6They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!" 29For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"
"Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
LAST SUNDAY, WE TALKED ABOUT JESUS CALMING THE STORM. REMEMBER, WHEN THEY LEFT, THE WATER WAS CALM, BUT AS THEY WENT THINGS GOT REALLY BAD. MAYBE YOU HAVE HAD THAT TRIP, YOU START, EVERYTHING IS SMOOTH, THEN THINGS GO WRONG, A TRAFFIC JAM, CAR PROBLEMS, YOU FORGOT SOMETHING, THE AC ISN’T WORKING, EVERYONE IS HOT AND YOU ARE ASKING, WHAT AM I DOING? MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST TURN AROUND AND GO BACK HOME. I HAVE FOUND, MORE TIMES THAN NOT, WHEN I GO THRU THOSE TIMES, AND REALLY WANT TO TURN BACK, THOSE ARE THE TIMES THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING REALLY GOOD IN STORE FOR ME. OUR TEXT TODAY, IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES, THAT JESUS MINISTERS AND SPEAKS TO US.
AFTER THE STORM THERE IS A CALM, BUT THE STORM HAS PUT THEM OFF COURSE, THEY BY CHANCE END UP AT A PLACE CALLED THE GADARENES. WHAT WE KNOW IS THIS, NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE MINISTRY OF JESUS BY CHANCE. THEY END UP THERE BY DESIGN, TO DEMONSTRATE THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD TO THE AREA CALLED DECAPOLIS.
THE PEOPLE OF THIS AREA DID NOT EXPECT JESUS, HIS ARRIVAL WAS NOT ANNOUNCED, THERE IS NO WELCOMING COMMITTEE TO GREET HIM. HE IS MET BY THE ONE PERSON WHO YOU WOULDN’T WANT TO MEET. WE DON’T KNOW THIS MANS NAME, BUT THIS IS HOW SCRIPTURE DESCRIBES HIM. HE WAS FROM THAT TOWN, BUT HE DIDN’T LIVE IN TOWN. HE IS NAKED, HE HASN’T WORN CLOTHES IN A LONG TIME, HE HASN’T LIVED IN A HOUSE, IN FACT HE LIVES IN THE CEMETERY IN THE TOMBS, THE PLACE OF THE DEAD. HE HAS BEEN BOUND REPEATEDLY, BUT HE BREAKS THE CHAINS. ALL DAY AND NITE, HE CRIES OUT. NO MAN IS ABLE TO SUBDUE HIM. HE HAS CUT HIMSELF ON THE ROCKS, TRYING TO TAKE HIS OWN LIFE. HE TERRORIZES ANYONE WHO DARES COME NEAR.
THE PEOPLE OF THE TOWN TOLERATE HIM. THEY HAVE GOTTEN USED TO HIS SCREAMS. THEY NO LONGER TRY AND TAME HIM. THEY DON’T KNOW QUITE HOW TO DEAL WITH HIM, SO THEY CHOOSE TO DO, WHAT WE OFTEN DO, THEY IGNORE HIM. YOU KNOW HOW WE REASON, IF I IGNORE IT, MAYBE IT WILL GO AWAY. LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE. I DON’T WANT TO STICK MY NOSE IN. ITS NOT MY BUSINESS. MOST OFTEN WHAT WE DO IS THIS; WE COMPLAIN ABOUT IT, BUT WE DON’T GO TO SOURCE. WE HEAT UP THE PHONE LINES, BUT WE DON’T DO ANYTHING TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM. THE PEOPLE OF THAT TOWN, DIDN’T DO A THING FOR THE MAN, OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND. THE ONLY TIME THEY EVEN GAVE HIM SECOND THOUGHT WAS WHEN HE TERRORIZED SOMEONE. EVEN THAT WAS SHORT LIVED.
BUT, NOW THE SAME JESUS WHO HAD CALMED THE STORM, STIRS UP A WHOLE NEW STORM IN THEIR VILLAGE. HE COMES ON SHORE, AND JESUS IS MET BY THIS MAN. HE IS DEMON POSSESSED. HE HAS BEEN ON THE OTHER SIDE WHILE JESUS HAS BEEN MINISTERING, HE HASN’T HEARD OF JESUS, DOESN’T KNOW WHO HE IS. NO ONE FROM THIS AREA HAS PAID ANY ATTENTION TO JESUS. BUT NOW JESUS IS IN THEIR TOWN. THIS MAN IMMEDIATELY COMES TO JESUS, AND THROWS HIMSELF ON THE GROUND IN FRONT OF HIM. AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS HE BEGINS TO SHOUT AT JESUS, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!" THE QUESTION YOU SHOULD BE ASKING IS, IF HE DOESN’T KNOW JESUS, WHY IS HE SAYING, JESUS SON OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. THE REASON THAT HE KNOWS JESUS IS THAT HE IS DEMON POSSESSED. SATAN HAS CONTROL OF HIM. JAMES 2;19 SAYS, Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. THE DEMONS KNEW JESUS, THEY KNEW HIS POWER. THAT IS WHY THEY SAY, DO NOT TORTURE ME. ALL DURING THIS ENCOUNTER, THE MAN IS SHOUTING AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS, AND JESUS IS QUIETLY SAYING , OVER AND OVER AGAIN, COME OUT OF THIS MAN, TO THE EVIL SPIRITS. HE IS SAYING THIS OVER AND OVER B/C THERE ARE SO MANY DEMONS IN HIM. THEY RECOGNIZE THE POWER OF JESUS OVER THEM, THEY BEG HIM, NOT TO TORTURE THEM, THEY BEG HM NOT TO SEND THEM TO THE ABYSS. THE ABYSS IS THE PLACE THEY CAME FROM. THEY DON’T WANT TO GO BACK AND ANSWER TO SATAN. THERE IS A WAR GOING ON. THE POWER OF JESUS AGAINST THE POWER OF SATAN. THE DEMONS CANNOT RESIST. THEY LOSE THE WAR.
