Sequel to the Deliverance of the Demoniac

Introduction and Reading of Mark 5:1-20

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, May 5th, 1985, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. In our expositions of the Gospel according to Mark, we come again this morning to that lengthy narrative with which the fifth chapter opens, the Spirit-inspired account of the deliverance of the Gerasene demoniac. And I shall read in your hearing, as I have done in the two previous occasions of our study in this passage, verses 1 through 20.

0:44 Mark, chapter 5, beginning the reading in verse 1. Speaking of our Lord Jesus and his disciples, who have just been delivered from the grave, who have just crossed the Sea of Galilee, during which our Lord has calmed a furious storm, Mark writes, And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. And when he was come out of the boat, straightway there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling in the tombs, and no man could any more bind him, no, not.

1:25 with a chain, because that he had often been bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been rent asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces, and no man had strength to tame him. And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and prostrated himself before him, and crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God?

2:08 I adjure you by God, torment me not. For he had said unto him, Come forth, you unclean spirit, out of the man. And he asked him, What is your name? And he said unto him, My name is Legion, for we are many.

2:28 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there on the mountainside a great herd of swine feeding, and they besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

2:46 And he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered into the swine. And the herd rushed down the steep into the sea in number about two thousand, and they were drowned in the sea. And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city and in the country.

3:08 And they came to see what it was that had come to pass. And they come to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with demons, sitting, clothed, and in his right mind. Even him that had the legion. And they were afraid, and they that saw it declared unto them how it befell him that was possessed with demons, and concerning the swine.

3:36 And they began to beseech him to depart from their borders, and as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with demons besought him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him. But said unto him, I am with you. And he said unto him, Go to your house, and unto your friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you.

4:07 And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him. And all men marveled. Now let us once again seek the face of God, that God by the Holy Spirit would give us understanding in his own words. Let us together pray.

Prayer for Spiritual Understanding

4:29 When we get to the tomb of John Decapolis, are there any Christians in the Lord that has had to go to the tomb before him? If there are, those who, by Christ ownỉing Christ, have gone to the tomb are able to see both Jesus Christ Himself and their Holy Spirit. Let us, together. And our Father, we remember the words of John the Baptist who declared, A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven.

4:50 And we therefore bow before you not as a matter of ritual or empty religious form, but we bow before you, but we bow to acknowledge that we can receive nothing but a man that can be given by the Holy Spirit. daughters were also invited in a chamber near the hall where the holy Church would be again. All reduced people. Christian' Fr.

5:00 Dentists. Nothing to profit our souls unless heaven is opened, unless your heart is opened, unless your hand is opened to give. And we pray that you will give us in this hour not any physical sight of the spiritual world. We do not ask to hear the voices of angels or any direct thunder from heaven, but we earnestly pray with the psalmist, open our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of your law.

5:35 May this passage and its inherent message so come with clarity and with power that not a one of us, to the youngest or the oldest, will leave this building without the power of heaven.

5:49 May this passage and its inherent message so come with clarity and with power that not a one of us, to the youngest or the oldest, will leave this building without the power of heaven.

6:26 May this passage and its inherent message so come with clarity and with power that not a one of us, to the youngest or the oldest, will leave this building without the power of heaven.

6:57 May this passage and its inherent message so come with clarity and with power that not a one of us, to the youngest or the oldest, will leave this building without the power of heaven. May this passage and its inherent message so come with clarity and with power that not a one of us, to the youngest or the oldest, will leave this building without the power of heaven. May this passage and its inherent message so come with clarity and with power that not a one of us, to the youngest or the oldest, will leave this building without the power of heaven.

Recap and Introduction to the Sequel's Facts

7:27 An utterly hopeless case of what men would call incurable insanity, inflicting wounds upon himself as he cut himself, a man that was pathetic in his horrible state and in his dwelling amongst the dead. And then in our last meditation we examine the details of what I entitled the account of the amazing deliverance of the demoniac. By our Lord Jesus Christ, and this took us through verses 6 through 16, this fascinating encounter of the demoniac with the Lord Jesus,

8:09 in which the ultimate issue is established from the very physical circumstances of the initial encounter, when the one possessed with demons is prostrated at the feet of Jesus, who had already issued a word of command for the demon to come out of the man, and then after this dialogue between the demons and the Lord Jesus, the demons are indeed forced to vacate the personality and body of this man. They are given permission to inhabit the bodies of the swine, who are then driven in a frenzy into the nearby sea and drowned.

