If you have your Bibles, turn them with me this morning,
turn in them with me to Mark chapter five,
and we're going to look at 20 verses,
verses one through 20.
I'm not gonna read them all at once.
I'm gonna read them all before the message is over,
but we're going to just do an exposition of these verses
as we go this morning.
I wanna begin a series today
that I have entitled The Jesus Effect,
A-F-F-E-C-T, the impact that Jesus has on people.
How many of you have ever met somebody in your life
that after that encounter,
you were just never, ever the same?
And I'm not talking about Jesus, the Holy Spirit here,
but can you think of a person in your life?
There may or may not be for you,
but a lot of folk I meet have told me from time to time,
they ran into somebody or they had perhaps a planned meeting,
and that meeting absolutely changed the course of their life.
Some people are just like that,
and it seems that everyone Jesus ever met,
man, they went away different.
He had a tremendous impact on their life,
and so for about 10 Sundays,
we're gonna be looking at the Jesus Effect,
how he impacts people's lives.
This morning, we're looking at the guy who I think
is the scariest guy you'll ever meet in your life,
and you've met some scary folk, right?
In fact, look around the room right now.
I'm sure all of us have, at one time or another,
we've been somewhere where we just kind of wanted
to draw our spouse and our kids a little closer to us
because somebody's acting a little bit,
as a buddy of mine says, cray-cray.
You know what I mean?
I mean, they're just out there.
They're just a little bit different.
They've got a look about them.
There's something about them physically
that you just look at,
and it kind of frightens you, intimidates you,
maybe a real huge person, muscle-bound person,
maybe how they're dressed.
Most often, it's how they're acting, right?
I mean, I remember when I was still working
at Brushy Creek, I would go to the hospital
over at Memorial,
and almost always, you could count on this one guy
I'd pass going down academy,
and he would be talking to himself,
and this was before there were cell phones,
you know, before they had those little buds in their ears,
and he'd be having the grandest conversation,
but there wouldn't be anybody there but him, right?
And so, you know the kind of guy I'm talking about.
Well, that's the kind of guy we see here in Scripture,
so if you have your Bible, open it,
and let's just read these verses together,
beginning in Mark chapter five and verse one and two.
Then they came, speaking of the disciples,
to the other side of the sea.
This is the Sea of Galilee.
If you draw an oblong circle down on the lower right end,
the southeast side,
that's where they're headed to the area known as the Gerizines.
So the Scripture says,
then they came to the other side of the sea,
to the region of the Gerizines.
As soon as he, speaking of Jesus,
got out of the boat,
a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs
and met him.
Now, the only two things we know at this point
about this man we're referring to today
is the scariest man you've ever met
is that he has an unclean spirit,
which means he's demon-possessed.
There are evil spirits living in him,
not just one, but as you'll see,
many, many evil spirits,
and he's coming to meet Jesus,
apparently spots Jesus.
They beach the boat on the shore,
and as they do,
Jesus steps out of the boat.
He sees Jesus.
You're going to see in just a moment.
Knows who Jesus is
and goes running straight for Jesus.
He's coming, though,
out of the tombs.
Now, you've got to ask yourself,
why would anybody
be coming out of the tombs?
Had he just buried a loved one?
Was he there for a funeral?
Why would he be coming out of the tombs?
And when you think of the tombs,
let me just give you a clear picture in your mind.
If you're picturing something like Hillcrest Cemetery
just down the road from you guys,
think again.
I mean, there's no green grass.
There's no markers there.
It's not beautiful.
There are no artificial flowers
or real flowers or anything like that.
This is not a well-kept place.
These are caves there adjacent
to the Sea of Galilee.
This is where people have been buried.
They have been wrapped,
many of them in cloth and placed in there.
Animals have roamed the countryside.
Some of them, no doubt,
have come in and devoured the corpses.
You wouldn't be the least bit surprised.
You would, in fact, anticipate
and expect that when you walk in those caves,
you're going to see an elbow,
you're going to see an arm or a leg,
or you might encounter a skull or bones.
It's a pretty gross setting, right?
And so this man with the unclean spirit
runs out of the tombs
and he runs up to Jesus.
Now you've got to be asking,
as I said earlier,
why is he there?
Well, the next verse tells us,
verse three,
he lived in the tombs.
