Greg Laurie - Chaos, Culture, and Christ (11/29/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie preaches from Matthew 8 on "Chaos, Culture, and Christ," showing how the devil brings destruction through sin's temporary pleasures, society offers no real solutions, but Jesus delivers complete transformation with one word of power. The demon-possessed man is freed, clothed, and in his right mind—proving Christ's authority over Satan and the invitation for anyone to cry out to Him for forgiveness and new life.
Our Obsession with Power
Hey, let's turn in our Bibles to Matthew chapter 8. And the title of my message is "Chaos, Culture, and Christ." Power. We like power. Seems like you never have enough of it. Your phone is running out of power. Sometimes your life is running out of power. You get a group of guys together, and a car in the mix. And it won't be long until the subject of horsepower comes up. How much horsepower does that car have? How fast will it go? How long does it take to get from zero to sixty?
I actually read about the world's fastest street legal car called the Maximus G-Force. It has sixteen hundred horsepower. And it can go zero to sixty in two point one seconds. Yeah. You get a bunch of geeks together, and they'll talk about processor power. How much storage does your computer have? How many megs of RAM? How many hours of battery life can you get out of that thing? It is all about power. All kinds of power.
The World's Biggest and Most Records
Or maybe it is the biggest. I read the other day about the biggest omelet that has ever been made. Why they would even want to do this, I don't know. But a bunch of chefs and cooks got together on something called World Egg Day, and they used a hundred and ten thousand eggs producing an omelet that weighed nine thousand seven hundred and two pounds. Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen. I mean that even sounds a little gross.
But it even gets worse. I heard about another group of people at the Alameda County Fair that put together the largest hamburger of all time. Seven hundred and seventy pounds. It was one giant Patty of meat. It took a hundred and ten hours to make and you could go up and for a dollar take a bite out of it. My question is, why? You are going to just walk up to this random, monstrous, grotesque burger and take a bite out of it? I guess so.
And then there are other interesting distinctions. Have you ever looked at the Guinness Book of World Records? They have the most this or the most that. One guy from England did the most pushups in one hour of any person ever. One thousand nine hundred. I didn't even know that was possible. The other day I did a physical and I did fifty pushups. And I was so proud of myself until I read about some guy from England that did nineteen hundred. But I won an award to most pushups by a bald pastor from a church called Harvest. So I got my own personal award there. Thank you.
From Manpower to Nuclear Power
And then there is a distinction given and an award given for the heaviest car balanced on a head. Why would you want to balance a car on your head? But it is again another guy in England. He balanced a car weighing 352 pounds on his head. Of course Mike's thought was, where do you find a car that weighs 352 pounds? Maybe it is that new car called the Leaf. Or the smart car. You know these really tiny little cars that don't seem to be cars at all.
But you know it is all about power. Getting the highest. Getting the most. And throughout history it is all about the acquiring of power. First there was man power. Then there was steam power. Then there was nuclear power. What we seem to lack is will power. It seems as though man can harness the powers of the universe, but he can't control himself.
The Power We Truly Need
But here is the good news. If you are a Christian you have a mighty God. He will give you all the power you need to live the life he has called you to live. Now some people will say, you know, I find it hard to be a Christian. Allow me to disagree with you. I don't think it is hard to be a Christian. I think it is impossible to be a Christian. I do. Without the power of the Holy Spirit in your life.
I mean if you are going to try to do this in self effort and your own strength you are going to fail miserably. Why do I bring this up? Because just as surely as there is a God who loves you there is also a devil who hates you and you need all the power you can get.
Now when I say the devil don't think of some red dude with horns and a pointed tail and a pitchfork with steam coming off of him. That is a caricature. That is not the real devil. The devil spoken of in the Bible also known as Satan or Lucifer is a powerful spirit being. And just as God loves each one and is a plan for us, the devil hates each one of us and wants to destroy us.
The Devil's Real Agenda
And check this out. There is no way you can stop the devil in your life without Christ living inside of you. A crucifix isn't going to do it. Holy water isn't going to do it. A silver bullet won't stop him. Nor will hanging garlic around your neck. That may keep your friends away. But it won't keep the devil away. You need help.
