JESUS CHRIST THE STRONGER MAN Pastor Sean Pinder I have good news for somebody.

I want to talk to you about Jesus Christ: The Stronger Man. Lets look into Luke 11, starting with verse 14: And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. (Luke 11:14) The verse begins, And he was casting out a devil That sounds like Jesus to me. A whole lot of churches could use that example to follow after. Some people do not believe in demon possession, do you know that? Some people dont even believe in the devil; they say the devil is just a figment of your imagination. I wish that was true; I would not have to deal with all the mess that I have to deal with. There is a real devil loose. Do you know what we have to be careful of in our walk with God? We need to be careful that we are not exalting the devil more than we are exalting Jesus. If you are dealing with a devil that has not yet been defeated, you can go ahead and exalt him all you want to. If, however, you know that you are dealing with a devil that has already been defeated over 2,000 years ago, then your attitude ought to be a little different. I feel like the Holy Ghost wants me to put you in remembrance. Luke 11:14 continues, And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. The devil is a dummy, in case you didnt know it. Im just being Scriptural here! He was casting out a devil This does not sound like something that somebody just made up in their mind, does it? And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. Isnt that just like Jesus? The end of the verse says, "And the people wondered. Oh, yes they did. Down in New Orleans, there was a man who was on disability. He had metal in his back. He never ever was supposed to bend down like a normal man again. His left knee was totally destroyed; he could not bend it. But the Holy Ghost visited that healing service and that man, who never could have bent his left knee after it got destroyed, started bending all the way down with the metal still in his back! God is in control. Why did I share that testimony with you? Just to tell you that the devil does not have any power. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. (Luke 11:15) This is the church talking. They said, Hes casting out devils by Satans power. These were the religious leaders talking. They were jealous because they did not have

that same power and that same anointing. They did not want to live holy. They did not want to pay the price Jesus paid. They were jealous of Him and they wanted everyone to think He was a phony. Boy, I am sure living like Jesus! I like it. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. (Luke 11:16-17) We are not divided in our church; we stay unified. We are of one heart, one vision, one purpose, and one mind. Jesus continued: If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through BeelzebubBut if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. (Luke 11:18, 20) The Kingdom of God is in our midst. Do you know that, every place we go, stuff happens? Do you know what Jesus told the people in Luke 17:21? He said, The kingdom of God is within you. Whenever we step into a building, the Kingdom of God shows up and we are going to wreak havoc on the devils kingdom. Watch this. I am getting to my topic here: Jesus Christ: The Stronger Man. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: (Luke 11:21) Did you see what Jesus said? When a strong man armed He has all the weapons to protect his house. When he keeps his house, it is safe. Are you following me? Did you know that Adam passed over his authority to the devil? Satan had some authority after Adam sinned in the garden, but things have changed. In this Scripture, Jesus is prophesying about what is going to take place with the devil when Jesus shows up. He said, When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. He is talking about the devil right there. Now watch verse 22; He is talking about Himself. Even Jesus preached about Jesus! I do not know where these preachers today get off preaching what they want to; even Jesus had to preach Jesus. But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. (Luke 11:22) He is talking about Himself now. This is prophecy; He was prophesying about what was going to take place. He said, But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and What is the next word? The next word is overcome. Are you reading the same Bible I am reading? Look at this. Jesus said, When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace. But then, He started talking about Himself. He said, But when a stronger than he shall come upon him He overcomes him and what else does He do? He taketh from him all his armour How much does He

