WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:05.419 We are not living in neutral territory. Whether 00:00:05.419 --> 00:00:08.300 we realize it or not, there is a real war that 00:00:08.300 --> 00:00:13.419 is raging all around us. A sort of cosmic conflict 00:00:13.419 --> 00:00:18.260 with an enemy who hates God and hates anyone 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:23.100 who belongs to God. And modern secular culture 00:00:23.100 --> 00:00:26.620 is quite uncomfortable, to say the least, with 00:00:26.620 --> 00:00:30.910 the idea of a spiritual enemy a personal spiritual 00:00:30.910 --> 00:00:34.869 force that is lurking behind the scenes. They 00:00:34.869 --> 00:00:38.030 want to dismiss it outright or mock it, or they 00:00:38.030 --> 00:00:42.049 sensationalize it in movies and TV shows, almost 00:00:42.049 --> 00:00:45.030 to the point of making it into a cartoon or caricature. 00:00:46.390 --> 00:00:49.149 However, the Bible says that we have a spiritual 00:00:49.149 --> 00:00:53.429 enemy and names that enemy Satan, the devil, 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:57.409 the accuser. And he, along with all his minions, 00:00:57.590 --> 00:01:00.950 will do whatever they can to destroy our joy, 00:01:01.170 --> 00:01:05.870 to distort our worship, and to derail our walk 00:01:05.870 --> 00:01:10.290 with Christ. The word of God is not embarrassed 00:01:10.290 --> 00:01:15.269 by the spiritual realm. Neither is Jesus, and 00:01:15.269 --> 00:01:22.010 we shouldn't be either. Sun Tzu, who was a Chinese 00:01:22.010 --> 00:01:26.670 general back in the... 500 BC era. He wrote in 00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:29.930 the art of war, know the enemy and know yourself. 00:01:30.450 --> 00:01:33.209 And in a hundred battles, you will never be in 00:01:33.209 --> 00:01:37.189 peril. Know the enemy and know yourself. And 00:01:37.189 --> 00:01:39.709 in a hundred battles, you will never be in peril. 00:01:39.849 --> 00:01:44.430 So who is the enemy of God? Satan. Well, Satan 00:01:44.430 --> 00:01:48.049 literally means adversary or accuser. And in 00:01:48.049 --> 00:01:52.400 the book of Job, Satan appears before God. And 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:56.239 challenges Job's integrity as a righteous man 00:01:56.239 --> 00:01:58.560 and says, well, he's only righteous because you've 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:01.239 blessed his life. If you took everything away 00:02:01.239 --> 00:02:05.040 from him, well, then we'd see what kind of righteous 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:08.539 man he is. And he asked permission and God grants 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:11.500 it in his sovereignty to go to Job and to test 00:02:11.500 --> 00:02:16.000 Job. Satan appears before God and challenges 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:20.099 him, accuses Job of not being righteous. That 00:02:20.099 --> 00:02:22.520 story is crazy to me because we get to read it 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:24.060 and we know what's going on behind the scenes. 00:02:24.139 --> 00:02:27.419 Job don't know. Job just wakes up to all kinds 00:02:27.419 --> 00:02:30.199 of chaos, a whirlwind, marauding raiders and 00:02:30.199 --> 00:02:32.400 all kinds of death and destruction all around 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:36.919 him. Satan accusing Job before the throne of 00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:41.280 God. Peter says that the adversary, Satan, prowls 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:43.740 around like a roaring lion looking for someone 00:02:43.740 --> 00:02:48.960 to devour. Satan is also called the devil, which 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:53.479 is a Greek word meaning slanderer. And some scholars 00:02:53.479 --> 00:02:57.060 believe passages like Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 00:02:57.060 --> 00:03:02.020 refer to Satan's fall. Not content serving God 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:06.159 as a holy angel before the throne of God. Instead, 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:08.800 he rebels and he leads a great number of other 00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:11.520 angelic beings to abandon their position and 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:17.580 follow him. Paul, in his letters, instructs believers 00:03:17.580 --> 00:03:21.340 to put on the full armor of God so that we will 00:03:21.340 --> 00:03:24.280 be able to take our stand against the devil. 00:03:24.419 --> 00:03:28.080 And he talks about the devil throwing fiery darts 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:34.259 at us. Satan, the devil, shows up as a serpent 00:03:34.259 --> 00:03:36.780 in the Garden of Eden on the first pages of the 00:03:36.780 --> 00:03:39.860 Bible where he deceives humanity into disobeying 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:42.139 God. And in the last book of the Bible, so from 00:03:42.139 --> 00:03:43.819 the beginning all the way to the end, Revelation 00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:46.580 chapter 12 and Revelation chapter 20, again, 00:03:46.659 --> 00:03:50.120 refers to the ancient serpent who is called the 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:54.300 devil and Satan. He's written a cross there, 00:03:54.379 --> 00:03:57.379 and you might even think it from a big picture, 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:00.680 biblical theology, big view of the Bible, that 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:04.199 there is this sort of doing things that are right 00:04:04.199 --> 00:04:06.680 in the eyes of God, that would be obedience, 00:04:06.979 --> 00:04:09.240 and doing things that are right in our own eyes, 00:04:09.259 --> 00:04:12.120 as Satan tempted us to do, and as he clearly 00:04:12.120 --> 00:04:19.720 is the father of. Disobedience. Matthew and Paul 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:23.420 both refer to Satan and the devil as the tempter 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:27.899 who seeks to entice people into sin. We are also 00:04:27.899 --> 00:04:31.100 told that he disguises himself as an angel of 00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:35.540 light, that his deception can appear attractive, 00:04:36.019 --> 00:04:40.199 it can even mimic true righteousness and deceive 00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:45.100 us. Jesus calls him the father of lies. He is 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:47.879 all about twisting and distorting the truth. 