A Spirit Of Rebellion

“A SPIRIT OF REBELLION”

Text: Mark 5:1-5

Introduction: You would recognize him the moment that

you saw him.

1. His hair was matted together.

2. His face was unshaven.

3. He was foaming and frothing at the mouth.

4. Blood was flowing from self-inflicted

wounds.

5. The clanging of chains could be heard as

he dragged them around.

6. He didn’t wear any clothes or live in a

house but dwelled among the tombs.

7. The stench of dried pus and soured vomit

was unbearable.

8. He would come at you screaming and crying

like a wild animal.

Who was this man? He was a man that was

possessed of the devil. He had anywhere

between 3 and 6 thousand demons in him.

Demons are disembodied spirits. They are

fallen angels that rebelled with Lucifer in

his initial rebellion against God. They can

afflict with bodily disease. Being unclean

they tempt us with unclean thoughts. They can

cause:

a. Insanity (Matt. 8:28; 17:15)

b. Muteness of speech (Matt. 9:3)

c. Blindness (Matt. 12:22)

d. A person to harm themselves (Mk. 5:5)

e. Paralysis (Luke 13:ll)

f. Deafness (Mk. 9:25)

BUT, It is impossible for a Christian to be

demon possessed. The Lord cannot and will not

be a cohabitant with the devil. When Jesus

shows up the devil is ready

to leave town.

Anyone who is unsaved is a candidate for demon

possession. But there are at least six

different groups that are more likely to

become demon possessed than others.

1. Those who enter into a covenant or a

contract with Satan, selling their souls.

2. Those who dabble in the occult, Black

Magic, White Magic, Horoscopes, Astrology,

Fortune Telling, Card Reading, Ouija

Boards, Fetishes, Charms, Seances, and

Satan worship, etc.

3. Those who use drugs and alcohol.

4. Those who practice false religions.

5. Those who indulge in sexual abuses and

promiscuity.

6. Those who are vile and wicked. Blasphemers,

Foul-mouthed, Defile the flesh and are

morally corrupt.

We don’t know how this man got into

the condition that he was in. A person that

is degraded and weakened by sin will open

themselves to the devil. The Bible warns us

not to give place to the devil.

This man had been excommunicated

from the town of Gadara. They had tried to

restrain him with chains and fetters but they

could not hold him. The people of Gadara

could not rest or be at peace as long as they

knew that this man was on the loose. There

would be an errie feeling to come over the

town as they heard his hellish cries and

demonic laugh throughout the night.

It all sounds like the page out of a

horror story but it is reality. A man that

got so far into sin that demons took

possession of his body.

The city of Gadara is not the only

place that we can find such evil. There is

a spirit of rebellion that fills the land

today. We are seeing an explosion of evil all

around us.

I. THE DESTRUCTIVE POWER OF SIN

A. It is hard for us to conceive how anyone could ever get into such a condition.

a. Sin has destructive power.

B. Sin will degrade you and bring you down to the level of an animal and a brute beast.

a. Sin Degrades

b. Sin Destroys

c. Sin Desecrates

C. Sin will always, always bring you down!

1. Jonah

a. He went down to Joppa

b. He went down into the ship.

c. He went down into the sea.

d. He went down into the belly of the whale.

2. Prodigal Son

a. He went down into a far country

b. He went down into immorality

c. He went down into the hog-pens.

D. This man went down into the tombs!

a. He left the land of the living to dwell among the dead.

E. Sin will alienate you!

1. God

a. “Our sins separate us from God”

b. “If I regard iniquity in my heart the Lord will not hear me”

2. Society

a. The prison population has exploded.

b. We can’t build prisons fast enough.

3. Family

a. How many families have lost a family member because of sin?

b. Through drugs, alcohol, divorce, etc.

F. All around us is sea of families that live in sin and misery.

a. They are in a deep pit of despair and anxiety.

b. They live with frustration, irritation, and restlessness

G. “There is no peace, saith God, for the wicked”

a. “The way of the transgressor is hard!”

b. “The wages of sin is death!”

c. “The soul that sinneth shall die”

H. This man gives to us a picture of how deplorable and horrible sin is!

a. His friends and his family became terrified of him.