Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 43
11:6-26
Luke–ACTS
31
of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit,
and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his
bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my
family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though
he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough,
he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
“And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.
Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will
be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks,
finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
“You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake
instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course
not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those
who ask him.”
One day Jesus cast out a demon from a man who couldn’t speak, and when
the demon was gone, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed,
but some of them said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his
power from Satan, the prince of demons.” Others, trying to test Jesus, demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his
authority.
He knew their thoughts, so he said, “Any kingdom divided by civil war
is doomed. A family splintered by feuding will fall apart. You say I am empowered by Satan. But if Satan is divided and fighting against himself, how
can his kingdom survive? And if I am empowered by Satan, what about
your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn
you for what you have said. But if I am casting out demons by the power
of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For when a
strong man is fully armed and guards his palace, his possessions are safe—
until someone even stronger attacks and overpowers him, strips him of his
weapons, and carries off his belongings.
“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working
with me is actually working against me.
“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching
for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came
from.’ So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order.
Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they
all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than
before.”
