Mark 8:11-21 -- Hearing From God

I was recently asked a good question, but it was puzzling at the same time. Over the last number of years Diana and I have been asked this question countless times, and each time we leave the conversation amazed. The question nearly always comes from Christians, involved in their churches, usually they have been Christians for many years, they would consider themselves 'mature'.

The question, most recently, came from a successful, professional man, who is very involved in his church and community. He is on many boards, called upon to help make many, significant decisions. People look to him for input and guidance. He is a leader in his community

This is the question: "How do you hear from God?"
A great question, but disheartening because it is an honest question that is coming from a person who should know how to hear from God.

The disciples should be learning how to hear from God; the Pharisees should know how to hear from God.

I find most people regard circumstances as the greatest indicator of when, how and what God has spoken about; and while that is one component - His will does show up in our physical world as a way for us to know He is at work - circumstances are an insatiable and really have little to do with actually changing our thinking and attitudes about Him and our life (that is why we often do the same thing over and over but are expecting different results 'this time'). We try to 'read the signs' of circumstance and look for another 'sign' to build a trend to determine what God is saying. I find that is how many Christians determine if God has spoken.

In this passage of Mark 8:11-21, Jesus is responding to religious people, 'important' people, in regards to knowing "how God has spoken". They want ANOTHER miraculous sign; good grief He had just fed 4000 people, they must have missed that message, so they want ANOTHER one!?! Jesus is not going to play that game.

The disciples are once again concerned for their own logistical situation and to them, when Jesus says something to them, they think he is responding to their logistical concern about their next meal. Jesus and the disciples are on two completely different frequencies.

yeast - Pharisees - Herod; watch out!
5000 people, five loaves, 12 basketfulls;
4000 people, seven loaves, 7 basketfulls;
Don't you get it

logically - there is little to build a system on here for those who would want to 'run the numbers' - what is He trying to say?

Hearing from God has much more to do with our attitude about Him than the circumstance itself. Hearing from God has more to do with our response than it does the results. There are ways to hear from God, and circumstances are but one piece of the hearing process, as the disciples are beginning to learn how to hear from God.

The Compassion of Jesus - Mark 8:1-3

Mark 8:1 During those days another large crowd gathered. Since they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 2 “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. 3 If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.”

Remarkable! A large crowd gathering around Jesus that eats nothing for 3 days, some of who have come a long distance. A crowd that is so mesmerized by His teaching that they loose sight of the rumbling in their tummies, they were more hungry for what He had to say than they were for their own bodies. A crowd so caught up in what He has to say that taking a break even to eat was unthinkable to them. There was something more important to them than their own sense of comfort. Sleep must have overcome them, but they would have made some very conscious choices to not eat.

When was the last time you or I were in a group of people who had not eaten for 3 days because we were so captivated by a worship time, or reading the words of Jesus...or anything? When was the last time i was so 'caught up' in what Jesus was teaching me that I lost track of the time, where everything else in my life went in a screeching halt?

Jesus had compassion for these people. He knew what they had been enduring. He didn't shorten his time with them to look after their needs, but instead he pushed them to the point that if they were to exert themselves any more they would reach a breaking point. And it is precisely at this point that He has compassion for them, and His compassion took on extraordinary dimension. When Jesus expresses His compassion, it goes far beyond mortal compassion. He meets their need in an extraordinary way, by feeding thousands on a few loaves of bread and a couple of small fish. A logistical impossibility but not for the Son of God. When Jesus meets a need, he completely satisfies.

I am challenged by these 2 verses; How serious am I about knowing Jesus, who He is and what He has to say. Is this more important to me than food? When was the last time you or I experienced the compassion of Jesus in an extraordinary way as a result of being with him?

Fully Engaged -- Mark 6:45-52

Sermon notes 10-12-08

Have you ever been in a situation when you were trying to do what you thought God had told you to do but every time you turn around it seems like nothing is working out the way you think it should? I have. You begin to wonder "God - where are you? Why isn't this working out? What am I supposed to do? Am I doing something wrong?" doubts begin to creep in. Maybe he has left you in a lurch, something else got his attention, but what am I supposed to do?

