WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:03.759 Please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:03.919 --> 00:00:09.279 We're reading chapter 5, verses 1 through 20 this morning, our sermon series. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:21.440 Let me just point out that today kicks off officially, Vision 2026, and the preaching series is going to continue in the Gospel of Mark. 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:33.119 Along with that, if you were with us last Sunday, we heard the account of how Jesus has authority and power over nature like no one else. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:40.960 Looked at the raging storm from the boat with his disciples who were so fearful. 00:00:41.119 --> 00:00:43.600 And all he had to do was say, peace. 00:00:44.159 --> 00:00:45.119 Be still. 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:48.240 And the winds died down immediately. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:50.799 And the waves stopped. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:52.560 Immediately. 00:00:53.039 --> 00:00:54.799 That's the power of God. 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:01.600 Today we see that power and that authority manifested not only over nature but over demons. 00:01:01.840 --> 00:01:04.319 Hear the word of God as we read. 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:22.000 He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:30.400 For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:33.359 No one had the strength to subdue him. 00:01:33.680 --> 00:01:40.239 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:52.560 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him, and crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.760 I adjure you by God, do not torment me. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:00.239 For he was saying to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:03.519 And Jesus asked him, What is your name? 00:02:03.840 --> 00:02:07.840 He replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:12.000 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 00:02:12.240 --> 00:02:21.199 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs, let us enter them. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:34.479 So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:42.319 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country, and people came to see what it was that had happened. 00:02:42.479 --> 00:02:53.120 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:59.120 And those who had seen it described it to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:02.960 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:09.840 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:19.439 And he did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:27.759 And he went away and began to proclaim in the decapitus how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:33.840 This is the reading of God's holy, infallible, inerrant word. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:37.280 A word that the Lord has given to us this morning. 00:03:37.599 --> 00:03:38.960 Let's pray. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:42.719 Father, thank you for your holy word. 00:03:42.960 --> 00:03:45.120 We thank you for your Holy Spirit. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:48.240 That you gave that we might become more holy. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:59.039 So, Spirit of God, have free reign in our minds, our hearts, our emotions, Lord, all that we are. 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:01.439 Lord, there's only you can do. 00:04:01.599 --> 00:04:03.680 We pray in Jesus' name, amen. 00:04:06.560 --> 00:04:09.759 This morning we're talking about breaking free. 00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:12.960 What an example we saw. 00:04:13.120 --> 00:04:16.399 And we see in this text with this demoniac. 00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:20.800 I've been preparing all week thinking about this. 00:04:21.199 --> 00:04:23.920 I'm looking forward to meeting this guy. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:25.120 One day. 00:04:26.879 --> 00:04:30.720 What a testimony of God's powerful, sovereign grace. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:35.920 As we saw last week, Jesus is with us in the boat. 00:04:36.879 --> 00:04:41.040 Well, I don't know how many conversations I've had this last week a lot. 00:04:42.480 --> 00:04:43.839 With a lot of you. 00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:53.439 Thank you for reminding us that Jesus is with us in the midst of the storms and he's in the boat with us. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:55.279 He's not far from us. 00:04:56.000 --> 00:05:06.720 And Jesus, who had authority over nature as we saw, now exercising the same authority because he's God in the flesh over demons. 00:05:07.279 --> 00:05:08.879 What an amazing story. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:14.319 Do you remember the question that we left last week that the disciples had after Jesus calmed the storm? 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:16.959 Who then is this? 00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:19.120 Who then? 00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:22.560 The disciples had never seen anything like this. 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:28.079 He just speaks and the storm stops immediately? 