Please turn with me, if you will, to Luke 11. Luke 11, as we read together verses 14-28. 14-28, but our focus this morning, the text, verses 24-26, a short parable that we find there in the context of the reading. Verses 14-28 for our Scripture reading. As we give our attention to the Word of God. Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. But some of them said, By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons. Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted, Divides up the spoils. He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. In the words of our text, when an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you. He replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey it. May God add His blessing through the reading and the preaching of His Word. Beloved congregation of our Lord, gathered in the name of Jesus Christ, Once again, the time is quickly approaching for us as a people of God to come together around the Lord's table next week, Sunday evening, the Lord willing. But first, we must participate in that important activity of self-examination. And as the preparatory form, which we will read in a few moments, makes clear, this is not an activity that is to be taken lightly. We cannot simply have the opinion, well, if I do it, I do it. If I don't, I don't. No big deal. And it's not enough to depend upon our examination of a month or two ago, whenever the last time was, that we were reminded through the form. In reality, even though we only read the form six or seven or eight times per year and celebrate the Lord's Supper that many times, this examination is to be a constant activity. It is to be a daily task. And when we examine ourselves, then what is it that we are to look for? Very simply, we are to examine to see what we are filled with. What is it that fills our lives? Is it a knowledge of sin and misery and the assurance of forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ? And along with that then, a heartfelt desire to walk in humble thankfulness before God? Is that what it is that fills our lives? Or is it continuing gross sin that fills our lives? Or maybe even worse, is it indifference that fills our lives? With this short parable before us this morning, our Lord makes it clear to the Pharisees, to Israel, as well as to all of us, that this question is a matter of life or death. It is important. And therefore I preach to you this Word of God, the call to examine the filling of life. Notice with me the familiar example, the convicting application, and the warning of repossession. The context of this parable as we read together was that Jesus had just cast a demon, an evil spirit, out of a man who was mute. Boys and girls, He couldn't speak because of the demon. Now Matthew also records this episode as well as this parable in chapter 12. And in that chapter he tells us that it was the Pharisees. Here it says just some of them or some people, but in Matthew 12, he tells us it was the Pharisees who challenged and verbally attacked Jesus with regard to who He is and in whose name He casts out demons. And they accused Jesus of being allied with, working for, Satan being on His side. You see, that's all that they could consider because in their minds, they were the pious ones. They were the ones who were close to God. And since they felt very far away from this Jesus, certainly he must be close to Satan. Because they're not. Jesus explains to them that what they say doesn't make any sense. Because if what they say is true, then Satan would be working against himself. He would be working to defeat himself. And instead Jesus explains, of course without them believing it, He explains that He casts out demons by the power of God. And they themselves are in danger, as Matthew 12 makes clear, of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, of the unpardonable sin, because they are calling the work of God the work of Satan. They are giving credit to Satan that belongs only to God for what God has done. And therefore, with this parable, Jesus lays open the true and the desperate situation of the Pharisees and Israel as a whole. As He lays before them this familiar example. Verses 24 and 25 again. When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, I will return to the house I left. When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Jesus places before them the example of this man with an evil spirit, a demon, which leaves or is cast out from him. We're not sure which one. It's not important for the meaning. Now, we don't know, of course, how common demon possession was. With regard to Scripture, we don't seem to find, to my knowledge anyway, any episodes of demon possession that are recorded in the Old Testament. In the book of Acts, a little bit later, we find some with regard to the apostles. But it seems that there was much more demonic activity during Christ's earthly ministry. Luke, of course, records this particular episode in chapter 11, but he also records three other episodes. In chapter 4, Jesus casts the demon out of the man in the synagogue in Capernaum. In Luke chapter 8, we find the familiar episode of the man in the country of the