Taken Back
Scripture Reading: Luke 8: 26 - 39 (NIV)
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
32A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
38The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.
Message: Taken Back
We all have demons
Who has watched the soapie “The Days of our Lives”?
In the 1990’s there was a storyline where the villain Streffano Dimera was trying to gain power Dr Marlena Evans and a demon possessed her
Do you remember the eyes and the deep voice?
Images like this form our ideas of the evil side of the spiritual world
There is also Star Wars - the Dark side, Darth Vader…
The story of Hansie Cronje (Netflix - Bad Sport: Episode “Fallen Idol” or the movie “The Hansie Cronje Story”)
South African cricket hero - fell to the temptation of bookmakers
Love for fame and money got the most of him
He was exposed - hero of moral and priciple fell - banned for life
And then one day he said: “The devil made me do it”
Hansie Cronje tragically died in a plane crash two years later
Did evil forces cause a hero to fall? (There are many similar stories)
What should we do with this idea that the devil is to blame? (Adam and Eve…)
In today’s Scritpture reading, we hear the story of Jesus meeting a man who was possessed by a demon
Demons hurt people - naked man living among tombs…
When the demon saw Jesus, he was scared, falling down and asking “what do you want from me?”
Jesus is more powerful than any demon
Then Jesus asks: “What’s your name?”
“Legion” he answered - meaning “many” (they from here on)
It turned out that there were more than one demon posessing this poor man
Demons come in many shapes and sizes
Yes, I believe they exist in the form of a bad entity trying to hurt people
But, I also believe we encounter demons more often than we realize
Perhaps in the way we sometimes say: “fighting your demons” when we are facing personal challenges that have to be overcome
Remember Paul wrote in Ephesians 6: 12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
There is definitely more going on than we realize…
Whether it is demons in the form of evil beasts or in form of personal challenges, we will face demons in our lives
I think it is safe to say that we all face demons in our lives - in whatever form…
The story we read today, is meant to help us in our struggles with demons
What can we learn from the interaction Jesus had with the demon and how it changed a man?
Recognize the demon
Jesus immediately recognized the presence of a demon in the man
And the demon immediately recognized Jesus!
Jesus confronts the demon by asking: “What’s your name?”
Jesus brings the demon out, because demons love to lurk in the background and the shadows
Jesus brings out the demon to be recognized and dealt with
Healing begins with calling out the demon and directly addressing it
What’s the name of the demon you are battling with?
It might be a monster with a name
But it might be a mental illness, or an addiction, or a relationship, or your relationship with yourself, or your health
Demons hurt us
This story illustrates how the demons hurt this poor man
He was naked and living among tombs
It speaks to how his life was taken away from him
How demons hurt people
Let us remember, there are evil forces in this world around us that want to hurt us
And on our own, we are totally vulnerable and we might end up naked and living among the dead
We need Jesus to defeat our demons
We need Jesus to face our demons
On our own, we will not overcome the demons we face
And when Jesus comes into our lives, the demons are confronted
He calls them out and they fear Him
Without Jesus, we will live in fear of the demons and the devil
With Jesus, we have nothing to fear…
With Jesus, we can take on the demons - whether it is a monster with a name or battles within ourselves
With Jesus, the demons will be brought out of the shadows and be named
With Jesus, there will be healing!
This story of the man of Gerasenes, is a story that reminds us how much we need Jesus
And instead of blaming the devil or getting fixated on the demons or the struggles we face, this story calls us to turn to Jesus with our battles
The famous gospel singer, Michael W. Smith has a song called “Surrounded”
In the song he sings: “This is how I fight my battles…” (over and over like a chant)
And then he sings: “It may look like I'm surrounded but I'm surrounded by You”
This is how we fight our demons… we surround ourselves with Jesus!
AMEN
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