Kenneth Copeland - Faith Brings Freedom
Now, let's go to the fifth chapter of Mark. "They came over unto the other side of the sea into the country of the Gadarenes. When he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit". Only one devil possesses a human being. Now, demon possession is spirit and soul and body completely taken over by the devil, completely. And I remember when Brother Hagin was in a particular church, and they came home after service that night, staying with the pastor. And they're sitting there just discussing the things of the Word of God, and it was getting a little bit late. And his little daughter came in, and she was about, I don't remember now, probably 11 years old I think. She came in and she said, "Daddy, it's time for me to go to bed. It's late. I got to school in the morning". And so, he said, "Come on in here, baby. We'll just pray. Brother Hagin and I will pray with you".
Well, Brother Hagin just got on his knees there and scooted the chair back in front of the kitchen chair at the kitchen table, and all of a sudden he was in the spirit. And there was Jesus right there. He said, "I'm going to teach you about demons and demon possession". And he began to go through that sixth chapter of the book of Ephesians piece by piece by piece. And he talked about the fact that it is the rank and file of Satan's authority from the bottom up, principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and wicked spirits in the heavenlies. One spirit, one unclean spirit possessed this man, spirit, soul, and body. That spirit that possessed him was the boss devil of a legion of spirits. This gives you some idea of the spiritual capacity of a human being. Thousands and thousands and thousands of them.
Well, we'll see it here. A man with an unclean spirit, one. So, Jesus has to deal... He has to deal with that ruler before He deals with all these other devils. "Who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no man could bind him. No, not with chains because he had been often bound with shackles," fetters or shackles, "and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him and the fetters broken in pieces. And neither could any man tame him". Now, there is Samson in reverse. That unclean spirit. This man's skin and bones, he can't do that. He never sleeps. That's the reason that people thought he was some kind of God or something. He never sleeps. He just screams and hollered all night long. They were afraid of him. But then that devil come on him and tear those shackles off and chains, couldn't tame him, couldn't bind him. "And always night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting himself".
He was a cutter. Those who are watching online, if you've ever had any problem, a few have now, problems with cutting, hey, you're free. I said you're free. You're free right now. In the name of Jesus, I plead the blood over you, and I command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, take your hands off of her! Now you receive your freedom. Same Jesus. "But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped him and cried with a loud voice"...
Now, since I've experienced this, I'm going to say this the way I heard it, the way it was said to me. You can't imitate this because when it has that demon's sound and anointing on it, problem is, make the hair on the back of your neck stick out. And I had this happen to me more than once in Jamaica, you've heard me tell it, but the pastor said we need to go on the way to the church that night, he said... We were up in the mountains. I mean, there was not even electricity up there. And he said, "Could we go by and pray for someone"? I said, "Sure". And he said, "She's mad". I said, "What do you mean mad"? "She's mad, she's crazy".
Well, I won't go into all the reasons why, but it was such a heart rendering thing. Well, I will tell you this. There was some people came through, and she was a waitress there. I think Spanish Town. It was either Spanish Town or Kingston. Anyway. Had a good job, and she got saved. Fell in love with Jesus. She was so thrilled, and bless her little heart, she didn't know anything. So, she got enough money together and got her a new dress. She's going to go to church, man. Jesus is her Lord. And so, she had her hair trimmed up a little bit, got it all nice, and had her nails painted real nice and pretty, and went to church. And when she came in the door, they wouldn't let her come in. "You have cut your hair, and look at that polish on your finger. Jesus won't have you in this church. Now, get out"! She got thinking about that, she got it on her mind, and then she lost her mind.
And when I saw her that night, she'd been on that bed, just an old ticking bed with no covers or anything. And a little stick about this long with a little bandana thing and all she owned, and she just said she'd been in that bed 18 years. That devil had her life. She was not possessed, she was seriously oppressed. That demon had her mind and her body. Nobody around there knew, pastor didn't know what to do about it. We walked up to the bed, I was standing here and there's another man standing here and the pastor and another man. We walked up to the bed and she's just hunched down on that bed.