Gadarenes who had the demon called Legion that was sent into the pigs. And then in chapter 9, we read about the young boy who was tormented by an evil spirit. As well, Jesus gives us the idea that certain others were also involved in exorcism as he asks in verse 19, Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? Now we need to understand that Jesus is not giving instruction here with regard to the doctrine of demons. That's not the point of the parable. But when he says that the Spirit goes through arid places, that means waterless places, seeking rest and does not find it, he seems to be teaching that evil spirits can only do their work in human beings. We know that the legion was sent into the pigs and the pigs then were sent to their death, but the work of evil spirits is really only fruitful, that is, in bearing rotten fruit, bad fruit, when they work in the human heart. With regard to this example, when Jesus says the unclean spirit found the house, swept clean and put in order. This points to the change that takes place in those who become free from evil spirits. All we need to do is consider the biblical stories of demon possession that we recall. And we remember that evil spirits took control of one's mind and body and strength and emotions and senses. Really everything about them. The man with the legion, you recall, was a madman. He was naked. He was dangerous. But free of the evil spirit, He was restored to normal life. He became a decent human being again. He was clothed once again. As well, with regard to the boy in Luke chapter 9, that boy would convulse. He would foam at the mouth when possessed. And Mark adds in his record of the same event in Mark chapter 9, that the boy would gnash his teeth, and often the Spirit would throw the boy into the fire and the water to try to destroy him. But again, Scripture teaches us that after Jesus cast out that evil spirit, the boy was healed. The same is true with the man in the parable. With the evil spirit gone, he could return to normal life, getting back to work, taking his place in society, being respected as a citizen once again. However, it appears that the evil spirit had a claim on his life. When it could find nowhere else to be fruitful, it says, I will return to the house I left. Another translation says it this way. I will return to my house. I left. He finds it swept. Put in order. And in Matthew's account in chapter 12, he adds that he finds it empty. In other words, the man didn't fill his life house with something else to keep the evil spirit out. Instead, the evil spirit found it vacant and appealing, ready to be occupied like a clean apartment. The evil spirit brings along seven friends more wicked than himself, therefore taking total control of the man. And not only is the man returned to his previous condition, but his condition became much worse. Beloved, the Pharisees had suggested actually outright condemned Jesus as being in cahoots with Satan, being on Satan's side. But with his example, Jesus was saying that they and Israel in her spiritual condition, they were the ones who were in alliance with Satan. And therefore, we also need to consider in the second place the convicting application here. The man in the parable is to be applied to Israel and her religious leaders to convict them of their dangerous spiritual situation. Now you recall, I trust, that on a national historical level, As you recall, Elijah's ministry, that Ahab had introduced idol worship, Baal worship, into the nation of Israel. And in that respect, Israel was possessed. But ever since the time of Ezra, and the return of the remnant from exile, idolatry was gone. It was wiped out. Israel's house had been swept clean of all the foulness and the uncleanness of idolatry. Now, the Greek word used here, translated as put in order, literally means to decorate or to adorn with ornaments. And Israel's house, through her religious leaders, the Pharisees, had been decorated with the ornaments of the Pharisaical touch-not, taste-not, works-righteousness. They had moved from idolatry with Ahab right into dead orthodoxy. The Pharisees thought that their lives were ornamented with grace, but it was really sin counterfeiting grace. They were those, as Jesus describes them, quoting from Isaiah, those who confessed God with their lips, but in reality their hearts were far from Him. They were those whom Paul condemns in 2 Timothy 3, verse 5, when he says, having a form of godliness, only a form, but denying its power. And just as the man in the parable had not filled his life house with anything to keep the unclean spirit and his friends out, the rulers and the Pharisees and Israel, spiritually speaking, were empty. That's the point of the parable here. God was not there in their lives as they thought He was. This was clear by their rejection of the very Son of God come in the flesh. Jesus was saying that He was the stronger one who alone could attack and overpower the strong man. He alone could keep Satan out of their lives, but they didn't believe. And beloved, this is the way it is with spiritual hypocrites even today. John Calvin makes a good point when he talks about the fact that by nature