And what is his agenda? Jesus said of Satan he comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But in contrast he said, I have come that you might have life and that more abundantly. So there is your choice in life. You have God who loves you and has a plan for you. You have the devil who hates you and also has a plan for you. You decide which way you are going to go in life.
Here before us in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 8 is the story of a man who got ripped off by the devil. A tortured, suicidal, miserable, lonely shell of a man in an absolutely hopeless situation. That is until Jesus came along. But with this guy we effectively see the devil's package deal that he has for every person. He gets in his grip. At first he entices you with things that are appealing. But ultimately his end game is pretty miserable.
The Myth of Invincibility
You know a lot of times when people are young they think that the rules don't apply to them. And despite all the lives that have been ruined by drugs or drinking or other things. They think they are the exception. They are indestructible. And they go out there and they get chewed up and spit out.
You may have heard about the recent death of Amy Winehouse. She was only twenty-seven years old. Amy won five Grammys including Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year. But everyone pretty much knew that Amy Winehouse was an alcoholic as well as a heroin and crack user and was very self-destructive. Her own father said in an interview before her death that she had early stage emphysema brought on by her smoking crack and cigarettes.
In an interview Amy said, Ever since I have been sixteen I have had a black cloud hanging over me. Since then I have taken pills for depression. One of her most well-known songs is called Rehab. And in the song she sings, They tried to make me go to rehab. I said, No, no, no. Speaking of her father, He tried to make me go to rehab. But I won't go, go, go.
Amy Winehouse's Tragic End
And I saw a little video of Amy in concert singing. And everybody is singing along and laughing and having a great time. But in her most recent performance she could hardly stand up, much less sing a song. Her own mother said it was only a matter of time until this happened after her death.
Well did Amy Winehouse believe in God? In an interview she made this statement, I am not religious at all. I think faith is something that gives you strength. But I believe in fate. And I believe that things happen for a reason. But I don't think there is a high power necessarily. Relationships with people, with your mom, with your dog, are what bring the most happiness in life, apart from shoes and bags". That is pretty sad.
But Amy Winehouse made no apologies for her lifestyle. In another interview she said, My justification is most people my age spend a lot of time thinking about what they are going to do for the next five or ten years. They spend time thinking about their life. I just spend my time drinking. Yeah. That didn't turn out so well.
And then she said this quote, If I died tomorrow I would be a happy girl. Well Amy got a wish. And I don't know if she is so happy right now. In fact I would venture to say she is not happy at all. And this is a tragic waste of a life. And Amy Winehouse has joined the 27 Club.
The 27 Club and Sin's Deception
Have you heard of that? This is a group of rock stars that died at the age of 27. We have people in it like Kurt Cobain, one of the more recent members. But Janis Joplin was only 27 when she died of a drug overdose. Jimi Hendrix choked on his own vomit after ingesting too many sleeping pills. Jim Morrison. No one really knows how he died exactly. But all of them died at the age of 27 as did Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. And now Amy Winehouse is joining this tragic club.
How many more people are going to believe in the mythology of sex, drugs, and rock and roll? Are you believing it? Are you thinking, Oh I am the exception. I will get through it all. And the devil is clever. Because when he first comes and offers you those temptations they are so, well, tempting. Right?
It is like when you are walking to the mall and they give you free samples. Have you ever wondered why they do that? Because they love me. No. They don't love you. They want your money. And they know if they just give you one little taste you will want more.
You can go to a Krispy Kreme donut store and they will give you a free glazed donut. And if it is hot I am telling you what. The party is over. You are going to go nuts. At least I do. It is hard to eat just one. And so the fact is they are just a little smaller than a regular donut. So somehow you rationalize eating thirty. Or was that just me? No I never ate that many actually. But I think I did five. That was my all time record. That is pretty scary actually.
The Pleasure and Consequences of Sin
But you know you have that little taste and then off you go. In the same way in life you have your first experiment with something. And you want more, more, more. That first drink. That first hit off a joint. That first act of sexual promiscuity. And you know what you find out? It is actually kind of exciting. It is actually kind of fun. And you say, man, they lied to me. They told me sin was miserable. But sin is fun.
