0:46

Ford is going to lead us through the text

0:48

that we're going to be studying together . Ford , if

0:50

you would Good morning church .

0:52

Today I'm going to be reading from Luke , chapter 8

0:54

, verse 26 through 39 . Then

0:57

they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes

0:59

, which is opposite Galilee . When Jesus

1:01

had stepped out on the land , there met

1:03

him a man from the city who had demons For

1:05

a long time . He had worn no clothes and he

1:07

had not lived in a house but among the tombs

1:10

. When he saw Jesus , he

1:12

cried out and fell down before him and said with

1:14

a loud voice what have you to do with me

1:16

? Jesus , son of the most high God , I

1:18

beg you , do not torment me , for

1:21

he had commanded the unclean spirit to come

1:23

out of the man . For many a time

1:25

it had seized him . He was kept under guard

1:27

and bound with chains and shackles , but

1:29

he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon

1:31

into the desert . Jesus then asked

1:33

him what is your name ? And he said

1:35

legion , for many demons had entered him

1:38

and they begged him not to command them

1:40

to depart into the abyss . Now

1:42

the large herd of pigs was feeding there

1:44

on the hillside and they begged him to let

1:46

them enter these , so

1:48

he gave them permission . Then the demons

1:50

came out of the man and entered the pigs , and

1:53

the herd rushed down the steep bank into

1:55

the lake and drowned . When the herdsmen

1:57

saw what had happened , they fled and told it in the

1:59

city and in the country . When

2:01

the people went out to see what had happened and

2:03

they came to Jesus and found the man

2:06

with whom the demons had

2:08

gone sitting at the feet of Jesus , clothed

2:10

and in his right mind , and they were afraid . And

2:12

those who'd seen it told them how the demon-possessed

2:15

man had been healed . Then all the people

2:17

of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked

2:19

him to depart from them , for they

2:22

were seized with great fear . So

2:24

he got into the boat and returned the

2:26

man from whom the demons had gone . Begged

2:28

that he might be with him , but Jesus sent

2:30

him away saying return to your home

2:32

and declare how much God has done for you . And

2:35

he went away proclaiming throughout the whole city

2:37

how much Jesus had done for him .

