WED - Men’s Study - Gifts of the Spirit: gift of tongues

JUNE 10 MOBILE FINGER PRINTING will be here for those desiring to serve here at metro.

Before and AFTER both sevice

NEXT YMF - june 8rsvp

Old married/single servants

FAMILY CAMP 2007

Shepherd’s School APPLICATIONS

Brasil 10.07 APPLICATIONS

TONY and SEGAL

VALERIE - surgery/pathology/prayer

MATTHEW 8:28-34 The Powerful Savior

In our study last week we saw Jesus command the disciples to get into a boat in order to go over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

On the way across a storm of seismic proportions came down upon the sea of Galilee.

Men who spent their lives on that body of water were certain that they were going to die.

REMEMBER - We said that there was a twofold purpose for getting into the boat that day

1.) The first was to reveal something of His nature to His disciples

That storm did NOT catch Jesus off guard.

Jesus KNEW that it was coming.

The storm was a part of that day’s curriculum.

The storm provided the moment in which Jesus would show them that He possesses ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY over even the forces of nature….

And thus He can be trusted in the storms of life!

We learned that their GREATEST PROBLEM (and ours) was not the storm around them but the unbelief within them.

Their unbelief was more dangerous than the storm!

Before Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves He rebuked their unbelief.

2.) This morning we are going to see the SECOND reason for that perilous journeyacross the Sea of Galilee

Jesus had an appointment with two very needy men on the other side of the lake.

Immediately following the storm Matthew tells us.

Matthew 8:28-34 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31So the devils besought him, saying,

If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

REMEMBER - The Bible is the BEST COMMENTARY on the Bible.

So whenever we study a portion of Scripture we want to search the rest of the Scriptures to see what light they shed on the passage at hand.

In Luke and Mark we are given further eyewitness details that help fill out the COMPOSITE PICTURE of this event…. Help us to get the full picture of just how powerful our Savior is.

Both Luke and Mark single out one of the two men.

LUKE 8:26-30 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. 27And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. 29(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him:

and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) 30And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.

Mark 5:5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

All night if you went out that way you could hear them howling.

They constantly gauged themselves with rocks.

Their bodies must have been mutilated.

We can’t imagine how terrible a sight they were as we are told that no one could even pass that way.

So here were these guys, howling all night, fierce and terrible and mutilated.

VERSE 28 - “And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?

First time in the New Testament.

REMEMBER – The disciples are still dripping wet from the storm and they’re walking behind Jesus.

Moments earlier they were saying, “What manner of man is this? Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

All of sudden they hear the answer.

We have to get the idea that these would not have been not pleasant sounding voices to listen to as demons had taken over a human being and their vocal cords. (Woman at Twin Peaks Community Church)

So this is a freaky way to have your question answered.

KEY OBSERVATION: We have clearly before us a DEMONIC STATEMENT OF FAITH.

KEY INSIGHT: Demons do have faith!

They believed in the existence of God.

They believed in the deity of Christ.

They also knew that Christ had ABSOLUTE AUTHORITY over them… that He possessed the power to send them into the swine.

(James 2:19 NLT) Do you still think it's enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror!

KEY OBSERVATION: We also have clearly defined for us the eschatology of the demons

These demons ask, “Are you come to torment us before the time?”

These demonic beings are also quite aware of their destiny.

(Mat 25:41 NKJV) "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

BY THE WAY - Hell was not intended for mankind.

KEY INSIGHT: Most people today think that presently there is this place called hell.

The Bible says that presently there's this place called Hades.

It is a temporary holding place for those who die outside of Christ until the Great White Throne Judgment.

That is when death, and Hades itself, will be cast into what is more properly called hell, Gehenna – the lake of fire

(Rev 20:10 NKJV) The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

(Rev 20:14-15 NKJV) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. {15} And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Some of the MOST PROMINENT church leaders of today might not be too interested in prophecy….