Now just stop for a moment
and let that sink in.
He lived in the tombs.
Can anyone in this room
rightfully say you can imagine
ever making your home in the tombs?
I talked to a guy a number of years ago,
a friend of mine,
and he lived right next door to a cemetery.
And so I asked him,
in fact, his house backed up to it,
I said,
does it ever bother you
that you live so close to a cemetery?
He says,
no, actually I get along well
with all my neighbors.
You know,
they don't give me any trouble.
But the truth of the matter is,
to live in an environment
like I was talking about a minute ago,
man,
there's got to be something wrong
in your life.
To live in a place like this,
you've got to ask,
why does he do that?
Why does he choose to live there?
Does he choose to live there?
Well,
as you'll see in a moment,
he doesn't.
Look at the remainder of the verse.
He lived in the tombs.
No one was able to restrain him anymore,
even with chains,
because he often had been bound
with shackles and chains,
but had,
and look at this word,
graphic word,
snapped off the chains
and smashed the shackles.
No one was strong enough
to subdue him.
He lives there
because that's where
the public demands
he lives.
In just a moment,
you're going to see
why they do that.
In fact,
probably already
you're getting a good idea
of why they do that.
They're scared to death
of this guy.
I mean,
this is not the kind of guy
you want to encounter
your preschool
or elementary age kids.
It's not the kind of guy
you want your teenagers
to be around.
It's not the kind of guy
you want to be near,
as you're going to see
in just a moment.
He's filled with these
demonic spirits,
and because of that,
he is completely
out of control.
He has,
because of these evil spirits
within him,
supernatural strength.
They can no longer
chain him
in these caves,
in these tombs,
but it's not because
they haven't tried.
They've sent out
committees of men before
who have bound him
to the ground
and have held him down
and shackled him,
but as soon as they would,
apparently,
he would snap
the chains in two.
Now,
when you think about chains,
you don't think about
just snapping them
in two,
right?
I've got a pair
of bolt cutters,
and occasionally,
they'll come in handy,
but boy,
you have to exert
some pressure
even using bolt cutters,
right?
We think about
cutting chains into,
we don't think about
snapping chains.
We think about
snapping a cord,
something like,
but this man
snapped these chains,
he smashed the shackles
to pieces,
they tried again and again,
but now they can
no longer even do that,
and the reason is because
they're not strong enough,
he seems to have
gained strength,
and they're not even
able any longer
to bind him
with the chains,
even momentarily.
Look at verse five,
and always,
now always is
an absolute term,
right?
Always means
always,
all the time,
there's no break in it.
Always,
night and day,
he was crying out
among the tombs,
and in the mountains,
and cutting himself
with stones.
You know,
the only way I know
to describe this man's
existence,
he was tormented,
wasn't he?
I mean,
why else would you
scream out
all the time?
Why would you be heard
screaming up in the mountains,
or screaming there
in the tombs,
and to do that
day and night,
he is absolutely
beside himself,
and the further evidence
of that is this,
he's cutting himself
with stones.
Now,
why would you do that?
You know what I guess?
I think this man
just hates his life.
I mean,
he hates everything
about his existence,
and I can understand,
he is just literally
beside himself.
There may have been
a moment in your life
for a moment or two,
or five minutes,
or an hour,
or a day,
or a week,
where you were just
tormented.
I mean,
thoughts just
overwhelm you.
If you've ever experienced
a great traumatic event
in your life,
you may know
what that's like
for just a moment
or two,
or minutes,
or even hours,
or even days,
but this is this man's
way of life
all the time.
Every day
when he awakens,
it begins.
It ends
when he finally
collapses from exhaustion
in the evening.
He's running
to and fro,
he's out of his mind,
he's crazed,
and he doesn't want
to be bound.
Now imagine this.
Every one of us
in this room
are to some degree
claustrophobic.
Did you know that?
That's yes
and no and no.
Do you know that?
Some of you
are badly claustrophobic.
I won't ask you
to raise your hand,
but you know
who you are.
All of us,
though,
to some degree
in the right circumstance
would find ourselves
claustrophobic.
We put you
in a tiny,
tiny cell
and there's no movement.
Let me tell you something.
You get claustrophobic
pretty quick.