2:40

Thank you , ford , appreciate you reading for

2:44

us . When I was Ford's age , the

2:47

world was a little different . Evangelism was a little

2:49

bit different . I

2:51

always hesitate to talk about when I

2:53

was a teenager because I feel like I

2:55

fake young really well until I

2:57

tell stories and then I age

2:59

myself very , very quickly . So I'm

3:02

just I'm going to show a picture and

3:04

I just need to know how many

3:06

people in the room this elicits a

3:08

response from All

3:11

right , okay , good , I'm not completely on

3:13

. So if

3:19

you don't know what this is , it looks like the American

3:21

gladiators , just like maybe

3:23

on a local station . The

3:27

power team was a

3:29

team of guys evangelists

3:31

who would book large

3:33

arenas to get people

3:35

to come and look at feats of strength

3:38

. They would

3:40

do things like break concrete

3:42

with their elbows and bite

3:44

rebar through towels and bend

3:47

it across their chest . That's what

3:49

they did , and then at the very end , they would

3:51

talk about how , no matter how

3:53

much power they have , their power

3:55

is dwarfed in comparison

3:57

to the power of Christ . Well

4:00

, when we look at the text that we're

4:02

going to look at , there is not

4:04

one fiber of my body that can read this

4:07

without thinking about the time that

4:09

I went and saw the power team

4:11

, because the entirety of the

4:13

text that we're going to look at is Jesus

4:16

having power and authority . Then he has power

4:18

and authority , then he has power and authority . In fact , there

4:20

are three major events

4:23

, you might even say like three

4:26

strength events or strength trials

4:28

, that Jesus is going to walk through

4:30

. In the little text that we have and Luke

4:33

, the author of this

4:35

, inspired by the Holy Spirit , kept

4:37

for all time for you and I today

4:39

does not want us to miss out on

4:41

what the main thing is . The

4:43

main thing is not the presence of

4:45

demons and spiritual warfare , though

4:48

that is , and there is something for us to talk about

4:50

in that . The main point

4:52

might not even be

4:54

that , no matter how far away

4:56

and broken your life

4:58

seems when we read the story of this demoniac

5:00

, this man who is riddled with demons

5:02

, no matter how busted , dark , evil

5:05

and jacked up your life , is that

5:07

Jesus can step into it in a very

5:10

short order and completely change

5:12

it and clean things up . I think that is true , but

5:14

what the Holy Spirit , through Luke , does

5:17

not want us to miss is the

5:19

authority of Jesus . In other

5:21

words , when Jesus says something

5:23

, it happens without

5:26

exception , without excuse

5:28

, and I don't know what authority looks like

5:30

in your world or in your home

5:33

. I like to think I have

5:35

authority in my household . I like to think

5:37

I have authority over my children

5:39

. I like to think I have some level of authority over

5:42

and with the eldership

5:44

team , over the comings and the goings

5:46

of midterms . I would like to think that . And

5:48

then the door gets left

5:50

to open , with the air conditioner

5:53

running , and I realize it doesn't matter

5:55

how many times I say this . My

5:58

words do not have the power that

6:00

I want them to have . I

6:02

realize very , very quickly that

6:05

when I say things like hey , do

6:07

your homework . When Jesus

6:09

says it , pages start turning

6:11

and mechanical pencils start clicking

6:13

. When I say it , I hear

6:16

and I'm like that's

6:18

not the kind of authority I

6:20

want to have . When I say we got

6:22

to be in the car in five minutes

6:24

, and then the sound I hear next is

6:26

me honking the horn alone in

6:28

a car Five minutes later

6:30

, I look at my world and I say no

6:33

matter how much authority , no matter how much

6:35

power or whatever it is that

6:37

I can exert over my life and

6:39

the lives of those who I've been called to steward

6:41

and lead , it is not nearly

6:44

enough , and

6:46

with Christ it could

6:49

not be more different

6:51

. One

6:54

thing I'm going to do a little different is usually

6:56

I try to get you guys somewhere and then show you

6:58

. I don't want you to miss anything , so I'm going

7:00

to tell you where we're going the entire time

7:02

we walk through this text . The first place

7:05

that we are going is going to look at the commands

7:07

that Jesus has . Jesus commands

7:09

authority over the

7:11

normative , the common , the

7:14

normal places of life

7:16

. Now I'm going to start us a little sooner than what

7:18

Ford read for us . So if you're in

7:20

your Bibles , I think we're on page like . If you're

7:22

using a pew Bible , I think it's 864 , 865

7:25

. You're always welcome to use the table of contents here

7:27

, but we're going to start in chapter 8

7:29

, verse 19 . Then

7:31

Jesus' mother and his

7:33

brothers came to him but they could

7:35

not reach him because of the crowd

7:38

, and Jesus was told your mother

7:40

and your brothers are standing outside desiring

7:42

to see you . But

7:44

he answered them . Now just imagine that

7:47

, like if I go and Ellis is with his disciple buddies right

7:49

. Now just imagine that , like if I go and Ellis is with his disciple buddies

7:51

right , if I swing up to the church and they're having a small

7:53

group and I say , hey

7:55

, run inside , tell Ellis I'm out here . I

7:58

expect Ellis to come out in

8:00

short order . But notice , here

8:02

it's a little different . Jesus , your mother

8:04

, your brothers are standing outside . They're desiring to see

8:06

you . Your

8:09

mother has had quite a story . She has walked through quite an endeavor to

8:11

bring you into this world , has loved you well , verse

8:13

21 , but he answered them . My

8:16

mother and my brothers are those

8:18

who hear the word of God and do

8:20

it so grateful this is not Mother's Day

8:22

that we dodged this text lining

8:25

up . It would just hit and feel a

8:27

little different . It's hard

8:29

not to read this and be offended by Jesus

8:31

. It's hard not . And , by the way , there's a

8:33

lot in this where people are offended

8:35

by Jesus . This is just the beginning . It's

8:38

hard for you to imagine

8:41

Jesus saying Mary , my mom . Let me

8:43

tell you who my mom is . Let me tell you who my brothers

8:45

are . My mom and my brothers are

8:47

people who hold the word of God and believe it

8:49

with every fiber of their being . They don't

8:51

just believe it here , they believe it here . And

8:53

because they have beheld who God is

8:56

, they have believed in me . They are becoming

8:58

my brothers , my sisters , my mother

9:00

. They

9:03

are becoming my new family . This is a beautiful thing to put on display , as

9:05

people are being drawn into the

9:07

family of faith here at Midtree . People

9:12

are being drawn into the family of faith here at Midtree . Now , important for us to note

