Delivered

 Rev. Will B. Dunn was annoyed. Old Grampa fell asleep every week during his sermon. So, he bargained with little Billy, who always sat with Grampa. "If you keep Grampa awake, I'll pay you $1/wk." It worked! For 2 weeks, Grampa listened carefully. But 3 weeks later, Grampa was sound asleep again. After the service Rev. Will spoke to Billy. "I'm not happy. Didn't I promise $1/wk to keep Grampa awake?" "Yes, but Grampa gives me $5 to let him sleep." Grampa doesn't like to be disturbed. We don't either, especially if it hurts our income. The Gerasenes didn't want Jesus to disturb them, either. In Lk 8:22-29, it starts in Galilee. Jesus & posse set out to cross the lake. Tired, Jesus falls asleep in the stern. A severe storm blew up, & their boat started taking on water. Afraid, the disciples woke him. Jesus got up & rebuked the wind & waves. Almost instantly, there was calm! In fear & amazement, disciples ask each other, "Who is this? He commands even the winds & the water, & they obey Him!" They keep sailing across the lake. Lk 8:26-39picks up the story. 26They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. Why? An appointment. 27aJesus stepped ashore, where a demon-possessed townsman met him. It's a divine appointment. 27bFor a long time he hadn't worn clothes or lived in a house. Most likely, he was so dangerous that people drove him out. 27cNaked & lonely, he lived in the tombs. Alone. 28aWhen he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell at Jesus' feet, & started shouting at the top of his voice. "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Does the demon believe? Oddly, yes. It believes in Jesus & His authority to control them. Why call Jesus by name? It thinks using Jesus' name will give it power over Him. Not so. 29aJesus commanded the evil spirit to come out of him. It has to obey. 28bI beg you, don't torture me!" This is why it called Jesus by name. It knew Jesus could order it out. But did all it could to keep Him from it. 29bMany times it had seized the man. Even if chained hand & foot & kept under guard, he'd break free. The demon would then drive him into solitary places. Everything it did shows the enemy's desire. Distort God's image in us & destroy us if possible. 30aJesus asked, "What's your name?" "Legion." 30bMany demons had gone into him. How many? A Roman legion = 4000-6000 soldiers. 4-6k demons. 31They repeatedly begged, "Don't order us to go into the Abyss." Jews thought of the Abyss as a watery deep below the earth. Only God has authority to send demons there, so they know Jesus is God. But it isn't time yet to be confined forever. Not till the KoG. Isn't praying just talking to Jesus? If so, surprise! Demons are praying! Even more surprising, Jesus has mercy on them! 32aA herd of 2000 pigs (Mk 5:13) was feeding there on the hillside. Unclean animals. If the owners are Jews, they aren't keeping the Law. 32bThe demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs. They have to ask. 32cHe gave them permission. Even to demons, Jesus is merciful. A temporary stay of execution. Jesus has authority over demons. Then, & now. 33aWhen the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs. The 1st deviled ham. 33bThe herd stampeded down the steep bank into the lake & was drowned. Demons thought they'd escaped the Abyss, a watery deep . Instead, the pigs carried them into another watery deep. They. They got what they asked Jesus for. (Is there a lesson? Maybe. Be careful what we pray for.) 34Those tending the pigs saw what happened, ran off, & told everyone. News spread quickly. 35aPeople came out to see what happened. There's never a shortage of looky-loos. 35bThey found the delivered man sitting at Jesus' feet. They were shocked to see him 35cdressed & in his right mind. What kind of power can do things like this? 35cThey were afraid. Why? If Jesus had a mind to, what might He do to them? 36Those who saw it told people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. With a word. For years, he's been a howling, wild, naked, unkempt, mass of bleeding cuts, scabs, & scars. And now? Cured. Shouldn't they be happy? You'd think. But they're not thinking about him. They're thinking about themselves. 37aAll the people of the region of the Gerasenes ask Jesus to leave. Why? 37bThey're overcome with fear. It's understandable. Jesus has more power than they've ever seen or heard of. Look what He already did! Healing of the possessed man cost them a bundle. By ancient standards, a 2,000 herd of pigs is big business. Very big. If Jesus stayed, what might happen next? Can't take that chance. He's got to go. After just a few hours, 37cJesus got into the boat & left. Same day. We wonder. Did Jesus have the right to let all those demons destroy someone else's property? And a loss that big-did it put them out of business? Did Jesus have that right? Think about it. Who owns everything? We think we do. But look at Ps 50:10-11. 10Every animal of the forest is mine, & the cattle on 1,000 hills. 11I know every bird in the mountains, & the creatures of the field are mine. It all belongs to God. Can't He do as He pleases with what's His? And to God, that one man is worth many pigs. Look at Mt 12:12. 12How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! To save even one of us, God would still have given His Son. What's the problem? Our values are all out of kilter with God's. We think money is more important than mercy. And the cost is often high to save someone. Just as often, it's others who pay the price. That's a spiritual principal. (When Adam & Eve sinned, who paid? Everyone.) Before Jesus left, 38athe man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him. Shouldn't respond like that? Look at all He's done for us. Saved us. Changed us. Filled us. Sealed us for eternity. And those are just the big things. Why aren't we begging Jesus to go with Him? Most likely, we think He'll actually let us & we'll lose whatever in our lives we're hanging onto. Is that how he'll treat us? 38bJesus sent him away. When we follow Jesus, it's about Who we follow, not where we go. He may tell us stay. Or He may tell us go. We're to be ready. Why tell this man stay? 39a"Return home & tell how much God has done for you." Didn't Jesus usually tell folks to keep quiet. Yes, for Jews. It isn't yet time for his crucifixion. But in this Greek town, it's OK to witness for him. So, Jesus sent the man out to tell people what He did for him. 39bThe man went away & told all over town how much Jesus had done for him. Jesus came to do battle against Satan & demons. No sooner was he baptized than the Spirit sent Him into the wilderness for 40 days to engage the enemy. Each healing, Jesus took enemy territory. Of all His battles, this one may have been the biggest. Single handedly, Jesus took on 5000 demons & won. He can handle all our problems. All our demons. Big or small, we can trust Jesus with all our problems. He's already taken care of our biggest problem. We all sinned, & Satan owned us. Jesus paid our price & redeemed us. What does He want in return? Years ago, a young eye doctor opened his 1st practice. With no friends, money, or customers, he lost heart. One day he met a blind man. He looked into the man's eyes. "Want your eyesight restored? Come to my office in the a.m." The blind man went. Surgery was successful. The formerly blind man said, "I don't have any money. I can't pay you." "Yes, you can," said the young doctor. "Not only can you pay me, I expect you to! Here's what you can do. Tell everyone how long you were blind. Tell them who healed you." The man Jesus delivered did that. All over The Ten Cities, he told people what Jesus did. That's what He wants us to do. Tell others how much He's done for us. Before we wrap up, what about evil spirits? Demons. Can they hurt us? Yes. Can they enter Christians? Only if we let them (by sinning, which gives them rights). Can they control us? Only if we let them. There's a continuum of demonization. It runs from external harassment to internal control. Harassment is continuous. But control is rare. How much should we worry about them? Keep looking to Jesus. Our position as Christians is this. He's already won the war. All that's left is mop-up action. So don't think they have more power than they do. But don't disbelieve either. Look to Jesus. Avoid sin. And all they can do is harass. Let's pray. Delivered - Luke 8:26-39 Page 1 of 1