Jack Graham - Defeating Demons

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TOPICS: Tell Me The Story Of Jesus, Demons

Take your Bibles and turn with me to Mark, chapter 5, the fifth chapter. And the message today in our TELL ME THE STORY OF JESUS series, on now the confrontations of Christ. And in today's message, this series is really the life and times of Jesus. We're taking it right from the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And why were these Gospels all written? John tells us why the Gospels are written at the end of his book, the Gospel of John. "That these things are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and in believing, you might have life in His name".

And so this is why we're taking time to tell the story of Jesus. And, of course, we can't tell all the story. John himself, the disciple, said, "I suppose, all the books in the world could not contain the story of Jesus". All the stories, all the things, all that we could say about Him. More books have been written about Jesus Christ than any other person, any other personality in all of human history. So we are telling the story of Jesus. And today is the confrontation with demons. And it is a riveting passage of scripture.

I want to say at the very outset of this message which is a little bit scary and frightening in some ways, that you as a Christian and as a follower of Jesus Christ should never fear demonic powers. You should respect the fact that demonic powers exist, and that demons, fallen angels, what the Bible calls here, in just a moment we'll read, what the Bible calls "unclean spirits" because they are filthy, belched up from the pit of hell. Fallen angels who are active and aggressive in their activity, paranormal, supernatural activity in the world. But know this, that we have in our identity in Christ, victory over all the powers of the enemy.

And there is no addiction, there is no controlling force in your life that cannot be overcome by the power of Jesus Christ. And the Savior who is the same yesterday, today and forever has the same ability to cast out the demonic forces that you may face in your life. The addictions the pain, the habitual sins, all the rest, that you have victory because Jesus is the bondage-breaker! So chapter 5, verse 1. We're going to read 20 verses so stay with me: "They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit."

Now just as a note, Matthew tells us that there were two. This devilized, the devil man had a little buddy, he had a brother that came with him. The other Gospels, Luke and Mark focus on the one; but there were two according to Matthew. But I guess the other man was standing by. So this man, "lived among the tombs". Now don't think of a nice little graveyard with little white crosses. The tombs in the ancient world were basically open cavernous caves and you can even see it today in Israel, you can see some of these graves that were cut out of tombs, or cut out of mountains and regions.

"And no one could bind him anymore", he couldn't be contained or controlled, "not even with a chain, for he had been often bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart", he had supernatural strength, in other words, "and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him". Nobody wanted to tangle with this terrorizing man. "Night and day", no rest, sleepless, suicidal, "among the tombs and on the mountains he was crying out and cutting himself with stones". And then verse 6, "And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, (Now the man becomes the voice of the vehicle of the demon spirits, because the demons begin to speak.) “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.”"

That is, do not put me in the place of torment or judgment, "For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”" So he had a description, not just a name. And a legion was a battalion, a cohort of 6000 or more Roman soldiers. A Roman legion. And also by way of background, Jesus and the disciples are coming off the Sea of Galilee from Capernaum. They had already been in a storm at sea where Jesus calmed the storm. Maybe the disciples were hoping they could get a break. They walk on now to Gentile territory. That's why there were so many pigs there. They were Gentile people and Jewish typically weren't raising pigs.

Now Jesus was on the other side of the Sea of Galilee and He's here. And He's encountering this demonized man with a legion, multiple, maniacal, murderous demons living in him, verse 10, "And he begged them earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs”". You ask, "Why the pigs? Why did He send them into the pigs? Why did the demons request to go into the pigs"? Well, I have no idea! I'm glad to be able to say I don't have inside intel with demons! I just don't!

So we don't know why the pigs and why all of this, but verse 13: "So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. And the herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man", watch this, "the one who had had the legion, sitting there".

This demonized man, this maniacal monster of a man, he was your worst nightmare. The children were afraid of him. They heard him screeching at night. Screaming at night. He was defiled with demons; he was diseased with these demons; he was divided with these demons; he was a legion; he was in the worst possible hopeless condition a human being could be in! He was living in hell! It was a living hell and hopeless. But now, and now the one who had the legion, verse 15, "sitting there, clothed and in his right mind", that is, sane and sensible, "and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, 'Go home to your friends (to your family and friends) and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.'"

There is not a person in this room or within the sound and reach of my voice today who Christ has changed your lives, broken the power of sin and death and hell in your life, that you cannot tell what great things the Lord has done for you. That there is mercy and grace in the Lord. So verse 20 says, in conclusion: "And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis", who went away? The demon-possessed, formerly demon-possessed man, "and proclaimed in the Decapolis (Which means ten cities) how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone marveled".

