as I was preparing our study. You see this immediate response in the life of Abram who was later to be known as Abraham. In the book of Genesis in chapter 12 verses 1 through 4 it says the Lord said to Abram go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father's house to the land which I will show you and I will make you a great nation. I will bless you make your name great and so you shall be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Heron. But notice with me that he went forth immediately as the Lord had said. You see that in the life of the apostle Paul. It's been said that Paul's conversion to Christ is the most famous conversion in history. We know that in Acts chapter 9 Paul had been authorized by the high priest to arrest the followers of Jesus Christ and he was on the road to Damascus and as he was on the road to Damascus Jesus arrested him and his encounter with the Lord left him blind. And when that happened he was told that he was to go to the house of a man by the name of Ananias in Damascus and he did and when he went there Ananias prayed for him and Saul was healed of his blindness. The transformation was immediate. And in Acts chapter 9 verse 20 it says immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues that he is the son of God. There was no delay with these men. They left everything to follow Jesus Christ. In these men's cases these fishermen they were leaving a profitable business. Now that reminds me of another man who was called a man by the name of Matthew a wealthy tax collector. Matthew 2 14 says as he as Jesus passed by he saw Levi. Matthew he was wearing a pair of Levi's and the son of Alpheus he was sitting at the tax office and he said to him follow me so he arose and he followed him. And so the call of Jesus Christ the call was specific. He was assembling his apostles but the call can also be general because he calls people everywhere to follow after him. In Luke 9 23 it says he said to them all whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves take up their cross daily and follow me. Now some refuse. Some refuse to follow the Lord Jesus Christ because they consider all that they may be giving up. But instead of thinking all that I'm giving up we ought to be thinking all that we're going to gain in the Lord. In John 12 26 whoever serves me must follow me and where I am my servant also will be. My father will honor the one who serves me. Well in the case of James and John it included leaving their father Zebedee they were willing to leave everything and they put Jesus Christ first. Now at this time they wouldn't have understood clearly what they're going to gain. But later Jesus in Matthew 19 29 said everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive 100 times as much and will inherit eternal life. There are a lot of people in this fellowship who left everything. They left their family behind the moms and their dads and they followed the Lord. They left it behind. It wasn't so much that they have no relation with them anymore but they made a choice. I'm going to make something more important to me. I'm going to follow the King. As a result of that they entered into fellowship with Jesus. They entered into a family of those who are like-minded people who follow Christ also. It's really true at least it's been in my life that there are people that I have developed relationship in the Lord that have been as close as any brother or any sister has ever been. And so when you leave everything it's not that you're losing everything. It's that you're gaining everything. A lot of people don't understand that because they're thinking in a material sense or thinking of things that don't last. The things that do matter are the things that are eternal and those things come through Christ. You see every believer has gained something and sometimes they don't even value what they've gained. Jesus called these men to follow him and now as we enter into this portion of Scripture we see Jesus demonstrating authority. He's going to demonstrate his spiritual authority as he teaches the Word of God but he's also going to show his authority as he casts out a demon. And in these verses we see a contrast, a contrast between how people react and how demons react. The people are amazed, they're interested, they're intrigued at the manner in which Jesus is teaching but on the other hand the demons are aware of who he is and they're terrified. The people are curious but the demons react loudly to who he is. You see they know who Jesus is, they know he's their judge but the people at this point do not. And so in verse 21 again it says they went into Capernaum and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. So Jesus is in the north, if you look at your Bible map or if you've ever been to Israel, he's in a region called Galilee, it's the Galilee. He's in Capernaum. Capernaum is a city that's located on the northwest coastline of the Sea of Galilee. It was prosperous, it was a fishing village, it was located on a major highway, the major highway from the west to the east. And when you look at the city of Capernaum, give you a little more detail as we develop this, the word Capernaum is translated the village of Neum. Now this may be a reference to it being the hometown of an Old Testament prophet by the name of Neum. The word Neum is translated consolation or compassion. So some commentators think that this refers to the character of the villagers, that they were very compassionate as a village. But it could also give us insight into Jesus and his compassionate ministry. In the same chapter, Mark chapter 1, look at verse 40 and 41 with me for just a moment. It says, a