David, I'll use you as an example. She looked at this one man, and she said, "You must be Brother Weber". He was a radio preacher back in early days. He said, "No, ma'am, I'm not". "You must be Oral Roberts". And he said, "No, I'm not". And then she looked down and she looked at me, "I know who you are, and you're afraid of anything that's not flesh and blood". Now, if you're not ready for this... I said, "No, ma'am. I fear no man or no beast. And in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I take authority over you and you will have to come out of her right now". She dropped her head. And the Lord had... Right while all of this was going on, I didn't know that story yet. I didn't know that till later. And she looked up at me, and the moment she looked up and I could catch her eye, I said, "The Lord sent me to tell you He loves you".
Now, I didn't know all that other... The Lord sent me to tell you that He loves you. Her head went back down. I said, "Jesus loves you, baby. He loves you". And her eyes came back. Her eyes came back. That's when that demon left. Now, I didn't have time to stay. Another one, this time, I was not ready for this. I was with a very good friend of mine, and we were in a meeting. He was doing all the preaching. I was doing some singing. And so, this woman said, "Would you come to the hospital and pray for my mother"? She said, "I don't know whether she's saved or not," and if there's any way we could talk to her. And he said, "Okay".
So, I just went with him. I mean, I was singing in his meeting. And I'm just standing at the foot of the bed there at the head of the bed, and I would say this woman probably weighed maybe 80 pounds. She was just dried up, and she just didn't look good at all. And she's just laying there like this. I'm standing at the foot of that hospital bed she's in, raised straight up, "Sit, boy! Sit, boy! Sit"! I just ran out the door. Man, I'm breathing hard. Man. I'm out there shaking. I got so ashamed of myself, and I said... I mean, boy, Keith back there, and I weighed about 235, and I'm standing there... Here I stand 235 pound or whatever it was, and that little woman run me out of the room. I said, "Jesus, I will never, as long as I live run from another one. I don't care where they are or who they are, I'll never run from another one".
And I figured I better start learning something right now. So, when I went to Oral Roberts University, there was a young man that had gone to a full gospel businessmen's fellowship, and he started giving his testimony. It was the biggest line of bull you ever heard. It was impossible how he lived through a crash of a B-25. He was the tail gunner. He wasn't even born in World War II, but he told this thing and I mean people... And he didn't have any place to live. And this friend of mine that lived right across the alley... We had the same landlord, this little project house. I was living here, and John and his family was living right behind it. And he called me, he said, "Kenneth, I got a problem living in my house". I said, "Really"? He said, "Yeah". And he told me about this guy. And he said, "He won't leave". And the guy wasn't all that big, Hank, but he won't leave. And he said, "I think he's demon possessed". He said, "Would you come help me"? I said, "Yeah, man, I'll be right there".
So, I just walked across the alley there to his house. And he was sitting in the kitchen at the kitchen table. So, I sat down there at the table, and I talked to him about the Lord. He just looked at me. Well, I saw his eyes, and I knew this guy, this was... Yeah. That's what we got here. Now, my ministry method, Keith, was a little off. I hadn't gotten that far yet. So, I said, "Well, let's stand up here, and we'll pray". So, when we turned around, we were in the kitchen, and there was a door right here and then a hallway that went right there. Just a little, small house. So, he was standing right here, and I laid my hands on him, and he hit me right in the mouth.
Now, David, I'm not all that long off of the street. I just got into this full-time. Before I thought, I just unloaded on him. I hit him so hard that he stuck his rear end through the sheet rock wall, and he's hanging out of that hole. And John's going, "Oh dear Lord. Oh dear Lord. Oh dear Lord". He's not worrying about this guy, it's this hole in his wall. He don't know what he's going to tell the landlord. And I saw what I done, I thought, "Well the technique might not be all that good, but I better finish this". So, I just pulled him out of the hole and shoved him down and sat down on him, cast the devil out of him. Several of them. And he got up with a smile on his face. He didn't even know he'd been hit. I really don't recommend that.
