Second Samuel chapter 20, just keep your place there and we'll get to that in a minute. So did you all take the personality test is the question? So I've been asking some of you. Most of you have taken it. I've been asking what you are. My wife will probably be asking the ladies what you are. I'll tell you a little bit why later. But we've got a lot of results back from I think most of the people in the church have taken it so far. So let me ask you this. First of all Joab, what was Joab? Joab was an ENJT or as the personality test would say Joab was a commander. So who in here took the personality test and had it come out that they were a commander? Can we get a show of hands? Nobody, right? Because there's not that many. They're like 2 to 3% of the population and for good reason actually. So the personality test will get into what that means for you and we're going to have a sermon series on the personality test coming in the next few weeks. But basically Joab is a perfect example and you say oh commander that sounds really cool man. I want to be that one. Well if you look at the disadvantages and advantages of a lot of the personality tests I'm sure you went and you looked at the advantages first of your personality that it came out and then you look at the disadvantages of them. Some of them didn't have many disadvantages. It was like oh you're too nice. There's a real disadvantage, right? You're too nice to people and you're too feeling and you're too caring to people and it's like oh that's a real disadvantage, right? But there's a lot of disadvantages to the commander personality and Joab is a perfect example of an unchecked commander. If you look at the disadvantages which we talked about last week if you look at the disadvantages of the commander you'll read it and I'm going to read some of them for you towards the end of the sermon this evening but you're going to be like if you know the stories of Joab in the Bible you're going to be like oh yeah that fits perfectly into what Joab was. So he was a commander. Let's look at but there's some good things about the commander personality and that's what I want to talk to you about for about half the sermon tonight is the good things of Joab and he probably never heard a good sermon on Joab you know the good traits of Joab but you're going to hear one at least half of one this evening so let's talk about the good traits of Joab so first let me read you the good traits of a commander personality commanders are natural born leaders that certainly fits Joab people with this personality type embody the gifts of charisma and confidence and project authority in a way that draws crowds together behind a common goal you know there's a lot I mean this story in 2 Samuel chapter 20 you'll notice that there was people following Joab that there was people even when he murdered a guy people still follow Joab okay so he was able to get people to crowd around him and follow him however commanders are also characterized by an often ruthless level of rationality that sound like Joab or what? using their drive determination and sharp minds to achieve whatever and they've set for themselves if this I mean perhaps it's best that they make up only 3% of the population it says less they overwhelm the more sensitive personality types that make up much of the rest of the world we have commanders to thank for many great businesses and institutions we take for granted every day so the disadvantages we'll talk about later but basically this I mean that's a lot like Joab so first of all the advantages here's one of the specific advantage bullet points is they're efficient okay remember Amesa so Amesa gets killed in 2 Samuel chapter 20 but look you know Joab all he was doing by killing Amesa in his own mind was he was rooting out inefficiencies in his own immoral way is what he was doing so commanders see inefficiency not just as a problem in its own right but as something that pulls time and energy away from all their future goals an elaborate sabotage consisting of irrationality and laziness so they hate irrational people and laziness people with the commander personality type will root out such behavior wherever they go and that's exactly what Joab did with Amesa you know Amesa was late he was rooting out the inefficiencies you know by murdering him that was Joab's so first of all let me give you a positive thing about Joab it's this he was efficient and effective Joab was efficient and effective turn to 2 Samuel chapter 20 if you're not there already look at verse number 6 so what do we remember happened here so Amesa was charged with raising an army Absalom has just been put down that coup is over and now David comes back and this Sheba son of Bikri starts another coup attempt he starts another rebellion and David's just he just had it with this and he sends Amesa his new general by the way which is interesting we'll get to that in a minute he sends Amesa out to raise an army he gives him three days to do it and he takes longer than three days he's late look at verse number 6 and David said to Abishai so now he sees that Amesa has not come back in time now David said to Abishai which is Joab's brother by the way now Sheba the son of Bikri do us more harm than did Absalom take thou thy Lord's servants and pursue after him lest he get him fence cities and escape us and there went out after him Joab's men and the charathites and the pelithites and all the mighty men so here's all these mighty men and all these warriors going in their following Joab once again they're just following him and they went out of Jerusalem to pursue after Sheba the son of Bikri look down at verse number 16 so Joab he leads this charge he's not the general in charge anymore by the way Amesa was the general in charge but Joab just gathers everybody together with Abishai and they go out and they take all the mighty men and they go after this guy and then let me show you verse 16 then of course he kills Amesa and everyone's just standing there they're like oh man that's the general he's dead right there and they're like throw him in the ditch let's go and they throw him in the ditch and they all follow Joab after that look at verse 16 so now Sheba has gone into a city he's gone into a city into a walled city just what David was fearing and he's hiding there and Joab in his army his men get to the wall of the city and then this happens then cried a wise woman out of the city here here say I pray you unto Joab come near hither that I may speak with thee and when he was come near under her the woman said art thou Joab and he answered I am he then she said unto him hear the words of thine handmaid and he answered I do hear so she knew who Joab was and she knew what was about to happen and that's what gave this woman that's all it took for this woman to be wise and for this woman to have wisdom is just to know who Joab was and what he was going to accomplish she knew who he was she's like are you Joab she knew exactly who Joab was then she spakes saying they won't speak in old time there were want to speak in old time saying they shall surely ask counsel at Abel and so they ended the matter I am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in Israel thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in Israel why wilt thou swallow up the inheritance of the Lord and Joab answered and said far be it from me that I should swallow up or destroy the matter is not so but a man of Mount Ephraim Sheba the son of Bikri by name has lifted up his hand against the king even against David deliver him only and I will depart from the city and the woman said unto Joab behold his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall then the woman went up to all the people in her wisdom and they cut off the head of Sheba the son of Bikri and cast it out to Joab what do you think she said to those people what do you think she said to those people so I mean she goes in it doesn't sound like there was a huge debate here maybe there was and he blew a trumpet and they retired from the city every man to his tent and Joab returned to Jerusalem unto the king so what do you think she went and said to those people you think she went and said yeah there's this guy he's outside he's got this band of men and I don't know I don't know who he is or whatever no she went in there and said Joab's outside and if we don't give up this guy he's gonna kill us all that's what she said and it wasn't a long debate and they cut the guy's head off and they threw it over the wall because they knew who Joab was and they knew what he was gonna do because he was effective and he was efficient at whatever he put his mind to do okay look and Joab didn't put his mind to do much good but the point is when he said his mind to do something it got done it got done so Joab knew how to get things done and people knew who he was I mean think about all the military victories of Joab look David just knew that Joab could deliver a W that's what David knew about Joab he knew that when he needed a victory that Joab could bring it through and look to many leaders to kings to leaders of companies that guy's really valuable they just sometimes I mean morality aside a guy that you can just give a task to and you know it will just get done that's a super valuable person I mean having somebody in your organization that can deliver a win against all odds that's huge I mean all of you business owners in there imagine if you had a company full of people that you just gave them tasks to do and they just you knew that it would get done I mean it's very valuable and sometimes you just need a win but you could tell turn to 2 Samuel chapter 19 one chapter back you could tell now Joab like I said he was an unchecked commander he was efficient he was effective morality didn't have much to play in there what the Bible said what God wanted didn't have much to play in Joab's life but when he said his mind to do something it got done you cannot argue that look at 2 Samuel chapter 19 David you could tell that David was trying to find ways to reduce Joab's influence as David got older as his kingdom and his life near an end he was trying to find ways to reduce the influence of Joab and 2 Samuel 19 gives us one of those ways look at verse 13 so Amesa was Absalom's general Amesa was the general to the son that rebelled against David and David comes back after the victory and he makes Amesa his general look at verse 13 and say ye to Amesa art thou not of my bone and of my flesh their cousins God do so to me and more also if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab he gave Amesa Joab's job of the king of the army he tried to replace Joab he tried to replace Joab with Amesa he was trying to remove the influence of this man of this man that was just running over everybody doing what he wanted just you know in an efficient and effective way for sure but just he was trying to reduce him but here's the thing Amesa couldn't fill the shoes Amesa