Well I'd like you to look with
me this morning at Mark chapter 5, Mark's gospel chapter 5. And I want to look at this account,
it's perhaps well known to you, this account of gracious salvation,
of a man who was possessed of an unclean spirit, demon possessed. I want to think about salvation.
Why do we make such a big thing about salvation when so many
others in religion don't? Why do we make such a big thing
of salvation? You might say, why do they keep
going on about salvation? Why can't we just be left to
get on with what remains of our lives doing what we want? Why
do we have to have this thing about you need to be saved and
salvation? The reason is because of the
reality of God. The reason is because of the
warnings that this book that you have open in front of you
gives us. The reality of God. The power of God. The sovereignty
of God. The holiness of God. These are
not things to trifle with. These are not light, irrelevant
things. They affect every one of us.
The sovereignty, the holiness, the justice of God. Our sinnerhood. And in the face of the justice
of God, how it is appointed to man to die once, and then the
judgment. And what a fearful thing to fall
into the hands of the living God. This is why the reality
of hell. We preach hell because the Bible
proclaims hell. We preach it as a warning because
of that. Why is there no salvation in
mainstream religion? Because there's no concept of
sin. There's no concept of the justice of God. There's no concept
of the need to be saved from anything to come, because everybody's
all right anyway, aren't they? It's a lie. Dangers lie hidden
in this life. Dangers. So many go through this
life paying no attention at all to the clear warnings that are
given. If you were a sailor, or you go out on a ship, then
you pay great attention to the buoy markers, you know, with
bells on and lights on and flashing. We see them now, they've got
all, because LED lighting is so good and batteries last ages,
they tend to have these flashing LED lights on them, and they
make a noise and they're warning. What are they saying? It looks
peaceful and calm on the surface, but there's a rock below the
surface that'll punch a hole in your boat. Think of the presumption
of a cruise ship full of people on holiday back in January. Do
you remember the Costa Concordia? Not very long ago. Cruising around
the Mediterranean, having such a good time, the food, the time,
the entertainment of their lives. Not a care in the world, just
enjoying their holiday. And the captain of the ship thought,
I don't know, this was how the story went, thought he would
show off to his friends on the island that he came from. Blase,
light-hearted, cruised in close to land, just to let them see
what a good ship he's now got. Not going to heed any warnings,
he's done it so many times before, he's just casual, it doesn't
happen. Ships like this don't sink. Titanic? No, no, ships
like this don't sink. And then crunch, yeah? And what
was lovely dining and dancing and entertainment suddenly became,
and you can see it now. Just Google Costa Concordia,
and you'll see it's still there, 45 degrees, top of it poking
out of the water, pointing to the land. And what was a time
of great ease for many people on holiday, in a moment turned
to the most abject panic. Can you imagine the panic? Especially
if you've got children, and elderly relatives, and trying to get
them off, and you know, I don't know what the final figure was,
but 30-odd people died in that boat, because warnings weren't
heeded. Doesn't it stand as a clear,
stark warning to us? Here's some warnings! Here's
the boy markers, pointing out, in this life, the rocks that
are below what might look to you like the calmest sea of life
that you're just going to sail through. This book has warnings
about dangers, about hell, about the judgment of God, but also
it tells us of salvation. It's a book of salvation. That's
its message. It's a book of salvation in Christ
and Christ alone. Here we see, with this man, Jesus
on a mission of mercy. We see a sinner in great need
of mercy. And you know, he sounds like
a really bad case. It's just because it's all out
in the open. That's what we're all like by nature. We see the
omnipotent grace of God in salvation displayed here. We see a sinner,
a sinner destined for hell. saved from hell, saved by grace. And finally, we see two prayers
that are answered. Jesus on a mission of mercy.
