We are not living in neutral territory. Whether
we realize it or not, there is a real war that
is raging all around us. A sort of cosmic conflict
with an enemy who hates God and hates anyone
who belongs to God. And modern secular culture
is quite uncomfortable, to say the least, with
the idea of a spiritual enemy a personal spiritual
force that is lurking behind the scenes. They
want to dismiss it outright or mock it, or they
sensationalize it in movies and TV shows, almost
to the point of making it into a cartoon or caricature.
However, the Bible says that we have a spiritual
enemy and names that enemy Satan, the devil,
the accuser. And he, along with all his minions,
will do whatever they can to destroy our joy,
to distort our worship, and to derail our walk
with Christ. The word of God is not embarrassed
by the spiritual realm. Neither is Jesus, and
we shouldn't be either. Sun Tzu, who was a Chinese
general back in the... 500 BC era. He wrote in
the art of war, know the enemy and know yourself.
And in a hundred battles, you will never be in
peril. Know the enemy and know yourself. And
in a hundred battles, you will never be in peril.
So who is the enemy of God? Satan. Well, Satan
literally means adversary or accuser. And in
the book of Job, Satan appears before God. And
challenges Job's integrity as a righteous man
and says, well, he's only righteous because you've
blessed his life. If you took everything away
from him, well, then we'd see what kind of righteous
man he is. And he asked permission and God grants
it in his sovereignty to go to Job and to test
Job. Satan appears before God and challenges
him, accuses Job of not being righteous. That
story is crazy to me because we get to read it
and we know what's going on behind the scenes.
Job don't know. Job just wakes up to all kinds
of chaos, a whirlwind, marauding raiders and
all kinds of death and destruction all around
him. Satan accusing Job before the throne of
God. Peter says that the adversary, Satan, prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone
to devour. Satan is also called the devil, which
is a Greek word meaning slanderer. And some scholars
believe passages like Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28
refer to Satan's fall. Not content serving God
as a holy angel before the throne of God. Instead,
he rebels and he leads a great number of other
angelic beings to abandon their position and
follow him. Paul, in his letters, instructs believers
to put on the full armor of God so that we will
be able to take our stand against the devil.
And he talks about the devil throwing fiery darts
at us. Satan, the devil, shows up as a serpent
in the Garden of Eden on the first pages of the
Bible where he deceives humanity into disobeying
God. And in the last book of the Bible, so from
the beginning all the way to the end, Revelation
chapter 12 and Revelation chapter 20, again,
refers to the ancient serpent who is called the
devil and Satan. He's written a cross there,
and you might even think it from a big picture,
biblical theology, big view of the Bible, that
there is this sort of doing things that are right
in the eyes of God, that would be obedience,
and doing things that are right in our own eyes,
as Satan tempted us to do, and as he clearly
is the father of. Disobedience. Matthew and Paul
both refer to Satan and the devil as the tempter
who seeks to entice people into sin. We are also
told that he disguises himself as an angel of
light, that his deception can appear attractive,
it can even mimic true righteousness and deceive
us. Jesus calls him the father of lies. He is
all about twisting and distorting the truth.
And there are more. Prince of the power of the
air, the prince of this world, the god of this
age, which means that he has power to influence
the prevailing values and beliefs of our time.
That he has widespread influence over those who
live in disobedience to God. First, I'd ask,
do we live with this awareness? I just kind of
did a systematic on Satan, just one right after
the other, what the Bible says or describes him.
Do we live with the awareness that there is a
personal being who is evil, who is out there
doing this on a regular basis, on a day -to -day
basis? This is his mission and goal. But before
we start imagining the devil as some all -powerful
being, We have to set the record straight, and
that is that Satan is on a leash. He is not autonomous.
He is not sovereign. He is under the rule of
a much greater king, the one who has created
the universe, who holds everything together by
his word, and has already dealt a death blow
to every demonic plan at the cross. Satan may
roar, but he cannot roam beyond the borders or
boundaries that Christ... has set satan may be
able to harass but he cannot have the final victory
why because jesus is lord over all spiritual
powers and that's not just a slogan it's a reality
that is displayed throughout the new testament
One of the clearest demonstrations of that is
found here in Matthew chapter 8 that we'll be
looking at today where Jesus confronts a demonic
forces head on. And in a single word, he shows
that he has absolute authority over darkness
and the spiritual realm. There is no negotiating,
no haggling, no back and forth. In fact, the
demons recognize him not just as some itinerant
healer or preacher, but as the king who has come
to reclaim territory. And they tremble and obey.
