1 00:00:00,480 --> 00:00:03,720 The holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to Mark. 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:07,560 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,000 the garrisons. And when Jesus had stepped out 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:13,440 of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man 5 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:18,000 with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs, and no 6 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:21,520 one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had 7 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:23,840 often been bound with shackles and chains. 8 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,880 But he wrenched the chains apart and he broke the shackles in 9 00:00:26,880 --> 00:00:29,320 pieces. No one had the strength to 10 00:00:29,320 --> 00:00:32,320 subdue him. Night and day among the tombs 11 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:34,840 and on the mountains. He was always crying out and 12 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:38,760 cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, 13 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,000 he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice 14 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,080 he said, What have you to do with me? 15 00:00:45,080 --> 00:00:48,840 Jesus, son of the Most High God, I adjure you by God, do not 16 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,080 torment me. For he was saying to him, Come 17 00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:53,880 out of the man, you unclean spirit. 18 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,920 And Jesus asked him, What is your name? 19 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:01,560 He replied, My name is legion, for we are many. 20 00:01:02,320 --> 00:01:05,519 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 21 00:01:06,720 --> 00:01:10,400 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on a hillside, and 22 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,760 they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs, let us enter them. 23 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,440 So he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits came out and 24 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:20,960 entered the pigs. And the herd, numbering about 25 00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:25,080 2000, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned 26 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:28,480 in the sea. The herdsmen fled and told it in 27 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:32,320 the city and in the country. And the people came to see what 28 00:01:32,320 --> 00:01:36,320 it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw 29 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,880 the demon possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting 30 00:01:41,880 --> 00:01:45,240 there clothed and in his right mind. 31 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,640 And they were afraid, and those who had seen it describe to them 32 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:52,960 what had happened to the demon possessed man and to the pigs, 33 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,640 and they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 34 00:01:57,600 --> 00:02:00,240 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed 35 00:02:00,240 --> 00:02:03,880 with demons begged him that he might be with him. 36 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:07,840 And he did not permit him, but said to him, Go home to your 37 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:12,280 friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and 38 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:16,320 how he has had mercy on you. And he went away, and began to 39 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:20,000 proclaim in the Decapolis all how much Jesus had done for him. 40 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:25,480 And everyone marvelled the gospel of the Lord. 41 00:02:27,760 --> 00:02:35,480 Please pray with me Lord, send your spirit dispel darkness, 42 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:41,200 even the darkness in our hearts so that we will receive your 43 00:02:41,200 --> 00:02:45,520 word, Jesus name. Pray Amen. 44 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:54,680 I often describe my conversion, my reawakening to the Christian 45 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:59,440 faith using a simple mathematical illustration 46 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:05,840 referred to as the number line. The number line has two opposite 47 00:03:05,840 --> 00:03:09,480 sides. There is the negative and the 48 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:16,440 opposite side, and in my case the negative side represents 49 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:21,880 life before I came to Christ and the positive side represents 50 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:26,600 life when I encountered Christ and following on. 51 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,760 And this is what my negative like life looked like. 52 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:34,640 First it was nominal Christianity. 53 00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:41,000 My mother raised me in the Anglican way, but I did take 54 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:45,880 this faith personal, and a faith that is not personal cannot 55 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,280 endure. And this is what happened, 56 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,360 especially when I began living away from home, studying and 57 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:57,040 later working away from home. So secondly, apart from nominal 58 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:03,880 Christianity, the second aspect of my negative life happened and 59 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,040 it was wildliness. I wandered away from the faith. 