Before time began, God knew that mankind would sin. God even ordained. Without being the author of sin,
God ordained this world as it is. God knew mankind would sin. God knew that his justice must
condemn sin. must condemn. God is holy. God is just. His justice and
His holiness must condemn sinners. The soul that sins, it shall
die. But in sovereign grace, we've
sung about it in that hymn, about the love of God. This ocean of
love. In sovereign grace. Because that's
how love works out with God. In sovereign grace. He chose
some in election. He chose some to be saved from
that just condemnation to which they were due. How many was the
sum? It was a multitude that no man
can number, but it's a number that's known to God. It's symbolically
known as the 144,000 in the book of Revelation. It's a number
which is perfectly known to God, but a number that no man, a multitude
that no man can number. From where? from every tribe
and kindred representatives from... he's got his people all over
the world in tiny numbers on their own but this was in the
purpose of God that before the foundation of the world from
everlasting God the Son God the Son he was that lamb who was
slain from the foundation of the world Revelation 13.8 tells
us that he was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world
in whom the elect were justified from eternity. Because why? He would certainly come in time
into this realm of time and space. He would certainly come and redeem
at Calvary. At the cross of Calvary, the
great transaction was done. He who knew no sin, the perfect
Son of God, as the representative substitute and surety for that
people the Father gave to Him before the beginning of time,
He paid their penalty for their sins in his precious blood. He
poured out that precious blood as the price of the justice of
God. The sin debt of those people
was paid. He went down into the tomb and
all his people in him. The law of God fell on them there
when it fell on him. And he rose again from the dead.
God vindicated the sacrifice. He rose again from the dead,
and His people rose in Him to newness of life. They rose and
are now, as the Scripture says, seated in heavenly places in
the Lord Jesus Christ. but we start out our lives not
knowing anything of this if you're amongst the redeemed there must
come a time when you understand these things when the gospel
comes to you by a preacher there must come a time when all of
the redeemed are called with an effectual call that's a call
that can't be resisted it's a call that is powerful and be given
life where there was no life before but the life of the flesh
the life under the control of Satan, there must come a time
where a new man is planted within, for you must be born again. And
the spirit moves as he will. And just as the wind blows where
it listeth, said Jesus to Nicodemus, so the spirit must come. And
how shall they hear without a preacher? And God sends a preacher. in
whatever way it is, it might be in this room, it might be
via an internet sermon, it might be by some preaching written
down in a book that you read, whatever way God sends a preacher
and calls his elect out to hear the gospel of grace, to hear
of the one who paid the price of his precious blood for them.
And Jesus goes out on a mission to save those whom he has redeemed
or in this case was going to redeem in time at Calvary he
went out to Samaria it says when he was on his way from Judea
to Galilee that he must needs go through Samaria to a particular
place and he went there for a particular woman and some of her neighbors
the most unlikely ones the Jews didn't talk to the Samaritans
but he had to go there because there was one of the ones for
whom he would die on the cross of Calvary. He had to go to Jericho
that day and call to Zacchaeus who was hiding up in a tree trying
to get a good view, hated by the crowd because he was a corrupt
tax collector, but he had to go through Jericho and call him
to come down. He must send a snowstorm to force
a young Charles Spurgeon to shelter in a little chapel in Suffolk
and hear the gospel call effectually for the first time, even though
he'd heard it with his ears many times before. There was a time
when Charles Spurgeon, the young man, a snowstorm came and he
went into the most unlikely place, and the man who was preaching
was the most incapable preacher, you might say. with just stammering
words, but what he said was used of the Holy Spirit, and it spoke
to Charles Spurgeon, and he heard the gospel of grace. And he who
had heard it and heard it and heard it, but had been deaf,
was given ears to hear, and he heard and experienced the grace
of God in the gospel call. And you might have a similar
story. I certainly do. I was on the path of a rebellious
youth. I really was. I was bent on my
own self-destruction. And then I got into religion.