we are the dwelling place of the devil. But Jesus Christ came to drive him from the lives of mankind. Satan cannot stand against the truth of the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Therefore, when the gospel is preached to man, as Calvin says, that Jesus is the Redeemer, then the devil is justly said to go out of those men. It doesn't mean that they are necessarily born again yet. It doesn't mean that they are Christians yet. But the beauty is that Satan cannot, in a sense, stay in the same room with the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. And we know that often there is some sort of a visible change with those who turn to Christ. However, Satan will not go down without a fight. He will not give up so easily what he believes to be rightfully his as we even considered with our consideration of Revelation 12 and the woman, the dragon, and the beast. He comes back. He comes back with a vengeance. He doesn't have to worry, of course, about those who never hear the Gospel message. And his work isn't difficult with those who reject the Gospel, but against those who have been rescued from his grasp by the grace of God. He has a deeper anger. He has a greater rage. And as Peter says, Satan prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And when he comes back, what does he find? Well, he really finds an assortment of situations. He finds some life houses in which the gospel of Jesus Christ has been effectively applied by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit. These are the ones who have received Jesus Christ by grace through faith and therefore they have been transformed from being the slums of Satan to being temples of the Holy Spirit. These are filled to capacity with the stronger man of Christ's Spirit who floods their souls and they cannot be overpowered by Satan. Because as Paul says in Romans 8, For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Satan is powerless here. Because Jesus Christ has a claim on His people. They are mine, He says. And God's people are those whose lives are filled with not only a knowledge of their sin and misery and their salvation from it, but also filled with thankfulness and the fruits of thankfulness as they are filled with the Spirit of God. But there are others. Satan finds others. There are those whose lifehouse is swept and put in order so that there is an outward change or at least there is no visible outward evil. But in reality, the life house is empty. They lead decent lives. Gross sin and evil deeds do not characterize their lives. In other words, there are no outward wrongs being done. Now don't forget, Jesus is pointing to the Pharisees and the religious situation of Israel at that time and thus to all hypocrites. In essence, these are those who say, don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, I don't steal or commit adultery, I don't lie or steal. Therefore, hallelujah, I must be a Christian. I must be. Yeah, beloved, what does Scripture say? What does the Word of God say? Matthew 21 verse 19 teaches us that the fig tree that produces nothing but leaves, it looks alive, but produces nothing but leaves is cursed even though it didn't produce any rotten fruit. It didn't produce any good fruit either. In Luke 19, verses 23 and 24, the servant who simply buried the mina, the money, he didn't waste it. He didn't lose it. But he simply buried it. He was rejected. And the story of the sheep and the goats clearly teaches those who in this life have done nothing for the hungry and the thirsty and so on never enter the halls of glory. And then most of all, Romans 10 where Paul says, for those who confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus is Lord, they shall be saved. Confess with their mouth but believe with their heart. Their heart filled with belief, trust, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that He is the Lord, He is the Savior. See, beloved, although one's lifehouse may appear to be squeaky clean, if it's not filled with the Holy Spirit of God and the spirit of obedience, it is empty and dangerous. The Pharisees, we know, they were a model of piety. They looked good on the outside. But in Matthew 12, Jesus calls them a brood of vipers and an evil and an adulterous generation and says, how can you being evil speak good things? And He goes on to make it clear that it's impossible for them to do that. The Pharisees and all hypocrites are neutral in the sense that they're indifferent. Half-hearted repentance is no repentance at all. External reform is not enough. Jesus makes it clear that spiritual neutrality is useless and it is condemned. He says in verse 23, He who is not with Me is against Me and he who does not gather with me scatters. It can only be one way or the other. Beloved, the appearance of neutrality, indifference, might very well make us friends with the world, which is dangerous as we hope to see tonight, but it proves that the one who is a friend of the world is an enemy of God. He lulls one to sleep and makes him unaware of the danger that is approaching. And that's why with this parable, Jesus also issues the warning of repossession. Notice verse 26. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. You see, whereas those who are temples of the Holy Spirit by the grace of God are securely fortified on all sides, completely surrounded, a life empty of Christ. is Satan's delight. The extra seven spirits more wicked than the first point to complete possession. This is the danger of rejecting Jesus Christ and His saving work, becoming even more ensnared by the devil. It's true, of course, that King Ahab led Israel astray, but the religious leaders of our Lord's day not only led them astray, but also made it virtually impossible for anyone to enter the kingdom. because of their legalism. As well, they were about to crucify the stronger man who came to save. They accused Jesus of being on Satan's side. But Jesus illustrates that they, in their ignorance, were really those who were repossessed by Satan as they rejected their Savior. People of God, Hebrews 6, 4-6 makes it clear that for those who rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the last state is worse than the first. The writer says, For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened and have tasted the heavenly gift and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame. Of course, these verses are not teaching that it is possible to lose your salvation because Scripture is clear in so many places that it is impossible to lose your salvation. But these verses are teaching, telling us that those who have fellowship with the body of Christ, maybe even sat under the preaching of the Word of God, heard God's call to repent and believe, maybe even participated at the Lord's table and outwardly enjoyed spiritual blessings yet do not truly believe and therefore never were saved. That those who taste in this way then fall away. They fall away for good. Beloved, what is it that fills your life? Is it the Holy Spirit of God or are you just going through the motions? You see, neutrality won't cut it because in reality there is no neutrality. If you are not for Christ actively and openly, then you are against Him. And Jesus gave this warning. Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew You. Depart from Me, You who practice lawlessness. how do you know if your life is filled with the Spirit of God the evidence includes that with a grateful heart you seek to do the Heavenly Father's will you trust Him and obey Him and seek to live for Him we need to remember beloved that Satan is a force to be reckoned with a force much stronger than we alone he knows us he knows how to tempt us he knows our weaknesses says, don't be deceived. He knows our weaknesses. And if he can't get in the front door of our lives, he'll try the back door. And today he's working against us, not so much possibly with direct persecution, but possibly, for example, with prosperity. He's working to make us friends with the world and therefore to neutralize us to our calling as to be the church, to be indifferent, to be tolerant of things that we must not and may not be tolerant of. And that's why our self-examination is so important. Not just a few times a year, but it is to be a daily activity. As believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we no longer have to be terrified of Satan, yet we must be on our guard, keeping diligent watch. Our armor must be put on more faithfully and fastened more tightly each and every day in the strength of the Spirit. To come to the Lord's table, it's not enough simply to abstain from or be empty of gross sin. You must be filled with a new heart that is full of the Holy Spirit. And evidence of that is to be one who is overflowing with works of thankfulness characterized by words and deeds. Remember, the house in the parable was swept, but it was not washed. And what did Jesus say to Peter when Peter refused to let Jesus wash His feet? He said, unless I wash your feet, you have no part with Me. But to those who are washed in the blood of the Lamb and claimed by Christ, of whom He says, He is mine, whose lifehouse is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit of God, Jesus has come. I will not cast you away. But those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ and instead dine with the devil in this life, they will be rejected by Christ and filled with the wrath and punishment of God for all eternity. And they are called to repent of their sins, confess them, turn to Christ, and they will be saved. Beloved, what is it that fills your life? Remember this wonderful truth. A life house occupied by Jesus Christ through His Spirit where your heart is His throne. That's uninviting to Satan. He can't stand to be there. As we prepare to come together next week, Sunday night, the Lord willing, around the Lord's table, we pray each and every day this week, let it be our prayer that He would help us in the strength of His Spirit to examine ourselves, to faithfully engage in the examination of which we are called to. Let's turn together in the back of the Psalter hymnal as we close our time together reading The preparatory exhortation. Page 149. Page 149. Form number 2 as we read the preparatory portion of the form. There we read, Beloved in the Lord Jesus Christ, attend to the