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:50.319 And there are more. Prince of the power of the 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:52.920 air, the prince of this world, the god of this 00:04:52.920 --> 00:04:56.220 age, which means that he has power to influence 00:04:56.220 --> 00:05:00.920 the prevailing values and beliefs of our time. 00:05:02.180 --> 00:05:05.319 That he has widespread influence over those who 00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:12.079 live in disobedience to God. First, I'd ask, 00:05:12.180 --> 00:05:15.230 do we live with this awareness? I just kind of 00:05:15.230 --> 00:05:18.610 did a systematic on Satan, just one right after 00:05:18.610 --> 00:05:20.610 the other, what the Bible says or describes him. 00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:23.069 Do we live with the awareness that there is a 00:05:23.069 --> 00:05:27.430 personal being who is evil, who is out there 00:05:27.430 --> 00:05:30.329 doing this on a regular basis, on a day -to -day 00:05:30.329 --> 00:05:36.029 basis? This is his mission and goal. But before 00:05:36.029 --> 00:05:39.310 we start imagining the devil as some all -powerful 00:05:39.310 --> 00:05:42.360 being, We have to set the record straight, and 00:05:42.360 --> 00:05:48.680 that is that Satan is on a leash. He is not autonomous. 00:05:48.819 --> 00:05:51.779 He is not sovereign. He is under the rule of 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.379 a much greater king, the one who has created 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:57.639 the universe, who holds everything together by 00:05:57.639 --> 00:06:00.779 his word, and has already dealt a death blow 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:04.680 to every demonic plan at the cross. Satan may 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:08.379 roar, but he cannot roam beyond the borders or 00:06:08.379 --> 00:06:12.540 boundaries that Christ... has set satan may be 00:06:12.540 --> 00:06:16.519 able to harass but he cannot have the final victory 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:23.720 why because jesus is lord over all spiritual 00:06:23.720 --> 00:06:28.800 powers and that's not just a slogan it's a reality 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:31.279 that is displayed throughout the new testament 00:06:31.819 --> 00:06:33.800 One of the clearest demonstrations of that is 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.220 found here in Matthew chapter 8 that we'll be 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:39.139 looking at today where Jesus confronts a demonic 00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:44.439 forces head on. And in a single word, he shows 00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:46.680 that he has absolute authority over darkness 00:06:46.680 --> 00:06:51.540 and the spiritual realm. There is no negotiating, 00:06:51.860 --> 00:06:57.550 no haggling, no back and forth. In fact, the 00:06:57.550 --> 00:07:01.470 demons recognize him not just as some itinerant 00:07:01.470 --> 00:07:05.009 healer or preacher, but as the king who has come 00:07:05.009 --> 00:07:10.350 to reclaim territory. And they tremble and obey. 00:07:12.769 --> 00:07:15.930 And for us Christians, that's incredibly good 00:07:15.930 --> 00:07:18.750 news because it means that we're in, yes, we're 00:07:18.750 --> 00:07:23.209 in a war, but we're not on the losing side. Christ 00:07:23.209 --> 00:07:25.810 has already triumphed and our enemy's days are 00:07:25.810 --> 00:07:29.750 over. numbered. But it doesn't mean that we should 00:07:29.750 --> 00:07:34.449 be blind to his schemes and live in such a way 00:07:34.449 --> 00:07:39.110 as if he doesn't exist. So if you have your Bibles, 00:07:39.110 --> 00:07:41.970 open them up to Matthew chapter 8. We'll close 00:07:41.970 --> 00:07:45.009 out that chapter beginning in verse 28, and we'll 00:07:45.009 --> 00:07:47.910 see for ourselves why we can be confident that 00:07:47.910 --> 00:07:51.050 our King, Jesus, holds every power, whether seen 00:07:51.050 --> 00:07:57.990 or unseen, in the palm of his hand. Verse 28 00:07:57.990 --> 00:08:01.730 reads, when he had come to the other side, to 00:08:01.730 --> 00:08:05.490 the region of Gadarenes, two demon -possessed 00:08:05.490 --> 00:08:09.069 men met him as they came out of the tombs. They 00:08:09.069 --> 00:08:12.970 were so violent that no one could pass that way. 00:08:14.470 --> 00:08:16.189 If you're taking notes, the first thing I'll 00:08:16.189 --> 00:08:19.779 have you write down is the dark domain. The dark 00:08:19.779 --> 00:08:22.740 domain. Jesus and his disciples, they just came 00:08:22.740 --> 00:08:24.620 off of the Sea of Galilee. If you were here last 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:27.139 week, you remember the sermon about getting out 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:29.199 onto the Sea of Galilee and the storms rage, 00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:31.680 right? The waves and the wind. And the disciples 00:08:31.680 --> 00:08:35.720 are crying out and Jesus stills creation with 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:38.559 a word. Well, they've just gotten to the other 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:40.879 side of Galilee. It probably meant that they 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:43.860 went from the northernmost part down to the southernmost 00:08:43.860 --> 00:08:46.519 part. So it was a really long trip on the sea. 00:08:48.269 --> 00:08:50.230 They get out and they get through this storm 00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:52.870 of seismic proportions that may have even had 00:08:52.870 --> 00:08:59.850 a spiritual component to it. And now they arrive 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:03.070 at their destination, the Gadarenes, which is 00:09:03.070 --> 00:09:05.950 a place on the southeastern shores of the Sea 00:09:05.950 --> 00:09:08.710 of Galilee. And it was a place where the citizens 00:09:08.710 --> 00:09:13.129 were most likely more Greek or Gentile than they 00:09:13.129 --> 00:09:16.370 were Jewish. And we can kind of see that a little 00:09:16.370 --> 00:09:18.669 bit later because this story is crazy. It's got 00:09:18.669 --> 00:09:21.730 demons. It's got demons of extraordinary strength. 