Digging Deeper – God Knows Me!
And they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27 And when He had come out onto the land, He was met by a certain man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. 28 And seeing Jesus, he cried out and fell before Him, and said in a loud voice, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the most High God? I beg You, do not torment me.” For He had been commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For it had seized him many times; and he was bound with chains and shackles and kept under guard; and yet he would burst his fetters and be driven by the demon into the desert. 30 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion”; for many demons had entered him. 31 And they were entreating Him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 32 Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain, and the demons entreated Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission. 33 And the demons came out from the man and entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake, and were drowned. 34 And when the herdsmen saw what had happened, they ran away and reported it in the city and out in the country. 35 And the people went out to see what had happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. 36 And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. 37 And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat, and returned. 38 But the man from whom the demons and gone out was begging Him that he might accompany Him; but He sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you.’ And he went away proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Luke 8:26-39
GOD KNOWS ME!
This week, we are going to take a trip from the farm, to the sea, to the other side of the tracks (sea). The trip is necessary for us to understand what Jesus is teaching us through these events and parables. You see, sometimes Jesus told stories, and sometimes Jesus just worked, and the people were amazed. It is like the adage, “Truth is mostly caught, not taught!” Well, Jesus did both.
These three events are related in that it is Jesus who is responsible for each outcome. Jesus prepares our hearts! Jesus calmed the storm! Jesus set the demoniac free. It is always 100% Jesus.
This week, Mike spoke about the demoniac who was set free from his sin (demon possession). So, here is the summary of the parable, the sea voyage, and the miracle of the cleansing of the demoniac.
GOD KNEW THE DEMON-POSSESSED MAN BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD (see Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9; Jeremiah 1:5; and Psalm 139:13-16 for support).
And Jesus has known you and me from before the world began, too!
And if God knew the man before the world began, then He also knew that he would be demon-possessed and tormented…and Jesus made a point of sailing through a potentially deadly storm (that I believe was created by Satan to kill the Son of God; see Job 1:18-19, where Satan shows he has control of the weather) in order to intentionally set the man free from his shackles.
JESUS WENT TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LAKE, WHERE GOOD JEWS NEVER TRAVELED, IN ORDER TO SAVE THIS MAN! (Not uncommon for Jesus; remember the Samaritan Woman in John 4.)
The demon-possessed man did not BREAK FREE from his sin; no, Jesus SET HIM FREE!
And let’s spend a minute on what it means to be enslaved to our sin.
The chains of sin make us:
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Less sensitive to the feelings of those around us and to propriety itself (nakedness).
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Our sin can make us feel dead inside, resulting in a lack of desire to accomplish the “good” (living amongst the tombs).
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Our sin can make us want to isolate ourselves from those who care about us and want our best (driven to the desert).
Jesus knew it all and had been using all of it to prepare this man’s heart (his soil) since before he was born; and He did it for me, and He did it for you if you are His.
If you are not, and this message and Mike’s sermon are gnawing at your soul, then God is drawing you (actually, the word for “draws” in John 6:44 is “to drag”) to Himself, so give in and take up a place at the feet of the saver of your life. It is the best place in the world to spend your time.
Then go home to your people and tell them what God has done for you!
Tomorrow, we will take a deeper dive into the state of our hearts (the soil of our farm)!
He loves you so much forever!
Quite simply, Dave Griffith loves getting to know Jesus better by studying His Word daily and is passionate about teaching his siblings in Christ how to study His Word as well. He is passionately in love and like with his helpmate, Jackie; and is most fulfilled when he is hanging with his 10 kids (3 of his, 2 of Jackie’s, 3 are married, 2 more spiritually adopted) and 9 grandkids. He is a small group leader and a men’s group leader. He is a serial entrepreneur owning or having owned numerous businesses. He also enjoys naps!