9:14

is that Jesus is not disrespecting Mary , he's

9:16

not diminishing parenthood

9:18

, he's not doing any of that . But

9:21

what he is doing is he's pointing

9:23

to something that you

9:25

and I would consider to be very normal and

9:27

very common , something that we would

9:29

actually point to in scripture and say honor your father

9:31

and mother , jesus , how are you not honoring here

9:33

? But what Jesus is putting

9:35

on display is that spiritual

9:37

relationships are more important than

9:40

physical relationships . The

9:42

relationship that you have with the person in the pew

9:44

assuming that you're a believer and they're a believer ought

9:47

to be closer than the relationship

9:49

that you have with a non-believing family

9:52

member , with potentially

9:54

a mom or a dad , a grandmother , an

9:57

aunt , an uncle , a cousin . All

10:00

of the Christmases you've spent together , all

10:02

of the Thanksgivings , all of the birthday parties

10:05

, all of the memories , all of the old

10:07

photos that you can pull out and

10:09

into that , jesus steps in

10:11

and he says let me tell you about

10:13

all of the things that are common and normal . I

10:16

have authority even over

10:18

that . This is Jesus saying you don't have a Tuesday

10:21

if you're a Christian . I have

10:23

a Tuesday for you to live out

10:25

unto my glory and finding

10:27

your joy . This is Jesus saying there's

10:29

not a heartbeat that exists in your chest

10:32

, a breath that comes out of your mouth

10:34

or a thought that exists in your

10:36

mind that if you are a Christian , jesus

10:38

does not own and claim

10:41

ownership over . He's

10:43

not diminishing Mary , he's not diminishing

10:45

James , his brother . He's not diminishing

10:47

the family , he is heightening

10:50

it . He's saying what you and I have experienced

10:52

in family pales in comparison

10:55

to what God is wanting you to

10:57

find in true family

10:59

. This is why , when the disciples

11:01

come to Jesus and they say , hey , we

11:04

want to draw closer to God

11:06

, we want to draw closer to

11:10

the one who created all things

11:12

, will you teach us how to talk to

11:14

him ? And Jesus says yeah

11:17

, begin like this , our

11:20

father . And in the first

11:22

two words of the most common prayer that has ever

11:24

been prayed around the globe for

11:26

all time , we are reminded

11:29

by the teaching of Jesus what is being pointed

11:31

to in the life of Jesus , which

11:33

is that spiritual relationships are more important

11:36

than physical ones . Do

11:38

you know why ? Because Jesus

11:40

says so . That's it . That

11:43

is the beginning and the end of the story . Because

11:45

Jesus , who created all things , who created

11:47

family , who existed in a

11:49

trinity before family ever

11:52

existed , before Adam bumped into Eve and God

11:54

brought them together , this community

11:56

existed . And Jesus wants

11:58

us to realize that what exists in the spirit is

12:01

more important and more long lasting

12:03

. When Jesus says something , things

12:06

happen . God's word creates

12:09

family and that is very good

12:11

news for many of us , because

12:13

for many of us , we do not

12:15

have family . For

12:17

many of us , we do not have good

12:20

family . For many of

12:22

us , what we think is good

12:24

, we only think is good because it's normal

12:26

to us . It's

12:35

normal to us . Consider that the family that

12:37

you have you may think is good because it is simply normal , it

12:39

is yours , but many of us grew up without

12:41

fathers . Many of us may

12:44

have grown up without mothers , may

12:46

have grown up estranged to different family

12:48

. And Jesus steps in and he says

12:51

out of the authority

12:53

of my own creation , I

12:55

am building a family and the family

12:57

that I have is so far from normal

13:00

. It isn't natural , it is

13:02

supernatural . And

13:05

even in the family of God . We

13:07

have little noisemakers and

13:11

you are some of them . Love you , blanchard

13:13

, been

13:15

there . How

13:18

rare is the

13:20

nuclear family in America

13:22

? Not just a

13:25

question , but let's

13:27

actually take a moment and look

13:29

at this Trent

13:34

or guys in the back . I'm looking at

13:36

you for a moment , so grab your phones . This is one of my favorite

13:38

things that we get to do . We're going to have

13:40

a little poll , the audience type thing . Now

13:43

let me define . I'm sorry , I don't think I

13:45

can . Maybe I can make that a little bit bigger . Okay , there

13:47

you go . It's as good as I can do . If

13:49

you go to slidocom , there's a little code for

13:51

you on the bottom where you can try and zoom

13:53

in on the QR code , depending on what seat you got

13:55

today . Here's

13:58

my question what percentage

14:01

of US households are nuclear

14:03

families ? Let me explain what I mean by a

14:05

nuclear family . A nuclear family

14:07

is a husband and a wife with children

14:09

, and so how many

14:13

households in the United

14:16

States are nuclear

14:18

families ? And this is kind of where you guys

14:20

are guessing . Hey

14:25

, come on , we're all my optimists . Nobody

14:29

, nobody . Oh

14:32

, there they came . There they are . They heard me . That's

14:36

right . You're wrong . Quit putting your

14:38

vote there . What percentage

14:40

of US families are nuclear families . Us

14:43

households are nuclear families . Y'all can keep voting if

14:46

you want 21 to 40

14:48

percent . Congratulations , you're wrong . You're

14:50

wrong . Yeah , sorry , just wanted to mess with you

14:52

there . The correct answer is zero to 20

14:54

percent . The actual number

14:56

is 17.8 percent of households

14:59

in the United States are nuclear famous

15:01

. Now let me tell you why I

15:03

do . I could just . And

15:08

50 percent of you are liars and need Jesus

15:10

. And

15:12

50% of you are liars and need Jesus . That's not true . 100%

15:17

of you are liars and need Jesus . Why would I put

15:19

that up ? I don't want to

15:22

be depressing and I don't want to be demoralizing

15:24

, but I do want to tell you the truth . And

15:27

when I realized that Jesus goes

15:29

to the trouble , this is event number one . This

15:32

may not be the heaviest lift that you're going

15:34

to see Jesus do in this text . I

15:36

don't know , maybe this is tearing a phone book in half , but

15:39

it is a lift . It is a lift . For

15:41

Jesus to say family matters

15:43

, a family that is eternal

15:45

, that sticks together for all time , is

15:48

a supernatural feat . And

15:54

most of us have not seen this . Most of us are not living

15:56

this . I do have good

15:58

news for you . The good news is that

16:00

God promises that

16:02

he is going to build his spiritual family and

16:05

when Jesus says something , it

16:07

happens . In fact , it's

16:09

happening in this moment , right now , not

16:11

just because new members have been brought into

16:13

Midtree . That's wonderful . It's

16:15

happening right now because a handful of us

16:17

are not here today . It's

16:20

happening because a couple of folks

16:22

from different small groups are

16:24

going to Americus this morning . In fact they're

16:26

probably already there . They're sitting in

16:28

a different sanctuary of a church planter

16:31

that you guys have helped support in

16:33

Americus and right now they

16:35

are having , I think , their very first Sunday

16:38

service with a baptism , and

16:40

part of Midtree went there

16:42

to join with them and celebrate

16:44

with them , and that is

16:46

family Simultaneously

16:49