leper came to him, imploring him, kneeling down to him and saying to him, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Notice verse 41, Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, I am willing to be cleansed. And so Jesus Christ is compassionate. He's in a village that is known for compassion. And as he's there, we know that this particular village is housing the compassionate one, the one who lives in the village of compassion. Now Capernaum was where Simon, Peter, Andrew, James and John lived. In Matthew 4, 13 through 16, it says that Capernaum became his headquarters after he was rejected in the city of Nazareth. And so there he is in Capernaum. Verse 21 says immediately he had immediately entered the synagogue and taught. Now I'm going to give you a little bit of information that might help you in the future, the word synagogue. The word synagogue speaks of a place of gathering. The practice of going to synagogue began during what is called the Babylonian captivity. The Babylonians had destroyed in ransack the temple in Israel in 586 BC. So while in Babylon, the Jews began to gather for religious meetings in what are called synagogues. The temple remained the center of Jewish life, but many Jews lived many miles away. So synagogue was a place of worship. It was a place of study, community, fellowship. It even was a place where legal matters were determined. A synagogue could be formed anywhere that there were at least 10 Jewish men. So over time, synagogues became very important in Jewish community life. It served as a public school for boys where they studied the Talmud, which is the oral tradition of Moses' law, as well as writing, reading and arithmetic. And for men it was the center of advanced theological training. And so Jesus is there in synagogue. And in verse 21, Mark tells us that immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue. Now notice, and he taught. And so there was something that was called the freedom of the synagogue. This made it possible for any qualified man to deliver a teaching from the Old Testament. And this freedom was extended to visiting rabbis. And Jesus had become well-known, and therefore they invited him to speak there. In Luke 4 verses 14 and 15, it says, Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And news of him went out through all the surrounding region, and he taught in the synagogues, being glorified by all. And so teaching God's Word was part of the ministry that Jesus performed amongst the people. His ministry is revealed, and we're going to see this in some detail. I'm laying foundations for you right now. But his ministry was revealed by teaching, preaching and healing. In Matthew 4, 23, Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. So when he was preaching and teaching and healing, those are the three elements of the ministry of Christ that you see outlined in Scripture. When you're preaching, the ministry of preaching is an appeal to the will. When someone is preaching the gospel, they are appealing to your will by the power of the Holy Spirit to make a decision. So when somebody is preaching, and speaking in a preaching way, what I am doing when I preach, when a person preaches, is we're appealing to you to make a decision. So preaching has that evangelistic feel to it. Now teaching is giving you information that you're supposed to assimilate that's supposed to be practiced so you can be transformed. So you preach the gospel, people get saved, then you teach them the ways of the Lord. So preaching and teaching are part of what Jesus did. And healing was the demonstration that the kingdom of God was amongst men. And that in the kingdom of God, God who has no disease is the one who removes your diseases. And so when Jesus was doing his preaching and teaching and his healing, that was the aspect of Messiah being amongst man. And that's what's going on. And so the reason he was teaching was so that people might know who he was. And he would teach the Old Testament because the word of God is pointing to him. Now Mark had already made this clear when he had introduced Jesus Christ to us in chapter one. He had quoted the Old Testament books of Malachi and Isaiah, these two prophets. So that was something that was most important. It's God's word that points to Jesus Christ. Now when John 539 it says, search the scriptures in them you think you have eternal life. They are they which testify of me. One of the things that I have great concern for in the life of the church in the 21st century. And some of you may not have the same concerns that I do and understandably so. But the bottom line is, if there's anything in terms of what I see as a famine in the land, it's a famine for the word of God. The church, not every church, but in many places has become an entertainment center where people choose to go to church, not necessarily to have the word taught to them, but in order that they might get a spiritual vitamin of some sort. And sometimes what happens is if you don't spur them enough emotionally, people get bored and they look for something else. Now in an age that we have today where you have instant gratification, it's an interesting challenge to deal with. You know, we live in such an instant world. I mean right now you have in your pocket a computer called a phone that is amazing. I mean it takes pictures. A lot of people seem to like to take pictures of themselves. It takes pictures. It records. You send messages. It's everything plus a phone. And that's very interesting to me. If you were to go even in my history, I was in Europe in 1975 the first time I ever went to Europe and I would call Marie, my wife, they had something