I remember when I was 37 yrs old. I believed God had told me to leave my career, move from our church, friends, family, sell our home and move to a different city to do what he had told me to do - go to seminary.

There had been a miraculous series of events occur to confirm and establish the direction it seemed he wanted us to go. God had spoken to me in a dramatic way, and events had occurred just as he said which opened up a miraculous opportunity for a job for me in this new city.

some time earlier, i had put together this whole schedule of things that needed to occur in order for us to make this move. by this time we had 3 young children, a home, job, responsibilities... it was not like when we were just married and we could pack everything up in a pick-up truck and turn our lives like we were rowing a canoe, we had become the titanic and it was going to take some time and space to move our lives and so I put together this Gantt chart schedule. One of the dates on my schedule was to turn in my resignation at Boeing, my employeer. I felt like I needed to give them at least 3 weeks notice because of some of the projects I was involved in that would need some transition, so I set the date to turn in my notice as July 3 by my schedule. That was going to leave us 3 weeks to move, get unpacked and set up before I and the kids would start school.

God had opened up an opportunity for a job for me, discussions were going very well, they liked me, I liked them, but no official offer had come yet. Was i going to turn in my resignation, leave my career of over 10 years without something certain in hand yet? what if they didnt offer me the job, what if something happens, someone else that I dont' know about they are talking to and decide to offer it to them, anything can happen at this stage.

I am getting very nervous, I am trying to do what God told me to do, but what is with all this drama? did he go to sleep, this this some sort of test, what am i supposed to do? I know the miracles God had just accomplished to bring me to this point but now what?
the resignation letter was typed, signed and sitting in my desk drawer, am I going to turn it in? Why hadnt God provided me the job yet?

Maybe you have gone through something where your not sure where God is at, has he forgotten you,

Jesus disciples had just experienced a most amazing miracle, He fed 5000 people with a few loaves of bread, not only that but when they were cleaning up the dinner, they picked up more food than they started with - after everyone had eaten all they wanted.

They just get everything picked up and then he makes them get in a boat to sail to Bethsaida, but he doesnt go with them, he stays and says he is going to pray, they wish they could have gotten a little rest, but no, they are heading out after a long day and to make matters worse a wind storm comes up and makes it a long and hard night.

We can get so caught up in our own circumstances that we loose sight of the fact that:

Jesus is always in control:
45- made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him
Jesus always seemed to know exactly what he was doing and what he wanted the disciples to do. He knew what others around him were thinking, saying, doing

Mark tells us that Jesus would know what the scribes and Pharasees were thinking
He knew when a person was dealing with a phsical illness or a demon
He raised the dead - he calmed storms - made lame to walk, blind to see
he was not influenced by the pressures of other people, but stayed focused on what the Father had sent him to do.

He knew he was separating himself from the disciples - evening was coming - they were going to be in the middle of the lake and he was on land alone

God's best does not necessarily equal our comfort - he will test us - he will put us and / or allow us to be in difficult and challenging circumstances, that does not mean a compromise of his love for us - but it does mean he wants us to experience what it is to be in a relationship with him in less than comforting circumstances.

he dismissed the crowd - people did what he told them to do
46 - he made time to pray

with Jesus things didn't 'just happen' but they happened just as he determined them to be - Jesus was and is always in control.

why is it that sometimes we are not as sure, could it be we still relate his contol to our comfort?

Jesus is fully aware of what is going on
48 -he saw the disciples straining at the oars
He knows the challenges you and I face - He knows what we are going through in our lives
He is not distant and out of touch, but sees and knows what is going on

he is willing to let you struggle, and watch you struggle through it
from evening to the fourth watch of the night -he watched them struggle. that is from evening to after 3am. the fourth watch was from 3am-6am.
Jesus watched them struggle all night, in the dark and cold of the night.

he was on the side of the mountain and watched them. He was up there to pray with the Father, no doubt perhaps he prayed for them as he kept a watchful eye on them.

