The Voices that Beg

You're listening to the Christ Our Cornerstone

podcast, a ministry of Christ Our Cornerstone

Church in O 'Neill, Nebraska. I'm Pastor Logan

Merrick, and it's our prayer that this message

strengthens your faith and draws you closer to

Christ. Let's dive in. Pretty famous passage.

And I'm not going to get in depth on demonology,

the study of demons, OK? If you would like for

me to do more, of an in -depth study, like do

a podcast or something, a series on the supernatural,

I'd be more than happy to do that. Cause I have

a feeling that today, just the little bit that

I'm gonna give you will probably spark some questions.

But if you have more, if you have a question

about this particular passage, I've also done

a podcast on this about why the demons asked

to go into pigs and all of those things. So you

can go back and listen to that, because I'm not

going to go super in depth on that. I'm going

to be talking about something else in regards

to this passage. So, but the title of my sermon

today is The Voices That Beg. And the big idea

that I'm going to kind of drive home is, regardless

of the voices that plead for our attention, Jesus

offers true freedom and belonging, calling us

to follow him and share our testimony with others.

How many of you guys have encountered evil? Like,

true legit evil. And I'm not just talking about

like, oh yeah, well, you know, I've experienced

something here or there. Like you saw, if you've

been on missions trips before, there's been some

crazy things. A lot of my missionary friends,

they will tell you that there is no such thing

as someone who does not believe in the supernatural

once you've gone on a missions trip to someplace

that's... with witch doctors and crazy demonic

things. And so if you are here and you do not

believe in demons or angels, I would hope that

by the end of this you would, but the other thing

is, is if you call yourself a Christian and do

not believe in demons, I would consider you what

I would call a Christian atheist, materialist,

You do not believe in the supernatural. And here's

the deal. Everything in this book is supernatural.

Like the God that we serve is supernatural. And

so what we're going to read today really happened.

And I'm going to give you a personal story. And

I don't share this story to make much of evil.

I don't share this story. in a way that is meant

to stir up fear or be hyperbolic in any way.

I'm going to tell it to you exactly as it happened

to me. And unfortunately, my wife is not here,

so I can be as crazy with this story as I want

to be. If you were here last week, she was telling

a story. She's like, that's not how that happened.

And I'm like, that's exactly how I remember it

happened. But she has heard me tell this story

many times. She was there. You can confirm with

her next week that this really happened. But

when I was about 22 years old, Tracy and I were

newly married. She was pregnant with Noah at

this time. And we did ministry. My first ever

ministry experience was in this very low income

area, very, very rough area. And if you're white,

you do not want to be out past a certain time.

And that's not just Pastor Logan saying that

like the kids in my youth group would say, Pastor

Logan, you and Miss Tracy should probably get

home. It's getting dark. And so this is a really,

really rough area. And I will never forget that

our pastor, his name was Pastor Music, and he

was literally this tall little bitty guy. And

one day he was closing out his sermon and he

said, I just I just feel this this need to just

ask everybody to come to the front and let's

just hold hands and just in the service and prayer.

Like he wasn't trying to be weird or anything.

He was just like, I just feel like we should

probably just, let's all just end in prayer.

Well, this lady had come in, real small woman

and she had stringy long hair and she had come

in the back and never seen her before. Nobody

had ever seen her before. She's sitting in the

back. Well, he has everybody to come forward.

So everybody comes forward. We all get in a circle

and we're holding hands and he just starts praying

and I will never forget. So I'm on this side

of the church and I'm holding Tracy's hand and

holding somebody else's hand over here and the

lady is directly across from me and he just starts

praying and she lets out this crazy shriek like

something I've never heard before and still haven't

to this day and she comes tearing across the

circle. Well, my first instinct was to just rare

up I was just going to punch this lady because

she's coming right at Tracy and I. And Pastor

Music, he he just goes, because I told you he's

sure he gets right in between us and he just

throws up his Bible and starts speaking in Jesus

name. And I kid you not, she went face first

onto the ground and she's pulling her hair out

and she's shrieking. And Pastor Music says, turn

her over, turn her over. So all these ushers

and men just start flipping her over. And he

starts like. and like talking to her talking

to these demons and she looks at me because I'm

on like I'm like I've never seen anything like

this in my life okay so I'm just like what is

going on and I'll never forget she turns and

she looks at me true true completely honest and

it was like just this like dead darkness in her

eyes and this chill went down my spine and I

looked at Tracy and I go let's leave and so we

just left And I slept with the light on that

night because it scared the living daylights

out of me. And because I was like, I up until

that point, like I said, never had experienced

anything supernatural, never seen anything like

that. And Pastor Music was he gave me a hard

time and he just said, welcome to what ministry

really looks like. It doesn't just look like

suburbia when you're not in suburbia, you know.

And so. Demons are real, but I tell you that

story not to be like, oh, this was so crazy and

scary. I tell you that to say like, they're very

real, they are powerful, but the beautiful thing

is this, as we were about to see, Jesus has conquered

all of it. And so we don't have to be afraid

of it. And so the spiritual world is not a metaphor

and the Bible is not speaking in symbolic language

when it talks about evil. You don't get to claim

the God of scripture and then explain away the

supernatural parts that make you uncomfortable.

It's one or the other. And so hear me clearly,

this isn't about fear because what I saw in that

moment and what we're going to see in this passage

today, no matter how dark it gets, no matter

how real evil is, it is never equal to Christ

and it is never a rival to him. It is subject

to him. And so in the gospel of Mark chapter

five, we are introduced to a man who didn't just

have a brush with evil, he lived in it. A man

possessed not by one demon, but by a legion,

thousands of demons, and a man completely overtaken,

isolated, and hopeless. And yet when Jesus steps

onto the scene, everything changes. And what's

fascinating about this story isn't just the presence

of evil, it's how everything responds to Jesus.

Because as we're gonna see in this passage, we're

gonna see, the reason why I titled it, The Voices

That Beg, we're gonna see all these different

people and things that are begging. So we're

gonna see darkness that begs, we're gonna see

demons that beg, we're gonna see people that

beg, and then at the end, we will see a redeemed

man that begs. So the question is not whether

Jesus has authority, the question is, when he

shows up, what will you beg him for? So let's

go ahead and read. Mark chapter five, verses

one through 20. If you do not have a Bible, there's

one in the back for you. There are two handsome

young guys sitting back there that would love

to give you a Bible. Talking about my sons. So

I don't just call out other men being handsome.

Or you can check it out right up here. So here

we go. They came to the other side of the sea,

they being Jesus and the disciples. to the country

of Jusarnas. And when Jesus had stepped out of

the boat, immediately there met him out of the

tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived

among the tombs and no one could bind him anymore,

not even with a chain. For he had often been

bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched

the chains apart and he broke the shackles in

pieces. no one had the strength to subdue him.

Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains,

he was always crying out and cutting himself

with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar,

he ran and fell down before him. And crying out

in a loud voice, he said, what have you to do

with me, Jesus, son of the most high God? I assure

you that by God, do not torment me. For he was

saying to him, come out of the man, you unclean

spirit. And Jesus asked him, what is your name?

And he replied, my name is Legion, for we are

many. Now I imagine in this moment, by the way,

that because there are thousands of demons, I

think that at that moment, they all spoke at

one time. That'd be a creepy scene. And he begged

him earnestly not to send them out of the country.

Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on

the hillside, and they begged him saying, send

us to the pigs. Let us enter them. So he gave

them permission. You should probably highlight

that gave them permission. And the unclean spirits

came out and entered the pigs in the herd numbering

about 2000, rushed down the steep bank into the

sea and drowned in the sea. And the herdsman

fled and told it the city and the country and

in the country. And people came. to see what

had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw

the demon -possessed man, the one who had the

legion sitting there clothed and in his right

mind, and they were afraid. And those who had

seen it described to them what had happened to

the demon -possessed man and to the pigs, and

they began to beg Jesus to depart from the region.

As he was getting out of the boat or into the

boat, the man who had been possessed with demons

begged him that he might be with him. And he

did not permit him, but said, go home to your

friends and tell them how much the Lord has done

for you and how he has had mercy on you. And

he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis

how much Jesus had done for him and everyone

marveled. So do you see why I titled this The

Voices That Beg? Hopefully you saw the constant

repeating word beg. So if you're taking notes.

Our very first point is darkness that begs. So

when we look at verses one through five, we see

Jesus steps onto the shore and he doesn't get

met with the crowd, but he gets met by this man.

And this man is the picture of what darkness

does when it takes hold of a life. The text tells

us that he lives among the tombs. He doesn't

live near them. He lives literally in them. This

is a man who has been completely pushed out of

society, and he's not just struggling, he's been

removed. He's isolated. He is forgotten in a

way that is no one wants to be friends. He can't

be forgotten completely because he terrorizes

an entire town night and day. He is left to exist

among the dead. And that's where darkness wants

you and I. It wants you and I alone. Because

if it can get you isolated, it doesn't even need

to shout anymore. It can just whisper. And in

isolation, those whispers get loud. How many

of you guys have ever heard someone say, I don't

need the church. I can be a Christian on my own.

That's a lie from darkness. Hebrews is very clear

that we need the church. We need each other.

We need to cheer each other on when it gets hard,

when we face hard things. But if it can get you

isolated and believing that you can do this all

on your own, here are the things that might sound

familiar. You're too far gone. He can't save

you now. No one wants you. This is just who you

are now. Accept it. There's no way out of this.

And the longer you sit in that place, the more

those lies start to sound like truth. This man

wasn't just isolated, he was tormented. The Bible

says he was crying out night and day, cutting

himself with stones. And there's no peace here.

There's no rest, just constant anguish. But don't

miss the fact that it says that essentially people

tried to help him. They bound him with chains.

They tried to restrain him, but nothing worked.

He would just break them apart. He'd be like,

well, wouldn't they just be trying to bind him

because he terrorized them? Sure, yes, but also

he's cutting himself open. And so they're probably

trying to also help him. But eventually they

all stopped trying and they just left him out

there. And that's what darkness does. It isolates

you, it torments you, and then convinces everyone

else to keep their distance. But here's what

I want you to see while everyone else pushed

him away. What does Jesus do? He moves in. He

invades it. This man didn't clean himself up

first. He didn't get free first. He didn't take

a step. He just comes rushing to Jesus and Jesus

steps towards him. Jesus steps into his world.

And some of you need to hear this because you

believe that the lie that you've gone too far,

that you're too messed up, that you're too buried

in your sin or you're too trapped in your thoughts.

And Jesus is not repelled by your darkness. He

actually walks straight into it. I don't want

you guys to get scared. I'm not about to read

this entire book, okay? But I've referenced this

story before. and it's one of my favorite books

by C .S. Lewis called The Great Divorce. And

I want to read to you guys a portion because

I think it gives a perfect example of what darkness

does to us when we're isolated. And so in The

Great Divorce, what it's about is you've got

people that are in hell, they get on a bus and

they go to heaven. And they have this opportunity

in heaven to be redeemed. Now, Pastor Logan,

can people be redeemed if they're already in

hell? No, that's not, don't get caught up in

that. What you should get caught up in is how

people still, in the story, people still reject

heaven, even when they go there. And so here's

this, what the author, cause you're getting a

firsthand experience from this guy. And so he

says, everyone looks like ghosts, okay? So here

he's observing a ghost, one of the spirits from

hell that goes into heaven. And this is what

this is what takes place. I'm just going to read

a portion of it. Also soon said a voice and the

speaker was more or less human in shape, but

larger than a man and so bright that I could

hardly look at him. His presence smote on my

eyes and my body, too. For there was heat coming

off from him as well as light. This is an angel.

Like the morning sun at the beginning of a tyrannous

summer day. Yes, I'm off, said the ghost. Thanks

for all your hospitality, but it's no good, you

see. I told this little chap and here he indicated

there was a lizard on his shoulder. He had to

be quiet if he came, but instead he did not.

And so, of course, his stuff won't do here. And

I realized that he won't stop. I'll just have

to go home. Listen to what the angel says. Would

you like for me to quiet him? Of course I would,

said the ghost. Then I will kill him, said the

angel. Take a step forward. Oh, ah, look out.

You're burning me. Keep away, said the ghost,

retreating. Don't you want him killed? You didn't

say anything about killing him at first. I hardly

meant to bother you with anything so drastic

as that. It's the only way, said the angel, whose

burning hands were now very close to the lizard.

Shall I kill it? Well, that's a further question.

I'm quite open to consider it, but it's a new

point, isn't it? I mean, for the moment, I was

only thinking about silencing it because it's

up here. Well, it's to be damned embarrassing.

May I kill it? Well, there's time to discuss

that later. There's no time. May I kill it? Please,

I never meant to be such a nuisance. Please,

really don't bother. Look, it's going to sleep.

It's on its own accord. I'm sure it'll all be

fine now. Thanks ever so much. May I kill it.

And this keeps going on. This keeps going on

back and forth, back and forth until we get to

this one part. The angel's hands were almost

close to the lizard, but not quite. Then the

lizard began chattering to the ghost so loud

that even I could hear what it was saying. Be

careful, it said. He can do what he says. He

can kill me. One fatal word from you, and he

will. Then you will be without me forever and

ever. It's not natural. How could you live? You'd

be the only sort of ghost, not a real man as

you are now. He doesn't understand. He's only

a cold -blooded, less abstract thing. It may

be natural for him, but it isn't for us. Yes,

yes. I know that there are no real pleasures

now, only dreams, but aren't they better than

nothing? And I'll be so good, I admit, I've sometimes

gone too far in the past, but I promise I won't

do it again. I'll give you nothing but really

nice dreams, all sweet and fresh and almost innocent.

You might say quite innocent." Then the angel

speaks up, have I permission? I know it will

kill me, the man responds. It won't. Let's suppose

it did. You're right. It would be better to be

dead than to live with this creature. Then may

I blast you, go on, get it over with, do what

you like, bellowed the ghost, but ended up whimpering,

God help me, God help me. And the story goes

on where the angel does kill the lizard, this

demon, and the man becomes free. and he goes

from being a ghost to being fully a man in heaven.

So as the man hesitates, he makes all of these

excuses. Did you notice that? But what about,

but what about? And the darkness, the lizard

begins to speak to him, but if you don't have

me anymore, right? But the man just, not yet,

maybe later, don't hurt me. What will I be without

it? That's how darkness works. It convinces you

that the very thing that's destroying you is

something you can't live without. And as long

as you believe that, you stay in the tombs, alone,

tormented, listening to lies. But the moment

Jesus shows up and everything begins to change,

you can write this down. I'll have it right up

here. Because darkness may beg, but it never

wins when Christ steps in, amen. Point number

two, demons that beg. In verses six through 10,

we see the story shifts. The man who is isolated,

tormented, living among the tombs, he sees Jesus

from a distance and he runs towards him. But

before we go any further, I want to answer the

question, what exactly is a demon? And this could

be a debated topic among scholars and many in

the church have been taught. that demons are

a part of the one third of the angels that rebelled

against God. How many of you guys have heard

that before? Demons are fallen angels. They are

not, they are disembodied spirits of Nephilim.

What are Nephilim? They were the giants. Well,

what are you talking about? How can that possibly

be, Pastor Logan? Okay, well, a couple of things.