And for us Christians, that's incredibly good
news because it means that we're in, yes, we're
in a war, but we're not on the losing side. Christ
has already triumphed and our enemy's days are
over. numbered. But it doesn't mean that we should
be blind to his schemes and live in such a way
as if he doesn't exist. So if you have your Bibles,
open them up to Matthew chapter 8. We'll close
out that chapter beginning in verse 28, and we'll
see for ourselves why we can be confident that
our King, Jesus, holds every power, whether seen
or unseen, in the palm of his hand. Verse 28
reads, when he had come to the other side, to
the region of Gadarenes, two demon -possessed
men met him as they came out of the tombs. They
were so violent that no one could pass that way.
If you're taking notes, the first thing I'll
have you write down is the dark domain. The dark
domain. Jesus and his disciples, they just came
off of the Sea of Galilee. If you were here last
week, you remember the sermon about getting out
onto the Sea of Galilee and the storms rage,
right? The waves and the wind. And the disciples
are crying out and Jesus stills creation with
a word. Well, they've just gotten to the other
side of Galilee. It probably meant that they
went from the northernmost part down to the southernmost
part. So it was a really long trip on the sea.
They get out and they get through this storm
of seismic proportions that may have even had
a spiritual component to it. And now they arrive
at their destination, the Gadarenes, which is
a place on the southeastern shores of the Sea
of Galilee. And it was a place where the citizens
were most likely more Greek or Gentile than they
were Jewish. And we can kind of see that a little
bit later because this story is crazy. It's got
demons. It's got demons of extraordinary strength.
It's got bacon flying off of a cliff, like wasted
right into the water. It's got everything that
you want right in the story, right? But that's
just it, you know, because there are pigs present
in the story. This is where we're getting some
of that cultural context. See, a pig to a Jew
would have been unclean and not something that
they would have interacted with or raised at
all. They wouldn't have had any interaction with
it. But to a Gentile, it is bacon and pork chops.
Yeah. I'm a Gentile. And so from a Jewish perspective,
getting in that boat and getting across that
sea, you're going into enemy territory. Right?
You want to live your life as a Jew who's a Torah
observer, who obeys all the laws, the clean laws
and all of that. You want to live in a place
where you can control your environment so you
don't accidentally rub up against something and
suddenly become unclean. Then you got to go through
all this ritual. You can't go up to temple. You
can't do all those things. You control your environment.
That's why oftentimes they wouldn't go into a
Gentile's home at all. Not because they didn't
want to connect with him necessarily. Some people
did. But they just didn't want to go into an
environment that was uncontrolled. And yet Jesus
is in this boat crossing into enemy territory.
And what's the first thing that happens? Two
demon -possessed men come running out to him.
And it says that these men are violent. They're
making the road impassable. No one can get by.
In fact, this story shows up in both Mark and
Luke with some different details, as any eyewitness
accounts might have varying details. Well, Mark,
it's not just the eyewitness accounts having
varying details, though. It's also that Matthew
is trying to communicate something very specific
in this story. And so he's choosing the details
he's telling in order to communicate to us. Whereas
Matthew is trying to tell us that Jesus is Lord
over these demons, Mark wants to tell us that
Jesus is going to Gentiles and he's bringing
the kingdom to them. And so we get two different
accounts with a few different details. Listen
to how Mark describes the encounter. And he focuses
in on one of the demonized men and describes
it this way. He lived in the tombs and no one
was able to restrain him anymore, not even with
a chain. Because he often had been bound with
shackles and chains, but had torn the chains
apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong
enough to subdue him. Night and day among the
tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying
out, cutting himself with stones. Could you imagine
living in this area? It's like a horror movie
constantly going on over in the tombs. There's
a genuine, destructive spiritual oppression that's
impacting these individuals, but also the community
itself. Parents are whispering, don't go to the
tombs. There's some crazy weirdos over there.
