Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Speaker A: Welcome to Hope for Today, a weekly Bible teaching program that will bring you hope for every day.
[00:00:17] Speaker A: We are honored to be with you today. Thank you so much for being there for part two of Going to the Dark side. As followers of Jesus, we recognize the reality of the spiritual realm and and the physical realm. And we exalt Jesus as king of both. All followers of Christ also know there is a spiritual battle raging. Satan is fighting for souls. In John 10, Jesus tells us, Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy.
The spiritual battle we are in is intense and real. We must always be on guard and fight.
I encourage you. Never give up. Always be vigilant.
Today we are finishing the second part of this teaching. J. Mark will read Mark 5 and then we'll look at two more steps needed as we go to the dark side.
[00:01:11] Speaker B: Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.
And when Jesus had come out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And he had pulled the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces.
Neither could anyone tame him.
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
When he saw Jesus from afar, he. He ran and worshiped him and cried out with a loud voice and said, what have I to do with you, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, that you do not torment me.
For Jesus said to him, come out of the man, unclean spirit.
Then he asked him, what is your name? And he answered, saying, my name is Legion, for we are many also. He begged him earnestly that he would not send them out of the country.
Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged him, saying, send us to the swine, that we may enter them.
And at once Jesus permitted them.
Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine. There were about 2,000. And the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the sea.
So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country, and they went out to see what had happened.
Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon possessed and had the Legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind.
And they were afraid.
And those who saw it told them how it happened to him. Who had been demon possessed and and about the swine.
Then they began to plead with Jesus to depart from their region.
And when he got into the boat, the one who had been demon possessed begged him that he might be with him.
However, Jesus did not permit him, but said, go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and had compassion on you.
And he departed and began to proclaim into capitalis all that Jesus had done for him.
And everyone marveled.
[00:03:45] Speaker B: In our previous program we were looking at the subject going to the dark side. From Mark 5:1 20.
One of the steps that we considered in going to the dark side was confronting evil.
At the demons insistence, Jesus permitted them to enter the pigs. And what happened next stunned the bystanders.
That entire herd of 2,000 pigs rushed down that steep slope and into the Sea of Galilee. And there they were drowned.
This was undeniable proof that the demons had left the man and entered the pigs. And it also illustrated the demons destructive power on a massive scale.
More importantly, it demonstrated Jesus absolute authority over those demons.
For those who follow Christ, confronting evil in society today is costly. But we mustn't shrink back in fear.
Instead we need to put on the full armor of God so we can stand against the devil's schemes.
We are not struggling against human beings, but against spiritual forces of evil. In this world of darkness that are working through human beings, we must not retreat in the face of opposition.
We must go boldly forward to confront the evils of our time.
Going to the dark side requires us to cross barriers and to confront evil.
[00:05:12] Speaker B: There's another step in going to the dark side. I've called it choosing sides.
You know, not all displays of Jesus power are as dramatic as this one.
But one thing is for sure, when Jesus comes on the scene, you can't be neutral.
You can accept him or reject him, but you can't ignore him.
The people who cared for the pigs and witnessed their destruction ran away in fear. And they told everyone they saw what had happened. I believe that news spread like wildfire across the whole region. And so when people heard about it, it's like, we need to go see this for ourselves.
So they came and sure enough, there were the pigs floating in the water.
Even more astounding was the fact that here is this formerly demon possessed man sitting with Jesus. He's fully dressed and he's mentally whole.
And that made them even more afraid. The same kind of fear the disciples experienced after Jesus stilled the storm.
It was the realization that they were in the presence of the Holy One.
And so the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. Go away. Go away.
Why?
Was it the loss of the 2000 pigs?
I believe that would have been significant shock to the local economy.
Were these people content to remain in darkness in order to protect their possessions?
Were they more concerned about their livelihood than the life of this tormented man?
Or were they bothered by the fact that they had witnessed a demonstration of power that they could not explain?
A demonstration of power that left them feeling very uncomfortable.
[00:06:58] Speaker B: These people decided, we don't want Jesus in our community.
You know, you can make the same decision today. You have that freedom, but you can't choose the consequences of your choice.
The consequences are built into your decision.
Just like the people of Gadara, the behavior of most unbelievers today isn't as extreme as. As the demoniac that we read about.
But regardless of their behavior, every human being is a sinner.