One, If you read Genesis 6, you see that the

sons of God, the rebel angels that rebelled against

God, they come down. It says they look upon the

daughters of men and they cohabitate and they

create these things called giants. They have

six toes, six fingers, and they're giant, literally.

Well, but how are they not demons? Well, or how

are they demons? Well, whenever they have to

have a body, They have to, they have to have

somewhere to go. And you don't see anywhere in

scripture where a fallen angel needs a body.

They can go in and out, they can disappear, they

can go through walls. Demons need bodies with

which to dwell. That's why they asked to go into

the pigs. But there's a whole lot more to this,

but I'm having to just give you like this much.

If you wanna know more, just after church, just

say, Pastor Logan, would you do more? But if

you want to read more about it, the biblical

evidence for it, write this down. There's a book

called The Unseen Realm by Dr. Michael Heiser.

He was my Hebrew professor when I was in seminary.

He's a very, very smart man who he's recently

passed away, but his works live on. So The Unseen

Realm, and then he has a book called Angels and

a book called Demons. And so he goes into the

demonology. But let's look back at our text.

Because I want you to understand like demons

are lower. There's a big, there's fallen angels,

there's demons. This man is so tormented by these

demons that he has supernatural strength. He

is mutilating himself and cutting himself with

stones and demons are hell bent on destruction

because they hate the image of God that we represent

as people. But this isn't just a man that's running.

This is a man or this is darkness inside him

reacting to the presence of Christ so when he

runs to Jesus this is darkness running to him

running to Jesus because why why are they running

to Jesus what do you think because they have

to submit to him they know who he is and they

have to submit And so they're running in submission

to him. And when he gets to Jesus, he falls down

before him and he cries out with a loud voice,

what have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the

most high God? Do not torment me. So the demons

know exactly who Jesus is and they are confused

by who he is and they know exactly who he is.

They don't need any more evidence. They know.

And not only do they recognize Him, but they

submit to Him. They fall down and they beg. And

here's what should stop you in your tracks. You've

got people today who will argue about whether

Jesus is Lord. And here you've got demons in

this text who are on their face before Him pleading.

They know exactly who He is. They understand

something we often forget. Jesus is not one option

among many. He is the absolute authority. over

the physical and the spiritual. So last week,

we talked about Jesus in the midst of the storm

and he calms the physical storm, the chaos. And

here he is commanding and directing the spiritual.

And so when Jesus says, what is your name? And

the response comes back, my name is Legion for

we are many. It's meant to hit you pretty deep

because Legion is a Roman military unit, which

represents thousands. And this man isn't dealing

with one voice, he's overwhelmed by many voices.

Layer upon layer of darkness, lies, torment,

oppression, and even more intense, possession.

Let's stop for just a second. Pastor Logan, can

Christians be possessed by demons? No, but they

can be oppressed by demons. What do you mean?

Okay, we sang the song, Gratitude, and that song

gets me worked up because before I was your pastor,

and struggling, I went through a very, a very

depressing time in my life. And I can remember

not even wanting to get out of bed. And I remember

feeling just completely void of life. And I put

on the song gratitude and I remember singing

it in my bed and just weeping. Because all I

had in that moment was a weak hallelujah. But

here's what's funny. The more I sang it, the

more I felt life, the Holy Spirit and things

begin to move. And so you can have these oppressive

spirits. They cannot possess you because you

are filled with the Holy Spirit, but they can

make you feel like life is ending. Does that

make sense? So if you are a believer who is filled

with the Holy Spirit, don't think that you can

be possessed by a demon because you can't. So

what I love about Christ is even, so what I love

about, what I love though is Christ isn't even

challenged by demons. They're nothing to him.

And they don't fight him mostly because they

know it wouldn't go well for him, so they plead

with him. And what do they beg for? They do not

beg to be sent out of the region. They beg not

to be cast into the abyss, and they beg for permission.