called collect. Some of you old people know what that means. Will you accept the charges? And we were dating at that time in early 75 and I would call her from Europe and so she was working overtime to hear my beautiful voice and but I would actually, you would call down to the front desk from your room and you would say I would like to make a collect call to the United States and they would say okay what's the number and all of that. They'd get your information and then they would call you when they made the connection and it could be 15, 20 minutes. It could be an hour or longer. So I would have to sit there waiting and then finally they'd ring up my room. I'd answer the phone. They say we have your party on the line and then you talk. Now today that's just, are you kidding me? I'm going to wait a whole hour to talk to her. I'll write her a letter. Now we used to have something called letters. Yeah, you know I need help. Come quickly. Six weeks later help shows up, right? I mean that was your letter. So all the things that we have today are just, it's caused people to not realize the value of time and things, it's compressed things. And so if I don't instantly have something it's not worth having. You know so we pray God give me patience now because we want instant gratification. I met her. I want her. I'll marry her tomorrow. That's kind of how we think. And so when Jesus was teaching it actually took time for people to hear to listen, to process, to decide. And so today when we as a church when we gather very often if it doesn't keep my attention every second then I'll find a place that does. Well with Jesus he would walk he would spend time, he would minister he gave the word of God and as he was doing so he was pointing out something to them he was saying to them you search the scriptures, you ransack the word search means to ransack you tear it upside down police officers will tell you when somebody ransacks a room it doesn't mean they just walked in it means all the drawers and the dressers are turned over the mattresses turned over they ransacked it they go through the entire room and Jesus was using that word when he says you ransack the scriptures for in them you think that you have eternal life and these are they which speak of me you're ransacking but missing and so Jesus would teach the word of God and they were supposed to be able to see that it was him that the prophets had spoken about because it's God's word when it's rightly divided and taught and proclaimed it's God's word that brings people to salvation it isn't somebody's testimony and it's not a great musical score it isn't a great vocalist it isn't a great guy who can play the instrument wow those things are wonderful and I'm blessed by God that we've been blessed by so many years over the years with so many who have that but it's always been the word of God it's a word of God that transforms it's a word of God that informs and this is what Jesus would do he would rightly divide and he would preach and teach that word and people were coming to faith and he didn't rely simply on the miracles at all because the miracles would draw attention science wonders and miracles and all of that are intended to be like road maps it's like when you're driving here to church and you've never been here before and you're on the 60 freeway and you see the Ramona exit you're following science to get to a destination when Jesus performed his signs they were bringing these people to a destination it was him in John 5.45-47 Jesus said do not think that I will accuse you to the Father there is one that accuses you even Moses in whom you trust for had you believed Moses you would have believed me for he wrote of me but if you believe not his writings how shall you believe my words because his words were scripture so in Romans 10 verse 17 faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God and so as Jesus is teaching notice this again it says in verse 22 they were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes they were astonished the word astonished means they were struck they were struck with amazement they were amazed at the way Jesus spoke to them because he was speaking to them with spiritual and moral authority not like the religious leaders the experts in the law called the scribes the scribes were held in high honor in Jewish society they were the authority on questions of faith and practice in the law of Moses but the scribes would not exercise their own authority they didn't give independent judgments they actually quoted other rabbis as authorities they didn't exercise personal authority they would refer to the traditions but Jesus when he taught he taught differently his teaching was direct it was personal it was filled with heaven's authority when you read Matthew chapter 5 and it has the sermon on the mount when you read Matthew chapter 5 and you begin to look at the things that Jesus says there he will say things like this he will say you have heard it said thou shalt not commit murder but I say unto you you have heard it said thou shalt not commit adultery but I say unto you you have heard it said of those of old and I for an eye but I say unto you you've heard it said of those of old love your neighbor but hate your enemies but I say unto you and that's how Jesus spoke he was actually he was actually giving a new sense of the passage not from saying Rabbi Halal has said this because that's how they would teach during that day Rabbi Gamaliel has said this it wasn't that way at all he said you have heard it said because the Jews had this compilation of the law and its interpretation so the scribes had memorized the traditional aspects