Let me tell you, when you get ready to minister to somebody like that, don't touch them. Unless the Lord specifically tells you to, don't touch them. You use the name. Use the name. And be ready for them to spit in your face. Don't be reactive to that either. Man, I've had some interesting experiences. Anyway. So, where in the world was I? Oh yeah. So, "He cried with a loud voice, 'What am I to do with you Jesus, son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God that you torment me not.' For Jesus had said to him, 'Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. What is your name?' He answered saying, 'My name is Legion for we are many.'" He was the commander.
Now, everybody out there heard that, but nobody but Jesus heard the rest of the conversation. "And he besought him much," he, that demon that he just broke his power. "He besought him much that he would not send them away out of that country". They'd been assigned by Satan for that country. "Now, there was nigh under 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.' Forthwith, Jesus gave them leave, and the unclean spirits," all of them, "went out and entered into the swine. And the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea. There were about 2,000 and drowned in the sea. They that fed the swine fled and told it in the city and in the country, and they went out to see what was done".
Now, why would they show frightened about this? Well, this herd was food for the Roman army, and these people that are keeping those hogs, I mean, they're responsible to them. What are they going to tell these people that spooked this whole bunch and all of them drowned? Who is this guy that stirred all this up? Remember, now, what are we talking about? Corresponding action. Faith prepares for what it expects or what it believes is going to happen. Verse 14, "They that fed the swine fled and told it in the city and in the country, and they went out to see what was done. And they come to Jesus and see him that was possessed with the devil and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid".
Where did the clothes come from? Huh? Somebody had to bring those clothes with them. I know who that somebody was. His name is Jesus. And Keith, I know Him, you know Him, and I can just see Him. He calls everybody, and then He says, "Now, listen. Just do what I tell you. Go get some nice clothes, and not just one or two. We're going over and minister to him there. He hadn't been home in a long time. He's skin and bones. He's been sick. I'm about to call him to preach, and I want to send him home well-dressed. I don't want him to be embarrassed when he gets home and sees his wife for the first time. I really want him dressed nicely. Go get him some good clothes. Don't give him none of your stuff. Go get some nice stuff. He's going to need some clothes". He prepared before He ever went over there because He knew what He was going to do. Can you see that?
Well, I think y'all ought to give the Lord a praise for that. He prepared for it. He got ready. Yeah. Amen. I'm going to call him to preach, and he's going to be preaching a love message. He's going to represent me. Let's look at the rest of it. Look at the rest of it. He gave him his clothes, and he gave him his assignment. "And they that saw it, and it befell him that was possessed with the devil, also concerning the swine, they began to pray him, 'Get out of here.' And when he was coming to the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not, but said unto him, 'Go home to your friends. Start with your friends. They haven't seen you in a long time, and I need you to look good. Go home to your friends, tell them how great things the Lord has done for thee and has had compassion on thee.'"
Now, there was fear in that whole area, so what's he going to do? He's going to preach the message that cast out fear, the message of compassion. He's going to be talking about the Lord, and he's going to come home well-dressed, prosperous man. And they're going to think, "Well, he looks good except for he don't weigh very much". Hallelujah. Jesus wanted him to look good because He's calling him to preach, and he's going to be starting with his friends and his family. And he did it. "He departed and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him. And all men did marvel". All people marveled at this. So, obviously, a lot of friends.
"Where in the world have you been anyway? Where are you get them nice looking clothes, brother"? "Well, sit down here and let me tell you. I met a man. I met a man named Jesus, and He had compassion on me. And let me tell you my story. Let me tell you how I got off into this. I apologize for not communicating. I couldn't. It seems to me like it's been a few days, but I know it's been a long time. I've been off in this place somewhere, but I met this man. And I never met any man like him. You like my clothes, man? I mean, He got me these clothes. He got me these clothes. Nobody ever bought me anything before. He dressed me up, and He filled my mouth and heart and told me to come tell you that He loves you".