Winning the war Mk5:1-20 WBC 31/08/03pm
I think we forget what a battle the Christian faith is!
- join up for this luxury cruiser that will take us to heaven
- find it’s a sleek battleship and
- God isn’t particularly sympathetic when we say we don’t like the ‘heat of the day’… battle
To readers of Mark’s gospel- less of a surprise
- not least because the hole thing is conflict from start to finish!
- But also their very culture and understanding of the ‘good news of the gospel’
o Gospel = lit evangellion. The ‘good news’
o Those living in Rome (as mark’s initial readers were?) would have heard this term regularly. Someone walking the streets shouting ‘evangellion, evangellion!’:….
… ‘evangellion! The Roman forces have taken another territory! Good news. The battle has been won’
- = their newspaper! In a battle context. The proclamation of victory and deliverance
MK’s gospel is like this:
Mk1 ;1 ‘the evangellion about Jesus Christ, the Son of God’
- about His victory over powers of evil, sickness, sin. His deliverance. His WINNING THE WAR
The first 8 chapters are victory shown by miracles
- then Mk 8, after Peter’s confession, the crescendo is building up to the victory by Jesus’ martyrdom
o the triumph of the cross. Satan & sin’s ultimate defeat
mark’s gospel is about the war being won.
Here you see it illustrated in one man’s life: legion. His battle.
- the worst case scenario. 5,600 demons
o Mark wants his readers to know- in 60s Rome, persecuted, fed to the lions : you are gonna win. Jesus wins! Press on. You ARE on the winning side
Many of you are in battles. Many of you aren’t growing or winning because you’re not battling enough!
- well- Mark’s gospel… this passage… is so that you can lift up your head and know you’ll win- if you fight!
o I don’t believe in triumphal (‘no problems, nothing can touch me)…. But we need to be +ve!
Here are some things you need to know, from this passage
1) BATTLES
You’re called to battles. Remember this! This is not a sofa- it’s a WAR
- and the opposition is real, and multi-sourced
End Mk 4: dangers (storms), Mk 5: demons… next 5:21 disease… death
Scary stuff for the disciples
- out of the danger of the storm into the frying pan of legion
o imagine getting out of the boat, trembling… to see Legion walking towards you!
Basically… for these guys… for Jesus… for us- it was from one battle to another. On and on!
Don’t be surprised: this is an army, not a hospital. It has a medical core – but you’re here to fight and do battle
2) BELIEVE
But- you must believe: NOTHING is too hard for the Lord.
These guys must have thought ‘WHAT am I doing HERE!?’
- but no scenario is too hard for the Lord
Ever felt ‘I don’t want to be in THIS situation?’
- no Jew would have wanted to be here. On NE side of Galilee
- decapolis. 10 gentile cities. Worshipped Baal. Polytheism. An unclean area
o met by a man with an unclean spirit
o living in an unclean place- amongst tombs
o unclean animals- the pigs
Remember- nothing is too hard for the Lord
Illustr: me tricked into a brothel in Ibiza in 1982, and how God used me to help a bloke, there
Illustr: Yongi cho Pastor’s worlds largest church in Seol, Korea. Lord told him to go and build a church on land (Hindu temple land!). Hindu Priest said ‘if your god can heal this woman dying of tumours, you can have the land. You have 30 days’. Cho went and washed, cared and prayed for her- by day 29 no progress. Walks home discouraged. That night dream of beautiful woman with serpents body saying ‘compromise! Let’s get on together!’
In his dream he shouts ‘no! In the name of Jesus- go!’ Snake falls to the ground
On day 30 goes to the temple grounds- met by beautiful woman! Completely healed. ‘Thanks for coming to me last night!’ ‘I didn’t!’. ‘you did!’ ‘you said ‘rise up’
Locals knocked down the temple & joined the church
You may be in horrible circumstances.
- remember: NOTHING is too difficult for the Lord
- believe for breakthrough
3) BOUNDARIES
I guess this is linked with this previous section.
> there are no ‘no go zones fro God’
v7 Legion literally says ‘what have I to do with you’… Jesus!
- ie ‘what are you doing on MY territory! This side of the lake!’
- but… like Jesus was Lord in that brothel I got tricked into going to:
o JESUS IS LORD OF BOTH SIDES OF THE LAKE!
