"What A Difference Christ Makes"
Text: Mark 5:1-20
"And they came over unto the other side of the sea,
into the country of the Gadarenes.
And when he was come out of the ship, immediately
there met him out of the tombs a man with an un-
clean spirit,
Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man
could bind him, no, not with chains:
Because that he had been often bound with fetters
and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder
by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither
could any man tame him.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains,
and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with
stones.
But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worship-
ped him,
And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I
to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high
God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me
not.
For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou
unclean spirit.
And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answer-
ed, ssying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
And he besought him much that he would not send
them away out of the country,
Now there was thre night unto the mountains a great
herd of swine feeding.
And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us
into the swine, that we may enter into them.
And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the un-
clean spirits went out, and entered into the swine:
and the herd ran violently down a steep place into
the sea(they were about two thousand;) and were
choked in the sea.
And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in
the city, and in the country. And they went out
to see what it was that was done.
And they come to Jesus, and see him that was poss-
essed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting,
and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were
afraid.
And they that saw it told them how it befell to him
that had was possessed with the devil, and also con-
cerning the swine.
And they began to pray him to depart out of their
coasts.
And when he was come into the ship, he that had
been possessed with the devil prayed him that he
might be with him.
Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him,
Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great
things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had
compassion on thee.
And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis
how great things Jesus had done for him: and all
men did marvel."
KJV
Introduction-
This is truly one of the most amazing stories
recorded in the Word of God. It is one of my fav-
orites, because it illustrates the dramatic diff-
erence that Jesus can make in anyone’s life.
We need to believe in, and proclaim, the power
of God to change any life. If He can change the
Gadarene, He can change anyone. If He can save
the Gadarene, and make him a completely different
person, then He can do that for anyone we might
encounter in proclaiming the Gospel of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ.
Do we really believe, though, that God can
actually change anyone? What about the drunk on
the streets of that seaport city? What about the
person hooked on powerful, mood-altering drugs?
What about the rich and famous successful movie
star, whose heart is empty and afraid? What about
the little child only, say 5-6 years old, who has
heard the Gospel and wants to accept Jesus? What
about the cultist, drowning in religion, but with-
out Christ, and without life? He can, indeed,
alter any ego, change any life, convert any hard-
ened criminal, rescue anyone captivated by any form
of immoral lifestyle.
2nd Corinthians 5:17 says-"Therefore, if any man
be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new."
Let’s see this truth illustrated in the life of
the Gadarene.
I. First, Let’s see him chained, crying, and
cutting himself with stones.
This is a pitiful, but accurate picture of a
Devil-controlled life. He wasn’t a very good
advertisement for Satan to put on his business
to try to attract new customers.
The picture thus painted is of a man in turmoil,
with a war going on within his soul. He had
often been bound with fetters and chains, but
no man could tame him. He lived among the dead,
and he was dead-spiritually, yet he was walking
and breathing, a captive of the kingdom of
darkness and sin.
Illustration-I once met a young man very much
like the Gadarene. I was visiting in a mental
hospital in Meridian, Mississippi, and I met
a young man who was just as much a captive of
the kingdom of darkness as the Gadarene was.
He began to tell me the story of his life. He
said that he once was married, with 2-3 children,
I believe, and that he was a honor student in
school. Then, he opened his life to the Devil,
and he lost his wife and family, and ruined his
life, and ended his successful career. I noticed
that on his arms there were marks where he had
taken a razor blade and tried to hurt himself.
He said, "There is a power that comes over me,
and I can’t control myself." I prayed for him,
and asked God to deliver him, and save his soul.
II. Secondly, Let’s see him cleansed, and changed.
There was hope for him, even in the condition
that the Gadarene was in. When he saw Jesus,
he ran and worshipped him.
Jesus commanded the evil spirits to depart into
some swine. Immediately, they ran down a cliff
into the sea, and were drowned. They did not
want to live with the Devil inside them.
I wish that some people were as wise as those
pigs. Not that they would seek to hurt them-
selves, but that they would come to a realiza-
tion that their only hope is in Christ, and
run to Him, and fall down and worship Him, and
surrender their all to Him.
III. Thirdly, Let’s see him clothed, and in his right
mind.
When Jesus comes into anyone’s life, they are
changed-forever. They will never be the same
again. They experience forgiveness, joy, accept-
ance, and unmerited grace.
Christ will put clothes on your body, good sense
in your head, and love in your heart.
Those who had profited from those pigs did not
understand Jesus, so they were afraid of Him,
and wanted Him to leave. After all, He was
touching their wallets!
IV. Fourthly, and finally, I would like for us to
see him commissioned and challanged.
God doesn’t save us just to give us a fire
escape from hell. He wants us to win others.
He wants us to live for Him. He wants us to
heed His Word, and follow His will. The
Gadarene wanted to travel with Jesus, but the
Lord had other plans for him. He wanted him
to go home and tell his friends about the great
things God had done for him. When is the last
time we did that?
I just finished watching a video that my deno-
mination produced that talks about church plant-
ing by missionaries all over the world, and
how that God is blessing, and lives are being
changed. It told how one church will start
another church, and then those two will start
two more, etc.. One of the missionaried remark-
ed that it was just like re-living the book of
Acts in our own time. It was the Southern
Baptist video entitled "Global Harvest." I
couldn’t help but ask myself, "Why can’t we
do that in our own country? Why can’t our
churches start other churches who, in turn,
will start even more chuches. Some might
argue that we have too many churches already,
but it is a proven fact that new groups are
able to start other new groups much better
than traditional, established churches. God
help us to present the Christ who changes
lives to our own nation, as well as the rest
of the world.
Invitation-My prayer is that you will open your
heart and life to the Savior today, just as the
Gadarene did. Christ can change your life, also,
if you will only come to Him in believing faith.