couldn't fill the shoes here they had a moral thing to do to try to put this rebellion down and Amesa couldn't get it done and Joab proves once again he steps right in of course he kills Amesa but he steps right in and he comes back and he tells the king it's done he gets the job done that Amesa couldn't do look I mean it's hard finding reliable people and you know as a leader you know people that can just get things done are a necessity you know the next time you know the next chapter the uprising occurs of course we just saw it but we see that's one good thing about Joab was he was a reliable and he was efficient he was effective for the king in many scenarios the next thing Joab turned to 2nd Samuel 19 verse number one Joab was and this is another characteristic of the commander personality he was not a yes man he was somebody who was very strong willed and he was a truthful counselor to David he was a truthful counselor to David and not a lot of people will be a truthful counselor especially when and I'm not saying he actually did it you know the right way in the way that you should give counsel but he was a truthful counselor to David look at 2nd Samuel chapter 19 so here Joab has just murdered Absalom against the king's will once again we talked about that last week but he's gone against the king's will and he's killed Absalom but the people Joab and Abishai and Itai they have won the battle for king David they have won the kingdom back for him and here David finds out that Absalom is dead and he's weeping for his son he's weeping he's crying for his son and Joab you know rebukes him in not a respectful way but look at and it was told Joab verse number one the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom and the victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people for the people heard say that that day the king was grieved for his son and the people got them by this by stealth that day into the city as people being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle so here what this says in verse number three is that what you had was this great wonderful victory was turned into a negative thing for these people and the people that had just been out fighting that had just been out fighting for David to regain the kingdom they were sneaking back into the city they were covering their heads and they because they didn't want to seem you know happy or when the king was sad okay so but the king covered his face and the king cried with a loud voice oh my son Absalom oh Absalom my son my son and Joab came into the house to the king and said thou hast shamed this day all the faces of all thy servants which they this day have saved thy life and the lives of thy sons and thy daughters and the lives of thy wives and the lives of thy concubines in that thou lovestine enemies and hate us thy friends for thou has declared this day that thou regardeth neither prince nor servants for this day I perceived that if Absalom had lived and we had all died this day then it had pleased thee well so Joab now therefore arise go forth and speak comfortably verse seven unto thy servants for I swear by the Lord if thou go not forth there will not tarry one with thee this night and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befall thee from thy youth until now so first of all this is good advice given in a bad way this is good counsel given in a bad way Joab is upset he's mad and he's just he's going up to David and he's like look he's like you're pretending like you hate all your friends you're pretending like I mean imagine how many of these people must have died in the battle I mean whenever you have a battle and one side wins and one side loses both sides lose soldiers especially hand to hand combat like we're talking about here I mean dozens, hundreds who knows maybe even thousands of people of David's people died this day and David is mourning for the enemy the leader of the enemy and that's what Joab is bringing up to him and I'm not saying Joab was not respectful here okay but he was telling him what he needed to hear albeit in a not in the right way okay turn to first Timothy chapter five look it's much I mean it's much better if you're going to give advice to be direct I mean you should be respectful but it's better to be direct than to be ambiguous and to be you know say things that are gray and people may misunderstand one way or another it would have been okay for Joab to just say hey King David I think this might be perceived the wrong way I'm sorry for your loss you know Joab couldn't really say that because he killed the guy but I mean you know I'm sorry for your loss but hey I think you're risking some things here people might take it the wrong way that would be a more sensitive way to give him the same advice but the point is at least Joab said something because many people would never approach a leader or never approach the King with any kind of advice at all look at first Timothy chapter five the Bible says rebuke not an elder but entreat him as a father and the younger man as brethren so I mean Joab kind of rebuke David here so that was his advice but look he did give advice on another occasion that was in a better way turn to 2 Samuel chapter 24 so once again we see that he's strong-willed and this is another thing another attribute of commanders they have very strong opinions they have very strong opinions and they will make those opinions known so if you took the personality test you know there was I don't know what was it one through five for I feel very strongly about this or I don't feel strongly at all and then there was all these things in the middle right if you the commander of Joab were to take that test he would have ones and fives that's all he would have he wouldn't have any twos he wouldn't have any threes he wouldn't have any fours it's all one or five and he would be done with the test faster than anyone in the room guaranteed because it's just like oh yeah one five five one one one one one five five five one one done that's it that's how Joab would take that test he's very strong-willed and they will make their opinions known and this helped David this helped David to a degree look at 2 Samuel chapter 24 David didn't always listen look at 2 Samuel chapter 24 verse 2 for the king said to Joab the captain of the host which was with him go now through all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba and number ye the people then I may know the number of the people so David is going to do something that's wrong here he's going to go and he's going to take a census of the people he's going to get himself in a lot of trouble and Joab is the one that stands up and says hey why are you going to do this you should think about this look at verse 3 and Joab said unto the king now the Lord thy God add unto thy people by the way that's why it's wrong you ever wonder why why did God get so mad when David took the census because David was showing a lack of faith David was showing a lack of faith in God because God told the children of Israel again and again and again and again in the Bible you will prosper through me you will prosper through me just kind of like this church will grow through the Lord there's nothing that we can do to just drag people in here and that's the problem with the church growth movement is they just focus on hey what can we do let's start a cartoon class or a puppet show and get some kids in here and we'll do all these goofy things and we'll serve ice cream and whatever and stand outside with signs or I don't know what churches do but here's what we do we do what we're supposed to do and the Lord will grow the church and we just have that faith that the Lord will grow the church but look David was going to number the people because he just wanted to know how many people he had and that was showing a lack of faith in God and Joab warns him here he says now the Lord thy God add unto the people how many so ever they be and a hundred fold and the eyes of my Lord my King may see it but why doth my Lord the King delight in this thing and I mean look God doesn't even want you you know having that's another thing God will grow the people but also he wants your faith in him because God doesn't need people God doesn't need massive numbers remember Gideon he's like send him home send more home send more home to the point where there's only 300 left against tens of thousands of people in the other army and why was it because the God said I want you to know that the victory was mine and not yours so God doesn't need the numbers and he will grow the numbers if he chooses to grow the numbers so just a complete lack of faith on David's side but it was Joab that told him and of course we know the rest of the story he does it anyway but the point I'm trying to make is Joab was not a yes man he was strong willed he was effective he was efficient and he was driven these are all good things on their face the problem in Joab's life was that the good things can be outweighed by character flaws look the personality test it does not the personality test it does not define your character that personality test that you took and you read those advantages and those disadvantages that's not your character those are your tendencies I mean think about the personality test for Joab he's strong willed but what was he but he was strong willed towards selfish goals I mean he's effective I mean he's extremely effective most of the things that he was effective in was doing evil but he was effective I mean the thing is just dead on when it describes Joab he was efficient he was extremely efficient most of the time he was efficient at pushing his own agenda and not David's agenda especially not God's agenda so he was efficient for sure I mean he was driven towards the wrong things he was driven towards the wrong things the personality test does not reflect your character so don't be depressed so when I told my wife the results of my personality test and she read the dis... hey don't be depressed don't be depressed it shows your strengths and your weaknesses that's what it does but you must apply the Bible on top of that so we're going to have an upcoming sermon series on the top three to four personalities in the church and that's going to be sporty so Joab's weaknesses now let's look at the weaknesses according to the personality test and I didn't want to give this away until the end of the sermon last week but basically this is the commander weaknesses now just tell me if this sounds like Joab if you know the stories of Joab in the Bible stubborn and dominant sometimes all the confidence and willpower can go too far and commanders are all too capable of digging in their heels trying to win every single you know debate and pushing their vision and theirs alone they're intolerant it's my way or the highway people with the commander personality type are notoriously unsupportive of any idea that distracts from their primary goals and even more so of