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Lk 8,4-15

(128i) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Bearing fruit >> Living a fruitful life >> Be fruitful and multiply >> Growing spiritually

Lk 8,4-8

(225h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about the garden of the kingdom >> Parables about seeds -- These verses go with verses 11-15. The person whose seed fell along the road never got saved; the person whose seed that fell on rocky soil got saved but fell away; the person whose seed fell among the thorns depicts the worldly Christian. He has compromised his faith, and as a result his spiritual growth was stunted and was unable to bear fruit, which defined it as dead. The person whose seed landed in the good soil is the exemplary Christian. The first three seeds never made it to heaven, but the last seed did. The good soil is where a seed is planted and grows almost without fail, and notice that there are no competing plants growing around it. Essentially, Jesus is talking about a garden. Good soil would be where every known plant should already be growing, but the soil is bare, because it has been prepared for a special seed. This requires a gardener, where God prepares the garden of some people’s hearts. By this parable He is also alluding to the idea of Christianity dominating a certain area, region or country, and making the whole of it a garden, a nurturing environment where faith can grow and Christianity can flourish.

Lk 8-4

(143k) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Jesus is popular because of His words

Lk 8-5

(74l) Thy kingdom come >> Let not your heart be hardened >> Insensitive to the things of God -- This verse goes with verse 12. The seed beside the road never had a chance; it was taken from the sack and thrown on the road and destroyed. Even if no one stepped on it or the birds didn’t eat it, it still wouldn’t have grown because it fell on hard-packed dirt that the roots could not penetrate. The hard-packed road represents the condition of a person's heart.

(164f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan’s system of authority >> He is the prince of the power of the air -- This verse goes with verse 12

Lk 8-6

(207a) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> Perish By Losing Your Faith >> The apostasy (walking out the same door you came in) -- This verse goes with verse 13

Lk 8-7

(172d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> Worldliness in the Church -- This verse goes with verse 14. Jesus used thorns in His analogy to emphasize the kind of influence the world has on people of faith. It is not enough to simply rob the newborn Christian of sunlight but to goad them in the process. The thorns represent the unpleasant, abrasive and unbelieving people of the world whose touch is painful. Christians should not have thorns; it should not be odious to be around them, except to be pierced with the conviction of sin, but that pain is with a promise of benefit, whereas those who inflict pain just to be around them is a sign they are not Christians.

Lk 8-8

(106e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Attaining the hearing ear >> Having the ability to hear

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Lk 8-10

(108i) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Revelation of the mysteries of God – There are three kinds of people in the world, those who have ears to hear, those who don’t, and those who hear but do not understand. If we are like the disciples and can hear but cannot decipher what He is saying, then we are between chosen and not chosen, in that though they were literally chosen by Jesus Christ Himself, yet the Holy Spirit didn't come until Pentecost. In our case, though, the Holy Spirit has come and we are nearing the end of the age of grace, so that if we cannot hear Him, other reasons may be involved.

(168l) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world has deaf ears to God >> God does not speak to people who will not hear Him – The least amount of interpretation is usually the most accurate rendition of the Scriptures. We know what He meant by His parables, though the people of His time did not, because they were not ready to hear it. Had they rejected Him after telling them the plain truth, their judgment would have been far worse; He was sparing them by speaking to them in parables, so God couldn’t judge them, since they didn’t understand what He was saying. Meanwhile, Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecy of their Messiah preaching the gospel (Lk 4-18,19), "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord” (taken from Isaiah 61-1,2).

(186k) Works of the devil >> The result of lawlessness >> The reprobate >> God’s role in forming a reprobate >> Rejected by God – Those who do not seek the knowledge of God never find Him even if He stood in their presence and spoke the word of God directly into their ears and still not heard a word of it. They choose not to hear it. Also, how is it that God is rejecting them if they are the ones rejecting Him? They are the ones choosing to remain ignorant and refusing to ask Him for an explanation.

(219d) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> God transforms the world into the Church >> God chooses to speak to whomever He wishes – God’s gracious choice is indeed a real concept in the Bible. There are some who are chosen to hear and believe the words that God would speak to them and be welcomed into His Heaven, and there are others who are not chosen. His parables conveyed the truth to those who wanted to know God and effectively shut out those who didn’t, yet there is something much deeper transpiring here. Most theology oversimplifies predestination, saying that God chooses some and hardens the rest. The thing people don’t understand about predestination is that man’s choice has an equal part in God’s salvation, so that God does not attempt to choose a person who doesn’t want to be saved and find Himself in a wrestling match with him. God is willing to fight for a human soul so long as it is not in vain. Freedom is the primarily motivation of God, and for this reason He is unwilling to infringe on our will, otherwise He would inadvertently redefine us as no longer made in His image. Keep in mind, that anyone could have asked Jesus to explain His parables; His disciples did; anyone else could have too, but they didn’t. Had He explained the parable to them, they would have understood it.

(221b) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Kingdom hidden behind the veil from the world >> God hides from man’s ignorance >> God hides from those who are looking for Him – Some gathered around Jesus to see His miracles, but others sought to hear His word and to be convinced through His miracles. To those who were not seeking His truth, His parables went in one ear and out the other, and Jesus never explained Himself to those who didn’t want to know. They never understood what Jesus was saying, so God couldn't judge them for doing nothing with the truth. 2Pet 2-21 says, “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” In other words, Jesus speaking in parables was yet another act of mercy. God hides His kingdom from those who are not looking for Him, and He shows Himself mute to those who refuse to hear, as Mat 7-6 says, “Do not give what is holy to the dogs; nor cast your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you in pieces.”

