WEBVTT 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:02.560 Let's take a second and pray. 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:19.039 Father, we have a simple prayer this morning, and that is so that our eyes would see what we see and that our ears would hear what we hear as your word comes to us this morning. 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:32.719 Oh Lord, would we hear your voice speaking to us through your word, changing us, making us into new people. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:42.479 Grant us the faith that we may do the work of God, which is to believe. 00:00:42.719 --> 00:00:53.520 It is to believe that what you say is true, who you are is true, and that we would follow the truth. 00:00:53.759 --> 00:01:01.119 And that is your Son, Jesus, who came, saying, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.319 No one comes to the Father but through me. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:07.840 Jesus, you are truth. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:18.879 We come humbly, knowing that even our ideas of you need to be corrected by an encounter with you. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.760 Because you are a person, you are a superperson, you are God. 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:36.079 And you chose to clothe yourself with flesh and to dwell with us, and your work continues on through the church. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:50.000 Oh Lord, would you open us now to the work of your spirit, fill us with Him, so that way we may truly know who you are. 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:55.359 We pray this in the power of King Jesus' name. 00:01:55.680 --> 00:01:56.319 Amen. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:04.400 If you have your Bibles, please turn to Mark chapter 5, or if you want to just listen, that is fine too. 00:02:04.640 --> 00:02:11.280 I'll be reading from the NIV, Mark chapter 5, verses 1 through 20. 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:20.000 Mark chapter 5, verses 1 through 20. 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:27.280 They went across the lake to the region of the Garosenes. 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:34.159 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:45.840 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:54.400 For he had often been chained hand in foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. 00:02:54.719 --> 00:03:00.000 No one was strong enough to subdue him. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:11.120 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 00:03:13.039 --> 00:03:19.120 When he saw Jesus from a distance he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:28.159 He shouted at the top of his voice, What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? 00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:31.919 In God's name don't torture me. 00:03:33.199 --> 00:03:39.120 For Jesus had said to him, Come out of this man, you impure spirit. 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:42.800 And then Jesus asked him, What is your name? 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:47.919 My name is Legion, he replied, for we are many. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:57.039 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 00:03:58.400 --> 00:04:04.240 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:10.000 The demons begged Jesus, send us among the pigs, allow us to go into them. 00:04:10.879 --> 00:04:16.959 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. 00:04:17.199 --> 00:04:26.639 The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 00:04:27.279 --> 00:04:36.720 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 00:04:37.040 --> 00:04:48.480 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons sitting there, dressed and in his right mind. 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:52.639 And they were afraid. 00:04:53.839 --> 00:05:01.519 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs as well. 00:05:02.319 --> 00:05:07.360 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:17.759 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:36.720 Jesus did not let him, but said, Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. 00:05:37.759 --> 00:05:48.959 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were amazed. 00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:50.160 Amen. 00:05:52.879 --> 00:06:01.199 How we're going to do this for the rest of our time together, because the Lord gave us this teaching in a narrative, we're going to do a narrative. 00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:02.959 I'm going to tell the story, okay? 00:06:03.120 --> 00:06:04.319 I'm going to retell it. 00:06:04.480 --> 00:06:06.879 I'm going to tell it in three sections. 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:14.639 So just so you aren't confused, I'm going to assume a persona of somebody in the story each time. 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:18.079 So there'll be a story part for the first five verses. 