8:50 And then the report goes out into the towns and villages and country areas, and many come. To see with their own eyes the transformation wrought by the power of Christ, and they see this man sitting decently clothed and in the full possession of all of his rational faculties. Now we come this morning to the third division of this narrative, having set before us the pathetic condition of the demoniac, the amazing deliverance of the demoniac. Mark.

9:27 Mark then gives us, in verses 17 through 20, the sequel to the deliverance of the demoniac. The sequel to the deliverance of the demoniac. And this morning we'll follow an outline we've often followed in thinking our way through these narratives. We shall first of all grasp the basic facts of this sequel to the deliverance of the demoniac, and then concentrate our attention.

9:57 Upon the message contained in the facts of this sequel. First of all, then, the facts of this sequel to the healing and deliverance of the demoniac. And as we look at the verses, it is evident that there are basic, basically five facts or groupings of the facts that describe what happened after the demoniac is delivered, and after the news of his deliverance. First of all, the fact that the deliverance has spread to the townspeople, and they, with the swine herders, have joined the Lord Jesus and his disciples, and have beheld with their own eyes his amazing deliverance.

Fact 1: The Request of the Witnesses and Townspeople

10:41 And we have, first of all, in the facts of the sequel, the request of the witnesses and the townspeople in verse 17. And they began to beseech him, that is the Lord Jesus, to depart from their borders. The request of the witnesses and the townspeople is described very simply by Mark, that they began to beseech him to depart from their borders. You will remember, those of you who were here for the previous exposition, that after his deliverance, according to verse 14,

11:26 the swine herders, fled into the city and they that fed them fled. They were filled with this mingled spirit of fear and amazement, and ran in the city and into the village areas and told people what happened. And as a result of that, many of the townspeople came out with them to that place near to the Sea of Galilee. They came to see what it was that had come to pass.

11:58 After they had seen, after they had validated both the deliverance of the demoniac and no doubt had seen the bodies of the swine floating by the shore of the sea, the response of that entire group save one and the disciples is described by Mark as one in which they earnestly entreated, fervently or zealously urged Jesus to clear out of town. What a strange response to this amazing deliverance.

12:39 The word that is used means an earnest entreaty, not a mere passing or light-hearted suggestion, but an earnest entreaty. An earnest imploring of Jesus to get out of town. According to Luke 8 and verse 37, this was not just the suggestion of a minority or a bare majority, but in the parallel passage in Luke 8, 37 we read, And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him to depart, from them.

13:24 Here was a universal response of the dwellers of Gerasene. And the response was to plead with Jesus to get out of town and to go somewhere else. Now whether they did it in terms of an official message from the town mayor, whether they came out with placards and signs, Jesus go home, as we have seen on newscasts, in various, parts of the world, where people make their signs, Yankee go home, or President Reagan go home, whatever it is, there was an expression of the will of the entire section of that country

Fact 2: Jesus's Response to Their Request

14:07 that the Lord Jesus should leave their borders. So the first part of the sequel, as far as its facts are concerned, is this earnest request of the witnesses and the townspeople, that Jesus should leave. Then in verses 18a and 21, we have Jesus' response to their request. That's the second factor of the narrative.

14:37 How did Jesus respond to that request? No sooner does the request come, but Jesus and his disciples make their way back to the place where the boat had been beached upon the shore, and we read, in verse 18, and as he was entering the boat, the moment their earnest entreaty reached the ears of the Lord Jesus, he said to his disciples, Come, my children, let's enter the boat and go back to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Now that this was his intention, and that he followed through on that intention, is very clear from verse 21.

15:22 And when Jesus, had crossed over again in the boat unto the other side. So the second fact of the narrative is that Jesus complied with their request and made his way back across the Sea of Galilee, approximately six or eight miles north and west from the place where the miracle had occurred. This was no fickle response of the Lord Jesus. He did not.

15:54 He did not get a few hundred yards out from the shore and say, Wait a minute, to his disciples. I was really precipitous and irresponsible in responding to that request. I really feel I ought to go back. Turn the ship around and let's go back.

Fact 3: The Request of the Delivered Demoniac

16:07 No such thing of the kind. They besought him to leave, and Jesus left with a resolute determination not to return on that occasion. Then we have, in verse 18, the third fact of the narrative. We have the request of the delivered demoniac.