Lk 8,11-15

(225h) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Parables about the garden of the kingdom >> Parables about seeds -- These verses go with verses 4-8

Lk 8,11-14

(203i) Denying Christ >> Man chooses his own destiny apart from God >> Back-slider >> Withdraw from obeying God >> Withdrawing from the truth

Lk 8-12

(74l) Thy kingdom come >> Let not your heart be hardened >> Insensitive to the things of God -- This verse goes with verse 5

(164f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan’s system of authority >> He is the prince of the power of the air -- This verse goes with verses 22-25. The devil is effective when he has wings like a bird and can fly. The prince of the power of the air does not want to be grounded and possess a man in the form of the antichrist and be confined to the weakness of human flesh. Jesus defeated Satan in the weakness of human flesh, but when it’s the devil’s turn to wear our flesh it will not go well with Him. After Satan punished and tortured Christ and mercilessly hung him on a cross through the wickedness of evil men, God will mercilessly punish and torture the devil when he assumes a human form and then throw him and the false prophet alive into the lake of fire. See also: Satan (Prince of darkness); Lk 22,1-6; 19c

(183h) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Spirit of Error (Anti-Christ / Anti-Semitism) >> Spirit of the broad road >> Spirit of unbelief

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Lk 8-13

(207a) Salvation >> God makes promises on His terms >> Eternal security? >> Perish By Losing Your Faith >> The apostasy (walking out the same door you came in) -- This verse goes with verse 6. Those planted on rocky soil are happy with the gospel and with their newfound faith at first, but they never get rooted in the word of God, expecting God to do it for them. These are the ones who wait for God while God waits for them. Instead of using the power of God at their disposal to grow "strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus" (2Tim 2-1), they fall away. The Church’s contemporary depiction of grace is faulted with inaccuracies, such as the belief that we are passive recipients of everything God has for us. They quote Isaiah 64-6, “All our righteous acts are like filthy rags,” and say that they are unable to help themselves being so sinful. On the contrary, because they are so sinful they devise theology like that. While it stands true that our works outside Christ are filthy, yet He would have us do His works that He has prepared for us (Eph 2-10). Jesus said that those planted on rocky soil fall away, meaning they lose their faith, suggesting they won’t be going to heaven. Those who fall away will bring nothing but excuses into judgment with God, and it won’t go well with them. See also: Trail of good works (works that God has prepared for us) walk on this trail or perish; Jn 12-24,25; 55k

Lk 8-14,15

(137g) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Maturing in Jesus is hard work >> Maturity is the process of growing

Lk 8-14

(172d) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Tares among the wheat >> Communion between the world and the Church >> Worldliness in the Church -- This verse goes with verse 7. Seeds that fell among the thorns are those who get saved well enough, but they still love the world; they just can’t seem to let it go. They want this world and heaven too, but God wants us single-minded; He wants us all to Himself. He doesn’t want to share us with the world. He considers it a mistress and a prostitute whenever we fall prey to its flattery, pleasures and wealth. It is a trap that steals our attention, and before long we have replaced our faith with a theology that is willing to embrace both the Kingdom of God and this world, which is idolatrous and heretical. It is the theology of easy-believism.

(249j) Priorities >> God’ s preeminence >> Wealth >> World’s perception of wealth >> The world's wealth erodes good values >> The world’s wealth is deceitful

Lk 8-15

(100c) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance >> Persevere in abiding in Christ

(219d) Sovereignty >> God overrides the will of man >> The elect >> God transforms the world into the Church >> God chooses to speak to whomever He wishes – The existing concept of predestination, where God is by definition in absolute control while man remains a spectator, is just as absurd as the Church’s contemporary version of grace, where God does everything and man’s role is a mere receptacle of God's love and mercy. “To [those] it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God” (v10), “These are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast and bear fruit with perseverance.” These are all verbs, not pointing at God but at man, at the believer who bears fruit with perseverance. These verbs are too big to maintain the contemporary ideas of predestination and grace, where man's role is merely a passive spectator of God’s gracious choice. What then do we do with the word "perseverance"? Consider this statement: ‘God chooses us as we choose ourselves.’

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Lk 8-16,17

(112e) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Light >> Jesus light in us overcomes darkness >> The light of His truth – We should display our faith to the world as Christians, not as the Pharisees who displayed their false religion. The difference is they displayed themselves, whereas we are called to display the works of God. We don’t have to go around espousing our beliefs to everybody, for people will know we are Christians by our love. We should not let our Christianity be merely external or confined to the moral realm; people don’t know we are Christians by our moral ethics, for there are many moral non-Christian people. Being moral is not what makes us Christians, but the indwelling Holy Spirit, who leads us to do His works. We need to display the hope we have in Jesus, not in word only but also in our good behavior. We have no choice but to speak our faith if it dwells in our hearts, so don’t resist the Holy Spirit who wants to put His handiwork on display.

(153k) Witness >> Validity of the Father >> God bears witness against the world >> Shame >> Living for Jesus exposes sin >> Your walk with God puts others to shame – Our light can be an offense in a world of darkness. People may take offense at us, effecting our persecution, for the light is not partial, shining even on those who want to remain in darkness.