take from him? How many of Satans weapons did he lose? Jesus said, He taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted What does the devil have to work with? Am I preaching the same Bible you have? He taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted Then what does He do? He goes in and plunders the whole house. Do you know what the palace is right there? The palace is this Earth. The devil received authority from Adam and Eve when they fell. He was the man on this Earth after Adam fell, but not after Jesus death, burial, and resurrection. Do you know what Jesus said when He rose from the dead on the third day? He said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18). Did you know Satan had power? Yes, he did; he had power. Did you know in the book of Job, when there was a challenge between God and the devil, God said to Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand (Job 1:12). The devil still had power. In Luke 10:19, Jesus told His disciples, Behold, I give unto you powerover all the power of the enemy What was Jesus saying while He walked this Earth? He was saying the devil still had power. After Jesus died on the Cross, though, His last words were, It is finished (John 19:30). What was finished? It was redemption for the soul, redemption for the body, healing for the body, and salvation from sin. Are you listening to me? When He rose from the dead, He said, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. That means the devil lost. I am going to preach very strongly to you today. I am taking my time teaching. If Jesus took all of Satans weapons from him, what does Satan have to beat you with? The only way the devil can beat you is if he can convince you that he is this big old, bad dude that he is not. You may say, Hes been riding my back all week. What is he doing riding your back? You are not a horse, a mule, or a camel. You had better stand up straight. What does he have to work with? It is no wonder that, everywhere we go, people have to be saved. It is no wonder that, everywhere we go, sick bodies have to be healed. The blind see, the deaf hear, and the cripples walk. Why? The devil has no power or weapon to stop us. That is why Isaiah said, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). The devil is left helpless. Only one person can give the devil the victory, and that is you. What is he doing whipping you down all week long? What is he doing feeding all that evil into your mind? What is he doing making you gossip? What is he doing making you hate your brothers in Christ? What is he doing making you hate people? What is he doing making you hold onto bitterness? You hold onto that stuff because you want to. Suppose I ask somebody, Why dont you grab this towel for me please, an d he takes it from me. Why does he take the towel? He takes it because he wants to, not

because I ask him. Tell someone, Devil, I am not taking any more now. I cannot make the person take the towel; he would take it because he has his own decision to make. That is exactly what we do when the devil comes along with his evil thoughts we say, Gimme, gimme, gimme. It is time to say, Devil, Im not giving in to those lies about my brothers and sisters in Christ. Are you listening to me? Sometimes, you find yourself starting to choke some folks in your mind. I know you have never been there, because you have already arrived. You are in Heaven. You are in your glorified body, but I am not. You do not have to put up with the devils junk. You do not have to take it. Why? He has been stripped. He does not have power to make one person backslide. You backslide because you want to. You sin because you want to. G reater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4). What are you doing giving in to that stuff? What are you doing thinking evil? What are you doing still sitting in front of that television, watching filth? You want to. Do not turn it off; throw it into the trashcan. You dont have any control over it? Get rid of it. Does it make you a sinner because you hold on to your television? No, it makes you sinful when you allow any kind of thing to come through your screen bloodshed, violence, pornography, etc. A man and woman who are not married are kissing and you are taking the Lords eyes and watching them. Do you know your body does not even belong to you? Do you know you cannot watch on television what you want to? The Bible says, Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (1 Cor. 6:19). Followholiness, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). The Holy Ghost has been dealing with me about this. I am telling you, whenever conviction falls in your house, go home and obey right then. Do not sit around and talk to people in church. Do you know what the Bible says? The Bible says, [If] sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil (Eccl. 8:11). That is delayed obedience. You put it off, saying, Aw, Ill do it when I get home. By the time you get home, no conviction is on your life. Before you know it, the devils got that old hook and sinker out again and you are eating from his table again. How are we going to go to the next level doing that? I know I am going. I made my mind up: As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD (Josh. 24:15). I cannot control what comes into your house but God knows I control what comes into my house. Holiness comes into my house. Jesus Christ is the stronger Man. He defeated the devil; what is your excuse? Why are you hanging on to something that is steadily gnawing at your soul? Every time you sit in front of the thing, you get convicted. The Holy Ghost is right there saying, You know you are not supposed to do this. Your pastor preached against that; you

know its wrong. You do not understand that stuff can drag you to hell. compromise. Do not play with it; get rid of all of it.

Do not