We shackle you
and bind you
and fashion you
to the ground
or to a wall
where you can't move.
You'd get claustrophobic
in a hurry.
Have you ever seen
the movies,
the old pictures,
especially in the
insane asylums?
They would come
into the room.
There would be
two or three orderlies.
Here's the guy
over here
who they're going
to put him
in a straitjacket.
How do those scenes
play out?
You've seen them,
right?
You ever seen
in a movie,
they come in
and say,
we've got to put you
in this
and he says,
okay,
you want to put
my left arm in
or how you want
to do it?
No.
Man,
they would go
screaming
and kicking
and fighting
because none of us
want something
to bind us
and then to put
our arms in that.
In fact,
some of you
are breaking out
in sweat right now
to hear me tell
about this,
right?
I mean,
the thought of that
is just horrific
and that's what
they did.
They bind this man
and try to chain him
and subdue him
so he cannot harm
anyone else.
Now,
one other thing
to keep in mind.
Do you think
they plan to come
daily and give him
water and food
in this cave?
Really?
No.
You know what the plan,
I don't even know
if they thought
it all the way
through.
He's going to die
in that cave.
If he doesn't break
those shackles,
if he doesn't break
out of those chains,
he's going to die there.
They don't care.
They don't want to
just put him to death,
but they're okay
with him not being
a part of their lives.
One other thing,
we go to the next verse,
but Luke chapter 8,
you know what
it inserts here
that Mark omits?
It says that
when he ran
through these caves
in the mountainside,
he did so
completely naked.
He tore away
his clothes.
Now,
I'm no psychiatrist,
but I've done
a lot of counseling
through the years,
and you know
what my guess is on this?
He couldn't even stand
the sense
of being bound
by his clothes.
He just wanted
to be free.
He thought about
being chained
and being subdued,
and those clothes
were just another
form of that,
and so the man
ran naked.
He was completely
crazed and out
of his mind.
Now,
let's just pause
for about 30 seconds.
Let me ask you something.
Can you imagine
living the life
that this man lived?
Can you imagine
what it was like?
He's cut off
from his family.
He had family
at one time.
He's cut off
from his family.
He,
in all likelihood,
I can just imagine,
had friends
at one time.
He's cut off
from his friends.
He lives
in isolation.
Remember what
isolation did
to some of you
in this room
during COVID?
Pretty tough,
isn't it,
being in the house
by yourself?
We have phones.
We talk to people.
We have computers.
We communicate,
but even then,
it wasn't enough
for a lot of us.
Imagine there's never
anyone that you
have conversation with.
There's no one
to tell how you feel.
Are you beginning
to get a picture
of how horrible
this man's life was?
I've got to be honest,
I can't imagine
a life any worse
than this man
was living.
If he wasn't crazy
when the ordeal began,
he would have been crazy
by the time it was over.
Well,
look at verses
six to ten.
When he saw Jesus
from a distance,
he ran and knelt down
before him,
and he cried out
with a loud voice,
What do you have
to do with me,
Jesus,
Son of the Most High God?
I beg you before God,
don't torment me.
For he had told him,
Come out of the man,
this is Jesus,
you unclean spirit.
What is your name,
he asked.
My name is Legion,
he answered him,
because we are many.
And he kept begging him
not to send them
out of the region.
Now,
this demon,
first thing I want you
to notice,
he recognizes,
as I said
at the outset
of the sermon,
who Jesus is.
You know what's
astounding about that?
All the people
who had apparently
been looking for Jesus
to come,
the Messiah,
the Pharisees,
and all those,
they never recognize him.
But in Mark's gospel,
all the demons
who have conversation
with Jesus
as they possess
individuals,
every one of them
recognize
you're the Son of God.
And they're all
fearful of him
that he has come
to harm them.
They know
that judgment
one day
awaits them.
And so Jesus
asked this man,
what is your name?
He runs up to Jesus,
what is your name?
Now that's not
a hard question,
right?
What is your name?
The man responds,
and it could have
been the demons,
or it could have
been the man,
we don't have
any way of knowing.
The person responds,
Legion.
His parents
had not named him
Legion,
you know that.
When he said Legion,
he says Legion,
I think for two reasons,
one,
because it's indicative
of what's going on
inside of him.