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:34.879 Then I'll step back out, give an explanation, and then for verses six through thirteen, I'll tell it as a story again, and then step back out into explaining, and then the last part, verses 14, to the end, and then there'll be an explanation and application. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:36.560 And then we'll be done. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:40.480 But before we get into that, just a word of introduction. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:47.759 Some of us have the privilege of taking our small children into the doctor for vaccinations, right? 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:54.959 And now our kids, they think that we're the parents, well, we are the parents, they think we're good protectors. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:57.600 We're there to protect our children, right? 00:06:57.759 --> 00:07:01.120 And so we wouldn't let any harm come to our kids. 00:07:01.199 --> 00:07:10.319 And so we take them into the doctor's office, and you know what's coming as a parent, because you know they're gonna get stuck with a needle, right? 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:34.639 But you know that this is for their good, but they're just sitting there loving life, they think that they have the best parents in the world, the protectors of their entire existence, and you hand them over to this doctor, or you're holding them yourself, and then all of a sudden, boom, pain enters into their existence, right? 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:41.680 And these big eyes, they look up at you as a parent and they're just confused, right? 00:07:41.839 --> 00:07:45.759 They're like, How could you ever have let this happen to me? 00:07:46.079 --> 00:07:47.839 You are my protector. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:51.839 I'm they're disoriented, they can't understand this. 00:07:51.920 --> 00:08:05.120 It doesn't come into their preconceived notions of how we are their protectors, and we would allow this harm come to them, but we know that they need these vaccinations. 00:08:05.439 --> 00:08:07.120 They help protect them. 00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:21.920 So, the people of Israel, they had these ingrained expectations of how God Almighty was to act on their behalf. 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:28.160 In the days of Jesus, the people of Israel were under Roman rule. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:33.759 They had come back from the exile, and in essence, they were still in exile. 00:08:34.639 --> 00:08:46.159 God had not brought his kingdom, the Messiah had not yet come to vanquish all of the heathen countries around them, and they were in the yoke of Rome. 00:08:46.399 --> 00:08:55.360 Now you see, when the Jews were waiting for the Messiah in God's kingdom, they were waiting for something very concrete. 00:08:56.240 --> 00:09:02.559 If Pilate was still ruling Judea, then the kingdom hadn't come. 00:09:03.360 --> 00:09:09.679 If the temple hadn't been rebuilt, then the kingdom had yet not come. 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:15.600 If the Messiah hasn't appeared, then the kingdom hasn't come. 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:24.559 And if Torah or the law wasn't being faithfully observed, then the kingdom had not yet come. 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:36.799 And if the pagan nations around Israel were not yet defeated, or they were not flocking to Jerusalem for instruction, then the kingdom had not yet come. 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:45.039 Rome had been ruling the promised land for years, and their yoke was heavy. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:57.120 In their minds, in the Jewish minds, the current occupation of Rome demandated that Rome was God's people's chief enemy. 00:09:59.120 --> 00:10:03.600 That Rome was God's people's chief enemy. 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:12.159 They had occupation of the promised land, and they knew only one nation was to have the promised land. 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:15.679 The sons and daughters of Abraham. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:26.159 So, like a kid going into the doctor's office for a vaccination, this is how the Jews looked to Yahweh to be their protector. 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:30.960 Now, as we come to the Gospels, we need to be looking for two things. 00:10:31.120 --> 00:10:41.679 How are Jesus' words and his deeds redefining the expectations that the Jews had about the kingdom of God? 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:54.320 As his vocation as Messiah, what was his identity and his role as he was redefining what God wanted to do on this earth? 00:10:54.720 --> 00:11:06.960 And secondly, so we need to be looking for how his teaching and his deeds don't seem they bring up something different than what the Jewish minds and their hearts were expecting. 00:11:07.360 --> 00:11:21.120 But also, we should not only be looking for timeless truths that Jesus says, like nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them, rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them. 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:23.039 Wonderful teaching. 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:28.639 Or give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's, turn the other cheek. 