At night, you're out having a barbecue around
your bonfire, and you hear a guy screaming out
in the tombs, cutting himself. The spiritual
oppression, the spiritual activity. These demonic
forces are having a real, genuine impact on both
the individuals and the community that they're
a part of. And I think that's something that
we ought to reflect on, too, because we are in
our Western, modern, secular society here, and
you know what? We just don't have time for demonic
activity. Now, we're going to call it all kinds
of other things. But we're not going to call
it demonic activity. And I'm not saying that
everything is a demonic activity, but we have
zero room for that, don't we? And yet Jesus is
here confronting two individuals whose lives
were completely destroyed and in chaos, living
in tombs, cutting themselves with superhuman
strength. And I think it's important for us to
know that even in this dark domain, even in enemy
territory, Jesus shows up. The location and the
horror of the scene tell us that there is no
place that is off limits to his authority. But
the Bible also tells us in kind of a systematic,
I gave you a quick rapid fire of Satan, but I
also want to do the same thing with demons. The
Bible tells us that like Satan, demons are also
real personal beings, and they're in opposition
to the kingdom of God. So what are demons? Well,
demons are fallen angels, and angels are created
beings. We're told that in Colossians chapter
1, 16. And like humans, they are created with
limitations and modes of operation. You might
think of them as a species of creature. One of
God's many creatures that he made. Both fallen
and unfallen angels do not possess the divine
attributes of God. Omnipotence. God can do anything
they cannot. Omniscience, God knows everything,
they do not. And omnipresence, God is everywhere,
they are not. And so you might think of demons
using the same powers that angels have. So if
you read in the scripture about angel encounters,
you can just flip that on its head and think,
well, demons are just fallen angels. And so however
that species operates, however, whatever powers
or control that they have or their modes of operation,
well, that would be the same for demons, except
that they serve their master, Satan. And so one
of the things that's important to think about
is what it means. Like humans, we have powers,
don't we? And our powers began in a somewhat
morally neutral state. Right? They're morally
neutral, the usage of our powers, but they can
be morally good if we use them for good, and
they can be morally bad if we use them for bad.
How we use our powers depends whether they're
morally good or bad, right? Angels have the same
power as demons, and demons have the same power
as angels, but they don't use that power the
same way. And oftentimes, we are defined morally
good or morally bad not so much by how we use
our power, but how we restrain our power, at
least for the morally good. How do we hold back?
And it seems that demons use their power to do
the will of their master Satan, which is moral
badness. And angels restrain their power in honor
of God and his holiness to do his bidding and
his good. Bet you woke up this morning thinking,
let's go to church. Talk about demons and Satan.
If you're new here, we don't do this every week.
Just today. Glad you came. What is demon possession?
So we talked about what are demons. What is demon
possession? Demon possession refers to this invasive,
oppressive control that demons exert over a human
being. affecting the person's faculties like
thought and speech and actions. This is typically
initiated by the demon against the will of the
person, though at times there may be an invitation
or an opening up by that person for demonic activity.
In either case, the demon's goal is to inflict
harm, confusion, and ultimately permanent spiritual
damage on the person. In other words, there are
no good demonic possessions. You can't be like,
man, that demonic possession, it gave me all
these good qualities. It is the best thing ever.
No, it is always destructive. It is always intended
to inflict harm and confusion and ultimate destruction
on the spiritual life of the person. Christian
tradition, scriptural descriptions of possessions.
And some of the early church experiences say
that there are some external signs that seem
to be somewhat prevalent among possessions. And
that is unusual strength, as we see in our story
today. That these demonic powers can give the
person unusual strength through their possession.
Again, not like some sort of superhuman power
that you can use for good, but always for destruction.
That it seems that there's experience with knowledge
that one could not otherwise have that the demonic
brings in their possession, as well as languages
that are unknown. So who can demons possess?
They can possess unbelievers. Because unbelievers
don't possess the Holy Spirit. So they are like
an empty house. In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus
says, when an unclean spirit comes out of a person,
it roams through waterless places looking for
rest but doesn't find any. Then it says, I'll
go back to my house that I came from, and returning
it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in
order. Then it goes and brings with it seven
other spirits more evil than itself, and they
enter and settle down there. As a result, that
person's last condition is worse than the person's
first condition. Basically, it's like, sure,
it's good if the unclean spirit or demon comes
out of you. It's cast out and leaves. But if
you don't fill the house with something, it will
grab some friends, and it'll come and park itself,
squat in your house again. And it's going to
be a whole lot worse. And Jesus then says, such
will be the generation that he's talking to in
that passage. He says that will be the generation.