Rom 8:34-35 ...is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

It is no small thing that Jesus is able to keep his eye on them. It is dark, they are getting further and further away, it is windy, likely cloudy weather - remember there was a tremendous storm only a couple of nights earlier - there is likely not much moon light out, but for Jesus it really doesnt matter - and that is the point, he sees what is happening in a small boat trying to make its way across a rough lake in the middle of the night.
He sees your life trying to make it across the rough waves of your circumstances. He sees your sleepless nights. He knows when your heart is cold and alone.

cant you imagine the discussion going on in that boat that night:
"Why in the world did Jesus make us get in this boat - so late in the day. He knew how long it would take for us to get across and besides he saw those clouds coming in,. That's what you get when you have a carpenter trying to use a boat.
Doesnt he know how tired we all are, doesnt he care?"
"Why is it so important that we make it across tonight, what are we going to do anyway when we get there, there is just going to be a bunch of people who want to see him and were going to have to clean up the mess again. With no sleep, after killing ourselves all night in this stupid wind"

Do you know how cranky tired people get in the middle of the night.
Ask a tired parent.

Ps 139
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them
we want things to 'just work out, without much struggle'
when things get hard, we may think 'where is Jesus now, when we can use him'

Jesus goes to where you are:
he went out to them, He took the initiative - walking on the lake
He meets you in the midst of your storm, your difficulty, your pain

Not only did he walk out to them - which by the way didn't appear to be nearly as difficult for him to manage the waves as it had been to the disciples., the waves didn't even phase him. They didn't slow him down in the least. as a matter of fact the scripture says "he was about to pass them by"
what do you mean he was going to pass them by... I thought he was going out to help them.

there have been a number of explainations of why Jesus was going to pass them by.
- he was going to 'playfully surprise them on the other side'
- he was on his way to the other side and saw their distress and decided to stop to help - not what the text says...
- perhaps it was the disciples mistaken impression that he was going to pass them by

more likely this was not a rescue plan at all but that Jesus had more in mind when he went out to them on the water. The disciples, while struggling, they were frustrated, but not in peril like the last time when they thought they were going to die.

Walking on the sea is something no ordinary mortal can do and to pass by is no mundane mistake. Jesus desire to pass by the disciples is similar to other Old Testament epiphanies. The greek verb 'parerchomai' (to pass by) when connected to a divinity, refers to an epiphany, when God would make a "striking and temporary appearance in the earthly realm to a specific person or group for the purpose of communicating a message to them." (Meier)
There is the story of Moses in Ex 33 when Moses asks God to show him his glory, and God responds by passing by him and proclaiming his identity. God held Moses in the cleft of a rock and covered him with his hand so he could only see God's back but not his face, as God proclaimed:
Ex 34:6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.

in 1 Kings 19 the Lord tells Elijah to stand on the mountain "for the Lord is about to pass by."

When Jesus wants to pass by his disciples, he wants for them to see his transcendent majesty as a divine being and to give them reassurance. While mortals can not see the face of God, we can see the face of Jesus. The one who comes to the on the sea is not simply a successor to Moses, who fills baskets with bread in the desert. Only God can walk on the sea, and Jesus' greeting is not simply a cheery 'hello', but a divine self-revelation, "I am"

Is 43:1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
Is. 43:2 When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
Is. 43:3 For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

the disciples didn't recognize him - "who is this person...?"

we don't always recognize him

but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified.

He wants you and I to see him - not physically, but His sovereignty - He is God -

He makes Himself known to you - he reveals himself
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

When Jesus gets into the boat, he demonstrates his divine power even further, his mere presence causes the wind to cease howling and enables the disciples to continue on in there journey.

He did not say "here i am, let me take over for you..."
He didn't get in and take an oar but enabled them to continue on their way in peace.