00:11:28.799 --> 00:11:33.440 These great timeless moral laws that Jesus gives us. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:59.200 We need to be also looking for of how God sent his chosen one, Jesus, into a specific culture at a particular time, a specific time in history, and of how these reaches across this reaches across to us here today. 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:11.919 Where we live on a different continent, where our daily lives looks quite different than the first century Judea. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:23.840 In short, in Jesus' words and deeds, we begin to see clearly the very heart of God, of how that was different than what the Jews were waiting for. 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:33.519 And he is definitively revealed in the person and in the work of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, the anointed one, the King. 00:12:34.159 --> 00:12:37.200 Alright, so we're looking for all of that to say. 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:45.600 We're looking for ways of how what Jesus was teaching about the kingdom and who he was as a Messiah, of how that was different than what the Jewish mind was. 00:12:45.840 --> 00:12:50.159 So we come to chapter 5 in Mark. 00:12:50.879 --> 00:12:55.840 Leading up to this, you have Jesus starting to do some incredible miracles. 00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:03.440 The one that he just did was he was on the boat on the lake and he calmed the storm. 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:08.799 And then in the beginning of chapter 5, he says, Let's go to the other side. 00:13:09.039 --> 00:13:18.240 So now I'm taking the persona of one of the disciples in the boat with Jesus as we go to the beginning part of this story. 00:13:21.120 --> 00:13:31.679 As we were with Jesus in the boat, and after he calmed the waves and the storm, all of us were wondering, who is this? 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:38.480 Who is this that even the wind and the waves would obey with him? 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:48.240 And after we got settled down, I was looking amongst my brothers, and Jesus says something very I will never forget it. 00:13:48.480 --> 00:13:51.039 Let's go to the other side. 00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:52.639 The other side. 00:13:52.879 --> 00:13:54.159 The other side of this lake? 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:57.600 You mean the Decopolis area? 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:00.879 The area where no Jews would ever go to? 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:04.799 The area where only Gentiles lived? 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:08.480 That side of the lake? 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:11.360 Who is this guy? 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:12.240 Why? 00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:21.440 Wait, if he really is the Messiah and he wants to go to enemy territory, is this the time? 00:14:22.080 --> 00:14:32.240 Is he going to unleash the heavenly armies and finally bring the yoke of Rome off of us? 00:14:32.480 --> 00:14:34.080 Because this is where he's going. 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:41.840 He's going to the other side of the lake where no Jews are living, but only the heathen nations are. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:50.720 So we get over to the other side and we see this big hill. 00:14:51.200 --> 00:15:03.039 And there's a small little town, but we kind of pull up to this little spot and we get off the boat, and we have no idea what this man, Jesus, the one we're following, is going to do. 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:18.559 So we just follow him, and all of a sudden, a man, we could see this was not any ordinary man, comes up to him, comes approaching him, and Jesus is out in front of us. 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:23.679 And this man is screaming, he's shrieking. 00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:25.919 We see him. 00:15:26.159 --> 00:15:27.440 He's crazed. 00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.120 He has crazy eyes. 00:15:29.279 --> 00:15:35.919 He has shackles on his hands with parts of chains coming down on his feet, on his ankles. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:41.919 We have shackles with chains, and he's dragging them, and it's creating quite a noise. 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.039 And he has no clothes on. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:49.679 And he looks crazy. 00:15:54.320 --> 00:15:55.840 He's shrieking. 00:15:56.480 --> 00:15:58.000 He's yelling. 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.240 The chains are rattling. 00:16:00.480 --> 00:16:04.639 And we don't even have to get that close to him, and we can smell. 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:14.559 And we look at where he's coming out of. 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:17.039 He's coming out of tombs. 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:20.000 Who lives in tombs? 