Before we talk about our text this evening we need to first ask ourselves do we truly, honestly, sincerely, want to see our Lord’s return. I ask because the Bible gives us four things that must occur before the Second Coming of Christ and they are all within our scope of responsibility and are contingent, as the Body of Christ, upon our cooperation with the Head, Jesus Christ. God has placed that Blessed Hope within our reach if we would but develop some faith.
I want you to know that the Word of God emphatically, explicitly, mentions those four events by name, and it does not need any theological dissertation or scrutinizing in order for us to know what those four things are. One of those four events has brought me here to you—His little lambs. I will follow no precise order in giving you the list because I believe that they will be fulfilled simultaneously.
The first thing that needs to happen before Jesus can take us home is found in Matthew 24:14.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
What’s the first thing that must occur before Christ returns? The Gospel, a particular gospel, because He said and THIS gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come. Knowing that the word this is a demonstrative pronoun [demonstrative pronouns are employed for spatial deixis (dîk’ sĭs) (using the context of the physical surroundings of the speaker and sometimes the listener) and for discourse deixis (including abstract concepts) where the meaning is dependent on something other than the relative physical location of the speaker, for example whether something is currently been said or was said earlier.], the Gospel then becomes more than the story of the Cross but also all of the things that Jesus said just prior to verse 14 and in Revelation 14:6-12. With all the technology that man has produced, how much time do you think we have before the Gospel is preached to the entire world?
The second and third factors related to the Second Coming are found in the same text. Paul is giving the Church at Thessalonica an admonition regarding the Second Coming in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 7.
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
Did you catch two and three? He said their must be a “falling away first” (apostasy) and the man of sin or the anti-Christ has to be revealed. There is to be a widespread apostasy against the truth of God’s Word and it has happened and is happening right now because of the third factor the man of sin or Antichrist! Can the Church identify the man of sin? Do you know who the antichrist is? Paul recognized the power of antichrist in verse 7 he said that the power was trying to get itself off of the ground but something was hindering it from rising to power. Well then it will be unfair for Jesus to return and you and I lost because we didn’t know these factors after all it was God that told the prophet Hosea,
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children. Hosea 4:6
The fourth and final event as I have stated is why I am here to talk with you. It is found in our main text in Matthew 17:1-21. There is so much here to digest so I would like for us to begin reading at verse 10 and conclude in verse 21. Now going back to verses 10-13 we find our final reason, but to understand the point of reference regarding the question of the disciples we need to go to Malachi 4:5, 6.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
The disciples understood the prophecy to mean literal Elias or Elijah, but the Scriptures state that it is not the literal Elijah that will appear as the one in the Mount of Transfiguration, but the spirit of Elias which at the time was in John the Baptist (Matthew 17:13). Luke’s gospel confirms that John the Baptist was endowed with the spirit of Elias.
15 For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb. 16 And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. 17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:15-17
And please we are not talking about a ghost either. The spirit of Elias is nothing more than the word or message that he carried as Jesus stated in John 6:63.
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
So let’s quickly review the four things that must occur before the Second Coming of our Lord.
1. The Gospel is to be preached to the entire world.
2. There must be an apostasy or “falling away” first in the
Church.
3. The man of sin has to be unmasked or revealed.
4. Elijah the prophet must come first to prepare the way of
the Lord.
I have come to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit and power of Elias to tell you about…(A MOONSTRUCK LUNATIC AND MEMBERS)
[GIVE TITLE & PRAY]
Jesus gave a display of His return in vision to three of His closes disciples Peter, James, and John while the other disciples were in the valley continuing on the work of God. There appeared in the mountain talking to Jesus Moses and Elijah. Luke said that they were talking to Jesus about His death that He should accomplish at Jerusalem. (Luke 9:31) Peter filled with excitement wanted to start 3 new churches one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, but God interrupted Him and said,
5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. Matthew 17:5, 6
In other words, “Shut up! You are not up here to worship Moses or Elijah, but to honor my Son; you should be listening to Him.” So many times people get enamored with preachers and forget that the reason for coming to Church is to worship Jesus and to hear His Words.” I told the Rock of Ages that I don’t like it when people say I go to Bishop Jakes, Pastor Toney, or such and such’s church. Paul said that he didn’t like it either. (1 Corinthians 1:12, 13) Jesus bade His disciples not to tell anyone of the vision until after He was raised from the dead.
This experience left such a profound impact on the Apostle Peter that he wrote of the experience in his first epistle.