Where Jesus 'comes in' He brings peace
51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

he did not start rowing with them, he did not take over their work, but he calmed the waves. He made it possible for them to continue on and know that He was God, he was in control, he knew where they were and what was going on around them and that they were in a unique relationship with the divine living God.

He did not change their perspective, it says their hearts were hardened
Mark directly ties the earlier events of feeding thousands with their current experience of Jesus walking on water to them and calming the waves.

the disciples were completely caught up in the circumstances they missed the message of what Jesus was teaching them
Jesus is God - and he is concerned for people to the full glory of the revelation of God 'in the face of Christ"

when Jesus said "you give them something to eat" in Mark 6:37 - all the disciples could think of was the logistics and how it was going to impact them.
They didnt understand how so many had eaten on so little, but they were the servants and clean up crew and then Jesus made them leave.

when Jesus reveals himself as God, they don’t get it and while he brings peace to the waves they don’t experience that same peace in their hearts

That does not have to be you or I, Jesus says in

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

In my story, I didn’t know what to do, so I prayed.

I prayed with a friend and at the end of our prayer time I realized I could slide my schedule a week and God restored my peace. A week later I was prepared to turn in my resignation, but still hadn’t received an offer. After lunch that day, I decided to call Mike, the man I had been talking with at the new company to see where things were at. Mike said as soon as he heard my voice, “I am so glad you called, I just talked to personnel and they are sending you an offer, I don’t know exactly what it is, but if you are willing to work for us, we want you.”

That was enough for me to turn in my resignation and leave my career to make this step to follow God’s lead in my life. Jesus was fully engaged in my life and he was bringing a peace that passes understanding.

A week later I received the offer. It was very generous with a salary that was more than I was making at Boeing, all the normal benefits, plus a generous retirement, moving expenses, and an offer to cover our mortgage until our house in Wichita sold, which took a year. I discovered He longs to work in peoples lives in a way that will make Himself known.

Desparate Faith - Mark 5:25-34

25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.
Mark 5:30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
Mark 5:31 “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask,‘Who touched me?’ ”
Mark 5:32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. 34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

Have you ever felt like your very life is being sucked right out of you?
Your energy is being drained from more than just your body, but your very soul.
A heavy thought to start such a post, but this was exactly where this woman lived. I have lived there before, many have, many still do, and perhaps you know what I am talking about. It's a life where a happy smile on an aching disposition could no longer be tolerated. I didn't, and you may not have a physical condition as draining as this woman had, but the picture of her life somehow dramatically mirrors many others. Life is running out of you faster than it is being replenished and it is leaving you dry, cold and exhausted. Nothing seems to be enough, nothing satisfies, everything drains.

A woman who had suffered with bleeding for 12 years knew what it was to suffer.
Humanly, our blood is our life. Without warm blood in us and flowing through our bodies, we don't live. Every part of our body needs blood in order for us to live healthy, normal lives.
This woman felt the very cold anguish of her life leaving her empty, it bled out of her and left her soul empty and hopeless.

It wasnt so bad that she had spent every dime she had on doctors who couldn't help her - they can only do so much, right?
She did all she knew to do - she had been under the care of many doctors through her life. She may have started out with the best that money could buy, but eventually they were no better than the "any who would work for so little". But, the worst part was that her 'condition' stole life from her. Her life was consumed by 'the condition'. She was known in the community as the 'poor woman', what a way to live. Sustained pitty takes a bitter toll on the soul. She needed life again.

The woman was so tired, so empty she had hoped that just getting close to Jesus would be good enough for her, perhaps just a brush of his hem would give a poor soul like hers enough to keep going a little longer. She didn't have what it might take to get an audience with him, like Jarius, the synagogue ruler did. She couldn't hope to have a conversation with him, to ask him for anything, she's not important enough for that. But, she has got to have a little hope, that maybe something could rub off from him that would bring her life again. She had heard that he heals people, maybe this is her salvation, maybe her last hope, nothing else worked. She silently reached out.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?!" "I just barely touched his robe as he passed by" A shock wave ran from her finger tips through her body like a rush of life like she had never experienced before. She felt it, and she knew it was real. And more than that, she instantly knew she was healed, even without seeing any proof yet. It wasn't so much that the bleeding had stopped, but that life was pulsing through her again, her soul was coming back to life again, and yea, the bleeding was stopping.