00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:30.800 Who then is this? 00:05:31.360 --> 00:05:33.519 This is Mark's portrait. 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:37.600 Remember through the whole sermon series, two fundamental questions. 00:05:37.839 --> 00:05:39.759 Who is this one who calls us? 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:42.800 And secondly, what does it mean to follow him? 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.079 We see that this morning. 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:54.959 This morning we're going to look at the bondage that enslaves, the power that liberates, and the changed life that follows. 00:05:56.399 --> 00:06:02.639 So the disciples come to the other side of the sea, once again, in a boat. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:21.439 They get out, and now they are in Roman territory, Gentile land, the decopolis, these ten cities were the Roman legion used as a starting point, a base camp. 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:26.800 Legion means 6,000 in the Roman army, 6,000 soldiers. 00:06:28.160 --> 00:06:33.360 And here, this Gentile country, obviously they're they're pig farmers. 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:37.519 Most Jews wouldn't go anywhere near this area. 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:40.160 They would go around it to escape it. 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:50.240 But they come to the other side of the sea, and when Jesus stepped out of the boat, Mark's word immediately, and this is one of Mark's favorite words, he uses it over and over again. 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:56.000 Immediately, he's on to the next story, the next page, if you will. 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:17.600 He used to live in the town, in the city, but the people made sure he lived at a distance because they were scared of him. 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:24.240 They used to put chains on him and he would break, snap the chains and the bonds like they were nothing. 00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:26.240 You know why? 00:07:27.519 --> 00:07:30.800 He didn't just tell, that wasn't just his human strength. 00:07:30.879 --> 00:07:32.560 That was demonic strength. 00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:35.839 We don't have time to go into that today. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:40.959 Demonic strength is not human strength. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:46.000 He had that power, and people were scared to death of him. 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:48.720 Nobody was strong enough to subdue him. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:56.399 So he lives out in this remote place, shrieking wildly, day and night. 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:01.759 And Matthew tells us that people avoided this area. 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:09.680 Night and day he would run around among the tombs, shrieking wildly, cutting himself, attempting to destroy himself. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:13.040 This is what the work of the demons was doing inside of him. 00:08:13.600 --> 00:08:15.199 He was possessed. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:18.399 This was a man in bondage. 00:08:18.480 --> 00:08:20.240 That's clear to see, isn't it? 00:08:20.560 --> 00:08:22.240 Nobody has to tell us that twice. 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:24.160 This guy's possessed. 00:08:24.560 --> 00:08:27.439 This guy is in a whole different place. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:33.759 The bondage that enslaves, bondage takes many forms. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.200 Sometimes the bondage is obvious, as we see here. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:39.840 Sometimes it's not so obvious. 00:08:40.240 --> 00:08:49.679 People who are clearly out of control, however, whether it's substance abuse or out of control temper. 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:53.759 There's so many different ways that this could be manifested. 00:08:53.919 --> 00:09:05.600 One day Jesus was talking with the religious leaders in John chapter 8, and Jesus was trying to make his point to them that they were still enslaved in sin, but it didn't look like it from the outside. 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:09.120 These teachers probably were dressed well. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:13.200 They were not acting out crazy. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:19.519 They seemed very much in control, and yet Jesus said, Oh no, no. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:22.960 You are really way out of control. 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:24.960 You just don't recognize it. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:34.879 He said in verse 31, if you hold to my teaching, however, if you hear my truth, the truth, the truth will set you free. 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:37.120 Remember what happened to them? 00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.600 They got really angry with Jesus. 00:09:39.919 --> 00:09:42.960 Are you telling us that we're not free? 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:45.519 Jesus said, No, you're not. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:47.600 And they got really angry. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:52.080 They said, We have never been slaves of anyone. 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:54.720 How can you say that we shall be set free? 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.799 Well, actually, that's not true. 00:09:57.519 --> 00:10:01.679 You understand that according to the Bible, all of us have been in slavery. 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:03.440 Slaves of sin. 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:08.559 We were born with our sinful natures into this world. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:13.759 Nobody here has ever been free from the moment of your birth. 00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:17.519 Some people just don't recognize it. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:28.639 Gerald May, Christian psychologist, says, I'm not being flippant when I say that we all face addictions of some kinds. 00:10:29.039 --> 00:10:32.720 Moreover, our addictions are our own worst enemies. 00:10:32.960 --> 00:10:42.000 They enslave us with chains that are of our own making, and yet paradoxically, they are beyond our control. 00:10:42.799 --> 00:10:59.120 Addiction also makes idols of us all, because it forces us to worship these objects of attachment, thereby preventing us from truly loving God with all of our heart and loving one another with all of our heart, the greatest commandment. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:01.919 We do battle, don't we? 00:11:02.159 --> 00:11:04.559 The flesh, the world, and the devil. 00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:11.600 The power of those source of evil that can just devastate our lives. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:15.919 I want you to think about that. 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:18.639 I mean, I've been thinking about that a lot this week. 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:28.720 The flesh can be such a beast, as though we never heard of the power of Jesus to liberate. 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:35.519 In our walking in the spirit class that we're going to continue tonight, tonight we're focused on addictions. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:39.919 I want to read just one or two homework assignments, just excerpts. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:44.000 The end of the struggle by Stanley Vogue is an excellent article. 00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:51.679 The struggle for righteousness, Romans chapter 10, verse 4, says Christ means the end of the struggle for righteousness. 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:58.879 Christ means the end of the struggle for righteousness. 00:11:59.120 --> 00:12:01.519 Well then why do we struggle so much? 00:12:02.240 --> 00:12:05.120 Why does that struggle just follow us? 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:13.600 The struggle for attainment, one way we struggle for our own righteousness, is struggling to reach some standard of perfection. 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:20.559 Either some standard that we establish for ourselves or some standard that somebody else sets for us. 00:12:20.879 --> 00:12:23.360 It can happen in a variety of ways. 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:25.919 Sometimes we do set the standard ourselves. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:31.919 We picture in our mind the kind of Christian we think we ought to be, and then chase after that image. 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:36.480 It's like seeing a person saying we ought to be standing on a high mountain. 00:12:36.639 --> 00:12:42.639 He urges us to climb up, but we climb and struggle vainly up the slopes. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.120 Seems as though he never offers a helping hand. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:50.399 Or we may let other people set standards for us. 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:53.919 People are willing forever to tell us what we ought to be. 00:12:55.279 --> 00:13:03.279 We hear good sermons and read how to books that show us the kind of Christian we should be, but it only makes us feel guilty sometimes. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:12.240 People put us on pedestals expecting this and that of us until life can become one long struggle of what others demand. 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:18.399 So we labor on under other people's laws, trying to keep up to their standards. 00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:24.720 Stanley asks this question: Are you a Christian living under law? 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:34.159 Do you live under a sense of condemnation because you feel all the time that you ought to be a better Christian, who prays more, does more, gives more? 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:39.759 If so, you are chained to a moral yardstick and living under a yoke and a burden. 00:13:40.080 --> 00:13:42.799 All the while Jesus wants to give us rest. 00:13:44.720 --> 00:13:47.519 The struggle to earn and keep our reputation. 00:13:47.759 --> 00:13:52.879 Another aspect of this struggle for righteousness is the quest is the quest for reputation. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:13:55.679 All of us are reputation conscious. 00:13:55.919 --> 00:13:58.159 Some of us have a reputation. 