. You may notice in a minute some of my slides

16:51

don't look quite lined up and as

16:53

good as they usually do . That's because

16:55

Thomas makes them , and

16:57

well , that would be enough . But

16:59

in addition to Thomas making

17:02

them , he was a little stressed this

17:04

weekend Because not only do we have a

17:06

group going to the well church in Americus

17:08

Pray for them , as you

17:10

think of it , this morning we also

17:12

have a group of people Bennett

17:15

Counts is not here and Thomas

17:18

Grocke is not here Nick Bruner

17:20

, maybe their families are

17:22

not here because they're in Pine Mountain

17:24

running a service at Midway

17:27

Baptist , so that that pastor

17:29

can have a Sunday off because he

17:32

doesn't have a large team . So three

17:34

different churches . Midtree is

17:36

a part of and , as we're talking about planting

17:38

a church , we already have a group

17:40

of people going and running a service . That

17:42

is amazing stuff . I

17:45

say that to tell you your church

17:47

family , midtree , is growing

17:49

up and that is

17:51

a good thing , also

17:54

a good reason for your small groups to multiply

17:56

, if you've started to fill up

17:58

a little bit . God's Word

18:00

builds family because

18:03

he commands all things

18:05

, even if they are normal and

18:08

common , like family . Jump

18:10

into event two with me . We'll put the torn

18:12

phone book down and we'll pick up a couple

18:14

of concrete blocks . And now

18:16

I want us to see that Jesus commands

18:19

authority over the natural . Okay

18:21

, this is an example of Thomas being in a hurry

18:23

. As you can see , the the is not exactly lined

18:26

up , but we're family so

18:28

we love each other . Luke

18:31

8 , 22 . One day , he , being

18:33

Jesus , got into a boat with his disciples and

18:35

he said to them let us go across to the other side of

18:37

the lake . One

18:39

fun note , just so that , as

18:41

you're studying your Bible , second line

18:44

down , go across to to the other

18:46

side . This

18:48

going to the other side

18:50

. You and I , as Americans , read this and

18:52

we think about driving from one city

18:54

to the next , or maybe driving from Columbus

18:57

to Phoenix City or from here to LaGrange

18:59

. Go to the other way . Go to Fort Benning , go

19:01

to the other side . When you see this in

19:03

Scripture , it is referring to a location

19:05

change , but many times it's also

19:07

referring to a change of culture , a

19:09

change of spiritual

19:12

reality . And so we're not

19:14

just going to the land of

19:16

the Gerasenes , we are going to a different

19:19

type of people , we're going to non-Jewish people

19:21

who didn't have this history and

19:23

it's important that you know that . Let us go to the other

19:25

side of the lake . So they set out and as they

19:27

sailed , he fell asleep , jesus

19:29

fell asleep , and a windstorm came down

19:32

on the lake and they were filling

19:34

with water and were in danger

19:36

. And they went and woke

19:38

him saying Master , master

19:41

, we are perishing . They're

19:44

not saying we're about to die , they are saying

19:46

we are dying Like we are running

19:49

out of energy . Our heart is beating . Water

19:51

is splashing us in the face . We are running out of energy . Our heart is beating , water is splashing us

19:53

in the face , we are losing our breath

19:55

, we are in the midst of losing our

19:58

lives . And

20:00

he awoke . I

20:03

just want to read this calmly , because

20:05

I imagine Jesus dealing with it calmly

20:07

. He awoke and

20:10

rebuked the wind and

20:12

the raging waves and

20:14

they ceased and there

20:16

was a calm glass

20:20

across the Sea of Galilee

20:23

. Glass

20:29

across the Sea of Galilee , the kind of smooth calmness that allows you to fly in a boat , that

20:31

allows you to really enjoy that jet

20:34

ski because there's not a ripple on

20:36

the water , the kind that you want to take your phone

20:38

out and take pictures of because

20:41

there are no ripples , messing up the reflection

20:43

as you get the double image

20:45

From a storm that causes professional

20:49

fishermen who have fished

20:51

on these very waters

20:54

before the Sea of Galilee

20:56

this is not their first storm To

20:59

cry out , master , master

21:03

which I will say

21:05

is an interesting rabbit hole

21:07

to chase for about 30 seconds that

21:10

you can cry out master to

21:12

Jesus and all the while not have faith , that

21:15

you can be incredibly near to Jesus

21:17

and still not actually be

21:19

trusting him . Master

21:23

master , here they are

21:25

the ones to be instructed

21:27

to pray our Father , the ones in

21:29

this little family and

21:32

they are dying . And

21:34

Jesus responds

21:37

and

21:39

silences everything . This

21:43

is you taking a fishing charter

21:45

with your family and

21:47

all of a sudden , the captain goes to the front of the

21:49

boat and he looks at his low-rent

21:51

fish finder or he looks at his you

21:53

know whatever it is and you hear him say

21:56

, ooh , this

21:58

isn't the passengers of the boat , this is

22:00

the captain , these are the well-trained

22:03

, they understand it . Looking and saying

22:05

, ooh , and just start handing

22:07

out life vests to you . This

22:09

changes the way you feel about that trip . This

22:12

is you going on a cruise with your

22:14

family and everybody's having

22:16

a good time , and then , all of a sudden , you hear seven

22:19

blares of a horn ship wide

22:21

and you hear a captain say go

22:23

to your meeting station . And

22:26

those they're not even life rafts , they look like submarines

22:28

just start splashing into the side

22:31

of the ship . Can I tell you this

22:33

is different than what you think

22:36

of when you think of , oh , they're in a little boat

22:38

with a storm . This is panic

22:41

to the point that you believe

22:43

you are about to breathe your last

22:45

breath . Jesus

22:48

commands authority over

22:50

the natural world . Take

22:52

a look out of the window , take a look at

22:54

the palm of your hand . Consider

22:57

the hair of the person in front of , behind or beside

23:00

you . Jesus owns

23:02

every single atom

23:05

and he tells them where to go , tells

23:08

them what to do , tells them how

23:10

to act . Not one thing

23:12

acting outside of his will , his authority

23:15

this is who

23:17

Jesus is . He does have the

23:19

authority to redefine the most common , normal

23:21

, assumptive parts of our world , like

23:24

family , but he also

23:26

has the authority over the natural world

23:28

that he created , and for

23:30

him , calming a storm at

23:32

sea is easier than

23:34

shaping something out of Play-Doh . He

23:37

is the one who created it . When

23:40

Jesus says something , it is going

23:42

to happen . This same

23:44

word , rebuke , luke has already

23:46

pointed to once before and we've read

23:48

this . This is Luke 4 , 38

23:51

. Simon's mother-in-law was ill with a high

23:53

fever . So we can go from waves on

23:55

the outside to every atom

23:57

inside of you , every cell

23:59

, cancerous and healthy , every

24:02

piece of you , bacteria or

24:04

not , infection , virus , all

24:06

of it , all of the things that make you up . Simon's

24:09

mother-in-law was ill with a high fever and they

24:11

appealed to him , jesus , on her behalf , and

24:13

he stood over her . By the way , that is a picture

24:15

of authority . And he

24:17

here's the exact same word rebuked

24:20

illness

24:32

fever . You have no place here anymore . Why ? Because he said so wind waves , calm . Why because