A Legion
was a Roman group
of soldiers
that numbered
between three
and seven thousand
in number.
Is he trying to say
there are three
to seven thousand
demons in me?
I doubt that.
But what he was saying
is this,
I am filled
with an army
of demons.
There could have
been a hundred,
there could have
been a thousand,
there could have
been two thousand,
I don't know how many,
but here's the important
thing,
these demons
have taken possession
of this man's life.
He doesn't have
a life anymore.
They're in complete,
utter control.
I think
if he does know
who he is
and he says Legion,
he says so
because he's lost
all self-identity.
He doesn't think
of himself
as a human being
the way you and I
do any longer.
He thinks of himself
as this man
who is utterly
bound and controlled
not by the shackles
but by the demons
within him.
Now I know what
a lot of you here
got to be wondering
at this point,
preacher,
can that still happen?
Are people
demon-possessed
today?
I've got to say
to you
that I believe
there are a number
of people who are.
In fact,
I don't think
every horrific event
is the result
of demon possession
that occurs
in our lives
but I think
there are a number
of horrific events
that have happened
in human history
that we can look
and say
perhaps that person
was under the influence
of demons.
Some of you
may be wondering,
can a believer
be demon-possessed?
And they cannot
because the Spirit
of God owns us.
We've been bought
with the shed blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ
where he is
and a demon
cannot possess us.
But I want to warn you,
demons
can oppress us.
Demons
can speak to us
and that's why
we need to guard
our minds and hearts.
We need to be careful
about what we see
and what we listen to,
the kind of things
we read,
the kind of experiences
we have in life
because I believe
Satan is on the prowl
and he can,
while not possessing us,
he can oppress us.
He can put satanic thoughts
in our minds
and I think oftentimes
that goes hand in hand
with people
who sometimes
have mental illness,
emotional illness.
Does it mean
they're one and the same?
No, of course not.
But sometimes
that can run
hand in hand.
Look at verse 11,
if you will.
Now a large herd
of pigs
were there,
was there,
feeding on the hillside.
The demons
begged him,
send us to the pigs
so that we may
enter them.
The demons
now speak out
to Jesus.
Jesus,
there's a large group
of pigs over there,
in fact 2,000 in number
we'll see in just a moment.
And they asked
for permission
to be sent
into this herd
of swine.
Verse 13,
and he gave
them permission.
I want you to know this,
Jesus didn't order that,
Jesus permits that.
Then the unclean spirits
came out
and entered the pigs
and the herd
of about 2,000
rushed down the steep bank
into the sea
and drowned there.
Now,
I don't know
if you're here this morning
and that causes you
a problem or not.
I've heard it said
once or twice,
why in the world
did Jesus kill
the 2,000 pigs?
First of all,
I've got to say to you,
he didn't do that,
he didn't order it,
he permitted it.
The demons asked
for permission
and Jesus allowed it.
If you say,
well that's just semantics,
then I've still got to
come back and tell you this,
he did that
in order to save
a human being's life.
And I've just got
to be honest with you,
I'll let you see
a part of my personality
this morning.
If that troubles you,
that Jesus would save
a human being's life
at the expense
of 2,000 swine,
then you and I
are just going to have
to agree to disagree.
Do you understand?
Because I think
the value of a human life
is far above
that of an animal
or a plant
or anything else
that's a living organism.
So,
they run into the pigs,
they run over the cliff
and are drowned.
Look at verse 14.
The men who tended them
ran off
and reported it
in the town.
And the countryside
and the people
went to see
what had happened.
Now,
don't just read that quickly
and pass to the next verse.
I want you to consider that,
what that would look like
for a moment.
How many of you think
a man could live
in Pickens County
who lived the way
this man lived
and you would know about it?
What do you think?
If a man lived
in Pickens County
and was as crazy
as this man was,
ran naked,
screamed night and day,
the townsfolk
had gotten together,
the police had gotten together,
shackled him,
he broke free of the shackles,
he's tormented,
he's running up
and down your streets,
you're scared to death of him,
you'd know about it,
wouldn't you?
You couldn't be a resident
of Pickens
and not know about it.
So these men
who are tending
the swine,
when they see
the swine drown,
a sizable amount
of money
has been lost
by the owner
of these pigs.
