Before and after!
From our cardboard testimonies you have seen the message of what a person’s life was like before Jesus and what it is like after Jesus comes into their life. Maybe you need Jesus to make a difference in your life today!
Let’s look at the story of a man who experienced a dramatic life change because of Jesus. Please turn to Luke 8:26-29. Please stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God. READ
I want to concentrate on the changes Jesus brought to this man’s life and what changes Jesus can bring to yours.
I. Jesus changed where he lived
The first change Jesus brought to this man’s life is where he lived.
A. He lived in the tombs
Verse 27 tells us this man lived in the tombs. Luke emphasizes that for a long time this man had not lived in a house. Historians are not sure if this tomb was a cave like structure or a stone dwelling, but it had to be a disgusting place. It was the place where someone had been placed after they died. He either moved the bones out or scooted them over. Talk about a place that needed an extreme home makeover this was it!
Why would this man live in the tomb? For shelter. It became his home.
Verse 29 tells us that the demons that had possessed his body had driven him into this solitary place. This is what his life was before Jesus. He was separated from family and friends and had no comforts of home.
B. Jesus sent him home
Look at verse 39 - After Jesus casted the demons out of him, Jesus told the man to go home. Mark’s account of the story adds the words “go home to your family”.
Home – according to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, “there is not place like home”! I tried to imagine the happy reunion this man must have experienced going home. What an incredible experience that must have been for him!
For some of us in this room, home is where the heart is. Home stirs warm feelings of love and family. However, for others of you home is not the perfect place of love and warmth. Maybe you are not living in the graveyard like this man was, but your marriage feels just as dead. Maybe you feel just as separated and alone as this man was living inside your own house. I want you to experience the change that Jesus can bring to your life. Not just the change of salvation, but the change of a quality of life and a happy home.
II. Jesus changed his behavior and mind
The second change Jesus brought to this man was a change in his behavior and mind.
A. He was a wild man
In verse 29 the text tells us that after the demon had seized him he had broken chains. Historians believe while he tried living in his hometown he had become wild and incorrigible. None of the chains, handcuffs, shackles or fetters was able to control him. The demons in him gave to him superhuman strength and he broke them off.
Turn to Mark’s account and notice that the last part of verse 4 says “no one was strong enough to subdue him”. The word in the NIV “subdue” can also be translated “tame”. Society had tried to control and tame him through chains and shackles; Jesus controlled him through deliverance.
Another indication of his abnormal behavior according to Mark 5:5 it says “he would cut himself with stones”. Scholars do not know if he did this because of the demons in him or because of the suffering he experienced because of the demons. Either way, he had scars all over his arms and legs and blood stains on his clothes.
B. Jesus tamed the savage beast
Mark’s account in verse 6 the man is identified as running or ran to Jesus when He got out of the boat. I feel the text is making a contrast to his running there and how he was after Jesus cast the demons out in verse 15 “sitting at the feet of Jesus” calm and peaceful.
In addition to sitting verse 15 tells us he was in his right mind. No longer was he a wild man naked and running all over the cemetery trying to scare people and trying to cut himself.
Do you ever feel like a wild man or wild woman losing your mind? Maybe the stress and busyness of your life has put you at such a horrid pace and it is time to slow down and focus on the things of God.
III. Jesus changed his clothes
The third change God brought to this man was a change in his clothes.
A. Naked
In Luke 8:27 this man was so possessed by the demon he had lost all sense of common decency. He no longer wore clothes, but went around naked.
B. Clothed in righteousness
After Jesus expelled the demons Luke 8:35 tells us he was clothed or dressed. Luke draws our attention to this detail to show us that Jesus makes an impact on our life even in practical ways.
In Colossians 3:9, 10 READ.
Pay particular attention to the words “taken off and put on”. I like the way the Apostle Paul used the imagery of getting undressed and dressed as a way of describing the change Jesus has brought to our life. We are to “take off” our sinful attitudes and character and “put on” righteousness.
Let’s take this concept one step further. How you dress should reflect your Christian values. A Christian should not dress in a sexy manner. We should properly clothe ourselves at all times and not caught up in the styles of the world.
IV. Jesus changed his voice
Another change Jesus brought to this man’s life had to do with his voice.
A. Controlled by the demon
Look back at the Mark 5 account. It says in verse 5 the man would “cry out” night and day. This word “cry out” describes someone shrieking. He was in so much torment from the demon he screamed in his suffering.
Luke 8:28 tells us the man’s voice said to Jesus “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” I think you can tell by these words, this was not the man from Gerasenes saying this, but the demon speaking through his voice.
In an attempt to touch the man’s humanity verse 30 says Jesus asked him his name. It would be normally assumed Jesus was asking the man himself, but the demon so controlled him and spoke instead and told Jesus his name was Legion because their were so many demons in him.
B. Used to praise God
After Jesus delivered him, Luke 8:38 tells us the man begged Jesus to let him go with Him. He is using his voice to speak with Jesus. No longer does the demon posses or control his voice.
Maybe God is telling you to use your voice to teach a SS class or to work with teens. Maybe God wants you to use your voice to witness to someone of your faith in Christ. Maybe God wants you to use your voice in singing on the praise team in the choir. Let Ryan or Cindy know.
In verse 39 Jesus told this man to return home and tell his family how much God has done for him. Tell the story of the change Jesus brought to your life! You don’t have to go to Africa to witness to people, witness to your co-workers, your neighbors, your relatives! Tell them the great things God has done in your life.
Mark’s account gives us the follow up report in verse 20 READ.
The Decapolis was a 10 city region east of the Sea of Galilee. Don’t you love the concluding report “and all the people were amazed” at the change Jesus had brought to this man’s life. Jesus can change your life too if you will let Him.
Conclusion:
What kind of change do you need to let Jesus bring to your life?
Maybe the first change Jesus needs to make in you is to save your soul and to forgive your sins. In a minute we are going to sing a song and I invite you to come forward and share with me you are ready to be saved.
Maybe God is dealing with you about a change in your behavior or lifestyle you need to make. Come make that commitment!
Maybe God wants you to join this church and help us reach this community for Christ!
Prayer