Oh no wait. I don't know who you have been listening to, but the Bible acknowledges that sin can be fun. The Bible acknowledges the pleasure of sin for a time. You see. That happens at the front end. There is the excitement. There is the rush. There is the buzz. But then come the repercussions. Then come the long term effects. Then come the results of that choice. And they are not pretty. They are miserable. But initially the devil will lure you in.
Here is this guy. I don't know how he ended up in the state that he was in. But there was no way out apart from God. So we are going to see in his life three forces at work. Chaos, culture, and Christ.
Matthew 8 – The Demon-Possessed Men
Let's read the story. Matthew 8. When he came to the other side. This is speaking of Christ. Verse 28. He came to the country of the Gergesenes. And there met him two demon possessed men coming out of the tombs exceedingly fierce, so that no one would pass that way. And suddenly they cried out saying, What are we to do with you, Jesus, you son of God? Have you come to torment us before the time?
Now a good way out from them was a herd of many pigs feeding. So the demons begged him saying, If you cast us out, let us go into the herd of pigs. And he said to them, Go. And when they came out, they went into the herd of pigs. And suddenly the whole herd of pigs ran violently down the steep place into the ocean, or into the water, and perished.
Then those who kept them fled. And they went into the city and told everything, including what happened to the demon possessed men. And behold, the city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to depart from the region. So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own city.
As our story begins, we find two pathetic, demented men. In Luke's account of this story, he zeroes in on one of these men in particular. He seemed to be the more extreme of the two. Luke writes in 8.27, He wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house, but he lived in the tombs. I mean that is kind of freaky, isn't it? He lived in the tombs.
Life Among the Tombs
In other words, the guy lived in the graveyard. He didn't have a home he went to at night. No one would want to go pay their respects at the grave of a loved one because this psycho might jump out and start screaming or chasing them. So this became his domain as he roamed around the graveyard living this horrible life. A creepy scenario. A frightening evil man with super human strength.
Another translation of that same verse says, Night and day among the tombs and the mountains he was always shrieking and screaming and beating and bruising and cutting himself with stones. Interesting that a thing that has become more widespread among young people is cutting or self-injury as it is sometimes described. Kids cutting themselves with sharp objects like razor blades. Girls do it more often than boys.
Studies have found that girls ranging from eleven to twelve to seventeen and eighteen are the ones that will do it the most. Why do they do it? To relieve themselves of a deeper pain that is inside. That is what many of them have said.
We did one of our crusades a while back and one of the girls that came was named Nikki and she wrote me a letter. She said, My life has been in the slumps lately. I was freaked out about school. I was having boyfriend troubles. I was stressed out to the Max. And on top of that my family hasn't been the greatest. And I recently started to cut myself to cope with all of this. It was just hurting me more. I tried to stop. But I was addicted.
Stories of Despair and Hope
So here is this young girl struggling. And another girl wrote me. Her name was Jennifer. She says, The night before harvest I was depressed about everything. I wanted to give up on life. I even thought about suicide. I was feeling so unloved and began to look for love in all the wrong places. Trying to fill the empty space in my heart. But nothing was working. I felt empty.
So I went that night with some of my friends. And these girls hit bottom. I will tell you what happened to them in a few moments. But back to our story. Here is this guy. Two thousand years ago. Same condition. He is miserable. He is cutting himself. He is suicidal. Just like the two girls I quoted. Some things never seem to change.
He was like a dead man walking. Have you ever heard that expression before? Dead man walking. The title comes from a phrase that was once traditional in American prisons to designate a man who had been condemned to death. When guards would lead a condemned man down the prison hallway, they would call out dead man walking.
And that is what this man was. And that is what many other people are. They are a dead man walking. Or a dead girl walking. The Bible says she that lives for pleasure is dead while she is living. It is like you are a zombie. You are alive. You are functioning biologically. But there is a deadness in your soul. And that is a description of a person that doesn't have God in their life trying to fill that void with other things.