They rush back
to tell him
but in telling him,
they begin to spread
word everywhere
and this is probably
what,
hey,
you know that demoniac,
the one we call
the demoniac
of Gadara?
Yeah?
You won't believe
what we just saw.
What'd you just see?
We were there
tending the pigs
and this guy
named Jesus,
they pull up
in this boat,
they beach the boat
and they get out,
he comes running
out of the tombs
and Jesus actually
has a conversation
with him.
Jesus wasn't afraid
of him.
Well,
what happened?
Well,
he told these demons
to leave the man
and they went
into the swine
and the swine
suddenly acted crazy,
did something
we've never seen
him do in the past.
They run over a cliff
and 2,000 of them
died.
Wow.
You gotta go out
and see that thing.
Yeah,
maybe.
Well,
wait a minute,
let me tell you
something else
that happened.
What else happened?
You know the crazy guy?
Yeah?
Well,
he's different.
What do you mean
he's different?
Well,
he's not acting
crazy anymore.
He's what?
He's not acting
crazy.
He acts civilized.
You won't believe it.
What would you do?
All the townspeople
come out to see
what has happened.
Well,
read the next verse.
This is my second
favorite verse
in this passage.
Not my favorite,
but my second
favorite verse.
Verse 15.
They came to Jesus
and saw the man
who had been demon
possessed by the legion.
Now,
read all this
very carefully.
Sitting there,
dressed,
and in his right mind.
Is that astounding
or what?
Sitting there,
dressed,
in his right mind.
They would never
have guessed
any of those things.
They've always
seen him naked.
They've always
seen him running
to and fro.
Have you ever
known somebody
who had ants
in their pants
and they just
couldn't sit still?
They just couldn't
be still
if their life
depended on it?
That's this guy
to the hundredth power,
right?
I mean,
he's just crazed
out of his mind.
These spirits
torment him so badly.
He just can't
stand his own flesh.
He cuts his flesh.
He yells.
He screams.
He doesn't wear clothes.
But now,
take a look at it.
There he is
and he's seated
just like I am
sitting there
on the bank
and he's still
and he's not screaming
and when they say
something to him,
he gives a sensible
answer.
He's just like
any of you
in this room.
He looks so
normal.
He's just that.
You wouldn't think
if you walked
into a room
and saw somebody
seated and his
clothes and in
his right mind,
you just keep
walking,
right?
No big deal.
But this guy,
we've never seen
him like that.
How is it he's
like that?
Jesus has cast
these demons out
and here's the part
I like.
You ready?
Look at the end
of verse 15.
And they were
afraid.
That's funny,
isn't it?
I mean,
I don't care who
you are.
That's funny.
They were afraid.
They're more scared
of him sane
than they were
when he was insane.
At least insane
he was predictable.
Now,
they don't know
what's going on
with this guy.
And so,
it scares them
literally to death.
Well,
they do.
Well,
look at verse 16
and 17.
The eyewitnesses
described to them
what had happened
to the demon-possessed
man and told
about the pigs.
Then they began
to beg him
to leave
their region.
Now,
that's pretty
ironic,
isn't it?
Jesus comes,
solves their
problem.
This guy
has tormented
them for years
and years on end
in all likelihood.
Jesus
cast the demons
out
and he's seated,
clothed in his
right mind
and the change
is so radical
they're afraid
of him.
You know,
I gotta be honest
with you.
You shouldn't
surprise us too much.
I have seen
before in my life
people who Jesus
touched
who the change
was so radical
their old friends
were a little bit
afraid of him.
They just
actually wondered
what's going on
with this guy
and what's happened
he's had an encounter
with Christ.
Well,
look at verse 18.
This is my favorite
verse.
As he was getting
in the boat
the man who had
been demon-possessed
kept begging him,
read that phrase
kept begging him
to be with him.
I said before
the preceding verse
was my second
favorite verse.
This is my favorite
verse.
Let me show you why.
You gotta picture
this scene.
Imagine that
we're on the shore
and that blue carpet
or purple carpet
is the Sea of Galilee.
Those boats
weren't John boats.
They weren't
aluminum boats.
No Starcraft,
right?
These are heavy,
heavy wooden boats.
So you know
what they did?
They beached that boat.
They would have
just rowed
until it was up
on the shore.