Lk 8-18

(222j) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Do not give what is holy to dogs >> Give to him who has >> Take from him who does not have – Jesus is referring to the light when He counsels us to take care how we listen to the word of God, for this is how we add to the brightness of our luminosity. Jesus is saying that if we possess only a little, it is grounds for taking it away from us and giving it to the one who has the most. That might sound unfair, but it is also the way of the world. It seems about the only universal principle that applies both to the kingdom of light and to the kingdom of darkness. God wants us content, but not with our spiritual immaturity. If we were born among thistles and are happy to be a thistle with them, He says beware, because what we think you have will be taken away from us. The world uses the same principle in its monetary system so that the more money we have the easier it is to get more. The more of whatever we have, the easier it is to obtain more of it, whether it's money or poverty or the anointing. See also: World (Social/Political issues); Act 21,30-36; 158i

Lk 8,19-21

(29i) Gift of God >> God is on our side >> God identifies with us >> Jesus is our brother – Jesus knew His own mother and brothers, but pointed around the crowd saying, ‘These are the ones who will be My mother and brothers in heaven.’ That is, we will be His equals. We are the children of God, just as Jesus is the Son of God. We are therefore the siblings of Christ and will inherit whatever Jesus receives from His Father. Imagine spending eternity with Jesus and sharing His status with the Father, seated next to Him. Paul made this clear, “He raised us up and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2-6). This is far beyond our imagination that God would give us such status in heaven; not even the angels have been given so much glory. 

(86k) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Be doers of the word >> Clothe yourself with the word of God >> Do the words of Jesus – Heaven makes all the things we must suffer in this life worth it. However, He made a condition for those who hear the word of God and want heaven, they must do what He says. In many other cases Jesus said, “He who believes in Me…” (Jn 11-25). What is the difference between believing in Jesus and doing what He says? They are the same, but a mere hearer of the word (not a doer) is not a true believer, as James taught in his epistle. Therefore, lets make sure we believe in Jesus by doing what He says.

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Lk 8,22-25

(22l) Sin >> Pride glorifies self >> Seeking the glory of man – The disciples woke up Jesus saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” Jesus awoke and quieted the storm, and then turned to the disciples saying, “Where is your faith?” What did He mean by that? Did He mean “Where is your faith” that they didn’t quiet the storm themselves, or that they woke Him only as their last option? They saw the storm foaming into a monster, and they felt the descending gale of wind coming upon them and the waves splashing against their boat, yet they left the Master of the universe snoring on the floor of their vessel. Jesus rebuked His disciples for trying to solve problems that only He could fix. They tried to handle the situation so they could earn fleshly bragging rights. That way when they successfully beached the boat on the other side of the lake, they could nudge Jesus and say, ‘Boy, you just missed all the action; we let you sleep because we figured you needed the rest.’ That would have filled them with pride. Instead, Jesus taught them a lesson that next time they should put down their pails and ask Him for help as their first response. When God solves problems that only He can, it bolsters our faith. He actually takes offense when we try to solve His problems because there is never a good motive behind it.

(23o) Sin >> Poverty (Oppression) >> Fear of death – The disciples feared for their lives on the Sea of Galilee; they didn’t want to die, so they woke up Jesus and asked Him for help with the storm. That actually sounds a little strange. Captains of giant ships have large vessels and heavy cargo, giving them stability in the water even during some of the biggest storms, but the ocean is even bigger and capable of churning up waves that would sink any ship. The captain never attempts to manage the storm itself, but turns the ship into the wind and waves and speeds up the prop and fastens the hatches and secures the hold. There is little else he can do except hope for the best that no rogue wave hits him broadside or that the storm doesn’t drive the ship into shallow water. In contrast, the disciples had a small boat but held an ace in their hand; they had Jesus in their boat and if facing against the wind and oaring into the waves wasn’t enough to save them, they would play their ace and wake up Jesus and ask Him for help, since they had already seen some pretty amazing things from this man.

(39f) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Victory >> He overcame every circumstance – A chill went down the spine of the disciples, giving them the creeps, but over time they recalibrated their thoughts and began to wonder what it might mean for them to hang with a guy who could calm the wind and the sea. This would invariably affect them somehow. First and foremost, He would demand all the more from them, so there were real reasons they feared Jesus, and it all points to the unknown. On the one hand, they had somebody who had the power to protect them in every situation imaginable, but on the other hand they had somebody who would call them to enter some very dangerous situations, requiring a level of faith they were not sure they could muster. Jesus had already talked to them extensively about faith; they knew where this was going, and now that they realized He could do virtually anything, He would tell them that if they had faith in Him He could do anything through them, and that was exciting and scary at the same time. This is exactly how God feels about us; it is how He wants to use our lives; He wants us to understand that He can do anything through faith in Him. Then there is the fear of failure, such as the next time they were in a situation like this Peter actually got out of the boat and started walking toward Jesus and he began to sink because he started to doubt. They feared for their lives, not because of the storm anymore, but because of what they knew Jesus would ask of them. They were beginning to understand that the miracle worker would want to perform miracles through them. This was the language Jesus spoke to them, and the more they saw His miracles the more they believed in Him, but also the more they were required to believe in Him. They didn’t have a choice; witnessing His miracles implicated them; now they had no excuse for their unbelief; now they must become conduit through whom God would perform miracles in the future, because they knew what He could do. So it works like a two-edged sword; Jesus’ miracles made it easier to believe in Him, but it also placed a greater demand on them.