00:16:21.840 --> 00:16:25.279 There's just death all around this man. 00:16:27.919 --> 00:16:39.759 And we find out from some local pig herders that are near us as we're walking up to this man that there is they have tried to bind this man many, many times. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:47.120 He terrorizes the local villages, and no one is able to subdue him. 00:16:52.320 --> 00:16:57.200 So this is a possible spot of where Jesus was. 00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:58.879 You see the hills. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:05.279 These are the possible tombs out of which the demon-possessed man maybe was around. 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:10.559 And we have something going on here. 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.519 We have a battle scene that's being set. 00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:23.200 We have Jesus the Messiah going into the most non-Jewish place you could find in that area. 00:17:28.480 --> 00:17:30.720 The location that he's at. 00:17:31.519 --> 00:17:40.000 He's in the center of and surrounded by the enemies of the people of God, the Gentiles, the heathen. 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:49.759 And what we see here is one coming out who has been terrorized by Satan. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:57.680 So what is the role that they're thinking that the Messiah should be taking right now? 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:00.319 It is to destroy this nation. 00:18:00.559 --> 00:18:06.319 It is to bring relief and vindication back to Israel, God's people. 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:10.480 This is the battle scene that we have. 00:18:10.960 --> 00:18:14.240 And what is the vocation of the Messiah? 00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:18.799 Man, I thought that would be a little bit bigger so I could read it off that screen. 00:18:19.039 --> 00:18:20.319 Let me read it for you. 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:24.000 You probably can't see it as well either. 00:18:25.920 --> 00:18:30.880 Listen to this in Psalm 110 that talks about the role of the Messiah. 00:18:31.599 --> 00:18:39.599 The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion, saying, Rule in the midst of your enemies. 00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:53.359 And then in verses 5 and 6, the Lord is at your right hand, he will crush kings on the day of his wrath, he will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:58.160 So what is gonna happen? 00:18:59.839 --> 00:19:09.839 If some were thinking that Jesus truly was the Messiah, what possible reason would he have for being amongst the nations? 00:19:11.119 --> 00:19:14.640 What were they waiting for him to do? 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:24.559 This is the battle scene, the Messiah coming in to the heathen nations, and what's he gonna do? 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:27.759 This is the second part. 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:38.720 So now I'm taking on the persona of one of the pig herders, okay, that sees Jesus come up to this demon-possessed man. 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:47.440 Well, we saw these 13 guys get off this little boat. 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:50.799 You could tell it was been quite a ride. 00:19:51.599 --> 00:20:00.240 They got off, and this these 13 men, there was one that seemed to be walking in a different way than the others. 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:08.160 He walked with a confidence, with an assuredness of who he was and what his purpose was in life. 00:20:09.839 --> 00:20:17.519 And we were really interested because we knew that the direction that he was going was going to meet him up with Crazy Eddie. 00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:22.400 Now I don't know if that's his name, but in their minds it was Crazy Eddie. 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:25.920 And they knew he was not a joke, though. 00:20:26.480 --> 00:20:32.240 They knew how he had been terrorizing that village for a long time. 00:20:32.880 --> 00:20:40.960 Multiple times we had sent out men to bind this man. 00:20:42.400 --> 00:20:48.480 We put shackles on his arms, on his legs, and he continually broke them. 00:20:48.799 --> 00:20:56.000 Any time a man would come into his presence, he was the one in control. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:59.200 He nobody could bind him. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:02.480 No one was able to subdue him. 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:11.119 And we see, we're sitting back watching this, we see this man walk into his area, and what do we see? 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:26.000 We see Crazy Eddie fall on his knees, shouting and screaming and shrieking, recognizing the authority, whatever authority it was we don't know in this man. 00:21:26.559 --> 00:21:32.400 And he was talking to him, and he was telling him, Come out of this man, you impure spirit. 00:21:32.559 --> 00:21:42.559 And then the spirit would convulse this man, and then this man would say, the man with the other twelve people, he would say, What is your name? 