1 The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: 1 Peter 5:1
He said that “I am a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.” How can you be a partaker of something that hasn’t happened? He experienced the Second Coming on that mountain. Jesus was transfigured or glorified while Moses, who represents those that will be raised from the dead at His return, and Elijah, who represents those that are alive and remain which will be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air, were talking to Jesus about going through with His sacrifice because if He didn’t, they would have to come back. It was one of the few motivating factors for our Saviour as He was in constant reflection upon His death. He needed that.
But while the party was going on top of the mountain there was some ruckus or pandemonium going on in the church at the foot of the mountain. We pick up the commotion in Matthew 17:14-18,
14 And when they were come to the multitude, there came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, and saying, 15 Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. 16 And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him. 17 Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him hither to me. 18 And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.
But that wasn’t all that was going on for you see people from the local temple were present when this perplexed father brought his lunatic son to the disciples. They had been trying to prove all along that Jesus was an impostor and the inability of the disciples to cast out the demon made Jesus ministry suspect. So the Scribes, according to Mark’s gospel, starting questioning the disciples about why they could not do it? I believe if you and I would have been in that crowd, we too would have wondered especially if knowing that Jesus had given them authority (power) over all demons.
Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. Luke 9:1
Jesus didn’t like it. He charged up the scribes.
14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them. 15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him. 16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them? Mark 9:14-16
With a glimmer of glory that still shined in the face of Jesus from the transfiguration, the scribes, who were so bold and defiant before now fell silent upon this question. They drew back in fear and the afflicted father made his way through the crowd and falling at the feet of Jesus, poured out the story of his trouble and disappointment. (Desire of Ages, page 427) The lunatic boy’s father’s approach was all wrong to begin with,
21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. 25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. Mark 9:21-25
“If thou canst do any thing…” What? Jesus responded “if thou canst believe all things are possible to him that believeth.” I submit unto you that if there is any failure in our prayers it is not because of God but because of our own unbelief in His Word. My Bible says that my God can do anything even beyond my wildest imagination.
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26
20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Ephesians 3:20
Matthew said that it was the spirit of lunatic or lunacy; Mark said that it was a dumb and deaf spirit, Luke, who was the only doctor of the three diagnosed it as a devil and unclean spirit. That is a major contrast to our day and age where everything that we fail in is diagnosed as a homeostatic breakdown hence things like foolishness, stupidity, disobedience, and disrespect has been dubbed autism, ADDHD, MPD, and some more alphabet soupy titles. But more practical than that or I should say but more spiritual than that how about a prognosis of good old-fashioned demon possession—the occupation by Satan or demons in the mind.
See we got it twisted. Television or Hellywood got us bamboozled as to what demon possession is all about. We are not talking about The Exorcist, Damian Omen, or Rosemary’s Baby. [dramatize-eyes rolling around, deep voice] There are all kinds of mediums by which we contract the spirit of lunacy. Diet, television, music, drugs, and bad company are all contributors to demon possession. Remember the battle between Christ and Satan is over our minds.
I believe the General, Larry Platt, was right. We are talking about something as simple as “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, looking like a fool with yo’ pants on the ground, with the gold in yo’ mouth, hat turned sideways, pants hit da ground, call yourself a cool cat, lookin’ like a fool walkin’ downtown with your pants on the ground-Git it up, hey! get yo’ pants off da ground."
Not to trivialized the heartache of this desperate father in trying to get his son delivered from this lunatic spirit but we must understand that at the heart of the Gospel is the Elijah message—“He shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just:” (Luke 1:17) Satan’s disdain for Christ is us, and his disdain for us is our children. So his objective is to possess their minds and make our lives a living hell.
Scholars do not conclusively agree on just what was wrong with the boy. One says that he had epilepsy. One says that indeed he was loony, and yet others say that he was possessed of the devil. Multiple translations also differ in what was wrong with the boy. The NIV says that he had seizures. The Amplified, American, Revised, and New Revised state that he had epilepsy. Green’s Literal Translation translate from the original Greek which says,
Lord, pity my son. For he is moonstruck and suffers miserably. For he often falls into the fire, and often into the water. Matthew 17:15, GLT
The word lunatic comes from the Latin word for moon which is luna. It was the belief in antiquity that the phases of the moon caused mood swings within people. Consequently people that are moonstruck can get erratic or very depressed depending on whether there is a full, half, crescent, or new moon. Only people who believe in that science falsely or astrology would believe in that. I told you that no Christian has any business dealing with the horoscope or star formation and positioning. You are not a Capricorn; you are a child of God. If you blame the condition of your son on the moon you are just a bad parent. I’m sorry that’s not judging that is just what that is.