(108h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Revelation of Jesus Christ >> Spiritual revelation >> Revelation of His identity – The truth of Jesus' identity sunk in a little deeper that day. When they met Jesus, He turned their common lives as fishermen into a living drama, but they had a hard time believing it. Their experience on the lake helped opened their eyes a little further to see His Father's authority reigning in Him. They knew He was the Son of God, but they didn’t really believe it on a practical level. This experience was by no means their ultimate revelation, for they had not even begun to believe compared to their faith at Pentecost, which was the formal beginning of a revelation of Jesus Christ. The Spirit is the only way for any of us to know God's truth. It must have been a source of frustration to finally understand Jesus only after He had ascended into heaven. The disciples spent 3½ years with Him and on the day of Pentecost they finally understood Jesus they way He wanted to believe. His anointing illumined their hearts to the truth, and suddenly all their thoughts about Him came to life. Jesus spent those years building the word of God in their hearts, so when He added the anointing, like the burning bush it burst into flames as living truth. When they received the Holy Spirit, they knew it was the essence of Jesus. Realizing they didn’t need His physical presence, the Spirit contained everything they needed for life and godliness.

(117d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Rest in Jesus (Sabbath) >> Let Jesus do the work >> Let Him work on your circumstances

(133k) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Holiness >> Having an awareness of God’s holiness >> The fear of God makes us aware of His holiness – With Jesus, nothing could harm them, yet they were afraid of Him. We fear the unknown. They suddenly realized this person in their boat was a complete stranger; they thought they knew Him, and now they must start from scratch broadening their perspective again, and paradigm shifts are always strenuous. They had a job to do; they had to come to terms with a more realistic view of Christ. They feared Him like an alien of a spaceship that came and settled on the earth and a life form hopped to the ground. We would instinctively fear it because we wouldn’t know what it could do or would do. They knew Jesus didn’t mean them any harm, but they still viewed Him as an alien, which is an accurate depiction of Him. They feared Him because they began to realize how different He was from them, yet eerily the same.

(162a) Works of the devil >> Satan determines the world's direction >> Carried away by the storms of the devil – Some of the disciples were seasoned fishermen and they were terrified; they had been on the Sea of Galilee many times, and they had braved many storms, but this one was obviously different. The disciples loved the Lord, never wanting to be anywhere but at His side, but sometimes it was a dangerous place; even on the lake the fishermen felt completely out of their element. Meanwhile, Jesus was totally in His element in the ministry having no fear of anything. The disciples thought they were entering their element when they set sail on the Sea of Galilee; they probably wanted to show Jesus their exceptional mariner skills, but they couldn’t cross the lake without His help, and their pride took a serious pounding. Things were different since they met Jesus; it seemed they didn’t even know how to keep a boat afloat anymore, but what they didn’t know was that Jesus had an invisible enemy, who was also their enemy, who knew only how to steal, kill and destroy.

(164f) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan’s system of authority >> He is the prince of the power of the air -- These verses go with verse 5. Remember that Satan, the prince of the power of the air, said he would return to Jesus at an opportune time; well, crossing the Sea of Galilee was an opportune time. Satan was trying to kill Jesus, and the disciples would have become collateral damage. The storm represents Satan, the waves represent a sea of people in the world, and the boat represents the Church. The lake itself represents a spiritual impasse that the disciples had to cross before they could minister to the demoniac in the country of the Gerasenes, just like the Red Sea was an impasse for the Israelites, which led to the promise land. Satan’s tactic is to stir up the world to destroy the Church; he has attempted this countless times throughout the generations, persecuting God’s people to the death, but with Jesus in their boat all of Satan’s efforts were in vain.

Lk 8-22

(140e) Temple >> Temple made without hands >> Hiding place >> The entrance exam

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Lk 8-23

(1l) Responsibility >> Avoid offending God >> Carrying a false burden >> Taking on responsibilities that are not yours – It was good that Jesus was in their boat, but it was bad that He was asleep. This is the scenario transpiring in the Church today, the very picture of apostasy. The disciples were carrying a false burden by trying to save their own lives during a storm that was greater than themselves. With Jesus in their boat, they were responsible to awaken Him and ask Him for help. Any other response was unbelief, which is offensive to God.

(37f) Judgment >> Judgment of God >> Jesus’ humanity >> Jesus had human limitations

(125k) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Peace >> God is at peace >> The God of peace – During a storm of this caliber, the boat was filling with water. It says He was sleeping on a cushion, which must have kept Him above the rising water line. How exhausted would a person be to sleep through a storm like this? Jesus had a peace about Him that could sleep through anything. The disciples didn’t know what Jesus could do when they woke Him; they saw Him heal people though His touch, even raising some from the dead and feeding five thousand people with food enough for only one person. Some of the disciples were fishermen and were accustomed to being at sea with storms and knew this one was big enough to swamp their boat. After He calmed the storm they were amazed; apparently they didn't expect Him to do that, so what did they expect Him to do, perhaps hand Him a pail, maybe one more hand would turn the tide? Once Jesus calmed the storm they were so amazed at Him they began the fear Him more than the storm. They should have been all the more excited to learn that He had power over the elements. Being with Jesus had apparent risks, yet being with Jesus in a raging storm was safer than hibernating in bed on a Saturday morning.

(182l) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Unaware of the spirit world – The disciples didn’t recognize this storm as coming from the devil but as it appeared, just another storm; they had seen lots of them and braved them all. Maybe if Jesus weren’t with them it would have been just another storm, or the storm wouldn’t have come at all. When we invite Jesus in our boat, we can expect storms beyond the ones that naturally occur. Some people spiritualize everything so that every storm is from the devil, yet not every storm is from the devil. When we are following Jesus and He is in our boat and asleep, we can be suspicious about the storms that assail us. Satan waited for Jesus to fall asleep before he threatened the disciples’ lives, and note that the devil was more after Jesus than the disciples, trying to catch Him off guard. When we think about Him lying on the bottom of the boat on a cushion where all the water collected, He was soaking wet yet still asleep. We can explain some of this by the fact that He was the very epitome of peace, and we can also say that Jesus was probably exhausted, more than His disciples, why? He often lost a night sleep in prayer with His Father, being the only time He had; and when day came, they were back on the mission field. He had things to do, places to go and people to meet. They couldn’t stop because He was tired, so he would catch a nap whenever possible.

