(Mark 5:1-20 - “1Then they came to the other side of the
sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. 2And when He had
come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the
tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3who had his dwelling
among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even
with chains, 4because he had often been bound with
shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart
by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could
anyone tame him. 5And always, night and day, he was in
the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting
himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran
and worshipped Him. 7And he cried out with a loud voice
and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the
Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not
torment me.” 8For He said to him, “Come out of the man,
unclean spirit!” 9Then He asked him, “What is your
name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for
we are many.” 10Also he begged Him earnestly that He
would not send them out of the country. 11Now a large
herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12So
all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine,
that we may enter them.” 13And at once Jesus gave them
permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered
the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd
ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and
drowned in the sea. 14So those who fed the swine fled, and
they told it in the city and in the country. And they went
out to see what it was that had happened. 15Then they
came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been
demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed
and in his right mind. And they were afraid. 16And those
who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been
demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17Then they began
to plead with Him to depart from their region. 18And when
He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed
begged Him that he might be with Him. 19However, Jesus
did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your
friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done
for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20And
he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that
Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.”)
Sin can have some truly terrible effects upon the sinner.
A. Though seldom, if ever, does anyone today
experience the effects of sin in such a terrible way
as this account shows...sin still does produce as
terrifying end results...if we could only see them.
1. We of fleshly eyes cannot see the horrible and
ugly results of the sins that we commit.
a. But whether we see those results, or not...
we need to understand that they are just
as terrible as this scenario.
In the time allotted, today, I wish to go over the effects of
sin on our soul.
A. Perhaps you are astute and fully know thesethings.
1. Then I present them, again to you, as a
review and a warning.
B. There are some, however, who may not
realize the horrors of sin.
1. Only when a person sees the repugnance of
sin will he be prone to shunning sin.
a. Sin is always wrapped up in a desirable
package...it is meant to look appealing...
pleasure is it’s appeal.
1.) Only if we peel away the wrappings
can we see sin in all of its wicked
ugliness.
Let us take a look at sin and its effects so that we might
recognize the ugliness, hurtfulness, and destructiveness of
that which is present to hurt and destroy us.
I. Sin poisons our environment.
(II Peter 2:21-22 - “21For it would have been better for
them not to have known the way of righteousness, than
having known it, to turn from the holy commandment
delivered to them. 22But it has happened to them according
to the true proverb: “A dog returns to his own vomit,” and,
“a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.”)
A. Each time that we give in to sin, we become
more comfortable with the things that destroy.
1. It’s like snuggling up with a monster who
has dressed up like a white, fuzzy, bunny
rabbit.
(II Cor. 11:13-15 - “13For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of
Christ. 14And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms
himself into an angel of light. 15Therefore it is no great
thing if his ministers also transform themselves into
ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to
their works.”)
a. In essence, when we sin...that sin
helps to make an environment that
is friendly to more sin.
B. Involuntary demon possession is not present in
this day and age...because of our free will (I
will be happy to discuss this sometime after
services if you don’t understand).
1. Even though “involuntary demon possession”
may be a thing of the past...voluntary
demon possession” is quite real.
a. It comes from entertaining sin and
satan for so long...that you create
an environment that he needs.
b. Just as following the things of God
create an environment in which the
Holy Spirit can live...so, also can we
drive Him from us by creating an
environment that is compatible to
satan.
** The creation of this environment comes from the
practice...the embracing of that which is offensive
to God...SIN.
C. In the story that was cited of the encounter
between Christ and the demon possessed man...
we note that this man lived among the unclean
dead.
1. If this man was righteous he would not have
spent a moment in this place...no more than
a lamb would spend his time in a pig wallow.
a. Sinful practices in our lives allows us
to feel comfortable around ugly and
wicked and vile and disgusting...SIN!
b. A righteous person who would shun
sin, would also shun the environment
of sin (in whatever form it may take).
II. Another effect of sin...and many do not learn this until
it is way too late...is the fact that WE CANNOT EVER
CONTROL SIN!
A. There is no way that we can open the door to sin in
our “everyday life”, without it taking over.
1. satan is not contented to have a partial role to
play in our lives...he wants to take possession
of our hearts.
a. Only in this way can he displace Jesus
Christ...and know this...SATAN WANTS
TO DISPLACE CHRIST IN EVERY-
ONE’S HEART!
B. Back to our text...we would question some
things.
1. Question #1: What sins had this man
started off with?
2. Question #2: How long had he been messing
with sin and how deeply had he gotten into it
before the demons had the environment that
they needed to take over?
** Just a side note here...it is possible, at this time, that
this man had not involved himself with sin...it is at this
time in history that “involuntary possession” was
possible...but for the sake of this discussion andlooking
at today which only embraces VOLUNTARY
possession,...let us assume that this was voluntary and
not involuntary possession.
D. A person’s mind...will...desires...and motives are
all affected when he gives in to the impulse of sin.
1. In essence, then, we are speaking of the
spiritual heart.
a. satan knows it and we had better come to
understand it...this is a struggle for our
hearts!