16:28 Now a request is going to come from the man who was the center of this entire incident. And as he was entering into the boat, get the picture now, the Lord Jesus just entering the boat, the disciples perhaps already in the boat about to shove off on the shore, he that had been possessed with demons, and now the same verb is used here, as was used in verse 17. They began earnestly to entreat him, get out of here. Now this one begins earnestly to entreat the Lord Jesus, notice carefully now, that he might be with him.

17:12 He begins to put forth an earnest, fervent, zealous entreaty that the Lord Jesus would allow him to enter into the company, of the twelve who had come across the shore with him, that he might be found in constant companionship with the Lord Jesus. There is no indication that he asked the Lord Jesus that he might go from difficult circumstances, from a situation where people might never forget what he was. The great concern of his heart was not what he was leaving, but the possibility of what, he might be attaching himself to,

17:56 and that attachment was to the Lord Jesus himself. His request was nothing more or less than that Jesus would allow him to become one of his permanent companions. Then in the fourth place, as we look at the facts of the narrative, all we're doing is opening up the Scripture, and for you visiting with us, that's how we operate here. We follow the track of Holy Scripture.

Fact 4: Jesus's Response to the Demoniac's Request

18:22 We let our minds, go where Scripture takes us. And in the fourth place we notice the response of Jesus to the request of the delivered demoniac. Verse 19, And he, that is Jesus, did not permit him, but said unto him, Go to your house and unto your friends, and tell them how great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy upon you. And he said unto him, Now these are strange words particularly in this context.

19:01 For in verses 10 and 13 we have the record that the request of the demons was granted. In verse 10 the demons besought the Lord Jesus that he would not send them away out of the country. Verse 13 says, He gave them permission to enter the swine. He honored the request of the demons.

19:24 Furthermore, when the city folk and the town folk came out and requested of him earnestly and fervently, Leave us! He complied with their request. What a strange situation when we may say it this way, Jesus answers the prayer of demons and of wretched, wicked people who don't want him around, but he refuses the prayer of one who loves him and wants to be with him. Isn't it a strange response the Lord Jesus gives on the surface of things?

19:56 But you see his denial was really the denial of his own sovereign designs and purposes. And so the Lord Jesus gives him a gracious denial in verse 19. He did not permit him. And then he gives him a sovereign directive.

20:21 He does not permit him to come as his constant companion, but now he gives him a sovereign directive. And here it is. Go to your house, the very place where people saw the degeneration of your life, from a happy, carefree little boy to the devil's sense, so possessed by the power of demons that you had to be driven from home and family and town and friends and relatives and have your haunt out amongst the dead in the tombs, like the madman that you were. Go back to that very place.

21:03 Go back to your home and to your own people. And that could mean your own relatives, your town folk, your neighbors, the people with whom you've sustained in the past the most intimate and close relationships. Go back to your house. Go back to your own people.

21:27 And then declare two things. Look at the text. And tell them. Declare to them, number one, how great things the Lord has done for you.

21:41 And number two, how he had mercy, or literally, how he compassionated you. It's one of those verbs and constructions that can't be translated into smooth English. So the best thing the translators can do, is to say, is to write how he had mercy on you. Now you go back.

22:02 If it is love to my person that causes you to request that you might be with me, then accept my sovereign directive and out of love to my person, go back to your home and to your own people and declare these two things. Declare what great things the Lord has done for you. Make it plain that the transformation did not arise out of yourself. The transformation did not happen by some strange quirk of bodily hormones or physical chemistry.

22:44 Declare that what you now are is the fruit of the mighty work of the Lord. Declare what great things the Lord has done, underscoring the power, and the source of the power that had transformed him. But then he says, tell them the mercy that he has shown to you. Mercy, pity, joined to action.

Fact 5: The Demoniac's Obedience and Its Result

23:10 Let them know that it was the compassion of an omnipotent Savior. That it was grace joined to power that has effected this amazing change. And then we have as the fifth element in the narrative, the obedience of the delivered demoniac and its result. Verse 20, look at the text.

23:36 And he went his way. Isn't that beautiful in its simplicity? No arguing with Jesus. No more beseeching.

23:45 No more pleading. No debating. And he went his way. He embraced the sovereign directive of his Lord.

23:57 And what did he do? He began to publish in Decapolis. Deca, ten. Decalogue, polis, city.