Demons Acknowledge Jesus' Power
And so these demons inhabiting these two men are just waiting for Jesus. And when He arrives in their area, we read in verse 29, they fell down before Him saying, What have we to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High? Do not torment us. So they are kind of speaking through this guy. And he is so wrapped up with the demon powers that he can't speak for himself.
But deep deep down inside Jesus saw him as a victim. And here is something we need to remember. You know a lot of times we see people who maybe are hostile toward us. Or disagreeable or argumentative as the enemy. Or someone who is living a godless life as just a horrible person. But we need to see past that and realize they are more of a victim under the control of the devil.
And guess what? It wasn't that long ago that you and I used to be one of those people. 2 Timothy 2 says, God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener. A teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey, praying that God will sober them up with a change of heart, and that they will escape the devil's trap where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands.
See they don't know any better. They are just doing what they think is right, but it is wrong. And they are under the power of Satan himself.
What Demons Truly Believe
But there are some interesting things that pop out of this story. Number one, demons though wicked are quite orthodox in some of their beliefs. Let me repeat that. Demons possessing this man scream out a bizarre question. Have you come to torment us before our time? This shows that they acknowledge that Jesus was the Son of God. They knew His power. Even the devil knows Jesus is God. He doesn't like it. He isn't submitted to Him, but he knows it.
That is why I believe even non-believers will invoke the name of Jesus when they curse. Have you ever noticed that? Why is it when people are angry and they hit their thumb with a hammer they don't say, Oh Buddha! Have you ever heard anyone say that? You know where they say, Hare Krishna! You know. No, no. It is always Jesus Christ. Right? Or sometimes, Jesus H. Christ. I don't know who that is exactly. H. Christ.
They will cry out the name of Jesus. Why? Because in their own twisted way they are acknowledging that His name is above every other name. They know it deep down inside. Otherwise, why say it? You know, they don't believe He exists, right? There is no God. Yet they invoke the name of God. It is their own way of acknowledging the existence of God and the power of Jesus Christ.
Yeah, the devil is quite orthodox. In fact, the Bible says that demons believe and shudder. And that word can be translated into bristle. And it is the idea of something so horrifying, it causes your hair to stand on end. That is the literal definition of the word shudder. In my case, that would be singular. One hair standing up. Like a little Kewpie doll. Just like one hair, you know.
If We Could Interview Satan
But you know, if I could interview the devil tonight, and I certainly would not want to do that, I think he would be surprised by some of his answers. If I just said, Satan, I want you to give me yes or no answers to these questions, alright? Number one. Do you believe the Bible is the word of God? What do you think he would say? No. No. He would say, oh yeah. Hate every word of it. But I know it is the word of God.
Satan, let me ask you this. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? Oh yeah. He would say yes. Do you believe that there is a future judgment? No question about it. Okay, let me ask you this, Lucifer. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is coming back again? Oh, you can be sure he would say yes to that as well.
He knows it. In fact, we are told in Revelation 12, he knows he has but a short time. Even if some liberal theologians don't believe it, the devil believes that Jesus Christ is coming back, and he wants to make as much trouble as he can until that day.
I wish we could have that same commitment to getting the gospel out that the devil has to destroying lives. Yes, he believes all of those things.
Demons' Insight and Jesus' Authority
Demons, though wicked, number two, have some spiritual insight. Demons, though wicked, have some spiritual insight. Verse 31, the demons begged him, saying, If you cast us out, let us go into a herd of swine. Notice they had to ask for permission. Oh man, come on. Oh. Okay, at least if you are going to cast us out, don't just let us be, you know, disembodied. Send us to the herd of pigs over there.
And so the pigs become possessed by the demons. They freak out, and they run off the side of a cliff. It was mass suicide. Get it? That's how you call a pig, right? Sui, right? Suicide. It was the first case in human history of deviled ham. These are the jokes, people. But it shows you the power of demons. That the pigs don't even want to live under that power.
Number three. Jesus Christ has power over the devil and demons. Sometimes we like to think maybe that the devil is God's equal. There is God in heaven, and there is a devil in hell. And whatever God can do, the devil can do. It is not that at all.
God is in heaven. But the devil is not in hell. Did you know that? The devil is not in hell. The devil is going to hell. But he is not there now. The devil, the Bible says, is the prince of the power of the air. The spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience. He is in the supernatural realm, moving about.