JESUS SAYS TO THE MAN, WHAT IS YOUR NAME? THE MAN ANSWERS, OUR NAME IS LEGION, B/C WE ARE MANY. UNDERSTAND THIS, IT WAS NOT THE MAN SPEAKING, IT WAS THE DEMONS SPEAKING THRU THE MAN. THE DEMONS CONTROLLED HIM, THEY POSSESSED HIM, THEY WERE IN CHARGE OF HIM.
IS THERE DEMON POSSESSION TODAY? EPH 6;11,12 SAYS, 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can fight against the devil’s evil tricks. 12Our fight is not against people on earth but against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world. IF THERE ISN’T, WHY DOES GOD WARN US ABOUT WHO OUR BATTLE IS AGAINST? WHY DOES HE GIVE US THE ARMOR AND THE WEAPON THAT WE NEED TO FIGHT THIS BATTLE? ONE OF SATAN’S GREATEST TRICKS IS TO MAKE US MINIMIZE HIM. LOOK AT THIS EPH PASSAGE, IT SAYS, RULERS, AUTHORITIES, POWERS, SPIRITUAL POWERS OF EVIL. DON’T EVER MINIMIZE THE POWER OF SATAN. THIS IS REAL WARFARE, AND THE STAKES ARE HIGH, THEY ARE THE SOULS OF MEN.
JESUS CASTS OUT THE DEMONS, HE RELEASES THEM AND THEY TAKE POSSESSION OF A HERD OF PIGS THAT ARE NEARBY. THERE WERE ABOUT 2,000 PIGS IN THE HERD, AND THEY RAN OVER THE CLIFF TO THEIR DEATH. THE MEN WHO WERE WATCHING THE PIGS RAN INTO TOWN AND TOLD EVERYONE WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED. WHEN THEY RETURNED, THE DEMON POSSESSED MAN WAS SETTING, DRESSED, TALKING TO JESUS AND IN HIS RIGHT MIND. PRAISE THE LORD. OOPS. .
WOULDN’T YOU THINK, THAT IF YOU SAW THIS GUY, WHO HAS TERRORIZED THE VILLAGE, WHO HASN’T WORN CLOTHES, WHO SCREAMS DAY AND NIGHT, AND NOW YOU SEE HIM CALMLY SETTING TALKING, DRESSED, IN HIS RIGHT MIND, WOULDN’T YOU THINK THAT PEOPLE WOULD REJOICE.
WOULDN’T YOU THINK THAT IF THEY SAW WHAT HAD HAPPENED, AND THEY REALIZED THAT THE REASON FOR IT WAS, JESUS, THAT THEY WOULD WANT TO SEE MORE. THAT THEY WOULD WELCOME HIM WITH OPEN ARMS.
THAT IS WHAT YOU MIGHT EXPECT, BUT YOU WOULD BE WRONG. INSTEAD OF WELCOMING HIM, THEY PLEAD WITH HIM TO LEAVE TOWN. WHY? B/C HE HAS COST THEM MONEY, 2000 PIGS GONE, AND ITS HIS FAULT. ITS NOT REALLY, BUT THAT’S HOW THEY SEE IT.
WHAT IS THE MESSAGE THAT THEY ARE SENDING? ITS SIMPLY THIS, OUR POCKET BOOKS ARE MORE VALUABLE TO US, THAN THE SOUL OF A LOST MAN. WE CARE MORE ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE THAN WE DO OUR SOULS.
JESUS LEAVES. THE MAN WANTS TO COME WITH HIM, HE BEGS JESUS TO LET HIM GO. BUT JESUS SAYS, NO, YOU STAY HERE AND TELL THE PEOPLE WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR YOU. SO THIS MAN, WHO HAS BEEN DEMON POSSESSED, IS NOW PREACHING THE GOOD NEWS.
