Go Home to Your Friends

19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

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I’m going to teach specifically this morning on the significance of what Jesus told the man formerly known as Legion: “Go Home to Your Friends”.

Evil Spirits Know Who Jesus Is

There’s this question among the Church today of why it is that we do not see demonic activity as often.

Although, our world is OBSESSED with it. OBSESSED with most supernatural things.

For years (before the New Testament) demonic activity was steadily growing, unchallenged. When we come into the New Testament, we quickly begin to read of various people who were taken captive and tormented by the presence of the demonic in their life.

Jesus Is the Son of the Most High God

In Luke 4, there was a man that the devil had so strongly possessed that he had no fear of losing control over the man at any point, even in a holy place, where the religious leaders read scriptures.

And in this setting, where Satan had been made quite comfortable, in walks the Son of God. And suddenly, the devil found himself looking squarely into the eyes of Jesus. There was no warning, there was no lead-up or preparation for what was taking place… all of a sudden this devil was being effortlessly pulled out of this man’s life with nowhere to go.

This was a sudden shift in the spiritual realm.

For the first time since the day humanity fell into sin and under Satan’s rule, the kingdom of darkness was being directly and pointedly dealt with, and was in retreat!

Men and women were starting to rebel against the powers of the world!

And the only option that the devil had was to work on the religious leaders - ironically - and convince them that this powerful man by the name of Jesus was actually operating under Satan’s power.

But the worst thing about all of this for Satan… the thing that got under his skin the most… was that… it was one thing to lose influence in the land of the prophets and Abraham’s descendents. But now, the biggest sign of the collapse of Satan’s kingdom was the loss of a Gentile in Gentile lands.

All Creation Will Confess That Jesus Christ Is Lord

So, we’re at a moment in which Jesus has taught and healed many in Israel, and then He turns to His followers and basically says, “Now we’re going to the OTHER side of the tracks!” Or, more scripturally, the other side of the sea:

Luke 8:22 NKJV

22 Now it happened, on a certain day, that He got into a boat with His disciples. And He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And they launched out.

And in saying this, and crossing over the sea, Jesus had every intention of humiliating Satan in his stronghold with the Gentiles, too! And on this trip, Jesus practically TOTALED (like you might describe damage to a car) Satan’s kingdom.

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Jesus Had Compassion for Gentiles

And what Jesus would come against was no small thing.

In Galilee, there were stories of the demonic possession over a person’s body, and there were even stories where several demons would control a man at once. But this story… it seemed to top all other stories…

On the other side of the Galilee, there was a man who… the best way I know how to describe him is that he served as a military camp for a legion of demons. And in military, a legion is anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 soldiers. And this legion of demons had dragged this man down to the lowest state a person can experience.

The One Known as “Legion”

Let me see if I can, somehow, give you a peek into what life was like for this person, according to Scripture:

He was without sleep most of the time (he cried out day and night).

He lived in the nightmares he was having and cut himself severely (I don’t know that this is for certain, but I think maybe he cut himself to know whether he was even still living).

He was so entirely at the mercy of this force of the demonic that he couldn’t even answer in his own name.

He looked for shelter. And though your reason for finding shelter would probably have to do with rain, wind, or the weather… He lived in the tombs like a dead person. He was seeking shelter form the living and from the clean.

He was Legion’s man. And there was supernatural power there being shown. We know, because Scripture says that he was able to break metal chains.

This was the demonic force (in Satan’s army, we might recognize them as the Satanic SEAL team, if you will)… this was what Jesus was coming after.

And Jesus… was going straight for the jugular vein.

Everybody (disciples, Jews, Gentiles) was going to see that, if the Son of God could take out Legion, He could defeat anyone.

I Will Have Compassion for the Rejected

Now, it’s important to note that, understandably, everyone around was terrified of this man! …but no one could do anything about him.

People didn’t feel safe with him near their homes (we wouldn’t!). The Bible says that He was too strong for the strongest men of Gadara - they tried to bind him with chains, but he snapped the chains like twigs! (They think, “This guy’s bad to the bone!”) They tried to tame him, but… there’s no taming a possessed man.

And the people around really just wanted peace and quiet… but there was one thing that they couldn’t ignore about this…

Now, I’ve given you all sorts of details in the last five minutes about the evil Legion was capable of. What he did. What he could do. The torment. The disturbance. But now… I’m going to give you another detail about him that was - JUST - AS - IMPORTANT…

Are you ready??? He was a SON!

...

He was NOT an ANIMAL. He was probably a brother! Possibly a father!

I think, that sometimes we get wrapped up in all of the symptoms that we see on a person. And unfortunately, we begin labeling them for all that we see. But I need a new outlook that understands, at a deeper level: THEY ARE A SOUL THAT HAS BEEN HELD CAPTIVE IN SIN!

Can I tell you that this man needed what we ALL need: COMPASSION!

“You mean Legion needed compassion?!” He’s not Legion! THEY ARE LEGION! THEY need destroyed! HE needs delivered! And he was looking for someone who knew DELIVERANCE! He’d already met plenty of people who talked about him!