24:34

he says so and it left her and immediately

24:36

she rose and began to

24:38

serve them . When jesus

24:40

says something , things happen

24:42

. And he's about to say something to his disciples

24:44

. Here is what he is going to say in verse 25

24:47

. And he said to them where

24:49

is your faith

24:52

? Now , this is the second time you could get offended

24:54

at Jesus . The first time is when he says

24:56

my mom , my brothers , what are you talking

24:58

about ? You can get offended at that . Right

25:01

, feels a little ick for Jesus

25:03

to treat Mary that way . James

25:05

, I get it , brothers right , but Mary

25:07

come on . But then

25:09

we get here and

25:12

Jesus is asleep in

25:14

the boat . I don't even know how you pull that off . You

25:16

are doing some kind of ministry when

25:18

the boat's rocking water's

25:21

hitting you in the face and you're out right

25:23

, like that is a level of peace

25:26

I want to one day find . Okay

25:28

. But they wake him up . He

25:31

tells the world to chill

25:33

the heck out , and then he looks

25:35

at his disciples and here's his response

25:37

to them hey , where's your faith ? It's like

25:39

where's my faith ? I

25:41

came to you , I woke you

25:43

up , I called you master

25:46

, but tucked into this response is

25:48

an understanding that Jesus says hey , if

25:50

you're in my family , do you not know that

25:53

I am taking care of you ? Whether you

25:55

think I am or not , whether

25:57

it seems like I am actively speaking

25:59

or if it seems like I am passively

26:02

there , I am there . And

26:04

all of this to

26:06

bring us to the crux of what the Holy

26:08

Spirit doesn't want you to miss today . They

26:10

were afraid and they marveled . By

26:12

the way , when Jesus says where is your faith ? Something

26:15

happens . They begin to have faith , they're

26:17

afraid , they marvel and they say

26:19

to one another who then

26:22

is this ? This , by the way

26:24

, is not his first miracle . All right , this is not

26:26

their first rodeo that he commands

26:28

even winds and water

26:30

, and they obey him . Luke

26:33

doesn't want you to miss this . This is the point

26:35

. Who is Jesus

26:38

to you ? Is Jesus somebody

26:40

who pops out on a Sunday and tells

26:42

you that he loves you no matter what and he wants

26:44

you to try a little bit harder in your life

26:46

? Or is Jesus the author

26:48

and creator of all things who , for

26:50

some unknown reason

26:52

, has seen fit to care about you

26:55

enough to have you sitting

26:57

here on April

26:59

whatever , it is 28th

27:01

so that you can hear about

27:03

him , compared to all of

27:05

the other people who are still snoozing their alarm

27:07

clocks or going on with regular

27:10

, normative natural life

27:12

. Why has God shown you so much favor

27:15

? I don't know who

27:17

is this . This is

27:19

the God who loves you , who cares

27:22

about you , who desires for you to be in a family

27:24

that is better than anything you have ever hoped for or

27:27

imagined , and

27:29

he doesn't want you to miss this . I'll

27:31

tell you my personal fascination . The

27:34

disciples are afraid , but they

27:36

remain close to Jesus , convinced

27:38

of his care for them . But

27:41

what I wonder is how much time

27:43

passed before they realized

27:45

that the same one who calmed

27:47

the storm was also the one who

27:49

brought or allowed it . I

27:52

wonder how long it took for them to figure that out

27:54

. I wonder how

27:56

many moments , hours , days

27:59

, or was it on the other side of

28:01

his death on the cross and his resurrection that

28:03

they look back at this moment and say

28:06

we had to wake Jesus up

28:08

? But honestly , he

28:11

was the one who brought or allowed the storm in

28:13

the first place , and I wonder

28:15

how many of us today need to be reminded of

28:17

that in the storms of our lives , when

28:20

we feel like we are crying out and maybe

28:22

we've said master , not once , not twice

28:24

, but three times . Have

28:26

you relegated your own life to

28:28

the recognition that God

28:31

has brought or allowed what is sitting

28:33

in your lap ? You are responsible

28:35

. He is not deaf to your

28:37

cries . But this

28:39

story is better because their faces got

28:41

wet . This story is better

28:43

because trained sailors were fearful

28:46

even of their life . They got to the

28:48

end of themselves . Can I just tell you

28:50

, the story reads different If Jesus

28:52

decides to go fishing and all of a sudden

28:54

they bump into a stick and they're like Jesus

28:57

, we're taking on water . This

28:59

thing's going to be full in 12

29:02

hours . Do we want to finish fishing

29:04

or head back now ? And Jesus says

29:06

fear not , someone

29:08

, plug the hole . And they do . That

29:11

doesn't make the book . How

29:13

many of us want stories in our lives where Jesus is

29:15

just plugging little holes rather

29:17

than speaking powerfully over difficulty

29:20

that must be difficult to show

29:22

that he is powerful over

29:24

it . Jesus is

29:26

in charge of all things . Colossians 1.16

29:29

. For

29:32

those in this room who are skeptical , for those

29:34

in this room who need a little hope

29:36

, I hope you find it here , for

29:39

by him , speaking of Jesus , all

29:41

things were created , in

29:44

heaven and on earth , visible

29:46

and invisible , all of the

29:48

little pieces of your life that make you

29:50

call it your life . For

29:53

by him all things were created and

29:55

all things were created through him and

29:57

for him , not for you . For him

29:59

and he is before

30:01

. This is an authority term . He stands

30:03

before , he stands above , he is before

30:06

all things and in

30:08

him all things hold

30:10

together . What is outside of the

30:13

scope of Jesus ? No things

30:15

. But these disciples weren't the only

30:17

ones who were afraid . At least , in

30:19

their fear , they ran to Jesus . If you

30:21

were fearful today , I hope that you will as

