A Man With a Dark Past The Demoniac Mark 5

Three Unexpected Evangelists: A Man With a Dark Past

The Demoniac Mark 5

Good morning. Let me start with this prayer from Francis and Judith McNutt's book, Deliverance From Evil Spirits:

Lord Jesus, You have given us authority in Your name to bind up evil forces that try to come against us. In the name of Jesus Christ and by the power of Your cross and Your blood, we bind up the power of any evil spirits and command them not to interfere with our lives in any way.

We break any curses, hexes or spells sent against us and declare them null and void. We break the assignments of any evil spirits sent against us, and we send them to You, Jesus, to deal with as You choose.

Lord, we ask You to bless our enemies by sending Your Holy Spirit to lead them to repentance and conversion. Furthermore, we bind all interaction and communication in the world of evil spirits as these affect us. We ask You to protect our families and loved ones with the covering of Your shed blood.

We place the full armor of God on ourselves and those we carry in our hearts. Give us the gift of faith to pray at all times, knowing that You love and protect us. You are my refuge, my fortress and my hiding place; we are safe in the shelter of Your love.

Thank You, Lord, for Your protection. Please send Your mighty, holy angels, especially Michael, the great archangel, to help us in the battle. We ask You to guide us and to share with us Your Holy Spirit's power and compassion. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.

MacNutt, Francis; MacNutt, Judith. Deliverance from Evil Spirits: A Guide to Freedom from the Demonic Realm (pp. 74-75). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

Good morning again, church! We are continuing our series on Three Unexpected Evangelists.This week, we will look at a passage that may be challenging for some Christians. We will look at a man possessed by a legion of demons. Now, let's remember the two verses that are the theme for this series. Let's start in Matthew 28:18-20:

Jesus came near and said to them, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

And Luke 9:1-2:

Summoning the Twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to heal diseases. Then he sent them to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. Luke 9:1–2 CSB

As you can see, delivering people from oppression from the enemy and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us to heal those who have infirmities are part of the mandate for all Christ followers. But dealing with deliverance ministry, that is, setting people free from demonic oppression, is something that may be outside your paradigm of being a follower of Jesus. It may be outside of your comfort zone. If it is, that is good because you are not alone.

First, I want to start with a song by Keith Green called "No One Believes In Me Anymore." Green wrote, I believe, prophetically influenced lyrics, and this song is a prime example of this. He is actually writing from the perspective of our Enemy. Listen to the first two verses of that song:

Oh, my job keeps getting easier

As time keeps slippin' away

I can imitate the brightest light

And make the night look just like day

I put some truth in every lie

To tickle itchin' ears

You know, I'm drawing people just like flies

'Cause they like what they hear

I'm gaining power by the hour

They're falling by the score

You know it's getting very simple now

'Cause no one believes in me anymore!

Oh, heaven's just a state of mind

My book read on your shelf

Oh, have you heard that God is dead?

I made that one up myself

They're dabbling with magic spells

They get their fortunes read

You know, they heard the truth

But turned away

And then followed me instead

I used to have to sneak around

But now they just open their doors

No one is watching for my trick

Since no one believes in me anymore!

We have an enemy. We call him Satan, or the satan, accuser, oppressor, liar, crafty snake, angel of light, and many other names. The ancient Jews called him baal-bezub or lord of the flies. By whatever name he is known by, he has ruled this world since the fall in Genesis 3 and harshly opposes the Kingdom of God. He will oppose us in any efforts we are called to, especially when God calls us to tell others about Jesus. He is chasing hard after the youth, spreading chaos and confusion about sexuality, gender, politics, and anything else you can think of. We do ourselves great harm when we ignore this enemy.

Why is that? Wasn't our enemy defeated at the cross and resurrection? Absolutely! However, like the English, Americans, and Canadians on June 6, 1944, D-day, we are part of an invasion force. The Allies assured the defeat of the Nazis on that day, but there was still a great deal of fighting that lay ahead. Satan's defeat was assured with the empty tomb. But until Jesus returns, there is still spiritual warfare to be done.

The key is remembering who our enemy is. Our enemy wants to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). He wants to steal our kids, he wants to kill the unborn, he wants to destroy relationships and marriages, he wants to spread chaos and destruction and cause as many people as possible to live in despair, anxiety, and hopelessness. He is a defeated enemy but isn't going down without a fight. He will harass and torment anyone who allows him access. That is an essential point of truth. As Christians, he has no access to us unless we allow him in. Through Jesus, we have complete authority to banish him and his workers. But he wreaks havoc and destruction when we give him access to our lives.

So, how do we give him access? In our Sunday School class today, we learned of four specific ways we give him access:

1. Fear

a. Worry

b. Anxiety

c. Unbelief

d. Need to control others

e. Isolation

f. Substance abuse

2. Hate

a. Bitterness

b. Envy

c. Gossip

d. Slander

e. Anger

f. Self-hate

g. Jealousy

h. Unforgiveness

3. Sexual Sin – both committed by us and committed on us

a. Molestation and rape can open a door for the enemy to wreck the lives of the victims

4. Occult/ Witchcraft

a. Astrology

b. Fortune-telling

c. Tarot cards

d. Seances

e. Ouija Boards

f. Any "New Age" kind of practice.