of the law and therefore when they would speak they would say well as it was said by Rabbi Shamai but Jesus said you have heard it said but I say unto you and this astounds them these people have not heard a Rabbi speak like this before and it says it in verse 22 he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes and they're listening to him as he's speaking with this kind of authority and it causes them to wonder his approach to teaching caused a stir amongst the people he wasn't quoting others he presented himself as absolute authority his authority came from heaven in John's Gospel in chapter 12 verses 49 and 50 he said I haven't spoken on my own authority but the Father who sent me gave me a command what I should say and what I should speak I know that his command is everlasting life therefore whatever I speak just as the Father has told me so I speak so Jesus spoke with an authority that scribes did not have because he was an eyewitness he was from heaven in John 3 31 through 34 he who comes from above is above all he who is of the earth is earthly and speaks of the earth he who comes from heaven is above all and what he has seen and heard that he testifies and no one receives his testimony he who has received his testimony has certified that God is true for he whom God has sent speaks the words of God for God does not give the spirit by measure and so Jesus spoke with authority and as they're listening to him spiritually give to them teachings they start to scratch their head and they start saying I've never heard anybody speak like this and it's amazing but notice what happens not only did he have teaching authority but notice in verse 23 there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit he cried out he shrieked he cried out saying let us alone what have we to do with you Jesus of Nazareth did you come to destroy us I know who you are the holy one of God I wondered what that demon sounded like that would be kind of creepy I think how did he sound well it's interesting because as it speaks here when it says in verse 23 he cried out the word cried out it speaks of loud volume but it also gives a connotation of a shrieking it was eerie it was frightening so this demonized man cries out in recognition of who he is he interrupts Jesus but he doesn't get him you might find this interesting but the Old Testament doesn't give instances of demonic possession it's in the New Testament that you begin to see these things for example in the book of Acts in chapter 16 verses 16 through 18 Luke recorded about a girl in Philippi who had the spirit of divination that Paul cast the demon out of it in Acts 19 11 through 16 it speaks of Paul delivering demonized people and it speaks of the seven sons of Sceva in that passage where these Sceva was a Jewish exorcist and his sons tried to cast a demon out of a demonized man and they say we adjure you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches and the demon said you know Paul I know and Jesus I know but who are you it's one of the more interesting passages in scripture if you read it Acts 19 the demon man chased these seven sons out of the room and they were all naked running down the street and that would have been quite funny I have to tell you but you see that in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke you see accounts of demons and when they encountered Christ they would reveal themselves in various ways in this instance the demon began to scream at the top of its lungs when he saw Jesus now notice verse 23 Mark tells us that this man had an unclean spirit the demon that was within him drove him to impurity to vulgarity to a sexually filthy lifestyle that's what an unclean spirit does so as Jesus was teaching this demonized man makes it known that there's a demon there notice in verse 23 how it says here that he had cried out he said let us alone and when it says he cried out that speaks of wonder that's mixed with fear this is a cry that is being raised from the depth of his throat the demon is using the man's vocal cords which is interesting you might want to note this apparently demons go to church now he's in a state of terror let us alone what have we to do with you now as a fallen angel the demon is like satan he's foul he rejects God's holy authority and the demon recognizes Christ he instantly makes it clear they have nothing in common the demon is impure and provoked this man to a filthy life he's the opposite of Jesus he has nothing in common with him Jesus is pure and would set him free to live a pure life in Hebrew 726 it says it was fitting for us to have such a high priest speaking of Jesus who is holy innocent, undefiled separate from sinners and exalted above the heavens Jesus is the opposite of the demon they have nothing in common in John 14 verse 30 I will no longer talk much with you for the ruler of this world is coming he has nothing in me there's nothing within me that responds to anything he has to offer so by way of application as followers of Christ we too are to have nothing in common with evil nothing in common in 2nd Corinthians 6 verses 14 and 15 it says do not be yoked together with unbelievers for what do righteousness and wickedness have in common what fellowship can light have with darkness what harmony is there between Christ and Belial the devil what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever we're not to have unholy alliances if you're single and you're considering dating the one you date is to be someone who loves the Lord is to be someone I've had people say over the years I date, I'm a missionary I'm a missionary date and no I've said this before, I'll say it again you know