The generation will be those who maybe put out
evil, maybe put out wrongdoing from their life,
maybe through the law they make themselves clean
and holy, but their house is empty. And they
are susceptible to all kinds of evil that will
come. A true believer cannot be possessed by
a demon because a true believer is filled with
the Holy Spirit of God. That said, Christians
can be harassed and oppressed externally by demons.
I'll say this, though, because I've thought this
and I've done quite a bit of reading. And trying
to answer some questions that I had. And so,
and you may disagree with me, but this is where
I'm landing. Based upon what I've looked at.
Demons cannot read your thoughts. So if you've
ever thought, they're in my head. They're reading
my thought. They're reading my mail. Right? They're
reading my thoughts, and so I've got to be careful
in my thought life. I don't believe they can
read your thoughts. I don't believe they're omniscient.
And I believe a part of their limitation is that
omniscience does not give them access to your,
as a believer, your mind. However, as C .S. Lewis
kind of made famous in his screw tape letters,
they are experts at observing your actions. And
they listen to what you say. And they draw inferences
from all kinds of external indications. They
are astute observers. They can recognize patterns
of sins and struggle in your life, emotional
vulnerabilities. And this can give them the kind
of information that is helpful in harassing and
oppressing a believer. They have a deep sense
of spiritual knowledge and they can see struggle
and exploit it. And in the early church, those
who recently were converted to the faith, out
of being a Gentile and brought into the faith,
they went through this time of instruction as
young believers. It was kind of required. If
you were going to enter the faith, you put your
hope, you made your claim that you were putting
your hope and faith in Christ. You entered into
a time of instruction and teaching, and this
instruction and teaching led up to your baptism.
And during the time of instruction and teaching,
what was very common to find in that instruction
was an assumption that outside of Christ, they
had opened themselves up to demonic possession.
And that it was something that needed to be examined
in their life before they got to the place of
baptism. And it's interesting how they talk about...
even in the mid to late 100s, like 150, 170 AD.
So short time after Jesus, that next generation
or two generations after Jesus' disciples have
passed on, how they talk about demonic possession.
And granted, this is before Catholicism, so we
haven't got down the road to where Catholicism
makes all kinds of rites and rituals related
to demon possession. We're not there yet. We're
still in that first few generations of believers.
And they talk often about having to confront
people who are demonically possessed. And one
of the interesting ones that I found, I think
it was Tertullian who said it in the mid -second
century there. He said, any common Christian
can cast out a demon. That's you. Common Christians
right here, right? Well, any one of us can do
it. all they need do is ask its name and because
of the authority of Christ, it must answer. And
when it gives its name, you tell it by name to
leave in the name of Jesus who has authority
over it and it must go. And what struck me about
some of the things that I was reading is just
how Run of the mill, it sounded. Like, it's whatever,
yeah. Common Christian, address it. Let's get
these demons out so we can get on with their
spiritual health. They clearly did not have that
modern cultural aversion to things that were
spiritual. They recognized the reality of it
and the necessity to clean the house and then
fill it with something new. Not every unbeliever
is possessed. It might be extremely rare, but
it is something that all unbelievers are susceptible
to. Jesus shows up on the banks of the Sea of
Galilee and two demon -possessed men come and
meet him. Which leads us to point number two,
the demon's plea. Suddenly they shouted, what
do you have to do with us, son of God? Have you
come here to torment us before the time? A long
way off from them, a large herd of pigs was feeding.
If you drive us out, the demons begged him, send
us into the herd of pigs. Now, many people in
the gospel of Matthew have been encountering
Jesus for the first time, and they are learning
about Jesus in real time. But not so the demons.
No, these demons know exactly who Jesus is. They
know his power and they know his authority. Others
have come and called Jesus Lord. These demons
come and call him the Son of God. They know his
position. They know his position in the hierarchy
of heaven. They know who he is. Because this
isn't the first time they've heard about him.
