Restored
Notes
Transcript
Restored
Restored
Good morning everyone, I hope and pray you guys are well today.
Has God been good to you this week?
I know He has, He has given you life through the week and provided for us this week. He is really been good to us.
Well we are a week away from our Youth Sports Camp and this is the week we can expect opposition my friends, especially as the week draws to a close..
Please pray, pray for opposition, evil and the like to be pushed back… Pray for God to prepare the hearts of the children and to make ours sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading..
God is going to do something wonderful in their lives and I am praying in ours as well.
And that’s is what we expect, when Jesus shows up, something wonderful happens in peoples lives.
Lets return to Matthew chapter 8...
And we will look at verses 23 to 34....
23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. 25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” 30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
This is a wonderful text my friends. Jesus is on a journey heading to the land of Gadara, and along the way we will witness a miracle, before He reaches His intended destination.
The first of the two miracles is a response to the elements of nature… It is wonderful to watch Jesus work in the midst of His children
Now we have just witnessed the healing of the leper and the Centurion's servant. And Jesus has spoke about the cost of following Him to those who have expressed interest in following him.
Now He has left Capernaum and is making his way to a new place, to a new people .... and we will see His power and presence in peoples life again...
So lets consider this first point today...
1. A Miracle along the Way...
Jesus has given the order for his disciples to travel with Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. So they get into one of the boats and they push off and begin rowing to make their way there.
Now most likely they are in one of the disciples fishing boats, this is most likely a long high sided boat meant to sustain a load of fish and those on board out on water.
These were sturdy boats, and they even faced violent storms at times as wind rolled down the high cliffs and brought great waves to the water.
Let’s look and see what is happening.... verses 23-24
23 And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 24 And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
So there is a great storm this day on the water, a storm so strong and so violent that the disciples were afraid.
Now understand many of these men, Peter, Andrew, James and John in particular were experienced fisherman, they had made their living on the water, they knew what to expect.
They had been in storms before ; but this one is different, it is huge. The word for storm here is (seismos) a word that is used for something like an apocalyptic upheavals...
This storm is so large, it is as if the world is coming to and end. The boat is in danger of sinking, of being capsized…
Now it is interesting here that the storm is much larger than anything they have ever seen.... Many think that Satan is at work here, bringing a storm so large in powerful that he hopes to kill Jesus and his disciples.
Satan is trying to stop Jesus and hinder the plan of God ....
Now the last point I want you to see here is this… in the midst of all that is happening … where is Jesus?
Jesus is asleep in the bow of the boat.... The Son of God Is not afraid or worried, He is resting, letting his body recharge if you will....
We know he, physically got tired. John 4:6 tells us that Jesus was wearied after his journey to Samaria and he sat down…
So Jesus is weary, tired and He is asleep in the boat while the storm rages…
Here is a question for you....
Don’t you wish you could rest like that at night?
Now let me ask you another question..... Are you resting like that in the midst of your storm. Not worried or afraid but just trusting the Father who is over all to do His will in our lives… Are you trusting God like that?
And if you are not? why? What keeps you from trusting Jesus?
Now lets move on......verses 25-27
25 And they went and woke him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” 26 And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 27 And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey him?”
The disciples are not at rest, they are panicking… They are afraid they are about to loose their life.
Now I want you to see a parallel between their lives and ours my friends. They went and woke Jesus up,, Lord help us, Save us we are going to die...
Fear had immobilized them, it kept them from trusting the Lord would take care of them and their lives.
Fear is the most dangerous plight to our Christian life… it will keep us, hinder us from trusting the Lord our God.
Either He is God in our life… in every area of our life or He is not… Amen.....
Now look at verse 26… What does Jesus say… “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith.”
Fear made them worry, it made them afraid.... Jesus says they had little faith, literally a lack of faith or no faith at all.
Why did you believe and stop believing....
Has that happened to you?
Then look at what Jesus does next.... He got up and rebuked the wind and the waves and it was completely calm.
The word rebuked is “epitimao”… it is the same word when we think of Jesus casting out unclean spirits… like an exorcism...
Could you just hear Jesus, He is sounding like our dad’s....”Hey.... cut it out..... “
And it stopped… Wow. ...take about that…it got calm
And they said.. What manner of man is this, that even the wind and waves obey....
The miracle happened…
??Do you believe, really believe Jesus can take care of you in the midst of your storm?
And then we come to our second thought of the day....
2. A Life out of Control...
I really like the name I have given this point in the message, “A Life out of Control...”
The reality is that was the life of every person before they came into contact with Jesus Christ, is they were out of control... We were sinners and now we are saved by grace.