00:09:22.110 --> 00:09:26.549 It's got bacon flying off of a cliff, like wasted 00:09:26.549 --> 00:09:28.690 right into the water. It's got everything that 00:09:28.690 --> 00:09:34.049 you want right in the story, right? But that's 00:09:34.049 --> 00:09:36.070 just it, you know, because there are pigs present 00:09:36.070 --> 00:09:38.110 in the story. This is where we're getting some 00:09:38.110 --> 00:09:41.860 of that cultural context. See, a pig to a Jew 00:09:41.860 --> 00:09:43.740 would have been unclean and not something that 00:09:43.740 --> 00:09:46.139 they would have interacted with or raised at 00:09:46.139 --> 00:09:48.899 all. They wouldn't have had any interaction with 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:51.759 it. But to a Gentile, it is bacon and pork chops. 00:09:51.860 --> 00:10:00.139 Yeah. I'm a Gentile. And so from a Jewish perspective, 00:10:00.399 --> 00:10:02.159 getting in that boat and getting across that 00:10:02.159 --> 00:10:05.659 sea, you're going into enemy territory. Right? 00:10:05.740 --> 00:10:08.799 You want to live your life as a Jew who's a Torah 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:12.679 observer, who obeys all the laws, the clean laws 00:10:12.679 --> 00:10:14.299 and all of that. You want to live in a place 00:10:14.299 --> 00:10:16.139 where you can control your environment so you 00:10:16.139 --> 00:10:18.220 don't accidentally rub up against something and 00:10:18.220 --> 00:10:21.320 suddenly become unclean. Then you got to go through 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:23.639 all this ritual. You can't go up to temple. You 00:10:23.639 --> 00:10:25.840 can't do all those things. You control your environment. 00:10:25.919 --> 00:10:27.740 That's why oftentimes they wouldn't go into a 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:31.049 Gentile's home at all. Not because they didn't 00:10:31.049 --> 00:10:33.269 want to connect with him necessarily. Some people 00:10:33.269 --> 00:10:35.210 did. But they just didn't want to go into an 00:10:35.210 --> 00:10:38.750 environment that was uncontrolled. And yet Jesus 00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:42.029 is in this boat crossing into enemy territory. 00:10:44.210 --> 00:10:46.169 And what's the first thing that happens? Two 00:10:46.169 --> 00:10:48.389 demon -possessed men come running out to him. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:51.720 And it says that these men are violent. They're 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:54.860 making the road impassable. No one can get by. 00:10:54.940 --> 00:10:59.100 In fact, this story shows up in both Mark and 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:02.820 Luke with some different details, as any eyewitness 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:05.960 accounts might have varying details. Well, Mark, 00:11:06.100 --> 00:11:08.179 it's not just the eyewitness accounts having 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:10.360 varying details, though. It's also that Matthew 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:12.100 is trying to communicate something very specific 00:11:12.100 --> 00:11:15.159 in this story. And so he's choosing the details 00:11:15.159 --> 00:11:18.600 he's telling in order to communicate to us. Whereas 00:11:18.600 --> 00:11:20.940 Matthew is trying to tell us that Jesus is Lord 00:11:20.940 --> 00:11:23.899 over these demons, Mark wants to tell us that 00:11:23.899 --> 00:11:27.419 Jesus is going to Gentiles and he's bringing 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:30.360 the kingdom to them. And so we get two different 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:32.519 accounts with a few different details. Listen 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:36.159 to how Mark describes the encounter. And he focuses 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:38.639 in on one of the demonized men and describes 00:11:38.639 --> 00:11:43.659 it this way. He lived in the tombs and no one 00:11:43.659 --> 00:11:47.220 was able to restrain him anymore, not even with 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:50.840 a chain. Because he often had been bound with 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:53.799 shackles and chains, but had torn the chains 00:11:53.799 --> 00:11:57.759 apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:01.519 enough to subdue him. Night and day among the 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:04.200 tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying 00:12:04.200 --> 00:12:08.740 out, cutting himself with stones. Could you imagine 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:12.080 living in this area? It's like a horror movie 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:16.559 constantly going on over in the tombs. There's 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:20.860 a genuine, destructive spiritual oppression that's 00:12:20.860 --> 00:12:23.320 impacting these individuals, but also the community 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.179 itself. Parents are whispering, don't go to the 00:12:26.179 --> 00:12:29.220 tombs. There's some crazy weirdos over there. 00:12:30.820 --> 00:12:33.379 At night, you're out having a barbecue around 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:37.279 your bonfire, and you hear a guy screaming out 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:42.179 in the tombs, cutting himself. The spiritual 00:12:42.179 --> 00:12:45.269 oppression, the spiritual activity. These demonic 00:12:45.269 --> 00:12:50.149 forces are having a real, genuine impact on both 00:12:50.149 --> 00:12:52.049 the individuals and the community that they're 00:12:52.049 --> 00:12:55.830 a part of. And I think that's something that 00:12:55.830 --> 00:12:58.509 we ought to reflect on, too, because we are in 00:12:58.509 --> 00:13:02.549 our Western, modern, secular society here, and 00:13:02.549 --> 00:13:04.490 you know what? We just don't have time for demonic 00:13:04.490 --> 00:13:08.450 activity. Now, we're going to call it all kinds 00:13:08.450 --> 00:13:11.500 of other things. But we're not going to call 00:13:11.500 --> 00:13:13.440 it demonic activity. And I'm not saying that 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:15.279 everything is a demonic activity, but we have 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:19.700 zero room for that, don't we? And yet Jesus is 00:13:19.700 --> 00:13:23.240 here confronting two individuals whose lives 00:13:23.240 --> 00:13:26.159 were completely destroyed and in chaos, living 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:29.879 in tombs, cutting themselves with superhuman 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:33.620 strength. And I think it's important for us to 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:36.639 know that even in this dark domain, even in enemy 00:13:36.639 --> 00:13:44.320 territory, Jesus shows up. The location and the 