Kingsport Sovereign Grace Church,
located at 905 Yadkin Street in Kingsport, Tennessee, would
like to invite you to listen to a message of sovereign grace
by their pastor, Gabe Stoniker. And now, Pastor Gabe Stoniker. I want to invite you to turn
with me this morning to Mark chapter 5. This chapter begins
with the story of a man who was a Gadarene, who was possessed
with devils. I'm sure you're familiar with
this story. It's one of the favorite accounts for many believers.
And I believe it's a favorite because most believers can relate
to this man so much. Sinners naturally have no idea
how vile they are. until God reveals it to them. And believers know this clearly. The Lord reveals how vile they
are. They see it. And once they see
what they are, not just what they've done, what they are, Once they see what's on the inside,
they've seen what's on the outside, we know what we've done on the
outside, but once they see what's on the inside, and once they
see the mighty work of Christ in them, once they realize that
He sat me down, He clothed me, and He put me in my right mind,
just like this Gadarene, There was a way that seemed right to
me before. I thought I knew the way of life.
I thought I knew the way to God, but I was wrong. I was wrong. God was not who
I thought He was. I was not who I thought I was.
Salvation was not in anything I do like I thought it was. It
wasn't in any decision I make like I thought it was. the Lord shows a sinner, I had a wrong mind, a wrong mind. I was wrong on what happened
to mankind in the garden, in the fall. I was wrong on it all. But once God performs His work
in a sinner, And once that sinner sees the
way, once he sees the truth and the life which is Christ Himself,
once he sees grace, once he sees complete redemption, once he
understands the absolute freedom from sin, the freedom that Christ
secured for him, He starts running to tell everybody he can find
how great things the Lord has done for him. That woman at the well, she left
her water pot, she went running into town crying, come see a
man. Isn't that what she did? Come
see a man. And that's what this Gadarene
did. Look with me here in Mark chapter five at verse 19. It
says, how be it Jesus suffered him not? But saith unto him,
Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord
hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he
departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things
Jesus had done for him, and all men did marvel." They marveled. Now as I was thinking about him
doing this, can you picture him going home, going to his friends, telling them how great things
the Lord has done for him? Can you see that? His excitement,
his relief, his thankfulness? As I was thinking about him doing
this, the thought went through my mind, I wonder what he said. The Lord said, you go tell. I
wonder what he told. Where did he start? I believe
I know. I believe he started at the beginning.
That's where we start, isn't it? Every time we declare the
good news of grace, what God did for me, we acknowledge our
sin, don't we? Not because that's the first
point in our outline, it's because that's where Christ found us.
That's where He found me, dead in and captive to sin. He came to me where I was. Look right here in verse one,
Mark 5 verse one, and they came over unto the other side of the
sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Our Lord told His
disciples, let's pass over unto the other side of the sea. And
they entered a great storm along the way. Now why did our Lord
say that to them? Why did He tell them to cross
over this ocean and go through this storm? The reason is because
there was one sinner on the other side that he purposed to save. And just like our Lord said they
would, and just like He accomplishes everything He purposes to do,
verse 1 says they came over to the other side of the sea into
the country of the Gadarenes. Verse 2 says, and when he was
come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs
a man with an unclean spirit. Now was this a chance meeting?
He gets out of the ship and there just so happens to be a man standing
there with an unclean spirit. Was that a chance meeting? That
Gadarene might have thought so. The truth though is he was appointed
to be in that place at that time from the foundation of the world.
God in mercy made an appointment with a sinner. Verse 2 says,
and when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him
out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. He lived in
the tombs. He lived around these different
tombs. I thought about the stench. The
stench that was not only on him, but the stench that was in him
as he breathed. Can you imagine all the stench
that had filled his lungs? Can you imagine what he smelled
like? You know that's what our sin
is to God. It doesn't seem to bother us.