ideas based on emotional considerations sermon's over you know what I mean but I mean that is so true and that is something that you have to work on I mean you work on your disadvantages look at those disadvantages look is that right is that right to just disregard anybody else's feelings at all times that's not right to do that and it's not going to be effective dealing with other people either but knowing that you have tendencies towards that is extremely valuable Joab didn't care about anybody's feelings at all I mean think about when he killed these people he didn't care about how that was going to affect David he didn't affect how it was going to affect the kingdom he didn't care about any of it he just cared about revenge that's what he cared about here's another one impatient some people need more time to think than others and an intolerable delay to quick thinking an intolerable delay to quick thinking is the commander's personality they may misinterpret contemplation as stupidity or disinterest in their haste a terrible mistake for a leader to make so look you don't want to be late around a commander I mean they take it you know they take it the wrong way here's another one I was not even going to read this one because it's not even they're arrogant commander personalities respect quick thoughts and firm convictions their own qualities and look down on those who don't match up this relationship is a challenge for most other personality types who are perhaps not timid in their own right but will seem so beside overbearing commanders so I mean this one I mean this one should be completely checked by the bible because there's really nothing in the bible because it's good to be arrogant because the opposite of that is being humble so commanders need to work on humbling themselves a lot and Joab didn't do a very good job of that and here's another one poor handling of emotions all this bluster alongside the assumed supremacy of rationalism makes commanders distant from their own emotional expression and sometimes downright scornful of others people with this personality type often trample others feelings inadvertently hurting their partner and friends especially in emotionally charged situations and then the last one if this doesn't describe Joab I don't know what does they are cold and ruthless their obsession with efficiency and unwavering belief in the merits of rationalism especially professionally makes commanders incredibly insensitive in pursuing their goals dismissing personal circumstances sensitivities and preferences as irrational and irrelevant so Joab this is why Joab look, he had no forgiveness he had no forgiveness he had no forgiveness at all when these things when his brother was killed when Absalom betrayed the kingdom he had no forgiveness it was just revenge, that was it unchecked commander that's Joab to a T vengeance and revenge I mean he was just emotionless about killing people look, don't leave the church wait till we get to the end alright, so some good some good we see but completely especially in Joab's case completely outweighed by the bad because he used the advantages of who he was towards just being in the flesh basically what he wanted so the upcoming series what the personality test means for you is that you can look at these things they will be very accurate to your tendencies I'm telling you you can look at these things you can be aware of these disadvantages you can watch for them and then you can change them but here's the trick years ago I took this test let me give you an example I had to take this test it was a very complicated version of this test hundreds and hundreds of questions and this company that I worked for it was a different industry I came from the semiconductor industry which was very cutthroat and they encouraged you to be cutthroat they encouraged you to be in a meeting with 15 people and if somebody said the wrong thing you were encouraged to just cut them into the ground and just basically call them an idiot in front of everybody because they didn't want stupid ideas I was in my 20s I liked it I'm like this is good we don't want dumb ideas okay but I came from this type of culture of a company and I came into a different industry into the utility industry and they wanted managers that were a certain way so I took the test and you know way down in that quadrant down there and they're like okay and here's the funny thing they were correct they were correct because they did not want leaders that would just come in and manage a project and just run over everybody and the first project I actually had with this company I'll never forget it and I ended up working with these same guys for the next almost 10 years and it just became a great team but the first project I ran I did not run well because what did I do? I just came in and I was like here's how we're doing it they're like what about this we're going this way well you can do this guys with 30 years experience 40 years experience well what about this we could use this valve I know what I'm doing this is the way we're doing it and pretty soon we finished the project but I was pretty much standing by myself by the time the project was done it's not the right way to do things it's not the right way to do things I mean the way that this company they actually taught me to kind of put those things to the side and collaborate with people I mean a church is different I'm talking about a work situation but look collaboration is a good thing that have strengths and technical experience that can be used to make a better product to make a better project I mean I believe in it I didn't believe in it back then but look there are things that you can apply to your disadvantages in the personality test that will make you a better Christian you can apply the Bible to your disadvantages and it will make you a better Christian Joab I mean look Joab had some strengths but they were wasted they were not applied the right way and it defined his entire life in a negative way so the biggest key the biggest key is this though the biggest key when we go into this series and even in Joab's case even in your case as we listen to these sermons and even for sermons whatever sermons or whatever you read in the Bible the biggest key is this the biggest key is the willingness to change is the willingness to change I mean you take the personality test you go read your advantages and you're like yeah I'm great you know and then you read your disadvantages and you're like okay but look here you can successfully mitigate those disadvantages if you're just willing to change and look the personality test is a secular thing and you might find that some advantages that they list are actually disadvantages when we start applying the Bible to it so when you apply the Bible to the traits that these personalities assign to you you might find that you might need to suppress or you know bring out some disadvantages or advantages or vice versa but the bottom line is this you have to concisely change and that's a very difficult thing for most people for most people they kinda are who they are and I'm learning this more and more as I get older but that's why that's why secular industry and secular studies and HR groups that's why they put so much stock in these tests because most people are not going to change most people by the time they get to be 30 years old by the time they get to 30 years old or maybe even younger they're kinda who they are their music is set their ideas are set but look how many times have we seen change people's lives the Bible is not some self-help book written by whoever the Bible is the one thing that can actually what does it do? it cuts to the heart and if you let it it will change you so if you let the Bible if you just drop this is kinda what you just have to do you just kinda have to be the type of person that's like well if it's in the Bible I'm just gonna do it but I still remember after I got saved and I started reading the Bible there was a lot of things I was like that's not how I was raised you pretty much just have to realize that everything that you were taught was wrong and just decide in your mind as you read the Bible as you learn the Bible as we preach the Bible here that if it's in the Bible I'm just gonna believe it and if that requires a change in my life I'm gonna do everything that I can to do that and then you know how do you think we all have the same spirit if we're saved but we're all following the same rule book here we're all trying to make the same changes looking at the same goal that's how we all get along so well here even though we all have these different personalities we all have these different personalities advantages I mean we're not all an arm we're not all a leg it kind of sounds like Paul invented the 16 personalities test you know we all can't be an eye or an ear we have to have all these different things but we do all have to be focused on what's right and what's wrong because you can't just have people like Joab in a church I mean look what he did to a kingdom you can't have people like this just running unchecked organization or a church unfortunately Joab would probably do pretty well out in the world but look if that's the reason that secular studies put so much into this and that's why you'll hear all this stuff today like I mean who's heard this philosophy hey you just gotta be yourself just find out who you are remember those guys out there brother Frank be yourself bro be true to yourself bro that means basically take all the traits that you have that you were born with any fleshly desire that I have be yourself bro just go in that direction that's the opposite of the bible no we're supposed to listen to the bible and our flesh pulls us this way and the bible says no you can't do that you have to go this way and we make that change that's the flesh versus the spirit that's the whole thing so take the personality test and you might be like yeah these are my tendencies but if those are fleshly tendencies leading you towards sin against the bible that's gotta change and that's what we're gonna talk about we're gonna go through the personalities if there's like one personality I'm not gonna do a sermon on it cause I'm not gonna preach an entire sermon against one person even though I'm kinda preaching a sermon against myself these last two sermons I'm reading these traits and I'm just like I can't believe I'm reading this out loud right now that's why my wife cried she's like commander she's reading it it's gonna be fine so we're gonna have a series on it we're gonna go through these traits we're gonna look at what the bible says and we're gonna look at hey you know what this might mean that you wanna go in this direction in these types of scenarios but here's what the bible says the bible says you should do this I'm gonna help you there's just some practical preaching and personalized preaching on this stuff so Joab was an unchecked personality