LEGION’S LEGACY—Part III—Luke 8:26-39
Jesus encountered a demoniac in the country of the Gerasenes/Gadarenes.
Demons in close association with people leave their mark upon those people.
What is the legacy of demons in close association with people?
Legion’s Legacy is...
1. SQUALOR DRIVEN(:27)
2. AUTHORITY DRIVEN(:28-29)
3. SEIZURE DRIVEN(29)
4. COMPANION DRIVEN(:29-30)
5. DESTINY DRIVEN(:31)
6. DESTRUCTION DRIVEN(:33)
7. STATUS QUO DRIVEN(:34-37)
8—Legion’s Legacy is
RELEASE DRIVEN(:35-36)
—Explanation:(:35-36) Salvation/Hope/
:35—“And the people went out to see what had happened; & they came to Jesus, & found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed & in his right mind; & they became frightened.”
“The people went out to see”—Gawk—See for themselves...
“Sitting down at the feet of Jesus”—Willing recipient of instruction
“Clothed”—
“In his right mind”—Intended by God.
:36—“And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.”
“Reported”—
“Made well”—swzw— ‘Saved’
Though a person may seem beyond help, God can always meet your need or Save you.
—Argumentation:
Lk. 4:18—““The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;”
Jn. 8:31-37—“Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; & you shall know the truth, & the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s offspring, & have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You shall become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. “And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. “If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. “I know that you are Abraham’s offspring; yet you seek to kill Me, because My word has no place in you.”
—Illustration:
Person lost to drug(Opium-Methamphetamine- Alcohol) sales &/or addiction/Gospel=HOPE DRIVEN
9/11 catastrophy/Some atill alive in rubble/All not lost/Families & Rescue workers searching & saving/HOPE
Imprisoned man/Suddenly released to freedom of self-determination/RELEASE DRIVEN
—Application:
?You RELEASE DRIVEN?—OR Continue to let sin rule your life?
OR
?Your RELEASE in Jesus?
?You living Legion’s Legacy?
9—Legion’s Legacy is
IGNORANCE DRIVEN(:37)
—Explanation:(:37) Intolerance/Wisdom
“And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes & the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them; for they were gripped with great fear; & He got into a boat, & returned.”
“All the people...of the country...& the surrounding district”—Entire culture/society effected by Jesus.
“Asked Him to depart from them”—
a. Ignorance Reigns—Chosen ignorance—Unwilling to seek answers from Jesus.
b. Fear Dominates—
Fear is removed by approach, knowledge & experience.
c. Emotion Determines—Reaction to fear felt thru ignorance
Ignorance CAN be remedied!
—Argumentation:
Eph. 4:17-19—“This I say therefore, & affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; & they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”
Rom. 1:28—“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”
—Illustration:
Storm approaching/Choose to switch off TV/IGNORANCE DRIVEN
Cholesterol screenings/Choose to remain ignorant
Our old Minivan/Muffler system shot/I let it remain—Assume too expensive to fix/Choose to be ignorant/IGNORANCE DRIVEN
—Application:
?You IGNORANCE DRIVEN?—Sin rule your life?
OR
?Your WISDOM in Jesus’ hands?
?You living Legion’s Legacy?
10—Legion’s Legacy is
EVANGELISM DRIVEN(:38-39)
—Explanation:(:38-39) Mission
:38—“But the man from whom the demons had gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying,”
“Accompany”— ‘Be with’
“But He sent him away”—
:39—“Return to your house & describe what great things God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.”
“Return to your house”—Those who will most readily observe the change in your life.
“Describe”—Tell what Jesus has done for you.
“Great things God has done”—
“Proclaiming”—
“Throughout the whole city”—Beyond his house!
“Great things Jesus had done”—No one can tell what great things God has done without telling what esus has done.
1Tim. 1:5—“For there is one God, & one mediator also between God & men, the man Christ Jesus,”
“For him”—?What has Jesus done for you? what is your testimony?
—Argumentation:
Col. 1:3-6—“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus & the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit & increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it & understood the grace of God in truth;”
1Thess. 1:6-8—“You also became imitators of us & of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia & in Achaia. For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia & Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything.”
—Illustration:
Bees on Palo Verde tree/Scouts found it/Returned to tell good news to others so they could all prosper/EVANGELISM DRIVEN
Nesting Birds/Bring food to the helpless chicks—those in need/EVANGELISM DRIVEN
—Application:
?You EVANGELISM DRIVEN?—What is your MISSION?
OR
?Your EVANGELISM in Jesus’ hands?
?You living Legion’s Legacy?
—CONCLUSION—
Action:
Legion’s Legacy is...
HOPE/Release DRIVEN(:35-36)
IGNORANCE DRIVEN(:37)
EVANGELISM DRIVEN(:38-39)
SQUALOR DRIVEN(:27)
AUTHORITY DRIVEN(:28-29)
SEIZURE DRIVEN(29)
COMPANION DRIVEN(:29-30)
DESTINY DRIVEN(:31)
DESTRUCTION DRIVEN(:33)
STATUS QUO DRIVEN(:34-37)
Presented 05/19/02pm to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 31797
