Seeing People Transformed.

Introduction

Does anyone know the mission statement of our church?

Covenant Life Church exists to see people radically transformed in Christ who leverage their lives for God’s glory.

Over the next two weeks we are going to explore our goal as church in two parts. Being a church that has as our mission to see people radically transformed in Christ. And to see those people live their lives for God’s glory. Until Jesus comes back—this is our mission.

Let’s say the mission statement again: Covenant Life Chrurch exists to see people radically transformed in Christ who leverage their lives for God’s glory.

It’s important to know what we exist for. Our mission statement is the lens through which we view all our church. Is what we are doing either spreading the gospel? Or deepening and strengthening the walk of the saints?

Our goal for the next two weeks is to make the mission of the church personal to our lives. To see our place in it and to give our energy to it.

This morning we are going to focus on Seeing People Radically Transformed in Christ.

Our text this morning is Luke 8:26-39. Let’s read it together and then I want us to see 9 Tools we need as we seek to see people radically transformed in Christ.

Luke 8:26–39 ESV

Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 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. 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.” 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.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 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. 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. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 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. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 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. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “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.

First tool we’ll need as we seek to see people radically transformed in Christ is…

1. A Willingness to Go. (27a)

Jesus is our model for all of life and godliness. And as we look into this story in Luke we see that it’s wedged into the middle of Jesus ministering throughout Israel.

Large crowds had gathered to hear him preach—to see him heal. And in the middle of the crowds Jesus decides to go across the water to the country of the Gerasenes.

Luke 8:27 “When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons.”

Jesus knew this man would be here. Jesus had a willingness to go and to reach the lost. His busyness didn’t stop him. The pressing matters in front of him didn’t stop him. He gave no excuses for doing the work of the Father and being about his business.

The question for you and I is do we have the willingness to go to the lost?

Or is our life full of excuses? The mission of our church is the modeled off the mission given to us in Matthew 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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 all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We want to make disciples and teach them to obey. We want to see people radically transformed in Christ who leverage their whole lives for God’s glory.

Do you recognize this mission as your mission? Do you think about the structure and goals of your life through the lens of this God given mission.

Friends, the time is short and eternity is long. Let us not waste our lives chasing after lesser things in this world—but let us with wild abandon chase after the mission of God in our lives. Because it’s our mission. We are his ambassadors. We are his missionaries. We are the light in the darkness as we take Christ into the darkness.

Now here’s the temptation when you hear me say something like that. The devil will whisper in your ear. “Well that might make a good sermon, but it’s not practical! You have to prepare for retirement. You have to give your loved ones a comfortable life. You need “you time”. It’s good to have hobbies. Your pastor is taking it too far. You’re doing enough.”

And the problem with that temptation is that I’m not saying don’t prepare for retirement. Don’t provide for your family. Don’t have hobbies and times of rest.

I’m saying that in all things plan them with the mission in mind. With the mission as your guide.

John Piper preached a now famous sermon that has been referred to as the “Seashell Sermon” because in it he read a Time magazine article that was talking about the fabulous retirement of an American couple who worked hard, saved their money, and spent their time traveling and collecting seashells.

Piper lamented at the “waste of a retirement”. That these peopel would waste their waning years in pursuits with no purpose.

Listen, I think it is good to plan for retirement. Do that. But when you think about your retirement don’t think about it through the lens of you! Think about how you can use the time retirement affords for the mission of God.

How can your hobbies be used for the mission God has given you? How can your family be on the mission together? Do we see the difference.

So ignore that lying whisper for the enemy and don’t think that I’m calling you to an extrabiblical standard. I’m calling you to a Christian life. A life where Christ is King and all of our life shows it!

If we are to be on the mission of God we must have a willingness to go. A willingness for the going to be a regular part of our lives. Not a weekend. Not a retreat. Not a mission trip. A daily willingness to go.

Will you pray for that willingness? Will you pursue that willingness?

Jesus went to this man across the water because he had an appointment with one of His elect. Jesus knew that this man would be saved. That this man would be healed and restored to life. To life in Him.

Friends, we don’t have the sight of Christ. We can’t tell who will respond positively to the call to come to life in Christ. But we can be sure that our good God will guide us to see people saved as we are obedient to be on the mission.

We must have a willingness to go if we are to be on mission. Number 2...