Let me clarify one important point here. If you have participated in anything I just mentioned, that does not mean that you are automatically "demon-possessed." In fact, demons cannot possess Christians, but Christians can be demonized or harassed by demons.

I state all this to set the scene for our second unexpected evangelist. Please open your Bibles to Mark chapter 5. To set the scene, Jesus asked the disciples to get into a boat and travel to the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee. Along the way, they encounter a demonic storm. Why do I call it a demonic storm? Because Mark uses the word ἐπιτιμάω(epitimaō), which is translated as a rebuke. This word is the same word Mark used to describe the exorcism Jesus performed in chapter 1. Jesus commanded the wind and the rain to stop with the same authority he cast out demons. Clearly, the enemy did not want Jesus traveling to where he was going.

The area they were traveling to was also an interesting choice. On the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee is the region of the Gerasenes. There were Gentile cities with many businesses catering to the Romans living in the region. Romans loved their pork and bought their pigs from herders in that region. The whole area was considered unclean by the Jewish people. The people were unclean; their businesses were unclean, and, like Samaria, even being in their land could make one unclean. Yet, this is precisely where Jesus went. Here are a couple of pictures from Kursi where these events possibly happened.

Mark chapter 5 brings us to the shore of the Gerasenes:

They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as he got out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him. He lived in the tombs, and no one was able to restrain him anymore—not even with a chain because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before him. And he cried out with a loud voice, "What do you have to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you before God, don't torment me!" 8 For he had told him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"

"What is your name?" he asked him.

"My name is Legion," he answered him, "because we are many." And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region.

A large herd of pigs was there, feeding on the hillside. The demons begged him, "Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them." So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there.

The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs. Then they began to beg him (Jesus) to leave their region. Mark 5:1-17

The crew encounters a demonized man, who is found to be full of demons (Legion, meaning between 3,000 and 6,000). Jesus uses the same kind of language that he used for the demonized man in chapter 1 and that he used for the storm and cast the demons into a herd of swine who commit suicide. Interestingly, when the city's people nearby hear about this, they all come out to see Jesus and ask that he leave. Why would they do this? One of the reasons may be that, in their polytheistic world, they thought Jesus was one of their gods who had come down and destroyed their primary source of income. If that was the case, he was an angry god, and who knows what more damage he could do. They asked him to leave, and Jesus agreed to do so.

You may be asking, "What does all this have to do with evangelism?" Well, I'm glad you asked because this brings me to the text I have in mind:

As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him earnestly that he might remain with him. Jesus did not let him but told him, "Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you." So he went out and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed. Mark 5:18–20 CSB

This is the Word of God for the People of God

The man had an extortionary encounter with Jesus. He had a dramatic deliverance from evil. Because of this, he knew that Jesus was a man who needed to be followed. Jesus defeated the enemy residing in this man with the greatest weapon of all: His love. It is the love of God that will always defeat the enemy where he stands. Jesus' love conquers all fears. Jesus' love conquers hate and brings forgiveness. Jesus' love corrects our destroyed view of sexuality and removes confusion about practice and gender. Jesus' love overcomes all the demonic practices of the occult. Jesus' love set this man free.

The man wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus had a different mission for him. This man was to sow the seed for future evangelism in the Decapolis (10 Greek / Gentile cities). In Acts 8, great persecution starts in Jerusalem, and all the believers, except the apostles, fled and scattered. You have to imagine many of them went to the Decapolis and found a waiting group. These people would have heard the man's testimony and eagerly expected more from the man called Jesus.

So, what can we take from this story? First, through Jesus, anyone can be saved, no matter the evil they've done or have been done to them. This man was genuinely engulfed in tremendous evil. Who knows what he did or had done to him to get him associated with 3-6,000 demons? But Jesus delivered the man, and he became a follower. However, second, Jesus had another plan in mind for him. Instead of continuing into Judea with the ministry, Jesus told the man to return home and tell his family. Sometimes, God calls us to a ministry we were not expecting. We must have our hearts and ears open for what God calls us to do. Third, the text also states that he also went to the other ten towns in the region. How would the gospel writer know this? My guess is that the other evangelists from Acts 8 reported to Peter, Mark's source for his gospel, the delivered man's missionary activities.

As Christ-followers, our encounters with Jesus must compel us to talk about him and offer him to a sick and dying world. The man who was delivered had a simple message. The Gospel he preached was the love of Jesus. Folks, it is that simple. Being an evangelist means telling people about the love of Jesus and then letting Jesus do the rest. It didn't matter to Jesus that this man had a dark past. What mattered to him was that the man was delivered and healed. God may not call us to the ministry we are expecting. However, he calls us to the ministry He has prepared and equipped us for. Deliverance ministry is an essential part of Jesus' commission in Luke 9. We need to be open to the reality that we have an enemy that is torturing people, and they need freedom. Freedom from demonic oppression can only come through the power of the name of Jesus and the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit. But the key here, and what the delivered man teaches us, is that if we act obediently, leaving the results to God, we genuinely live out His mission.

Your action items for this week:

1. Continue to memorize Matthew 28:18-20 and Luke 9:1-2.

2. On the 3x5 card you started last week, write down any open doors to the enemy you might have in your life.

3. Pray over those open doors and ask God how he wants you to close them.

4. Be open to anyone coming your way who may need to hear the Gospel.