30:24

well . But what happens when we

30:26

run away ? And this brings us

30:28

to our last event , the one that Ford read

30:30

. So if we've gone from Jesus tearing phone

30:32

books in half by redefining family , and

30:35

if he all of a sudden has dropped an elbow on a bunch

30:37

of concrete and told the world

30:39

to chill out , what happens when Jesus

30:41

speaks over the supernatural

30:45

realm ? Thank you , thomas , nailed

30:47

it . I

30:52

would also just say if you

30:55

feel too far from Jesus today

30:57

, this is your event , this is the

30:59

big lift . If you feel too broken

31:01

, like evil has crept too deeply into

31:03

your heart , if you feel like that sin

31:05

has had ownership and authority over you

31:07

for far too long . Open

31:13

your ears and listen . I'm

31:18

sorry , this is funny to me , verse 26, . Then they sailed . I just

31:20

like that , personally , that after all this Jesus is like get

31:22

back in the boat , let's do this thing again . I

31:24

would have imagined they would have said how about a donkey

31:26

for the next journey ? Nonetheless , then

31:29

they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes , which

31:31

is opposite Galilee . They're going to a different

31:33

place , not just locationally but spiritually

31:35

, when Jesus had stepped out

31:38

on land , moment one

31:40

. He has not had a breath . He has not gone

31:42

through his preaching notes . Okay , he hasn't

31:44

found a place to stay . He gets out of

31:46

the rocky boat , foot hits

31:48

and here is what

31:50

the one who holds all things together has delivered unto

31:53

himself for you to see . There met

31:55

him a man from the

31:57

city who had demons

31:59

. I've underlined four or five passages

32:01

for this , because Luke writes

32:03

with the parentheses and I don't want you to miss what

32:05

this man's life looked like . If you feel

32:08

like your life is a mess , if you feel

32:10

like there's someone in your life who hasn't

32:12

come to Christ because their life is such a mess

32:14

, just look at the underlines . For

32:17

a long time he had worn no clothes I'd

32:20

say we're in less than one percent territory

32:22

already and he had

32:24

not lived in a house , but

32:27

among the tombs . When

32:30

he saw Jesus , he cried out and fell down before

32:32

him and said with a loud voice what have

32:34

you to do with me ? Jesus , son

32:36

of the most high God , I beg

32:38

you , do not torment me , for

32:41

he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out

32:43

of the man Parentheses . He

32:45

wants you to know more about this guy . For

32:47

many a time it had seized him . He was kept

32:50

under guard and bound with

32:52

chains and shackles . This is a strong

32:54

guy , supernaturally

32:56

strong . How do we know this ? Because

32:58

it says but he would break the bonds

33:00

. You want to talk about a power team

33:03

. This guy isn't tearing a phone book in half

33:05

. They are putting him in irons

33:07

and he is snapping them

33:09

like you see in superhero

33:12

films . This is what he's doing . This

33:14

is comic book style supernatural

33:17

stuff . As soon as Jesus steps

33:19

off the boat and

33:21

he would be driven by the demon

33:23

into the desert and somehow

33:26

survive in the desert . Supernatural

33:29

strength . Jesus

33:31

steps in to this mess

33:33

. If you paid attention when

33:36

Jesus is speaking to this man covered up in

33:38

demons , he asks

33:41

him for a name , verse 30,

33:43

. Jesus then asked him

33:45

what is your name ? And

33:49

he said legion , for many

33:51

demons had entered him . I didn't

33:53

put a poll up , but does anybody want to guess back

33:55

in this day , in the Roman days , how many

33:57

soldiers were in a legion ? Anybody

34:00

with a little military history . What are you feeling ? Thousand

34:02

, that's a good guess . You said thousands . I

34:05

shall give you three , since you were vague 3,000

34:07

. Anybody want to go higher or lower ? We'll have one

34:09

quick 10 . All

34:11

right , too high , don't take away from the illustration

34:14

, come on . 5,000

34:16

. All right , eli , let me check . All right , You're not on your phone

34:18

, impressive Attaboy

34:28

. All right , a legion in the Roman days was 5,000 . People

34:31

Now appreciate this . Jesus gets out of the boat and in getting out of

34:33

the boat , somewhere probably in the vicinity of 5,000

34:35

, demons are standing in front

34:37

of him , slammed into the tight

34:39

space of one human individual

34:42

. Now my Bible reading plan . I

34:44

read this in Joshua recently and I just wanted

34:46

to point this out to you . Joshua

34:49

23 , 10, . God speaking

34:51

of his care over his people , he said look , one

34:54

man of you puts to flight a thousand , since

34:56

it is the Lord , your God , who fights for you , just as

34:58

he promised you . When God's people were going

35:00

into the promised land , they had supernatural

35:03

strength because God was with them

35:06

. Jesus steps out and we're

35:08

seeing a kind of strength that is five times

35:10

over what they even saw when

35:12

God would step in and win their battles

35:14

for them , one

35:17

against 5,000

35:19

. Now I want you to watch at how

35:21

close this battle was

35:23

. Jesus then asked

35:25

him what is your name ? And he said Legion , for many demons

35:27

had entered him , 5,000

35:30

to one , and they begged him not

35:32

to command them to depart into the abyss . Can

35:34

I tell you that is the most anticlimactic

35:37

Marvel scene you have ever seen

35:39

in CGI 5,000

35:42

demons and you can picture them however you want to picture

35:44

them slammed together and

35:46

won . Jesus Stepping

35:48

off a boat , barely prepared for

35:51

whatever it is he's going into , and

35:53

they say we know who you are , son

36:01

of the most high God . Can you please not destroy us ? We know you're

36:03

going to , you're going to send us into the abyss . We know this is coming . Can it please just

