All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn with me to the book of Mark, Mark chapter 5, Mark
chapter 5. Today I'd like for us to consider
an event that actually took place. While our Lord was upon this
earth, PLEASED TO CALL OUT OF DARKNESS A MAN THAT WAS FOUND
TO BE IN A PLACE OF DEMONIC ACTIVITY, A MAN OF GADARA, THE SCRIPTURE
SAYS. AND I'M GOING TO JUST you the
end of what happened to this event. And then after I tell
you the end of it, and we're going to go back and just look
for just a few minutes and just see how the things worked out
to bring us to the point to where the Lord made a statement. There
was a rebel was like all of God's sheep. This is a picture. Now,
if you want to know what we're all like while we're looking
at this passage of Scripture, Mark chapter 5, verses 120 is
where I'm going to be. And this man, he was possessed
of demons. Now, this is a picture of all
God's sheep by nature. God's sheep found to be plucked
out of the dregs of spiritual darkness and unbelief. He was a man that was marvelously
delivered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, after the Lord saved this
man, regenerated him by power and grace, this former demoniac,
WANTED TO GO WITH THE LORD. LOOK AT VERSE 19 AND 20. WELL, VERSE 18, WHEN HE, THE
LORD JESUS, WAS COMING TO THE SHIP, HE THAT HAD BEEN POSSESSED
WITH THE DEVIL PRAYED HIM, ASKED HIM THAT HE MIGHT BE WITH HIM. HE WANTED TO GO WITH THE LORD.
THE LORD HAD DELIVERED HIM OUT OF THIS SPIRITUAL DARKNESS AND
UNBELIEF, AND HE WANTED TO GO WITH HIM. HOW BE IT, suffered
or allowed 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, that is the
demoniac, the former demoniac, and began to publish in Decapolis
how great things Jesus had done for him, and men did marvel."
Now, as we look at this passage of Scripture, I want to just
say this before I start. I don't know at what point. Now, the Lord told him when He
said, I want to go with you, and the Lord said, no, no, that's
not my will for you. What I want you to do, I want
you to go back where you come from. YOU GO BACK TO THOSE PEOPLE
THAT KNOW YOU, BEEN DREADING YOU, DIDN'T WANT TO BE AROUND
YOU, I WANT YOU TO GO BACK AND I WANT YOU TO TELL THEM WHAT
GREAT THINGS, HOW GREAT THINGS THE LORD DID FOR YOU. NOW, I
DON'T KNOW AT WHAT POINT DURING THIS WHOLE SCENARIO, I DON'T
KNOW AT WHAT POINT HE LEARNED WHAT, BUT I WANT YOU PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE, THERE'S
A FEW THINGS THAT I THINK I SAW. AND WHATEVER THE LORD WAS PLEASED
TO TEACH HIM, THAT'S WHAT THIS MAN WAS GOING TO GO BACK AND
TELL HIM. BUT I WANT TO BRING OUT WHAT I BELIEVE THE LORD TAUGHT
HIM AND TEACHES US. EVERYTHING THAT THE LORD TAUGHT
THIS MAN, GOD TEACHES US. SO IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT GREAT
THINGS THE LORD TAUGHT Lord taught him, let's just look for a few
minutes and see. And I'll tell you this, I know
he had to learn something because if he told him, he said, you
go back and tell them how great things the Lord done for you. Well, then the Lord had to teach
him something. He had to have taught him that
thing. What is he going to tell? not been taught. Like Tom you
said, how can a man come back from a place he's never been
to? He just can't do it. So he's going to have to learn
some things. So let's just look for just a few minutes and see
what the Lord has been pleased. teach this demoniac. It says in verse 1 and 2, And
they, that is the Lord and those that were with Him, came over
unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when He was come out of the
ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an
unclean spirit. Now, the thing that I see here,
and this is what every believer is taught, they, the Lord Himself, came
over unto the other side of the sea." Now, here's what we're
taught right here, the Lord must come where we are. This is a faithful saying, I
Timothy 115, and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus
came into the world. what? To make salvation possible? No. Came into the world to save
sinners of whom the Apostle Paul said, I am chief. Now, here's a great thing. You
go back and tell them how great things the Lord did for you.
Now, let me tell you believer, the foundational truth of right
here is that God Almighty was pleased and into this world to
save His people from their sins. That is a great thing. God was made flesh. Now, here was an eternally ordained
meeting. You know that. The Lord worketh
all things to the counsel of His own will. And the Scripture
sets forth that there was a particular man. It says, they came over,
verse 1, to the other side, in verse 2, and when He was come
out of the ship, immediately there met Him. There met the Lord out of the
tombs a man of an unclean spirit. This man was was one that Almighty
God, Jeremiah 31, 3, I've loved you with an everlasting love. Now, you think about this. Now, we're going to read a few
things here for just a moment. And we're going to see this is
the way this man is. He's filled with a legion of
demons. WAS ONE ACCORDING TO THE END
OF THIS PASSAGE. YOU KNOW THIS PASSAGE SO WELL.
YOU KNOW WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. BUT THINK ABOUT THIS. THINK ABOUT
WHILE WE LOOK AT THIS THING. HERE WAS ONE THAT THE LORD GOD
OF HEAVEN PURPOSED. I'M NOT GOING TO LEAVE YOU TO
YOURSELF AND YOUR SINS. NOW JUST THINK FOR A MOMENT ABOUT
YOURSELF. I WOULD BE EMBARRASSED TO NO
END IF If you knew some of the things that I've done and said
or thought, If you only knew, I thought, I'll just sit down,
Tom, I'll just never show up again, because it's just too
painful for people. But is there anybody that knows
the Lord this morning, or this evening, that wouldn't say the
same thing? We're all dug out of the same pit. I mean, you
know that. There's no good in it. God looked
down to see if there were any. non-righteous, not one. But this man was one that was
eternally betrothed unto the Lord, that God betrothed unto
Himself. This demoniac, this dreg of the
society of Gadara, and this one that nobody wanted to deal with,
yeah. mercy to one like me, He'd show
mercy to one like this guy, too. There's no difference in them.
Here was a man held captive by Satan, a man with an unclean
spirit. This is a type and a picture
of every one born in Adam. You mean even God's elect? Yes,
even God's elect. The Lord of Heaven has a people. And here's one of them, and he
said concerning his people, other sheep, he told one of the Jews,
other sheep I have, they're not of this fold, them also I must
bring. Where was this guy from? I don't
know, but it wasn't on a good place, I can tell you that. It
was a nasty place. And that's what he did. He came
to find his people, them also I must bring. Why? Because they're mine. They're
mine. My Father gave them to me. I've
stood as surety for them. I'm going to lay down His life
for them, shed His blood for them. Them I must bring, and
they shall hear my voice. And there shall be one fold,
one shepherd. LORD FIND THIS MAN? WHERE DOES
HE FIND ANY OF US? NOW, HERE'S, NOW ONLY A BELIEVER
WILL ADMIT THIS. LOOK AT VERSES 3 AND 4, WHO 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,
fetters broken in pieces, neither could any man tame him. Now,
here he is. Who is the one that the Lord
has come for? Well, he's dwelling among the
tombs of spiritual darkness. That's where we are now before
the Lord calls us out of darkness. I mean that's where we are. Just
dwelling among the tombs of death and evil, lost, and possessing
the same mind and attitude as this demoniac, and happy to be
there. Just thrilled to death before
the Lord was pleased to call any of us out of darkness. How
many of us hated the fact that we were in spiritual darkness.
How many hated the fact, I'm lost and I hate it? How many
of them hated it? None. Let me show you John 3,
19, this is the condemnation that light is coming to the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. I'll be honest with you. Before
the Lord was pleased to call me out of darkness, I loved where
I was. I loved it. Didn't even believe
I was in it. There in false religion, happy
as I could be, I'd done so much for the Lord. And I was just
thrilled to death. He was one himself. He would, they'd try to bind
him. They'd put those fetters and chains on him. He'd just
break those chains. You know what this man believed.
He believed that he was strong and I'm free. Nobody can COULD
PUT ANY CHAINS OR BIND ME OR ANYTHING, I'VE GOT A FREE WILL
AND INCAPABLE. I AM NOT IN BONDAGE." NOW, I
DON'T KNOW IF HE TAUGHT THAT DEMONIAC THAT, BUT I BELIEVE
HE DID. YOU GO BACK AND TELL THEM HOW GREAT THINGS THE LORD
DID FOR YOU. YOU THINK ABOUT THE MERCY OF
GOD, THAT GOD WOULD TEACH US THAT WE'RE BOUND IN TRESPASSES
AND SIN. THIS MAN, THEY WOULD BIND HIM
UP, AND ALL THE WHILE WHAT HE DID, said, I have a free will. I am not. Isn't that what the
Pharisees? We're not in bondage. We're not
in bondage. We're Abraham's children. We're
in bondage. All they did, all he did, and
all any of us did was exhibit the natural man's desire to have
nothing to do with God of all grace." Now listen to Psalm 2,
2 and 3, "'The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers
take counsel together against the Lord, against His anointed,
saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their
cards from us.'" I'll not have this man to rule over me. Let's
be our own God. Let's just get, let's rid ourselves
of all the restraints and let's rebel against God's authority
over us." Somebody said, no, I never said that. Our very hearts
was exactly saying that. We've got a free will and we
have a right to exercise it. That's what we do. LIVING AMONG
THE TOMBS, DEATH AND DARKNESS, CAVES. LOOK AT VERSE 5, AND ALWAYS,
NIGHT AND DAY, HE WAS IN THE MOUNTAINS, IN THE TOMBS, CRYING,
AND CUTTING HIMSELF WITH STONES. THAT'S THE NATURAL MAN. THERE'S
JUST A GLIMPSE, A GLIMPSE REALITY OF HELL WILL ACTUALLY BE. HERE, NIGHT AND DAY IN THE DARKNESS
OF UNBELIEF, NO FREEDOM, NO COMFORT, NO JOY, CRYING NOT UNTO GOD,
BUT CRYING BECAUSE OF OUR MISERY. THAT'S WHAT HE WAS DOING, CUTTING
HIMSELF, DESIRING SELF-DESTRUCTION. NOW, THAT'S MAN darkness of unbelief."
That's man. Somebody says, I would never
say this. Listen, the very actions of unbelief. The very actions of an unregenerate. This is what an unregenerate
is saying, I want to die. I want to meet God without a
substitute. That's what I want. That's what
I want. You say, I just can't believe it. You know why we don't
believe that? When we're dead and trespassers
and sinners, it's because we have a heart that lies to us. It's deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked. Who
can know that? Can you imagine a heart that
would, a heart, my own heart, my own nature, that would lie
to me and actually tell me, you're okay. dying in unbelief and sin. I'm telling you it was because
of the uncleanness of this man, the deadness of this man, he
was just on a road to nothing more than destruction. Think
of the grace of God. Think of what God, how great
things the Lord would teach a sinner. Like right here, deliver him. From going down to the pit, I
have found a ransom." Oh, I think, oh, isn't it wonderful you think
about when the Lord would tell him in just a little while. You
go back and tell him how great things the Lord did for you.
Imagine being able to tell somebody with a heart now broken, realizing,
I was just I was hopelessly lost. I was just, I was blinded. I
was blind. I was deaf. I couldn't hear.
I knew nothing. My whole heart dead, dead. As I've told people, I said,
I remember growing up, Tom, false religion. And I'm telling you,
you know, we'd sing this song about throw out the lifeline.
You ever heard that song? Throw out the lifeline. out. Some sinners, you know, out there
floundering out in the, you know, treading water. Dude, throw them
a lifeline. Pull them in. I said, whoa, whoa, whoa. You
know what Scripture says? There's corpses floating down
the river. That's what's happening. There
ain't nobody out there treading water. They're dead. They're
dead. And unless Almighty God is pleased
like this one and this one right here to come and save one dead
in trespasses and sin, you deliver him from going down. I found
a ransom. Oh, I go back now. right here. He said, you go back
and tell them. He said, the Lord, the Lord delivered me. This is
where I was. Call me whenever the Lord in
Luke 4, 17, 19 going to the synagogue, and there was delivered unto
him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book
he found the place where it was written, the Spirit of the Lord
is upon me because he hath anointed me. the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, and set at liberty them that are bruised, and preach
the acceptable year of the Lord." And you know what? Man has never
changed. We're the same way right here.
You tell them how great things the Lord has done for you. I'll
tell you what He did. He healed his broken heart right
here. He delivered this captive right
here. He recovered the sight to this
blind man. He set me at liberty in Himself. I was bruised, and Jesus healed
me. So, here's the Lord, and He's
found this man. This is where He was. This is
where He found him. That's what the man was doing.
Look at verse 6, and when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and
worshiped Him. Now, this man, filled with demons. He runs to the Lord, and the
Scripture says this man, he worships the Lord, renders homage, acknowledging
His power and His control over him. How do I know this? Because
of who speaks. Listen who's talking. Here is
a demon, or demons, THE VOICE OF THIS MAN TO SAY SOMETHING. LOOK AT VERSE 7, HE CRIED WITH
A LOUD VOICE AND SAID, WHAT HAVE I TO DO WITH THEE, JESUS, THOU
SON OF THE MOST HIGH? I ASSURE THEE BY GOD THAT THOU
TORMENT ME NOT. NOW HERE IS THE DEMONS. WITHIN THIS MAN, SPEAKING, WHAT
HAVE I IN COMMON WITH YOU? ARE YOU COMING TO TORMENT ME
BEFORE THE TIME? TORMENT ME NOT. THAT DEMON KNEW WHO HE WAS DEALING
WITH. MARK 1, 23-24, THERE WAS IN THEIR
SYNAGOGUE A MAN unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying, Let
us alone. What have we to do with thee,
thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God." Let me tell
you, these demons, they knew who they were dealing with. They
knew. Man by nature doesn't. That's
how blind we really are. They knew who were under the
judgment of God. They knew that. And how the Lord
was pleased to teach this man, I don't know, but I can tell
you this, that's a great truth that we're taught. God is just. Man by nature thinks that the
Lord would just sweep this under the table. And it's just going
to be okay. All I've got to do is just walk
down an aisle. All I've got to do is just fall
down at an altar. All I've got to do is just pray
through. God is just. We consider the cost of our redemption. It cost the blood of God. That's what Acts 20, 28 says,
that God hath redeemed with his own blood. That scripture has
always amazed me. THE BLOOD OF GOD. HE WAS, HE'S JUST. I KNOW THIS,
THERE'S NO CONTEST BETWEEN THE MASTER AND THIS DEVIL AND HIS
ANGELS. GOD RULES. AND THIS DEMON KNEW
THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE JUDGED OF THE LORD. HAVE YOU COME TO
TORMENT ME BEFORE HIS TIME? HAVE YOU COME TO TORMENT ME It
is not until the Lord teaches us something of God's justice
that we behold the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ to be
that which is precious. EITHER HE WAS GOING TO PAY MY
DEBT OR I'M GOING TO FACE GOD LIKE THIS DEMON RIGHT HERE. YOU
TELL THEM WHAT GREAT THINGS. HE WAS, THIS DEMONIAC WAS A VESSEL
OF GOD'S MERCY. YOU KNOW THAT. THE MAN HIMSELF,
THE ONE THAT THE LORD LOVED AND KNEW AND HE WAS GOING TO TEACH
HIM SOMETHING. AND RIGHT HERE THAT MAN LEARNED
SOMETHING THAT WE BY NATURE DON'T KNOW. ALMIGHTY GOD IS GOING TO
DEAL WITH SIN. HE'S GOING TO DEAL WITH IT. HE'S
GOING TO DEAL WITH IT IN US OR IN A SUBSTITUTE. BUT I'LL TELL
YOU SOMETHING ELSE THAT THIS MAN WAS TAUGHT, I BELIEVE. I
WANT TO SAY THAT I WAS was taught something here, and I believe
he was too. It never says what the man was
taught. He said, you go back and tell them how great things
the Lord's done for you. But let me tell you what I saw,
and this was extremely eye-opening to me or confirmed in my heart
again. Here's the thing, all outward
supposed worship without a new heart is without a heart of God
Almighty and regenerating grace, giving a man a new heart, a new
mind, removing that heart of stone, all supposed worship. It says right here, you know,
it says in verse 6, when he saw Jesus afar, he ran and he worshiped
Him. Can you imagine just those on
the outside around looking? What they see is the man himself,
they see the demoniac. They don't see the demons, they
see that man. And he bows down, he worships,
he gives homage. It's the demon himself in him
that knows who he's talking to. And the demon is actually the
one talking to the Lord. You know that from the conversation.
But can you imagine just looking on the outside how it appeared
as though, well there's a man's worshiping, he's worshiping. All supposed worship without
a heart of regeneration is nothing more than the worship of demons. Devils know that God's sovereign.
Man by nature don't. They know. I've said before,
you know there's not a person in hell that's not now a believer. Not of grace, but they do know. They know. They know God's sovereign. They know God's just now. They
know God chooses now. They know this man knew who he
was. In all supposed outward forms
of worship there are congregations all over this world claiming
to be worshiping God. But if the Lord they worship
is not the Lord set forth in God's report of the Lord Jesus
Christ, then their worship is nothing more than demon worship. Now, if you hold your place,
turn over to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53. I'm going to set forth what God has to
say concerning the Lord of glory, the Lord we worship. I'm going
to read verses 1-5 and then I'm going to read verse 10-12. And I'm going to read what the
Scripture says. I'm going to read exactly what
it says. And I'm going to show you the
difference, Lord willing, in the difference in seeing this
in light of God's report and someone looking at it through
the eyes of a natural man. Let's see what God has to say.
Isaiah 53, 1-5, Who hath believed our report? Who hath believed
our doctrine? believe the Gospel we preach?
And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he, that is
the Lord, shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as
a root out of dry ground, he hath no form nor comeliness.
When we shall see him, there's no beauty that he should desire
him. He is despised and rejected to
men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. We hid, and we hid
as it were our faces from him. He was despised, we esteemed
him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs,
carried our sorrows, We did esteem him stricken, smitten of God,
and afflicted. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed." Now look at verses
10 to 12, "'Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put
him to grief. shall make his soul an offering
for sin. He shall see his seed as you
prolong his days. The pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see the travail of his
soul. He shall be satisfied by his knowledge. Shall my righteous
servant justify many? For he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great. He shall divide
the spoiled with the strong. Because he He hath poured out
His soul unto death. He was numbered with the transgressors. He bared the sins of many, and
made intercession for the transgressors." Now, let me ask you something.
How many times did you notice in there He was wounded for our
transgression? He was bruised for our iniquities,
the chastisement of our peace, our peace. Now, there's two ways
that you can look at that. is convinced who he died for.
An unbeliever is going to say, well, the Scripture says right
here, he has borne our griefs, he bore all men's griefs. He
carried our sorrows. He bore all the sorrows. He was
wounded for our transgressions. He was wounded for all men. There's only one or two ways
you can look at that Scripture. Either he died for his elect,
or he He died for everybody's sin. Somebody can look that and
they can be worshiping all over this world and say, well the
way I see it, the way I understand it He died for everybody and
made salvation. But I'm going to tell you the
difference between worshiping the Lord of God's report and
the worship of demons. John 10, 15, the Lord qualified
Isaiah 53, and here's what He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. And He qualified it. Now, all
supposed worship, anybody can say, I'm worshiping the God,
but I believe He bore my transgression. He was bruised from my iniquities. Lord has not revealed to you
that Christ died for His people." You know the difference in those
two beliefs? One of them makes salvation to be of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Lord, that's what Jonah said, and one of them
makes it of man. The question is this, Tom, who
gets the glory? That's the bottom line. That's the difference between
the worship of the God of this Bible and the worship of demons. One of them is going to give
all the glory, and all the honor, and all the praise to the Lord
of glory for His mercy, His compassion, and one of them is going to give
it to man. Now, the Scripture sets forth back in Mark 5 the
reason why this demon came to the Lord HIM, YOU KNOW, YOU COME
TO TORMENT ME, LOOK AT THIS, FOR, OR BECAUSE, VERSE 8, HE
SAID UNTO HIM, COME OUT OF THE MAN, THOU UNCLEAN SPIRIT. AND THEN THE LORD ASKED HIM,
IN VERSE 9, HE SAID, WHAT IS YOUR NAME? WHAT IS YOUR NAME? AND HE ANSWERED,
MY NAME IS LEGION, we are many." Now, I can assure you that the
question that the Lord asked the demon, that's who he was
talking to, talking to you, I'm talking to you demon, what's
your name? I guarantee you the Lord was not looking for information
that he didn't have. He knew. He knew. But for those
that were around, demon was going to have to announce openly before
all that stood there, they were going to know, they were going
to have to reveal themselves that those that stood by would
behold the marvelous deliverance that the Lord was about to give
this demoniac. What is your name? He said, My
name is Legion. WE ARE MANY." NOW, I CAN TELL
YOU FOR A FACT THAT THE DEMONS OF THIS TIME RIGHT HERE, AND
I'VE HAD PEOPLE ASK ME THIS, THEY SAID, YOU BELIEVE THERE
ARE STILL DEMONS TODAY? WELL, LET ME JUST READ A VERSE
OF SCRIPTURE FOR YOU AND THEN I'LL JUST, I'LL LEAVE IT TO YOU.
EPHESIANS 6-12, WE WRESTLE NOT AGAINST FLESH
AND BLOOD, BUT AGAINST PRINCIPALITIES, AGAINST POWERS, AGAINST THE RULERS
OF THE DARKNESS OF THIS WORLD, AGAINST SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS
IN HIGH PLACES. ARE THE STRUGGLES OF THE BELIEVER
STILL THE STRUGGLES OF THE BELIEVER? YEAH, ACCORDING TO EPHESIANS
Do we need deliverance as much now as they did then? Yeah, yeah
we do. But I can tell you something,
let me give you a word of comfort. I'm going to just make a note
of this if you want to. Go back and read 2 Kings chapter
6, just read that chapter. It was a story about a prophet
named Elisha. Elisha was out in the mountain
and the king of Syria was going to send an army to go get him. And the servant of Elisha, I'll
just kind of give you the highlights of II Kings 6, go back it's beautiful
passage of Scripture, went out and the servant went out and
got to looking one night and there was surrounding him was
the whole Syrian army. And he comes to his master and
he says, master, they've got us surrounded. We're really in
trouble. And Elisha prayed and asked the
Lord, said, Lord, would you open his eyes? And he opened the eyes,
the Lord opened the eyes of the servant and he saw what was actually
there. He just couldn't see it. Surrounding
the Syrian army, was chariots, fire, the ministering spirits
of God sent to those who shall be heirs of salvation. And you
know what Elisha told his servant? I love this. He says, fear them
not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with
them. You know, we're kept. UNTIL THE LORD IS PLEASED TO
CALL US TO HIMSELF. I'VE HEARD SOME PEOPLE SAY, I
BELIEVE THIS IS TRUE, WE'RE INVINCIBLE. WHO'S GOING TO TAKE THE LIFE
OF ONE THAT ALMIGHTY GOD KEEPS? WHO'S GOING TO SNATCH AWAY UNTIL
THE LORD SAYS, IT'S TIME? THERE'S A TIME TO BE BORN, THERE'S
A TIME TO DIE. And so here we are back in Mark
5, what's your name? My name is Legion, we're many. And then the scripture declares
that the Lord was going to teach this demoniac something that
I think is one of the most beautiful, glorious things that a man or
woman, a vessel of God's mercy would ever learn. He's going
to learn this great thing of substitution. Look at verses
10 to 13. and he, that is the demon, besought
him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
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, and the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the
swine, and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea. And there were about two thousand,
CHOKED IN THE SEA. NOW, LET ME TELL YOU WHAT GREAT
THING THAT I BELIEVE THAT DEMONIAC SAW, OR FORMER NOW, BEEN DELIVERED
NOW, AND WHAT WE LEARNED. THAT DEMONIAC WAS A PICTURE OF
GOD'S ELECT. HIS PROBLEM WAS THE DEMONS, A
PICTURE OF SIN. THAT'S OUR PROBLEM. And the Lord,
when those demons besought Him, you think that that was just
something that all of a sudden they came up with an idea, and
then the Lord heard their idea? Why don't you just send us over
there into those swine? You think that was the first
time that the Lord was made aware of what they were going to ask?
All power unto Him that He should give eternal life to as many
as the Father has given Him. The Lord of glory was the one
that dictated to them what to ask. Would you send us into the
swine? You know what that demoniac saw?
What great thing he was taught? That Almighty God for me to have
any hope is going to have to be a transfer of my sin to another. When he sent those demons out
of that demoniac, there's a glorious picture of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what you read just a few
minutes ago, Eric. For he has made him to be sin
for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. And those swine, the Scripture
says, and the Lord, after they besought Him, verse 13, and forthwith
Jesus gave them leave. The Lord said, it's okay for
you now. Now it's okay for you. You will
now go from here, and you will now go over there. And you get
no swine. As the swine received those demons,
there's the beautiful picture of the Lord who laid down His
life, made sin. which He bore, the Scripture
says in Psalm 40, you read out of this chapter a while ago,
Psalm 40, verse 12, for innumerable evils has passed me about, mine
iniquities taken hold upon me, so I'm not able to look up. There more than the hairs of
mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. telling you what
great, you go back and tell them what great things. Let me tell
you what a believer, what great things the Lord has done for
a believer. He took that which was mine by nature, mine by choice,
mine by imputation from Adam, but oh, this is what I wanted
to do. And He took, and blessed is the
man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. imputed it to him,
gave it to him. And when those demons went out,
there was the Lord Jesus Christ bearing the guilt. And let me
ask you this, what did it cost, those swine? Well, there were about 2,000,
the scripture says, they went down a steep place and were choked
in the sea. What did it cost them? It cost
them their life. They died. bearing that. Why didn't, why didn't the demoniac,
why didn't, why didn't they, why weren't the Hebrews cutting
themselves with rocks and, you know, just crying out, trying
to mutilate himself, kill him? Why had they not killed him? Because the Lord is long-suffering
to us. We're not willing that any should
perish. Oh, what great things the Lord
has done for us. Go back and tell them. I think
back when I was in college. I'm telling you, I think, but
for the grace of God, if Almighty God would have left me, how about
you, Tom? Same thing. If the Lord would have left me
to myself to die in unbelief, why did I not? said, you're mine. And you're not going to perish.
I'm going to have you. My will is that you be with me
where I am that you might behold my glory. And then we learn as we begin
to wrap this up, I'll tell you another thing that we learned.
This man was taught now, I know we are too, man by nature is
has no savor, no love, no pleasure to be with Christ. I know that
for a fact. Look at verses 14, 17. They that
fed the swine fled and tolled it in the country, and they went
out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus
and they see Him that was possessed with the devil, that had the
legion, sitting 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. And they began to pray him to
depart out of their coast." Now this is an amazing thing. In Matthew's account in verse
834 it said, the whole city out to meet Jesus. And when they
saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart out of their
coast. Now, here's what they see. They
had seen this former maniac, madman, just like all of us,
and here he was seated. He was sitting. Come unto me,
all ye that labor. HEAVY LADEN, I WILL GIVE YOU
REST. HE WAS, HE WAS AT PEACE. HE WAS, HE WAS THERE WITH THE
LORD. AND THE SCRIPTURE SAYS THAT HE
WAS, HE WAS CLOTHED. NOW, WHAT BELIEVER, AS SOON AS
YOU READ THAT, HE WAS CLOTHED. NOW, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF? SAME
THING I THINK OF. IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS. HE'S ENCLOSING
ME WITH HIS OBEDIENCE AND HIS HOLINESS. I STAND IN HIM COMPLETE. AND THE SCRIPTURE SAYS HE WAS
IN HIS RIGHT MIND. WHERE DOES A MAN GET A RIGHT
MIND? LORD, I'VE BEEN TO HIS OWN IN THE TIME OF LOVE, AND
HE SAID, I'M GOING TO REMOVE A HEART OF STONE. I'M GOING TO
GIVE YOU A NEW HEART, A NEW MIND. THEY'RE GOING TO THINK ALRIGHT. FOR GOD, SECOND TIMOTHY 1-7,
HATH NOT GIVEN US A SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF POWER, AND LOVE,
AND A SOUND MIND. A MIND MADE sober, serious concerning
the truth as it is in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the Scripture
says, they were afraid. You know that marvel, I marveled
at that, they were afraid. And I looked up this Scripture
Acts 24, 24 and 25. There's a man named and he called for Paul the apostle. He said, I want you to come talk
to me a little bit. I want to hear about what you've
got to say. Acts 24, 24, 25, After certain days, when Felix
came with his wife, Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for
Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he
reasoned of righteousness, as he began to reason with the demands
of God's law, and God's justice, as he reasoned concerning righteousness. What does God demand for righteousness? and then Felix began to listen
to that. He reasoned of righteousness
and temperance, the evidence of a heart made new that resists
and hates, hates rebellion against God. And he reasoned of righteousness
and temperance and judgment to come that God was just, He was
going to deal with sin and deal with rebellion, and He will in
no wise clear the guilty. Felix trembled and answered,
"'Go thy way for this time. When I have a convenient season,
I'll call for you.'" That's what these men were doing. They began
to see the effects of God's mercy, and grace, and compassion, and
the power of Almighty God in the Scripture sets forth, and
they were afraid BEGAN TO PRAY HIM, DEPART OUT
OF THE COAST UNTIL A MAN OR WOMAN IS CALLED OUT OF DARKNESS. LET
ME TELL YOU, THEY DON'T WANT TO HEAR THE TRUTH OF WHO GOD
IS. THEY DON'T, THEY WANT TO, YOU
KNOW, MAN BY NATURE HE'LL GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO EXPRESS SOME
KIND OF RESPECT FOR THE LORD, BUT SECRETLY, THE DESIRE OF HIS
HEART, I don't want to have anything to do with you. Conviction is
an amazing, amazing thing. It takes regeneration for a man
to bow to God, but whenever somebody hears the truth, when a man hears,
a woman hears who God is. When God teaches a man who he
is, this is the God with whom we're all going to deal. Man
gets up and he's truthful with them. They don't want to hear
that. They want to hear, tell me about a little peon that I
can handle. You tell me about a little G-God
that wants me to do something for him. But don't tell me about
God. He was afraid. And then the scripture
says, in verse 18, this is where we started. And when he was coming
to the ship, they told him, I said, they told him, said, we want
you to leave. But for the grace of God, like
I said, that's what everybody wants. And if the Lord is pleased
to leave a man, leave a woman to themselves and give them justly
what they deserve. Lord, don't leave me. Lord, don't
leave me. Lord, if you leave me, I'm sunk."
He's going to leave, and all, as far as we know, out of all
of Gadara, the land of the Gadarenes, he called one demoniac, the lowest
of the low, the dregs of the dregs. He called that one man
out. And when he was come, verse 18,
to the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed
to him, can I go with you? I want to be where you are. Lord,
you've done everything for me. Lord, you take me out of here. You just take me as far away
from this place. How be it? Jesus suffered him
not, but saith unto him, you go home. Can you imagine the humiliation
that a man would have? Look, Tom, you know something
about going home and trying to go back and talk to your folks.
You go home to your friends and you tell them how great things
the Lord has done for thee. Boy, I bet you he had some sermon
matter, didn't he? Boy, let me tell you what the
Lord has done for me and hath had compassion on thee. And he
departed, began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus
had done for him, and all men did marvel. It is a marvelous
act. You talk about a miracle. People
say, do you think God still performs miracles today? I believe I'm
looking at some of them. I believe God's performed a miracle. He's taken dead men and women,
And he gave life to them. And he taught them some great
things. And I tell you what they want
to talk about. They want to talk about the Lord that's done great
things for them. I pray God bless this to our
hearts for Christ's sake. Amen.