it's easier if I were to stand on the edge of this platform here it would be easier for you to pull me off than for me to pull you up and yet we have people who say oh I go out with these people because they're a lot of fun and if you want to date an unbeliever it gives you a good gut check what Christ is because what in common does light have with darkness what in common does God have with Satan and what in common would God's people have with those who don't love the Lord in terms of dating and marrying you have to be aware of these kinds of things and so as this is taking place notice in verse 24 that he calls him Jesus of Nazareth now remember Nazareth has a poor reputation it's insignificant Jesus of Nazareth has a word of disdain he's actually showing Christ disrespect and then he says in verse 24 did you come to destroy us are you going to lock us up in eternal judgment now you see demons know that Jesus was sent to accomplish salvation to set the prisoner free in 1 John 3 verse 8 it says the Son of God appeared for this purpose to destroy the works of the devil so he wanted to know if Jesus was about to do the work at that moment and so the answer to that question is yes he's going to judge but no not now and notice in verse 24 this is another thing that to me very interesting he says I know who you are demons know exactly who Jesus Christ is there's something that is called demon faith it's found in James 2 19 where it says you believe that there's one God you do well in the demons believe and tremble demon faith they know who he is in a way that sometimes even believers are still going to understand but he knew he had great fear he saw him are you going to judge us now is it time now is that what you're going to do you see when satan rebelled he drew some of the angels with him in Revelation 12 we saw this in verse 4 it says that satan drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth so these fallen angels know who Jesus is but knowing who he is is not sufficient to save knowing who Jesus is being able to speak concerning him or give us facts related to him to even quote scripture as satan does himself in scripture does not mean you're saved there are a lot of people that I've encountered over the years who think that knowledge is saving them knowledge alone doesn't save you the knowledge of who he is demons have that I know who you are I know there's a judgment coming they know that more than human beings because human beings will argue that there is no judgment coming but demons know that there is I had a guy I've said this before but he told me this he said yeah I'm going to go to hell I'm going to go to hell but all my friends are going to go with me and we'll party you don't have a clue what you're talking about do you you think that hell is a big party well all my friends will be there is that a good thing you think that going to hell and there's going to be a party you don't know scripture you need to listen to what God's word says demons understand have you come to destroy us is it time for a judgment a message that sets people free that sets the captive free that's what he was sent to do in Acts 10 38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power and now he went about doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil God was with him so he says you are the Holy One of God he's aware the Holy One he's aware of Jesus' divine authority he greatly fears him and the spirit that was energizing this possessed man was motivated to speak in this way the voice behind the mask is exposed and the people are seeing this now picture this is like taking place in a church service if you will in a synagogue and this eerie voice is speaking and they had just been saying this man has authority and as they say that he has authority there's this man there who is speaking out let us alone what have we to do with you there's a demon there in synagogue the church if you will is fully aware of Christ and the spirit that energizes him is revealed and the voice is revealed well Jesus rebukes him notice verse 25 Jesus rebuked him saying be quiet and come out of him there wasn't any holy water there was no holy smoke there was no ritual there's no screaming I don't know how many of you have ever seen anything related to demons and all when someone casts the demon out you don't have to scream at him you don't have to start sweating you don't have to all you need to know is the authority you have it comes from Jesus Christ so in the name of Jesus Christ I say unto you come out and you don't have to scream I've seen some dramatic versions of that where people get all emotionally caught up well don't picture that in your mind when Jesus is speaking to him Jesus looks at him and sternly says come out of him just like that come out of him you have a guy shrieking in the tension and you feel it somebody once asked me how do you know when somebody is demonized how do you know the best answer I've ever heard and the best answer that I think I can give is this you will know there are times when people will say how do you know you will know when you speak to somebody as I have over the years there are times when you speak to somebody perhaps there's some troubles emotional problems things like that that's part of humanity we experience that all the time but I'll tell you when you encounter a demon you know you don't have to ask a question who claimed to be demon-possessed and she was sitting in my office as a matter of fact my then assistant Dan Renshaw was with me he and I were together and this woman sitting across from me in my office a little teeny office maybe 10 by 10 Dan was sitting here on the right