2. We need a clear picture of reality. (27b-28)

Luke 8:27-28 “For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 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.””

If we are to be on the mission of Christ. If Covenant Life Church is to accomplish our mission then we must have a clear picture of reality.

This story of transformation is so helpful to us because it gives a clear picture of the reality of the world that we live in.

This is the reality. There are lost people everywhere. Without Christ they are going to Hell. We, before Christ saved us, were on our way to Hell. The stakes are high.

The lost people in the world are not okay. They are in danger. They are hopelessly lost. The demon possessed man that we meet in Luke 8 is a physical picture of the spiritual reality of the lost.

He was naked and exposed. Hebrews 4:13 “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

He lived amongst the dead. Ephesians 2:1 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins”

He was controlled by the enemy. Ephesians 2:2-3 “in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.”

He had a deep aversion to Jesus. Luke 8:28 “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.””

This is the reality of all of those without Christ. And we don’t judge them. We were them. Our mission is a rescue mission of those who are drowning in the same waters that we were plucked from.

But we have to be careful. Because what will happen is our picture of reality will get worn down. We’ll believe that the lost are okay. In fact, the lost, those without Christ are a bit better off than we are.

We’ll believe that their life is fine. That Jesus is just an option in life. That Jesus is a way.

The world works hard to make their spiritual death look like vital life.

They celebrate the very things that God says brings death. They drink their poison and pretend it is sweet water. They breathe in the noxious fumes of the world’s beauty and reject the healing water of Christ.

Don’t you believe it.

Don’t you believe that the world is better off without your witness of Christ! It’s not true! We rescue addicts. If you bust into a crack den and rescue drug addict they’ll curse you. As you give them medicine and clean food. As you keep them from the poison they’ll hate you. They’ll see your help as an attack. But those who are cleaned up will later thank you. What’s my point?

The world will hate your witness. 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

You will not be on the mission of God if you don’t have a clear picture of reality. The reality is that no matter what the world says, they are dying, they are doomed, they are drinking poison and you have the cure. You try to cure all that you come across—this is your mission. This is your call.

You must be willing to go, you need a clear picture of reality and ...

3. Understand the Assignment (29a)

Luke 8:29 “For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.

The assignment before us is not to add Jesus to the world, but to call them to “radical transformation”.

This man had a deep aversion to Christ. Why? Because Christ was commanding him to change.

There is no mixing of Christ with sin. There is no adding Jesus to your life. Jesus is not a get out of hell free card. He is a new master to follow.

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Our text says that this man had demons that he would submit too. He would let the demon rule to break the chains of bondage. He would be driven to the desert. He had competing spirits.

Our mission is not to add Christ to this.

We call people to radical change in Christ. We call people to a life of devotion to Christ. We call people to give up their old “master” and to find their master in Christ.

Some people “fall away” from Christ because they were never called to put their hope and life in the true Christ. They were called to accept some fake Jesus that embraced their life as it was. They were called to add Jesus to their pantheon of gods.

And when they met the real Jesus they rejected Him because the real Jesus isn’t interested in being an advisor. He is LORD. He is KING.

Do you understand the assignment?

Don’t be afraid to call people into the deep waters of Christ. I think sometimes we are hesitant to overwhelm people with all that comes with Christ. But we are calling the dead to come to life. When the dead are being called to life they want all of life.

The world doesn’t want another thing to add to their lives to mitigate their brokeness. We must give them all of Christ. Call them to the radical life change that is Jesus Christ. If God the Father is calling them to Jesus they will not be deterred from coming!

We must understand the assignment. We must be willing to go. We must have a clear picture of reality. And...

4. Possess a Full Knowledge of the Gospel. (29b)

Luke 8:29 “(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.)”

If you look at this picture of who this man is. And compare it to who he is after his encounter with Christ they are two wildly different pictures. He is clothed. In his right mind. At the feet of Christ.

This man was restored to who he was created to be.

When we offer Christ—when we explain the gospel—we offer restoration.

God created all people to worship Him. Worship is in our bones. Humans are a creature of worship. We worship things so quickly. We cast our love on products and apps and experiences. We define ourselves by fashion and hobbies.

Why? Because God created us to have an intimate relationship with Him. We are made to worship our God. And the gospel restores us to that design God has for us. And it is in this that we are fulfilled and find our truest selves.