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.259 horror of the scene tell us that there is no 00:13:47.259 --> 00:13:53.419 place that is off limits to his authority. But 00:13:53.419 --> 00:13:55.860 the Bible also tells us in kind of a systematic, 00:13:55.899 --> 00:14:00.019 I gave you a quick rapid fire of Satan, but I 00:14:00.019 --> 00:14:04.000 also want to do the same thing with demons. The 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.440 Bible tells us that like Satan, demons are also 00:14:06.440 --> 00:14:09.600 real personal beings, and they're in opposition 00:14:09.600 --> 00:14:13.379 to the kingdom of God. So what are demons? Well, 00:14:13.419 --> 00:14:17.539 demons are fallen angels, and angels are created 00:14:17.539 --> 00:14:19.639 beings. We're told that in Colossians chapter 00:14:19.639 --> 00:14:24.200 1, 16. And like humans, they are created with 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:27.860 limitations and modes of operation. You might 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:31.720 think of them as a species of creature. One of 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:36.519 God's many creatures that he made. Both fallen 00:14:36.519 --> 00:14:40.759 and unfallen angels do not possess the divine 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:47.039 attributes of God. Omnipotence. God can do anything 00:14:47.039 --> 00:14:52.950 they cannot. Omniscience, God knows everything, 00:14:53.210 --> 00:14:58.610 they do not. And omnipresence, God is everywhere, 00:14:58.929 --> 00:15:03.809 they are not. And so you might think of demons 00:15:03.809 --> 00:15:06.629 using the same powers that angels have. So if 00:15:06.629 --> 00:15:09.049 you read in the scripture about angel encounters, 00:15:09.269 --> 00:15:11.350 you can just flip that on its head and think, 00:15:11.350 --> 00:15:14.720 well, demons are just fallen angels. And so however 00:15:14.720 --> 00:15:17.179 that species operates, however, whatever powers 00:15:17.179 --> 00:15:19.700 or control that they have or their modes of operation, 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:21.940 well, that would be the same for demons, except 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:27.019 that they serve their master, Satan. And so one 00:15:27.019 --> 00:15:28.559 of the things that's important to think about 00:15:28.559 --> 00:15:31.120 is what it means. Like humans, we have powers, 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:35.759 don't we? And our powers began in a somewhat 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:39.480 morally neutral state. Right? They're morally 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:41.820 neutral, the usage of our powers, but they can 00:15:41.820 --> 00:15:44.940 be morally good if we use them for good, and 00:15:44.940 --> 00:15:47.360 they can be morally bad if we use them for bad. 00:15:47.460 --> 00:15:49.659 How we use our powers depends whether they're 00:15:49.659 --> 00:15:54.440 morally good or bad, right? Angels have the same 00:15:54.440 --> 00:15:56.600 power as demons, and demons have the same power 00:15:56.600 --> 00:15:58.740 as angels, but they don't use that power the 00:15:58.740 --> 00:16:02.799 same way. And oftentimes, we are defined morally 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:05.220 good or morally bad not so much by how we use 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:09.809 our power, but how we restrain our power, at 00:16:09.809 --> 00:16:12.590 least for the morally good. How do we hold back? 00:16:12.610 --> 00:16:17.370 And it seems that demons use their power to do 00:16:17.370 --> 00:16:22.389 the will of their master Satan, which is moral 00:16:22.389 --> 00:16:28.809 badness. And angels restrain their power in honor 00:16:28.809 --> 00:16:31.970 of God and his holiness to do his bidding and 00:16:31.970 --> 00:16:36.500 his good. Bet you woke up this morning thinking, 00:16:36.559 --> 00:16:39.460 let's go to church. Talk about demons and Satan. 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:44.320 If you're new here, we don't do this every week. 00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:52.120 Just today. Glad you came. What is demon possession? 00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:54.159 So we talked about what are demons. What is demon 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:58.659 possession? Demon possession refers to this invasive, 00:16:58.740 --> 00:17:02.940 oppressive control that demons exert over a human 00:17:02.940 --> 00:17:06.039 being. affecting the person's faculties like 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:09.380 thought and speech and actions. This is typically 00:17:09.380 --> 00:17:12.920 initiated by the demon against the will of the 00:17:12.920 --> 00:17:15.160 person, though at times there may be an invitation 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:19.880 or an opening up by that person for demonic activity. 00:17:20.380 --> 00:17:23.539 In either case, the demon's goal is to inflict 00:17:23.539 --> 00:17:27.359 harm, confusion, and ultimately permanent spiritual 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:31.160 damage on the person. In other words, there are 00:17:31.160 --> 00:17:34.720 no good demonic possessions. You can't be like, 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:37.140 man, that demonic possession, it gave me all 00:17:37.140 --> 00:17:38.960 these good qualities. It is the best thing ever. 00:17:39.059 --> 00:17:44.180 No, it is always destructive. It is always intended 00:17:44.180 --> 00:17:46.799 to inflict harm and confusion and ultimate destruction 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:53.819 on the spiritual life of the person. Christian 00:17:53.819 --> 00:17:57.519 tradition, scriptural descriptions of possessions. 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:02.019 And some of the early church experiences say 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:04.279 that there are some external signs that seem 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:07.339 to be somewhat prevalent among possessions. And 00:18:07.339 --> 00:18:11.359 that is unusual strength, as we see in our story 00:18:11.359 --> 00:18:15.279 today. That these demonic powers can give the 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:18.960 person unusual strength through their possession. 00:18:19.200 --> 00:18:22.160 Again, not like some sort of superhuman power 00:18:22.160 --> 00:18:25.099 that you can use for good, but always for destruction. 