Blame epilepsy which was a common disease of this time. I remember as a kid we would often see children while playing, all of a sudden they would just fall out, start to tremor, and someone would yell go get a spoon we don’t want him to chew up his tongue! Julius Caesar had epilepsy. Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures. It comes from the Greek word epilçpsia which means to seize. It cannot be understood as a single disorder but as syndromic with a variety of symptoms. And that is exactly what is happening to this generation they are being seized by the Devil.
Let’s blame the devil for it after all, the Scriptures said that the boy had a “spirit” that was speechless, deaf, impure, and loony. Somebody would have said, “He hadn’t taken his Ritalin.” “He needs to be admitted and put in a straight jacket and given some electric shock therapy, but in Matthew 17:17, Jesus said bring him to me.
The first step in turning the hearts of the children to the fathers is bringing our children to the Lord. Jesus bade His disciples in Matthew 19:14, 15,
14 But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven. 15 And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.
Of course you know that just bringing them to Jesus is part of the treatment. We have a parental responsibility to them to raise them up in the admonition of the Lord.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Training carries with it more than explanation. It requires demonstration. We are to train them. Start with the Commandments. What commandments—The same commandments that God commanded the children of Israel to keep and observe and to teach them to their children.
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9
The first defense against the devil is the Word of God. David said, “11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11) And if you are just depending on your children to get their learning from the pastor, or the Sunday School teacher, then you are doing them a disservice. As it stands there is no restraint, rules are relaxed, and disobedience is tolerated rather than corrected. When we join ourselves to Christ that same law that God commanded Israel is written in our hearts it is called the New Covenant.
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:31-34
Our children must enter into that covenant relationship with God through Christ. We must bring them to Christ.
The second thing we need to do is to develop some faith! Again in verse 17, he chastises them for being faithless and perverse. What is faith?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17
1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1
What are we hoping for? If it is not the Word of God then you are void of faith. We haven’t seen the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. (2 Corinthians 1:20) All of His promises are yes, and Amen in Christ Jesus. In other words they are money in the bank. We can trust in the Word of God.
Now we all know what faithless means, but what does perverse mean. No it doesn’t mean perverted like nasty perverted. It means to distort or to turn aside from the right path. They talked the commandments but didn’t live the commandments. Consequently this father’s own inconsistencies caused his son to make some bad decisions based upon his lapses in judgment and Satan was quick to take over.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. James 1:21-25
When we learn to obey God, our children will learn to obey us. They through our example will understand what it means to be holy, just, and upright. As it stands what they see is perversion, corruption, and hypocrisy. We say this but do that we distort the truth. We make it hard for them to know what is right from wrong.
Our final step is going to cause us to make some sacrifices and even perhaps suffer a little bit. Uh-oh, He said suffer. God’s people don’t like to suffer. Well the way I see it, it would be far better to suffer doing it God’s way than to suffer doing it our way.
I like to use my imagination when reading the Word. I imagined that the disciples were looking down at the ground when Jesus called them faithless and perverse, and to save face or to spare themselves more embarrassment of further scolding from their Master, they, the Bible says pull Jesus to the side. (verse 19)
19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? Matthew 17:19
"Jesus we thought you gave us power over all demons, why couldn’t we get this one out?" Jesus said to them they must fast and pray. I just finished teaching my church about fasting and the types of fast that they need to do. Abstinence from food is not the only fast. I told them that nobody taught me how to fast when I first became a Christian. And when I tried it, I went without food or drink for a whole week and almost died, because I was still watching television with those food commercials that made my eyes water because I was so hungry. I read the Bible sometimes but I couldn’t read it all day because I had to go to school and work. But the wrong thing to do is to watch television while you are fasting. We need to fast from television. Or better yet engage in the fast that God prescribed. Isaiah 58:6-9, God tells the prophet,
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy F259 burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 9 Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.
Yes praying is good in fact the Bible says we should do it without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) But fasting gets you heard. Talking to God and your heart is divided in regard to doing what He says or doing what you want to do will not get God’s attention (Psalm 66:18). Fasting strips us of our will and allows us to do God’s will. Our children not only need our prayers but we need to fast by loosening the bands of wickedness, and committing ourselves to the service of others which will break that selfish and covetous spirit. God promises that when we put His will first He will say Here I am, Then all that is left is that we give Him thanks and praise.
Beloved we have examined God’s unrelenting, compassionate power in dealing with a father who had a demon possessed son. He has provided us with Jesus, faith, and fasting to combat the enemy. The choice is ours today. Will we surrender our lives to God and serve the Lord in our homes, communities, and places of business? Will we accept our responsibilities as parents and train, teach, and set an example for our young people? I charge you before the Lord God today that you start on your journey to turn the hearts of the children in this generation to their Everlasting and Eternal Father. May God keep you and bless you!
[PRAY]