He can only be in one place at one time. God can be everywhere simultaneously. It is called omnipresence. It means that wherever... God is everywhere. God is here. He is in the other side of the world. He is everywhere simultaneously. But the devil can only be in one place at one time.
And though he is powerful, he is not nearly as powerful as Christ is.
Three Forces: Chaos, Culture, Christ
So three forces at work in this story. Chaos, culture, and Christ. Or another way to put it. Satan, society, and the Savior. So we have seen what Satan did. We have seen complete chaos in this man's life. Now let's talk about what culture did or society did. They chained them up. What do we do with these guys? Chain them up. They broke the chains. That is all they could do.
You know, our culture has no answers. We can't solve the problems that we have in our world today. We have a wave of violent crimes sweeping across our country. Law enforcement is often understaffed and underpaid. Then we have courts and judges giving out lenient sentences, letting murderers go free. Or putting them on probation. So they can go out and commit the same crimes over and over again. Just chain them up. Put an ankle bracelet on them. In fact, it is kind of a cool fashion accessory now. If you have drinking issues. Kind of cool, really.
Yeah. Culture has no answers. Society has no answers. With all of our achievements and technology and everywhere else, we can't change the human heart.
But what the culture could not do, Christ did with one word. And that brings us to the third force, if you will, in the story. Jesus Himself.
Jesus Pursues the Lost
Jesus got to this guy. And by the way, Jesus was determined to get to him. Because as our story begins, prior to what we just read, Jesus was crossing the Sea of Galilee. And guess what happened? A big storm came. And the storm was sent by the devil to stop Christ from reaching these two men. But Jesus pressed on.
In fact at one point Jesus came on board, spoke to the storm, and said, Peace be still. So... It was all quiet. And the word that He used for be still can be translated, Be muzzled. Like He was talking to a crazy dog running around. Jesus would not be stopped. And He will not be stopped in His pursuit of someone that He loves.
Jesus told the story of a Shepherd who had a hundred sheep. And one went astray. And the Shepherd said, Oh well, when a few lose a few. No, He didn't say that. Jesus said, He left the ninety-nine. And He went after that one sheep until He found it. And He brought it back. Rejoicing.
Have you ever lost something you love? And you search for it until you find it? Why is it we always lose valuable things? You just got your new sunglasses. Really nice ones. Of course you lose them. You can't lose that junky pair with scratches all over the lens. But that good pair you just bought, you left them somewhere.
So what do you do? You search and you search until you find them. Or maybe you lose your cell phone. This happens to me every now and then. And then I call my cell phone. Right? Do you do that? And you hope it's not on vibrate. And so you are searching around. Where is my cell phone?
You know, the other day I called it. And it lit up in my pocket. Ah, it's... Idiot! You know. Listen, God will search for us. I am talking about things. What about if you lose someone? Someone that you love. You will search for them. You will search for them until you find them.
A Father's Desperate Search
A number of years ago, my son Jonathan was just a little boy. And we would get on elevators and hotels. And he loved to push the button. So I would always say wait till Dad is in the elevator. And he is running again. And he goes, I am going to push the button. I said, okay, wait till Dad gets there, son.
I come around the corner, and just as I am walking toward the elevator, he is in there and the door is shut. Oh no. I mean, he is this littlest guy. My heart just sunk. Oh no. So I am pushing all the buttons. And I don't know why, but you keep pushing the buttons. Like push, push, push. Like that is going to help the elevator move faster. You know.
It seemed like an eternity. Finally the doors open and no Jonathan. So I go down to the lobby. I go up to the front desk. I say to the person working there, you have got to help me right now. Call security. Call the police. Call the SWAT. Whatever you need. Get everyone in here. My son is lost in your hotel.
Sir, can you hold on one second. I am... No, no ma'am. Excuse me. I need someone now. Excuse sir. I am just like... So I ran back to that elevator. I pushed every single button. And every time those doors opened I screamed out his name.