I heard an Arminian gospel. I got into all sorts of Arminian
falsehood. And so it went on. And then we
found together, Christine and I, we found legalistic, Calvinistic
religion. And we got into that, and boy,
we became really good legalists. And we really walked that path
of hard, hard, Doctrine and hard, hard legalism. And we, you know,
we were very condemning. We did some things now that make
me cringe at what we did. We really did. How that hard-hearted
religion made us react to other people. And then we heard something. It was by tape ministry in those
days. You remember how short-lived tapes, cassette tapes were? They
maybe had a life of thirty years in total. Can't find them anywhere
now, can you? I mean, I know some of you have
got a few of them at home, but it was through tape ministry
we heard the gospel preached by faithful preachers. And we
heard liberating gospel truth. Liberating gospel truth. We heard
the gospel of the grace of God in Christ. We didn't just hear
it with ears that heard words, we heard it and I'm sure God
planted the means to hear and understand and feel because Hearing
it, you say, that's my God. This is the truth. This is it. And embraced it. Christ came
on a mission of mercy to us. He came on a mission of mercy.
I wonder if he's coming on a mission of mercy to you or anybody listening
to this this morning. So it was with this man. He is
this man in a terrible condition. Doesn't seem a particularly savable
person, does he? Doesn't seem very qualified to
be saved. He's not been a good person at
all, has he? He's a terrible person. Society
can't touch him, he's so dangerous. But he comes to him. He comes
on a mission of mercy. In Mark 4, 35, we read Jesus
says, after this day of ministry, and he says, let us go over to
the other side. It's the Sea of Galilee, and
he's on one side, and he's teaching the crowd, and he's standing.
The King James Version calls it a ship. We would regard it
as a small boat. You know, it's just a boat in
which he could stand, a small fishing boat, something like
that. And he's standing in there, teaching the crowd on the shore
of the sea. It's a good place, good acoustics. He'd be able
to speak to them clearly. And they set off to go to the
other side. Just random. Where are we going
to go? I don't know, let's just go for
a Rolf Harris walkabout in the bush and see where it leads.
No, he didn't do that. Jesus went on a mission with
a purpose. He knew exactly where he was
going. He knew exactly who he was going to meet. He knew exactly
why he was going to meet him. He knew he was going to take
him out of the clutches of Satan. and bring him, and clothe him,
and put him in his right mind. That's what he did. Let's go
over to the other side, and in the process teach the disciples
a lesson about who has the power to do these things. Who has the
power to do these things? Who has the power to save somebody
in such satanic possession. Who has the power to do that?
Only God. Let's demonstrate. Here's a man
who has no comeliness that we should desire him. He doesn't
look different to anybody else. He looks older than his years.
He looks ravaged. He's a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. And everybody that looks on him
doesn't see anything special as a man in him at all. And yet, Jesus is going to show
them who he really is. And they set off in this ship,
and he goes to sleep. He's a real man. He feels tired.
He goes to sleep on a pillow in the back of the boat, and
a storm blows up. And in that area, some violent
storms can blow up that really threaten the little ships to
tip them over and to bring real disaster upon them. And they
wake him. Don't you care? You see how they're
feeling, don't you care? And he arises and he rebukes
the wind and says to the sea, peace be still. And the wind
ceased in a word. in a word. How does he do it?
How does God uphold all things? We read it in Hebrews chapter
one, by the word of the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's
how. That's how he upholds all things,
by the word. As God said in the beginning,
let there be light, and what does it say? There was light.
He spoke a word. He spoke to the wind and the
waves. Peace. Be still. And that raging storm
calmed down. Can you imagine what those disciples
around him immediately thought. They feared exceedingly. What
is this? What's going on here? It's as
if they're on the brink of eternity looking into eternal things that
we can't see with physical eyes. And they're looking into these
things and they're afraid. And you would be, and I would
be, terrified at what I've just seen. A raging storm, and a man
comes and says, peace, be still, and it stops. What manner of
man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? I'll tell
you what, the devils possessing the man knew what manner of man
this was. They call him later on, thou
son of the most high God. That's who it was. It was God
in human flesh who spoke a word and the raging storm was calmed. He taught his disciples something
more about who he was. A man who not only had power
over the wind and the waves, but had power over satanic forces.
