Living Miracles: Seek the Hurting
Notes
Transcript
What a great morning! This morning in our scripture we will be challenged in our own lives as well as how we respond in the lives of others. We will see a man who when He saw Jesus, the demons oppressing him knew immediately their time had come to an end. We will see the power in the name of Jesus. This morning we will be tempted to look at the demons and the spiritual aspect of what Jesus said and did with the demons. I want us to take a step outside of that conversation though and I want us to understand here that what happened with the demons only happened because Jesus cared about the man with the demons. We could spend weeks and weeks speaking demonology and spirits. I am not saying that those things do not matter, I do believe however we spend far too much time trying to become accompanied with the enemy when we have the power in the name of Jesus to overcome any demons. Much of the problem with our generations though is that we do not see the things that are happening around us as demonic. We look at ourselves and we look at others and we assume that what we are seeing are things that counseling, better choices, or prescriptions will fix. I will take a moment to say that I am in no way telling you to leave here and throw out your medicine. What I prayed as this message came together, is God lead us to how you want us to see things around us, from our lives to the lives of others.
I love my children and I love watching them grow and learn. One of the frustrating parts though is that they often do things that I do not want to see them do. When I tell them what to do and they do the complete opposite, it drives me crazy. As my kids grow they also learn from me and my wife. Because daddy is a pastor I will often get some of the comments that people expect to hear from a pastors kid. When Aubrey was little she was mischievous. Not in the way that my boys are where they go do something blatant and get caught. Aubrey was the type to do or say something secretly in class or some other setting. I remember one day her coming home from school with a note and the teacher said she had made another student cry. As any good parent does, I sat her down and asked her what happened. She answered by saying Daddy the devil made me do it!
While I understand that she was trying to get out of trouble. I often wonder how much we overlook the people around us or things in our lives that are true demonic oppression or in the case of our scripture this morning, possession. We are going to see in the scripture this morning the Profound proof that Jesus Liberates, we will be lead to a cultivated conviction that we are to liberate others in the name of Jesus. Lastly we will see that we are all to live in the declared destiny as witnesses to the power of Jesus name. Lets read our scripture together and we will get started.
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
1. Profound Proof: Jesus Liberates
1. Profound Proof: Jesus Liberates
26 Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.
What we see here is the scripture says immediately when Jesus stepped out on the land that he was met with a man who had demons and the man fell at Jesus feet and the demons began to speak. What strikes me here is that Jesus immediately does what He knows will liberate this man. There was no time where Jesus stopped and said you know when you decided to do this you opened yourself up to demon oppression. Jesus did not ask the man to tell him his life story. Jesus did not ask him or accuse him of having made poor choices. You see, Jesus had compassion on this man because of what the devil was doing to him not because of the choices the man made. Jesus did not seek to tell this man he needed counseling, he needed therapy. Jesus did not tell him he needed to do better then come see him. Jesus did not tell him that he needed to go clean himself up then he would help him. No the scripture says immediately Jesus interacted in a way to liberate this man. What we need to understand about Jesus is He is not interested in our past, He is not interested in what caused us the troubles in our lives. Jesus, His concern is liberating us and providing to us the freedom that comes in His name. What I realize is that so often we look on others and we say that they should act this way or they should act that way. We will help them if they will help themselves. The thing about how Jesus treated everyone of us is He liberated us when we were the least deserving of it.
Camden is our sweet child. He is quiet, he is calm, he can entertain himself. Cam though is no stranger to getting in trouble or doing something that gets him in trouble. Camden did something to Hunter and I decided that I would punish Camden by putting him in the corner. I told Camden that he needed to stand in the corner for 7 minutes. I had no real reason for the number just picked a number out of the air. At 4 minutes in I decided that it was OK for Cam to come out of the corner. It was the strangest response in the world. He turned and looked at me and he said no dad you said 7 minutes and I am staying in for 7 minutes. Hunter responded too saying it was not fair that I was going to let him out of the corner early. To Camden it did not matter that I had allowed him to move on, he felt he had to stay the whole time. It did not matter how many times I had mercy and grace with Hunter he felt like Cam needed to stay in the corner longer.
Is this not a perfect example of how so many people live? We have those oppressed by the devil and Jesus steps in and free’s them and what do they do? That is right they say, no I cannot be set free! I deserve this, made choices that led me to this. They keep themselves imprisoned to their past and choices. Then you have those on the other side who were freed by Jesus in their lives and they say that it is not fair that Jesus would let someone like that free. Here is what I would say to both parties. Jesus has a purpose of liberating us from the devil’s hold. Jesus came here to liberate us.