words of the institution of the Holy Supper of our Lord as they have been handed down by the Apostle Paul. For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread. And when he had given thanks, he break it and said, this is my body, which is for you, this do in remembrance of me. And like manner also the cup after supper saying, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, this do as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore, whosoever shall eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup, for he that eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment unto himself, if he discern not the body. In obedience to these words and in fellowship with the church universal, we shall commemorate the death of our Savior and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper on the coming Lord's Day. However, to do so to our comfort, we must first examine ourselves as the Apostle has admonished let each of us therefore consider his sin and guilt against which the wrath of god is so great that he has punished it in his beloved son with the bitter and shameful death of the cross and let him examine whether his heart accordingly is filled with that godly sorrow which works repentance unto salvation let each of us also search his heart to see whether he truly believes in jesus christ as his only savior and accepts the gracious promises promise of god that for the sake of the passion and death of Christ all his sins are now forgiven him and he is clothed with the perfect righteousness of the Son of God. Finally let each of us examine his conscience to see whether he resolves in all sincerity and gratitude to serve Jesus Christ as Lord and in all things to live by his commandment. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself. As we thus examine ourselves let us be assured that God will certainly receive in grace and welcome to the table of his Son all those who walk in this repentance and faith. On the contrary, those who are yet unrepentant or unbelieving eat and drink judgment to themselves if they partake. They are admonished by the Lord through his apostles to abstain from this holy supper, lest their punishment be made heavier. Therefore, we also charge those who willfully continue in their sins to keep themselves from the table of the Lord, such as all who trust in any form of superstition, all who honor images or pray to saints, all who despise God's word or the holy sacraments, all who take God's name in vain, all who desecrate the Lord's day, all who are disobedient to those in authority over them, all drunkards, gamblers, murderers, thieves, adulterers, liars, and unchaste persons. To all such we say in the name of the Lord that as long as they remain unrepentant and unbelieving, they have no part in the kingdom of God. However, the solemn warning is not intended, beloved in the Lord, to discourage the contrite hearts of believers, for we do not come to this supper claiming any merit in ourselves. On the contrary, we come testifying that we seek our salvation apart from ourselves in Jesus Christ. By this testimony, we humbly confess that we are full of sin and worthy of death. By this testimony, we also confess that we believe the sure promise of God. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins. and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This promise assures us that no sin or weakness which still remains in us against our will can hinder us from being received by God in grace and accounted worthy partakers of His heavenly food and drink. Thus assured, let us at the appointed hour come with quiet conscience and fullness of faith to keep this sacramental feast which our Lord appointed to be a continual memorial of His atoning death until He comes again. that we may obtain help in this, let us implore God for His grace. Shall we pray? Almighty God, our Father, by whose law all men are tried and by whose gospel we have hope, we, Your servants, look to You for help in the self-examination to which we have been called. Father, we thank You for the table of our Lord, which You give to us as a sign and a seal of the work of Jesus Christ, accomplished on the cross, of His death, of His resurrection, of the nourishment for Your people for eternity. And indeed, O Lord, You have called us to participate in the power of Your Spirit in the most important activity of self-examination. We pray, Father, that You would expose to us, to our consciences, the hidden depths of our hearts, any secret sins that we have not yet confessed before You, O Lord, help us to do just that in this coming week. Our daily sins, O Lord, give us the assurance that they are indeed forgiven for the sake of Jesus Christ. Help us on the coming Lord's Day to come with confidence in Jesus Christ and Him alone. To come to Your table, to dine with Your people, Your beautiful church, and her head, even Jesus Christ. Lord God, fill us. Fill our hearts and lives with Your Holy Spirit. Fill our hearts and lives in every part with praise. And may we give to You the glory and the honor and praise that You alone deserve. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray all of these things. Amen.