36:05

not be today ? That is the scene

36:07

. You want to talk about power . You want to talk

36:10

about authority . It takes six seconds

36:12

to put in CGI . Now

36:14

a herd of pigs was feeding there

36:16

on the hillside , unclean animals for

36:19

the Jewish people , and they begged

36:21

him 5,000 begging

36:24

. I hate the sound of begging

36:26

. It is one of my least favorite sounds on

36:29

the planet . Hey , we're not having dinner

36:31

yet , we're not going to eat yet . We

36:33

can't have a fruit snack , can

36:36

I ? Then I want you to take that

36:38

little sound . I want you to run it through

36:40

your demon filter . All right , you got

36:42

that . Then I want you to overlap

36:44

it 5,000 times . That's

36:47

what's happening here in this scene . This isn't

36:49

pretty . This isn't something that we get

36:51

the kids to color down the hall

36:54

. This is a hot mess

36:56

of a situation . And

36:58

do you know what Jesus uses ? Just

37:00

a couple words . Jesus

37:02

knows these demons . They

37:05

definitely know him

37:07

. When Jesus says something

37:09

, it's going to happen . And

37:11

the demons came out of the man verse 33 , and entered

37:13

the pigs and the herd , rushed down

37:15

the steep bank into the lake and

37:18

drowned . Jesus has authority to

37:20

redefine the most normal parts

37:23

of your life , the common and the assumptive . He

37:25

has power over the natural world , but he also

37:27

has power over every form

37:29

of evil and darkness . I

37:32

want you to hear that , because you

37:34

do not need to be possessed by a demon

37:36

to be affected by the evil in this world

37:38

. You do not need to be

37:41

running around naked and in

37:43

chains for you emotionally to

37:45

be rendered naked and in chained

37:48

by the things that we do not talk about

37:50

out loud , by the things that only exist

37:52

in here and here . The dark pieces of us that

37:54

we do not talk about out loud , by the things that only exist in here and here , the dark pieces of us that we cannot cover with

37:56

makeup or a clean shave or

37:58

a nicely collared shirt . These

38:00

are the things that Jesus steps into . And

38:03

if that feels like you , please look at

38:05

me . It's not

38:07

a close battle , it's not

38:09

even hard . Does

38:12

it ever seem like Jesus is sweating

38:14

in any of these scenes to you ? It

38:17

does not to me . He

38:19

has power over the supernatural world , which you

38:21

cannot see , but creeps near to you and

38:24

woos you and desires to

38:26

wear you down . And

38:28

here the event ends , the

38:30

showcase closes , the

38:33

power team shares the gospel and they

38:35

walk off the stage , leaving concrete

38:38

on the floor and torn phone

38:40

books and rebar that's bent in

38:42

half . But

38:44

the Holy Spirit doesn't leave us there . He

38:47

says do you want to know what the conversation looked like

38:49

on the car ride home ? Do you want to

38:51

know what it looked like when people were talking about it around

38:53

their lockers on Thursday morning

38:55

. Here's what it looked like

38:58

, and you get to decide if

39:00

you're a verse 37 or a verse 38

39:02

kind of person . But let's start in 34

39:04

. When the herdsmen saw what had happened

39:06

, they fled and they told it in the city and

39:08

in the country hey , everybody needs to hear

39:11

this story . Then

39:14

the people went out to see what had happened and they came to Jesus

39:16

and found the man , which

39:18

means Jesus waited . Okay , jesus

39:21

gets off the boat , battle against

39:23

5,000 demons , and then he

39:25

waits . He waits for these pig

39:27

farmers who have just lost their entire life

39:30

or earnings savings to

39:32

run into this village and into that to

39:34

share the story , and he just waits

39:36

. He just hangs out with this

39:39

man who has become a

39:41

brother , who's been invited into

39:43

family , who has been completely changed

39:45

, and he just sits with

39:47

him and waits for this

39:49

. They came to Jesus

39:52

and found the man from whom the demons had gone , sitting

39:55

at the feet of Jesus that

39:57

is an authority term Clothed

40:00

and in his right mind . And they

40:02

were afraid . What

40:04

were they afraid of ? 5,000 demons

40:06

? Not a chance . Those things

40:09

had gone into a pig , run down a hill and disappeared

40:11

into the ether , literally

40:13

God knows where . Here

40:16

it's , two guys sitting down

40:18

, and it couldn't be a more

40:20

different picture than the care that they had to

40:22

show this demoniac . And

40:25

those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed

40:28

man had been healed . Don't miss this . They

40:30

see the miracle . They

40:33

see the man who had worn no clothes . They

40:35

see the man who had not lived in a house but had lived

40:37

among tombs and graves . They see

40:39

a man who was kept under guard and bound with chains

40:41

. Maybe there were still wounds on his

40:43

hands , maybe they had been healed . He

40:46

would break them apart . Probably the

40:48

guy was either jacked , ripped

40:50

or so puny from living

40:52

in the desert that it was obvious that there was

40:54

some strength inside of him that was dark and evil

40:57

. And he is now

40:59

sitting down at the feet of Jesus . Somebody

41:02

found him some clothes to put on

41:04

, is calm , like glass , reflecting For

41:06

the first time the

41:19

creator who made him . Response number one

41:21

, verse 37 . Then

41:23

all the people From

41:27

the surrounding country Of the garrisons Asked him

41:30

Not the man , asked

41:32

Jesus To

41:36

depart from them , for they were seized with great fear , more fear than having a