(245l) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Manifestations of the devil >> Manifestation of the prince of the power of the air -- This verse goes with verse 33. The antichrist will capture the minds of the vast majority of the developed world through ignorance of the Scriptures. He is called the prince of the power of the air, and so in a spiritual sense he had been dominating the world through the airways. Ever since man fell into sin, Satan has been ruling the skies above him, but prior to coming in the flesh, this false Messiah was removed from the atmosphere of social consciousness. Essentially, Satan will be pushed into a corner through spiritual warfare and forced into the body of a man, after he is extricated from the spiritual realm, the first heaven, understood as the consensus of society. The mind of the general public has always been the domain of Satan, and the television set has been his favorite invention, because it made his job so easy. It is the perfect satanic communication devise that has been beaming his messages for the last hundred years. See also: Christ subdues His enemies through the Church (Satan is extricated as prince of the power of the air); Jn 2,13-17; 175b

Lk 8-25

(88i) Thy kingdom come >> Fear God >> Fearing the power of God is the beginning of wisdom -- This verse goes with verses 34-37. The mind of man is hard-coated with an exterior that readily believes facts and information about the natural realm, but reluctantly accepts the things of the spirit. It was difficult for Jesus to break through the disciple's encrusted hearts, more difficult than quieting a violent storm that was threatening their lives. “They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another who then is this that He commands even the wind and the water and they obey Him.” The Bible talks about the fear of the Lord being the beginning of wisdom. The disciples became afraid of Jesus perhaps more than they feared the storm just seconds earlier, though they knew Jesus loved them. This may have been the experience that started them realizing He had all power in heaven and on earth and could do anything, but hadn’t realized the full implications of His deity. They thought they knew Him, but all they really knew for sure was that He loved them, and they clung to that for mercy, just like we do.

Lk 8,26-33

(39ia) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus defeated Satan’s authority >> The demons are subject to Christ – Jesus could have commanded the demons into the abyss and they would have had to go. There were angels all around Jesus and they would have performed the word of Christ and grabbed the demons by the scruff of the neck and pitched them into the abyss, but since this was not yet the will of the Father, this statement is moot. Where is the abyss? When we talk about the spiritual realm; the word “where” is not an appropriate term. The spiritual realm is all around us; the abyss is everywhere and nowhere at the same time, just like heaven. These things are presently incomprehensible to us.

(46f) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Fall of Satan >> Resisting Satan’s deception – The man ran to Jesus, and as he was approaching, the demons dominated the man’s will and spoke in his place. Had it been purely up to the demons, the man would have run the other way. The demons said to Jesus, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God. I beg you, do not torment me?” The demon spoke in plural form and in singular form at the same time and were right on both counts, for there were more than one of them and they were united. Since the words "demon" and deception are one, the demons spoke deception to Jesus, pointing out that Jesus was opposite them. The demons added this statement, “What do I have to do with you…” to mean, ‘Leave us alone,’ as though the demons could order Jesus to do anything or control the condition of their relationship. Jesus primarily came in the flesh to forgive man's sin, but He also came to defeat His (and our) spiritual enemy, the devil. Another point of deception was that Jesus did in fact have business with Satan to take back the authority that originally belonged Adam. Jesus never allowed the demons to speak while exorcizing them because they were deceitful; they would attempt to trick people into believing something false about them or about Jesus, so He would not have asked the demons their name. Rather, Jesus asked the man his name to give him an opportunity to exercise his will over the demons, but the demons spoke in his place. Jesus didn’t care what the demons called themselves. These were highly rebellious demons; they were even rebelling against the Lord. He had been commanding the demons to come out of the man but instead of obedience they tried to argue with Him; just the fact that they spoke to Him was an act of insubordination.

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Lk 8,26-28

(146d) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Demon possession >> Human state >> They know the Holy Spirit – This was obviously not the man speaking, but the demons. The question is: since the demons were afraid of Jesus who had all power and authority over them, and since it appeared that the demons were in charge, why did this man approach the Lord? We are seeing a combination of two wills here. It wasn’t the demons that ran to Jesus, but the man seeking release, and the man did not know Jesus, but the demons did. They inadvertently communicated to the man about Him, the man perceiving in himself that the demons felt threatened by the Lord. The man’s soul and the demons were woven together, both knowing each other’s thoughts, but they had duel interests, (double-minded), the demons wanted to control the man while the man wanted freedom. When the man sensed that the demons feared the Lord, he ran to Him against the will of the demons, so their power over him was not absolute. That is, when a person becomes demon possessed, they still have a will; in other words, the demons have no more control than the host gives them. The demons must be invited to enter the host, but once they move in it is very difficult to evict them without a formal exorcism. Prior to his possession the man was most likely playing footsy with the demonic world, and they slowly overtook the man, probably making him promises and then breaking those promises. For this reason never mess with an Ouija Board; don’t even have one in your house. The reason Ouija Boards are so dangerous is they imitate spiritual principles. When we look at our own walk with the Lord, God never tells us very much about our personal future; instead, He wants us to walk with Him by faith; each step leads to the next. That is how the Ouija Board works. Many people can play the Ouija Board at once; each user places his finger on the Planchette, and it begins to move across the board, representing a merging of wills between the people and whatever spiritual forces may be involved. The demons communicate to the players by moving the Planchette from letter to letter, each movement on the board understood only as it arrives at its destination, just like our walk with the Lord, so it mimics the principle of walking in the Spirit. In a similar way there was a merging of wills between this man and the demons that possessed him. See also: Demon Possession (Going from bad to worse); 2Pet 2,13-22; 163a

