"Lessons from a Madman"
As a former alcoholic and drug-abuser, my attention was drawn to the account given in the Bible about the Madman, the demon-possessed man of Gadara (Mark 5:1-20). His attitude/actions, before the Lord delivered him from demon-possession and he was born-again, were very similar to mine before I was saved.
So, while looking for Bible answers I studied his story thoroughly and was surprised to find these significant facts concerning the characteristics of a person that is demonically influenced, controlled, or possessed by the devil. And please, let me assert at the outset of this brief message, demon possession is not a "thing of the past" to be relegated to the first century and the days when the Lord Jesus Christ walked this earth. No, just as prevalent as disease, blindness, and lameness was in Jesus’ day and also is today, so is demon influence, control and possession. Society has just given it a different name.
Today we call it: mentally ill, emotional problems/sickness, schizophrenia, bipolar personality disorder, and the list of mental maladies seems to be endless as we gain more "knowledge". Let us just be Biblical about it and call it as it is: "Demonic influence, control and possession". And please, let me also assert at the outset, that I am not speaking on this subject as an "outsider looking in". No, I have experienced firsthand many of the demonic afflictions of this Madman.
I have also experienced firsthand the ‘so called’ state of the art cures of man, and I can say confidently using the Biblical text as my authority "No man could tame (me) him" that’s right no man but Jesus Christ, the God-Man of Heaven. And just as He tamed the Madman of Gadara by casting out the great multitude of demons, He also tamed this madman giving us both a testimony ministry and eternal life in the process! Hallelujah, What a Saviour!
Now back to the Bible text: Although this Madman is totally possessed by the devil, common sense tells us his condition was not an "over night thing". No, he first of all was influenced by the devil through his thought processes. One thought at a time he eventually gave control of his entire being over to the demonic forces that finally possessed him totally. Step by step, in degrees of yieldedness, this apparent Madman surrendered his entire being, body soul and spirit and now as God’s Word records this last stage of complete possession (Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-40).
Demonic influence can be found affecting the life of any person! Yes, believer and unbeliever alike can be influenced by demons. Then comes the second stage of demons controlling the life of the victim. Our attitudes and actions can and will be controlled by the one to whom we yield. "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey his servants ye are to whom ye obey? (Romans 6:16)
We must remember that all three stages are measured in degrees of our yieldedness, whether it be Self, Satan or the Saviour! The demon-possessed man of Gadara slowly surrendered his thoughts, attitudes, and actions until he, the Madman of Gadara, was totally possessed by multitudes of demons!
Being a child of the devil, it was natural for him to do wrong. However, during these acts of sin and rebellion towards God, he came under the influence of demonic suggestions, control of his thought processes began to be given over in a slow methodical process in degrees, here a little, there a little until finally he was completely possessed.
This Madman of Gadara was totally owned by the master of sin himself. When the Bible passages concerning The Madman of Gadara are analyzed, at least ten characteristics of demonic influence, control and possession are found:
1. Loner Mentality (Mark 5:1ff)
2. Unusual Physical Strength (Mark 5:4)
3. Continual Unrest (Mark 5:5)
4. Loud, Unearthly, Animalistic Crying/Screams (Mark 5:5)
5. Morals out of Control/Nakedness (Luke 8:27)
6. Self-Inflicted Wounds (Mark 5:5)
7. Confusion of Mind/Split Personality/Schizophrenic (Mark 5:7)
8. Fixation with death (Mark 5:2, 35)
9. Aggressive Behavior/Hostile toward others/Exceeding fierce (Matthew 8:28)
10. Outcast from society (Mark 5:2)
The one sign of demonic influence that seems to be the most evident in our society today is: "Morals out of Control". When the Lord Jesus crossed the Galilee to save this one man’s soul He was faced with a man that was completely unclothed. Yes, this man came out of the tombs and approached Jesus and the disciples completely naked! The sin of baring the body/displaying the body is one that plagues and inflicts the people of God today!
Degrees of nudity and wearing clothing that accentuate the shape of one’s body has become acceptable among those who name the Name of Christ! Yes, modesty has been sacrificed on the altar of convenience, comfort, and conformity to the world’s dress code. Although it is evident in both sexes, women are the greater offenders, for their degrees of nudity and exposure of their bodies through ungodly dress cause men to "commit adultery in their hearts" thereby falling into sin.