They even know their ultimate fate, that Christ
will have the final victory over them. And this
underscores that already not yet reality or nature
of the kingdom of God. That with his first coming,
Jesus initiated the kingdom of God and began
to overthrow Satan's rule. But final judgment
of evil powers waits for his second coming. Colossians
chapter 2, 15 says that Jesus disarmed the rulers
and authorities of this age at the cross. But
Ephesians says that believers still wrestle with
these powers until Christ returns. And their
power is restrained so that the gospel might
prevail, so that one day they will come to complete
and utter destruction. And you find them here
on the banks of the Sea of Galilee pleading with
Jesus, pleading with him not to send them away.
And if you look at some of the other accounts,
it's likely they're pleading with Jesus not to
send them to the abyss. What is the abyss? The
abyss is a sort of temporary holding cell for
spiritual beings that God chooses to restrain
until final judgment, meaning fully restrain.
And they're begging, don't send us there. Don't
send us there. We know it's not time for judgment
yet. You know you're here before the time. That's
what they say. But don't send us to the abyss.
Don't send us over there. Demons know that they
are on borrowed time. And Jesus' presence and
his authority exposes that precarious nature
of evil's reign. That it is temporary and it
is falling apart. And so they beg Jesus. Send
us into the pigs. Send us into the pigs. Notice
the us language too. In both Luke and Mark's
account of the same encounter, the demons call
themselves legion. And they're calling themselves
legion after a sort of grouping of military soldiers
in the Roman army. A legion was a group of 5
,000 to 6 ,000 soldiers. And these demons say,
we are legion, for we are many. This man doesn't
have one demon, but many demons all possessing
the one man's body. Number three, the delivering
power. Go. Go, he told them. So when they had
come out, They entered the pigs, and the whole
herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
and perished in the water. With a word, Jesus
commands the demons to leave. They come out and
enter the herd of pigs, which experiences that
chaotic, destructive force of the unclean spirit,
and they run right off a cliff into the sea and
drown. And Matthew is highlighting again that
Jesus' power over what in human terms seems unassailable
and irreparable is no more effort to Christ than
just a word. Go. Like the wind and the waves,
demons obey Jesus immediately. No struggle, no
effort, no incantation, just the effortless authority
of the Messiah King, the Son of God. Listen to
this quote by R .C. Sprouls. He says, the demons
don't argue, they beg. And Jesus doesn't break
a sweat. He just shows up and hell gets nervous.
Jesus' deliverance is decisive. There is no contest
between Christ and the power of darkness. So
why include this story? Well, this story is a
foretaste of the cross. Jesus didn't come only
to confront our physical afflictions, and he
didn't come only to calm some untamable storm
on the sea. He came to ultimately confront and
defeat the deep spiritual darkness that is behind
the fall of humanity. And so it leads me to my
final point, number four, the disturbing response.
Then the man who tended them fled. They went
into the city and reported everything, especially
what had happened to those who were demon -possessed.
At that, the whole town went out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him, they begged him to leave
their region. I was preparing this, and I wrote
down in my notes here, the pig shepherds, because
I didn't really know what you call people who
tend to pigs. I found out after Googling, it's
called Swineherd. Shepherd. Swineherd. But I
wouldn't know how to use that word, so I'm going
to call them pig shepherds, if that's okay. These
pig shepherds, not sure what to do. They run
into the city, and they go into the city, and
they report everything, including what happened
to the demon -possessed. But you notice that
they don't stop, and they don't marvel at Christ.
and his power. What's absent from this story
is that they don't go, oh my gosh, those two
guys got healed. What do we do? This is crazy.
Headline news. No, they run into the town, and
they begin to spread, not good news, but fear.
It's possible that they're upset and offended
at the cost of the pigs, you know, all that pork
going over the cliff. That's a heavy cost to
them. In fact, in the other account, they say
2 ,000 pigs. 2 ,000, that's a lot of money. That's
a lot of bacon. That's a lot of bacon. It's also
likely that they want nothing to do with someone
who has such power and authority that would disrupt
the status quo. But either way, we know that
they did not recognize Jesus as Messiah. They
did not see him for who he is. All those stories
that have come before, they came and they said,
Lord, we know you can do something for us. We
know enough about you that we know that you have
power and authority over our afflictions. Lord,
we know enough about you that you can help us
in the middle of this storm. But these folks,
they witnessed a miracle. They witnessed the
power of God. And instead of embracing Jesus,
they say, please leave. Fear and economics overshadow
spiritual freedom. I came across this quote.
