Jesus Will Reach You Wherever You Are

March 14, 2021 Jesus Will Reach You Wherever You Are Good morning, LEC family and those who join us today in our LEC Online Church networks, we are so happy to have you with us. I'm Pastor Bill. As you heard earlier from Pastor Dustin, some exciting things are happening for LEC and we hope you are making your plans now to join us for 3 wonderful Easter weekends beginning in just 2 weeks! There will be 5 services over the 3 weeks and you will want to come and bring your friends and family to celebrate the wonderful Easter season. Today you are being given an "invite" card that we want to pray over and ask you to share with someone to join you on one of these three weekends. You will need to register through our text in church app to let us know your plans to attend so that we can ensure there is a seat available for you. You can see the number on the screen and be sure to not wait-go ahead today and register so that you have a seat for these. We continue our series on Jesus in Mark and I call this message-Jesus Will Reach You Wherever You Are. I hope to show you Jesus at work with someone who might have been considered "beyond the reach" of conventional religion. In fact, this story is so strange that some parts of it are very hard to read. What we see is the plight of a man possessed and tormented by demon spirits who cannot function as a normal person. Every day, we are learning more and more about the impact of emotional and neurological disease and sickness and while some can be dismissive of these kinds of illness, they nonetheless exist and there are those among us who suffer greatly. Let me stress that I'm not saying that people with mental health issues are demon possessed but I'm speaking specifically to the reference of the mental torture under which this man lived before he was healed by Jesus. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly one in five (1/5) Americans live with diagnosed mental illness. This represents almost 21% of all US adults. Interestingly, the highest percentage of diagnosed cases of mental illness is among young adults ages 18-25. We are only now learning the impact of diet, stress, death, divorce, poverty and any of a host of impacting factors that are causing neurological and mental disease among our children and young adults. If you only hear one thing today, no matter where you see yourself today, know this-Jesus Meets You Where You Are! The reach of God's grace and the power of His love is not restrained by any contributing factor that your life bears-regardless of your background, upbringing, physical or emotional state of mind, the reach of Jesus to you is intentional, focused and personal! This story highlights that and I want us to see Jesus at work in a couple of key areas that serve to inspire and minister to each of us: Introduction This encounter between Jesus and the possessed man takes place somewhere near a cemetery. If you've ever been in a cemetery, you might agree with me that it is not the most attractive meeting place-but remember Jesus Meets You Where You Are! The Man's Life Was a Mess (Mark 5:2-5) When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the burial caves and could no longer be restrained, even with a chain. Whenever he was put into chains and shackles-as he often was-he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. * What do we know about him? o He lived among the burial caves o He could not be restrained, even with chains o He wandered among the caves and hills, screaming and cutting himself o According to mental health professionals, there is a condition referred to as non-suicidal self-injury that is the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. It is often used by persons as a harmful way to cope with emotional pain, intense anger and frustration. Such persons can sometimes feel a momentary sense of calm and a release of tension, usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful emotions. While self-injury does not often result in life-threatening injury it comes with the possibility of more-serious and even fatal self-aggressive actions. * This man was a tortured soul...is something torturing you? * Your location may not be in a graveyard but your torture is just as severe * You may suffer anxiety that cannot be remedied with medication or therapy * You may experience grief that cannot be soothed with self-help * You may live in a state of frustration over the present condition of your life Jesus Means Help Was Within Reach (v.6) When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed low before him. (Matthew 11:28) Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Wherever you find yourself-Jesus is near He shows up just in case you need Him. He promises I'll be there when the moments are more than you can handle How should we approach? (Hebrews 4:14-16) Since, then, we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 4 things 1. Jesus is our intercessor 2. Jesus understands what we go through 3. We can come boldly 4. We will find mercy and grace to help us The Word Spoken Releases You (v.7-10) With a shriek, he screamed, "Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg you, don't torture me!" For Jesus had already said to the spirit, "Come out of the man, you evil spirit." Then Jesus demanded, "What is your name?" And he replied, "My name is Legion, because there are many of us inside this man." Then the evil spirits begged him again and again not to send them to some distant place. * This tortured soul was possessed by legions of demons but they were no match for the authority and power of Jesus Christ. * Your torture may not be demonic possession but whatever it is the power of Jesus Christ is greater... * Sickness is no match * Sorrow is no match * Demonic possession is a phenomena not often discussed or taught but something that we should be aware of- * Basically, we are talking about a person giving themselves over the power and influence of the devil * Satan is an angel with the full powers of an angel * Evil is a powerful force * You cannot be possessed by the devil without consent * Sin and evil involvement can open you up to the possibility of demonic forces, including things you watch, play or engage with. * As Christians we should not fear being possessed by demons...Light/darkness, house divided * What we must remember is that the power of Satan is no match for the power of Jesus Christ and these demons knew that-they were going it was just a matter of when and where! Your Encounter With Jesus Produces A Story To Tell (v.15-20) A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. Then those who had seen what happened told the others about the demon-possessed man and the pigs. And the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone. As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, "No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been." So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them. This is my favorite part of the story. * The man was dramatically transformed * (v.15) He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they were all afraid. * Our transformation produces a testimony o If you could've seen me before Jesus found me o What you see now is not what I once was o I may look the same but I'm so different than I once was Conclusion: It is the power of Jesus that transformed us, saved us, delivered us from whatever was in our hearts that destroys peace and joy God's grace is transforming God I'm a sinner I'm sorry for my sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe you will forgive me of my sins I choose Jesus