Sermon - Lord of Lords vs. Lord of the Flies - 2017/03/12 (27) - Audio

Gadsden First United Methodist Chuch

“Lord of Lords vs. Lord of the Flies” Jesus is accused of being Beelzebub. (Beelzebub is basically another nickname for Satan.) Scripture is very clear on the reality of Satan and the spirit world. The scribes accuse Jesus of being ruler over demons because He cast them out. Jesus uses reason and logic to refute the scribes thinking. If He were Satan --- then why would He cast out Satan? Satan's business is to enslave through sin, a slavery evidenced in sickness, possession and death. Yet, this is exactly the type of bondage that Jesus is freeing people from. Jesus then turns their attention and ours to the Spirit (The Holy Spirit) in whom we will all give an account. Receiving and/or rejecting the Holy Spirit has eternal consequences. (In theological terms we refer to this as the “unpardonable sin”.) Jesus was telling them that they were placing themselves in a position of defiant hostility against God. When we reject the opportunity to have a personal relationship with the living God --- when we set our face against a friendship with Jesus, is to "blaspheme against the Holy Spirit". Such is the unforgivable sin, a sin never to be forgiven. Jesus then describes who belongs to His family. The “important great good news” is we can turn and put our trust in Jesus and enter His circle of family, and that circle will be ours for eternity. To sum it up; Jesus, the one who binds the powers of darkness is also the One who gathers us as family in the safety of his care. Harvey