Guess what. Failure was not an option for me. I was going to find that kid if I had to start kicking doors down. Fortunately I think it was on the ninth floor. I don't recall. The doors opened. And I started to yell his name. He is just standing there. Ah. Come on here son.
That is how God is toward us. Failure is not an option. He won't give up on you. And Jesus knew that in this graveyard was a sad, tormented man that had no help. And he went to meet with that man to touch him and to transform his life.
Transformation Only Christ Can Bring
What culture could not do, Jesus did with one word. What a treatment program cannot do, God can do. Listen, you don't need twelve steps. Just one. Come to Jesus and ask for his forgiveness and his transformation.
I don't care what power you are under. Now here is an interesting thing. In Luke's version of this story we read that after Jesus cast the demons out of this man, that the man was transformed and the people came and they saw him sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
In the same way, when you look at some Christians, they are so different you would have never known where they originally came from. You know sometimes you will see someone like they are kind of radical looking, all tatted up. You are going, whoa. What kind of lifestyle did you use today? I was a pastor's son. Oh, okay. I got these tattoos with my youth group. Okay. Well there you go.
And then you look at someone. She looks as pure as the driven snow. He looks like he was the nicest kid of all time. What is your background? I was like a drug dealer and gangbanger, or I was this, or I was that. And you are like, what? She says, yeah, I was a hooker. No, no, no. Why? Because she is so different. He is so different. They are so different from what they used to be. You can't tell what they once were.
And God can do that for you. Say, oh man, I am set in my ways. I could never change. No, God can change you. God could have changed Amy Winehouse if she would have called out to Him. God could have changed Kurt Cobain, or Jimi Hendrix, or Janis Joplin, or some young boy or some girl right now out there that is going down a similar path. God can change them.
Reaching the Lost Through Us
But guess how God reaches people like that? Through you and through me. He reaches them through someone that reaches out and shares the gospel with them. And that is why we need to take advantage of this crusade that is coming and get the gospel out.
I am going to come back to these stories I touched on briefly about these two girls that wrote me. Remember Nikki? Suicidal. Cutting herself. Unable to change. She finishes her story. I heard that Christ saves lives. So I decided to give it a chance after attending your crusade. I feel like my life has made a complete turnaround. I gave my life to Jesus. And I decided to stop hurting myself.
All this time I thought God could never forgive me for what I had done to myself and all the sins I had committed. But after hearing what you had to say, Greg, it opened up my eyes. I am now living a new life as a Christian.
The other girl, Jennifer, suicidal, finishes her story. She says, I was feeling so in love that I began to look for love in the wrong places. I was empty. And that night I went. And at the end of the message I went down and accepted Christ into my life. And now I feel totally changed on the inside. It is something I have never felt before. I love it. I do not feel empty anymore. I have a different outlook on everything. It is like finally being able to see for the first time.
The City's Rejection of Jesus
So coming back to this guy. He is totally transformed. He used to hang on in graveyards, cut himself, scream, and break chains. So now he is so transformed he does not even look like the same person. So how do the people react? Look at verse 34. The whole city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to depart from their region.
What? You would expect that verse to say, the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and fell on their knees, and asked him to forgive them too. Or the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and worship him for the transformation in this man's life. No. The whole city came out to meet Jesus, and they begged him to go away.
Why did they want him to go away? Because Jesus was bad for business. See these were Jewish people, but they were raising pigs. Well that is just not kosher, is it? You see, there was no more bringing home the bacon for them. The bacon was sitting at the bottom of the lake. And they didn't like it. Pickled ham, anyone?
See here is what it came down to. They said, Jesus, you ruined our economy. You ruined our livelihood. Get out of here. That is really the choice we have in life. We either say, Come in Jesus, or go away. I don't want to see you anymore.
Hey, if Jesus is bad for your business, it is time to get a new line of work. And for some people if you say, Oh if I become a Christian it will ruin all the stuff I am into. Then let Jesus ruin it. Because whatever it is that you are into, if it is so bad you don't want Jesus to be a part of it, you shouldn't be doing it.