okay so if you're an unchecked personality say yeah but I'm not a commander it doesn't matter you could still be an unchecked personality if you are an executive I've never seen so many executives in one group of people by the way there's like five executives in this church I have to go study that one I don't know what that means if it's good or bad the thing is if you're just an unchecked whatever the disadvantages are really gonna hurt you in your life it destroyed Joab Joab was not listed among the mighty men even though he was a mighty man his brother brothers were listed, Uriah was listed people he murdered were listed and he wasn't listed even though all the victories that he had everything it said he was buried alone in the woods basically he was buried alone think about where you're buried in the bible I mean you read through all the kings and if he was a good king he was buried with his fathers he was buried with the kings you know Jehoida, he wasn't even a king and he was buried with the kings I mean that's impressive Joab look at all the things that he did how many military victories do you think this guy won I mean he had 10 men to carry his armor this guy was a warrior buried by himself in the woods unchecked personality he just lived a selfish life he just did whatever he wanted for his own agenda and look that could be the same for any personality whether it's even the defenders could have oh you defenders think you're so great you know even the defenders can have unchecked disadvantages according to the bible and we'll talk about that that's going to be my first I'm just going to rip on defenders it's like three quarters of everyone and all the good people they're all defenders anyway I'm just kidding but it's a very interesting study but it just shows it doesn't matter what your tendencies are it doesn't matter because that's all just it's all it really what it really should do is show you your strengths especially younger people maybe teenagers just show you your strengths I mean I almost guessed a couple of the teenagers what they would be because they you know it shows okay you're very creative you're very you know you're very in tune to things that are not common you're going to think of out of the box ideas things like this that's good to recognize at a young age maybe that will help define what you go into or define what you do for a living or you know ladies it'll define maybe how you you know raise your children you know we'll look at that as well so it can be a lot it's a big advantage to know more about yourself but the bible it's all of our it's our common goal together is following what this says for us no matter what our flesh says that we should or shouldn't feel or whatever okay let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer


Beginning at verse 31 then he went down to Capernaum a city of Galilee and was teaching them on the Sabbaths and they were astonished at his teaching for his word was with authority.  So let's begin with some basic information notice with me at verse 31 that he's in the city of Capernaum. Capernaum is a city on the northwest coastline of the Sea of Galilee and during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ it was a prosperous fishing village it was actually located on the major highway connecting the west with the east we were there recently as a matter of fact we had some pictures I was going to show you just to get an idea of Capernaum because Capernaum was very prominent in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ it was the the village of Simon Peter and of Andrew James as well as John and the Bible makes it very clear that this became the headquarters of the Lord Jesus Christ that's recorded in Matthew 4 13 through 16 after he was rejected in Nazareth he came to the city of Capernaum and that began to be the center of operations there in the north for a while so as Jesus is there notice verse 31 that he's beginning to teach and he's teaching on the Sabbaths now remember with me that teaching is part of the threefold ministry that we've already seen that the Lord Jesus Christ did amongst the people remember with me as we looked at Matthew chapter 4 verse 23 that Jesus Christ had a threefold basically a threefold ministry was preaching teaching and healing and so as the Lord Jesus Christ is there ministry and he's giving to them the Word of God now why would Jesus be teaching in their synagogues on the Sabbaths and the answer would be very simply he wanted them to discover who he was and so as he would be there in their synagogues as he would be teaching them it was in order that he might be revealed to them so that when he gave the Word of God they would see that that this is one who was referred to in the Old Testament in John chapter 5 verse 39 Jesus said this he said you search the scriptures for in them you think that you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me and so he would reveal the scriptures for in revealing the scripture he would reveal himself to them and therefore he'd go to the synagogues and he would teach you would teach out of the Old Testament you see when the Word of God is rightly taught when it is divided correctly and presented with authority and anointing and when it's proclaimed it actually is used by God to bring people to salvation the Word of God is used by God as the means of salvation so that when the Word is spoken and Jesus is clearly presented people can see him and come to a saving knowledge of him and that's why Jesus taught and that's why Jesus would preach God's Word to the people in John 5 verses 45 through 47 Jesus said this he said don't think that I will accuse you to the Father there is one who accuses you even Moses in whom you trust had you believed Moses you would have believed me for he wrote of me but if you do not believe his writings how shall you believe my words so he made it very clear that the Word of God as even Moses had spoken of in it or of it even as the Word of God was proclaimed in all concerning Messiah who is to come he said if you to believe Moses you'd know who I was now the Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God and so Jesus would go into the synagogues and he would speak he would teach you would communicate and as he did so he was drawing people to himself now according to verse 32 they were surprised at this they were surprised at the way he taught notice they were astonished at his teaching for his word was with authority when the Lord Jesus Christ spoke he spoke with an authority that came from above the response was astonishment when it says they were astonished that's a strong word it means to be struck with amazement as they listen to Jesus speak he spoke in a different way than the scribes spoke now the scribes or the legal experts as it related to the law of Moses and during the time of Jesus Christ the scribes were held in great esteem they had high honor in Jewish society because they were the authority on questions of faith and practice in the law of Moses so they were the ones that the people would look to they would go to the scribe in order that they might be able to receive insight into the things of God now scribes were not a religious party like the Sadducees and the Pharisees rather they were an office and they never gave independent judgments they always quoted rabbinic authority they did not have their own authority they simply quoted those who had gone on before them even to this day when you're in Israel they will quote their ancient authorities they do not speak with their own authority no rabbi to this day will say you have heard it said but I say they don't do that what they will do is they'll say well according to tradition according to what we have received from our fathers this is the interpretation of this passage that's how they do that even to this day but that isn't the way it was with the Lord Jesus Christ Jesus Christ didn't refer to the traditions of the fathers he spoke with a personal and heavenly authority and it caused them amazement now the reason he would speak with that authority is simply this is because the heavenly authority was something he had because he came from heaven and therefore could speak as an eyewitness when you study the Sermon on the Mount especially in Matthew chapter 5 there are various times that Jesus speaks and he says things like you have heard it said but I tell you and when he did that it caused astonishment in the hearts of the people because he spoke in that way he spoke as a heavenly witness with heavenly authority in John 12 49 and 50 he said I have not spoken on my own authority but the father who sent me gave me a command what I should say what I should speak and I know that his command is everlasting life therefore whatever I speak just as a father has told me so I speak so the Lord Jesus Christ came and spoke with a heavenly authority and it astonished the people because he wasn't up there saying well Rabbi Hilal has said Rabbi Shami has said he said I say this unto you and as he spoke with this authority the people would listen and were amazed that he spoke with such grace eloquent strength and anointing now as this is taking place notice in verse 33 in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon and he cried out with a loud voice saying let us alone what have we to do with you Jesus of Nazareth did you come to destroy us I know you who you are the Holy One of God now as the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking he now has the opportunity of demonstrating that he has come to deliver the captives he has an opportunity now to reveal what the Lord has given to him what the father has given for him to do and what he's about to do is deliver a man who is severely demon possessed remember in Luke chapter 4 remember at verse 18 how he had said the spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives recovery of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed so the Lord is right now going to demonstrate once again that authority now as he is teaching a demon possessed man makes his presence known so that gives us insight at least one thing demons go to church there's this demon possessed man right in the middle of the synagogue it causes you to wonder for just a moment about the discernment of the individuals who are leading the services there that this demon possessed man gets comfortably there and and it's only because Jesus the light is there that the darkness is now exposed now as we look at demons let me give you a couple things about them we're not here to study demons we're here to study the one who sets us free from demons and yet at the same time the Bible is resplendent with with illustrations and instances related to demons in all and so we're going to speak a little bit about that because some people today will say well there's no such thing as demons I mean come on please that's a childish kind of thing it's a story that's been made up just to scare people demons