Piercing the Darkness
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What are some places in our culture where satan and his influence are active?
Where is the light of God piercing the spiritual darkness in those areas?
Where are some places in our culture that are so evil that you would not want to go there?
What if jesus said that is exactly where he wants us to be?
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.
Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,
and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”
Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him.
And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.
Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm.
And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”
They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.
When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,
and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain;
because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.
Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones.
Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him;
and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”
For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain.
The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.”
Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened.
They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened.
Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine.
And they began to implore Him to leave their region.
As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him.
And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”
And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed.
Matt. 8 & Luke 8 Parallel passages
What do you think about God sending right back into the fire?
We Christians sometimes choose to ignore the evil around us and hide in our safe communities and churches. At other times we compromise with sin. God, however calls those who follow Him to boldly confront evil wherever it is .
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
How can we know for sure that God’s power is greater than Satan’s?
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
“Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
Where are you in the spiritual battle between good and evil?
Are you on the sea or sidelines?
Where is it that God wants you to shine his light into the darkness?
When it came to evil our compassionate Savior became a passionate warrior
THE POWER OF ONE
How did the people receive Jesus when he returned and why?
Again He went out from the region of Tyre, and came through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, within the region of Decapolis.
They brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty, and they implored Him to lay His hand on him.
Jesus took him aside from the crowd, by himself, and put His fingers into his ears, and after spitting, He touched his tongue with the saliva;
and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, “Ephphatha!” that is, “Be opened!”
And his ears were opened, and the impediment of his tongue was removed, and he began speaking plainly.
And He gave them orders not to tell anyone; but the more He ordered them, the more widely they continued to proclaim it.
They were utterly astonished, saying, “He has done all things well; He makes even the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”
Departing from there, Jesus went along by the Sea of Galilee, and having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there.
And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them.
So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.
How can I share my story? With a grateful heart & a desire to serve God
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,