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:47.680 And Crazy Eddie would respond, Legion, for we are many. 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:55.680 And they would beg him, Do not send us out of this area. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:57.200 See those pigs? 00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759 And we're like, no, no, no, don't send them to the pigs. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.519 Don't send them to the pigs. 00:22:01.680 --> 00:22:04.319 You see those pigs, send us into them. 00:22:05.359 --> 00:22:19.200 And with a word, this man says, Go! And all of a sudden we see our two thousand herd of pigs. 00:22:19.519 --> 00:22:26.640 That is not only my livelihood, but it's all of our livelihoods as we raise pigs. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:27.920 These were Jews. 00:22:28.079 --> 00:22:30.160 Of course they would never be around pigs. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:31.920 They sent them to these pigs. 00:22:32.079 --> 00:22:38.640 They run down the hill and into the sea and are destroyed. 00:22:39.359 --> 00:22:44.640 We look at each other and we say, something has to be done about this man. 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:48.240 He just killed our economic engine. 00:22:48.720 --> 00:22:50.079 And he took off. 00:22:50.319 --> 00:22:52.000 They took off for the town. 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:55.039 They had to tell people about this. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:04.240 So we have the showdown. 00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:12.400 We have the showdown of the Messiah coming in to the area of the heathen nations. 00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:15.759 And who does he take on? 00:23:18.000 --> 00:23:23.279 You see, Rome is not the authority. 00:23:23.839 --> 00:23:25.920 Rome is not the enemy here. 00:23:26.480 --> 00:23:29.920 There is one enemy to the people of God. 00:23:30.880 --> 00:23:35.839 And that is Satan himself and his dominion and his minions. 00:23:36.079 --> 00:23:45.920 And Jesus walks into this place and he sees this man and he takes on the true enemy. 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:51.599 It's not Rome, and he can only battle Satan by himself. 00:23:51.759 --> 00:24:10.799 And with a word, he does something that no man was able to do, and that is to bring life, to bring freedom to this man who is being tormented by this evil spirit. 00:24:16.240 --> 00:24:27.920 So now, if Jesus says, But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:41.839 Through this battle with the real enemy, the new order of things, the kingdom planned by the Creator, is beginning its break-in into the old order of things. 00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:47.519 The whole created order was in the beginnings of being restored. 00:24:48.000 --> 00:24:53.519 The Jews thought it would come and then it would end just like that, and everything would be made new. 00:24:53.839 --> 00:24:57.680 But Jesus had and God had different plans. 00:24:57.920 --> 00:25:00.079 This was going to be in stages. 00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:07.039 But the first stage was something completely different than what they thought. 00:25:09.200 --> 00:25:22.559 If some were thinking that Jesus was the Messiah, what is the significance of this initial bringing in the kingdom to a Gentile mean? 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:27.759 This is not how it was supposed to work. 00:25:28.160 --> 00:25:34.880 He was supposed to vanquish all of the Gentile nations. 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:42.640 And here he is, he comes into this land, and he's actually setting them free from the real enemy. 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:51.039 Kind of gets me to think about what Paul later wrote in Galatians. 00:25:52.880 --> 00:25:59.519 Is God's mercy really more than just for Israel? 00:26:02.480 --> 00:26:09.759 Paul writes in Galatians three, so in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 00:26:10.079 --> 00:26:15.359 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:29.920 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:40.480 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 00:26:47.359 --> 00:26:48.319 Last part. 00:27:00.559 --> 00:27:06.640 Take the persona of the demoniac who has just been delivered from legion. 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:12.160 Mercy, mercy, mercy. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:17.839 That is the only thing that I'm experiencing right now. 00:27:18.079 --> 00:27:30.640 As this man walked into my domain and he cast out that which was been tormenting me for years, that I invited into my life. 00:27:31.759 --> 00:27:44.400 But yet he came and had mercy on me, this Jew who we all know that they believed that they were the only ones that God was for. 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:56.880 And here he comes with authority and with a word, has brought freedom and forgiveness and wholeness to me, mercy. 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:58.720 Who is this? 