The Bible gives clear instruction to all Christians in I Thessalonians 4:4-6, a passage that commands us not to "defraud our brother in any matter" meaning we must not cause anybody to stumble or fall into sin through our conduct. Although we can defraud or cause another to fall into sin through what we say, or how we act, the most prevalent sin of defrauding another is this baring the body, putting on display the shape of the body through the practice of dressing immodestly.
Women who insist on revealing their body through immodest form-fitting attire or dress that uncovers their body, not only violate our Lord’s command found here in I Thessalonians, but also underline the fact of their being demonically influenced. Yes, the devil is using those who insist on dressing immodestly to cause many brethren to stumble and fall into sin, not to mention the lost who also "commit adultery in their hearts" as they willingly look upon those who commit this ungodly sin. One preacher has rightly said "If it’s on the display counter, it must be for sale, if it’s not for sale, don’t display it!"
This viewpoint puts the sin of immodesty in the right category, in reality this type of conduct committed a century ago would have been considered outright harlotry or prostitution! The open willingness to sell the body! And it must be considered the same sin today for the principle is the same and many are "buying" this wholesale wickedness and are falling into ruin, first in their minds, and then in their physical bodies, committing the heinous sin of adultery, a sin that was punishable by death to both parties in the days of Moses!
Unfortunately this type of conduct is merely a symptom, and not the cause, of a culture that has succumbed to the vicious control of Satan himself. And because of it’s presence in many churches, most pulpits are silent concerning this wretched sin of defrauding, prostituting the body, causing others to stumble and fall into sin.
One of the less obvious demonic influences is the Loner Attitude. However, many of the young people of today that ascribe to the rock music culture also tend to be loners. They hole themselves up in their rooms, indulging in the music that is oftentimes unacceptable to their parents, but nevertheless they are allowed to listen to it, bringing upon them this desire to be alone.
They withdraw from reality, and the rest of outside world. Many times they are being set up by the devil himself to commit the ultimate act of rejection of this world attempting to enter another by committing suicide. Watch out for the Loner Attitude among the young people, Christian and Non-Christian alike!
Elijah’s adversaries, the Satanically controlled Baal worshippers in I Kings 18:28, performed the same "cultic" rituals of crying aloud and cutting themselves in an effort to induce their "god" into action. The Madman of Gadara demonstrated this same type of conduct and it is openly displayed in many of the rock music cultures that flood our country. As the former leader of a rock and roll band, I am a first hand witness to these Satanic style rituals that are being performed across our once great land, polluting the minds of the young, with their crying, screaming, howling animalistic behavior. The obsession with death/spirit world is also abundantly found in the lyrics of their sordid music underlining the devil’s influence and control.
Although most Christians would say "I don’t listen to that hard rock music" what they do not realize is, the influence of the devil comes in degrees, and the contemporary "Christian" music includes many of the rock culture’s underlying principles. Is it any wonder that the #1 cause of death among teens is the fatal self-inflicted mortal wound of suicide? After experiencing a lifetime of sin in a few years, many think the only other option is entering the next world, and when their heroes, the rock music crowd, encourage suicide/death and demonic spirit world engagement, it is not surprising that multitudes of young lives are sacrificed on the altar of the Great Deceiver himself?
The demonic influences that remain: Continual Unrest, Confusion of Mind were also major characteristics of my life as I searched for fulfillment, but only the Lord Jesus Christ and the forgiveness that comes from repenting of my sin, putting my faith in the Blood that He shed as payment for my sin and guilt could remove these influences of the devil from my life, and I praise Him for His great love.
Yes, just as this notable Madman was found "sitting, clothed and in his right mind" after he received the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Saviour from sin, death and hell, we too can be "a new creature in Christ" as we yield to His great love. In conclusion, let me encourage, yea admonish those Christians who are guilty in the eyes of the Lord of allowing demonic influences into their lives to repent, confess and forsake your sin thereby receiving forgiveness, replacing these activities with God’s powerful life-changing Word, memorizing, meditating on His Holy Scripture, thereby yielding to the Holy Spirit to take control of those areas of your life and go on and serve the Living Lord Jesus Christ!