E. When left to follow its course, sin will only
escalate.
1. There is nothing to stop sinful practices from
growing to major and epidemic proportions.
a. Sin has a very bad habit of “branching
out”.
1.) Sin begets sin...one sin leads to
...or opens the door...to another
kind of sin.
a.) It doesn’t take very long
before a person becomes
consumed...and taken over
by sin.
** This person has actually invited satan in to take
possession of his life...
1. Oh the actual request might not be made, but
the invitation is real, none-the-less.
III. Sin creates a feeling of being dirty...of hating one’s
self...of guilt.
A. No Christian that is in the grip of habitual sin,
can respect himself.
1. We know who we are supposed to be...who’s
child we are.
a. We also know what is expected of us and
what is forbidden.
1.) We know and understand that we
have failed Christ...that we have
done despite to the gift that He
gave His life to provide.
(Heb. 10:29 - “29Of how much worse punishment, do you
suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the
Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant
by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted
the Spirit of grace?”)
2.) We know that...even though we
may have thought of ourselves as
a child of God, at one time, we are
more of a child of the devil, now.
B. Guilt and depression and a despising of one’s self
start to set in.
1. We feel that we are no longer worthy of what
Christ has done for us and we might as well
remain in the muck and mire that we have
been immersed in.
a. The truth be known...WE WERE
NEVER WORTHY OF WHAT CHRIST
HAS DONE FOR US!
** satan loves it when he can get a person to this stage.
1. Unless this person receives some strong
Christian counseling...he stands in a very real
danger of forever being lost to the grip of satan.
D. Let us return to the original account of the demon
possessed man, for a moment:
1. Why was this man crying out and cutting
himself with stones?
a. I propose that there was enough of his
sense left to him to know what a horrible
thing had happened to him.
1.) It was horrible...whether it was
voluntary or involuntary.
b. Part of it was the possession, but part of
it could also be the loathing of self and
what self had become.
E. Let us understand satan a little bit...he works with..
he uses........feelings of low self-esteem!
1. While he has a sinner in his grasp, he goads
him...he reminds him of how low he has
fallen...how much of a failure he is...how, not
even God could love him again.
a. satan is not called “the accuser” for no
good reason.
2. If we would just think about it for a moment,
we could see the power in all of this.
a. When do we feel the best about
ourselves?
1.) When we have caved in to
temptations and have sinned
against God?
2.) OR.....When we have overcome
and resisted that temptation?
CONCLUSION:
Sinful practices draw us away from God and delude us into
thinking that we can never return.
A. There is no way that we can feel comfortable in
both camps.
ILLUSTRATION: Do little boys snuggle up closely to
their dads and smoke a cigarette?
Not unless they are insane...no...they
hide...they get as far away from their
fathers as they can.
We must remember this...God has not drawn away from
us...we have drawn away from him in our sins.
A. With this in mind, however, we must also
remember the story of the “prodigal son”.
(Luke 17:11-32 - 11Then He said: “A certain man had
two sons. 12“And the younger of them said to his father,
‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So
he divided to them his livelihood. 13“And not many days
after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a
far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal
living. 14“But when he had spent all, there arose a severe
famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15“Then
he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and
he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16“And he would
gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine
ate, and no one gave him anything. 17“But when he came
to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired
servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with
hunger! 18‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to
him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,
19“and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make
me like one of your hired servants.” ’ 20“And he arose and
came to his father. But when he was still a great way off,
his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on
his neck and kissed him. 21“And the son said to him,
‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and
am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22“But the
father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put
it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his
feet. 23‘And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us
eat and be merry; 24‘for this my son was dead and is alive
again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be
merry. 25“Now his older son was in the field. And as he
came and drew near to the house, he heard music and
dancing. 26“So he called one of the servants and asked
what these things meant. 27“And he said to him, ‘Your
brother has come, and because he has received him safe
and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28“But he
was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came
out and pleaded with him. 29“So he answered and said to
his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I
never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet
you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry
with my friends. 30‘But as soon as this son of yours came,
who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed
the fatted calf for him.’ 31“And he said to him, ‘Son, you
are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32‘It was
right that we should make merry and be glad, for your
brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is
found.’ ”)
1. Even though he had left the father and
immersed himself in sin...THE FATHER
STILL CARED FOR HIM AND
AWAITED THE SINFUL WANDERER’S
RETURN!
None of us wants to identify with this demon possessed
man, but we are identified with the ugliness of this man
if we allow sinful practices to become a part of our lives.
A. We see that we have drawn away from God and
Christ and have embraced satan and all of his
demons.
1. In all of this, however, there is hope.
a. Contrary to what satan wants you to
believe...God wants you back.
1. God is...and has always been...
waiting for any and all sinners to
either come to Him or to return to
Him.
If you have seen yourself reflected in this message, will you
not take this opportunity to get everything straightened out?
A. Come, while the Father is waiting.
B. Come, while the devil says don’t.
C. Come, in a moment of urging.
D. Come, before it’s too late...