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:17.599 And I know those crazy pig herders they took off, and I see them coming back now with all the people from the village, and they want to know what's going on, and I can see it in their eyes. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:20.640 They are still afraid. 00:28:21.119 --> 00:28:27.839 They've been afraid of me for years, but they don't know what to do with me now because I've got clothes on. 00:28:28.079 --> 00:28:42.079 I'm sitting here in my right mind as I've been conversing with this man named Jesus, and his followers for the past few hours have been waiting, waiting for these people to come, but I can see it in their eyes. 00:28:42.240 --> 00:28:45.440 I know they are still afraid. 00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:54.160 And they say to this one who just brought freedom to me, they said, Go, get out of here. 00:28:54.640 --> 00:28:57.440 We don't know what you're gonna do in the future. 00:28:57.759 --> 00:29:03.200 You came in here and you overcame this incredible evil power. 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:04.559 Who are you? 00:29:04.960 --> 00:29:06.640 Get away from us. 00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:09.759 We want to have nothing to do with you. 00:29:13.119 --> 00:29:20.160 And Jesus heard those words and turned in sadness and went back to his boat. 00:29:21.359 --> 00:29:25.440 And it, wait, wait, you can't leave. 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:31.440 And I ran over to him and I was begging him, please, please let me go with you. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:34.400 You're the only one who has words of hope for me. 00:29:34.559 --> 00:29:36.480 You had mercy on me. 00:29:39.920 --> 00:30:04.480 And he turned to me, and he said, Go home and tell all of your people how much God has done for you and how much mercy He has spent on you. 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:10.000 And I did. 00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:21.279 And I went home, and he went off in his boat, and I told everybody about him that I knew. 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:33.759 And many, many people were amazed because they knew who I was, and they now see me as one who has been delivered from the real enemy. 00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:42.160 So, the villagers, what did they say? 00:30:42.480 --> 00:30:45.440 They said, be gone. 00:30:45.680 --> 00:31:02.720 This reminds me of a text in Acts 8:1, of where later on the believers in Jerusalem would be scattered throughout all of the Roman world because of the persecution from the Roman emperors. 00:31:03.759 --> 00:31:11.279 Now the Jews do not show up in this verse, but we know later on in Mark that they didn't want Jesus around. 00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:12.960 Actually, they wanted him dead. 00:31:13.279 --> 00:31:14.240 Be dead. 00:31:16.000 --> 00:31:23.200 Later on in Mark, they plot to execute Jesus, and we know they hand him over to Pilate. 00:31:23.440 --> 00:31:27.119 Pilate sends him to crucifixion. 00:31:27.839 --> 00:31:30.160 But then we have the demoniac. 00:31:30.799 --> 00:31:32.400 And what does he say? 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:37.519 Be my king. 00:31:39.039 --> 00:31:40.960 Be my king. 00:31:47.599 --> 00:31:51.519 You see, Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one. 00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:55.519 In the line of the Jewish kings of old. 00:31:55.839 --> 00:31:57.200 He is king. 00:31:57.359 --> 00:32:01.279 That's what Messiah means, anointed one. 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.319 He is king of a kingdom. 00:32:06.079 --> 00:32:10.960 And this is what all of his teachings and deeds are pointing to. 00:32:12.240 --> 00:32:24.240 He is the long-awaited king through whom God would bring in the new order, but not as how many people thought. 00:32:25.440 --> 00:32:35.359 He would be a king who ultimately shows us that his the way is the way of serving and suffering. 00:32:36.720 --> 00:32:47.839 The scope of his kingdom would not just be for Jews, but would be for the unclean Gentiles as well, for you, for me. 00:32:49.359 --> 00:33:02.880 The kingdom would be characterized by mercy, forgiveness, turning the other cheek, hospitality to those who are unfit or are marginal. 00:33:03.519 --> 00:33:18.000 He alone is fighting in this battle against Satan, the real enemy, who has been working since the garden to attack the image of God in humanity, who only wants to kill, steal, and destroy. 00:33:18.240 --> 00:33:32.960 But here our hero is, fighting all alone, with total authority, driving out the real enemy, not Rome, but Satan with a word. 00:33:35.359 --> 00:33:57.359 This line of action will eventually lead him to the cross, where he is nailed there for you and for me, showing us the way God will be reconciling a fallen world to himself, a God who comes and gives of himself so that we might have life. 00:33:58.079 --> 00:34:02.079 This is the God we worship and serve. 00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:06.720 This is the way of Jesus. 00:34:07.039 --> 00:34:34.000 Mercy, grace, forgiveness, seeking out the marginals, turning the other cheek, hospitality, calling out self-righteousness, the way of mercy, because he himself is the merciful king. 00:34:36.559 --> 00:34:43.199 Really quickly, Jesus has defeated the real enemy, Satan. 