You should live in such a way that you can invite Jesus with you wherever you go. Right? So when you are in that car with that girl you say, Come along Lord. In fact just to say that, let's just pray together. You know, let's just put this out in the open. Lord we need your help. Wherever you go, what movies you watch, what websites you visit, what things that you do, what songs you listen to. Whatever it is, you should be able to have Jesus come along.
But these people were saying, Go away Jesus.
Three Prayers in the Story
Now as we come to the end, there is three prayers in this story. There is the prayers of the demons, the prayers of the people, and the prayers of the one man who was delivered. And we read in Mark 5.18-20, when Jesus got in the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go, but Jesus said, Go home to your friends, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you, and how merciful he has been.
So Jesus answered the prayers of the demons and the hardened people, but not his follower. Does that make sense? In other words, what was the prayer of the demons? Cast us into the pigs. He said, Good. Go to the pigs.
What was the prayer of the people? Leave our city. He said, Fine. I am out of here. See you. Bye.
Then there was a prayer of his follower. Lord, let me go with you. Let me hang out with you. Sorry, buddy. I don't want you to come with me. I want you to go and tell others what I have done for you.
Listen. Sometimes God will say no to you, but that is not always a bad thing. Sometimes God says no because He loves you. And His plan for you is better than your plan for yourself.
But listen. Here is what it comes down to. Do you need God's help right now? Then you need to do what the man in our story did. He cried out. And you need to cry out to Jesus.
The Bible says, If you will call upon the name of the Lord, you will be saved.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to this earth, and He died on a cross for our sin. And He paid the price for every wrong we have ever done. And then He Rose again from the dead. And now He stands at the door of our life and He knocks and says, If we will hear His voice and open the door, He will come in.
Have you ever asked Jesus to come into your life? Check this out. You have two options. You are either saying, Come in Jesus, or you are saying, Go away Jesus, just like the people in the story. Which is it for you?
You say, Well I am not really comfortable with either one of those. I don't really want Jesus to come in, and I really don't want Him to go away. Can He like just hang out on my porch for a while? No.
See let's say I came over to your house, and I heard you were having a nice meal for dinner, and I wanted to come leach some food off you. So you are home, and you are cooking up something in your kitchen. Let's say you have one of those doors that is all in glass. So you can see out, and people can see in.
So I come and knock on your door. It is like a knock on your door. Who is that? Isn't that Greg from Harvest? I am just standing there knocking. Yeah. And you kind of look at me. Hi. And you kind of keep cooking. And I am standing there knocking like I am hungry, hungry.
And you just wave at me and keep cooking. And you are saying, Ignore Him. Maybe He will go away. So I am still knocking. And guess what? I am kind of getting the idea you don't want me to come in. Because you are ignoring me. You certainly haven't answered the door. You haven't opened it and invited me in.
So after a while I get a little discouraged. After two hours. Because I am really hungry. And I just kind of wave. But no one notices. And I leave. I got the hint. You don't want me in your house. So I will leave you alone now.
See that is how it is when Jesus knocks at our door. And you see Him. Hey, it is Jesus. Hi, Jesus. You know. He kind of waves back. How is it going? God. And then you ignore Him. And He keeps knocking. And you ignore Him. And He keeps knocking. And you ignore Him.
You see how when you don't open the door and invite Him in, it is effectively a rejection? Can He just stay on the porch for the next ten years? I want to sort of just live my life and do what I want to do. And then, you know, when I am really old, like thirty, I might ask Him in. But not before.
Yeah, you know what? That is insulting to God. So here is your choice. You either ask Him in. Or you effectively say, go away. But you can't just leave Him on the porch knocking forever. There comes a point where you have shut the door in God's face.
Have you done that? He is wanting entrance into your life right now. And He won't force His way in. He is waiting for you to say, Lord, forgive me of my sin. Will you do that right now?
Invitation to Call on Jesus
Maybe some of you that have come here tonight can relate to this guy. Maybe some of you have cut yourself. Maybe some of you have entertained thoughts of suicide. Maybe some of you have even attempted suicide. Maybe you know someone that has committed suicide. Maybe you are strung out on drugs or alcohol. Maybe you are in a sexually loose lifestyle. And you don't know how to get out of it.