Do you have a thorough knowledge of the gospel?

When we started this church in living rooms we rehearesed the gospel over and over again. Why? Because the gospel is the truth—the full truth.

Church, rehearse the gospel. Don’t let go of that practice. As you remember the truth of what God has done in your own life. As you gain a deeper and deeper knowledge of God—you’ll see your passion for all that has been accomplished in the gospel in your life.

This passion for the truth will spill out into your life. Have you ever met someone who is so infectious with the love of God that you walked away wanting to worship God more faithfully? How do they get like that? They increase in their knowledge of all that God is and all that God has done.

An email went out with Bible reading plans. The number one marker for spiritual growth in a person is how much they read their Bible. You cannot read the living words of the living God and not be changed. Read it like medicine knowing that God wil have his effect on you.

Possess the knowledge that is yours. It’s your birthright. Being born again in Christ you are given a heart that can respond, can understand, and does change. Claim your birthright!

5. Tenacious Hope (30)

Luke 8:30 “Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.”

When Jesus asked the name of the demon. And he said Legion, Jesus din’t shrink back. He didn’t lose hope.

There before him was a man filled with demons. A man who was supernaturally strong and violent. A man who lived naked in a cemetery.

Can you imagine? Would you go and minister to this man?

If we are honest we would write this guy off and not approach him at all. Now I would be willing to bet that none of us know a lost person like this.

But I know for a fact that we all have lost poeple in our lives that we think are lost causes. They are hopeless. They cause us to lose hope that Christ could do anything in their lives. And so we don’t try to engage them.

Friends this encounter that the scripture gives us proves to us the truth that no one is beyond saving!

We can have tenacious hope in Christ. Our hope is not dependent on a person’s ability to change, but on Christs power to transform!

Amen? That is good news!

Have hope for that lost person in your life. Have tenacious hope. If Jesus can save and restore a man filled with demons, if Jesus can restore me, then Jesus can save anyone?

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Anyone who believes. And people believe when they are called by God? Is there anyone that the LORD cannot save?

So pray, pray, pray for that lost person. Seek ways to be Christ to them. Love them in their brokeness. Witness to them. And keep doing it with all hope that Christ can save them because He can.

Our mission won’t be accomplished if we only seek to save the “easy”. I think too much energy is spent in our churches on trying to come up with a strategy for saving folks. How do we gather them? How do we approach them? How do we communicate with them?

We spend so much time in the “how” that we miss the “now”.

God has given you a now! You are in pockets of lostness now! You have all you need to minister in the Bible. In your church. In your walk with Christ. You have what you need now!

The problem is that there is a comfort in planning the how. When we consume ourselves with planning the how we “feel” like we are on mission without actually doing the work of mission.

Friends, as we read the Bible’s what part of it ever convinced us that our comfort was of concern? Jesus was constantly putting his disciples in uncomcortable places because it was there that they stopped relying on themselves and instead they clinged to the pwoer of God.

Do you want to see God move mightily in your life? Do you?

Get uncomfortable. Charge out into the mission field and don’t be afraid to fail because Jesus never does. You might. And you’ll learn from it. But you won’t hamper the mission of Christ one bit.

Let us have tenacious hope.

6. Ready for the Waves (31-35)

Luke 8:31-35 “And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 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. 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. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 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.”

This encounter in Luke shows us that we must be ready for the waves, the ripple effects of ministry.

When this man healed—the local pig farmers saw it all—the whole town came out—they were afraid. They wanted Jesus and the disciples to leave.

Jesus didn’t heal this man and he quietly walked off into the sunset.

Jesus didn’t “do ministry” and then move onto his next scheduled event.

When we involve ourselves in the mission that God has called us to we are going to experience the waves of this work. Being on mission for God isn’t something that just gets put down.

When we open our lives to others we need to be prepared to be flexible with our lives as a tool for God’s Kingdom.

And our flesh will hate this. We don’t want demands on our time. We don’t want our schedules being “interupted”. And as long as we view ministry as something we “do” instead of a life we live then we’ll have a hard time with the ebb and flow of ministry.

But when we realized that these waves are God ordained—that they have purpose in our lives and in the lives of those that we are serving then—then we see the waves as a part of the mission.

Church as God uses you—he will not just lead you through placid lakes, but will take you through stormy waters. But don’t fear because he is King of the storm, amen!