00:13:58.399 --> 00:14:03.360 It may be for holiness, efficiency, leadership, anything. 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:12.799 Others of us wish we had a reputation, but once acquired, it can haunt us, dog us, beat us down, and wear us out. 00:14:13.279 --> 00:14:18.080 Bondage to reputation is sheer slavery. 00:14:18.399 --> 00:14:20.320 We need to see it for what it is. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:24.000 Just another form of the struggle for our own righteousness. 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:30.799 Like the motto for the state of North Carolina I heard one time. 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:34.240 To be and not to seem. 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:36.559 Isn't that a great motto? 00:14:37.440 --> 00:14:40.960 How often in life do we live to be seen? 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:42.960 Isn't that true? 00:14:43.279 --> 00:14:46.639 Sometimes I just want to have the appearance of righteousness. 00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:49.200 I want to have the appearance that I have my life together. 00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.840 I probably don't, but if just if other people think I do. 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:55.759 What's with that? 00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:58.559 That's bondage. 00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:02.799 Jesus came to save, set us free from that. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:12.320 Oh, friends, the battle with the flesh is not just out there. 00:15:13.519 --> 00:15:14.639 It's in here. 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:18.080 And we're going to battle the flesh until the day that we die. 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.639 And yet Jesus says, I want you to see why I came. 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:30.000 The things I came to set you free from now, and some will continue in the battles ahead. 00:15:32.399 --> 00:15:41.440 Things like anxiety, anger, greed, lust, gossip. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:45.840 There are so many footholds that the enemy gets in our soul. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:47.120 Is that not right? 00:15:47.759 --> 00:15:49.840 He just gets a hold of us. 00:15:50.080 --> 00:15:52.799 And sometimes you wonder if you're even a Christian. 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:55.200 Sometimes you wonder, have I been set free? 00:15:55.360 --> 00:15:56.559 Have I been set free? 00:15:56.799 --> 00:16:01.440 Why do I feel like I'm so chained to some of these things? 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:04.879 Remember what the uh teacher said to Jesus? 00:16:05.039 --> 00:16:06.799 We've never been slaves of any anyone. 00:16:06.960 --> 00:16:08.080 Yes, you have. 00:16:09.120 --> 00:16:10.399 Yes, you have. 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:14.559 Bondage takes many different forms. 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:23.039 All these sins of the flesh, what we have in common with the demoniac is we it leaves us feeling miserable. 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:26.480 Even if they do vary by degree. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:32.720 And so before we move on today, I just have the question I've been asking myself this week. 00:16:34.080 --> 00:16:35.360 Are you in chains? 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:38.399 Are you in chains? 00:16:39.759 --> 00:16:41.279 Do you know that you're out of control? 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:45.519 One of the articles, again, for tonight for walking in the spirit is from Scotty Smith. 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:49.759 Are people weary of you? 00:16:50.399 --> 00:16:52.799 Are people wary of you? 00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:56.159 I have to ask myself that. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:17:03.039 We're gonna talk tonight about what are some of the biggest idols around Washington? 00:17:03.679 --> 00:17:04.640 Control. 00:17:05.519 --> 00:17:06.880 Perfectionism. 00:17:08.240 --> 00:17:10.000 Most of us get that, right? 00:17:11.119 --> 00:17:28.720 How how tempting it is to just really want to squeeze grip so tightly to try to control other people, that's when they get weary of us or wary of us. 00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.240 I don't want to be that guy. 00:17:35.279 --> 00:17:39.680 But Jesus has to set us free from the gods, these gods. 00:17:39.759 --> 00:17:43.599 It's really this the first commandment, thou shalt have no other gods before me. 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:50.240 How easily and imperceptibly sometimes we can put that God of control, perfectionism. 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:55.759 Anything to manage, help me manage or cope with life. 00:17:57.759 --> 00:18:12.400 Years ago, after one of the economic downturns, the business editor of the San Francisco Chronicle was commenting over companies trying to make over their images, particularly in the light of some of the collapses. 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:19.359 He observed that in many organizations, change is like, quote, putting lipstick on a bulldog. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.519 Now there's a word picture. 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:24.240 Putting lipstick on a bulldog. 