When it got
a little bit of it
up on the shore
they would have
gotten out
and those guys
in the boat
the disciples
would have grabbed it
and they would have
pulled it up
further on the shore
so that it doesn't
wash away.
Well,
they asked Jesus
to leave.
Jesus apparently
without argument
he acquiesces
to their wishes.
They go
and they wouldn't
have just piled
in the boat
again if you've ever
launched a boat
from a beach.
They push it out
to the edge
of the water,
right?
And then they
begin getting
in the boat.
The disciples
get in the boat.
Jesus gets in the boat.
Probably one or two
stayed on the outside
and they push it out
a little bit further
and now they're
all getting in the boat
and they're taking
their oars
and they're going
to push it back
and then they're
going to begin
rowing it back,
right?
Well,
here's this demoniac
and he sees them
pushing the boat
and I can see him
sitting there
and he stands up
and he walks over
to the water edge
and he says to Jesus,
Jesus,
take me with you.
Take me with you.
And he wonders
if Jesus hears him
or not
and so he goes
down to the water's
edge.
Jesus,
don't leave me here.
Can you
understand why
you would do that?
All these town
people have hated him.
He's been public
enemy number one.
They chained him
and left him
for dead.
They've ridiculed him,
ostracized him.
He's cut off
from family
and friends
and everybody.
He has no life
here in his mind
and so they're
pushing this boat
out into the water
and I can see him
do this
and I don't think
this is an exaggeration
at all.
I cannot imagine
in fact this story
happened any other way.
I can see him
put his hands
up on the bow
of that boat
and look up at Jesus
in the boat
and say,
Jesus,
please take me
with you.
And he's
ankle deep
and knee deep
and on out
until the water's
up to his waist.
Jesus,
he's still begging.
He kept begging,
kept begging.
So he's asked repeatedly,
Jesus,
would you take me
with you?
Would you take me
with you?
Jesus' response
in one way,
just to be honest,
is a little bit
surprising,
isn't it?
Because you know
what he says.
He says,
no,
you can't come.
And finally,
when the water
may be chest high,
the man realizes,
he's not going
to let me come.
And he turns
and walks away.
I want you to look
at that response
of Jesus.
Look back to the
scripture for a moment.
Look at what it says.
Verse 19 and 20.
But he would not
let him.
Instead,
he told him,
go back home
to your own people
and report to them
how much the Lord
has done for you
and how he has
had mercy on you.
And boy,
God had had mercy
on him,
hadn't he?
So he went out
and began to proclaim
in the Decapolis,
that's the 10 city region,
how much Jesus
had done for him.
And they were all amazed.
Jesus wasn't being
mean to him.
I think he'd have loved
to have had him
go with him.
But he knew this man
had a mission in life.
God had changed his life
and could use this man
more than he could ever
have used him before.
And so he says,
you know what?
There are people
here in this region,
in these 10 cities
about this region,
they know you.
They know your reputation.
I want you to go to them
and I want you to show them
the mercy that God
has done in your life,
the mercy God
has shown you,
the work he has accomplished
in your life.
I want you to be used
of God
to speak to these people
when they see
how God has worked
in your life.
It'll change their lives.
And so that's what
the man does.
He begins going city
to city to city
telling them the story
about what God
has done in his life.
Three things I want you
to see today
and I close.
You ready?
Here's the first.
Jesus loves those
who others despise
and fear
and flee from.
He is the friend
of hardened sinners.
Jesus loves
those who others
despise,
fear,
and flee from.
In fact,
if we're honest about it,
Jesus loves those
that many of us
in the church,
many of us
in the church
are exactly like
those townspeople,
the people
of the region
of Gadara.
People like this guy,
if we're honest about it,
they scare us.
We don't want them
hanging around
our preschool.
We don't want them
hanging around
our youth.
We're uncomfortable
if they show up
in a couples class
because,
I mean,
look at us
and look at them.
They're just a lot
different from us.
But I want to tell you
something.
When I read
the New Testament,
when I read the Gospels,
if you said,
Pastor,
I want you to tell me
one word about Jesus,
one sentence
about Jesus
you take from
reading the Gospels.
Do you know what
that sentence would be?
Jesus loves
sinners.
Wouldn't you agree
with that?
In fact,
every time,
almost,
he's in conflict
with the Pharisees,
it's over his love
of sinners.