Lk 8,28-31

(46l) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Jesus casts out demons – There were at least as many demons in the man as there were pigs in the herd of swine. The demons didn’t trick Jesus; He simply allowed all this to happen. The herdsman lost all his pigs; the demons were not chastised though they were forced out of the man, yet they were free to continue wreaking havoc on their next victims without any apparent consequences. They destroyed the pigs because destruction is all they know. They may have been trying to kill the man too, but they could not defeat his will. God has a different relationship with demons than He has with mankind, but their time is coming; there is no hope of redemption for them.

Lk 8,28

(150h) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Works of the Church bear witness of Jesus >> Speak the word of the Spirit >> Speaking the words that God speaks – The demons called Jesus “Son of the Most High God,” ironically suggesting that the demons knew Jesus better than the disciples, who just got off the boat and were given a deeper realization of His authority, and then heard the demons speak about Jesus on a revelatory level that was far beyond their own. The demons knew Jesus and in the distant past; they actually have seen Him in His glory reigning at the right hand of the Father. The problem with demons giving the revelation of Jesus' authority is that the word of God has no place in their mouth, since they have rejected His truth for themselves; for them to speak the truth is blasphemy and the ultimate deception!

Lk 8,29-33

(119j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Curse of sin is broken >> Bondage of Satan is broken

Lk 8,29-31

(65ha) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Satan brings unity >> Satan is united in his efforts to destroy mankind – There were five instances between verses 1-16 where Scripture referred to the demons as a single entity, even though it says they were many. These demons were united, for Jesus spoke to them also in the singular tense, so when we have all these demons working together as one, it is no wonder they have accomplished so much killing and destruction throughout the ages. We must look at the disharmony of the Church and its scattered administration as the work of Satan. The demons have unified their efforts against the Church to divide it and have greatly succeeded, and as a result, much of God’s will has never been accomplished.

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Lk 8-29

(146a) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Demon possession >> Human state >> Their behavior >> Superhuman strength

(146b) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Demon possession >> Human state >> Their behavior >> Epilepsy – Jesus did not deny that the person was having a seizure, and He also made it clear that demons had possessed him, so the two of them should be considered the explanation of epilepsy in some cases, for seizures open the door for demons to enter. This demon-possessed man did not always act insane, whether demons always lived in Him or came and went we don’t know. We do know that the man was powerless against them and lived among the tombs. Jesus also was driven in the wilderness by the Holy Spirit at His temptation and so they both lived for a time in places where people normally didn't live. When Jesus cast out the demons, the man became normal; if he had epilepsy it was healed, and he integrated back into society.

(160f) Works of the devil >> Led by the devil into the wilderness

(163j) Works of the devil >> Being a slave to the devil (Addictions) >> Used by Satan to destroy your own life

Lk 8,30-33

(35e) Gift of God >> God is willing to Give >> Ask to receive

Lk 8-30,31

(47a) Judgment >> God Judges the world >> Hell is a place of sorrow >> It is a great fire prepared for the devil and his angels >> The lake of fire – Demons know many things; they know their future, and they know about the abyss, whereas so-called Christians continue to debate it, though the Bible clearly describes such a thing as hell. Demons do not debate it. They know it exists and they know there is nothing they can do to avoid it. Even if they acted nice, they would still be thrown into the lake of fire. In their mind there is no point in being nice when it will do them no good, so they might as well enjoy wreaking havoc on the human race. Their goal is to take as many people with them to hell as possible. They also know they will be judged based on the amount of evil they have done; the more destruction they cause, the greater their judgment, so we should take into account that demons are self-deceived; they are the authors of denial. Therefore, when we see people in denial about hell, it is suggestive that they are being manipulated by demons. That is, denial is a sign of demonic activity, even as demons deny their own hellish destiny. Another version of the gospel put it this way; “Have You come here to torment us before the time?” (Mat 8-29). The demons know there is a certain time set by the Father when judgment will occur to them.

(181k) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Deceiving and being deceived – Demons are disembodied spirits, very much in tune with the spiritual realm and are dedicated to the goal of thwarting God’s plan. Had the demons not gotten involved in human activities and not hindered the gospel over the centuries, God may have already returned, which means that Satan’s time to be thrown into the abyss would also have come earlier. By this Satan thinks that he is delaying the time of his demise, but what he doesn’t understand is that he is fulfilling God’s purpose, for God willed that 2000 years should elapse before He returned in order for more souls to be added to His kingdom. What is ironic is that if Satan were to ever get his way and man quit believing in the gospel, God would drop the curtain and bring an end to this age and consequently bring Satan's end closer into focus.

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Lk 8-31,32

(65a) Paradox >> Anomalies >> God helps Satan >> Jesus answers the devil’s prayer – Jesus could have had them thrown in hell, but look how merciful Jesus is to demons and He even answered their prayer. If Jesus is willing to answer the prayer of demons, how much more is He willing to answer our prayers?

