Look at verse 27 the Lord picks the time and the place based upon his concerns, this poor man had no clothes.
He didn’t live in a house and he lived in tombs. He lived in a graveyard and church.
Some of us a few trips ago, we didn’t go last year, but some of us have been to this location.
It’s pretty amazing. First of all, nothing lives there.
It’s abandoned area, Garay today and there is this graveyard, church watch this, the graveyard that this man was living in still exists today.
In part what I mean by that is the actual graveyard that this man walked around and lived in is about 15 ft below the surface.
When you go there today, you’re on top of ancient old graves that are about 1000 years old.
But you can go down through cracks if you take the time and get down into the catacombs of these graves of the very strata.
The time frame of where this man lived. It’s a real place.
Not only that, it’s not only a real place but right next to it is a place with a steep cliff and it’s very unique to all of the Sea of Galilee more on that in a moment.
Why is it that this man was bound or kept in a graveyard area?
Why is it that we have little creepy, weird things about graveyards? I mean, some people do.
I have, I think they’re kind of beautiful. I take a camera.
My wife thinks I’m nuts, but I’ll take a picture of graveyards. They just looked amazing to me.
I don’t know. But I always think I’m, I’m always thinking when I’m doing a funeral, a gravesite service, it never leaves me to be thinking, Lord, please come right now.
Can you imagine the dead in Christ rising 1st? Who wouldn’t that be great?
And now we lay our bread. Wow. Wow. You know what I’m talking about?
The rapture? Anybody? You know what I’m talking about? Wouldn’t that be cool? That’d be fun anyway.
Um But there’s this thing and, and this demon had this man bound there.
The guy is naked. He’s obviously filthy and abused and a horrible state.
A horrible condition, demonized man alive but kind of half dead. So to speak. What a horrible life.
Could anything be like that today? Could a man be so tormented today?
That what do we do if we don’t believe in what the Bible has to say?
Would we put somebody away, lock them away maybe in a crazy house? How do you know they’re crazy?
They could be crazy. But what? They’re not crazy. What if we saw this guy?
Could it be that the Bible is true?
And there are still people around the world today that are demonically possessed.
The Bible says, yes, you know, it’s alarming.
I don’t want to spend too much time on this, but concerning the Lord picking the time and the place and the time and the place are his concerns.
Jesus love this guy.
If this guy walked into the sanctuary right now, I guarantee you you guys would run out the other way.
He had been demon possessed by a lot of demons for a long time.
We shall see in a moment that he cut himself with stones, he broke chains, that people wrapped them up with.
The guy was absolutely terrified. Hey, let me tell you, have you been down to sunset or Hollywood Boulevard lately?
Look, I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever want to go there.
That’s a scary place.
You see people that are walking and they’re talking to themselves and they’re like, they’re getting in an argument with a traffic light and there’s people cussing and cursing and kicking and punching a fire hydrant and their knuckles are broken.
You think? What do you think? Could it be? I’m not gonna say everything is no way.
Would I say that? But what if, what if we were to say in the name of Jesus?
Can you imagine Jesus confronts, to deliver Jesus doesn’t fight anybody.
He doesn’t have to fight, he confronts to deliver.
This is to me what I’m about to say here is more terrifying than the story.
Not all demonic manifestations and activity is foaming at the mouth with claws and hair.
Paul the apostle tells us something interesting in Second Corinthians 11 that ought to get our attention.
You’re not gonna like what I’m about to say here and you’re certainly not gonna like what Paul says.
Second Corinthians 11 13 says, for there are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
And no wonder. Wow, really? For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
Therefore, it is no great thing that his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness whose end will be according to their works.
Wow. Did you hear that? It’s one thing to see some guy freaking out and breaking chains and running through a graveyard.
But Paul the Apostle is warning us that there is also the white collar side of demonic satanic activity that is dressed up so much and so well respected and so much looked toward in the realm of religion that you can find them in pulpits.
What do you think that verse means they’re dressed like men or women of righteousness.
They look just like the real thing. Well, my goodness pastor, how are we going to tell them apart?
Well, it says right here, whose end will be according to their works? Interesting, huh?
They might preach one thing, but they’ll live the other thing. They might in front of the cameras preach Jesus.