Did you catch that? When I told you to highlight

it right they beg for permission because here's

the thing demons need permission Even from you

What do you mean well you grant access to demons

whenever you participate in things Even if it

was Ouija boards, whatever when you're thinking

you were just messing around, or even it can

be something as little as things that you watch.

You're granting permission, whether you realize

it or not. Well, now you're starting to sound

a little kooky, Pastor Logan. Well, I'm just

telling you that this is what the scripture shows

me. Again, this goes back to believing supernatural

really does exist. But again, they ask for Christ's

permission. and Christ's authority is on display.

Like children asking for permission to go to

the bathroom or eat a snack or go outside and

play, these demons are asking for permission

from daddy. So write this down, even demons don't

have, don't move without his authority. So there's

nothing in the spiritual realm that operates

outside the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. And

then comes the part that catches people off guard.

They see a herd of pigs and they beg him, send

us into the pigs, let us enter them and Jesus

allows them. But why? Why would he permit that?

Because what you're about to see is the true

nature of evil on full display. The demons enter

the pigs and then what happens? What do the pigs

do? They drown themselves. The entire herd rushes

down the steep bank and into the sea and they

drown. So we have chaos, destruction, and death.

That's what evil does. Who asked that? Yeah.

Yeah. So now, now, now you're going to get me

going off on something. Hold on. Hold on. Hold

on. Just for a moment, Doug, just for a moment.

That's a great question. So we can't, I can't

just go, yeah, speaking like we can just look

at it in scripture, right? So I'm going to go

off of what I know. theologically and philosophically,

okay? This is Pastor Logan speaking. I'm not

saying that this is in here, okay? Because it's

all going to just be happenstance. I think that

because you read in a lot of Hebrew, ancient

Hebrew texts about Solomon had the ability to

cast out demons along with David, and they did

so with using water. And if demons being disembodied

spirits of giants, when did giants get backhanded

pretty good in the scriptures, in the flood.

And so I think that water has something to do

with trapping and embodying or getting them into

the abyss. And so I think this is one of the

ways in which Jesus knew, which I say that in

that podcast, Jesus knew that the pigs would

run off of a cliff and ultimately send them to

their judgment anyway. But that's just me speculating

and just having done more. also asked that same

question. And it's driven me to read more and

more. I'm like, water has something to do with

something in regards to demons because they do

not. If you read the scriptures, it says that

they go into waterless places. It's just so there's

a lot of strange things. So I think that they

ultimately found were put into judgment. Great

question. So where was I? Give me a sec. The

same voices that were destroying that man are

the same kinds of voices people listen to every

day. Voices that say, follow this, give in to

this, this will satisfy you. And all the while,

it's leading somewhere. And it's never toward

life. It's always toward destruction. But in

the middle of all of that, don't lose the main

point. You can write this down. Jesus is not

reacting to chaos. He's ruling over it. And so

he allows it to be exposed so that his authority

can be clearly seen. So that no one walks away

from the story thinking evil is equal to him.

It's not, it begs, it submits, and it answers

to him. And here's where this turns to us. What

voices are you listening to? Because make no

mistake, you are listening to something. Whether

it's voices of fear, voices of temptation, or

voices of despair. or listen to the voice of

Christ. But the difference is this, one leads

to chaos, the other leads to life. And the invitation

in this passage is not just to observe what Jesus

does, it's to trust Him enough to say, Lord,

I need you to step into this. I need you to take

authority over what I can't control. Because

the same Jesus that demons begged before is the

same Jesus who still has authority today. Point

number three. discomfort that begs. This is the

part of the story that always gets me. So Jesus

permits the demons and the pigs rush down the

embankment and they drown. So chaos is exposed

and evil is revealed for what it is and a man

who was once out of control is now sitting there

in his right mind. If this, okay, I'm just gonna

ask you guys, if this was a person here in O

'Neill, He's famous for causing destruction and

scaring people and cutting himself and crazy

things and he terrorizes everyone. And all of

a sudden, he is freed from these demons. He's

in his right mind and he's clothed. How would

you respond? Excitement. Yeah, I agree. Anybody

else? Cautious? Anybody else? Weird it out? I

could see that too. It's how the town responds

to me that blows my mind. We've read it. Let's

dive into it some more. You would think that

the town would celebrate. You would think that

they'd come running and go, what just happened?