Who had the power to give life to a man who was dead in trespasses
and sins. And then we read in verse 2 of
chapter 5, When they got to the other side, when he was come out of the ship,
immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean
spirit. He immediately met this man. That's who he came for. This
is the one. It was a certain man. You know,
he met a certain woman by the well of Sychar. It was specific. It speaks of God's sovereign
grace. He didn't go out throwing open
an invitation to the entire crowd. He came specifically for a particular
individual, and so he does. For each of us, in his time,
he comes and speaks the gospel of grace. This is who he came
for. Are you listening? Is he on the
trail to meet you in saving mercy? What's the reason for his coming?
Why was he called Jesus? Matthew 1.21, for he shall save
his people from their sins. Why did he come into this world?
Luke tells us, 19 and verse 10, he came to seek and to save that
which was lost. That which was lost. 1 Timothy
chapter 1 verse 15, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
says Paul, of whom I am chief. And that's what each of us, if
we know we're a sinner, we know I am the chief of sinners. It's
the one situation where everyone can be chief. We're all the chief
of sinners. were all sinners. But Christ
came to seek and to save the lost. He came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. And here is one. Here
is a sinner in great need of mercy. Let's read the description
of him in verses two to five. And when he was come out of the
ship, immediately they met him out of the tombs, living in the
tombs, amongst the gravestones, a man with an unclean spirit,
who had his dwelling among the tombs. That's where he lived.
Outdoors amongst the tombs like a wild animal. And no man could
bind him. They tried tying him up because
he was so dangerous. They couldn't tie him up with
chains. He was so strong. He had superhuman strength because
of this satanic possession. Because he'd often been bound
with fetters and chains. And the chains had been plucked
asunder by him. You might remember There was
a program that the kids used to like many years ago. What
was he called? He was the one who turned green
and they couldn't chain him down. Whatever they tied him up with,
he used to burst the ropes and the chains. That's the sort of
picture. You know, just superhuman strength. The fetters broken
in pieces. Neither could any man tame him.
They tried to tie him down, they tried to tame him, they tried
to make him fit to live with, they tried to make him not such
a threat to society. Anybody coming across him would
quietly try and avoid him because of the danger that he posed.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the
tombs, having a great time. No. Crying. Crying. Cutting himself with stones,
self-harming. This is the person that Jesus
came to save. This is this particular one.
He was totally possessed of godless, hellish influence. It's what
2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 26 calls the snare of the devil.
He'd completely fallen into it. And that's what we're all like
by nature. That's where we are. All of us, by nature, in the
snare of the devil. This man for a long time had
been shamelessly naked it doesn't tell us that here but in Luke's
account in Luke chapter eight it tells us that he was shamelessly
naked I know people seem to make much of nakedness you know it's
just paraded everywhere without any shame whatsoever this man
was like that and I'm sure that that tendency in humanity is
hellish in its origin. It's satanic in its origin. But
here he was, without any shame at all. All of us would feel
shame to walk down the street outside absolutely naked. We'd
feel shame. He was shamelessly naked. He was lost. He was homeless. Think of these things. He was
lost. he was homeless living amongst the tombs living amongst
the dead folks that's where he was look at Ephesians chapter
two just turn over there just for a moment with me Ephesians
and chapter two and the first couple of verses says this writing
to those who are now believers in Ephesus and you hath he quickened
you who were dead this is your natural state dead in trespasses
and sins wherein in time past ye walked according to the course
of this world. Sin, just like everybody else,
according to the prince of the power of the air. Look whose
you are. Look whose servant, look whose slave you are. The
prince of the power of the air, that's Satan. the spirit that
now worketh in the children of disobedience, he's the one who's
causing it all, among whom also we had all had our conversation
in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature in our flesh,
the children of wrath, even as others. That's what he was like. That's what we're like. Bent
on our own self-destruction in our flesh. Look at him, cutting
himself with stones. Driven of the devil. Wild. Uncontrollable. Is that not us? But for restraint? Selfish? willful, self-destroying flesh,
driving us, our corrupt and uncontrolled sinful nature, corrupt to its
core. We're the slaves of sin, is what
scripture calls us. Whose slaves you are, that's
the one that you obey. Slaves, you think, I'm free,
I can do what I want. No, you're a slave to sin by
nature. So why is not everybody screaming and raging like this
man was? Well, I'll tell you why. I'll
give you some reasons. Society tames people. You know, society
does. I better not do that because
people might look at me and take a bad view of me and not be kind
to me, so I better behave right in certain circumstances when
certain people can see me so that they treat me with some
respect. Society tames that natural tendency. What about religion?