It said, all down the ages, the world has been
refusing Jesus because it prefers its pigs. Sometimes
people prefer the status quo to the radical change
that Jesus brings. even if it means forfeiting
freedom from evil. It's possible to see Jesus'
power and still reject him out of fear or self
-interest. Our sermon series asks the question,
who is he? And we have come to see through Matthew
8 that Jesus is Lord over our afflictions, that
Jesus is Lord over creation, and now we see that
Jesus is Lord over spiritual powers. But now
I must ask you, is he Lord over you? Sometimes
we love our pigs more than the freedom in life
that Jesus is offering, and so we run away from
the only one who can save us. When confronted
with Christ, you can flee. When confronted with
the power and the force of his word, you can
run. Or you can recognize that you're chained
up just like those men in the tombs. Maybe you're
not afflicted with demonic powers. Maybe you
are, but maybe you're a believer who's struggling
with shame and fear or addiction or a secret
sin. Maybe you have heard the power of Jesus'
words preached or taught from a pulpit like this,
addressing the very things that you do. And instead
of running to Jesus and begging him for his deliverance
and mercy, you run from him and you say, Lord,
don't ever bring that up again. Is he Lord over
you? Because no chain can hold up against Jesus.
You don't need to manage your sin and shame any
longer. Jesus is Lord. He can, with a word, deliver
you. And get this, he crossed a sea. and entered
into enemy territory to rescue two men that everyone
else had abandoned. Jesus crossed the ultimate
divide as well, life to death, to rescue you
and I. And so what do we have to fear when our
God is willing to go to such lengths for us?
Do not fear. The question is, who is he? And
the answer is, Jesus is Lord. And that should
change everything. Will you join me in praying?
Father, we come to you. We quiet our hearts and
our minds before you. May we not quickly in our
minds run away from your word even now. May we
not run to our lunch plans or our afternoon events,
but may we sit for a moment. May we ask the question
of ourselves, are there any pigs in my life that
I love more than freedom and life in Christ?
We come to you, Lord, the gracious God who crossed
a sea, entered enemy territory on a rescue mission
to deliver two men who were bound and afflicted
in ways that we can't even imagine, who then
experienced freedom. And as the other accounts
in the gospel say, they came and one of the men
came and sat at Jesus' feet. worshiped him, loved
him for his deliverance. May we too, Lord, come
not fearing you. And if we are holding on to
one of those precious pigs, one of those things
that we love, have loved more than freedom in
Christ, I pray today, Lord, against the fear
that... Somehow setting it aside or laying it
down would be somehow laying down our very identity
in our life. If we have found our life wrapped
up in the things that we are, the things that
we do, instead of you, I pray we'd be free from
that. No fear, but freedom to stand upon the...
The creed, the statement of faith, Jesus is Lord.
Jesus is Lord over this. Jesus is Lord over that.
Whatever it is in our life, Jesus is Lord. And
I will bow in submission and worship to him and
his word. I will not run. I will not flee in
fear. I will not ask, don't ever come his way
again. Instead, I will fall at his knees and
ask him for his mercy and deliverance that I
might experience true. abundant life in Christ.
Lord, if we have been afraid of the darkness,
if we have given the darkness more credence than
it deserves, if we have been afraid of its power
and its ability and influence over our lives,
I pray you'd break that too, that we would see
we are on the winning side. Christ is victorious.
The war is over. Jesus has won. Stand firm in
that truth. If we have undervalued or turned
a blind eye to the spiritual reality and we have
passed it off as coincidence or naturalism or
whatever it is, I pray you'd open our eyes to
the spiritual realm as one of the prophets told
his servant to look off into the distance. And
the servant said, I don't see anything. And the
prophet said, look again and opened his eyes
to see and he could see the vast armies, the
spiritual forces that were on his side. I pray
we too would begin. to see the reality beyond
the curtain, just beyond the paper thin veil.
What is in this room and present throughout this
world, the spiritual reality. And we would not
play games with it. We wouldn't mock it or caricaturize
it, but instead we would live in the truth of
the victory of Jesus Christ. We would not be
afraid of demonic forces, but we would say in
the name of Jesus, be gone, go. for the deliverance
of many. Open our eyes to truth. Open our eyes
to reality, we ask. In Jesus' name.