We can't even really smell it. But it's an awful stench in his
nostrils. Verse 3 says, This man had his
dwelling among the tombs, and no man could bind him, no, not
with chains. Because that he had been often
bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked
asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces, neither could
any man tame him. He couldn't be bound. The reason
is because he was bound. He couldn't be bound by fetters
and chains because he was bound by the fetters of sin and the
chains of sin. And that caused him to break
and run from everything that was good and right. When it came
to this man, the law could only be broken. They tried to put
the law on him and every time it was broken, every single time. Verse 5 says, and always, night
and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying and
cutting himself with stones. That's us. That's this flesh. He wasn't seeking Christ. He
was not seeking help. He was not sitting at the feet
of Christ, begging for forgiveness and mercy. Somebody would ask,
where is he? Where is he? I don't know. I don't know. He's up in the
mountains. He's around the tomb somewhere. Everywhere but where
Christ is. Christ had to come to him. Christ
had to come to him where he was, right there in his misery. Verse
five says, always, night and day, he was in the mountains
and in the tombs crying. crying, living in the clutches
and the captivity of sin is absolute misery. It's absolute misery. This man was not happy. This
man was miserable in his sin. Verse 5 says, he was cutting
himself with stones, marking himself up, just sticking himself,
stabbing himself, piercing himself, mutilating the flesh God gave
him. Verse six, but when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped
him. He ran and worshiped him. Now,
let me tell you this. At this moment in time, he's
not sitting and clothed and in his right mind. He's still completely
possessed by the evil of sin, but he's religious. He is religious. He knows you're
supposed to worship Jesus. He goes to church every now and
then. Can a man who is possessed with
an evil spirit be a faithful churchgoer? Can a man who's possessed with
an evil spirit be a faithful churchgoer? Not only can he be a faithful
churchgoer, he can be the pastor of the church, lying to men and
women, ushering those poor souls straight into the depths of hell
itself, all in the name of worshiping Jesus. They can do it all in
the name of worshiping Jesus. 2 Corinthians 11 tells us that. This is verses 13 to 15. 2 Corinthians
11, 13 to 15. It says, For such are false apostles,
deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles
of Christ. And no marvel, for Satan himself
is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers
of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works." So absolutely, a man can sit
there possessed by the evil of the devil and worship Jesus, as they say. This man sat and worshipped Him.
And verse 7 says in Mark 5, He cried with a loud voice and said,
What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High
God? I adjure thee by God, that thou
torment me not. For He said unto him, Come out
of the man, thou unclean spirit. This unclean spirit knows who
God is. Here he is sitting, worshiping
the Lord, and he knows who God is. He won't bow. The unclean
spirit will not bow, but he knows who God is. He said, please don't
torment me. Verse nine, and he asked him,
what is thy name? And he answered saying, my name
is Legion, for we are many. In the Roman military, a legion
is 6,000 infantry. 6,000. He said there are 6,000
of us in here. And I'll just go ahead and tell
us all that these unclean spirits represent this man's sins. He's just full of them. He was
sin and he committed sin. His sin was great. Verse 9, He
asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name
is Legion, for we are many. And he besought him much, that
he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was
there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him,
saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. Now notice this, they
had to get permission. They can only do what He allows
them to do. Verse 13, forthwith Jesus gave
them leave and the unclean spirits went out and entered into the
swine and the herd ran violently down a deep place, down a steep
place into the sea. They were about 2,000 and were
choked in the sea. That tells us truly how many
unclean spirits were in this man. At least 2,000. There were
2,000 swine. So at least one per swine. You talk about bound. Bound. I've never seen a man so bound
by sin. Did you know that's why Christ
chose him? He came to save the worst. the chief. He came to set the
deepest, darkest prisoner free. And if he set us free, then this
is describing us. Verse 14, And they that fed the
swine fled, and told it in the city and in the country. And
they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come
to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and
had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they
were afraid. And they that saw it told them
how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and
also concerning the swine. Now reading Luke's account caused
me to see something. Turn with me over to Luke chapter
8. In Luke chapter 8 verse 36 it says, they also which saw
it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils
was healed. By what means. In this account, our Lord mentions
these swine. He cast evil spirits out of people
all the time, didn't He? And they were just gone. But
in this account, He tells us by what means He that was possessed
of the devils was healed. And I want to be so careful right
now. I want to be so fearful and reverent
in this. But if you'll follow me to a
couple of scriptures, I strongly want to encourage you to grab
a Bible with me and follow me to a couple of scriptures. I
believe we will see the means by which every single one of
us was healed. Every single one of us. First,
go with me over to Psalm 22. Psalm 22, now this is the Lord
Jesus Christ speaking. In Psalm 22 verse 1 says, My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from
helping me and from the words of my roaring? That's what he
said at the cross. Verse 18 says, they parted my
garments among them and cast lots upon my vesture. This is
him speaking from the cross. All right, now look at verse
six. He said, but I am a worm and no man, a reproach of men
and despised of the people. He said, I'm a worm and no man. Why would our Lord say that? Sometimes our Bibles have center
margins in them and mine has one and next to a worm it says
Isaiah 41 verse 14 Look with me at Isaiah 41 and let's read
verse 14. It says fear not thou worm Jacob
and ye men of Israel I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy
Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. He said that from the cross,
being the substitute for his worms. He said, I am what they
are. He who knew no sin made himself
to be sin for us. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in Him. See if you can find Lamentations
chapter 3. Lamentations 3, this again is
our Lord speaking. In Lamentations 3 verse 1, He
said, I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of
his wrath. I suffered the rod of God the
Father's wrath. He hath led me and brought me
into darkness but not into light. Surely against me is He turned. He turneth His hand against me
all the day. My flesh and my skin hath He
made old. He hath broken my bones. He hath
builded against me and compassed me with gall and travail. He
hath set me in dark places as they that be dead of old. He
hath hedged me about, I cannot get out. He hath made my chain
heavy. Also, when I cry and shout, He
shutteth out my prayer. He hath enclosed my ways with
hewn stone. He hath made my paths crooked. He was unto me as a bear lying
in wait, and as a lion in secret places. He hath turned aside
my ways and pulled me in pieces and hath made me desolate. He
hath bent his bow and set me as a mark for the arrow. He hath
caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. I was
a derision to all my people, and their song all the day. He
hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with
wormwood. He hath also broken my teeth
with gravel stones. He hath covered me with ashes.