In this extraordinary moment, Jesus too knew something had just happened. Many people had 'brushed him by', but few had such a small mustard seed of desparation to silently reach out to him in faith. One thing Jesus always seems to respond to, no matter how it comes, is the desparate longing of faith. Faith that He alone can...
heal, redeem, restore life, and more than the pulsing blood of life, but the beating life of a soul.

One thing I have found in my life is that trusting in Jesus builds trust in Jesus. Even a small sincere reach of desparate faith is met. Jesus never scoffs at faith but turns and responds in gracious love, and ultimately that is were we long to experience Him. He is the one who said "I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full", a nameless woman experienced it that day, I have experienced it on the days I reach out to him, He restores lives that have been sucked out, reach out to him today, in honest desparate faith, and He alone will bring you life.

Jesus is the one who says:
34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

(read also John 15: 5-8)

An Intentional Redemption - Mark 5:1-20

Sermon notes from 10/5/08

As you know, I enjoy movies. I particularly enjoy adventure, sports and super hero movies. Abby and I have been watching Smallville together.

In all these stories, good and evil are very clear, or at least you think they are.

In the last number of years, there has been a shift in many movies that are made to show how a normal human takes on supernatural powers and faces another supernatural enemy, whether it is the Hulk, Ironman, Spiderman, the Fantastic 4, Bruce Willlis. And the ‘super-human’ always wins, through their own use of power, intellect and shear determination they defeat the super enemy.

There are other movies where there is an outbreak of some deadly, incurable disease, or an asteroid about to hit the earth, or tidal wave, or volcano, that strikes fear throughout the region and threatens to devastate life. Others center on a murderous human monster that has nine lives and comes back in sequel after sequel to savage his victims. The villains are usually defeated through human ingenuity and grit determination with some violent means or scientific wizardry, which ends the movie but never completely solves the problem. These movies pit the forces of good against the forces of darkness and yet show no knowledge of God’s purposes or power to overcome evil and have no awareness of how God works to defeat it. They assume that humans have the power and ingenuity to expel evil from our midst.

Mark presents a different picture of the source of evil and how it is overcome. Evil comes from a demonic power that seizes human beings. It is not something we can defeat on our own. It takes a greater supernatural power to defeat it – the power of God.

Martin Luther wrote a song called A Mighty Fortress is Our God and the words in it say:

“Did we in our own strength confide,

Our striving would be losing.”

Only in Jesus can we find “a shelter from the stormy blast” and the power to overcome the forces of evil that overcome not only individuals, but communities, nations and continents. Only in Christ are we delivered from the dominion of evil powers.

Jesus establishes his claim over all the earth in this story, he has sailed to the southern shore of the sea of Galilee to an area predominately occupied by Hellenist gentiles, who were obviously not constrained to the dietary regulations of the Jewish culture, for they had a large herd of swine. Jesus had just crossed a significant cultural boundary to carry his gospel of forgiveness. He hadn’t just ended up there but was very purposeful. He had just spent the night sailing through a terrific storm that he seasoned fishermen were sure they were all going to die in, but Jesus gets up and calms the storm.

Jesus lands on the other side and is met by a most notorious madman – a man who was consumed by evil spirits.

Jesus is known in the spiritual world. Seven sons of Sceva – trying to cast out demons by invoking the name of Jesus

Acts 19:15 [One day] the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"

Wherever he goes, his holy presence, like some chemical catalyst, triggers an immediate reaction from the unholy. Evil entities know they must regard and respond to the Son of God.