Here is what you need to do. You need to cry out to God and say help. It doesn't have to be an eloquent prayer. It doesn't have to be a long prayer. It just needs to be a heartfelt prayer. And if you will call on Him He will forgive you.
I am going to give you an opportunity to do that right now as we close in prayer. So let's all bow our heads and everyone praying please.
Father, I pray for every person here in this room tonight and anybody listening or watching right now that doesn't yet know You. Help them to see their need for You, Lord. Help them to come to You and receive Your forgiveness tonight. We ask.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. How many of you would say tonight, Greg, pray for me. I want God's forgiveness. I have a hole in my heart I have been trying to fill with things in this world and it hasn't worked. I am ready to say yes to Jesus. I don't want to say go away Lord. I want to say come in. Pray for me.
If that is your desire. If you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. And you want Him to forgive you of your sin. If you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven. Would you lift your hand up wherever you are sitting right now. And I would like to pray for you.
God bless you. God bless you. Lift it up where I can see it please. God bless you and you over here on the side. Up there in the balcony a whole bunch of you up there. God bless all of you. God bless you. Anybody else? Call out to Him now. He will forgive you.
If you haven't raised your hand yet lift it now and I will pray for you tonight in the very back. God bless you. God bless you.
Lord I thank you now for each one of these. I ask you to give them the strength to stand up and follow you and receive all that you have for them. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
The Public Call to Christ
Listen. Everyone that Jesus calls He calls openly and publicly. In a moment our worship group is going to do a song of invitation. I am going to ask them when the song begins that you that raised your hand during that last prayer would get up out of your seat. Walk down these aisles. Stand up here in the front. And when you all get here I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Jesus.
Even if you did not raise your hand but you want Christ to come into your life you get up and come as well. Why do I ask you to come publicly? Because Jesus said, if you will acknowledge me before people I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven. But He added, if you deny me before people I will deny you before the Father and the angels.
So this is a way to acknowledge Him publicly. So right now as the group sings, if you raise your hand even if you did not. If you want your sin forgiven. You want the void in your life filled. You want Christ to come into your life. Or you have fallen away from Him and you want to return to Him tonight. Get up out of your seat. Come on down to the front. Stand here. And I am going to lead you in prayer when you get here.
Get up and start coming right now. Up in the balcony. Come on down those stairs. Come up here and make your stand for Jesus Christ. Let's sing.
Lay down your burdens. For His load is life. All who are thirsty. Drink from the well of life. place your heart into His hands. Today your new life begins. Salvation is waiting. Open the door. open the door. Love never failing. Sins have all been paid for. So come and you will receive. forgiveness.
You know, like I said, coming to Christ, it's a one step program. Sometimes people will say, well, I'm in the process of converting to Christianity. Now, listen, friend, you're either converted or you're not converted. It doesn't take years. It doesn't take months. It doesn't take days. Listen, it doesn't even take hours. It can happen like that where you believe in Jesus and your sin is forgiven. But you must take that step of faith and say, Lord, help me.
I am going to ask these guys to sing this chorus through one last time. And if there's anybody else that wants to make this commitment or recommitment to Christ, you come now. And then we'll pray. Anybody else in this final moment? Come on. Come on, you guys.
Delight in the Savior. Come and be made whole. Lost and deserted. Come and never be alone. Lord. Place your heart into His hands. Today your new life begins. Salvation is waiting. Open my door. Love never fail. Love never fail me. Your sins have all been paid for. So come and be redeemed. Secure your place in eternity. Come and you will receive. Forgiving. Forgiving. Forgiving. Forgiving.
Hey, you that have come forward, I want to lead you guys in a word of prayer. And I am going to ask that as I pray this prayer, that you would pray it out loud after me. And this is where you are asking Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin. Where you are putting your faith and your trust in Him. And just mean it from your heart and God will hear you.
So again, as I pray, just pray this out loud after me. Okay? Let's bow our heads and pray this with me if you would: "Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But you died on the cross and shed your blood for every sin I have ever committed. I am sorry for my sin, Lord. I turn from it now. I put my faith in you. Be my Savior. And be my God. Be my friend. I want to be your disciple. Thank you for calling me. And accepting me. And forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen".