Then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Luke 11:14-36 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

And He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. ¹⁵ But some of them said, “He casts out the demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” ¹⁶ Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. ¹⁷ But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. ¹⁸ And if Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. ¹⁹ Yet if by Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁰ But if I cast out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²¹ When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are secure. ²² But when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, that man takes away his armor on which he had relied and distributes his plunder. ²³ The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

²⁴ “When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ ²⁵ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. ²⁶ Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”

²⁷ While Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that carried You, and the breasts at which You nursed!” ²⁸ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and follow it.”

²⁹ Now as the crowds were increasing, He began to say, “This generation is a wicked generation; it demands a sign, and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. ³⁰ For just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. ³¹ The Queen of the South will rise up with the men of this generation at the judgment and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. ³² The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.

³³ “No one lights a lamp and puts it away in a cellar nor under a basket, but on the lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light. ³⁴ Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye is clear, your whole body also is full of light; but when it is bad, your body also is full of darkness. ³⁵ So watch out that the light in you is not darkness. ³⁶ Therefore if your whole body is full of light, without any dark part, it will be wholly illuminated, as when the lamp illuminates you with its light.”

Romans 12:21 says: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.In today’s text Jesus says: “When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it then says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come in and live there; and the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first.”  It is vital that when a person is healed or delivered, that they do not leave a void or emptiness. They need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. It is by the Holy Spirit that we overcome evil with good; we overcome the evil one with God.

In Matthew 16:13-19 it says: Now when Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah, or one of the other prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you yourselves say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”   In the same way that we must be fully filled with the Holy Spirit to overcome evil, when we stand against the gates of hell in the name of Jesus, we need to open the doors of heaven. When we bind evil, we need to loose goodness. When we bind darkness, we need to loose light. Jesus taught us to pray saying: Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We need to bind on earth the things that are not allowed in heaven and we need to loose on earth the realities of the heavenly realm.

In today’s text it says: He was casting out a mute demon; when the demon had gone out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out the demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test Him, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. But He knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and a house divided against itself falls. And if Satan also has been divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you claim that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Yet if by Beelzebul I cast out the demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. But if I cast out the demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”  The accusation against Jesus reminds me of the way those who support evil and darkness and tell lies accuse others of the very same things they are doing. They look for darkness in what is light and speak lies to cover the truth. In Isaiah 5:20 God says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! God’s word is truth and light. It does not change to align with the whims, the lust or the lies of our culture and society. James 1:19-22 says: Know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. We overcome evil not by our anger, but by being doers of what God says is good. In Matthew 5:14-16 Jesus says: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Heavenly Father may You be glorified in what I do. Lord Jesus, the Christ, may I be established, stand and walk in the revelation of who You are. Precious Holy Spirit, may I be filled to overflowing with You. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, both in and through my life. Amen.