LIFE AS IT REALLY IS
Introduction: Tell the story: 2 men – possessed by devils, cry out to Jesus for ‘mercy’ – Jesus casts them out of the 2 men, allow them to go into a herd of swine (Mark 5:13 – 2000 swine), the pigs immediately rush into the sea and are destroyed – dead.
The keepers of the swine run into town to tell what happened (to make sure they weren’t blamed for the death of the pigs) … the people came out to see - they saw Jesus, they saw the demon possessed sitting fully clothed in his right mind (Mark 5:15), and they saw all of the dead pigs floating in the water.
The whole town begged Jesus to leave … and He did … and, as far as we know, He never returned.
THE REALITIES REVEALED IN THE STORY:
1/ The Devil is real (28-29)
not a fantasy, the devil and his demonic power is real and infecting the lives of people
2/ Demon possession is real (28-29)
the men were possessed … they were controlled … they were out of control, because they were under demon control. The acted strangely – they acted in a self-destructive way – their demon possession caused them to be loners, violent, destructive
3/ Jesus cared for the worst of men (28-30)
everyone else had deserted these men … the townspeople wanted nothing to do with them – their families had separated themselves from them – their actions were despicable, their dwelling was unclean and morbid, they were disgusting – and they could not stop
4/ Jesus had absolute control of the demonic forces (28-32)
they cried out to Him … they begged for mercy … they asked that they not be sent to their eternal prison (hell, abyss) … they requested permission to go in to the swine … they were given permission (they could not do anything but by Jesus’ permission)
5/ The demons want to possess a body (31-32)
the demons did not want to be in a disembodied state – they wanted to possess a body – if not a human, an animal … demons need a body to accomplish their tasks, they are spirits and cannot do what a body can do.
6/ The desire of the devil and his demons is to DESTROY you (32)
they had caused the men to be self-destructive (see Mark 5:3-5), they immediately destroyed the pigs … Satan’s lie is “You will like this – it is best for you” --- he told that lie to EVE … but the end of Satan’s domination is destruction
7/ People care more about things than God (34)
the people did not care about the power of God to deliver from Satan’s bondage … they did not care about what Jesus had done or could do … all they cared about were the pigs. They didn’t want to lose any more pigs – they didn’t want to suffer financially – they didn’t want to lose their things ------- unfortunately, this reality is true of many believers, not just unbelievers (why Jesus warned: Luke 12:15)
8/ Jesus cares about you – your earthly friends don’t (34 – Mark 5:15-17)
Jesus met them, Jesus freed them, Jesus gave them back their life – their family – their sanity – their dignity … Jesus freed them from sin and demonic power, because Jesus care about them.
Their “friends” didn’t care about them – they weren’t rejoicing that they had been set free … they were gladly welcoming them back to the world of sane people … they weren’t happy that they had been delivered from the demons …. Their friends only cared about their pigs – they were more concerned about their pigs than these men!!!!
So it has been – the prodigal son had the same experience … when his money was gone, his friends were gone. They didn’t care about him – they only cared about themselves.
We fight spiritual battles –
The lost fight to save their soul --- only Jesus can do that (John 14:6)
The saved fight to keep their focus … to be obedient … to not be led astray … to not be destroyed (1 Peter 5:8)
Jesus cares … He is able to save you … He is able to give you victory … if you’ll just let Him.