24:07 Decapolis was an area on the western, I'm sorry, the eastern side of the Jordan River where there were ten cities. And one of them was on the western side. But that area was called Decapolis. An area referred to only three times in the Gospel records.

24:26 And so the Lord Jesus tells him, to go back to his home and to his own people and to tell how God has shown power and mercy to him. And he immediately obeys and began to publish. Literally, he began to proclaim as a herald. This is that word that speaks of preaching under the imagery of a herald.

24:52 The town crier who conveys the message of another. So he takes precise, precisely what Jesus had told him to say. And he begins to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him. And the result is, it says, that all men marveled.

25:15 They were amazed. To use contemporary terminology, they were blown out of their minds. As this man whose reputation had spread over that whole area now goes and tells one after another, I am the man who once roamed about the mountains and night and day cried and screeched and bellowed like a madman, cut myself, broke the chains and fetters with which I was bound. I am the man.

25:46 And you ask me how it is that I'm now found clothed and in my right mind? Here's the answer. Jesus of Nazareth has come. And this is what he did.

26:00 And he would rehearse the facts of that entire narrative that we have studied for two Lord's days. And when he was done, people could not deny the transformation. And they were blown out of their minds. They were filled with wonder and with amazement.

Message 1: The Horrible Fruits of Spiritual Blindness and Unbelief

26:16 Well, those are the facts of the narrative. I've sought simply to give an obvious, clear, structured explanation. Now then, what does all of this, say to us? You say, Pastor Martin, that's all very interesting.

26:34 And if you believe the Bible to be the Word of God, then that's all very true. And that's a lovely story. Now do you pronounce the benediction and have us go home feeling that we've heard a lovely story? No, the benediction doesn't come yet.

26:48 Because you see, in this narrative, God has something to say to you and something to say to me. Something to say to every man, woman, boy or girl in this place, visitor or member, young or old, it matters not. And as time permits, I want us to consider four or five of the lessons that are in this narrative. But surely, the strength of the whole narrative is that it brings into the sharpest focus above all else the tremendous contrast between the response of spiritual blindness and unbelief on the one hand, and spiritual blindness on the other.

27:29 Spiritual sight and faith on the other. Mark must have been conscious that in writing this account, the contrast would strike anyone who read it with even half wakefulness. Here in stark contrast is the fruit of unbelief set over against the fruit of faith. And therefore, I ask you, first of all, as we consider the message contained in this sequence, I ask you to be faithful to the demoniac's deliverance.

28:03 Behold with me the horrible fruits of spiritual blindness, unbelief and possibly covetousness. I'll not be dogmatic, but I think there's some clear indications that what we see here is not only the fruit of spiritual blindness and unbelief, but of covetousness as well. When the people saw what they saw, we would have expected that they would have done what many did during the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus. If you're familiar with the gospel records at all, you will remember how again and again, when Jesus had committed or had performed an amazing miracle,

28:47 we read that multitudes pressed in upon him. You remember earlier in Mark, they crowded the house and spilled out over beyond the house until someone had to let the poor paralytic down through the tiles in the roof where Jesus went. The miraculous occurred and people pressed upon him with their sick and demented and demon-possessed. One would have expected that when the Lord Jesus came to an area that he had not visited before, an area that perhaps had only heard by second or third hand the amazing reports of what was going on up in the northern shore of the Galilean region, one would think that when people heard,

29:29 the deaf are made to hear, the blind are made to see, the crippled are made to walk, even the dead are raised from the dead. This man speaks not like our religious leaders in just the humdrum mumbo-jumbo of religious jargon. He speaks with authority. He speaks as one who knows whereof he speaks with nothing but those reports one would think that when his boat slid up into the sea, when his boat slid up onto the shore, and in the next moments this amazing deliverance had occurred, and then the news of it spread throughout all of the city and the townspeople and the country people heard and they came flocking,

30:12 what we would expect would follow would be some kind of an overwhelming request. Jesus, please remain for a while on our shores. Please come and do a preaching tour through our villages in our cities. We have others who are like this.

30:29 This pathetic man possessed of demons. We have those who are sick and infirmed. We have those who are despairing of ever hearing a clear word from the scribes and Pharisees and from the rabbis in the synagogues. Oh Jesus of Nazareth, please, please find it in your heart to remain with us at least for a week, at least for a few days.