But these demons sure were…

And these demons knew prophecy.

(Mat 8:30-34 NKJV) Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. {31} So the demons begged Him, saying, "If You cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine." {32} And He said to them, "Go." So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine. And suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and perished in the water. {33} Then those who kept them fled; and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. {34} And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.

And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.

LUKE 8:34-37 When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 36They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed….

37Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.

This event in the Life of Christ sheds tremendous light on spiritual realities.

1.) It shows what Satan does for a man.

He ROBS him of sanity and self-control.

He ROBS him of the joys of home and friends.

He FILLS him with fears. And (if possible) condemns him to an eternity of judgment.

2.) It also reveals what MAN can do for a man in his spiritual need.

It RESTRAINS him.

It ISOLATES him.

It THREATENS him.

But society is UNABLE to CHANGE him.

3.) It shows what Jesus Christ can do for a man.

Even one whose whole life—within and without—is nothing but bondage and battles.

KEY INSIGHT: What Jesus did for these two demoniacs, He will do for anyone who needs Him.

He is able to save to the uttermost!

Not only ABLE - But Jesus WANTS to save!

In light of the events coming over, this was not the disciples idea of a good day!

BUT – These were the for whom Jesus came over.

It was certainly the GREATEST DAY of the lives of these two men!

KEY OBSERVATION: Christ came to them… even braved a storm to do it. This is the picture of God’s AMAZING GRACE!

BY THE WAY - I think a sub-lesson for the disciples was that the saving of souls is worth ANY peril or any risk!

CRUCIAL OBSERVATION: We see in this man the consequences of NOT serving Jesus.

1.) These men were in total bondage.

Satan would like man to think that serving God results in bondage and that freedom is doing your own thing..... going your own way.

CRUCIAL INSIGHT: In reality FREEDOM can ONLY be found in serving Jesus.

In reality - It is when you CONTINUE to reject Jesus and rebel against Him that you step-by-step open your life up to the INCREASING influence of Satan over your mind and heart.

Both men were in TOTAL BONDAGE…. One of them to MANY demons.

Luke’s Gospel tells us that this man was controlled by a legion of demons. Roman legion = 4,800-6,000

Even if this name is NOT inferring the number of demons within the man, it clearly describes the overwhelming power of demonic oppression.

NOTE WELL: We don't know exactly how or exactly what lead them to this place of demonic possession.

But we do know that there is NO NEUTRALITY in the realm of the spirit.

If you do not submit to Jesus, Then you are by DEFAULT opening yourself up to the influence of Satan.

(Luke 11:23 NKJV) "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

(Mat 6:24 NKJV) "No one can serve two masters;

Listen to how Paul described life BEFORE knowing Jesus.

(Eph 2:2 NKJV) in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

They think that they are free, when in reality they are under Satan's authority.... “blinded” and “held captive.”

The horrible condition of these two men was the result of REJECTING GOD and GIVING THEMSELVES UP to the influence of Satan.

POWERLESS MAN

As we look at these tormented lives we can’t help but see that man is POWERLESS to affect any real change of heart and mind.

All man can really do with and for such wasted lives is lock them up for their own protection and the protection of society

With all of our technology, society still cannot cope with the problems caused by Satan and sin.

Man is powerless to deliver himself from Satan’s power.

THE POWERFUL SAVIOR

KEY OBSERVATION: In the face of the POWER of DEMONS and POWERLESS-NESS of man, let’s close by looking at what Jesus did for this man.

1.) He graciously came to him in love, and even went through a storm to do it.

Some think that the storm itself may have been satanic in origin.

Perhaps Satan was trying to destroy Jesus, or at least prevent Him from coming to the men who needed Him.

KEY OBSERVATION: NOTHING could stop the Lord from coming to that graveyard and bringing deliverance to these 2 men.

2.) Not only did Jesus come to them, but He spoke to them and permitted them to speak to Him.