I suppose that in this community where Jesus was, there were many good people, people who took pride in their culture, in their heritage, maybe their citizenship. But when they rejected Jesus, they chose the temporary over the eternal.
Jesus wanted to give them freedom from sin, just like he had given to the former demoniac.
Going to the dark side requires us to cross barriers and to confront evil.
It also requires us to choose sides.
Today you can choose.
Which side will you choose?
And then the final step in going to the dark side is commissioning witnesses.
In response to the crowd's request, Jesus got ready to leave the area.
And as he's getting into the boat, this formerly demon possessed man keeps begging him, let me go with you. Please let me go with you.
We can surely sympathize with his desire. Jesus had delivered him from a life of misery and degradation.
Out of gratitude, he was willing to follow Jesus anywhere.
But Jesus said, no.
Go to your home, to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and that he had mercy on you.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Maybe that seems harsh to us.
How was he going to survive? As the only believer in this pagan community.
[00:08:49] Speaker B: We can take comfort in the fact that Jesus knows everything.
He knew this man, and he knew how he would respond to Jesus command.
Jesus gave him the most challenging assignment possible.
Go home to your family and friends and be my witness there.
That was his commission.
And so the man went off as Jesus commanded. He shared his story throughout the Decapolis, telling everyone and anyone who would listen about all that Jesus had done for him.
What happened after that, we don't know. That's the end of the story for us, I'm sure it was not the end of the story for him.
But we can be assured of at least two things. First of all, God's word would have its promised effect.
And second, we can be sure that as this man repeatedly recounted the story of his miraculous deliverance, his love for Jesus and his gratitude grew deeper and deeper.
You might recall Jesus said one time, to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.
The reverse is just as true. The one who is forgiven much the same loves much.
[00:10:03] Speaker B: The challenge many of us face today is to realize just how much we've been forgiven.
We tend, like the crowds that were there on the seashore that day, to compare ourselves to others whom we consider to be the worst.
We're not nearly as bad as the demoniac.
We see our behavior as respectable. And we don't engage in many of the sinful practices that are so prevalent around us.
But when we open our hearts before the holy presence of Jesus, we gain a deeper understanding of our own sinfulness.
Our pride, our self righteousness, our refusal to forgive others, our insistence on our rights, and a host of other things show us just how much we need the mercy and the grace of Jesus.
You know, Jesus came over to the dark side to save you and to save me.
Jesus final instruction to the disciples just before his ascension to heaven were but you shall receive power and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.
Jesus command to them was like the command he gave the former demoniac. Your witness begins at home.
Jesus has given you and me that same commission.
Maybe you think your story isn't dramatic or compelling.
Not many of us have a story like the demoniac. But every born again child of God has a redemption story to tell.
You and I can testify to the peace that we have in our hearts. We can tell others how God has given us a purpose for living that goes beyond ourselves.
We can share with them how he has given us victory over harmful habits, habits that affect our bodies and affect our relationships with other people.
We need to assure them that these things are true. Not because we're good people, but because Jesus has set us free from the power of sin.
You know, going to the dark side isn't easy.
But Jesus hasn't called us to a comfortable life.
He's called us to cross barriers, to go places we really don't want to go.
He has given us the power through His Holy Spirit to confront evil and to call people to choose which side they will be on and he has commissioned us as his witnesses, first at home and then to the wider world.
All the while we must remember that Jesus left the glorious light and glory of heaven to come over to the dark side to rescue us.
May God give us courage to follow his example.
[00:12:47] Speaker A: Thanks Jay Mark for explaining this event in this way. Thanks for the good summary at the end which included the four points from both lessons. I especially appreciate the challenge to follow Jesus example. This is the goal. We are supposed to be like him and do what he did.
The Bible isn't something we just study and admire, then feel good about. We study it and build our lives on what we learn. If you've been challenged by something from this lesson, don't just think about how nice it was. Put it into practice and may God help us as we strive to be more like Jesus. If you want to hear this lesson again, or if you want to hear the first part of this teaching, please let us know. You can reach us by email or Internet. Our email address is hopeeraldsofhope.org and our website is heraldsofhope.org There go to the partner tab at the top. Under this tab you will see Contact us and from there you can message us directly.
Please contact us with the method that is easiest for you and we look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks so much for being with us today.
Blessings as you live for Jesus, our soon coming King. We know he is the King of the spiritual realm and in just a short time he will be the physical King on this earth. Till then let's be looking forward and hastening the coming Day of God.