and I'm sitting here and she's sitting in front of me and so her friend had brought her in and said she's demonized or at least she's claiming to be and so I looked at her and I said so do you want to be do you want it dealt with and she said yes and I said okay I said let me pray and we begin to pray I'm sorry I just remembered this I'd forgotten about it we began to pray and when we prayed this mats in my way when we began when I prayed she put her hands up like claws and she started to hiss and she started to lunge out of her chair and I pulled her hand back man you're going down I'm knocked that demon out of your head it just shocked me and my friend Dan jumps up and the name of Jesus very dramatic moment you reminded me of that the other day but she wasn't demonized she was troubled and you know I was a new pastor at that time and you know I was in India later on doing ministry and I encountered a demon and I can tell you there is no question you're not looking wondering you know this is a demon I was with my friend Randy Walls Randy and Dan will be with us tonight I was with my friend Randy and this person was across the street probably 20 feet from us and they turned and looked at us and they were dragging this guy into a Hindu temple and we saw him dragging him down the street and he was fighting he turned and looked at us and I literally I've heard the phrase your blood runs cold I've heard that that's a true phrase it actually happened my blood was from the top of my head I could feel it in my feet I go oh my goodness I said that guy is demonized and I grabbed Randy and pushed him and Randy you can do it no you know you know the sense of evil is so intense that it causes you to almost shake your head and it's just a true story if you ever encounter you will know because I've had people ask me how do you know you'll know you'll know it's like all the evil you've been aware of in the world is encapsulated in one moment you know and when this person began to shriek in synagogue we know are you going to can you imagine the people that were there when this took place could you imagine that and they're watching Jesus now he's been teaching with authority and now they're going to see his spiritual authority and so as this happens he gives a command two of them really he says be quiet and come out of him so the first command silences the devil and the second drove him out we know who you are you're Jesus of Nazareth you're the Holy One of God Jesus wanted no testimony from demons he's not in league with the enemy because later he'd have an accusation concerning this in Luke 11 18-20 it says if Satan is divided against himself how will his kingdom stand because you say I cast out demons by Beelzebub and if I cast out demons by Beelzebub by whom do your sons cast them out therefore they will be your judges but if I cast out demons with the finger of God surely the kingdom of God has come upon you he doesn't want to be joined or united in their mind with the enemy so immediately it silences him now notice verse 26 when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice he came out of him the evil spirit could not resist harming this man one last time he knew he had to leave but he did so in a way to further injure him later in Mark we see something similar when Jesus delivers a young boy his father had brought this young boy to Jesus Jesus delivered him and in Mark 9-26 it says the spirit cried out and convulsed him greatly and came out of him and he became as one dead so that many said he's dead it seems to me that when the devil loses someone he tries to injure them one last time some people before they came to faith in Christ made some of the worst decisions they've ever made just before they came to faith in Christ because I believe that the enemy to this day in anticipation of what God can do because he's merciful and he saves that he wants to injure you at least one last time he wants to give to you one last kick if you will one last harmful thing and you see it in Scripture that the demon convulses this boy this guy convulses him and then later this boy one last harmful thing to do to you and as this demon is removed notice verse 27 they were all amazed so that they questioned among themselves saying what is this what new doctrine is this 4th authority he commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him immediately his fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee imagine what these people are thinking it's like if they're in a church service if you will and all of this takes place they're screaming Jesus is identified there's a stern command there's a convulsion there's deliverance and then it's calm and they're just sitting there kind of like Wiley Coyote after he got blown up by TNT just standing it's like who is this who is this man they're whispering amongst themselves what is this what new doctrine is this his teaching already has awakened us to his spiritual and scriptural depth we see that he has a command of God's word and insights we've never really heard before but his work of delivering this one in bondage to Satan is even more amazing because even the things we fear most are subject to him you ought to mark that down even the things we fear most are subject to him what are you afraid of today what is it that you're afraid of today even the things we fear most are subject to him that's why we cast our cares on him why because he cares for us he is our deliverer we need to understand that today we need to understand that I'm quite serious about this this is my main and closing point even the demons fear and tremble and here we have believers who constantly are living in