60 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:15,800 I had had this desire for the hip hop culture that comes from 61 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,880 here in the United States. I wanted to be like those hip 62 00:04:19,880 --> 00:04:23,760 hop happists. So I began to venture out in 63 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:28,840 life to be like them. Into wild parties and clubbing 64 00:04:28,840 --> 00:04:34,960 in the night, substance abuse, fornication, many other forms of 65 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:39,360 wildness. But it took the grace of God to 66 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:43,040 call me back from that life that I was living. 67 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:49,400 One night in year 2007, I was in my apartment. 68 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:51,960 I was staying alone far away from home. 69 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:58,640 I had a voice telling me get up, move and I woke up. 70 00:04:59,760 --> 00:05:07,640 It was around 10:30 PMI packed some books in my bag that I had 71 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:10,920 poetry books. Most of them had been stolen 72 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:16,480 from a school library somewhere. Packed them in the bag and I 73 00:05:16,480 --> 00:05:20,400 packed then a water bottle. The very last thing I packed was 74 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,720 the Bible because I had another voice telling me you have a 75 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:28,400 Bible, pack it as well. I packed the Bible and left my 76 00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:32,160 apartment and proceeded into the busy town. 77 00:05:33,040 --> 00:05:37,600 When I was approaching A ravy line, I had a voice telling me 78 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:41,120 if you find the train, throw yourself into the train. 79 00:05:41,920 --> 00:05:45,280 Good enough. The train was not there by then. 80 00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:50,160 I proceeded to the main highway. It's an international highway 81 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:52,880 from Kampala, the capital city, to Kenya. 82 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,640 So it's a very busy highway. And I heard voices telling me 83 00:05:57,840 --> 00:06:01,640 throw yourself into cars. But again, another voice was 84 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:06,800 withholding me from committing that harm in that state. 85 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:09,960 I wandered into the town for over an hour. 86 00:06:10,720 --> 00:06:17,280 Then later I saw a police station, and I went over there 87 00:06:17,280 --> 00:06:22,160 and told the police officers to watch over me because I had this 88 00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:24,080 fear that I was going to harm myself. 89 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:26,240 I wanted someone to watch over me. 90 00:06:26,600 --> 00:06:31,240 They allowed me to sit there, of course, reluctantly, because I 91 00:06:31,280 --> 00:06:33,040 couldn't explain what was happening. 92 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:38,440 And when I was there, after a while, I had a voice telling me 93 00:06:39,160 --> 00:06:45,200 you have a Bible, put it out. I pulled out the Bible and my 94 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:50,120 mother used to give me a Bible reading plan, annual. 95 00:06:50,120 --> 00:06:54,160 It was an annual Bible reading plan and I never read that Bible 96 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,880 reading plan, even my Bible, So pulled out my Bible. 97 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:02,400 The Bible reading plan was in there and I read a text. 98 00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,600 It was around Isaiah but this is the most important thing that 99 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:13,400 happened after I had read, I had a voice, small still voice tell 100 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:18,440 me 3 words in my mother tongue, native language Uganda. 101 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,840 The words are motarok OK ogen akfa. 102 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:27,240 They mean if you don't get born again, you will die. 103 00:07:29,120 --> 00:07:32,680 And of course that is the end of any person who is living a 104 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:34,560 negative life. It is eternal death. 105 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,840 When I heard those words, I reached out to my into my bag 106 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:43,640 for a journal and I scribbled these words in my journal. 107 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:46,840 From today, I choose to be born again. 108 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:53,480 When I had written that confession, instantly the voices 109 00:07:53,480 --> 00:07:58,520 that we are telling me to commit harm, the state of restlessness 110 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:06,440 that I had stopped there and then, then I left the police 111 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:11,320 station as a man of peace and a new life had begun. 112 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:18,240 When I read the passage we have read in Mark chapter 5, The 113 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:22,720 Healing of the demon possessed man, I look at it as another 114 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:26,600 number line story. It is a story of a man from the 115 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,960 negative to the positive. And this story unfolds in three 116 00:08:30,960 --> 00:08:34,480 scenes. The first scene we see life 117 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:39,120 outside Christ and then the second scene we see encountering 118 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:44,480 Christ and in the third and last scene we see life in Christ. 