“No Fear!
…the fear of evil”
(Luke 4:31-37)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
October 18, 2009
I. Introduction
A. The “No Fear!” craze
1. The tee-shirts and other clothes
2. Ricardo in the gym
a. “Fear Me!”
3. Then one day “Fear God!”
4. A changed man
B. Things that we may fear
1. The fear of a biopsy report
2. The fear of losing your job
3. The fear of running out of money in retirement
4. The fear of failing
a. Of not making the team
b. Not getting into a college
5. The fear of your children getting hurt
a. When they start driving
6. The fear of losing a loved one
a. Those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan
b. Skip and Tim Oliver in California
8. The fear of dying
9. The fear of a global depression or war
a. The Mayans and the year 2012
b. Fear of the end times
10. The fear of being alone
a. Growing old and alone
C. What others have written
1. Max Lucado
“We fear being sued, finishing last, going broke; we fear the mole on our back, the new kid on the block, the sound of the clock as it ticks us closer to the grave.”
2. Our kids are scared
a. 15 year old set on fire at school
b. Fear of going to school
c. Candis McClean
“Ordinary children today are more fearful than psychiatric patients were in the 1950’s”
D. God didn’t give you a spirit of fear
1. II Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
a. Fear…. “deilia” (di lee’ ah)
b. Timidity
c. Cowardice
2. He gave us a spirit of power….not fear
a. “dunamoo” (doo nam o’ o)
b. “dynamite”
3. The Christian should be:
a. Confident
b. Bold and courageous
c. Set free from fear and worry
E. The 125 imperatives from Christ
1. The second most common (with 8) is to love God and your neighbor
2. The most common appears 21 times
a. “do not be afraid” (fear not)
b. “Have courage”
c. “take heart”
d. “be of good cheer”
3. Examples from Jesus include:
a. Matthew 10:31
“So don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows”
b. Matthew 9:2
“Take heart (courage), son; your sins are forgiven.” (NASB)
c. Matthew 6:25
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.”
d. Luke 8:50
“Don’t be afraid. Just believe and she will be healed.”
e. Matthew 14:27
“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (NLT)
f. Matthew 10:28
“Do not be afraid of those who will kill the body but cannot kill the soul”
g. Luke 12:32
“Do not fear, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom”
h. John 14:1
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
i. John 14:27
“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”
j. Luke 24:38
“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?” (NLT)
k. Matthew 24:6
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.”
l. Matthew 17:7
But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
m. Matthew 8:26
“You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
F. The consequences of fear
1. Fear erodes our confidence in God’s goodness
2. Fear limits our vision
a. Two churches
3. Fear consumes our time and energy
4. Fear steals the joy from our life
5. It short-circuits “boldness”
*and God favors the bold
* “Dream no small dreams for they stir not the heart of God”
G. Today….the fear of evil
1. When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray
2. Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
*literally, “deliver us from the evil”
3. We are to pray for deliverance from the evil one
4. Today…..the day the demons shuddered
1. When Jesus confronted those possessed by demons
2. The demons groaned in terror when they heard Jesus
a. But why?
III. Text…Luke 4:31-37
A. The Authoritative Teacher (v. 31-32)
(31) Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. (32) They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
1. Capernaum
a. Visiting the ruins of the synagogue
b. On the north shore of the Sea of Galilee
c. About 20 miles from Nazareth
d. Peter’s home
2. They were amazed at his teaching (v. 32)
a. Why were they so amazed?
b. Because his message had authority
3. How to teach with authority
a. Sticking to the word of God
b. The power it brings
c. My awe when I first heard teaching with authority
4. Can only imagine hearing Jesus teach
5. But one group could not stand it!
B. The Anguished Demon (v. 33-35)
(33) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit.