and devils and all of that come on please we're in the 21st century you know there's really no such thing as demons and all of that that's a medieval kind of mentality and and today we know better than that well someone once wrote men don't believe in a devil now as their fathers used to do they forced the door of the broadest creed to let his majesty through there isn't a print of his cloven foot or a fiery dart from his bow to be found in earth or air today for the world is voted so but who is mixing the fatal draft that Paul's he's heart and brain and loads the earth of each passing year with ten hundred thousand slain who blights the bloom of the land today with the fiery breath of hell if the devil isn't and never was won't somebody rise and tell is there a devil is not a devil well the Bible makes it very clear that there is a devil and there also are demons now in verse 33 it speaks of an unclean demon the word demon there literally speaks of an evil spirit or a messenger and minister of the devil we know that Satan is a created being we know that he has limited power we also know that he has an unknown number of spirits that help him making his power present everywhere how many we do not know but Revelation chapter 12 verse 4 tells us that with his tales speaking of Satan that he drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth the stars of heaven are another way of speaking of the angelic host and so there are untold multitudes of demons and as you read scripture you'll see that demons do exist and not only do they exist but for some reason they desire to possess human beings not only do they possess on occasion human beings they even desire to possess animals it would seem that they have a desire to to possess a physical body recently when we're up in we're in Israel we're in a place called the gatherings where there's an interesting story concerning the man of the gatherings though there were two men there at the gatherings and that's a section there that's on the eastern portion of the Sea of Galilee and the Bible speaks concerning an instance where the Lord Jesus Christ was there and this demon possessed individual came and and began to speak to Jesus and and as Jesus was speaking to them in Luke chapter 8 you can see this in verses 31 and 32 the Bible says that that they begged him that he would not command them to go out into the abyss and a herd of many swine was feeding there on the mountain and they begged him that he would permit them to enter them and he permitted them and so it would seem that demons desire a physical tangible body and on occasion actually would inhabit a human being we see that the Bible teaches that demons oppress man and can also possess persons or men and women now let me briefly say that Christians cannot be demon possessed I've had that question before so I'll say it very briefly and Christians cannot be demon possessed why why can't we be demon possessed well we can't because 1st Corinthians chapter 3 verse 16 says that we are the temple of the Spirit of God and the Spirit of God dwells within us we know that light will dispel darkness so when you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior you are now the temple of the Spirit and as the temple of the Spirit the enemy cannot enter in he can oppress which can mean that he can he can give to you temptations to the flesh and all of that sometimes he can bring pressures into your life but you cannot be possessed the Bible in 1st John chapter 5 verse 18 says he who has been born of God keeps himself and the wicked one does not touch him and so you cannot be demon possessed you might act like you are sometimes but but you cannot be if you're born again because the Holy Spirit dwells within you but if you're not possessed by the Spirit of God if you will if you're not inhabited by God's Holy Spirit then you are open to a demon's influence and even possibly depending on circumstances things that you find yourself involved in and even to the point of perhaps even inviting invasion you can be possessed if you're not born again and there are people that I have seen and there are people that you have to perhaps on you know on discovery channel kinds of things where they actually invite demons to invade their body there are people in certain religions that actually do that my wife Marie when she was in Brazil as an exchange student in high school saw people who were actually invaded with demons who invited that they desire that and actually invite the invasion and so that does happen and so a demon can influence a demon can actually possess and the scripture here makes it very clear that this individual in synagogue was possessed and what they can do very often is they want to influence their lives and and and you'll see this in scripture what they will do very often is they will try to destroy demons do that because they want to destroy individuals in in in Mark chapter nine there's an interesting story there concerning a man and his son and how the the apostles would remain behind while Jesus took Peter James and John to the Mount Transfiguration how they had attempted to cast a demon out of a little boy and were unsuccessful in doing so and and the father approached the the Lord Jesus Christ and spoke to him it's recorded in Mark chapter nine verse twenty two and he said to Jesus that often this demon has thrown my son into the fire and the water and so demons will attempt to destroy the host or the body that they are possessing you see that quite often they can inflict illness you see that in in Luke chapter thirteen there's a woman that's recorded there and right around verse eleven who had the spirit a demonic spirit of infirmity and she was bowed over and Jesus came and delivered her so they can affect our body they can even push a person to us to suicide and all well this is an individual here in scripture is who is possessed by a demon and notice verse 33 it describes the demon for us he's an unclean demon and that doesn't mean that it doesn't take a bath the word unclean speaks of impurity it speaks of vulgarity it speaks of a foul lifestyle this individual who is possessed with this unclean demon is a vulgar foul individual and there he is though in synagogue and notice with me how it says in verse 33 he cried out with a loud voice saying let us alone what have we to do with you Jesus now this demon is using the vocal cords of the person that he has possessed and so the scripture says he cried out now when he uses the word cried it's interesting that word cried speaks of wonder mixed with fear that's the way he's responding it speaks of raising a cry from the depth of the throat and he asks the question there in verse 34 what have we to do with you now it's interesting because that's another way of saying that light has nothing in common with darkness there's nothing in Jesus that that that a demon that a demon can answer to in terms of character virtue and everything else we have nothing in common the enemy has nothing in common with Jesus Christ John 14 verse 30 says I will no longer talk much with you the ruler of this world is coming and he has nothing in me there's nothing in me that will respond to anything he can offer because when you're walking with a Lord there's nothing in common you see and so when the demon is speaking to Jesus he is saying we have nothing in common I have nothing to do with you and you have nothing in common with me we are we are the polar opposites and so he says leave us alone leave us alone I don't want you to have anything now notice in verse 34 how he says did you come to destroy us I know you who you are the holy one of God when he says did you come to destroy us are you going to lock us up in the dungeon are you going to put us into the abyss the answer to that question is yes but not at this moment yes you will be dealt with but not at this moment but notice also he says I know you I know who you are now that's an interesting and important thing because the demons do know Jesus Christ they know exactly who he is you know the Bible says that that Jesus Christ created the angelic host and and and that these demons once belonged to the angelic host before they fell Jesus is the creator of all angels and the angels originally were all created good but because the enemy Satan drew a third of them they fell but Jesus is the creator of all things according to Colossians chapter 3 verse 16 by him all things were created that are in heaven that are on earth visible and invisible whether thrones or dominions principalities or powers all things were created through him and for him but I want you to notice that fallen angels know who Jesus is here's the important point though they may know who he is but the knowledge of who he is does not save them just because they know who he is doesn't automatically mean that they are saved I think we can illustrate that in the United States there are many people if you were to speak to them and say do you know who the Lord Jesus Christ is they would say yes I do yeah I know who Jesus is they can even tell you some things about him but it would be like me saying well yet and what if you said you know President Bush I'd say yes I do but what I'm saying is as I have intellectual knowledge of him I know that there is one name President Bush I'm aware of the reality of that but if you were to say to me but do you have a personal acquaintance with them do you hang around with them do you drink coffee with them do you ever go over and and have dinner with him I'd have to say well of course not I know who he is the way that I know who Billy Graham is I know who they are but in reality I have no personal relationship with him and there are many people in the United States who have the same answer I know who you are they will say that you know you take the surveys here in the United States and you'll see that at the minimum there are about 83% of Americans who will state when asked do you believe in God they will say yes at the minimum and that 83% are professing Christians of every stripe so they will say oh yeah I'm a Christian you know but in reality they don't know the Lord Jesus Christ you know if 83% of the United States was born again then who's in jail only unbelievers who's going to the bars you know who's going to the the various places and buying the porn and all of that who's doing all of that you know only unbelievers no it's people who would claim that they are believers in God there are people who would say that they know who Jesus Christ is and they would definitely say that but they don't have a relationship with him these demons knew who Jesus Christ was but but knowledge does not save you it's faith that saves you it's not just knowledge of facts it's the application of that knowledge that transforms a life it's the it's the drawing in through faith of the Word of God and saying yes to Jesus Christ yes I'm lost yes I need to be saved yes I need to be forgiven yes I need to know you