Jewish side and gentile side
o He has no boundaries. Omnipresent omnipotent
God’s kingdom can stretch EVERYWHERE
- it’s so easy to write off certain areas. I do! (can be prone to doing it with UK!)
o “there’s no opening there! “let’s not invest there”
- Illustr: SO impressed with Iain & Emma P. (missionaries) – in Syria and Lebanon! “we’re bucking the trend here, as the trend is to ‘go where the action is… Christians are’- but someone’s gotta go where there are no Christians! Even if we never see a convert!”
God knows no boundaries- and no area is ‘no go’ for Him
4) PERSEVERE
It’s only in persevering that you break into blessing
- talking with someone this week about the sporadicness of healing
o that’s they way it is. The KOG here in part. But in persevering, practice and pressing on- the hit-rate goes up!
There’s an interesting hint, here:
7 He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!" 8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"
It’s not all so immediate as you might think! Even Jesus had to persevere. Jesus had already said ‘come out’
- Dick France, one of my lecturers at LBC & commentator said ‘there is the intriguing possibility that Jesus’ success in both healing and exorcism, while never in doubt, was not always as instant as the narrative suggests’
Persevere! Keep on. Don’t be a quitter.
- ‘by perseverance the snail reached the ark’
- Hitler, Mussolini & Churchill met in ’41 for tea. ‘I’ve already won this war, with Mussolini as my ally’ said Hitler. Churchill disagreed. So- they settled on a wager: whoever catches the fish from this pond is the winner.
- Hitler starts shooting at them. No joy. Them Mussolini jumps in, & tries to catch them, splashing about. No joy
- Churchill starts spooning water over his shoulder. ‘what are you DOING!?’ -> ‘It’ll take a long time, but we’re going to WIN!’
Don’t give up too easily!
- Illustr: Robert at Peckham ‘I’m not going’.
o Quote P 63 of Wesley’s journal
Also clear from this passage is that it just takes time to influence:
- pigs were their sacred animals in their local pagan cult
- when Jesus delivers legion- it isn’t instant revival
o they’re more frightened of Jesus than they are of Legion!
(better the devil you know?)
The delivered man begs Jesus to be ‘with him’
- the wording is ‘like a disciple’. ‘let me be #13’
- answer is ‘no’- can’t COME…have 13 disciples as aren’t 13 tribes
- but you can GO. Go home to family & friends & tell them how much the Lord (ie GOD) has done for you
o he is the first ‘apostle’ to the gentiles
o with a ‘no holds barred’ message
told what JESUS had done for him
• ie recognises that Jesus is the LORD
the Jews had to keep the ‘messianic secret- but seeing as he’s speaking to gentiles with no preconceptions of the messiah he can tell the whole story!
o Does a good job! Mk 7;33- find when Jesus is back there there’s a crowd that greets Him! He’s welcomed
It takes time. Even for Jesus.
Persevere
5) POWER
In the war- remember that you have power in the spiritual realm
This is a formidable force that Jesus meets. Legion = 5,600 soldiers. This is the language of war! Aggression! Occupation! Ownership rights.
It’s pretty frightening
But you have authority- and you need to know, without being flippant, who is frightened of who
- Illustr: Kirk – SW Pacific island, very into spiritual practices ‘we have the Holy Spirit, and he’s bigger than your powers- so throw them away or you’re in trouble!’
- Dave’s House at 682 abbeydale Rd. haunted. Stopped overnight when we all got saved
- Me at poltergeist house in Bushey (was a bit quaking! But it stopped instantly! Needed an exorcism not a blessing)
The truth is: we… YOU… are seated with Christ in the heavenly realms:
EPH 2:1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 ….. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
6) PRAISE
And here’s the final thing to wining the war.
- Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
Remember what the Lord has done for you. Repeat it. Praise Him
- that’s what the delivered man does]
When the heat is on… you’re in a battle: REMEMBER. PRAISE.
- remember what He’s done
- remember who you are in Him
- that Jesus won the battle on the cross. He defeated the principalities and took you into that place of victory with Him
Eph 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20 which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way….
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
In winning the war:
- remember it’s a battle. And you’re in an army, not a hospital
- Believe that nothing is too hard for the Lord
- God has no boundaries, and no areas he can’t operate
- Persevere
- Believe God has given you authority & power
- And praise God for who He is and who YOU are