119 00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:50,120 Let's look at life outside Christ, which is revealed in 120 00:08:50,120 --> 00:08:54,080 verses 1 to 5. So Jesus lands on the eastern 121 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:57,720 side of the Sea of Galilee. This is a new, really a new 122 00:08:57,720 --> 00:08:59,560 region. He has never been here. 123 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:04,840 And you know, when someone goes into a new place, especially if 124 00:09:04,840 --> 00:09:10,160 someone is a honored man, there are ceremonies of honor, people 125 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,720 of respect come out and receive him. 126 00:09:13,240 --> 00:09:16,600 But this is not the case in Jesus's case. 127 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:21,800 Here at the person who meets him is described in three ways that 128 00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:25,120 a key for us to observe in verse 3. 129 00:09:25,480 --> 00:09:30,240 He's described first as he lived among the tombs. 130 00:09:31,040 --> 00:09:37,280 You well know that an address tells a story, a street, a 131 00:09:37,280 --> 00:09:40,320 neighborhood where you stay. It says something about your 132 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:43,360 life. Now imagine if you told someone 133 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:47,160 my address is Rose Hill Cemetery. 134 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:54,400 That alone speaks something, because this man who Jesus meets 135 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,680 was living among the dead. And for Jewish, for the Jewish 136 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:03,320 people, that was the place of uncleanness, because getting 137 00:10:03,320 --> 00:10:08,040 into contact with a dead person could render you unclean. 138 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,560 It could cut you off from your family, from your society, but 139 00:10:12,560 --> 00:10:14,640 even from worship you are not required. 140 00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,200 You are not allowed to go into the worshipping community. 141 00:10:18,680 --> 00:10:24,440 So this person was totally heart off from humanity, from his 142 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,560 society. His address speaks about how far 143 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:32,320 he had fallen. He was totally separated from 144 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,760 ordinary life. And this is the situation that 145 00:10:35,760 --> 00:10:38,520 speaks about life outside Christ. 146 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:43,040 Outside Christ someone can continue to breathe, even to 147 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:47,080 walk around, but that person is spiritually dead. 148 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:54,360 This is what the Bible tells us. That is a status described as 149 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,920 dead in sin. That person is dead in sin. 150 00:10:59,080 --> 00:11:02,760 He's cut off from God. He's cut off from the source of 151 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:05,320 life. Even though he's alive and 152 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:10,440 living, he's separated from God and from holiness, and in that 153 00:11:10,440 --> 00:11:14,120 case he doesn't have any relationship with God. 154 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:18,960 Sometimes that life can look successful colored in very well 155 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:25,080 many ways, but beneath that life there is distance from God, and 156 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,200 that distance leads to eternal death. 157 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:33,240 So the second description of this man is again in verse 3, 158 00:11:33,520 --> 00:11:39,080 continuing on to verse 4, it says, and no one could bind him 159 00:11:39,120 --> 00:11:45,160 anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with 160 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:50,200 shackles and chains, but he wretched the chains apart and he 161 00:11:50,200 --> 00:11:54,520 broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to 162 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:58,800 subdue him. So the man is described as being 163 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:02,280 uncontrollable. People had to try to restrain 164 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:06,600 him again and again, but not even change those shackles could 165 00:12:06,600 --> 00:12:09,480 hold this man. In other words, he was beyond 166 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:13,000 human health. No man could manage him. 167 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:18,640 Society had tried and it had failed, and it had left the 168 00:12:18,640 --> 00:12:23,920 money to wander and to be on his own, isolated and ungoverned. 169 00:12:25,200 --> 00:12:27,160 It looks as if the man has power. 170 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,120 It looks as if the man has freedom. 171 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:35,920 But this is bondage. What seems like power is in fact 172 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,960 control. The man is not in control of 173 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,160 himself, though he seems as if he's powerful. 174 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:49,800 Life outside Christ oftentimes appears as if it's freedom. 175 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:53,560 People speak about things like I live according to my choices. 176 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:59,440 I am enjoying life. Sometimes all these habits that 177 00:12:59,440 --> 00:13:01,800 people are under, they're under control. 