I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, but if our conversations about people tend more toward gossip about them than actual face-to-face conversation with them, all we’re doing is having a good time at someone else’s expense TALKING ABOUT THEIR SYMPTOMS! (We’ll even talk about symptoms we see in churches down the road)

There are people who are rejected in our world. And we need to be looking for these people. They are just waiting on someone to notice them, to care for them. “Well most of them just want a hand-out.” Some of them probably do! But if that’s your mentality on reaching the lost, you cannot be effective.

We may not be able to meet all their needs, but we can smile and greet them. And show we care. And when we do that, we may help restore their humanity!

Go Home to Your Friends

Jesus Had Compassion on the Demoniac and Delivered Him

Jesus comes to shore, and suddenly, these thousands of devils rush toward Him, and end up bowing down before Him, as if they were being forced to do it!

They start panicking, because they know they probably only had a few moments of freedom left… and they cried out:

Mark 5:7 NKJV

7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

And this is pure desperation, here. Legion was actually trying to - in the name of God - cast out God in flesh.

Now, something interesting to notice about how the man was being affected: the confusion. In one place, he spoke saying “I,” “me,” and “my.” So those are all singular pronouns in reference to himself. And then, in the very same sentence, he referred to himself in the plural:

Mark 5:9 NKJV

9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

Evidence of Satan’s work is confusion, chaos, and disorder. His kingdom is a kingdom of disorder and confusion.

And listen: whereas the presence of demonic activity here, in this man, resulted in a confusion of pronouns… I personally find it to be no coincidence that there is such a confusion with pronouns in our world TODAY.

Satan only finds himself at home where he can create chaos and confusion. And maybe that’s one reason the demons asked Jesus to send them into the pigs. Because as soon as He did, they caused the animals to take them into the sea. Remember last Sunday, what the sea has always represented throughout Scripture and culture??? CHAOS!

And so the demons went to where there was chaos! They couldn’t be where Jesus was re-establishing God-ordained order!

And check this out: When the man who was possessed was freed, the very next scene of Scripture shows him sitting with Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

Mark 5:15 NKJV

15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

And now, order was restored - he spoke as one person!

He was a new man!!! And the very first thing he did was to offer to follow Jesus from town to town. He wanted to be one of these disciples.

But Jesus refused to allow him to come with them. Because Jesus knew that this man could be used in a greater way than just following Him… which brings us to our text:

Mark 5:19–20 NKJV

Jesus understood that this man now had a ministry to be enacted! Other people… they didn’t see the possibility of such a ministry an hour ago. In their mind, avoiding this man and observing his miserable state was as far as his potential went…

OOOOOH but I’m thankful that Jesus saw a ministry in me!!!

He looked beyond my faults and saw my need!

I might say it like this: He looked beyond my SYMPTOMS and saw a SOUL! He looked beyond my SYMPTOMS and saw a MINISTRY!

I wish I could get a couple of saints this morning who would remember where God brought you from for a little while! You don’t deserve to be where you stand today, but Jesus said, “I’m gonna raise them up anyhow!”

Banished, But Now I’m Back!

Now, look at this… I came across this scripture this week and I felt the Holy Ghost all over me. I had Bro. March read it and tell me what he thought.

2 Samuel 14:14 NKJV

14 For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.

Now let me summarize this:

Amnon was one of David’s sons. And he was pretty much a horrible human being. I mean, he had the morals of a barnyard dog. And he raped his sister. And after he raped Tamar, he threw her out of the room and said, “Get away from me!” So, I don’t think it’s out-of-the-book to call this guy a dirtbag. That’s probably light.

But Absalom - that’s his sister, too. And now, Absalom is seeing red in anger. And so Absalom waits two years in planning revenge. You can get really bitter in two years!

And so, when you go home and you read 2 Samuel 14, you read that they rose up, and he got all the king’s men together, and they went and killed Amnon.

And so, Absalom ran away to Gera, okay? And he was there for three years. You don’t run away unless you feel you’re guilty. So he’s there for three years.

And Bible says in the first verse that “the king’s heart was toward Absalom.” And the problem was, David was out of balance with his son. You see, we all have a battle between being a parent and being a legal citizen. And David was acting out of his father role, rather than acting out of the judgment role he had been placed in.

So Joab realizes that David’s heart is bent toward his son. And Joab find’s a wise women, and he puts his words in her mouth (because sometimes women can make men do things that men can’t make them do). And she starts telling this story.

And the story is pretty simply, “Oh king, please hear us. My two boys were fighting in the field, and there wasn’t anybody to separate them. And one rose up and killed the other. And I’m protecting the one who lived. And now all of the citizens and neighbors who suddenly become righteous, want me to give up my boy, to kill him”

Well, first David says, “Well, go to your house, and I’ll let you know what I order.” Well, she won’t give up. She wanted another word from him. And so she goes on. And the king says, “Speak on!” And she says, you know, “They’re going to kill my boy!”