30:54 Isn't that what we would have expected? And yet we read in verse 2, verse 3, verse 4, verse 5, verse 6, verse 7, verse 8, verse 9, verse 17, some of the saddest words in all of the Bible. And I remind you of the parallel passage in Luke. This was the unanimous consent of the entire group of witnesses.

31:15 They began to beseech him, to entreat him fervently. Jesus, come home and leave us alone. Now why did they do it? Why did they do it?

31:39 Well, some of them said, why? The commentators are very dogmatic and say, well, they did it because Jesus destroyed their livelihood when he permitted the demons to enter the swine and they ran headlong into the sea and they were drowned. Now I say that may be one of the motives, but Scripture doesn't tell us that. But it does tell us explicitly what one of the motives was, and I ask you to turn to Luke 8 and verse 37.

32:15 Luke 8 and verse 37. Luke 8 and verse 37. The Pharisees round about asked him to depart from them for, here's the reason, this is why they said, Jesus, go home, leave us alone, do your thing elsewhere. They were held in the grip of great fear.

32:37 The verb used means that they were being held in the grip of great fear. In other words, through spiritual blindness and unbelief, all they saw was a raw power that terrified them. They saw someone possessed of enough power to have demons occupy swine and go into the sea, enough power to deliver someone concerning whom they had made the decision, he's hopeless and helpless, leave him alone. Out in the mountains and in the tombs.

33:20 And they could not deny the power, but all they saw was raw power. And they failed to see that that was power exercised unto mercy and power that was impelled by grace.

33:40 And if all you ever see in Christ and in God is raw power, you'll run from Him. Amen.

33:50 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

33:50 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

33:51 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

33:51 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

33:51 Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

33:51 Amen. Amen. Amen. If this, in God and in His Son, is raw power, you'll run from Him.

33:59 That is precisely what the Scripture says men will do on the day of judgment. When the heavens are rolled back as a scroll, and they see the Son of Man seated upon clouds of glory and coming in power, it says they will cry to rocks and mountains, fall upon us, hide us from the face of Him, that sits upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. You see, unbelief blinds men to the beauty and to the wonder of the grace that is suffused with the power of Jesus. Yes, the man was declaring.

34:42 He was declaring by his transformed life that the power of Jesus was not power put forth to destroy. It was power to heal. They saw the man sitting clothed and in his right mind. But in their spiritual blindness and unbelief, though they saw the raw power, they saw nothing of compassionate, gracious, delivering, saving power.

35:17 And in their spiritual blindness and unbelief, and perhaps, in their covetousness, more concerned that their pigs were drowned than that this hopeless wreck of humanity was delivered, thereby becoming an index of what Jesus could do and would do if only they would welcome Him. What do they do? They earnestly entreat Him. Jesus, go home.

35:47 Get away from us. Would God, the horrible power of unbelief and spiritual blindness, were limited to that generation.

36:02 But that horrible power is present in this building this morning. There are people sitting in this auditorium who cannot deny that you've seen the power of Christ transform the life of some loved one. A son, a daughter, a husband, a wife. You cannot deny that an exertion of power is the only answer to what's happened to them.

36:28 And in the process, it may have destroyed some things very precious to you. Maybe your swinish lifestyle of whining and dining and boozing and living a loose, immoral life. And Jesus' power that transformed your husband, wife, son or daughter, brother, sister is the power that has destroyed your pigs.

36:55 And in your blindness and unbelief, instead of seeing the wonder of that gracious power that transformed you, instead of seeing the wonder of that gracious power that transformed you, instead of seeing the wonder of that gracious power that transformed you, instead of seeing the wonder of that gracious power that transformed that loved one and grabbing, as it were, the Lord Jesus by the hem of His garment and saying, O Jesus, who can change my self-centered, self-willed son or daughter from a life of drugs and impurity and immorality and selfishness and disrespect into someone sane and in their right mind, Lord Jesus, don't leave until that power has changed me from being a son or daughter from a proud, self-sufficient, self-righteous man, woman, boy or girl,

37:37 instead of grabbing to the hem of His garment and pleading with Him to remain and to touch you by His power, you've said, Jesus, go home. Away with it! Oh, you've not done it blatantly like the militant atheist. You've not done it in the crass manner of the self-confessed agnostic.

38:02 But, my friend, you've done it nonetheless really because there is no personal attachment between you and the Son of God. The blindness of your spiritual eyes and the unbelief of your heart have put distance between you and the Son of God and you're glad to have that distance.