178 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:05,760 Even when they are saying I am enjoying them, they are under 179 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:10,720 control and in bondage. Sin is not just action. 180 00:13:11,320 --> 00:13:15,200 Sin is power. It restrains us, and human 181 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:19,760 effort cannot restrain us from sin. 182 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:24,040 Even when there are rules and systems and disciplines that we 183 00:13:24,040 --> 00:13:27,840 are told to obey, nothing can reach to the heart. 184 00:13:28,560 --> 00:13:32,680 So sometimes we can live outside, outside as if we are 185 00:13:32,680 --> 00:13:36,080 strong, but when inside we are indeed ruled. 186 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:42,520 We are under the deep control of sin, and this is the third and 187 00:13:42,520 --> 00:13:46,160 last way how this man is described in verse five. 188 00:13:47,040 --> 00:13:52,040 Night and day, among the tombs and on the mountains, He was 189 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,400 always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 190 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:01,480 So this life is marked with persistent unrest. 191 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,560 He's ever roaming around and waiting. 192 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,560 There is nothing like peace. The man is never quiet at any 193 00:14:08,560 --> 00:14:11,800 moment. He is ever in a constant state 194 00:14:11,800 --> 00:14:14,160 of agitation. He's waiting. 195 00:14:14,480 --> 00:14:18,640 And this communicates the deep comment that is in this man. 196 00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:24,080 He is a man who is living a life which is disordered in many 197 00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:28,120 ways, but also he's self-destructive. 198 00:14:28,520 --> 00:14:30,480 He's wounding himself with stones. 199 00:14:30,920 --> 00:14:36,800 He's violent not just against society but also against his own 200 00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:40,480 body. He's ever inflicting harm upon 201 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:45,440 his body. Friends, outside the Prince of 202 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,680 Peace there is nothing like life. 203 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:54,000 Life may still be busy, it may look as if it's settled, but it 204 00:14:54,000 --> 00:14:57,760 is self destruction. It is self harm. 205 00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,040 Sometimes it can appear in form of addictions, harmful 206 00:15:02,040 --> 00:15:05,720 relationships. We may as if enjoy them, but it 207 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:10,680 is all self harm. So taken all together, the three 208 00:15:10,680 --> 00:15:14,200 descriptions that we have observed about this man, they 209 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:22,200 depict total dehumanization. Society had isolated this man. 210 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,080 He didn't have any community and he was physically injured and 211 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:31,520 exposed to all forms of danger and he was in a state of mental 212 00:15:31,840 --> 00:15:35,200 torment. Mark gives us the reason as to 213 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:39,160 why this man was in this state and he describes this as a 214 00:15:39,280 --> 00:15:43,400 spiritual condition. He tells us this is a man with 215 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,880 an unclean spirit. In other words, he tells us this 216 00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:52,120 is the case of demon possession. Speaking about demon possession, 217 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:57,160 I don't know which side you fall on, which approach of demon 218 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:01,000 possession you have. Some people have an affirmation 219 00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:05,960 that demons are real and active, and because they are real and 220 00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,120 active, they can inflict danger on individuals, even societies 221 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:13,600 and communities. They have authority, however, 222 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:20,080 Christ has authority over them. Other people think about demon 223 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:26,760 possession as being a primitive way of describing excessive 224 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:29,840 mental distress. For them, they think it's just 225 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:34,280 an ancient way of describing excessive mental distress. 226 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:39,120 I don't know what widely view you have, what understanding you 227 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:43,400 have, but personally I believe in the reality of demons. 228 00:16:44,160 --> 00:16:47,120 I believe that demons are real and active. 229 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:51,440 They torment individuals and persons and societies. 230 00:16:52,400 --> 00:16:56,960 I believe that they are real. In fact, I attribute my 231 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:02,600 situation that night to demons. I was under the control of evil 232 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:05,480 spirits. The voices that we are telling 233 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:09,560 me, run, throw yourself into the train, throw yourself into cars, 234 00:17:09,800 --> 00:17:12,400 those were evil spirits. Those were demons. 235 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,960 But Christ has authority over demons. 