This demonic man was a problem for the area – they had banished him, no one had anything to do with him. He had a family, but they certainly didn’t know what to do with him. He had created so many problems for the area they had tried to shackle him, but he was extraordinarily strong and broke every chain or iron they put him in.

He lived naked among the dead, in the tombs – outside of the city. Everyone was afraid of him.

Can you imagine the questions of a child at night as he howls out while he cuts himself? “Mommy, what is that sound? It’s scary”, “I know honey, it is the man at the tombs again, he is a very sick man, but you will be fine here, try to go to sleep.” She says with a mix of pity, disgust, and concern for him and fear that he might really do something bad sometime.

No indication that Jesus went looking for the evil spirit, but it came out to him – it ran to him & fell before him

The evil spirit knew exactly who he was and what he was capable of and it’s obligation to pay homage to God

Mark 5:6-7

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me (what business do you have with me – NAS) , Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!"

While humans who can’t quite fathom the reality of the divine breaking into human history (4:41) and struggle to accept Jesus as the divine, that is never questioned in the spiritual world, they always recognize him and respond to him (1:24; 3:11; James 2:19). They always know that they are up against a vastly superior power.

This is a story of change and redemption – how Jesus intends to change a person’s life, - how the world responds to that change - and what Jesus wants of those who are changed.

Fear is something everyone deals with at some level.

It drives how we respond to people, develop attitudes about situations,

When i was in my late 20’s i really wasn’t afraid of much of anything – i was strong, determined and didn’t know much about life yet. I knew there were problems to be solved, but I didn’t know what there was to fear, I find as a person gets older and experiences more things in their life, fear becomes a greater concern.

We are generally afraid of the things we don’t know or understand, or things that are bigger and stronger than we are. There are things that we believe can hurt or significantly affect us,

Or the inevitable, things that haven’t happened yet

Jesus tells his disciples – when they are with him, they have nothing to fear...

Mark 4:40 He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"

Jesus came to preach the gospel of forgiveness, redemption, restoring man’s rightful relationship with God, restoring mans dignity as a bearer of God’s image

Jesus Releases captive lives

Mark 5:8-13

8 For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

9 Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." 13 He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Freed a man held by demons –

This man had been living life among the dead

A Self destructive lifestyle

Shameful life

Not trusted or welcomed by community

Not living God’s image he was created to bear but held captive to all that was evil

There is no power too strong that Jesus cannot bring freedom. It takes significant power to release evil’s hold on a person’s life.

When Jesus casts out the demons and released the man – he did it in a good and gracious way – not violent, or arrogantly but confident and graciously – he was not unkind to the demons, but very much in control over them.

This is an extraordinary exorcism – because here Jesus negotiates with the demons. He commands them to leave, they make a request and Jesus accommodates them. He is gracious – even to demons.

The purpose of demons is to discredit and destroy God’s creation, His highest creation being humans. Any person they inhabit they seek to dehumanized, discredit completely and when they are done with them, then destroy. They will used up every ounce of a person until there is nothing left – their destruction of a person is a living death. They also desire to draw attention to themselves and their destructiveness and invoke fear in others of God’s creation. Anything to draw attention away from God.

He Redeems destroyed souls

Mark 5:15

15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

He restores lives. He restores God’s image in the life of people.

a tormented soul is now at rest

the man’s shame of his exposure and nakedness is gone – he’s dressed

He is in his right mind – when God sets your mind right – he takes it back to the default settings, he sees things right now, he understands who he is and who Jesus is – he recognizes the extraordinary power of God and he is in complete submission to it. He is at peace.

Others feared what they did not understand

No else says and does the things Jesus does – he is God in flesh

The townspeople were not frightened by what has happened to the pigs, but by seeing this man now clothed and in his right mind. – they did not rejoice at his recovery but were afraid. What is so scary about seeing a person sitting at the feet of Jesus? The community had desparately tried to tame him with no avail, Now Jesus not just tames him but restores him, redeems him, with a word.