Who is this man? But that's not what happens

when they hear about it. They come out they see

the man clothed He's in his right mind and instead

of rejoicing. They're afraid I Want to I want

to be clear about something. Yeah, I get I get

the being afraid part. I Would probably be terrified

too. I Too would be trying to make sense of what

I just witnessed but to know that this man and

I say nice Men, I should say men, because if

you read in the other accounts of the Gospels,

there's actually two of them and they both get

set free. Why are they in a mark? Well, yeah,

this is corroborated. Got a podcast about that

too, if you want to hear it. Why we can trust

the Gospels. But I say men because we know, like

I said, that there were two. They have terrified

the town for years and now something completely

incredible has freed them both. It's to know

that we They have tried everything from chains

and ropes. They've tried everything to bind this

man and to keep him from harming the people,

the children, and nothing worked. And now this

man, one man shows up on the scene and he just

speaks to them and they, and all of these demons

flee. That is hair raising. So I understand the

fear, but I don't understand the rest of the

reaction when they tell Jesus, They beg him to

leave. The same Jesus that demons begged for

mercy is now being begged by people to go away.

Why? Why do you think that is? Remember, they're

in a Gentile region, by the way. Why would they

ask Jesus to leave? What's that? People don't

like change. I agree with that what you say Scott

They don't know him yeah He just destroyed their

life 2 ,000 pigs That's a livelihood But it's

even more than that because they're also pagan

And so he's disrupted their world their economy

is now just taking a hit their comfort just got

shaken, and their categories for how life works

just got blown up. And instead of leaning in,

they pushed Jesus out. You can write this down,

because here's the truth, and I just lived this

this week talking with someone. People will tolerate

a lot as long as it doesn't cost them anything.

The townspeople, they were willing to live next

to a man possessed by a legion of demons. They

were willing to let him stay in the tombs, cutting

himself and crying out day and night. They adjusted

to it. They got used to it. But the moment Jesus

shows up and actually fixes it and it costs them

something, that's too much. We don't necessarily

like that. It's kind of like how I am with my

van and our transmission. I'm just letting that

thing go as long as I possibly can. I've gotten

used to the fact that the transmission slips

in and out, but when they gave me the bill for

$4 ,000 to have it repaired, I'm like, ooh, I'll

live with it. But think about how they're reacting.

It feels very, very backwards. They would rather

keep their pigs than see a man set free. They

would rather cling to what they have than submit

to the one who has authority. And before we get

too critical of them, we need to be honest, this

is not just their story, it's ours as well. Because

there are people sitting in this room, myself

included, who are perfectly fine with Jesus as

long as he stays at a distance. As long as he

doesn't touch my habits, my relationships, my

priorities, my comfort, or my control, I'm good.

But the moment he steps in and says this has

to change, that's when the resistance shows up.

Not because he's wrong, but because it's uncomfortable.

And we would rather manage our dysfunction than

surrender to his authority. I'm gonna say that

one more time, because there's a lot of us that

would rather live in dysfunction than surrender

to the authority of Jesus. We'd rather keep the

familiar Ever heard of a thing called familiar

demons? We would rather keep the familiar even

if it's broken than trust Jesus with something

new. That town chose demons over a person. You

guys listening? They chose demons. They chose

comfort over transformation, and they chose control

over Christ. and they begged him to leave. So

here's the question you and I can't avoid. Where

are you doing the same thing? Where is Jesus

pressing in on your life right now? And instead

of surrendering, you're pushing back. Not that

Lord, anything but that, anything but that. Don't

touch that. Don't touch that part of my life.