00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:54.239 This means that evil will never have the last word in any event, circumstance, or instance in our lives as followers of Jesus. 00:34:55.119 --> 00:34:58.800 Evil will not have the last word. 00:35:00.400 --> 00:35:03.599 This word is for Jesus alone. 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:06.079 He will have the last word. 00:35:09.199 --> 00:35:13.280 The welcome of the kingdom is for everyone. 00:35:16.000 --> 00:35:24.320 The real enemy is not people and their ideologies, which differ from ours. 00:35:24.559 --> 00:35:29.199 The real enemy is Satan who has deceived the world. 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:37.679 We've had the privilege of living in America for the past year almost, and it's been a long time since we've had this time. 00:35:37.920 --> 00:35:45.679 And you have a hard job of following Jesus in this present-day culture in America. 00:35:47.679 --> 00:35:55.440 There are so many distractions, so many things going after our hearts. 00:36:02.960 --> 00:36:04.800 He has not left you. 00:36:05.519 --> 00:36:11.119 And I ask that you would again tune your hearts to his voice and his voice alone. 00:36:12.719 --> 00:36:27.199 He will empower you to not be retreating in this culture, but to step into the mess of it, the hard things, and love those who it's very, very, very hard to love. 00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:36.639 So, where is our mercy for the nations, for the outcasts? 00:36:37.280 --> 00:36:44.559 This is an integral part of God's kingdom that he brought in the beginning stages into the world. 00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:49.440 The nations are here, folks, in Grand Forks. 00:36:49.760 --> 00:36:51.280 I know you know it. 00:36:51.599 --> 00:36:53.039 I know you know it. 00:36:53.280 --> 00:36:56.400 That Somali restaurant is awesome. 00:36:56.880 --> 00:36:58.960 They have great food. 00:37:00.559 --> 00:37:06.320 They have great food and they are great people, and they desperately need Jesus. 00:37:09.360 --> 00:37:11.360 And they're not the only ones. 00:37:14.559 --> 00:37:16.000 Take a chance. 00:37:17.360 --> 00:37:18.719 Take a chance. 00:37:21.760 --> 00:37:27.679 The way of Jesus is joyful obedience to his voice, his word. 00:37:29.440 --> 00:37:33.840 This man, this demon-possessed man, he wanted one thing. 00:37:34.719 --> 00:37:37.280 He wanted to be with Jesus. 00:37:39.199 --> 00:37:43.039 Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. 00:37:44.079 --> 00:37:47.199 Truth is primarily a person. 00:37:48.000 --> 00:37:49.599 It's not an idea. 00:37:49.840 --> 00:37:51.760 It's not the right ideas. 00:37:52.000 --> 00:37:57.840 Yes, he is a person, and right ideas flow out of who he is, but he's a person. 00:37:58.480 --> 00:38:04.000 Be with King Jesus as he is here among you. 00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:13.599 Come to know him as a person who does this for a demoniac, who does many, many things for all of us each and every day. 00:38:13.760 --> 00:38:15.920 Every day we wake up in the morning. 00:38:16.239 --> 00:38:22.880 Do you realize that our greatest need has already been taken care of? 00:38:24.400 --> 00:38:28.320 We wake up in the morning and we are not estranged to God. 00:38:29.280 --> 00:38:34.559 That is the great thing that we have going for us as we follow Him. 00:38:34.880 --> 00:38:35.840 He is with us. 00:38:36.079 --> 00:38:39.440 He has made it right for us to be able to be with God. 00:38:39.679 --> 00:38:42.400 He has restored a right relationship with Him. 00:38:42.559 --> 00:38:44.800 And we no longer have to try to earn it. 00:38:44.960 --> 00:38:46.639 We never could to begin with. 00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:48.000 So step in. 00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:48.960 Do you see it? 00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:52.719 Do you step into what Jesus has done for us? 00:38:53.360 --> 00:38:56.559 I ask you, He can be trusted. 00:38:56.880 --> 00:39:00.639 Evil will not have the last word on your day. 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:02.159 Jesus will. 00:39:29.440 --> 00:39:41.519 In this culture that you have put us in that has so many distractions, it has so many things in it, Lord, that are an offense and an abomination to you. 00:39:42.880 --> 00:40:01.119 And you send us out as your representatives, your ambassadors of the new order, which is mercy, grace, love, truth, hospitality. 00:40:04.320 --> 00:40:07.679 Equip us, Lord, to do things that we just cannot do. 00:40:07.840 --> 00:40:12.559 Give us courage to take chances that we would never take in and of ourselves. 00:40:12.800 --> 00:40:36.320 And give us a love for those who are different from us, who have different views on things, and that we will love them by telling them that there is a problem, and it is sin, and we are in desperate need of one who will do something about that sin in our lives, and that is you, Jesus. 00:40:38.880 --> 00:40:44.800 Make us into people who are joyfully obedient to your voice for your glory. 00:40:46.719 --> 00:40:52.159 May your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:40:53.199 --> 00:40:55.360 In the power of King Jesus we pray. 00:40:55.519 --> 00:40:56.079 Amen.