Jesus disciples had also expressed fear at Jesus great power – on the way across the lake, he had calmed the storm with just a word, and they were terrified and asked each other “who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him?” (4:41)

The townspeople don’t seem to care to find out why he is so powerful or why he has such power – they just want him gone. No key to the city – but the cold shoulder. The demons begged Jesus to stay in the area, now the townspeople want him out of the area.

They are more comfortable with strong, troublesome forces that take human beings captive and destroy animals than they are with the one who can expel them and restore dignity to people..

They could cope with the odd demon-possessed wild man who terrorizes the neighbourhood with random acts of violence. But they want to keep someone with Jesus power at a lakes length away – on the other side of the sea. “go ‘help’ someone else, but we don’t want you here.” They must have considered Jesus more dangerous and worrisome than the demons.

More comfortable to manage what they knew – even if it was dangerous

Rather than change it

Jesus is gracious. Just as he granted the demons request – he also grants the request of the community to leave them. He does not stay where he is not welcome.

And so this community becomes a graphic and living example of the outsiders who see but do not perceive, who hear but do not understand and therefore do not receive the benefits of the Kingdom (4:11-12).

They do not receive what Jesus can provide, they do not bring their sick or demonized to him. They chase off their source of deliverance and salvation. People can tolerate religion as long as it does not affect business profits.

Jesus changes people’s lives – he releases captive lives; he redeems destroyed souls

He Restores a person’s Purpose

Mark 5:18-20

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolisc how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

The man who has just encountered the most significant thing that has ever happened in his life is now seated at Jesus feet – he looks like another disciple, and begs to “go with him” - the only request in this story he does not grant.

Jesus restores the man’s relationships – to his family and community

This man’s purpose is to share what has happened to him with others – it was not for him alone. The townspeople may want Jesus to leave, but the effects of Jesus presence will carry on.

Isa 55:11

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Jesus sent the freed man out to proclaim what God had done for him

To the Decapolis – ten cities in close proximity – a metroplex

There is an important message in Jesus directions to the man that we must not overlook:

The man is not simply to tell people about the miracle that happened to him, but what that miracle signifies and how it impacted not only the circumstances of his life but the very essence of his life – his soul. the Lord has been at work and it has had a huge change on that mans life, he has received mercy. He had received something opposite of what he or others might think he deserved – Mercy.

He will live the rest of his life as a man who has been given another chance, another lease on life. His life was forever changed. He can now bear the image of God with integrity.

When he meets Jesus’ powerful mercy, he is restored to wholeness. His encounter with Jesus makes him fully human again, with a family, a home and a mission in life. He is no longer a wild animal that people around him thought needed to be tamed, but a human being called to proclaim the dynamic affects of Gods mercy in his life. How is it that Jesus can transform a berserk derelict of a man into a sane and well-balanced human with just a word?

C.S.Lewis used the imagery of this story in describing his own life before his conversion (Surprised by Joy) my life was a “zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion.”

This is every person.

Jesus goes to people who are not looking for him – He takes the initiative in reaching out and restoring people – not only restoring their relationship with God, but restoring them to the people they were intended to live as. Even if they are across a lake, possessed by demons, an managing okay on their own.

God searches out those who have never searched for or thought about turning to God.

Jesus releases captive lives

Redeems destroyed souls

Restores a person’s purpose

What keeps you from being the person God wants you to be?

Nothing is too strong or too far away

Jesus overcomes fears, incapabilities, strongholds

So you can share who he is and what he has done for you.

God’s chief desire is to make himself known to his creation. That we see that he is good, faithful and we can choose him

He wants to use you to do that, what is preventing that from happening.

Back again

I have not forgotten about this walk through Mark and I am back to these posts again finally. As many of you know, we have been moving our church office and it has taken a great toll on my time the last several weeks. More than I anticipated.

I have appreciated those who have responded asking about the posts, I am grateful for those who read them and enjoy those who respond to them.

So here we go again, I pray God uses his Word to propel us each to know His Son better, and know His longing for our lives to walk in relationship with Him.