36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.
1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
There is a common theme in the scriptures here. That common theme is that Jesus brings freedom. I do not know where you are in life right now. Some of you have been battling these struggles in your life. You believe in Jesus but you think you must live with your choices, Jesus did not really set you free He just saved your future. No Jesus has set you free, now! not later but now. For those who look on others with this self righteousness. Let me tell you none of us deserve what we have received in Christ.
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
Church we must look at others in their lives and do exactly what Jesus did, we should seek to liberate them from a devil who is seeking to destroy them. Isn’t it so wonderful that Jesus did not look at my worth based on my actions? He saw my worth because He loved me and He wanted to liberate me. This leads me to our next point. The Cultivated conviction that we should seek to liberate others and seek their healing.
2.Cultivated Conviction: Liberation in Action
2.Cultivated Conviction: Liberation in Action
32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.
Jesus liberated this man. The importance of sending the demons into the pigs can be discussed and it is often discussed. Can I tell you that it is less important where Jesus sent the demons and more important where He removed them from. Jesus showed His power over the demons in speaking to them. Notice at no point did they question his power. Why is that? because in the name of Jesus all evil has to flee. We are called to carry this name of Jesus to the world who is hurting and suffering. Can I tell you that you do not need to be a scholar, a pastor, a deacon, a theologian to take the name of Jesus to the hurting world? What Jesus did here is to free this man from something so devastating in his life. Remember what the Scripture said his life was like?
27 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.
29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)
The name of Jesus and the power of Jesus took this man who was likely in worse shape than anyone in this room has ever been. Took this man who was likely worse off than most people we have seen in our lives and what did He do? He set the man free. Church we should be convicted by this. It should cause us to question, are we doing enough to fight the forces of evil in our world? Here is what I see in church. You have some who want to know the names of each demon, what that demon does, how that demon acts, and they want to be experts in demonology. Then you have the other side who says that what people are facing is their own fault and they just need to help themselves. Neither of these are the right place to be. The truth of the matter is, you do not need to know the name of a demon, you do not need to know what a demon looks like or what it does. You simply need to carry the name of Jesus with you into the world and trust in the power of Jesus name to heal.
If you had a snake anit venom that could heal any snake bite, why would you spend time trying to figure out what kind of snake but the person? You wouldn’t you would give them the shot! On the other side you would not ask the person what they did to get bit. Would it matter what they did if you had the medicine to heal them? No it would not! So why does it matter when it comes to the spiritual world?
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Church we should be known as the liberators. We should be the ones out setting others free. When we set others free we live in the declared destiny of being Christ’s witnesses.
Maybe you could focus on the dramatic demonstration of liberation when Jesus sends the demons into the pigs. This action not only showcases Christ's dominion over evil but illustrates the totality of the man's freedom from his chains. This point might encourage your audience to reflect on God's ability to bring change to even the bleakest circumstances, prompting gratitude and a deeper trust in His deliverance.
3. Witnessing to the World
3. Witnessing to the World
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
This man understood the desperate position he was in before Jesus stepped in. We must remember the desperate situation we were in. When we remain humble and do not elevate ourselves but elevate Christ, we will carry with us the power to change the world. We do not change the world by making it a better place, we change the world by preparing others for the new world. For the place where they will get to fellowship with us and with the one who gave everything to show them His love. We are all called to be missionaries. Notice that Jesus told the man not to come with Him but go back to your home and proclaim God in your home. This man went home and proclaimed God to the entire City! It did not matter that the people asked Jesus to leave because Jesus lived in this mans heart and Jesus did not have to be anywhere near this place for His name to be elevated. You do not have to go to China to be a missionary, we are called to elevate Christ in every place our feet go.
19 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, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
One of my favorite things as a parent is that when I do something good my children are my biggest cheerleads. If I do something cool Rylan will run around screaming saying look what my dad did! The unfortunate part for me is when I do something bad they do the same thing.
We are called to be the biggest voices for Christ in our world. Jesus wants to set people free but how can they believe in someone they have not heard of or seen? We are the voice and we are the action of Christ in our world. Let us all commit to living in the declared destiny of being the witness for Christ in our world. Why?
3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.
The devil will continue to seek out those who he can destroy and the world is hurting and being led to destruction. The time is now to stand in the love of Christ.
