"What A Difference Christ Makes!" Series

"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