Isn't religion a good thing? Religion makes people nice people.
Religion binds people with its laws and its rules and its regulations
and its sets of particular rules. What about Christ? Christ breaks
the sinner. He breaks the sinner. Must do. Christ breaks the sinner and
then having broken the sinner, liberates the sinner into the
glorious liberty of the children of God. Do you hear what the
scripture and the testimony of those who are Christ is this?
That being broken as a sinner under the gospel preaching of
the clear gospel declared in scripture, that breaking and
then the liberation that comes into that glorious liberty of
the children of God. No wonder Cliff was saying earlier,
comparing winning a huge lottery win and how insignificant it
is compared with the riches that are the possession of the people
of God in Christ. There's riches that nobody can
steal. Why? Because they're deep in
your heart. Nobody can steal them. Things can happen all around,
but nobody can steal that. So omnipotent grace is displayed.
You see, we're all by nature devil-possessed, but it's usually
covert, it's usually hidden below the surface. The difference with
this man, it was just open. It was out there in the open.
The legion of devils spoke when Christ addressed the man. Verse
7, they cried, it's them that are crying out, cried with a
loud voice, what am I to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of the
most high God? See, they already knew who he
was. They already knew that. I adjure thee by God that thou
torment me not. They knew that he was the one
who was sovereign. They knew that he was the one
that was in control of all things. They spoke. They knew who he
was. They knew he was God the Son. They knew he was God most
high. They knew he was the just judge
who would cast them out forever. He was just a man without comeliness,
but he was the God-man. He was the sovereign, omnipotent
ruler of the universe. He's displayed his power over
the weather, over sickness. He's healed sicknesses and leprosy
and all of these diseases that nobody could do anything about.
He's cast out demons. He rules worldly powers. When
he went into the temple, in chapter 2 of John, he goes into the temple
and the worldly powers, with all their forces, can do nothing
about him emptying the temple of the money changers and the
corruption that was there. He has power over life and death. He heals, he brings back to life
those that have died, Jairus' daughter and others, Lazarus,
Lazarus come forth out of the tomb when he'd been dead four
days. Do you know, you might not believe that, but the devils
do. And James tells us that the devils,
these fallen angels, satanic beings, they believe all of this
truth, they believe it and they tremble. They tremble, they don't
know this truth in a saving way. They know it that they are the
objects of God's just condemnation. These spirits had seen the fallen
angels cast out of heaven, they'd been amongst them. they knew
that Satan would be bound at Calvary, Colossians 2.15. At
Calvary, Christ bound Satan. Jesus said himself, how can you
spoil the strong man's house? The strong man is Satan, except
he come in and bind the strong man. And at Calvary, Christ bound
the strong man. He had no more power. It's always
limited because of what Christ did at Calvary. He cast the devils
out, into a herd of swine. Look at the power that is being
exercised and is on display here. These evil spirits that are legion
in this man come out into this herd of swine, two thousand of
them we're told, and People get the wrong impression. They think
it's so cruel to these farmers who have their livelihood cast
into the sea in one go. Well, let me give you a couple
of points here. These were Jews that were feeding
these swine, and the Jews in the Mosaic law had been told
not to do this, not to have pigs. So that's one point. But also,
isn't it just a graphic illustration there before their very eyes
of the eternal reality of judgment to come? That's what it was,
on display, so that they could all see. We're not sure whether
we believe you about this eternal judgment. Well, look at this.