Lk 8,33-39

(240i) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Taking away the key of knowledge >> Hindering people from entering the kingdom – The demons were exorcized from the possessed man and entered the swine, drowned them, and then entered the atmosphere as prince of the power of the air. Why this intermediary step with the pigs? Why didn’t they just enter directly into his preferred domain? Other versions of the gospel said they asked Him to leave because of what happened to their animals, for the farmers suffered a total loss in their herd of swine. The demon’s purpose in destroying the pigs was to anger the townspeople, so they would ask Jesus to leave. This was very strategic. If the demons got their way with Jesus, how much more do they get their way with us? The demons wanted Jesus to leave because Decapolis and the surrounding region of the Gerasenes was their playground. They had that whole area tied around their little finger, and this demon-possessed man was their trophy.

Lk 8,33-37

(167i) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil (Conspiracy) >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind does not receive the things of God >> It rejects God – When we think of the field of psychology as a whole and weigh its pros and cons, what it has offered society and what it has taken from it, the world says that psychology made a tremendous contribution to understanding ourselves. When we listen to the voice of secularism and its language of unbelief in God, and when we study the tenets of atheism, the teachings of psychology are rooted in them all. The world would say that psychology has done great things for humanity, but it has only armed man with a whole dimension of defenses aimed against God, arguing against Christianity. For example if we have a psychological anomaly in association with a brain disorder, they would say that demon possession doesn’t apply in contradiction of the Scriptures, but that everything can be explained on a secular level. In contrast, the word “seize” is the root word for seizure, and the Bible says that the demons seized the man, causing him to have erratic convulsions. When we take into consideration that after World War II, after the Nazi movement and after observing Hitler’s highly successful propaganda machine, psychology was born. When we think of psychology in terms of its roots in Nazism, it is easier to understand psychology has never had a positive moment.

Lk 8-33

(245l) Kingdom of God >> Spirit realm imposed on the natural realm >> Literal manifestations >> Manifestations of the devil >> Manifestation of the prince of the power of the air -- This verse goes with verse 23. It takes a demonic environment to produce a demon-possessed man. Demons cannot get much done when there is truth and light afoot. The more darkness in a region, the more demon possession. Imagine the difficulty some missionaries have had wrangling with demons in certain regions of thick spiritual darkness. Demons understand their realm, and they understand how humans think, and they know what to do to pull their strings and to sway the circumstances in their favor, but so did Jesus. The man who was once demon-possessed literally begged Jesus to let him come with them, not wanting to leave His side. He was afraid that the demons would return to him, but Jesus gave him a set of instructions, and he followed them, and for this reason he had no problem with demons again. Jesus’ instruction was to preach the gospel of the kingdom to his countrymen (Vs38,39), and he was faithful and did it, so when Jesus returned later to that area, the people were receptive to His word. What better evangelist than a living example of what God can do? That whole area knew this man, and here he was all cleaned up and presenting the gospel to them, and later many people came to Jesus to hear His word and to be healed of their diseases, but there was no mention of any demoniacs (Mk 7,31-37). The man the demons once possessed extricated them from his region by obeying the word of the Lord, and the people listened to him.

Lk 8,34-37

(88i) Thy kingdom come >> Fear of God >> Fearing the power of God is the beginning of wisdom -- These verses go with verse 25. Everyone was afraid of Jesus, as though He were an alien from another world, and they were right. His own disciples were afraid of Him as they crossed the Sea of Galilee, and now the townspeople in the country of the Gerasenes were afraid of Him. They were afraid of the demon possessed man just like the disciples were afraid of the Sea of Galilee, but when Jesus solved their problems, they transferred their fear to Him. The whole country of the Gerasenes had completely given up hope of helping this man who had disrupted their lives, yet Jesus the moment His foot touch their land healed him. It made the people just as afraid of Jesus as they were of the demoniac. As the Pharisees accused Him, perhaps the people suspected He was the ruler of the demons. The difference is: the Pharisees knew Jesus was the Messiah whereas the people of Decapolis did not.

Lk 8,35-39 

(8h) Responsibility >> Preparing to interact with God >> Preparing for revival

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Lk 8-38,39

(241b) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Obstacles in the way of the kingdom >> Ask but don’t receive >> Asking for something that is not in His will

Lk 8,40-48

(72c) Authority >> Transferring authority >> Men delegate authority by obeying the word – Jesus' anointing is transferred from faith to faith, the word of God made flesh, who often said, “It is your faith that has made you well.” Jesus played a passive role in this woman receiving the healing virtue of God, illustrating this statement. At the time He was following a man to heal his daughter when the woman touched Him, and He stopped, turned and asked, “Who touched Me?” Everybody in the crowd was touching Him, but He asked, ‘Someone just received a measure of My healing virtue?’ The woman fell at His feet and confessed that it was her. He answered, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.” Usually, He would lay His hands on someone, making it look like His hands were transferring the Power of God, but this case emphasized that the person’s faith was tapping into Jesus. Laying His hands on them was only helping them believe. The woman set the condition of her own healing; touching Jesus’ cloak was the flashpoint of transfer. Touching Jesus wasn’t necessary, as in the time Jesus remotely healed the centurion’s slave; it wasn't necessary for Jesus to go to this man's house to heal his daughter, but He went for his limited faith. Without Jesus we cannot be healed, just like without Jesus we cannot be saved. This is not a New Age viewpoint that would try to push Jesus from the equation. Our faith cannot heal us; Jesus heals us, but He needs our faith to complete the transfer by a revelation of Him. This is the kind of faith that heals and saves. For this reason He did not perform many miracles in His own hometown, because they did not believe in Him. “Faith is the substance [of God]…” it says in Heb 11-1. She had heard about Jesus and probably had seen Him at work healing other people, so she knew He could do this and knew He was willing. ‘I only need to touch Him.’ Jesus turned and wanted her to give glory to God. He also wanted to meet this person, because He loves people of faith. They make Him feel at home. Heaven is a place of faith; it is a place that could not exist without faith; God could not exist without faith. When we operate by faith, we are acting like God and we will be rewarded for it. See also: God's substance is faith; Jn 3-16,17; 253ja

(113j) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> The anointing >> Filled with the Holy Spirit – When she touched Him, He felt His anointing decrease a little and when He felt His anointing draining, He would go back to the mountains to pray and fill up again. Then He would come down and minister to people and pour out His anointing on everybody, returning later to the mountains for more. He poured out Himself on as many people as would receive Him.