personally Jesus it's not just speaking about him it's acknowledging and knowing him it's having a relationship with him and the demons know who he is because Jesus created the angels and the demons are part of the angelic hosts in the original creation and they fell can they be saved no never they will never be saved they will never be transformed from demons back into you know angels that will not happen but it's interesting to note that they say they know him on the Bible in James chapter 2 verse 19 says you believe there's one God that's good but even demons believe that and they shudder you say you believe in God that's a that's a good thing to believe in God it's a lot easier to speak to somebody who believes in God than to speak to somebody who doesn't you know here in the United States it's a wonderful thing I every time I leave the country for a while and then return I I want to just you know literally I want to get on my knees and kiss the ground when I return because I think what a wonderful place we live in what a wonderful place the United States is Israel is a beautiful place and I love going to Israel very hard to the gospel very hard to the gospel you turn on the radio in Israel you're not going to hear you know stations like K wave or KKLA there you're not going to hear that you're not going to be seeing churches filled with people in the Bible studies who are Christians that you are seeing a move the spirit right now you know just 30 years ago there were very few Christians in the entire nation now there are 15 messianic congregations in Jerusalem alone there are several Calvary chapels that have been planted from the north to the south and and God is moving and it's wonderful to see especially in these last days but the fact is now when I get home and I climb into my car and I'm driving I can turn on Christian radio I have it on satellite I have it on you know FM radio I can hear it on AM radio I can turn on the television and I can hear people speak about the Lord Jesus Christ and it's just a wonderful place to be but there are a lot of people who will say well I know Jesus but in reality they don't they don't have a relationship with God had you asked me prior to my conversion if I knew Jesus Christ I would have said yes I do because I was raised in a home that that mentioned his name because I was raised in a church because I went through the catechism and and had received certain rituals and all by and and felt very very sure that I was a Christian but I had a demon faith you know I believed with my head but I was never converted I had a knowledge but I didn't have a conversion I I could say yes I believe in God and I did but I didn't have a saving faith and there's a difference between the two because when you have a saving faith your life is transformed see I would say I was a Christian but I was still going out drinking I said I'm a Christian and I was still doing the dope I was a Christian but I was still with the girls I I was a Christian I said but I was still doing everything I wasn't supposed to do but if you'd have asked me if I was a Christian I would have answered in the affirmative and so these these demons this demon is speaking and says we know who you are I know you who you are the holy one of God I know who you are but that's not a saving knowledge so Jesus's response recorded in verses 35 through 37 is he rebuked him and he said be quiet and come out of him Jesus didn't want testimony from demons because he's not in league with Satan and so he says come out of him now notice with me in verse 35 it says when the demon through him had thrown him in their midst he came out of him and didn't hurt him that's what demons do is they destroy and and one last tear it's one last kick it's one last destructive act he wants to harm him one more time that's what demons do that's why I'm amazed that people actually reject Christ in order to be serving even though they don't realize that the serving the enemy because all the enemy does this hurt you and that's exactly what he's doing here and and so he throws them down but notice it came out of him and didn't hurt him so they were all amazed and spoke among themselves and said what what a word this is for with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits and they come out and so they're amazed at what is taking place here and the result is that the report in verse 37 of him went out in every place in the surrounding region people were amazed in his famed spreads now because this is somebody who with a word and authority can actually cast demons out of people and so they say this this one Jesus Christ you ought to hear what he has to say Isaiah tells us in Isaiah chapter 42 verses 6 and 7 this is a portion that speaks of Messiah I asked have we fixed that and they said oh yeah I guess we didn't I the Lord have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand I will keep you and give you as a covenant to the people as a light to the Gentiles to open blind eyes to bring out prisoners from the prison those who sit in darkness from the prison house and that's what Messiah does they sets you free and that's exactly what Jesus did now continuing into verse 38 now he arose from the synagogue and entered Simon's house but Simon's wife's mother was sick with a high fever and they made request of him concerning her so he stood over her and rebuked the fever and it left her and immediately she arose and served them you know someone once said you know how Simon Peter you know said that he didn't know the Lord we all know that we'll get to that portion later on in the Gospel of Luke how he denied the Lord and the question was asked why did Simon Peter deny the Lord and the answer is is because Jesus healed Simon Peter's mother-in-law but I'm not quite sure whether that's true or not that's just something I thought I'd say just to be mean it is interesting it is interesting to note something here about Simon Peter I want you to see this with me because it's something you might not even notice I want you to see this with me though notice that he was a married man Simon Peter was a married man Jesus is ministering to Simon Peter's mother-in-law now some would say well he was married at that time when Simon Peter first began to follow Christ but shortly after Jesus's resurrection Simon Peter's wife died and thus he was free to follow the Lord Jesus Christ unencumbered part of the reason that is presented is because there are churches including the Catholic Church the church I grew up in that would like to say that it's a holier thing if you are single then if you are married that's one of the reasons why in the priesthood they are unmarried individuals because they believe that that basically frees you up the ministry but also seems to indicate that they think that that's a holier place to be but the scripture doesn't teach that at all the fact is that Simon Peter was a married man he and Jesus ministered to his mother-in-law and this took place he continued to be a married man you know all the way into 1st Corinthians chapter 9 because in 1st Corinthians chapter 9 verse 5 Paul was writing and he said have we not power to lead about a sister a wife as well as other apostles and as the brother of the Lord and and Cephas which is the other name for Peter and and 1st Corinthians 9 was written some 25 years later so Simon Peter was married and married for a long time and so he is married there and beyond that I want you to notice something else here because in verse 39 after Jesus has healed her she had this high fever notice verse 39 so he stood over her and rebuked the fever and it left her and immediately she arose and served them now that may just go right past you and I hope that it doesn't because it shows us something it shows us that she used her restored health to be of use and service to Jesus Christ and other people we have been saved to serve we serve God and we serve one another now I had a lady in this fellowship who left years ago now but I'll never forget what she said she said she was going to another church where she doesn't have to serve but the Bible makes it very clear that we've been saved to serve if you don't think so then just mark down Galatians chapter 5 verse 13 because in Galatians 5 13 Paul said you brethren have been called to liberty only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another see the body of Christ is is made up of givers as well as takers and a lot of people are simply takers a lot of people come expecting to receive I remember a lady who approached me after a Sunday morning service who said to me this is the first time I've been to this church and I just want to know what this church has to offer me and I am fair question but I said to her in response I said it's not what this church has to offer you what do you have to offer this church because we're not here to simply receive we're here to receive in order to give when you go to Israel the Jordan River has three tributaries that connect into the single river and that single river is called the Jordan it's called the Jordan River because it descends from Mount Hermon in that area there which is to the north and Dan is a portion to the north where the tribe of Dan used to be so the Jordan or the Jordan speaks of that which descends from Dan that's what the word Jordan means and the Jordan River will descend it comes down and it flows south into what is called the Sea of Galilee in the Sea of Galilee even as we're looking at Capernaum it was it is to this day and it was at that time a place that was a very large lake that people would look at as a sea because it was so large and and they would fish there and and there were living creatures of course in the water because it's healthy because it's flowing the water flows from the from the top there and the in Dan and enters into the sea and it's alive but it continues south the Jordan River descends and continues going south and it enters up ends up in a place called the Dead Sea and it's called the Dead Sea because it has no outlet see the the Sea of Galilee is a living sea it has in other words living water you can drink it and it it also has a water that that fish can live in and all because it's a living sea when Jesus speaks concerning living water he's simply saying it's water you can drink it's something that has life it's able to produce life or give life or sustain life so the Sea of Galilee has living water but the Dead Sea is true to its name because if you let a cup of water from the Dead Sea evaporate one third of that water is mineral if you drink a cup of it you can die if you open your eyes underwater it will it will be like hot irons being pressed into your eyes because it is that rich in mineral content and it's dead because it has no outlet it's dead because it only receives and doesn't give and when the Lord grabs holy your life when God speaks to you when God pours his life into yours to the living water it's not so that you can keep it