00:18:24.480 --> 00:18:36.000 He said he observed that in many organizations there is this tremendous effort involved, but mostly you wind up with some cosmetic appearances in an angry bulldog. 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:38.559 That's right. 00:18:39.119 --> 00:18:41.599 Bulldog doesn't want the lipstick. 00:18:42.799 --> 00:18:49.359 But you know, we can wear ourselves out trying to get it, the lipstick on the bulldog. 00:18:49.599 --> 00:18:51.920 What's the bulldog in your life? 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:59.519 What does it look like in your life trying to put the lipstick on the bulldog? 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:04.400 Whatever that is, Jesus wants to speak to that. 00:19:05.359 --> 00:19:12.799 Whatever that is, Jesus wants to show us something better. 00:19:14.880 --> 00:19:20.480 Oh, just what he's offering us is so much better. 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:25.359 The great poem by John Don, Batter My Heart, Three Person God. 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:35.119 Yes, yeah, dearly I love you and would be feigned love, but I am betrothed unto your enemy. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:39.519 Divorce me, untie me, or break that knot again. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:49.920 Take me to you, imprison me, for I, except you enthrall me, shall never be free or chaste unless you ravish me. 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:54.240 Why does that speak so deeply to my heart? 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:58.240 I remember the first time I read that, probably 30 years ago. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:02.960 This guy knows my heart. 00:20:03.759 --> 00:20:07.359 I mean, only somebody that really struggled with this could write that. 00:20:07.680 --> 00:20:20.640 That beautiful poetry that expresses the deepest desires of our hearts when we know that at times we just feel and live defeated. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:24.160 That's why he's crying out to Jesus. 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:27.680 Jesus, unless you ravish me. 00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:33.440 That's like the strongest images I can think of. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:36.720 I will never be free or chaste. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:52.799 I will never be free from the dominant feeling of this oppression in my life unless you imprison me, enthrall me, ravish me. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:56.160 Which takes us to the second point. 00:20:57.440 --> 00:21:00.319 The power that liberates verse 6. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:11.680 This man sees Jesus from afar and he ran and fell down before him, crying out with a loud voice, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High? 00:21:14.160 --> 00:21:18.400 Isn't it interesting that this demon is running toward Jesus, not away from Jesus? 00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:22.400 You know, demons know Jesus. 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:31.279 The book of Revelation tells us that at the time of Satan being cast out of heaven, he took a third of his angels with him. 00:21:31.440 --> 00:21:32.960 There's a lot of demons. 00:21:33.119 --> 00:21:34.960 There's a lot of angels. 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:38.240 And yet, there's two things that we need to avoid. 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.759 One is to live in fear of demons, Christians. 00:21:42.319 --> 00:21:44.960 We're not called to live in fear of demons. 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.720 Greater is he who is in you than he was of the world. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:52.799 But the other thing we need to avoid is dismissing them. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.799 Just being naive. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:57.599 Don't be naive. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:07.759 Demonic power is supernatural power used for evil, not good. 00:22:08.240 --> 00:22:10.960 But he's not in control of the enemy. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:18.079 There's a power one day he's gonna bow to and submit to, and he's gonna be cast himself into the lake of fire. 00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:20.160 This is what the Bible tells us. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.279 But in the meantime, he's gonna do all the damage he can do. 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:25.519 We see that here in the story, don't we? 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:30.079 The demons say, how many demons? 00:22:30.319 --> 00:22:34.400 Apparently about 2,000 that inhabited the pigs. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:36.400 They were looking for a host. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:37.680 Demons do that. 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:38.960 They look for a host. 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:44.000 Sometimes it's a human being host. 00:22:44.559 --> 00:22:47.519 And sometimes it could be in animals like this. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:53.440 And what these demons are saying, they're begging, did you notice there's a lot of begging in this story? 00:22:54.720 --> 00:22:56.880 Like at least four times that I count. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:03.279 And they're begging Jesus, Jesus, don't, if you're going to cast us out, let us go into the pigs. 00:23:05.119 --> 00:23:06.799 Jesus says, okay. 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:08.720 Go into the pigs. 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:13.440 What they were saying is, Jesus, don't cast us into the lake of fire yet. 00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:17.519 We know that we're doomed, but not yet. 00:23:19.039 --> 00:23:20.960 Let us do some more damage. 00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:26.240 This is what Jesus came to face head on. 00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:31.599 This is the fight Jesus came for to cast out evil. 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:33.599 What's your name? 00:23:33.759 --> 00:23:35.039 My name is Legion. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:43.599 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:45.759 Send us to the pigs. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.039 And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:53.039 They rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:55.599 Notice the response, verse 14. 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:59.519 And the herdsmen of the pigs fled and told it in the city. 00:23:59.839 --> 00:24:01.759 They'd never seen anything like this. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:04.480 They were scared. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:07.759 This was a huge financial loss. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.599 2,000 pigs? 00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:14.480 We don't know who owned them, but somebody lost a fortune that day. 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:19.440 And they they begged Jesus, Jesus, please leave. 00:24:20.079 --> 00:24:22.480 Isn't that a curious response? 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:32.319 To someone who had just demonstrated miraculous healing power to say to him, Would you please get out of here? 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:35.759 Why would they possibly say that? 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:46.240 Because they were more concerned about trying to maintain control in their own lives than to submit to control by anybody else. 00:24:47.359 --> 00:24:50.880 That's a picture of the enslaving power of sin. 00:24:52.319 --> 00:24:55.839 To live with your own stuff. 00:24:56.480 --> 00:25:09.039 To live with your own evil, to be more content or willing to live with your own stuff than to submit to the one who can cast out the evil in us. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:10.960 It was greed. 00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:16.640 Greed told them, led them to tell Jesus, please leave. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:20.640 You know, we can do that in some ways, can't we? 00:25:20.960 --> 00:25:23.759 Jesus, you can come this far into my life, but stop. 00:25:25.599 --> 00:25:26.240 Stop. 00:25:29.200 --> 00:25:34.480 I will not take the chance of you running my life. 00:25:36.880 --> 00:25:41.839 I will not take the risk of being under your control. 00:25:42.720 --> 00:25:46.319 I would rather be under the control of the evil in my life. 00:25:46.480 --> 00:25:47.599 Isn't that sad? 00:25:49.599 --> 00:25:51.200 But it's so common. 00:25:53.359 --> 00:25:55.200 Jesus says something better. 00:25:58.079 --> 00:25:59.680 This is real power. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:06.640 Jesus said to the teachers of the law that day, and he says to us today, if the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. 00:26:06.880 --> 00:26:08.480 Have you been set free? 00:26:10.480 --> 00:26:16.640 If the sun sets you free, you will be free indeed. 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:21.599 He's not saying that you will not have to struggle against the flesh and the world and the devil. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:23.200 He's not saying that. 00:26:23.599 --> 00:26:28.480 But you will clearly be set free in a way that you were not before you met Christ. 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:30.559 Your life will change. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:32.880 This is real power. 00:26:33.279 --> 00:26:36.079 Jesus alone can calm the wild sea. 00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:39.440 Jesus alone can calm this wild man. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:45.200 And Jesus alone can calm whatever is raging inside of you. 00:26:46.480 --> 00:26:48.880 This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:54.880 Would you even be aware of what's raging inside? 00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:08.160 Again, tonight we're going to talk about the how exhausting it is to try to submerge a beach ball into the water. 00:27:08.640 --> 00:27:10.400 Anyone ever try that? 00:27:10.720 --> 00:27:11.920 Good luck. 00:27:12.480 --> 00:27:13.839 Big beach ball. 00:27:14.160 --> 00:27:16.000 Submerge it under the water? 00:27:16.240 --> 00:27:17.680 Not going to happen. 00:27:18.319 --> 00:27:20.400 Don't care how strong you are. 00:27:21.359 --> 00:27:22.880 You're not that strong. 00:27:24.480 --> 00:27:30.400 That's what it's like when we coddle our addictions. 00:27:32.160 --> 00:27:36.400 That's what it's like when we give in to our addictions. 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:40.079 You just can't do it. 