Message 2: The Blessed Fruits of Transforming Grace

38:27 So I say we must behold as ugly as it is in this narrative the horrible fruits of spiritual blindness of unbelief and of covetousness. But now, behold also the blessed fruits of the transforming power of grace. Behold in this delivered demoniac the blessed fruits of the transforming power of grace. The grace that gave spiritual sight and faith in place of blindness and unbelief.

39:08 What were the outward signs of that grace? Well, we studied them in our previous study. They are listed for us in verse 15. Everyone could see the outward signs of that grace.

39:24 They came and they beheld Him sitting as opposed to His mad frenzied activity jumping up and down and running throughout the tombs screaming and bellowing. They came and they beheld Him sitting as opposed to His mad frenzied activity jumping up and down and running throughout the tombs screaming and bellowing. They came and they beheld Him sitting as opposed to His mad frenzied activity jumping up and down and running throughout the tombs screaming and bellowing. Day and night they behold Him sitting.

39:43 They behold Him clothed. No longer going about in shameless nakedness. And they behold Him in His right mind. Those were the outward signs of the transforming power of grace.

39:57 Signs that anyone with 20-40 eyesight could see and even 20-80 if you got close enough to Him. Everyone could see them. But in the sequel, we're taken to what we would call the inner and common denominator signs of grace. And what are they?

40:17 First of all, there is this voluntary attachment to the person of Jesus. When the townspeople take their vote and are unanimous, get out of here! And Jesus begins to go. He runs that He might also get in that boat not to escape the townspeople, but to be with Jesus.

40:41 There's the most beautiful and simple picture in the passage of what faith is. Voluntary attachment to the person of Jesus. In faith, He beholds the one and there's some suggestion in the very language who is more than a man. For we read in Luke's gospel that He was commanded to tell what great things God had done for Him.

41:08 And it says He went about in the church and declared what great things Jesus had done for Him. At least it's a hint that He saw no discrepancy between declaring the mighty power of Jehovah and the mighty power of Jesus, for Jesus is and was Jehovah incarnate. There was that voluntary attachment to the person of Christ in faith. It was a voluntary attachment in love.

41:35 Now follow closely. It was a voluntary attachment in open confession and in open detachment from the majority position. You see it all there in the passage. Lord, I want to be with you.

41:54 That's the attachment of faith and love. But He makes it not in secret, but in the face of the entire congregated town and country group. And in saying I want to be attached to you when others are telling you, get out of here, I'm taking my stand against the majority position and I stand with Christ. And my friend, there is no saving faith in Christ until you're prepared to be openly attached to Christ.

42:25 If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto salvation, and with the mouth, the man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. What did Jesus say? Whosoever therefore will confess me before men, him will I confess before my Father which is in heaven, but whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before my Father. This was risky business.

43:08 Remember Luke's words, they all, they all besought him to depart. They have a majority opinion about Jesus. And rid of him. And he stands all alone with the little band of the twelve who have an entirely different position. He says

43:25 I want to be one of them. Now my friend, listen. There is no such thing as forever being a secret disciple.

43:37 It says they could not believe because they sought the praise of men more than the praise of God. Inherent in saving faith. Faith is this confessional element in which we are prepared to stand against the majority opinion of our own age. And not merely from the distance.

44:01 If it means father, mother, brother, sister, son, or daughter. Is that what Jesus said? He that loveth father, mother, son, daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. You say, Pastor, you've been harping on this a lot recently. Yes, because

44:23 the text is taking me there. And I am yet convinced that the conversion of some of you is suspect at this point. You're comfortable in the association of church members who share the same faith, share the same perspectives, but when the crunch comes in taking the minority position, there amongst your worldlings or in the confines of your home with your own children, you show that your attachment to Jesus Christ is not supreme. And if it isn't, you have no

45:08 biblical grounds to claim you're a Christian, even though you may be a member in good standing of Trinity Baptist Church.

Message 3: Obedience Contrary to Natural Desire

45:19 In this delivered demoniac, behold the fruits of the transgressions forming work of grace, voluntary attachment to the person of Jesus in faith, love, confession, and repudiation of the majority position. But then it's also described in his simple but explicit obedience to Jesus. Look at verse 20. And he went his way.

45:52 Well, what was his way? It was the way mapped out by Jesus. And began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him. Now you'll notice that that obedience so beautifully and simply described was obedience contrary to his natural desire.