Now in our text, Jesus gets to the place He was traveling too, He and His disciples have reached the land of Gadara...
Lets go back and look at the text....Verses 28-29
28 And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
As Jesus steps on the shore of the land, Immediately two demon possessed men come running to Jesus...
Now to be demon possessed means that a unclean spirit is indwelling a persons life. They are the demons, the associates of Satan, And as such the unclean, evil spirit it keeps the person from fully controlling their actions.
Now only Matthew speaks of Jesus encountering 2 demon possessed men, and what do we know of them. They are living in a unclean place. They are in the cemetery… They are living among the dead… Its really fitting since they represent spiritual death...
I tell you what… If Jarret finds some wild man living out in the cemetery at Powell Valley memorial gardens He’s calling the police.... He won’t be messing around...
These men come running from the tombs, which probably refer to the burial caves that were carved out for people and families. Remember Jesus is placed in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, after his crucifixion.
Joseph, being a disciple of Jesus offered it as a fitting place to bury the Son of God.
Now these tombs....What a perfect place for the demons, they are living among the tombs of the dead. Their violence, their evil nature kept them from living around people. He could not be chained or held by men…
Mark 5:5 says they were always running among the tombs and cutting themselves… inflicting pain and suffering on the person they inhabit.
These demons are starving, beating, mutilating the bodies of those they inhabit. they seek to kill them…
Remember what the devil has come to do… He has come to kill, steal and destroy… John 10:10
My friends this is a outward picture of a lost soul, separated from god and filled with an evil, unclean spirit. And so they ( these two possessed men know Jesus has come to their land.
And they come crying to Jesus this day… Remember like Satan at Jesus temptation, they are acknowledging that Jesus is the Son of God.
James reminds us the demons know who Jesus is....
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!
They ask Jesus....What do you want with us… Have you come here to torment us before the time?” That is the question they seek to find the answer too....
They are worried their time might be up, even the demons know that a day of eternal judgment awaits them.. they are afraid it might be the time....
You see the demons, the minions of the devil seek to cause as such torment, as mush death, disease and destruction that they can before their time is up my friends,
You see there are many around us whose lives are out of control, and I tell you what, the devil seeks to take as many people to hell with him as he can…
We have the words of life and death.... We better be about our Father’s business and lead as many captives out of the prison of death that awaits them into his light...
If we fail, people die and go to hell....
Are you praying for a lost person… I have 8 people I am praying for right now,,, lives are out of control, they need Jesus just like we did once..
Oh I want to see them saved don’t you!
Now just one last thought today....
3. A Life Restored....
As these Demon possessed men come to Jesus we are about to see something wonderful, we see changed lives...
The demon know that Jesus is not going to permit them to continue to live in these men’s life, and with a herd of swine nearby, they ask Jesus a question...
Lets look at the last portion of our text… Verse 3—34
30 Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. 31 And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” 32 And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 33 The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. 34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
It wasn’t if Jesus was going to cast them, They knew it was certain.. The swine, the herd of pigs would have been an unclean animal and one that the Jewish people of Israel would have rejected,
These unclean spirits begged Jesus for permission to enter the hogs, and Jesus tells them to Go!
And here is what happens… They leave the men and they enter the hogs...
The men are made whole at this point, they are in their right minds, they are whole and thus are ready to return to society and their homes, families.
You see when the evil is cast out, people are healed…
Now for the evil spirits, they rush into the hogs and they continue their destructive ways and cast all the swine over the cliffs and into the sea of Galilee.
Verse 33 tells us the herdsman witness what happened to the men and the hogs… and they tell others.. those in the towns.
Yet sadly we see the world’s interest in the material, The herdsman and the city people are more hurt over the loss of the hogs, that which was unclean… that which violates God’s dietary restrictions.. (remember it’s not until the book of Acts that all food is made clean.),
Instead of rejoicing that these two men are well and whole again, the city people reject Jesus and ask him to leave.
They missed the Son of man, they have witnessed a miracle, they have witnessed the power of God and they should have received Jesus! Yet they pulled back, and did not receive him.
My friends, the most beautiful thing in all the world is when Jesus is able to speak to us, driving out the old ways, the demonic ways and entering into our lives as Lord and Savior.
And when He did the whole world was able to witness the change in our lives.
These men went home restored, they went home whole and the went home well and ready to re-enter society.
You see Jesus is in the business of restoration.
He stands ready to help you today....
You might be here today and maybe you would like to know Jesus.
Maybe you are here and you are saved, but need some change in your life. Jesus can restore you as well…
what ever your need today, come and let Jesus help!
Lets stand