Into the swine, down into the sea, and they all drowned. He
dispossesses Satan of the people that he saves. Jesus dispossesses
Satan. Look, get out! Go! Into those
swine down the hill, into the sea, he dispossesses Satan of
those he saves. He puts a new creature in charge
of the old flesh. There's a new man inside, the
new nature, that which is born of the Spirit of God inside.
The old machinery might still be there, the rusty, creaky old
machinery, but the management has been fundamentally changed.
The management of Satan and his angels has gone, and the new
manager is there, the new man that is created in Christ Jesus.
This is salvation. This truly is. Christ accomplished
it at the cross. Christ satisfied justice at the
cross. But in the experience of each
one of his people, by faith, they know that these things are
true. This is sovereign and omnipotence in salvation. He makes his people
willing in the day of his power. He didn't offer this man salvation. He came and saved this man. And
he's able to save how far? To the uttermost. What a specimen. What a man in such terrible need.
He saved him to the uttermost. And he saves his people from
their sins by his precious blood. He doesn't just make it possible,
read the article on the back of the bulletin, he doesn't just
make it possible for man to add his bit, he pays the debt. And having paid the debt, he
applies irresistible grace to the object of his mercy. And
you must come. and you'll hear his call and
you won't be able to resist. Is he calling you? Can you hear
his voice speaking to you? He is a sinner saved by grace.
What a sinner. What a sinner, but us by nature,
but for the taming of society, but for the constraints of religion
and respectability, us by nature in the flesh. Here's a sinner
saved by grace, verse 15. And they came, you see the story
got out, and the people come to Jesus and see him that was
possessed with the devil and had the legion of devils. And
where is he? Raging? Screaming? Cutting himself? Crying? Unable to be tamed? No, he's sitting. Sitting. And
clothed. Not naked. Shamelessly naked.
He's clothed. He's in his right mind. And they
were afraid. they were afraid. He that was
possessed of devils is now possessed of the Son of God. He that was
wild and uncontrolled was now calm at the Master's feet. He
that was naked and unashamed is now clothed and in his right
mind. This is what salvation does.
Clothed and in his right mind. Clothed not just with physical
clothes but with the righteousness of God in Christ. For he made
him, Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin. He made him sin for
us, the sins of his people, that we, his people, might be made
the righteousness of God in him. That's the clothing with which
he clothes his people, the righteousness of God. It reminds me of the
prodigal son. Do you remember the prodigal
son? He said to his father, he's growing
up, and two brothers, and one works dutifully and never questions
anything, and this other one, the younger one, he says to his
parents, give me that which is rightfully mine. What arrogance. what presumptuous arrogance,
give me that which is rightfully mine, you have nothing that is
rightfully yours but give, okay, alright, you can have your half
now and off he goes into a far country to do exactly what he
wants leaves that home, goes off into a far country, and all
the time he's got money, he's surrounded by friends, and they
have a great time, and they spend all the money doing exactly what
they want. Isn't it great here? There's nobody to tell us what
we can and can't do. Isn't this fantastic? And then
economic hardship comes. And you know like we're in a
recession now in the world economy. Well, they experienced a real
recession because these things come and go. And all the money
was gone. And you know what? When all the
money was gone, guess what else was gone? the friends were gone. All those fair weather friends
were gone and he was left on his own and he was starving,
I must get some work and you know he ends up doing what? That
which is despicable to Jews, he ends up feeding pigs in this
foreign country. And he's so hungry, not only
does he end up feeding the pigs, he ends up eating the pigs' food.