236 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,480 That authority, that voice that told me straight from my 237 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:22,920 apartment, you have a Bible, carry it. 238 00:17:23,599 --> 00:17:25,960 You have a Bible, pull it out, read it. 239 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:31,240 That voice that told me come to Christ was the voice of Christ 240 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:35,600 through the Holy Spirit. So demons are active, however 241 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:40,800 Christ is controlling them. They are under the authority of 242 00:17:40,800 --> 00:17:43,240 Christ. This is what we should observe. 243 00:17:43,880 --> 00:17:49,200 We shouldn't have this attitude of denial that demons are not 244 00:17:49,200 --> 00:17:52,280 real. Sometimes if we deny first, we 245 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,640 might deny demons number one, but if it progresses, we deny 246 00:17:56,640 --> 00:17:59,120 the entire spiritual world. And we said there is nothing 247 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:01,800 like the spiritual world. And that's not denying the 248 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:05,280 spiritual world. What comes next is denying God 249 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:10,920 himself, because God is also in that realm of Sephia. 250 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:16,720 So whatever view you take, Scripture tells us plainly that 251 00:18:16,720 --> 00:18:21,200 life outside Christ is under the rule of darkness. 252 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:24,240 It is under the spiritual power of darkness. 253 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:27,040 This is what Paul writes through the Ephesians. 254 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:32,560 You are dead through trespasses and sins in which you once 255 00:18:32,560 --> 00:18:37,160 lived, following the course of this world, following the ruler 256 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:42,200 of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work among 257 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:47,720 those who are disobedient. On the negative side, it is the 258 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:51,680 rhythm of darkness. You can't think about demons, 259 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:55,080 you can't deny them, but there is nothing like being neutral. 260 00:18:55,360 --> 00:19:00,600 Those on that side are under the rhythm of darkness, even demons 261 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,280 themselves. But the Gospel speaks directly 262 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:09,280 into this situation. Christ comes into the place of 263 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:13,920 death to give life. So let us look at the second 264 00:19:13,920 --> 00:19:17,720 scene. Having observed life outside 265 00:19:17,720 --> 00:19:22,280 Christ, let us observe how we encounter Christ in verse 6 and 266 00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:25,720 13. So the encounter of Christ with 267 00:19:25,720 --> 00:19:29,120 this man begins by the man running to Jesus. 268 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,680 And if Jesus immediately takes control of the situation, he 269 00:19:33,680 --> 00:19:37,280 speaks with the authority, He comforts the unclean spirits and 270 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:41,960 he says, come out of the man, you unclean spirits, friends. 271 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:45,880 The demons knew when Christ said that word. 272 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:48,400 They knew. They knew when they were 273 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:54,600 commanded, they understood the authority of Christ and the man 274 00:19:54,600 --> 00:19:59,640 falls and prostrates before Jesus, which is the sign of the 275 00:19:59,640 --> 00:20:02,080 demons recognizing Jesus's authority. 276 00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:08,200 He's greater and he's a master. The demons speak, they confess 277 00:20:08,200 --> 00:20:11,560 who Jesus is. They say he is the Son of the 278 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,080 Most High God. Their words sound as if they are 279 00:20:15,080 --> 00:20:19,280 reverent before God. However, they are posture with 280 00:20:19,280 --> 00:20:22,160 visits. They plead with Jesus, saying, 281 00:20:22,560 --> 00:20:26,600 what have you to do with me? In other words, they are saying 282 00:20:26,800 --> 00:20:31,000 leave us alone. They oppose him, though they 283 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,080 have declared they understand who he is. 284 00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:39,440 Friends, understanding itself is not submission. 285 00:20:40,480 --> 00:20:43,640 James tells us about demons. He says this. 286 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:46,080 You believe that there is one God. 287 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,280 You do well. Even the demons believe and the 288 00:20:49,280 --> 00:20:52,520 tremble. Demons have knowledge, but they 289 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:56,880 lack obedience. They need to be forced to submit 290 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:01,120 to Christ. The interaction that we observe 291 00:21:01,120 --> 00:21:05,640 here, Jesus interacting with a man and with demons, shows us 292 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,800 how encountering Christ looks like. 293 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:14,360 It shows us what Christ intends to accomplish whenever he meets 294 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:19,800 us first. An encounter with Christ exposes 295 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:23,360 reality. He reveals what is hidden, He 296 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:28,600 names what rules us, whether excuses or fears or pride or any 297 00:21:28,600 --> 00:21:31,680 form of lusts. Christ, when we encounter him, 