And the king gets sort of upset, and he says, “There shall not a hair of your sons head fall to the ground! I’ve given you the kings word!”

Now, that should’ve ended it. But now watch this… this is so powerful:

2 Samuel 14:12–14 NKJV

12 Therefore the woman said, “Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Say on.” 13 So the woman said: “Why then have you schemed such a thing against the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring his banished one home again. 14 For we will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not take away a life; but He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him.

A David turns around and he says, “Go fetch the boy!” And Joab goes to get him.

And I may end up going crazy right here, because if any of us in this room have been saved, you need to understand something: You’ve been fetched!!!

You didn’t come into this thing because you decided to go to church - THE HOLY GHOST FETCHED YOU!!!

In the book of Job, he used a stronger word: “snatched” out of the fire!

So now… I’ve been FETCHED, and I’ve been SNATCHED - I ain’t got no time to be SILENT!

I was banished, but the king WANTS ME BACK!

We serve a God who can make a way where there is no way.

And God - listen to this! - God devises ways to bring the lost back in… because He wants the banished back!

You’ve got to understand that any time any time people sinned against God, they went out.

Judas went out and it was night...

Gehazi went out and he was a leper…

Demas went out and he was lost forever…

When we sinned, we became BANISHED from God. We had no more communication. We couldn’t enjoy his fellowship… BUT WE HAVE A KING WHO WANTS THE BANISHED BACK!!!

So, for Jesus, he sees this man who is possessed with Legion. And BANISHED by every measure! But He’s come to devise a means to save him! “There’s some pigs nearby - you can relocate there today… but this here is my son! And I’m bringing him back!!!”

It wasn’t the only time pigs were His means! He got the prodigal son into a pig sty to shake his senses and get him back!

He devises means… in other words, He thinks it out. Excuse my french, but He thinks, “How can I get all the ignorant goofy people back? How can I get them out of Satan’s grip? How can I loose them from sin’s power? I KNOW HOW TO BRING THE BANISHED BACK!!!”

“I’M GONNA GO FETCH ‘EM!”

You can go look up “fetch” - it means to “bring back,” or to “recover.” I don’t understand Pentecostals that don’t rejoice, but they’ve recovered!

1 Peter 2:9 NKJV

9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

The Spirit of God brought you out!

And He devises means to bring us back! “What means?” Conviction! Situations! Circumstances!

I wish I had a witness today! Anybody know that God will start setting some things up in your life to show you that you are wrong!

Let me show you how far God will go… for Jonah… the Bible says, “The Lord prepared a great fish…”

Watch this: I’m gonna tell you how you know if you’re maturing spiritually… If you can say what David said:

Psalm 119:71 NKJV

71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes.

Until we can say that, we haven’t grown strong yet. But when you can look at your biggest fight and your greatest struggles, even though they may hurt and frustrate you in the moment, look back at all of that and say, “It was God’s love and kindness and mercy that afflicted me!”

Why? Because when I got afflicted, I re-evaluated things! I re-examined things! I repented! I apologized! I changed the way I was living! THANK GOD FOR AFFLICTION THAT GOD LETS HAPPEN!

Psalm 119:59 NKJV

59 I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies.

And that’s another part of the means the Lord devises to bring us back. He gets us to thinking: “I’m not doing so good. I’m going to end up getting myself into bad trouble if I keep going the way that I am.” And so he says… “I thought about my ways… and then I turned my feet!”

Listen to this one…

Psalm 119:75 NKJV

75 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

I don’t want to hurt your feelings or anything today, but we need to get rid of this new weak American mindset that we’re always getting the short end of the stick and “Woe is me,” in every battle I go through… We’ve got to understand that sometimes, God will let trouble bring triumph!

I wish I could get everybody in adult class to stand to your feet today and let a praise out of you: “The King wants the banished home!” There’s a King that wants the messed up home!

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Conclusion

Internalizing the Message

Watch… this is powerful…

You’re guilty, but the King wants to give you grace!

You’re mistaken, but the King wants to give you mercy!

You’re perverse in your outlook, and the King wants to give you pardon!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve made a lot of dumb mistakes, and I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff SINCE I’ve been saved… and yet, God did not turn His back on me. God did not write me off! God did not say, “I don’t want you.”

He sent conviction! He sent trouble! He sent the music! The praise team! Sermons! Bible studies! The Word of God!

WHY? BECAUSE HE WANTS ME BACK!!!!!

“Banished.” I looked it up in the dictionary. “To be cast away. To lose all your rights. To be thrown out by authority. Expelled.”

Now, I’m sure all you here were just perfect when you were kids, but there were some that got expelled. And when you’re expelled, you got no rights. “You’re outta here!”

But, I find it so funny… in Revelation, John was sent away to an Island. And he said, “I, John… was on the isle of Patmos for the testimony of the Lord Jesus” (Revelation 1:9). You know what that is in English??? “Rome banished me, when Jesus found me!”

… and gave me 22 chapters of the book of Revelation - EVEN IN YOUR BANISHMENT, GOD CAN VISIT YOU!!!

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