fear where God says no I am your peace be still know that I am God any time you ever see God afraid that's probably time you should be afraid but he doesn't get afraid we're on a plane we're having a difficult time the masks that when there's loss of cabin pressure are beginning to pop out of the ceiling people are screaming my wife and family were together flying I'm reading a newspaper and my kids are there and it was very it was it was bad I mean we saw the waves as the plane was coming down close to the Hushan the waves are all rising we could see them it was one of the worst storms we've ever entered into and I have a newspaper and I'm reading it people are screaming there are people in the back the plane calling us to go pray with them it's just we land safely obviously here I am and just last year my daughter Anna who was on that flight with us said daddy do you remember I said of course I do she says did you know I wasn't afraid and I said no you know honey I never really have asked you weren't afraid she goes no I wasn't afraid I wasn't afraid I said really why she says I kept my eye on you she said if my dad got to be afraid then I ought to be afraid she said I watched you and you were reading that newspaper calmly just reading while people are screaming around you she said I knew that if you're not afraid that I can trust that we'll be okay well you know that's just a human being I obviously don't handle the weather or the plane or whatever because my other daughter said to me dad why weren't you afraid I said because God's not through with our church and I knew that she said did it ever occur to you that he doesn't need you to do what he wants and he said no I never really thought about that yeah God doesn't need you to do what he wants to do in the church dad I said well thanks for telling me after we landed listen guys let me make one final application to you live in peace live in peace God is in control and listen you die okay you die where do you go oh gosh I have to go to heaven duh aren't you and I'm not making light of this by the way really not it can appear like I am and I'm not I'm not making light of it at all I understand those things I do I've ushered many people into the presence of the I understand that what I'm saying is what a waste of time to live in fear when Jesus is on your side what a waste of time trust the Lord trust the Lord trust the Lord who is this what is this he speaks with authority and even the spirits are subject unto him who is this man this is the Lord of glory this is Jesus Christ he's the king of the universe and he's our messiah he is the lamb who takes away the sin of the world and he is the one who guards us and so he already through his teaching has awakened them to his scriptural depth now they see his spiritual strength and they're now left without excuse even so later the city will ultimately reject him their amazement in the end was worthless because Capernaum as a city did not receive him but it says finally in verse 28 immediately his fame began to spread throughout all the region around Galilee the word of who Christ is gets out and others begin to hear of Jesus when God is present people show up somebody once said catch fire and people will drive from all around just to watch you burn catch fire for Jesus Christ catch fire for Christ and people will see the glow of God's presence in your life and they'll say what is this what is this this is the transformation that comes they're coming to faith in Christ that's what this is Father we ask that you would work in our hearts we ask that you would have your way in us and that Lord Jesus Christ that we would value you for who you are Lord we only see a glimpse a snapshot of the power that you possess and there's so many things that we'll see as we go through Mark that will deepen these initial things that Mark presents to us your scriptural authority and your spiritual power I just ask that we the church would awaken to it because even demons fear and tremble and there are those who say I believe in Christ but in fact they only believe in what they think he is and they don't know him for who he is I pray that we would know you for who you actually are we would work in us today and that Lord we wouldn't just be those who have head knowledge and said faith that we would actually have the real thing that we'd know you and be transformed by you so I lift up this congregation and I pray in Jesus name Lord that we would live for you and serve you with all of our hearts every day one day at a time and even as our eyes are closed our heads are bowed perhaps there are some in this room Lord right now you may be watching online you may be outside in an overflow you could be in this room and you need prayer and you know it and you need to be right with him and if that's the case I want to pray for you and those whom I can see right now if you need prayer would you raise your hand let me pray for you before I close this Father you see these hands you know what's going on in these hearts and what these hands being raised represents I ask in Jesus name that you would reach each person whose hand is raised to you whatever that need may be Lord I pray that you would do what is right and help them Lord in this time of need I especially pray that you would reach down touch them in a way that their lives are forever changed because of who you are so we lift these things to you now and we ask in Jesus name that you would answer this prayer to your glory and we give you all praise Lord in your name and we thank you you can put your hands down in Jesus I ask that you would continue to move in all of us and I ask this in your name Amen