And then he realises, it says he came to himself. He realises
where he is and what he is, and he thinks this, this is a diabolical
dreadful place to be. This is an awful place to be,
and he remembers home. And he remembers his father's
servants. And he remembers that even they
have got bread to eat. Even they have got good food
to eat and somewhere dry to lie down and somewhere comfortable.
And oh, I wonder if my father would have me back as a servant.
I'm not going to go back claiming that which is rightfully mine,
I know I deserve nothing, but I might possibly be able to ask
him to give me a job as a servant. And he comes, and you know the
story, the father sees him afar off, and he's coming back with
his head hung low, begging only mercy, because he's got nothing
else, he's got no rights at all, he doesn't say give me that which
is my right, he comes begging mercy only, and the father sees
him afar off, and comes to him. and kisses him. And what does
he call for? He calls for the robe, the family
robe. And he clothes him, and that's
what Christ does to sinners. Clothes with the family robe
of the righteousness of God. He puts a ring on his finger.
That's a ring of covenant love. I have loved you with an everlasting
love. He puts shoes on those bare sore
feet of his. They're shoes, as Ephesians 6
tells us, of the gospel of peace. and he gives him a place at the
family table. And that's what we're going to
do shortly, as we share the bread and the wine. That's the family
table of the family of God. Yes, it's good to enjoy good
food, but oh, this is good food. Why? It's just symbolical. It's
just plain unleavened bread, it's just ordinary wine with
the purity of the alcohol in it, representing that pure, sinless,
broken body of Christ and that shed blood. And in remembering,
we're going to feast in our souls on Him by faith. Feast on that
glorious righteousness with which He's clothed His people, that
sin debt paid. What a blessed, glorious transformation
salvation brings. This sinner is broken, Satan
is dispossessed, a new creature is born within, and he's liberated
from the slavery of sin to serve the Son of God. What a glorious
place to be. The filthiness is washed away. The cleansing of the precious
blood washes away the sin. He's clothed with gospel clothing.
He's given the mind of Christ in his right mind. Do you desire
to be saved? You must be born again, said
Jesus. Now, I want to close with two prayers. Here are two prayers. Look at verses 17 to 20. These
are the people of the area. They began to pray him to depart
out of their coasts. Jesus, please, will you go away?
We're scared stiff about this. We don't like people who send
herds of pigs down into the sea. Please leave us alone. And when
he was come unto the ship, he that had been possessed with
the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Oh, can I
go with you? Two separate prayers, completely separate prayers,
and two completely separate answers. To the one, Please go away and
leave us. That crowd prayed to him. Please
go away and leave us. And Jesus said, Okay, as you
wish. And he went, and he left them,
and he never returned. And that stands as such a warning
to those who will reject the gospel of grace. If you say to
Jesus, I want nothing to do with you. If you say to God, I want
nothing to do with the gospel of your grace, please leave me
alone. You just beware. You know they say, beware that
you don't get what you wish for. These people got what they wished
for. To the eternal damnation of their souls. This is serious. This really is. But this other
man, the one who'd been saved and dispossessed of those devils,
he wanted to be with Jesus. He wanted to go with him. And
Jesus said, no. No. What I want you to do is
to go home. Go to where you come from. And
tell them, what? Tell them, how great things the
Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
And that's what he says to us. Remember his prayer in John 17.
I don't take them out of the world, I leave them in the world. But I pray, Father, that you
will keep them in the world. And he does. He keeps his people
in the world to witness to how great things the Lord hath done
for us. And he departed, the man departed,
on his own, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things
Jesus had done for him. And all men did marvel. We don't
know what the outcome was. We don't know if the preaching
bore fruit in the salvation of sinners. Maybe it did. But those
were two prayers, and two prayers that Jesus answered in quite
unexpected different ways. What's the lesson of all of this?
Broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be
that go in that way. But narrow is the way that leads
to life, and few there be that find it. But those that do are
blessed beyond measure. May God bless those thoughts
to you.