Why do you hang out
with drunks?
Why do you hang out
with prostitutes?
Why do you hang out?
Can't you see this man
is crazy?
He's demon possessed.
Why do you keep
hanging out
with people like this?
And the answer
is pretty obvious.
Jesus
has compassion
and loves
hardened sinners.
Second thing
I want you to take away
from this passage
this morning
is this.
Jesus
can change
anybody.
Now,
I want to tell you,
I don't know
what you've done.
I don't know
how deep in sin
you are,
how immoral
you've been,
what's happened
in your life,
the events of your life.
There may be
some tragedy,
there may be
some heartache,
there may be
some immorality,
but I want to tell you
something.
I'm guessing
there's nobody here
whose life
was as ever
messed up
as this guy's
life was messed up.
And yet,
look at him now
and he's seated
and he's in his
right mind
and he's clothed
and God's going
to use him
in a miraculous way
in those
ten cities.
And I want to tell you
something here.
In fact,
I have prayed for you
before I even
came today
that God would bring
somebody here today
in this room
who could in some
small measure
identify
with this demoniac
because
your life is a mess.
And in your mind
and heart,
you've come to the place
you just think,
there's just not much
hope for me.
I mean,
I just keep making
one foolish decision
after another.
I've made so many
mistakes.
I've disappointed
my family.
I've disappointed
my friends.
I've disappointed
I'm just a mess.
And there's just
no hope for me.
I want to tell you
something,
friend.
You couldn't be
further from the truth.
This message
is exactly
for you
because I want
to tell you something.
Jesus can change
anybody.
Amen?
I know that
because he changed
me.
I know who I was
and who I am.
And I'm no prize.
I'm not what I should be.
But I'll tell you this.
I'm not who I used
to be.
And that's not because
of anything Ralph Carter
did.
That's because of the
Spirit of God
working in my life.
And if he can change
me and he can change
that demoniac,
he can change you,
whoever you are.
Maybe your first time,
ever walking in the doors,
First Baptist Pickens.
He can change you.
You're not without hope.
Here's the last
and final thing
and I'll leave you
with this.
It is far more
comfortable to be
huddled up with
Jesus and fellow
believers.
But he has put us
on a mission
in the world.
The world is a
scary, scary place,
isn't it?
I've got to be
honest with you.
I pray about it
all the time
because I've got
a little 15-year-old
granddaughter
and a 3-year-old
grandson.
And I've got to be
honest, I don't like
the direction our
country is taking
and it scares me
for them because
the world has changed
radically from the
world that I was
born in and raised
in.
It's a scary,
scary place.
But I've got to
tell you today,
that's where he
wants us.
That's where he
wants us.
He doesn't want us
huddled up in our
little beautiful
churches,
holding each
other's hands,
looking for folk
who are more like
us to come and
join us.
How here so-and-so
moved to town and
they're a believer,
we'll rush out and
get them.
While there are tons
of lost people who've
been here forever and
we just don't bother
with them because
they're just not
church-type people,
you know?
I'm telling you,
it's comfortable when
you huddle up with
the sheep and it's
dangerous out in the
world.
But that's where
God wants us.
That's where he
wants us.
He wants us sharing
what God's done with
us to other people
in whom he needs to
do a great work.
And I'll tell you,
you don't have to
drive far from this
church until you see
lots of people in
whom he needs to do
a great work.
Amen?
Let's pray.
Lord, thank you for
your word.
Thank you for the
story you've given
us today.
Let us see ourselves.
Let us see people who
are like the demoniac.
Give us compassion for
them.
Lord, I pray if there's
one here today who
they in some small
measure can identify
that demoniac, their
life's not nearly as
out of order, but they
just know that they're
not heading the
direction they need to
go and they need help
and they just have
resisted that because
they don't think there
is anything that can
help.
They've tried this and
they've tried that.
God, would you today
open their eyes to what
you could do in
their life?
You could do a
miracle in their
life that you can
cause them to be
born again, that your
spirit will come into
them and regenerate
them and save them.
Please, oh God, do
that today.
If there's just one
person in this room
who needs it, I pray
you'd speak to their
heart.
For we make this
prayer in Jesus' name
and for his sake we
pray.
Amen.