7. Know the Hero (36)

Luke 8:36 “And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed.”

This one is short, but important. We must know at all times who the hero of the story is.

The gospel message isn’t the hero. The church isn’t the hero. We are not the hero of salvation.

Jesus is the hero of the story.

If we are to be on mission. If we are to see poeple radically transformed in Christ then we must also keep Christ at the center.

And this seems like a plain thing to say, but so many churches, so many ministries have fallen apart—so many men and women of God have fallen into great error and sin because they moved Christ out of the center. And they made something else the hero of the story.

They made social justice the hero, they made inclusivity the hero, they made the prevailing moral ethic of the day the hero.

And they lost the gospel in the process. Because the gospel isn’t about these things.

The gospel is about Jesus. God sent his son to rescue the lost. Jesus is the hero. He lived his life free from sin as a man. So that he could rescue sinful men and women. He gave his life on the cross as a payment for the sin of His people. He took the holy wrath of God for our rebellion. He died. He rose again taking away the sting of death and the judgment of sin.

It is through Christ you are saved. It is to Christ you are saved. You become His. The church is his. The world is his. Everything is through him and to him and for Him Colossians says.

If we are to be on mission for Christ then we must keep Christ as the center of the mission.

8. Tenacious Resiliance (37)

Luke 8:37 “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.”

We must have tenacious hope that anyone can be saved and tenacious resiliance when people aren’t.

The reality is that all people will not be saved. God is not rescuing all people. He is rescuing some. All have sinned, all deserve judgement and God rescues some. This means that as we go about the work of the gospel and put our lives to the mission of Christ—that some will reject the gospel.

We can be willing to go, have a clear picture of reality, we can understand the assignment, have a full knowledge of the gospel, we can have tenacious hope, be ready for the waves of ministry, we can keep Christ as the hero and peope will still reject Jesus’ salvation.

And when you deeply care—this can be really hard.

But know that they are not rejecting you. They are rejecting Christ.

And that this is not the end. I rejected Christ many times before I was saved. Each of those rejections came after some communication to me of the gospel. But God was doing his work in me.

We cannot see how God is using our obedience to proclaim the truth of the gospel to the lost.

If we are to be on mission with Christ we must be resiliant against the rejection of the world.

After seeing such a miraculous transformation you would think the people of the Gerasenes would flock to Jesus. That they would celebrate him. That they would seek tranformation too. But instead they feared and asked him to leave.

This is just part of being on mission with Christ.

And our last tool is a really important one because we don’t want to just create lone ranger, born again followers of Jesus.

9. Mindset of Multiplication (38-39)

Luke 8:38-39 “The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “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 after experiencing Christ wanted to be with him.

Just as an aside, do you want to be with Christ? That’s a good temperature check for your heart. Do you want to be with Christ?

I look forward to most days, but there is not a day coming on this earth that I would rather have than the immediate return of Christ! Lord Jesus please come quickly!

What about you?

This man wanted to be with Christ. But Christ has a mindset of multiplication. To be with Christ would have been glorious for this man. But to be in the missionfield with the testimony of Christ would be glorious for the lost.

No doubt this man was used by God to save others. I can’t wait to hear that story. I want to see the branching tree of salvations that occurred in the kingdom of Christ becauser this man was sent on mission immediately.

If we are to be on the mission for Christ then we need to cultivate a mindset of multiplication.

When someone comes to life in Christ we set out to make a dsiciple of Christ. Someone who is taught to obey Christ in all things. We bring them into the life of the church that they may learn to leverage their whole life for God’s glory. So that they can join us on this mission given to us by God himself.

That’s what this church is about. As we study scripture. As we look at money with a biblical mindset. As we stand on sidewalks and meet in living rooms we do all this with a mindset of multiplication. That we are growing in our faith and obedience that Jesus would build his kingdom through us.

And as God draws more people to himself through us we call people into this mission with us.

Conclusion

We exist to see people radically transformed in Christ who leverage their whole lives for God’s glory.

And as we are on this mission in our text this morning we have been able to see 9 tools we need as we live out this mission God has given us.

Pray with me that we will utilize them and grow in them as we seek to be a people of God on the mission God in Lakeside and the surrounding area.

Pray.

Discussion Question: · Which tool(s) do you need to become more familiar with?