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:43.039 And it leaves you exhausted. 00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:47.200 It leaves me exhausted when I try to do that. 00:27:50.319 --> 00:27:52.960 Oh, the Holy Spirit is here this morning. 00:27:54.160 --> 00:27:56.240 The Holy Spirit is powerful. 00:27:56.480 --> 00:27:58.640 May you hear his voice through his word. 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:08.400 What is it, Lord, that you would call me to relinquish control of in my life? 00:28:09.039 --> 00:28:13.680 The town people's response, again, they begin to beg Jesus to depart. 00:28:14.319 --> 00:28:19.200 Yes, they took a huge financial loss that day, but here's my question. 00:28:19.440 --> 00:28:20.079 So what? 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:23.119 What do you really live for? 00:28:24.799 --> 00:28:27.279 That this is really what gets exposed. 00:28:27.519 --> 00:28:33.920 What we really live for gets exposed when we face the demons in life, when we face the evil in life. 00:28:35.519 --> 00:28:38.559 The townspeople would have said, well, no, we know what we're living for. 00:28:38.640 --> 00:28:40.480 We're living for greed. 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:43.279 We're living for financial prosperity for us. 00:28:44.240 --> 00:28:45.519 The demoniac? 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:46.240 Yeah. 00:28:49.680 --> 00:28:53.839 Our motives get exposed in so many different ways. 00:28:55.920 --> 00:28:59.359 There are people today who are begging Jesus to leave. 00:28:59.519 --> 00:29:01.680 May it be no one in this room. 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:04.960 But there are people who are begging Jesus to leave. 00:29:05.200 --> 00:29:09.119 This far, no far, no closer, or just get out of my life completely. 00:29:09.200 --> 00:29:14.400 You know, you can come to church and beg Jesus to leave, to stop. 00:29:16.240 --> 00:29:20.480 Or you can be like the people who beg Jesus to stay. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:23.759 See, this is what worship is about. 00:29:24.000 --> 00:29:28.720 Worship is about by the work of the Holy Spirit to say, Jesus, please come closer. 00:29:29.759 --> 00:29:32.240 Please speak. 00:29:33.039 --> 00:29:36.720 Cast out the flesh, the evil. 00:29:37.200 --> 00:29:40.880 Whatever would be of the devil, would you cast this out? 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:42.720 This is worship. 00:29:43.839 --> 00:29:44.720 Like now. 00:29:47.599 --> 00:29:57.599 The power that liberates, praise God, Jesus is still liberating people who are under the control of all kinds of evil and addictions. 00:30:05.039 --> 00:30:12.240 If you're struggling, I invite you to just make a follow-up appointment with me or one of the pastors. 00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:17.839 Thirdly, the changed life that follows. 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:19.279 Verse 17. 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:24.160 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region as he was getting into the boat. 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:25.359 Jesus was getting into the boat. 00:30:25.519 --> 00:30:26.960 The man comes up to him and begs him. 00:30:27.039 --> 00:30:27.680 He bows down. 00:30:27.759 --> 00:30:29.920 He says, Jesus, please let me go with you. 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:34.559 That's a beautiful, that's a beautiful request. 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:38.000 Jesus, please, can I go with you? 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:40.480 Jesus says, no, my friend. 00:30:40.720 --> 00:30:42.319 I want you to go home. 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:46.880 I want you to tell your family and your friends what I have done for you. 00:30:51.200 --> 00:30:52.240 Go home. 00:30:53.359 --> 00:30:56.000 You know what that means, like this week. 00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:57.759 Go home. 00:30:58.319 --> 00:30:59.920 You're going to go home, right? 00:31:00.559 --> 00:31:01.839 You're going to go to your apartment. 00:31:02.000 --> 00:31:03.359 You're going to go to your house. 00:31:04.960 --> 00:31:06.720 And live out this gospel. 00:31:07.519 --> 00:31:08.559 Go to work tomorrow. 00:31:08.720 --> 00:31:10.400 Go to the office tomorrow. 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:14.880 In your marriage. 00:31:16.160 --> 00:31:17.680 In your friendships. 00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:26.319 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decopolis how much Jesus had done for him. 00:31:27.200 --> 00:31:34.400 In just a few minutes, we're going to sing a beautiful hymn, one of my favorite hymns written by a man who was liberated, Charles Wesley. 00:31:35.680 --> 00:31:38.559 Long my imprisoned spirit lay. 00:31:39.119 --> 00:31:41.200 You know, sometimes it is a long time. 00:31:41.759 --> 00:31:45.759 Long my imprisoned spirit lay. 00:31:48.319 --> 00:31:53.680 Fast bound in sin, thine eye diffused a quickening ray. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:57.599 I woke, the dungeon flamed with light. 00:31:58.559 --> 00:32:02.079 My chains fell off, my heart was free. 00:32:02.400 --> 00:32:06.240 I rose, went forth, and followed thee. 00:32:07.599 --> 00:32:09.519 You know the name of that hymn, right? 00:32:09.759 --> 00:32:11.119 What's the name of that hymn? 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.920