Don't mess that up right now. Just leave it alone.

Everything else we can talk about. It sounds

just like the man in the story, right? Do you

want me to kill it? No, no, no, no. Wait, hold

on. We've got time. But listen to me. He's not

coming to take from you. He's coming to set you

free. Write this down. But freedom, as Americans,

we know this to be true. Freedom always costs

something. And if you're not careful, you will

cling so tightly to what you have that you will

miss the one who has authority to change everything.

And just like that town, you'll find yourself

begging Jesus to leave you alone. Here's the

last point. Devotion that begs. So we've seen

how darkness begs. We've seen how demons beg.

We've seen how people beg. or discomfort that

begs. But now let's see how the man who's set

free begs. So now we have the scene shifts again.

And the town has begged him to leave. And as

Jesus is getting back in the boat, the man who

had been possessed, the one who had lived in

the tombs, the one who was cutting himself, crying

out, completely overtaken when he comes to Jesus.

And now he's begging Jesus. But this begging

is different because he's not begging out of

fear and he's not begging out of control and

he's not begging to protect his comfort. He's

begging to be with Jesus. Let me come with you.

This is a man who just hours ago was running

wild, isolated, tormented out of his mind and

now all he wants is the presence of Christ. Brothers

and sisters, that's what real transformation

looks like. It's not just behavior change. It's

not just relief from pain. It's a whole new desire.

I just want to be near him. And there's something

even deeper that's happening here if you're paying

attention because there's a story in scripture

that feels a little familiar to this one. Can

you think of it? It's just the flip reverse.

Let me give you some hints. In it, we also see

nakedness, also we see sin, and also we see demonic

presence all in the same story. Garden of Eden,

Genesis chapter three, what happens though? When

they sin, they hide, they run, they cover themselves

and flee from the presence of God and shame.

But here, this man is restored, he's clothed,

he's in his right mind, and instead of running

from God, he's running to him. And that's the

difference that grace makes. Write this down.

Sin makes you hide, but grace makes you draw

near. And this man has tasted something he never

wants to lose. And that's exactly what the psalmist

is saying in our verse of the week in Psalm 84

10. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand

elsewhere. Jesus, I don't care where you're going.

I just want to be with you. There's a song by

the band Lifehouse that I love where. The song

is just a cello and some acoustic guitar, and

it just says, if I can just sit outside your

door and hear you breathe, that's all I need.

But here's what's surprising. Instead of allowing

the man to get in the boat, Jesus tells him no.

He doesn't let him get in the boat. Instead,

what does he say? Go home. Tell everyone what

the Lord has done for you and the mercy that

he's had on you. So write this down. The man

begs for proximity and Jesus gives him purpose.

You don't need to come with me, you need to go

tell everyone. And this is where it lands on

us, not because. are because a lot of us love

the idea of being close to Jesus, but we're not

excited about being sent by him. We want the

comfort of his presence without the responsibility

of his mission. But the proof of a transformed

life isn't just that you want to be with Jesus,

it's that you're willing to go for Jesus. This

man becomes the first missionary to that region,

the very place where people beg Jesus to leave

as the place where the man starts his ministry.

But he doesn't have a seminary degree, and he

doesn't have all the answers. But he does have

a story. I was this, and now I'm this, and Jesus

did it. And that's it. And for some of you, that's

exactly where you are. You're overthinking it

way too much. You're waiting until you know more,

or until you feel ready. Meanwhile, Jesus is

saying, just go and tell what I've done for you.

Because your story of freedom is the very thing

God will use to bring someone else out of the

tombs. So the final question here is, what are

you begging Jesus for? Because in the passage,

everybody is begging. Darkness is begging for

your attention. Demons are begging. And the world

begs for you to leave behind Jesus and join them.

But the redeemed, the redeemed beg to be near

him. and then go wherever he sends them. So I'm

gonna ask, which are you? Let's pray.