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:29.640 That it seems that there's experience with knowledge 00:18:29.640 --> 00:18:32.500 that one could not otherwise have that the demonic 00:18:32.500 --> 00:18:37.039 brings in their possession, as well as languages 00:18:37.039 --> 00:18:44.519 that are unknown. So who can demons possess? 00:18:47.660 --> 00:18:53.960 They can possess unbelievers. Because unbelievers 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:59.539 don't possess the Holy Spirit. So they are like 00:18:59.539 --> 00:19:04.480 an empty house. In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:07.599 says, when an unclean spirit comes out of a person, 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:11.240 it roams through waterless places looking for 00:19:11.240 --> 00:19:14.579 rest but doesn't find any. Then it says, I'll 00:19:14.579 --> 00:19:18.099 go back to my house that I came from, and returning 00:19:18.099 --> 00:19:20.960 it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in 00:19:20.960 --> 00:19:24.349 order. Then it goes and brings with it seven 00:19:24.349 --> 00:19:27.369 other spirits more evil than itself, and they 00:19:27.369 --> 00:19:30.049 enter and settle down there. As a result, that 00:19:30.049 --> 00:19:33.170 person's last condition is worse than the person's 00:19:33.170 --> 00:19:37.410 first condition. Basically, it's like, sure, 00:19:37.490 --> 00:19:39.849 it's good if the unclean spirit or demon comes 00:19:39.849 --> 00:19:42.410 out of you. It's cast out and leaves. But if 00:19:42.410 --> 00:19:45.349 you don't fill the house with something, it will 00:19:45.349 --> 00:19:48.730 grab some friends, and it'll come and park itself, 00:19:48.869 --> 00:19:51.480 squat in your house again. And it's going to 00:19:51.480 --> 00:19:55.359 be a whole lot worse. And Jesus then says, such 00:19:55.359 --> 00:19:58.559 will be the generation that he's talking to in 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:01.099 that passage. He says that will be the generation. 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:05.819 The generation will be those who maybe put out 00:20:05.819 --> 00:20:09.039 evil, maybe put out wrongdoing from their life, 00:20:09.059 --> 00:20:12.220 maybe through the law they make themselves clean 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:15.500 and holy, but their house is empty. And they 00:20:15.500 --> 00:20:18.640 are susceptible to all kinds of evil that will 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:23.900 come. A true believer cannot be possessed by 00:20:23.900 --> 00:20:27.839 a demon because a true believer is filled with 00:20:27.839 --> 00:20:35.380 the Holy Spirit of God. That said, Christians 00:20:35.380 --> 00:20:39.920 can be harassed and oppressed externally by demons. 00:20:43.859 --> 00:20:46.660 I'll say this, though, because I've thought this 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:50.890 and I've done quite a bit of reading. And trying 00:20:50.890 --> 00:20:53.630 to answer some questions that I had. And so, 00:20:53.769 --> 00:20:55.849 and you may disagree with me, but this is where 00:20:55.849 --> 00:21:00.170 I'm landing. Based upon what I've looked at. 00:21:01.170 --> 00:21:04.869 Demons cannot read your thoughts. So if you've 00:21:04.869 --> 00:21:08.230 ever thought, they're in my head. They're reading 00:21:08.230 --> 00:21:13.289 my thought. They're reading my mail. Right? They're 00:21:13.289 --> 00:21:15.049 reading my thoughts, and so I've got to be careful 00:21:15.049 --> 00:21:16.930 in my thought life. I don't believe they can 00:21:16.930 --> 00:21:19.309 read your thoughts. I don't believe they're omniscient. 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:23.240 And I believe a part of their limitation is that 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:25.619 omniscience does not give them access to your, 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:33.019 as a believer, your mind. However, as C .S. Lewis 00:21:33.019 --> 00:21:35.920 kind of made famous in his screw tape letters, 00:21:36.180 --> 00:21:40.700 they are experts at observing your actions. And 00:21:40.700 --> 00:21:45.140 they listen to what you say. And they draw inferences 00:21:45.140 --> 00:21:48.849 from all kinds of external indications. They 00:21:48.849 --> 00:21:52.950 are astute observers. They can recognize patterns 00:21:52.950 --> 00:21:56.609 of sins and struggle in your life, emotional 00:21:56.609 --> 00:21:59.309 vulnerabilities. And this can give them the kind 00:21:59.309 --> 00:22:01.869 of information that is helpful in harassing and 00:22:01.869 --> 00:22:07.230 oppressing a believer. They have a deep sense 00:22:07.230 --> 00:22:10.390 of spiritual knowledge and they can see struggle 00:22:10.390 --> 00:22:15.849 and exploit it. And in the early church, those 00:22:15.849 --> 00:22:18.950 who recently were converted to the faith, out 00:22:18.950 --> 00:22:21.609 of being a Gentile and brought into the faith, 00:22:21.769 --> 00:22:23.769 they went through this time of instruction as 00:22:23.769 --> 00:22:26.029 young believers. It was kind of required. If 00:22:26.029 --> 00:22:29.069 you were going to enter the faith, you put your 00:22:29.069 --> 00:22:30.750 hope, you made your claim that you were putting 00:22:30.750 --> 00:22:33.549 your hope and faith in Christ. You entered into 00:22:33.549 --> 00:22:36.470 a time of instruction and teaching, and this 00:22:36.470 --> 00:22:38.750 instruction and teaching led up to your baptism. 00:22:39.789 --> 00:22:41.990 And during the time of instruction and teaching, 00:22:42.190 --> 00:22:44.470 what was very common to find in that instruction 00:22:44.470 --> 00:22:48.130 was an assumption that outside of Christ, they 00:22:48.130 --> 00:22:50.529 had opened themselves up to demonic possession. 00:22:51.450 --> 00:22:54.049 And that it was something that needed to be examined 00:22:54.049 --> 00:22:56.490 in their life before they got to the place of 00:22:56.490 --> 00:23:00.849 baptism. And it's interesting how they talk about... 00:23:01.210 --> 00:23:07.029 even in the mid to late 100s, like 150, 170 AD. 00:23:07.230 --> 00:23:10.190 So short time after Jesus, that next generation 00:23:10.190 --> 00:23:13.150 or two generations after Jesus' disciples have 00:23:13.150 --> 00:23:15.630 passed on, how they talk about demonic possession. 00:23:15.890 --> 00:23:18.670 And granted, this is before Catholicism, so we 00:23:18.670 --> 00:23:20.910 haven't got down the road to where Catholicism 00:23:20.910 --> 00:23:22.990 makes all kinds of rites and rituals related 00:23:22.990 --> 00:23:26.099 to demon possession. We're not there yet. We're 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:28.599 still in that first few generations of believers. 