In this passage, Jesus warns that it’s not enough to just cast out evil or avoid sin—if our lives remain empty, sin will creep back in even stronger. Instead, we’re called to be filled with God’s Word, Spirit, and love. When a woman praises Jesus’ mother, he shifts the blessing to those who hear and obey God’s Word, showing that true faith is about being transformed and filled, not just cleaned up on the outside. The Christian life isn’t simply “do no harm,” but also “do good” and stay rooted in God’s love. When we focus on the light—prayer, Scripture, acts of goodness—the darkness won’t stand a chance.

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Well, good morning! It’s good to be with you as we continue in Luke’s gospel. I’m always grateful for these moments when we can study God’s word together, grow together, and reflect together.

Today we’re looking at Luke 11:24–28. It’s two short teachings that actually fit together really well. Let’s read:

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place. Not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”
As he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

If you remember yesterday, Jesus had just been accused of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub. His response was basically, “That doesn’t even make sense—a house divided can’t stand.” And then he said, “Whoever is not with me is against me.” In other words, you can’t stay neutral—there’s got to be a purpose, a direction.

That’s the backdrop to this next teaching about the return of the unclean spirit. Jesus says a spirit is cast out, but if the “house” it left behind is empty—swept and in order but unfilled—it just comes back with friends. And the end result is worse than before.

And then, almost out of nowhere, someone calls out, “Blessed is your mama!” And Jesus says, “No, blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” In other words, it’s not about family ties or even outward appearances. It’s about being filled with God’s word and God’s presence.

Here’s the point: it’s not enough just to avoid evil. We’re not called to be blank slates, people who simply don’t do wrong. As John Wesley taught, the first rule is “Do no harm”—that’s the foundation. But then we’re called to “Do good” and, ultimately, to “Stay in love with God.”

Jesus is showing us the same pattern here. Yes, repent. Yes, turn away from sin. But don’t just empty your life of evil—fill it with what is good. If you don’t, the danger is that sin comes back stronger. Sin has this way of numbing us. The first time you lie, you feel guilty. By the fifteenth time, you hardly notice. That’s why repentance has to be followed by filling your life with God’s word and God’s Spirit.

There’s a book on Wesley’s teaching called Perfect Love that talks about how God’s love, through prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace, fills our hearts and drives out sin. And that’s really the heart of it: my goal as a pastor isn’t to help you just “be a good person.” My goal is to help you love Jesus. Because when you love Jesus—when his love fills every crack and corner of your life—that love will drive out sin.

Otherwise, it’s like a house that’s been cleaned but left empty. It might look fine for a moment, but it won’t stay that way.

So how do we do this? Not by obsessing over the darkness, but by focusing on the light. The best way to defeat temptation isn’t just to grit your teeth and say no. It’s to pray. To read your Bible. To go do good for someone else. To let the light in. Because when the light fills the room, the darkness doesn’t stand a chance.

So today, let’s not just avoid evil. Let’s fill our hearts with God’s word, God’s Spirit, and God’s love. If we focus on the light, the darkness will take care of itself.

Thanks for being with me today. Tomorrow we’ll keep going in Luke as Jesus continues teaching. These next few days are packed with parables and lessons, so I’m looking forward to digging in with you. Have a great day!