(114h) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Jesus does God’s work >> All his works are done through the father >> Jesus exercises His will through the will of His Father – Now we know what Jesus had received, referring to the anointing, on the day of His baptism that kicked off His ministry. He was like a filled vessel who felt the power emanating from Him to heal the woman. It seemed there were two things happening at the same time: Jesus performed some miracles directly through His Father, such as calming the sea, and He performed other miracles through His anointing, such as healing this woman. Both were a direct result of His Father, so either way His Father was responsible for all the works that Jesus did.

(144k) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Healing >> Methods of healing >> Healed by touching Jesus – Jesus was very discerning of people’s faith, such as this woman who touched Him in a crowd. His disciples reminded Him that He was in the center of a large throng of people, and He said, ‘No, but I felt virtue leave Me,’ and that could have only happened through faith. She had a hemorrhage for twelve years, reached for Jesus, believing that if she could just touch the hem of His garment, she would be healed. This is an indication that we play a part in our healing through faith in Him, and power will proceed from the throne of heaven to heal those in need. We see very few healings in the world today, suggesting that an environment of faith and obedience is missing in the Church, instigating some teachings that God doesn’t heal anymore, but it could be that the Church doesn’t believe anymore. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, and if He was willing to heal people in the days of His flesh, then He is also willing to heal from heaven in our century.

(254d) Trinity >> Holy Spirit’s relationship between Father and Son >> Jesus is the life of the Spirit >> We live because He is life >> God gives life to our faith in Jesus

Lk 8-40

(143l) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> It is popular to follow Jesus -- This verse goes with verses 49-65

Lk 8-42

(143j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Jesus is popular because of His works

Lk 8-46

(70b) Authority >> Righteous judgment (outcome of discernment) >> Sensitivity To The Spirit

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Lk 8,49-56

(38h) Judgment >> Jesus defeated death >> Jesus is the resurrection

(107b) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Hearing from God >> Word creates faith >> Jesus’ words create faith

(143j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Witnesses of Jesus >> Jesus is popular because of His works -- These verses go with verse 40. Jesus told the girl’s parents to tell no one of this miracle, but He told the man who had been cured of many demons to tell everyone the great things God had done for him. The difference was in His popularity between the two places. When He returned to the region where He had been preaching and healed the girl, the last thing He needed was more publicity, for it was already difficult for Him to freely move around the countryside. 

(146j) Witness >> Validity of Jesus Christ >> Jesus’ works bear witness of Himself >> Purpose of Miracles, Signs And Wonders >> Proof that Jesus is the son of God >> That the Church may believe – After the father heard the news that his daughter had died, Jesus immediately supported the man’s faith, giving him reason to continue believing. It was important that the parents witness to their own daughter’s healing. They didn't really believe anymore than their friends and neighbors, but they had a vested interest in Jesus' success. In preparation to heal the girl, He was careful not to allow any unbelief in the house with them. He didn’t want unbelief anywhere near Him when he raised this girl’s body, for a couple of good reasons. First, unbelief had the negative energy to stifle Jesus’ ability to perform miracles, and second, He didn’t want unbelief taking credit for the works of God, otherwise known as heresy. Jesus was the very essence of faith, yet He needed those around Him to believe. Verse 53 says, “They began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.” Who was laughing at Him? There was no one in the house but Peter, James and John and the girl’s parents, and His disciples wouldn’t laugh at Him. Jesus tried to hem up their faith, but it was no use, so He used the faith of His disciples that allowed Jesus to raise the girl. So, Jesus performed this miracle in spite of the parents; the only thing they gained from this experience was their daughter’s life. Notice that Jesus did not perform a grand theatrical ceremony or give a long speech or offer a lengthy prayer before He raised the girl, leaving all the drama to someone else. He didn’t appeal to the emotions but to the faith of God and to the hope of man. Prior to Jesus beginning His ministry, there was no cause for anyone to believe in Him, so He went around preaching the gospel of the kingdom, filling the people full of faith, and while all the people were in a state of expectation, His ministry of healing was born, and the whole countryside began believing in Jesus’ healing ability.

Lk 8,54-56

(134e) Temple >> Your body is the temple of God >> Composition of our bodies is from the earth >> We are physically excluded from the spiritual realm – He ordered that something should be given her to eat, because she may not have been eating properly throughout the period of her sickness, and she would be most certainly hungry, indicating that she reentered the same body she left, only healed of whatever affliction killed her. Everything was the same except the affliction. She needed food to regain her strength and perhaps also to prove that she wasn’t just a spirit. It says, “her spirit returned,” but from where? While she was gone, where was she? It’s the question of the ages, but it is not the right question, because there is no such thing as "where" in the spirit realm, just like there is no when. There is no time in eternity, just like gold has no value on a planet that is made of gold. There is so much of it that it becomes irrelevant. So also, time and space are irrelevant to the spirit realm, a realm that none of us are capable at this point to understand.

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