What a story! Now I know some of you may be thinking this is a story of the ancient past when people believed in the superstitions of devils and demons and supernatural appearances and activities, but today we're more educated than this. We know that these kinds of things don't really exist. It's all in the minds, the make-up of people. And yet, I asked Dr. Jeremiah Johnston our pastor of Apologetics here to give me a little research on the subject of the supernatural and the paranormal in our world today.

And what I've seen is startling. I'm not going to bore you with all the details of the data, but just to give you a sense of what is happening in the world around us, and in particular we see it and know of it among young people. The paranormal has emerged as a massive industry. The problem is that the paranormal is a slippery slope. And once an individual opens the door to this kind of darkness, it can be astrology, which is demonic at the core, it can be drug abuse and addiction, but anything that opens the spirit world, the supernatural world invites demonic activity in one's life. And it can only affect an individual negatively, and that door, once it is open is very difficult if not impossible without the power of God to close.

A majority of Americans, 71 percent claim they have personally had paranormal experiences. And if you've had one, please don't tell me. Thirty-seven percent believe in ghosts; 56 percent believe that ghosts are spirits of the dead, 37 percent (these are Americans surveyed) believe that houses can be infiltrated and haunted by demonic spirits. There's more: Almost one third of Americans have consulted their horoscope. Forty-two million Americans have personally consulted a psychic, a medium, or a fortuneteller.

Nearly 25 percent of Americans research ghosts and haunted houses. Nearly 25 percent of Americans are fascinated by UFO sightings, abductions, tales of government, you know, conspiracies. Nearly 21 percent of Americans believe in Big Foot and the Loch Ness monster. There are 300 psychics who call themselves reverends or are ordained. Satanic powers or influence are at work. And so, I know... one more. Youth are the most vulnerable according to David Kinnaman, a researcher. Seventy-three percent of youth said that they had participated in contacting the dead or other related witchcraft activities.

Most notably, listen up, lest you wonder why I'm going through all this, only 28 percent of these young people who said they were involved in this, said that they learned anything at their church to help inform them of the views of the supernatural world. And therefore, the first part of this message, when we're talking really about demonic powers, that's the first point of my heading of this narrative, of this powerful story. The fact is that we encounter demonic activity, possession, obsession. I've seen it over my lifetime. You say, "What are these demons? Where do they come from"? They are fallen angels who join Satan in rebellion against God. And they're not down in hell shoveling coal into fire; they are loose on the earth. And they are powerful and they are pervasive, and they can possess a human being.

Now before we go any further I want to say I do not believe a Christian can be possessed of a demon or of the devil. You as a Christian are possessed by the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit. No unclean or unholy spirit can live in you. So let's clear that up at the outset. Don't be afraid of demon possession. But what can happen to a Christian is demon oppression. The spiritual bondage that comes from a habitual and prevailing unholiness in life, ungodliness and behaviors and the devil can actually oppress a person's mind.

C.S. Lewis became quite a literary superstar back in the 1950's, the war years actually. Many of you have read the books of C.S. Lewis, the great scholar C.S. Lewis. And he's a Brit and he wrote the Screwtape Letters, as a series of articles that appeared in a British newspaper, and then they just ignited and people began reading them and it became the Screwtape Letters book, and it hit in America in particular. And so many have read it during the generations. So here's what the scholar C.S. Lewis who was an Agnostic who became a believer and a powerful witness of the Gospel.

Here's what C.S. Lewis said about this whole thing of demonic activity and the devil. He said: "There are two equal and opposite errors in which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. (Satan would love for you to not believe that he exists or that these demon spirits exist.) The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them". Also true. And so it's a good reminder from Lewis that we should not be obsessed with oppression of the devil or possession of the enemy. I already announced at the beginning that you as a believer, you have victory, you have authority o'er all the works of the enemy.

I'll tell you why again in just a moment. But I'm pointing out to you that it can happen to anyone who opens the door to the works of the enemy. And the very fact that Jesus on His 26 days recorded in the Gospel, takes time to show us His power over demon spirits, this being the most vivid illustration of that, the very fact that Jesus took the time to show us His power and authority over the enemy is worthy of our intent and content of what we preach and teach. We must teach our young people of the powers of evil. Not to obsess over them, but to be aware. Because to be forewarned is to be forearmed against the work of the enemy.

So I'm challenging you as parents and grandparents today in this room to make sure that your children understand these truths from the Bible, because I assure you they are encountering evil in their schools, in their culture, in the media, social and otherwise. This is very real. Again, not just for the so-called ignorant and uneducated in a back world somewhere, but in the college educated world of today, the sophisticated world of today, the powers of the supernatural are still present.