00:23:28.900 --> 00:23:31.420 And they talk often about having to confront 00:23:31.420 --> 00:23:35.400 people who are demonically possessed. And one 00:23:35.400 --> 00:23:37.640 of the interesting ones that I found, I think 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:40.839 it was Tertullian who said it in the mid -second 00:23:40.839 --> 00:23:44.339 century there. He said, any common Christian 00:23:44.339 --> 00:23:50.460 can cast out a demon. That's you. Common Christians 00:23:50.460 --> 00:23:53.279 right here, right? Well, any one of us can do 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:59.579 it. all they need do is ask its name and because 00:23:59.579 --> 00:24:05.079 of the authority of Christ, it must answer. And 00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:09.859 when it gives its name, you tell it by name to 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:13.039 leave in the name of Jesus who has authority 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:17.619 over it and it must go. And what struck me about 00:24:17.619 --> 00:24:19.200 some of the things that I was reading is just 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:25.319 how Run of the mill, it sounded. Like, it's whatever, 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:29.839 yeah. Common Christian, address it. Let's get 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:31.740 these demons out so we can get on with their 00:24:31.740 --> 00:24:35.240 spiritual health. They clearly did not have that 00:24:35.240 --> 00:24:38.259 modern cultural aversion to things that were 00:24:38.259 --> 00:24:40.440 spiritual. They recognized the reality of it 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:46.180 and the necessity to clean the house and then 00:24:46.180 --> 00:24:50.609 fill it with something new. Not every unbeliever 00:24:50.609 --> 00:24:55.410 is possessed. It might be extremely rare, but 00:24:55.410 --> 00:24:58.970 it is something that all unbelievers are susceptible 00:24:58.970 --> 00:25:07.150 to. Jesus shows up on the banks of the Sea of 00:25:07.150 --> 00:25:10.210 Galilee and two demon -possessed men come and 00:25:10.210 --> 00:25:15.049 meet him. Which leads us to point number two, 00:25:15.130 --> 00:25:19.279 the demon's plea. Suddenly they shouted, what 00:25:19.279 --> 00:25:21.859 do you have to do with us, son of God? Have you 00:25:21.859 --> 00:25:26.079 come here to torment us before the time? A long 00:25:26.079 --> 00:25:29.200 way off from them, a large herd of pigs was feeding. 00:25:30.019 --> 00:25:33.200 If you drive us out, the demons begged him, send 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:38.700 us into the herd of pigs. Now, many people in 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:42.000 the gospel of Matthew have been encountering 00:25:42.000 --> 00:25:44.220 Jesus for the first time, and they are learning 00:25:44.220 --> 00:25:48.210 about Jesus in real time. But not so the demons. 00:25:49.529 --> 00:25:54.410 No, these demons know exactly who Jesus is. They 00:25:54.410 --> 00:25:57.829 know his power and they know his authority. Others 00:25:57.829 --> 00:26:01.369 have come and called Jesus Lord. These demons 00:26:01.369 --> 00:26:06.430 come and call him the Son of God. They know his 00:26:06.430 --> 00:26:09.150 position. They know his position in the hierarchy 00:26:09.150 --> 00:26:12.349 of heaven. They know who he is. Because this 00:26:12.349 --> 00:26:14.509 isn't the first time they've heard about him. 00:26:16.559 --> 00:26:19.440 They even know their ultimate fate, that Christ 00:26:19.440 --> 00:26:22.420 will have the final victory over them. And this 00:26:22.420 --> 00:26:25.680 underscores that already not yet reality or nature 00:26:25.680 --> 00:26:29.059 of the kingdom of God. That with his first coming, 00:26:29.119 --> 00:26:31.539 Jesus initiated the kingdom of God and began 00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:34.759 to overthrow Satan's rule. But final judgment 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:40.569 of evil powers waits for his second coming. Colossians 00:26:40.569 --> 00:26:44.230 chapter 2, 15 says that Jesus disarmed the rulers 00:26:44.230 --> 00:26:47.529 and authorities of this age at the cross. But 00:26:47.529 --> 00:26:50.049 Ephesians says that believers still wrestle with 00:26:50.049 --> 00:26:54.910 these powers until Christ returns. And their 00:26:54.910 --> 00:26:58.529 power is restrained so that the gospel might 00:26:58.529 --> 00:27:01.950 prevail, so that one day they will come to complete 00:27:01.950 --> 00:27:06.900 and utter destruction. And you find them here 00:27:06.900 --> 00:27:09.579 on the banks of the Sea of Galilee pleading with 00:27:09.579 --> 00:27:13.140 Jesus, pleading with him not to send them away. 00:27:13.500 --> 00:27:15.299 And if you look at some of the other accounts, 00:27:15.519 --> 00:27:17.839 it's likely they're pleading with Jesus not to 00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:22.140 send them to the abyss. What is the abyss? The 00:27:22.140 --> 00:27:25.940 abyss is a sort of temporary holding cell for 00:27:25.940 --> 00:27:29.339 spiritual beings that God chooses to restrain 00:27:29.339 --> 00:27:32.819 until final judgment, meaning fully restrain. 00:27:33.160 --> 00:27:36.569 And they're begging, don't send us there. Don't 00:27:36.569 --> 00:27:38.430 send us there. We know it's not time for judgment 00:27:38.430 --> 00:27:42.130 yet. You know you're here before the time. That's 00:27:42.130 --> 00:27:44.329 what they say. But don't send us to the abyss. 00:27:44.329 --> 00:27:50.309 Don't send us over there. Demons know that they 00:27:50.309 --> 00:27:52.869 are on borrowed time. And Jesus' presence and 00:27:52.869 --> 00:27:55.650 his authority exposes that precarious nature 00:27:55.650 --> 00:27:58.369 of evil's reign. That it is temporary and it 00:27:58.369 --> 00:28:04.410 is falling apart. And so they beg Jesus. Send 00:28:04.410 --> 00:28:10.509 us into the pigs. Send us into the pigs. Notice 00:28:10.509 --> 00:28:14.769 the us language too. In both Luke and Mark's 00:28:14.769 --> 00:28:17.029 account of the same encounter, the demons call 00:28:17.029 --> 00:28:21.089 themselves legion. And they're calling themselves 00:28:21.089 --> 00:28:24.589 legion after a sort of grouping of military soldiers 00:28:24.589 --> 00:28:27.730 in the Roman army. A legion was a group of 5 00:28:27.730 --> 00:28:31.859 ,000 to 6 ,000 soldiers. And these demons say, 00:28:31.940 --> 00:28:35.940 we are legion, for we are many. This man doesn't 00:28:35.940 --> 00:28:40.200 have one demon, but many demons all possessing 00:28:40.200 --> 00:28:45.539 the one man's body. Number three, the delivering 00:28:45.539 --> 00:28:57.539 power. Go. Go, he told them. So when they had 00:28:57.539 --> 00:29:00.640 come out, They entered the pigs, and the whole 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:03.240 herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:07.819 and perished in the water. With a word, Jesus 00:29:07.819 --> 00:29:11.599 commands the demons to leave. They come out and 00:29:11.599 --> 00:29:13.920 enter the herd of pigs, which experiences that 00:29:13.920 --> 00:29:16.940 chaotic, destructive force of the unclean spirit, 00:29:17.079 --> 00:29:19.500 and they run right off a cliff into the sea and 00:29:19.500 --> 00:29:23.799 drown. And Matthew is highlighting again that 00:29:23.799 --> 00:29:28.269 Jesus' power over what in human terms seems unassailable 00:29:28.269 --> 00:29:32.269 and irreparable is no more effort to Christ than 00:29:32.269 --> 00:29:38.029 just a word. Go. Like the wind and the waves, 00:29:38.170 --> 00:29:42.190 demons obey Jesus immediately. No struggle, no 00:29:42.190 --> 00:29:45.710 effort, no incantation, just the effortless authority 00:29:45.710 --> 00:29:50.250 of the Messiah King, the Son of God. Listen to 00:29:50.250 --> 00:29:52.950 this quote by R .C. Sprouls. He says, the demons 00:29:52.950 --> 00:29:57.710 don't argue, they beg. And Jesus doesn't break 00:29:57.710 --> 00:30:02.470 a sweat. He just shows up and hell gets nervous. 00:30:04.750 --> 00:30:10.029 Jesus' deliverance is decisive. There is no contest 00:30:10.029 --> 00:30:15.509 between Christ and the power of darkness. So 00:30:15.509 --> 00:30:17.670 why include this story? Well, this story is a 00:30:17.670 --> 00:30:21.240 foretaste of the cross. Jesus didn't come only 00:30:21.240 --> 00:30:23.900 to confront our physical afflictions, and he 00:30:23.900 --> 00:30:26.940 didn't come only to calm some untamable storm 00:30:26.940 --> 00:30:30.720 on the sea. He came to ultimately confront and 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:33.980 defeat the deep spiritual darkness that is behind 00:30:33.980 --> 00:30:39.000 the fall of humanity. And so it leads me to my 00:30:39.000 --> 00:30:42.059 final point, number four, the disturbing response. 00:30:44.819 --> 00:30:49.000 Then the man who tended them fled. They went 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:51.480 into the city and reported everything, especially 00:30:51.480 --> 00:30:53.779 what had happened to those who were demon -possessed. 00:30:54.299 --> 00:30:57.119 At that, the whole town went out to meet Jesus, 00:30:57.220 --> 00:31:00.119 and when they saw him, they begged him to leave 00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:08.319 their region. I was preparing this, and I wrote 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:12.200 down in my notes here, the pig shepherds, because 00:31:12.200 --> 00:31:14.039 I didn't really know what you call people who 00:31:14.039 --> 00:31:17.680 tend to pigs. I found out after Googling, it's 00:31:17.680 --> 00:31:23.480 called Swineherd. Shepherd. Swineherd. But I 00:31:23.480 --> 00:31:24.839 wouldn't know how to use that word, so I'm going 00:31:24.839 --> 00:31:28.819 to call them pig shepherds, if that's okay. These 00:31:28.819 --> 00:31:34.299 pig shepherds, not sure what to do. They run 00:31:34.299 --> 00:31:38.200 into the city, and they go into the city, and 00:31:38.200 --> 00:31:39.599 they report everything, including what happened 00:31:39.599 --> 00:31:41.720 to the demon -possessed. But you notice that 00:31:41.720 --> 00:31:43.799 they don't stop, and they don't marvel at Christ. 00:31:44.460 --> 00:31:47.220 and his power. What's absent from this story 00:31:47.220 --> 00:31:49.539 is that they don't go, oh my gosh, those two 00:31:49.539 --> 00:31:54.220 guys got healed. What do we do? This is crazy. 00:31:55.500 --> 00:32:00.920 Headline news. No, they run into the town, and 00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:03.400 they begin to spread, not good news, but fear. 00:32:05.599 --> 00:32:07.759 It's possible that they're upset and offended 00:32:07.759 --> 00:32:10.180 at the cost of the pigs, you know, all that pork 00:32:10.180 --> 00:32:13.049 going over the cliff. That's a heavy cost to 00:32:13.049 --> 00:32:14.990 them. In fact, in the other account, they say 00:32:14.990 --> 00:32:19.750 2 ,000 pigs. 2 ,000, that's a lot of money. That's 00:32:19.750 --> 00:32:27.369 a lot of bacon. That's a lot of bacon. It's also 00:32:27.369 --> 00:32:29.710 likely that they want nothing to do with someone 00:32:29.710 --> 00:32:33.509 who has such power and authority that would disrupt 00:32:33.509 --> 00:32:38.369 the status quo. But either way, we know that 00:32:38.369 --> 00:32:41.839 they did not recognize Jesus as Messiah. They 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:46.079 did not see him for who he is. All those stories 00:32:46.079 --> 00:32:47.779 that have come before, they came and they said, 00:32:47.839 --> 00:32:51.339 Lord, we know you can do something for us. We 00:32:51.339 --> 00:32:53.980 know enough about you that we know that you have 00:32:53.980 --> 00:32:56.279 power and authority over our afflictions. Lord, 00:32:56.359 --> 00:32:58.059 we know enough about you that you can help us 00:32:58.059 --> 00:33:01.160 in the middle of this storm. But these folks, 00:33:01.380 --> 00:33:06.380 they witnessed a miracle. They witnessed the 00:33:06.380 --> 00:33:09.609 power of God. And instead of embracing Jesus, 00:33:09.750 --> 00:33:16.250 they say, please leave. Fear and economics overshadow 00:33:16.250 --> 00:33:19.569 spiritual freedom. I came across this quote. 00:33:19.630 --> 00:33:22.170 It said, all down the ages, the world has been 00:33:22.170 --> 00:33:30.390 refusing Jesus because it prefers its pigs. Sometimes 00:33:30.390 --> 00:33:34.170 people prefer the status quo to the radical change 00:33:34.170 --> 00:33:37.970 that Jesus brings. even if it means forfeiting 00:33:37.970 --> 00:33:43.089 freedom from evil. It's possible to see Jesus' 00:33:43.289 --> 00:33:47.009 power and still reject him out of fear or self 00:33:47.009 --> 00:33:51.809 -interest. Our sermon series asks the question, 00:33:52.029 --> 00:33:56.529 who is he? And we have come to see through Matthew 00:33:56.529 --> 00:33:59.730 8 that Jesus is Lord over our afflictions, that 00:33:59.730 --> 00:34:03.150 Jesus is Lord over creation, and now we see that 00:34:03.150 --> 00:34:06.930 Jesus is Lord over spiritual powers. But now 00:34:06.930 --> 00:34:14.650 I must ask you, is he Lord over you? Sometimes 00:34:14.650 --> 00:34:18.170 we love our pigs more than the freedom in life 00:34:18.170 --> 00:34:21.090 that Jesus is offering, and so we run away from 00:34:21.090 --> 00:34:25.380 the only one who can save us. When