298 00:21:31,880 --> 00:21:36,560 he names that he brings to light, not to a shame us, but to 299 00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:40,080 set us free. When he thus asks, asks the 300 00:21:40,080 --> 00:21:44,360 demons what is your name? He's not seeking information he 301 00:21:44,360 --> 00:21:47,600 already knows. However, he wants to bring 302 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:52,640 something to exposure and the demons reply saying they are 303 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:56,880 named Lijon. This reveals the scale of 304 00:21:56,880 --> 00:22:01,160 oppression this man has. He has thousands of demons that 305 00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:04,240 are inflicting him. It is possible for someone who 306 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:07,240 have thousands of demons, more than one. 307 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:13,160 So the man has thousands. Christ reveals this and this is 308 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:17,120 an opening to the healing and restoration that comes. 309 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:20,320 Clarity paves way for deliverance. 310 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:26,560 So when Christ encounters us, he brings clarity into our 311 00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:29,120 situation. In other words, he wants to 312 00:22:29,120 --> 00:22:33,400 define the situation so that it can pave way for our healing. 313 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:39,000 And secondly, an encounter with Christ demands a response. 314 00:22:39,440 --> 00:22:44,160 We either fall before him and prostate in reality, or we 315 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,200 resist him. We cannot be neutral when we 316 00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,960 encounter Christ because it's a very decisive moment. 317 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,240 He calls our lives to order, to create room for Him, to be 318 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,080 master. And then the third, the third 319 00:22:58,080 --> 00:23:02,280 thing we observe about this encounter is that encountering 320 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,880 the Christ goes beyond knowledge. 321 00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,720 It is not enough to know about Him. 322 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,000 Even the demons know. We have observed that. 323 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:14,440 However, the question is, will we submit to Him? 324 00:23:14,440 --> 00:23:18,760 Will we trust Him? Faith requires our obedience. 325 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:22,600 It requires our coming to a point of surrender. 326 00:23:23,240 --> 00:23:27,560 Intellectual knowledge is good, but alone it's not enough. 327 00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,040 It is not the goal of knowing Christ. 328 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,720 Studying theology is good, but alone it's not enough. 329 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,800 It needs to come to a point of surrender. 330 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:43,120 Having encountered the man in such a way, we progress. 331 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:47,480 In verses 11 through 13. Christ completes the deliverance 332 00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:51,280 of this man. This is what we observe now. 333 00:23:51,280 --> 00:23:54,640 A great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. 334 00:23:55,440 --> 00:24:00,120 The presence and the mission of pigs confirms that Jesus is in a 335 00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:04,480 Gentile territory. Jews were forbidden from raising 336 00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:08,320 pigs, even to eat them. So the mentioning of pigs 337 00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:12,280 recalls the idea of uncleanliness we already had. 338 00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:16,640 Pigs are a suggestion of Gentile impurity. 339 00:24:17,080 --> 00:24:21,240 The man is not only staying in a place that is unclean in a 340 00:24:21,240 --> 00:24:26,440 cemetery, but he's also staying in an impure region, in an 341 00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:32,280 impure territory. And having had the commands that 342 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:35,880 demons must now come out, Jesus has told them they should come 343 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:37,800 out. But they make a request. 344 00:24:37,800 --> 00:24:42,560 They tell Jesus, send us us to the pig, let us enter them. 345 00:24:42,960 --> 00:24:45,680 In other words, they seek a new dwelling. 346 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:52,440 Demons desire to live inside dwelling places, some of the 347 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:56,760 dwelling places that human beings, sometimes not just in 348 00:24:56,760 --> 00:24:58,880 human beings, even in other objects. 349 00:24:59,480 --> 00:25:03,080 They are beings that want to reside in something. 350 00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:06,160 Just as the Holy Spirit of God dwells in US. 351 00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,840 Sometimes demons dwell in human beings. 352 00:25:08,840 --> 00:25:12,640 They can even build in other objects so that demons seek a 353 00:25:12,640 --> 00:25:17,520 new dwelling. They make a permission, so they 354 00:25:17,520 --> 00:25:23,520 enter into this herd of 2000 pigs, but they don't see the end 355 00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:26,800 because that dwelling is a temporary dwelling. 356 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:32,240 They have been given a temporary dwelling because the pigs later 357 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:36,880 they rush off the slope and they go into the sea and there they 358 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:40,640 drown. The demons drown together with 359 00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,120 the pigs into the place of judgment. 