And thou hast removed my soul far off from peace. I forgot
prosperity. And I said, my strength and my
hope is perished from the Lord. Remembering mine affliction and
my misery, the wormwood and the gall, My soul hath them still
in remembrance and is humbled in me." Humbled in me. Our Lord took our sin upon Himself. He took it into His own body
and then He willingly ran violently down a steep place into the sea
of God's wrath and He died. He died. It was the only means
that would heal us. And as soon as He did that, we
were set free. We quit running to sin. We quit
running from God and we sat down at the feet of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Clothed in the righteousness
of Christ. Right here in Lamentations 3
verse 21 says, this I recall to my mind, therefore have I
hope. This right here is the right
mind that God gives to a saved sinner. Verse 22, it is of the
Lord's mercies that we are not consumed. That's a right mind. I'm not consumed just because
of the Lord's mercies. That's the only reason. Verse
22 says, Because His compassions fail not. That's a right mind. They are new every morning. Great
is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith
my soul. Therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for Him. To the soul that seeketh Him,
it is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for
the salvation of the Lord." That's a right mind. Our Lord used swine
to portray this. Isaiah 53 said the Savior would
have no form nor comeliness and when we shall see him there's
no beauty that we should desire him. But let me ask you this.
What do you think those swine meant to that Gadarene? They were his substitute. He
sat there clothed thinking about the fact that Christ provided
him a substitute. That evil killed my substitute
instead of me. Instead of me. Back in our text
in Mark chapter 5 verse 14 says, And they that fed the swine fled
and told it in the city and in the country. And they went out
to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus and see
him that was possessed with the devil and had the legion sitting
and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Now Luke's account says that
this man wear no clothes. That's what it says about him
specifically. He wear no clothes. He had no clothes, didn't even
have any. There were no clothes anywhere
around there. He didn't just have a robe that
he could pick up and put on. So where did he get one? Christ gave him his. Christ took His own robe off
and gave it to Him. That's what He did for you and
me. He clothed us with His own robe, the robe of His righteousness. Verse 16 says, And they that
saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with
the devil, and also concerning the swine. And you know, you'd
think they'd be praising God, giving Christ the glory. But
verse 17 says, They began to pray Him to depart out of their
coast. You know, our Lord has to make a sinner willing, doesn't
He? He has to make a sinner willing. Verse 18, and when he was come
into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed
him that he might be with him. Oh, Lord, let me just be with
you. That's what we want, isn't it?
Let me just be with you. We long to be with him. But the
Lord said, I have a commission for you first. Verse 19, how
be it Jesus suffered him not but said unto him, go home to
thy friends and tell them how great things the Lord hath done
for thee and hath had compassion on thee. You go tell them how
the Lord has had compassion on you. You go tell them how the
Lord has loved you. That's what he said. He ran and
told his family, he told his friends, oh, he loved me. He
helped me. He did for me what I could not
do for myself. Verse 20, and he departed and
began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done
for him and all men did marvel. And by God's grace, that's what
we'll do, isn't it? For the rest of our commission
here, the rest of our time on this earth, we'll just publish
to men and women how great things the Lord has done for us. Until
next Sunday morning, may the Lord bless His word to our hearts. You have been listening to a
message by Gabe Stoniker, pastor of Kingsport Sovereign Grace
Church in Kingsport, Tennessee. If you would like a copy of this
message or to hear other messages of Sovereign Grace, you can write
to our physical mailing address at 905 Yadkin Street, Kingsport,
Tennessee 37660 or log on to our website at kingsportsovereigngracechurch.com. If you would like to come and
worship with us, our service times are Sunday morning Bible
study at 10 o'clock a.m., worship at 10.45 a.m. and 6 o'clock p.m.,
Wednesday evening at 7.30 p.m. Please tune in next Sunday morning
at 8.30 for another message of God's free and sovereign grace.