confronted 00:34:25.380 --> 00:34:29.360 with Christ, you can flee. When confronted with 00:34:29.360 --> 00:34:32.079 the power and the force of his word, you can 00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:35.679 run. Or you can recognize that you're chained 00:34:35.679 --> 00:34:38.789 up just like those men in the tombs. Maybe you're 00:34:38.789 --> 00:34:41.230 not afflicted with demonic powers. Maybe you 00:34:41.230 --> 00:34:43.530 are, but maybe you're a believer who's struggling 00:34:43.530 --> 00:34:47.110 with shame and fear or addiction or a secret 00:34:47.110 --> 00:34:50.070 sin. Maybe you have heard the power of Jesus' 00:34:50.269 --> 00:34:53.210 words preached or taught from a pulpit like this, 00:34:53.309 --> 00:34:57.349 addressing the very things that you do. And instead 00:34:57.349 --> 00:35:00.730 of running to Jesus and begging him for his deliverance 00:35:00.730 --> 00:35:03.449 and mercy, you run from him and you say, Lord, 00:35:03.570 --> 00:35:10.719 don't ever bring that up again. Is he Lord over 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:17.800 you? Because no chain can hold up against Jesus. 00:35:19.380 --> 00:35:23.400 You don't need to manage your sin and shame any 00:35:23.400 --> 00:35:29.280 longer. Jesus is Lord. He can, with a word, deliver 00:35:29.280 --> 00:35:36.489 you. And get this, he crossed a sea. and entered 00:35:36.489 --> 00:35:40.289 into enemy territory to rescue two men that everyone 00:35:40.289 --> 00:35:45.630 else had abandoned. Jesus crossed the ultimate 00:35:45.630 --> 00:35:50.369 divide as well, life to death, to rescue you 00:35:50.369 --> 00:35:55.809 and I. And so what do we have to fear when our 00:35:55.809 --> 00:35:58.190 God is willing to go to such lengths for us? 00:36:00.030 --> 00:36:05.780 Do not fear. The question is, who is he? And 00:36:05.780 --> 00:36:11.099 the answer is, Jesus is Lord. And that should 00:36:11.099 --> 00:36:15.000 change everything. Will you join me in praying? 00:36:17.260 --> 00:36:23.480 Father, we come to you. We quiet our hearts and 00:36:23.480 --> 00:36:28.019 our minds before you. May we not quickly in our 00:36:28.019 --> 00:36:33.730 minds run away from your word even now. May we 00:36:33.730 --> 00:36:38.110 not run to our lunch plans or our afternoon events, 00:36:38.409 --> 00:36:46.210 but may we sit for a moment. May we ask the question 00:36:46.210 --> 00:36:54.050 of ourselves, are there any pigs in my life that 00:36:54.050 --> 00:36:58.449 I love more than freedom and life in Christ? 00:37:03.920 --> 00:37:09.059 We come to you, Lord, the gracious God who crossed 00:37:09.059 --> 00:37:14.099 a sea, entered enemy territory on a rescue mission 00:37:14.099 --> 00:37:19.880 to deliver two men who were bound and afflicted 00:37:19.880 --> 00:37:24.659 in ways that we can't even imagine, who then 00:37:24.659 --> 00:37:27.059 experienced freedom. And as the other accounts 00:37:27.059 --> 00:37:29.659 in the gospel say, they came and one of the men 00:37:29.659 --> 00:37:35.960 came and sat at Jesus' feet. worshiped him, loved 00:37:35.960 --> 00:37:42.760 him for his deliverance. May we too, Lord, come 00:37:42.760 --> 00:37:46.719 not fearing you. And if we are holding on to 00:37:46.719 --> 00:37:50.360 one of those precious pigs, one of those things 00:37:50.360 --> 00:37:52.880 that we love, have loved more than freedom in 00:37:52.880 --> 00:37:58.000 Christ, I pray today, Lord, against the fear 00:37:58.000 --> 00:38:00.829 that... Somehow setting it aside or laying it 00:38:00.829 --> 00:38:03.610 down would be somehow laying down our very identity 00:38:03.610 --> 00:38:05.570 in our life. If we have found our life wrapped 00:38:05.570 --> 00:38:07.510 up in the things that we are, the things that 00:38:07.510 --> 00:38:11.769 we do, instead of you, I pray we'd be free from 00:38:11.769 --> 00:38:17.809 that. No fear, but freedom to stand upon the... 00:38:19.530 --> 00:38:23.309 The creed, the statement of faith, Jesus is Lord. 00:38:23.710 --> 00:38:27.210 Jesus is Lord over this. Jesus is Lord over that. 00:38:27.250 --> 00:38:30.550 Whatever it is in our life, Jesus is Lord. And 00:38:30.550 --> 00:38:33.030 I will bow in submission and worship to him and 00:38:33.030 --> 00:38:36.429 his word. I will not run. I will not flee in 00:38:36.429 --> 00:38:42.030 fear. I will not ask, don't ever come his way 00:38:42.030 --> 00:38:44.869 again. Instead, I will fall at his knees and 00:38:44.869 --> 00:38:47.510 ask him for his mercy and deliverance that I 00:38:47.510 --> 00:38:50.760 might experience true. abundant life in Christ. 00:38:53.619 --> 00:38:56.179 Lord, if we have been afraid of the darkness, 00:38:56.320 --> 00:38:59.559 if we have given the darkness more credence than 00:38:59.559 --> 00:39:02.480 it deserves, if we have been afraid of its power 00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:05.619 and its ability and influence over our lives, 00:39:05.719 --> 00:39:07.599 I pray you'd break that too, that we would see 00:39:07.599 --> 00:39:10.039 we are on the winning side. Christ is victorious. 00:39:11.239 --> 00:39:17.380 The war is over. Jesus has won. Stand firm in 00:39:17.380 --> 00:39:22.389 that truth. If we have undervalued or turned 00:39:22.389 --> 00:39:25.849 a blind eye to the spiritual reality and we have 00:39:25.849 --> 00:39:28.989 passed it off as coincidence or naturalism or 00:39:28.989 --> 00:39:31.309 whatever it is, I pray you'd open our eyes to 00:39:31.309 --> 00:39:35.389 the spiritual realm as one of the prophets told 00:39:35.389 --> 00:39:38.190 his servant to look off into the distance. And 00:39:38.190 --> 00:39:39.969 the servant said, I don't see anything. And the 00:39:39.969 --> 00:39:42.929 prophet said, look again and opened his eyes 00:39:42.929 --> 00:39:45.670 to see and he could see the vast armies, the 00:39:45.670 --> 00:39:48.190 spiritual forces that were on his side. I pray 00:39:48.190 --> 00:39:51.710 we too would begin. to see the reality beyond 00:39:51.710 --> 00:39:55.309 the curtain, just beyond the paper thin veil. 00:39:55.730 --> 00:39:58.449 What is in this room and present throughout this 00:39:58.449 --> 00:40:01.369 world, the spiritual reality. And we would not 00:40:01.369 --> 00:40:06.309 play games with it. We wouldn't mock it or caricaturize 00:40:06.309 --> 00:40:08.690 it, but instead we would live in the truth of 00:40:08.690 --> 00:40:11.630 the victory of Jesus Christ. We would not be 00:40:11.630 --> 00:40:14.710 afraid of demonic forces, but we would say in 00:40:14.710 --> 00:40:20.400 the name of Jesus, be gone, go. for the deliverance 00:40:20.400 --> 00:40:25.719 of many. Open our eyes to truth. Open our eyes 00:40:25.719 --> 00:40:28.659 to reality, we ask. In Jesus' name.