46:16 Right? What was his natural desire? Lord, hold that boat on the shore till I get in. I want to be with you, Jesus said. No.

46:25 Your natural desire is to express your attachment to me in faith and love and confession and repudiation of the majority position by being physically present with me, by being numbered amongst those who are in the inner circle. I appreciate the expression, but if you really love me, keep my commands. And here are my commands. You go back to your house, back to your own people, and you tell them what great things the Lord has done for you.

46:58 And how he had mercy upon you, and the text says he went his way. What a beautiful description of obedience. That's the mark of spiritually enlightened eyes and of living faith in Jesus. Is it true of you?

47:17 Do you go your way when your way is the expression of the word of Jesus even when it counters your natural inclinations? Even what we might call your sanctified natural inclinations? Surely that was a holy desire to be with Jesus. And Jesus said no. My word takes

Message 4: The Vital Principle of Christian Service

47:42 you in another direction. Well, that's the real heart of the message of the passage, but very quickly, I want to underscore two or three other lessons as we close this morning. In this passage, consider the vital principle of Christian service that is so clearly illustrated in what we've studied together. The vital principle of Christian service.

48:12 And I can do no better than to read old Bishop Ryle. He has said it so succinctly and so powerfully that I'll just read his words.

48:23 He says concerning the Lord's directions to the demoniac after he did not permit him but told him to go back home. There are lessons of profound wisdom in these words. The place that Christians wish to be in is not always the place that is best for their souls. The position that they would choose if they could have their own way is not always that which Jesus would have them occupy.

48:50 There are none who need this lesson more than new converts. Such people are often very poor judges of what is really for their good. Full of the new views, they've been graciously taught, excited with the novelty of their present position, seeing everything around them in a new light, yet knowing little of the depths of Satan and the weakness of their own hearts. Knowing only that a little time ago they were blind and now through mercy they see of all people they are in the greatest danger of making mistakes. With

49:26 the best intentions they're apt to fall into mistakes about their plans in life, their choices, their moves, their professions. They forget that what we like best is not always best for our souls and that the seed of grace needs winter as well as summer, cold as well as heat to ripen it for glory. Let us pray God would guide us in all our ways after conversion and not allow us to err in our choices or make hasty decisions. The place and position that is most helpful for us and in which we are kept most humble, most taught our own sinfulness, drawn most from the Bible and prayer,

50:10 led most to live by faith and not by sight, that is God's place for us. It may not be quite what we like, but if Christ by his providence has placed us in it, then let us not be in a hurry to leave it. Let us therein abide with God. The great thing is to have no will of our own, and to be where Jesus would have us be. And I cannot help

50:36 but remark at all the spiritual damage done in our generation when someone who has recently come to spiritual sight and faith and loving attachment to Christ and in the flush of that attachment loves the word and loves the souls of man and wants to witness and be with Christ. And unwise pastors and elders say, oh well you ought to go off to Bible school and go into the ministry. You ought to go to Bible school and go into the mission field. Where in the Bible does it say that the ordinary fruits of regeneration constitute a call to special service?

51:12 Where in the Bible is that taught? The Bible that teaches it. No one is to be considered as a candidate for special service who has not ripened in grace and manifested peculiarity of gift. Let these first be proved, the Bible says.

51:37 Not a novice, the Bible says. And oh, the horrible tragedy of wasted years because some with all the zeal of that delivered demoniac have said, oh Lord, let me be with you. And in their minds with Christ meant, quote, full-time service, Bible school, mission field, ministry. And often it's not only been ignorant pastors and elders, but carnally ambitious pastors and elders. I've talked to

52:11 them who want to put another notch in their rifle and say very humbly, well, the Lord's been good. Had 23 young people go to Bible school and the ministry under my humble influence over the past 17 years. Humble influence?

52:35 Rotten! That jeopardized the well-being of spiritual babes. I've had to try to pick up the fruits of it over the years and so have my fellow elders. When it becomes evident that the person has no special call from God because they have no special endowments of gift, and they've wasted money and time, and they have no marketable skill, and in their mid to late twenties they've got to pick up the pieces and try to make something worthwhile of their lives.

53:12 Oh, how wise the Lord Jesus was. He did not allow the zeal of a new convert to determine the will of God as to his best sphere of service. It's a great principle. Another principle.