1. Will be confronting demons throughout Luke
2. What the Bible says about demons…. 17 things you need to know
1. Demons are evil
2. Demons are spirits
3. Demons can possess people
4. Evil spirits called demons exist in the world
5. They were originally created by God as holy angels.
6. Their home was heaven where they served and worshiped God.
7. Through pride and rebellion they become evil.
8. Their leader was Lucifer, who came to be known as Satan or the Devil
9. He led one-third of those holy angels in a rebellion against God
10. As a result of their rebellion, they were cast out of heaven by God
11. They cannot be redeemed and are forever wicked.
12. Their future destiny is to be thrown into a lake of fire where they will be tormented forever
13. Until that time, they assist Satan in his evil ways in our world.
14. They are behind the world’s complex system of evil
15. They are real, they are personal and they are wicked.
16. Everybody who is not a Christian belongs to them in the sense of functioning under their dominating power
a. John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire
b. I John 5:19
We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
c. II Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
17. Demons are deceptive and prefer to operate as angels of light.
a. Can do more damage in a Seminary
b. Different when Jesus was on earth.
3. The shocking interruption (v. 33-34)
(33) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, (34) “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
a. While Jesus was sharing the good news
b. Demons seem to panic in the presence of Jesus
1. Luke 8:26-39…..The Gadarenes
2. “Do not torment us”
3. Is it time?
4. They begged Jesus, Please, please don’t send us to the pit.
4. What caused the demon to shudder?
1. His Preaching…..Luke 4:32-33
a. The demon is hearing the gospel….God’s word
b. Jesus is announcing that salvation has come
1. Deliverance from sin and death
2. His Purpose…..v.34
(33) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, (34) “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
a. “Have you come to destroy us?”
1. They knew why Jesus would come
2. And how it would lead to their demise
b. Note the “us” is plural
1. Speaking for all the demons
2. They knew that the coming of the Messiah would include the total end to the demonic activity
3. I John 3:8
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
c. And to send them to the Abyss
1. Luke 8:27-31
(27) When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. (28) When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” (29) For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man…
(31) And the demons begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss
e. They knew where he would send them
1. They just didn’t know when
f. Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’”
***why they shuddered
3. His Person…..v.33-34
He cried out at the top of his voice, (34) “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
a. Righteous men fall before a holy God
b. The sheer terror of one who is ultimately wicked in the presence of One who is ultimately holy
1. Luke 4:41 “Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’”
2. James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
c. Why the demons shudder in your presence?
1. Gal. 2:20 … I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
2. I Cor. 6:17 “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit
4. His Power…..v.35
(35) “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
a. No ritual or ceremony
1. No prayer or dialogue or discussion or binding or incantation
b. The demons’ immediate and total obedience
C. The Amazed People…..v.36-37
(36) All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” (37) And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
1. “Amazement” is wonder mixed with fear
2. Amazed that even the demons obeyed him
a. Matt. 9:33 Jesus had such power over demons that “The crowd was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’”
III. Summary
A. Gaining victory over the evil ones
1. Recognize their power and cunning
a. Ephesians 6:12
(12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
2. Pray for deliverance and protection
a. Matthew 6:13
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
3. Put on the full armor of God
a. Ephesians 6:10
(10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (11) Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
4. Avoid giving Satan opportunities
a. Don’t mess with things from the dark side
b. “If you don’t want to get caught up in a witch hunt…stay away from witches”
5. Reclaim ground given
a. Pray for deliverance
b. Flee from evil
6. Submit to God
a. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
b. Allowing God’s Spirit to fill you
7. Resist the devil
a. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
8. Claim the power of Christ
I John 4:4 “… the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Col. 1:13 “For Jesus has rescued us from the dominion of darkness”
I John 5:18 “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who is born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.”
9. Fear God
a. Commands
1. Rev. 14:7
“Fear God and give him glory
2. Heb. 12:28
“with reverence and godly fear”
3. Phil. 2:12
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”
4. II Cor. 7:1
“Perfecting holiness in the fear of God”
5. Psalm 111:10
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”
b. The Greek
1. The common word for fear is “phobeo (fob-eh’-o)
a. We get the word “phobia”
1. frightened
2. terrified
b. But is also used for “awe” and “reverence”
c. Both come into play with the fear of God
1. A sense of terror
2. Mixed with awe
“No Fear!
…the fear of evil”
(Luke 4:31-37)
Dr. Richard S. Koole
Chapel Pointe
October 18, 2009
I. Introduction
A. The “No Fear!” craze
1. The tee-shirts and other clothes
2. Ricardo in the gym
a. “Fear Me!”
3. Then one day “Fear God!”
4. A changed man
B. Things that we may fear
1. The fear of a biopsy report
2. The fear of losing your job
3. The fear of running out of money in retirement
4. The fear of failing
a. Of not making the team
b. Not getting into a college
5. The fear of your children getting hurt
a. When they start driving
6. The fear of losing a loved one
a. Those serving in Iraq and Afghanistan
b. Skip and Tim Oliver in California
8. The fear of dying
9. The fear of a global depression or war
a. The Mayans and the year 2012
b. Fear of the end times
10. The fear of being alone
a. Growing old and alone
C. What others have written
1. Max Lucado
“We fear being sued, finishing last, going broke; we fear the mole on our back, the new kid on the block, the sound of the clock as it ticks us closer to the grave.”
2. Our kids are scared
a. 15 year old set on fire at school
b. Fear of going to school
c. Candis McClean
“Ordinary children today are more fearful than psychiatric patients were in the 1950’s”
D. God didn’t give you a spirit of fear
1. II Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
a. Fear…. “deilia” (di lee’ ah)
b. Timidity
c. Cowardice
2. He gave us a spirit of power….not fear
a. “dunamoo” (doo nam o’ o)
b. “dynamite”
3. The Christian should be:
a. Confident
b. Bold and courageous
c. Set free from fear and worry
E. The 125 imperatives from Christ
1. The second most common (with 8) is to love God and your neighbor
2. The most common appears 21 times
a. “do not be afraid” (fear not)
b. “Have courage”
c. “take heart”
d. “be of good cheer”
3. Examples from Jesus include:
a. Matthew 10:31
“So don’t be afraid. You are worth much more than many sparrows”
b. Matthew 9:2
“Take heart (courage), son; your sins are forgiven.” (NASB)
c. Matthew 6:25
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.”
d. Luke 8:50
“Don’t be afraid. Just believe and she will be healed.”
e. Matthew 14:27
“Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (NLT)
f. Matthew 10:28
“Do not be afraid of those who will kill the body but cannot kill the soul”
g. Luke 12:32
“Do not fear, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom”
h. John 14:1
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”
i. John 14:27
“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”
j. Luke 24:38
“Why are you frightened?” he asked. “Why are your hearts filled with doubt?” (NLT)
k. Matthew 24:6
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.”
l. Matthew 17:7
But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”
m. Matthew 8:26
“You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”
F. The consequences of fear
1. Fear erodes our confidence in God’s goodness
2. Fear limits our vision
a. Two churches
3. Fear consumes our time and energy
4. Fear steals the joy from our life
5. It short-circuits “boldness”
*and God favors the bold
* “Dream no small dreams for they stir not the heart of God”
G. Today….the fear of evil
1. When Jesus taught the disciples how to pray
2. Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
*literally, “deliver us from the evil”
3. We are to pray for deliverance from the evil one
4. Today…..the day the demons shuddered
1. When Jesus confronted those possessed by demons
2. The demons groaned in terror when they heard Jesus
a. But why?
III. Text…Luke 4:31-37
A. The Authoritative Teacher (v. 31-32)
(31) Then Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. (32) They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.
1. Capernaum
a. Visiting the ruins of the synagogue
b. On the north shore of the Sea of Galilee
c. About 20 miles from Nazareth
d. Peter’s home
2. They were amazed at his teaching (v. 32)
a. Why were they so amazed?
b. Because his message had authority
3. How to teach with authority
a. Sticking to the word of God
b. The power it brings
c. My awe when I first heard teaching with authority
4. Can only imagine hearing Jesus teach
5. But one group could not stand it!
B. The Anguished Demon (v. 33-35)
(33) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit.
1. Will be confronting demons throughout Luke
2. What the Bible says about demons…. 17 things you need to know
1. Demons are evil
2. Demons are spirits
3. Demons can possess people
4. Evil spirits called demons exist in the world
5. They were originally created by God as holy angels.
6. Their home was heaven where they served and worshiped God.
7. Through pride and rebellion they become evil.
8. Their leader was Lucifer, who came to be known as Satan or the Devil
9. He led one-third of those holy angels in a rebellion against God
10. As a result of their rebellion, they were cast out of heaven by God
11. They cannot be redeemed and are forever wicked.
12. Their future destiny is to be thrown into a lake of fire where they will be tormented forever
13. Until that time, they assist Satan in his evil ways in our world.
14. They are behind the world’s complex system of evil
15. They are real, they are personal and they are wicked.
16. Everybody who is not a Christian belongs to them in the sense of functioning under their dominating power
a. John 8:44
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire
b. I John 5:19
We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.
c. II Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
17. Demons are deceptive and prefer to operate as angels of light.
a. Can do more damage in a Seminary
b. Different when Jesus was on earth.
3. The shocking interruption (v. 33-34)
(33) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, (34) “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
a. While Jesus was sharing the good news
b. Demons seem to panic in the presence of Jesus
1. Luke 8:26-39…..The Gadarenes
2. “Do not torment us”
3. Is it time?
4. They begged Jesus, Please, please don’t send us to the pit.
4. What caused the demon to shudder?
1. His Preaching…..Luke 4:32-33
a. The demon is hearing the gospel….God’s word
b. Jesus is announcing that salvation has come
1. Deliverance from sin and death
2. His Purpose…..v.34
(33) In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, (34) “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
a. “Have you come to destroy us?”
1. They knew why Jesus would come
2. And how it would lead to their demise
b. Note the “us” is plural
1. Speaking for all the demons
2. They knew that the coming of the Messiah would include the total end to the demonic activity
3. I John 3:8
“He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
c. And to send them to the Abyss
1. Luke 8:27-31
(27) When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. (28) When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” (29) For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man…
(31) And the demons begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss
e. They knew where he would send them
1. They just didn’t know when
f. Matthew 25:41
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels’”
***why they shuddered
3. His Person…..v.33-34
He cried out at the top of his voice, (34) “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
a. Righteous men fall before a holy God
b. The sheer terror of one who is ultimately wicked in the presence of One who is ultimately holy
1. Luke 4:41 “Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’”
2. James 2:19 “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”
c. Why the demons shudder in your presence?
1. Gal. 2:20 … I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
2. I Cor. 6:17 “But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit
4. His Power…..v.35
(35) “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly. “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
a. No ritual or ceremony
1. No prayer or dialogue or discussion or binding or incantation
b. The demons’ immediate and total obedience
C. The Amazed People…..v.36-37
(36) All the people were amazed and said to each other, “What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!” (37) And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.
1. “Amazement” is wonder mixed with fear
2. Amazed that even the demons obeyed him
a. Matt. 9:33 Jesus had such power over demons that “The crowd was amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’”
III. Summary
A. Gaining victory over the evil ones
1. Recognize their power and cunning
a. Ephesians 6:12
(12) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
2. Pray for deliverance and protection
a. Matthew 6:13
“And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”
3. Put on the full armor of God
a. Ephesians 6:10
(10) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (11) Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
4. Avoid giving Satan opportunities
a. Don’t mess with things from the dark side
b. “If you don’t want to get caught up in a witch hunt…stay away from witches”
5. Reclaim ground given
a. Pray for deliverance
b. Flee from evil
6. Submit to God
a. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
b. Allowing God’s Spirit to fill you
7. Resist the devil
a. James 4:7 “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
8. Claim the power of Christ
I John 4:4 “… the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
Col. 1:13 “For Jesus has rescued us from the dominion of darkness”
I John 5:18 “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who is born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.”
9. Fear God
a. Commands
1. Rev. 14:7
“Fear God and give him glory
2. Heb. 12:28
“with reverence and godly fear”
3. Phil. 2:12
“Work out your salvation with fear and trembling”
4. II Cor. 7:1
“Perfecting holiness in the fear of God”
5. Psalm 111:10
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”
b. The Greek
1. The common word for fear is “phobeo (fob-eh’-o)
a. We get the word “phobia”
1. frightened
2. terrified
b. But is also used for “awe” and “reverence”
c. Both come into play with the fear of God
1. A sense of terror
2. Mixed with awe