What a story, because this man who was no longer a man but now a man possessed, a monster is delivered and we see the power of deity, the presence of deity because these demon spirits, they came rushing up to the Lord and they knew who He was! Jesus didn't have to identify Himself. They spoke and said, "Son of the Most High God"! That's an Old Testament reference to ultimate, almighty deity. The Most High God! The demons are orthodox when it comes to Christology and a lot of other things. They didn't doubt the deity of Jesus. They knew from before time began who this is! And this man was just cut down. The demons, they're now submitted. He's on his knees and the demons are submitted to the Bondage-Breaker! The Son of the Most High God, the Son of God!

Interesting, in your New Testament, in the book of Mark in particular, the first confession of Jesus as the Son of God comes from these demons. They knew. James said, “The devil believes, and trembles!” The devil believes and the demons believe more than some liberal preachers. And by the way, I would say that most of the time when we're dealing with demons and doctrines of demons, it's not so overt and in-your-face as this situation here. Demons often hide in pulpits and behind pulpits and under pews and in churches and in seminaries and universities where Christ is denied, which is the spirit of antichrist.

So demons are everywhere. They're not just in the back alleys and the homes of drug addicts or idolaters. But the power of Jesus Christ in the presence of Satan is here and this beautiful, it's really an illustration, such a powerful picture of what happens when a man or a woman is converted and changed and cleansed by the power of Jesus. Before Jesus, we were unclean, defiled. Even in the best that we could do wasn't enough. We know the power of evil and sin's devastating consequences in life. Some of you have experienced the power of Satan and in a big margin because you opened yourself up through drugs or through alcohol or through activities in your life and many, can I just throw in pornography, and the perversion that is a result.

This man was running naked in the tombs. And it's an illustration. Nakedness is an illustration of sinfulness. When Adam and Eve sinned, they realized they were naked and covered themselves up. The Bible speaks spiritually of a church that was poor and naked and blind. It speaks of spiritual nakedness. And this man running in the tombs, naked, is illustrative of just the fact there's so much nakedness and pornography and filth in the world! And so many people are exposed to it. And when you open up that website, when you expose yourself to pornography and all the rest that goes with you, you are opening the door to Satan in your life! And demonic activity!

This is not just a little thing that nobody knows about. This is scary stuff, whether you become possessed by the devil or oppressed by the devil, you entertain evil in your life. Or are entertained by evil when you put yourself in the target zone of the devil. This man was destroyed. He was living in hell. But then he met Jesus and Jesus changed his life. Now he's sitting, sane, can you imagine when he went home to see his family? His kids go running in to mama and say, "Mama, daddy's home but he's different. He's not screaming anymore; he's not angry anymore. Daddy's changed! He's different"!

His wife embraced him and all the people in the town, they're amazed at what has happened. They knew who this was, and now he's sitting, clothed, sane, in his right mind. This is what Jesus will do for you. But there is a sad conclusion to this. A sad and sweet conclusion. The sad conclusion is that the people in this little town, they wanted Jesus to go away. They invited Him out. They were frightened; maybe it was a whole thing of they lost their pigs. I mean, they lost big business. Maybe the whole town was all wrapped up in the pig business. Probably was. And so now they cared more about their money, what was lost.

I don't know about you, but I would have gone in there and cut up those pigs and sold bacon! But I don't know what they did, but they're upset, maybe because their business is gone. Cared more about pigs than the person sitting in front of them! Did you know that human trafficking is another work of the enemy in the satanic forces in the world today? Human trafficking and prostitution, and all the rest that goes with that. So making money off of business is inspired by Satan. But they wanted Jesus to leave.

And here's the thing: He left. He will always leave where He is uninvited. You either reject Him or receive Him. But He gives you the opportunity to say yes to Him. But one final word, the sweet side of the conclusion is this man, He said, "Here's what I want you to do. Go home and tell your friends what the Lord has done for you".

And I would say that's what God is calling every one of us to do as we follow Jesus, is to go home to our family. “You want to go win the world? Start with your own family; start with your parents. Go home and tell your family the wonderful thing that Jesus has done for you in your life. Go tell your family! Go tell your friends of the mercy and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ!”

You may not have been delivered from demonic possession or even oppression, but you have been delivered from something far worse. You have been delivered from hell because Jesus went to the cross, He died on the cross, He rose again and in the power of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ you are saved and in your right mind and going to heaven because Jesus is the Bondage-Breaker and He will change your life if you will let Him!