Message 5: Where Credibility is First Established

53:28 Consider the vital lesson of where our credibility is to be first established once we profess conversion. Consider the vital principle of where our credibility is first to be established when we profess conversion. Lord, I want to be with you! No. Go back

53:49 to your home and to your own people. Go back to the people who saw the most accurately and most fully all the manifestations of what you were before my mighty power touched you, and in that situation let them see at every level that you are a transformed man. Dear young people, listen. Don't open your mouth and start saying, Christ has saved you until you're prepared to demonstrate before brother, sister, mom and dad something that has no explanation but that indeed

54:33 his grace has laid hold of you. It's relatively easy to impress people who don't know us, but with relatives and those of our own who know our soft spots and who know as it were our spiritual underbelly where we are most vulnerable and don't you think they won't press to see if what we profess is real? What a wonderful thing when in that circle men have to say there's no explanation but that Jesus has done his work in my brother, in my sister, in my son, in my daughter, in my mom, in my dad, in my husband,

55:16 in my wife. But then I close on this to me glorious note. Behold in this passage the amazing display of the grace and the patience of Jesus to obstinate sinners. You say the grace and patience of Jesus to obstinate sinners? Where do you see that?

Message 6: Amazing Grace and Patience to Obstinate Sinners

55:37 Well look at the passage. In verse 17 they say go home Jesus we don't want you. He says alright I'll not force myself on you but I will send an ambassador to tell you all that I do for sinners. And though they sent Jesus away in his person what did he do? He sent back

56:02 a representative to tell them of the mighty power of Christ. He sent back an evangelist. He sent back one to declare the mighty works of God. And it says when he did they were all amazed.

56:16 Now did some of them get converted? I don't know. But it was grace and mercy that provoked the Lord Jesus to send him back. Jesus could have said alright you bunch of hard hearted obstinate stubborn proud unbelieving covetous sinners you don't want me?

56:37 And this man who is the monument of my power you probably don't want him either. I know lots of places that are glad to receive me and his ilk. Come on with me. And left them without any light and any testimony it would have been just of God to lead them to the fruit of their own unbelief and impenitence.

56:57 But what did he do? It's just like our Lord. God said in the Old Testament I have stretched out my hands all the day long to a disobedient and insane people. And oh in this place this morning Jesus Christ is doing the same thing.

57:17 Because he's commissioned every one of his servants to preach repentance and faith in his name. And this morning he is not here in his person. He's at the right hand of the Father. But as his servant I am commissioned to tell you though you have said perhaps a hundred times Jesus go home. He is a

57:37 healed demoniac telling you. Jesus save sinners. No I was never possessed of devils but I was a child of the devil. Blind as you are blind. Loving

57:50 my sin as you love yours. Loving my own way as you love yours. But grace has transformed me. And I stand to tell you what great things he has done and how he had mercy on this poor sinner.

58:06 And my friend he's promised to have mercy on every sinner who will seek it of him in repentance and faith. Oh behold the patience. The patience and the love of Christ. And my friend that patience and love is extended to you this morning. Seek the Lord

58:26 while he may be found. Call upon him while he's near. And you'll find him to be the same gracious savior that that demoniac found him to be. Where do you fit in the sequel?

58:41 Are you part of the townspeople who say Jesus go home. Leave us alone. We want life as usual. Or are you going to be like that healed demoniac who said Jesus I want to be with you.

58:59 All of us in one of the two postures. Which are you? Say I'm somewhere. No there is no in between.

59:06 No in between. He that is not with me is against me Jesus said. You're in Christ or out of Christ. Saved or lost. I don't like

59:14 that clear line. My friend God has made it. And you can't erase it. Where do you stand?

Closing Prayer

59:21 May God help you to face it with judgment day honesty. Let us pray. Our Father how we thank you for your holy word. How we rejoice in this picture of the grace and saving mercy of our Lord Jesus.

59:49 Thank you that he marvelously and powerfully transformed that helpless demoniac in order to display the wonder of his own grace. We pray that that grace may be displayed though not as dramatically yet just as really in each one of us. Seal the word then to our hearts and as we leave this place may we leave with the pressure of that word upon our consciences grant our Father that those who yet are saved away with Jesus and his salvation may before this day is over say with all their hearts

60:33 I want him and his salvation. Hear then our prayer and may the blessings of your grace and the benediction of your presence and power rest upon us and abide with us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.