But in private they live all together different. Are you not sick of seeing such things?
Have you not read too much of newspapers who reveal these kind of Scheers?
The Bible says that Satan has got the power to transform himself into an angel of light.
The word means that, that he can appear to convince you not you.
But if you’re not a Christian, you’re wide open to the deception of Satan.
That’s freaky weird.
Hey, the Bible tells us that we better be careful in how we treat strangers because unaware we can be hosting an angel and not know it.
They have the ability, angels do have the ability to take on human form.
So it’d be nice to the person sitting next to you. You never know.
But people are suckers for religious settings and religiosity.
And Satan loves that lead people astray.
No, God wants you to live for him and unto him.
Tertullian wrote this to the glory of God is a man fully alive.
Isn’t that a great word to the glory of God is a man who’s fully alive?
What, what would Satan offer instead?
Religion that leads you through a pattern of human laws and human rules and this is how you attain and if you’re good enough, you can be part of our club, you’ll never find that in the Bible, Jesus spoke against organized religion more than anybody.
I’m not saying, don’t take me wrong. What you are doing right here right now is ordained of God.
And it’s biblical and right. But if you left this setting today and went to your home fellowship home run group tonight, that is equally blessed by God as well, both are true.
Both are right. But when somebody fragments off and says, I am your and this is coming on the scene now around America really big right now, I’m your leader and I’ll tell you who to marry.
And those of us who have been around in the 70s, remember this stuff.
I’ll tell you who to marry and I’ll tell you what to do with your money.
And I’ll tell you when to sell your home that’s called the shepherding movement and it’s coming back.
Watch out. It’s dangerous. Look to Jesus follow him.
It is very direct what Christ is doing here in our message.
And the fact of the matter is he’s very concerned about this man and he’s concerned about us.
Secondly, when Jesus goes to work verses 28 to 33 the Lord breaks the strongholds.
I love this before we get into the, the bits and pieces of this.
Do you have any stronghold in your life that you’re struggling with? I don’t care what it might be.
Are you struggling with it? Could it be a temper smoking?
Is it overeating is it, is it temptations that are driving you whatever it is.
Listen, it’s God’s will and His desiring to bring the power of Christ into your life to set you free from anything that holds you down.
God wants you free and bound to nothing. Think about that. Remember that?
Now, here we go in verses 28 29 we read this, that Jesus Christ confronts the powers of darkness absolutely in its face.
When he, that is the man saw Jesus, he cried out.
One of the gospels said, he cried out and began to worship Jesus seems to be a conflict where he’s kind of in his right mind and then not tormented like that.
Here, it says that he cried out, fell down before him and with a loud voice, notice what he says.
The demon speaks out of this guy’s mouth.
What have I to do with you, Jesus, son of the most high God.
I beg you do not torment me. Another gospel records this, what have you to do with us, Jesus.
Thou Son of God, have you come to cast us into the pit or to put us in a place that is called the Abu?
So the destination of demons. Have you come to do this to us? Now?
Isn’t it interesting that the demons knew exactly who Jesus was?
Even though Israel is still trying to figure that out? Isn’t it interesting that they said the right terminology.
You are Jesus, the Son of God and listen in, in Greek. It is awesome. It’s what people said.
We know as Peter said, thou are the Christ, the son of the living God in our Western culture.
We think that the son is lesser than the father in our culture. I don’t want to talk to you.
I want to talk to your dad. That’s the, that’s the western view in the Middle East.
Listen, whatever the son says is exactly representation of the father and the father and the son have equal absolute powers and authority.
When the son says in Israel about the father’s business to somebody else.
If the son says, listen, this is what we’re going to do.
Nobody says I want to talk to your dad about this.
They know if the son said it, that’s it.
The son and the father speak in perfect, perfect unison.
That’s why when the demon said, we know who you are.
Jesus Son of God, they were clearly announcing you’re Jesus God’s manifestation on earth.
What you say is what it is. Please don’t send us in the pit before the time comes.
Don’t send us into hell. The ao any sooner than what we know we’re going to be in.
Isn’t that interesting? They knew their destination. I think it’s kind of cool.
You got to remember that next time you get spooked out. It’s interesting what the darkness knows, huh?
He confronts darkness. Verse 29 goes on there, it says for he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man for he had often seized him.
That is the demons seized the man who was kept under guard by them, bound with chains and shackles.
No doubt people put chains on his poor guy.
But he broke the bond, super human strength and was driven by the demons and the wilderness. Wow.
What a freaky man’s life. How horrible is this? This guy is absolutely tormented again.
One of the gospels, Mark’s gospel tells us that he cuts himself with stones and would cry out and scream from the mountains to the wilderness.
What a horrible, horrible situation. Well, the guy must have been a mess to see naked, sliced up, scarred, horrible representation of a human life.
Didn’t Jesus say in John chapter 10 that the enemy Satan has come to rob and to kill and to destroy.
I want to argue that in our world, there are things going on that may look normal to you normal on the headline news.
When you hear about stuff where a man has raped a child, I’m sure the human can be very debase, obviously.
But some stuff you begin to wonder, you know, what is this not demonically powered somewhere.
Things that we could never speak about public and things that I don’t want to even talk about private things that law enforcement officers and investigators will tell you or tell me you don’t want to hear about.
They’re not human things that people do to other people. Where does it come from?
And why is it increasing? Why is it, why are there groups?
Why are there law enforcement divisions in cities that are now appropriated to ritualistic investigations?
Did you know that? Why was it that there were some men in this church who investigated the horrible demonic rampage of the guy Richard Ramirez.
Anybody remember Richard Ramirez? The things that went on at those crime scenes we could never speak about.
They were beyond human, unbelievable stuff.
And by the way, you know, Richard Ramis never broke into a building, never broke into a house.
You know, he said in his own words, he said, I knew what house to walk into because Satan’s face would appear to me and tell me that house right?
There is unlocked. Third went over right there. You say, I don’t believe it.
I don’t care if you believe it or not. He believed it.
And he said, Satan told him to go to that house and he walked into the home, unlocked and murdered those people and did what he did.
What is going on? Jesus has the power over that.
Even if this world according to the Book of Revelation, things like this escalate more.
The Bible says Jesus is still greater interesting.
I personally believe that if there’s anything that degrades the human life, human, a human being now you’re gonna get mad at me.
Listen to this. The Bible says, you’ve been creating the image of God.
The Bible says that if you’re a Christian, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
God honors his own hand handy work, you are valuable. But what do we see the world doing right now?
We see this big, big craze about this street fighting stuff to the point where people die. Do you think?
You think that’s what God wants? Oh, you know what?
I beat him to the point where he, oh, do you think God wants that?
And, and here you go. I’m sorry about this.
But there’s a real popular show that used to be on. I don’t know if it’s on anymore.
God would not let me watch it. He would just, I could not watch it.
I’d get up and leave when someone would sit down and eat things to get 50,000 bucks that not even an animal would eat.
An animal knows not to eat it, but a human would eat it.
I believe that you are degrading and devaluing the human being when you do that. That’s insane.
Oh, man, it’s cool, man. It’s cool. Everybody’s doing. How do I get on the program?
You know, you’re not, you’re not in your right mind, man. That’s insane.
When a child is aborted and murdered in the womb, you think God is honored in that?
You think God, you think God is for that.
Whenever a human being is devalued and degraded, you know what the same person that approves that would, would, if they’re going to be intellectually honest, they would have to approve rape.
You can’t say this one’s wrong and this one’s right. You have no value of human life.
Oh, it’s ok to rape, but it’s not ok to do this.
You know what, anything that devalues the status of a human life is wrong and it’s an affront to God.
It’s an assault on God’s work.
This man had been terrorized by demonic activity and people didn’t want to deal with him.
They’re afraid of him and I understand that part.
But Jesus, my friend, listen, let this be a wonderful lesson to you. Jesus will not sit silent on this.
He will rescue you and he’ll rescue this man.
And then also this verse 30-31, Jesus Christ contains the powers of evil and Jesus asked him, what is your name?
I love that. What’s your name? And he said legion, obviously, there’s a spokesman for a legion of demonic powers.
Legion is a Roman legion with 6000 men.
Now, I don’t think there’s personally, I don’t know if there’s 6000 demons living in this guy, but one of the gospels tells us that when Jesus cast these demons out, they went into 2000 pigs and ran down the cliff.
I don’t even know if there were 2000 demons in the man that went into the pigs.
But we know this from the Greek wording. There’s a lot, this guy is radically radically possessed.
And Jesus says, what’s your name? The answer is we’re a legion because we’re many.
Do you think the disciples heard that? They heard that?
And all of this is for their learning and they begged him verse 30 and 31, they begged Jesus that they would be uh not sent into the abyss that he would not commend them or send them to such a place.
Look at verses 32-33, Jesus Christ controls the power of hell.
Now a herd of swine pigs were feeding there on the mountain on the slope and they begged him that he would permit them to enter into them and he permitted them.
Then the demons went out of the man and entered into the swine.
Now watched this fine print and the pigs or the herd ran violently down the steep place into the lake and they drowned.
Interestingly enough, the pigs, they couldn’t, this poor man had been possessed and here the pigs get hit with these demons in a second and they go, they go freaking out and I know this is gonna, this is gonna sound funny but it’s the way that it’s worded and, and it’s not funny, but the word is very graphic in the Greek that when they ran down the cliff into the sea.
The word means that they ran off in droves or pig after pig, after pig, they ran, you know, like a waterfall of pig.
Isn’t this weird? Can you imagine? Can you imagine being Peter or James or Andrew?
And you guys are there just like what’s going on? Yikes? Look at that guy. Oh my gosh.
Whoa, listen to that. Gee, what’s Jesus doing? What the, there’s pigs? Oh my gosh. Whoa Peter.
Look, look at that pig after pig, after pig.
How’d you like to be with him at dinner that night? Andrew?
Did you see that one pig? He went off and he kind of did like a little flip over.
That was radical. You ever seen that like that in my life?
Two pigs went at the same time it looked like they were holding hooves and when they went, what a conversation that must have been pig after pig, the Greek word means one after another 2000 of them into the water.
It’s a very kind of weird thing going on here.
Jesus allows them to go into the pigs, which is the request, but I don’t think the demons counted on the pigs going into the water.
Isn’t it interesting that Matthew’s Gospel chapter 12 verse 43 says Jesus spoke it and said that when a demon leaves a man, when a demon comes out of a man who’s possessed, the demon will go through areas where there’s no water, waterless regions looking for another human to possess.
And if he doesn’t find one, he goes back to the man from where he came out of, what does the Bible say?
They would leave and go through areas of waterless places. Matthew 12 43. Isn’t that weird?
It’s almost like Jesus is rubbing it in. Oh, yeah.
Yeah, you can go to the pigs but the pigs go in the water apparently for whatever reasons.
Demons don’t like water but off the pigs go possessed now deviled ham over the side, right over the end.
Third thing this morning is this verses 34 to 37.
When Jesus goes to work, the Lord sets us free.
The Lord sets us free in verses 34 to 37 we know that when we look at verses 34 to 35 the Lord sets us free by bringing to us his peace.
Look what happened to this wonderful now, redeemed blessed healed man.
Then those who fed them that is the pigs saw what had happened, had to be a wild sight and they fled and told it to the city and the country.
Then they who went to see what had happened, came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons are departed, sitting at Jesus’s feet.
That’s awesome. That’s where you and I want to be.
Don’t you think that they would have said? Oh my goodness.
Look, the guy that’s terrorized the tomb in the graveyard. He’s in. Look, he’s sitting at jesus’ feet. Awesome.
Awesome Jesus. Wow. Well, they don’t do that, but this man has got the peace of God.
And I love that pastor and bible teacher Jack Hibbs here on real life radio with his message called when Jesus goes to work, thanks for taking the time to be with us today.
You know, our message called when Jesus goes to work is part of Pastor Jack’s series called The Gospel of Luke.
It’s a series on the book of Luke and the unveiling of Jesus Christ to this world.
And we’ll continue on the next edition of Real Life Radio.
You know, it’s good to have immediate access to what’s important and meaningful to our lives.
There’s an urgency in the air to keep spreading the gospel and to stay true to sound doctrine.
So here’s a reminder that you can have instant access to all that Pastor Jack has to offer.
When you download the Real Life with Jack Hibbs mobile app to your smartphone or tablet.
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