360 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:50,160 Peter writes somewhere and he says, Peter says, for if God did 361 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:54,880 not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell 362 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:59,280 and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness, to be kept 363 00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:03,120 until judgment. So in other words, the drowning 364 00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:07,120 of the pigs together with the demons, it's a judgment upon the 365 00:26:07,120 --> 00:26:11,000 demons themselves. It's a judgment upon themselves. 366 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:15,760 And now the man is free. But it's not just the man who is 367 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:22,000 free, but also the region has been cleansed of the impurity. 368 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:25,680 There is deliverance that touches the land. 369 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:30,280 The Gentile region has been has encountered Jesus as well, 370 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:34,560 because we have observed that the pigs weigh a symbol of 371 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:37,880 Gentile impurity. And now this impurity has been 372 00:26:37,880 --> 00:26:40,520 cleansed. The land is also delivered. 373 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:43,080 It's not just the man who is delivered. 374 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:48,440 So when Christ comes into our lives, there is a change that 375 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:52,040 doesn't stay private. Restoration spreads out. 376 00:26:52,120 --> 00:26:56,240 It begins with us as individuals in our lives when our habits are 377 00:26:56,240 --> 00:26:58,880 shifting and our desires are changing. 378 00:26:59,320 --> 00:27:01,800 But also it goes into our relationships. 379 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:06,080 It comes into our homes. It comes into the relationships 380 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:10,200 that we are wounded. Christ heals them, but also 381 00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:15,600 Christ heals our environments because it is like a ripple that 382 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:18,600 comes from us. Christ kills us, but it's a 383 00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:22,400 ripple that spreads out even into our environment. 384 00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:28,360 He restores us all. That is why for us who know 385 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:32,400 Christ, we are against over restoration into our 386 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:35,440 communities, into our environments, even the physical 387 00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:40,400 environments where we stay. That is the ripple that goes on. 388 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:47,120 So this is complete restoration. Christ has restored the man, but 389 00:27:47,120 --> 00:27:52,200 also the entire region has been cleansed, but the demons have 390 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:56,800 been destroyed. Let's observe now the life in 391 00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:01,960 Christ that this man has and that we have, which we observe 392 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:06,400 in verses 14 to 20. We observe the status, the new 393 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:09,840 status of this man after encountering Christ. 394 00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:16,600 Mark reports what the people who saw this, what they encountered. 395 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,480 They tell us that they came to Jesus and saw that demon 396 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:26,240 possessed man, the one who had had the region sitting there 397 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,960 clothed and in his right mind and they were afraid. 398 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,600 His restoration appears in three simple details. 399 00:28:35,840 --> 00:28:39,840 Number 1, He is sitting. He's no longer in a state of 400 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,920 relentless agitation. He's now at rest. 401 00:28:43,400 --> 00:28:47,400 Secondly, he's closed. This is the sign of dignity. 402 00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,560 He's now given his place in the community. 403 00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:54,880 It has returned. He's a dignified man and sadly 404 00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:59,120 he is in his right mind. The inner comment has been 405 00:28:59,160 --> 00:29:03,040 cleared and now everything has changed. 406 00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:09,000 The man who was once dead is now alive again and the man has a 407 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:13,640 new identity. He's no longer the one who had 408 00:29:13,720 --> 00:29:17,200 the region. He's now he's not. 409 00:29:17,280 --> 00:29:19,320 He's not the demon possessed man. 410 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:22,000 He's the one who had. There is the past. 411 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:26,160 Something has happened to him. He's not the demon possessed man 412 00:29:26,200 --> 00:29:29,120 anymore. He has a new identity of a 413 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:34,200 restored person and he needs to remember this truth that I was 414 00:29:34,200 --> 00:29:39,240 once demon possessed, but now I am not demon possessed anymore. 415 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:47,520 Apart from this new identity, the man is given a new purpose. 