for yourself it's so that it may splash out of you on other people it's so that you might have an influence and how do you have influence part of the way that you have influences like Peter's mother-in-law she was sick she was healed then she served because with the Lord Jesus Christ grabs holy your life he transforms you and from a person who's always saying what has it got for me what's in it for me what profit do I have if I pray what profit do I have if I read the Bible what profit is there for me from that mentality you are transformed to a person who says Lord I've received from you and now I want to give what you've given to me I want to give out what you give to me it's the most unhealthy thing when all we do is take and take and take I hear that all the time by the way in one form or another you don't know how hurt I've been you don't know my life you know it's all about me it's all about everything about me and that's the problem because when it's all about you well Jesus said it this way he said it is more blessed to what to give than to receive are you kidding me most Americans would say it's a lot more blessed to receive than to give I want more for me now the Lord says listen I give to you so that you can give to others you know I distribute to you so you can distribute to others and by the way I can distribute to you in abundance so that you can abundantly bless other people that's why I give to you not so that you can hoard it up and keep to yourself and bury it like a talent in the ground and not use it at all I give to you so that you can use it so that you can reach out and you can give to somebody else what I've given to you I mean that's why you evangelize that's why you go out and that's why you talk to your friends that's why you talk to your family that's why you share the word with people that's why you tell them your testimony that's why you invite them to church that's why you do what you do it's because God has done something in your life that is so remarkable that is so stupendous that is so amazing that is so rich and wonderful that you can't help but talk about it you can't help but talk about the Lord Jesus Christ Jesus said it's out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks and when the Lord is is filling you with his goodness and his grace and his love and his mercy and and his joy and his peace and so many wonderful things I mean how can you but but speak of him how can you help but speak of him you know I have people tell me that that I talk about my wife a lot and I didn't realize that because it's out of the abundance of the heart that mouth speaks I didn't realize that that I'd find a way to speak of my wife in every Bible study I give never realized I did that it's just that's my life that's person that influences me that's the person I love so it comes out very easily it isn't like in my notes right here at this point better speak about Marie or she's gonna hit you with a pan it doesn't say that you know I just do I just do because it's easy to it's easy to talk about the person you love it's just very easy to do that talk about my Josiah talk about my kids you know I talk about my family why because I love my family and it just comes out it's just very natural for me to do that right it's that way for you to it's just that way what's important to you speak about it maybe baseball maybe football and maybe basketball and maybe a car and maybe a relationship it's gonna be something that's important you and you'll talk about it very naturally and very easily you know what happens when the Lord grabs hold of you and really does you talk about him people come up and say well you know can you teach me to witness no just fall in love with the Lord when you fall in love with the Lord you'll talk about him when you're reading the word there'll be things that he's teaching you that you're gonna want to tell other people about that's the way it works but if you want to memorize the four spiritual laws you can or the Roman road you can it's not difficult to do that there are ways to do that and you can use evangelistic tools and those are wonderful to do but the bottom line is is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks and so as you have relationship with the Lord you will naturally talk about it it's just that easy and it comes out very naturally in all of that and service to Jesus Christ guys isn't mandatory it's not like oh you better serve or else you're not a real Christian service to the Lord is just the reality it's just what we do you know like Jesus says we'll see this later on how Jesus speaks concerning one who says I am an unprofitable servant I've only done that which I am supposed to do I serve you because because I do because I enjoy it you know there's some things that you can't pay me to do you can't pay me to change baby diapers no no you can't but I did and I did because I love my kids and they they stunk so you better change it I did because of love there are some things that love pushes you to do that money can't push you to do you just can't pay me enough to do that but if I'm in love with my babies which I was and am what's the big deal just take care of business has to be done no biggie it's not hard to do that it's not difficult guys it's very natural when you're in love and serving the Lord Jesus Christ it's natural for those who are in love with him and that's what you're seeing here Simon Peter's mother-in-law had a fever the Lord Jesus Christ sees her and because his ministry of one of deliverance and healing he heals her he rebukes the fever he speaks to it and rebukes it and what's it do it says in verse 39 left her and what's her response she arose and served them that's just the way it is that's how it works so in verse 40 now when the sun was setting all those who had anyone sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them and demons also came out of many crying out and saying you are the Christ the son of God and he rebuking them did not allow them to speak for they knew that he was the Christ now when it was day he departed and went into a deserted place and and the crowd sought him and came to him and and tried to keep him from leaving them but he said to them I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also because for this purpose I have been sent and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee and so the Sabbath day is now over people begin to flow out of their houses it's probable that they waited for the Sabbath to end before they sought him out because they were afraid of the religious leaders because the leaders believed that healing on the Sabbath was actually a physical work we'll see that later on as it's illustrated for us in chapter 13 and now they're there being ministered and notice how it says they gathered the sick and those in need and they brought them to Simon and to Andrew's house and so what is taking place is is they're beginning to come to to be ministered to and what is taking place is at Simon and Andrew's house according to Mark but they desire Jesus to touch them they desire Jesus to set them free but again in verse 41 he didn't allow the demons to speak because they knew he was Christ he didn't need demons to proclaim who he is he doesn't want to be associating with demons in his ministry he doesn't want the witness of Satan is an interesting story in the book of Acts in chapter 16 I believe when the Lord used the apostle Paul to cast out a demon from a woman who was following after them and and was saying these men are bringing these men are anointed by God and bringing you know the power of God to you and all in and the Bible tells us that the apostle Paul got tired of hearing that because he did that daily and he turned around and he cast the demon out because he didn't want demons to be associated with with Jesus Christ now one very basic application and and you may not you may not appreciate this application but it's true I find it interesting to note that there are many religions that will say that Jesus Christ is Son of God or a prophet the Muslims will tell you that they will tell you that Jesus is the last great prophet prior to Muhammad they will tell you that you can read writings and I've done this writings of Buddhists and the Buddhists will speak concerning Jesus Christ and they will say he was a prophet of God and a good man they associate with him Muslims do Buddhists do there are some religious organizations like Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons Mormons like to call themselves the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints because they want to be associated with the name Jesus Christ they want you to believe them to be Christians because they think that they are but unfortunately they're not according to biblical biblical definition they're not born again they don't have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ they don't they have a demon faith though they don't understand that and I don't say that lightly it's true they don't have a regeneration they don't have relationship with God but they associate with the name Jesus Christ because when they associate with that name those who have within themselves a biblical definition of what Christ is and what a Christian is may be deceived into believing that these people are also Christian when I was born when I was first saved I went into the military three months after getting saved I got saved in December I was in the army in March and I met a guy who was a Christian scientist and so I was a brand-new Christian and he was Christian scientist and so I told him I mean I was three months old in the Lord I didn't know anything other than some basics so I told him one day they're in basic training I said you're a Christian scientist and he goes yeah I said I'm a Christian too we're the same and he looked at me and he says no there are differences between us he knew the differences that I didn't know of he knew there were differences in believe you and believe in sin didn't believe in death they didn't believe in a lot of things that are biblical but he is a Christian scientist I thought a Christian scientist was a guy who did chemistry I mean I didn't know what a Christian scientist was I didn't know the theology seriously I I really didn't I thought they were just into science I didn't know and so I discovered these things after getting saved I started reading their material I started looking into the faith and belief and I discovered that they associate themselves with the name Jesus Christ but didn't know the Lord Jesus doesn't want to be his ministry to be broadcast by demons and that's why he says don't be saying anything I don't want you broadcasting for me I don't want association in that way now it says in verse 42 when it was day he departed went into a deserted place and the crowd saw him and came to him and tried to keep him from leaving them but he said I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also