REMEMBER - The citizens of that area avoided these guys, but Jesus treated them with love and respect.

He indeed came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

3.) We see the ABSOLUTE POWER OF JESUS over Satan and demons. They were BEGGING Jesus!

“They BEGGED Him that He would not COMMAND them.…” because they knew that they MUST OBEY Jesus!

Luke tells us that “They BEGGED Him that He would PERMIT them to enter the swine and He PERMITTED them.”

Demons recognize the total authority of Jesus over them.

They “begged Him” because they knew that Jesus could have at any moment commanded them to go into the bottomless pit.

Matthew 8:31-32 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

QUOTE: Satan will take a man OR a pig. And if he gets a man he will turn him into a pig!

Matthew 8:34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

Luke 8:35 NKJV Then they went out to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

KEY OBSERVATION: In the face of this awesome demonstration of POWER and MERCY, we find an unbelievable response.

First we saw the demons “begging” Jesus to leave them alone.

Now we see the people “begging” Jesus to leave them alone!

This one man, whose life was MISERABLE beyond our comprehension is now clothed and sitting at the feet of Jesus in his right mind, and the people “BEGGED Jesus to leave!”

KEY APPLICATION: Whenever a man cries to Jesus, “Leave me alone,” the ORIGIN of that cry is in Hell!

Two men were possessed by demons.

This group of men were possessed by greed!

They were upset because their ILLEGAL profits were doing the back float in in the Sea of Galilee!

KEY INSIGHT: Their hope for gain was more valuable to them than the sanity and wholeness of this man!

They would have rather seen this man continue in his misery than to have lost their illegal profits!!

CRUCIAL OBSERVATION: What they lost (heard of swine) was more valuable to them than the PRESENCE and POWER of Jesus amongst them!!

You might say, “How could they react like that?”

But the same thing is true of people today!

YOU - transformed by the power and love of Jesus - makes the unbelieving world around you AFRAID

Because YOUR life makes them have to face the reality of Jesus… of heaven and hell!

They are afraid of the threat that Jesus makes upon their lifestyle!

NOTICE the response of Jesus to the crowd!

Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.

The One who possessed ABSOLUTE POWER over NATURE and over DEMONS Jesus did not force Himself upon them!

KEY INSIGHT: YOU can TAKE HIM - or HE will LEAVE YOU!

History gives us a SOBERING PICTURE of the ultimate end of this place that sent Jesus away!

COMPLETE DESTRUCTION!!

When the Romans came to in their final assault upon Israel, culminating in the total destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD - they BEGAN in Gadera!

KEY APPLICATION: Our generation is very much like Gadera…. Perhaps YOU are too.

You have heard of the power of Jesus and the love of Jesus and the promise of life in Him!!

But because you value the lifestyle that that you are living, you are willing to tell Jesus to get lost!

You might not say it in those words. But you simply won't live for Jesus.

KEY QUESTION: What will YOU do with Jesus Christ?

The One who is “above all principalities and powers.”

The One who “loved YOU and died for YOU” in order to forgive YOUR sins and to deliver YOU from the power of sin and Satan.

Will you “BEG HIM” to stay or “BEG HIM” to leave?

CLOSING APPLICATION: Christians, do you realize that Satan and his minions have only one job to do?

Do you know that they have nothing that distracts them from that one task of destroying men’s souls?

No hobbies..... No vacations!!

They war, non-stop

Against you in your Christian life

And against unbelievers to keep them in darkness and send them to hell.

It is time for us to be PRE-OCCUPIED with the things of God, and His Kingdom.

It is time for us to be PRE-OCCUPIED with

Knowing God

Loving God

Serving God

Fighting in this battle against Satan!

It is time for us to be willing to face any storm to reach souls for Christ.

Luke 8:38-39 Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39Return to thine own house,

and show how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.

Has Jesus done “great things” for YOU?

Then it's time for you to “proclaim throughout the whole city what great things Jesus has done” for YOU!