416 00:29:48,320 --> 00:29:52,680 He seeks to follow Jesus because he wants to be grateful for what 417 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,280 Jesus has done for him. This is devotion. 418 00:29:55,280 --> 00:29:59,680 He's devoted to Jesus. He wants to go with him, though 419 00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:03,200 the crowds are saying, Jesus, leave us, go away. 420 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,560 The man says, I want to be with you. 421 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:10,920 He feels at comfort with Jesus. But Jesus tells the man. 422 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:15,040 He redirects him in another way. He tells him, go home to your 423 00:30:15,040 --> 00:30:18,920 family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and 424 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:24,520 how he has had mercy on you. This command changes something. 425 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,640 The man who was once isolated is called back and he's sent back 426 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:33,120 into his community. The man who was cut off from 427 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:37,840 community is now going back as a witness into the 10 cities to 428 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:42,040 declare the works of God. He's no longer an outcast. 429 00:30:42,080 --> 00:30:47,400 He's now an ambassador of Christ sent out to declare about the 430 00:30:47,400 --> 00:30:52,320 restoration of Christ. Let me tell you what happened on 431 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:57,520 that night after I had scribbled in that journal and said from 432 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:01,920 today I accept to be born again. I've told you that the voices 433 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,720 that we are telling me to commit serif harm seized there and 434 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:13,240 there and then I sat there for almost an hour and then I told 435 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,600 the police officers that I am fine, I want to go back home. 436 00:31:17,400 --> 00:31:21,840 And one of them looked at me and told me, young man, if you still 437 00:31:21,840 --> 00:31:25,320 feel the same tomorrow, come back and we take you to a 438 00:31:25,320 --> 00:31:28,360 psychiatrist. I never went back. 439 00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,200 I didn't return because I was already fine. 440 00:31:32,440 --> 00:31:41,160 And that night I was a fine art teacher trying to study ICT to 441 00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:44,560 become a graphics designer. Why was I doing that? 442 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:48,920 I was thinking about higher pay. I wanted to make better money, 443 00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:54,000 but also I wanted the freedom of being a freelance worker where 444 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:58,040 no one is high, no one is imposing any schedules and 445 00:31:58,040 --> 00:32:00,080 things upon me. I wanted to be freelance and 446 00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:03,520 enjoy the freedom, even the freedom of the hip hop culture 447 00:32:03,760 --> 00:32:06,360 that I couldn't enjoy in a teaching profession. 448 00:32:07,080 --> 00:32:11,440 But after I completed my study program, I went back to my 449 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:16,400 hometown and there I became active in the church life. 450 00:32:16,920 --> 00:32:21,480 I began volunteering in many ministries in my church, working 451 00:32:21,480 --> 00:32:25,720 in youth ministry, working in evangelism, working in believers 452 00:32:25,720 --> 00:32:27,400 fellowships and fellowship groups. 453 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:31,880 I began volunteering in that way, and after a year, the 454 00:32:31,880 --> 00:32:35,240 leaders of my church and my mentors suggested to me that I 455 00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:39,320 should go to a Bible college to be trained as a leader. 456 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:43,760 The churches in Uganda where I come from, training a priest is 457 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,840 very expensive, a clergy is very expensive. 458 00:32:47,280 --> 00:32:51,800 Not all congregations have priests and the clergy, some, 459 00:32:52,360 --> 00:32:56,080 most congregations rely on lay readers, catechists. 460 00:32:56,360 --> 00:33:01,120 So I was invited to study and to begin pastoring a congregation 461 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:04,920 in that case. So I replied to that invitation 462 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:09,120 and I went to a Bible college for a year that I was 463 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,760 commissioned as a lay reader, and I served in that capacity 464 00:33:12,760 --> 00:33:20,800 from 2011 up to 2019 when I was ordained as a Deacon and later 465 00:33:20,800 --> 00:33:26,080 ordained as a priest in 2021. But I want to ask you a 466 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:29,880 question. Where do you lie on the number 467 00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:32,520 line? Is it on the negative? 468 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:38,200 Are you encountering Christ? Or is it on the positive because 469 00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:42,520 the man who wants was in the tomb is now at the feet of 470 00:33:42,600 --> 00:33:45,360 Jesus. The man who was destroying 471 00:33:45,360 --> 00:33:52,000 himself is now speaking life. The man who was on his own is 472 00:33:52,000 --> 00:33:55,120 now sent out. Declare the message even to 473 00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:59,480 Chicago today. May the Lord be glorified. 474 00:33:59,840 --> 00:34:02,240 The name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 475 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:03,080 Amen.