now notice because for this purpose I have been sent and he was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee I have come to preach the kingdom of God and am not confined to a single place you want to keep me from moving on but I have a higher purpose and that is to take the message through the nation every one of us can be called a assault shaker Jesus Christ said you are the salt of the earth so every one of us can be a salt shaker if you will but the salt does no good if it remains in the shaker I don't know about you I hope you don't mind this cultural reference here hope you don't I love beans I do I mean I can just eat beans by themselves I mean I love them sorry man I was gone for two weeks I was dying no beans all of Israel no beans but I'll tell you something about beans everybody knows this I never eat them without salt I don't like the taste of beans without salt they're bland but you put in right amount of salt man you can eat a pound of them and they're so good with a little chili some meat and a tortilla the truth but without salt they don't have a taste salt I could have my bowl of beans right in front of me and I have my salt in a shaker but if I don't take that shaker and shake the salt out that salt does me no good the salt has to get out of the shaker to do its job how many of us are in shakers today just sitting there on the table ready to be used but the salt has to come out of the shaker that's what Jesus Christ intends for you he didn't stay in one place he said I have a purpose the purpose is to take this message through the land that's what we're called to do you come to an evening service or a Sunday morning or whenever it is not just to get fat with God's word but you are equipped to serve so that you can take what God gave to you and share it the salt has to come out of the shaker it has to be spread out it gives taste to the world and it and it retards the decay it's white because it's a symbol of purity and Jesus use that so that we would know that when he says this in Matthew 5 by the way he said you are the salt of the earth he was saying you are the only salt of the earth the way he's saying it isn't that you're just a saw you are the only salt of the earth and and salt has great value because because that's where the term he's worth his salt came from because they would actually pay Roman soldiers with seasons seasonings and salt was a seasoning of great value and you'd actually be worth your salt it just speaking of the fact that salt had value because salt has taste that produces something pleasant you see and so that's what God is called us to do Jesus isn't going to stay there he's not going to remain in one place even though they're saying stay here with us nope I've been sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel I will go from the north to the south and everywhere in between bringing this message I cannot stay in one location and and and he could not stay in one place there and we ought to be like he in that we take what God has given to us and give it to other people too so we're here for an evening service to be equipped for works of service so we can go out and take what we know and because we're in love with Jesus Christ we can be used by him to serve God and to serve others and we have a message that we take the world that sets the captives free so even people who go to a church service who are not enlightened who don't have a relationship with God can encounter the power of God in that service and be delivered which occurs every time you open your heart up to Christ whenever you open your heart Christ you're delivered and you're translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's son and you are set free from the bondage and power of the enemy and that's what Jesus Christ intends to do to take his message and set captives free and to equip us to do the same that's what God has called us to do


The narcissist needs a saviour. The narcissist needs someone to save them from danger or difficulty. They need someone to rescue them. And this is what attracted them to you. You wanted to save them. You wanted to provide them with help and support. You wanted to make it easier or possible for them to do something by providing them with your services or resources. I believe that many of us who got involved with these narcissists have what is known as a saviour complex. We felt compelled to save other people and narcissists tend to have a reverse saviour complex. They play the victim role and may often appear helpless and oppressed. And this is what creates the attraction between you and the narcissist. They are looking for someone to save them. And you are looking for a project that you can fix. These types of relationships can be very toxic. May feel as though you are their parent rather than their partner. But it is not your responsibility to save anyone. And it can be very uncomfortable and emotionally draining when the narcissist forces you into the saviour role. Especially since they are not giving you the same amount of support. It's stressful to constantly be around all of that negativity. You are not their therapist and you have no obligation to heal or fix them when you have a partner. You should be willing to offer them as much support as you're asking them to give to you. There needs to be a balance. But as we know, relationships with narcissists are very unbalanced. They expect you to do everything for them while minimizing your efforts and demand that you do more. When you have this saviour complex, you have this desire to help people in any way that you can. You will listen to all of their problems. You will try to understand them. You will try to make them feel better about themselves. In some situations, you may even offer them a place to live. You may give them money or you might help them find a job. You want to help people. You want to improve people's lives. You believe that if you can fix them, then everything will be okay. But this can become very dangerous if the person that you are trying to save is a narcissist. When we have a saviour complex, we often feel this need to save people. And while there is nothing wrong with helping people, it can become a problem when we define our worth by what we can do for others. This can even make you a magnet to narcissists because narcissists are always looking for someone to save them. They are looking for someone to use and exploit. They will tell you about some problems or difficulties that they are going through or they will share some stories from their past or they believe that they were victimized which then makes you feel bad for them. It makes you want to help them. They always have some type of problem that they need help with. They always have something that they need you to fix and when they tell you about it, it makes you want to make everything okay for them. You might spend hours of your time listening to their problems and giving them emotional support. You might try to fix their issues by giving them a place to stay, giving them money, driving them wherever they need to go. And this might provide you with a sense of worth. It might make you feel useful but because you are so focused on fixing their problems, you don't notice all the red flags when the narcissist is around a saviour. They will do whatever it takes to make the situation develop in their favour. They will continue playing the victim role as they gradually drain you of your time, energy and resources. It starts off with you spending a lot of time listening to them until you are then giving them money, a place to stay, doing favours for them. It becomes a very chaotic environment where the narcissist is constantly making demands. There is always something that needs to be fixed and you are just doing more and more without realising you enable the narcissist to continue their behaviour and once they have been doing this for a certain amount of time it can be very difficult to get them to stop. The narcissist is an ongoing project that will never end. No matter how much you do, no matter how much money, no matter how many opportunities you provide, no matter how much of your time and energy you give to them it will never be enough. You will just keep doing more and more until you gradually exhaust yourself, you will gradually lose your physical and mental health, you will lose your time and money and you may begin to feel shame once you realise that you have been taken advantage of, you feel like you have been tricked and deceived, you may begin to isolate yourself, you may be too afraid to ask for help, you may find yourself returning to dangerous situations, involved in activity that is unlawful or morally wrong, you may lose a lot of money and find yourself in difficult financial situations but the narcissist is self-absorbed and lacks empathy, they lack awareness of the harm they cause to you, they feel entitled to privileges and special treatment, they believe that you owe them something so they will drain you of your time, energy and resources because they don't care about the harm they cause to you, they don't care about how it affects you and they feel entitled to what they are receiving from you, they believe that they are inherently deserving of unlimited amounts of your time, energy and money, as their saviour you may believe that you can take them out of the victim role by fixing all of their problems but this victim mentality is their identity, it's who they are, there is nothing that you or anyone else can do to shift their identity, there is nothing that anyone can do to fill that void, it is their responsibility to do the work and make it right, there is nothing wrong with wanting to save people, there is nothing wrong with wanting to provide people with help or support but you should always do it in a way where you are able to protect yourself from danger or harm, you should always set limits on how much of your time, energy and resources you give to people and you should ensure that it is reciprocal, you should ensure that you are getting something back in return, when you are helping or supporting a narcissist they will not express consistent gratitude, they might say thanks sometimes but you can tell that it's not really genuine, it's just to keep you meeting their demands no matter how much you do for them, they will never appreciate you, you could spend years of your life getting yourself into debt, doing everything you can to please them but as soon as you set a boundary, as soon as you say no more they will see it as though you never did anything for them and then they will discard you, thank you for watching, I hope this video resonated with you, please like, comment, share and subscribe, click the bell icon to receive notifications for my future videos, if you would like to donate my PayPal link is in the video description, coaching inquiries you can email me at nartoevacoachin at gmail.com, thank you for watching and I'll talk to you soon