41:38

demon-possessed man creating havoc

41:41

day after day and year after year . So

41:43

Jesus got into the boat and

41:45

returned . When we tell

41:47

Jesus , through our words and our

41:50

actions , that we want no part

41:52

of him , we get exactly

41:54

what we've asked for . That

41:56

, to me , is the most clear definition of hell . You

41:58

will find God giving you precisely

42:01

what you have asked for by telling

42:03

him , through your words and your actions , that

42:05

you want no part of him . Response

42:09

number two , which I hope will be each of us

42:11

. If you're already a Christian

42:13

in this room , praise God that

42:15

verse 38 is you . If you're

42:17

not sure . If you're a Christian , I pray that

42:19

this would become true of you today . The

42:22

man from whom the demons had gone begged

42:25

. And now , all of a sudden , it

42:27

isn't the kind of begging of 5,000

42:29

demons scratching their nails across a chalkboard

42:32

. It's a gentle begging . It's a gentle

42:34

begging . It's a kind begging . It's a begging

42:36

with hope . It's the same begging that

42:38

is required for each of us if we are going to come

42:40

to the cross of Christ . It's us recognizing

42:43

that we do not have enough in and of ourselves , that

42:45

our only hope is that the one who is powerful

42:48

, powerful , incredibly powerful , would

42:50

do on our behalf what we never

42:52

could do . That he would tear the phone

42:54

book of our sin , which we have only ever

42:57

muddled through pages . That he would bend

42:59

our heart to the will of his

43:01

Father . That he would break all

43:03

of the bricks and the busted up

43:05

pieces of us that have become hard

43:08

and calcified sins . That

43:10

we have begun to identify with

43:12

this man from whom the demons had

43:14

gone begged . That he might

43:17

be with Jesus . And

43:19

if you want to be offended one more time at Jesus

43:21

, I invite you to be offended here . But

43:24

Jesus sent him away

43:26

. Jesus looks at this man

43:28

and he says all I want to do , can

43:30

I just step into your boat ? Can

43:32

I go with you ? And Jesus says no

43:34

, I have authority to

43:37

redefine the most common , normal

43:40

parts of life . What Tuesday

43:42

looks like for you ? I

43:44

have power over the natural world . I have

43:46

power over the supernatural world and

43:48

, as he began in

43:50

talking with his disciples , what

43:53

is family ? Family

43:55

is allowing Jesus to call the shots

43:57

to redefine the most common , normal

44:00

, assumptive parts of our world . So Jesus

44:02

does Verse 39 , return

44:05

to your home . I

44:07

will be your brother and I will be your family

44:10

for all eternity . But before we

44:12

engage in that relationship , you

44:19

have work to do , son . When I rebuked the waves , the disciples had a job to do . When I rebuked

44:21

the fever , peter's mom hopped up and began to serve . When I rebuked 5,000

44:23

demons from your world , you

44:26

have a job to do , brother . Declare

44:29

how much God has done for you . And

44:31

he went away , proclaiming throughout the whole

44:33

city how much Jesus

44:36

had done for him . Did

44:39

this man obey Jesus

44:42

, yes

44:44

or no ? Jesus

44:47

says you can't follow

44:49

me , go home . And the verse says and

44:51

he went away , proclaiming throughout the whole city

44:54

how much Jesus had done for him , yes

44:56

or no ? Did he obey Jesus ? I

45:00

want you to look . I

45:02

know that music's playing now . I

45:05

want to show you one thing before I pray over you . This

45:08

man does obey Jesus

45:10

, but he does something for you

45:12

and I that I think would be very easy for us

45:14

to miss , but I don't think

45:16

Luke missed it . Do

45:20

you see that he did not do exactly

45:22

what Jesus asked him to do ? Let

45:25

me read this a little differently and see if

45:27

you notice . Jesus

45:29

, I want to come with you , I want to follow you . And Jesus says

45:32

no , return to your home and

45:34

declare how much God has

45:36

done for you . And he went away proclaiming

45:39

throughout the whole city how much Jesus

45:41

had done for him . Did

45:43

he do exactly what Jesus said he

45:46

did ? But not only

45:48

is he obeying , he's educating us . He's

45:51

educating us today , and he's been educating people

45:54

for 2,000 years who take

45:56

the time to read a little more slowly . Oh

45:58

how quickly good soil

46:01

begins to bear fruit . You

46:03

think about where this man was then Jesus , and

46:06

everything changes and he becomes

46:08

a theologian . And Jesus says go

46:10

tell people what God has done . And he

46:12

says can I tell you what Jesus has done

46:14

for me ? And in that phrase , here

46:17

is what he is uttering Jesus

46:19

is God

46:22

and he has the very faith

46:24

that Christ wanted the disciples

46:26

to find . Jesus

46:29

is God is

46:31

the whole point . So

46:33

why would we be surprised when he redefines

46:35

family ? Why would we be offended

46:37

by that ? Why

46:44

would we be surprised when he makes one tree fall on this house but not on another

46:46

? Why would we be surprised when the one who holds all things together and

46:48

whose mind is so much greater than ours has

46:51

the natural world operate differently

46:53

than you and I want ? Why would we be

46:55

surprised when evil doesn't even

46:57

have a chance of a battle ? All

47:00

they do is beg ? I

47:03

don't know what family you've got and I don't know what fears

47:05

you wrestle with , but I will

47:07

tell you this that when I come to

47:09

this text , I see two things powerfully

47:12

slammed together . Jesus

47:14

is where infinite power and

47:16

infinite compassion meet , two

47:19

things that seem like they would be different

47:21

Gentleness , compassion , softness

47:24

, intimate care and

47:26

unlimited power

47:28

, all in the frame of

47:31

Jesus . When I remind myself

47:33

of the power that Jesus possesses

47:35

and , simultaneously , the place

47:37

he puts me in

47:39

his family , jesus

47:42

has the power to undo all who do

47:44

not do his will , and yet he's

47:46

restrained , not due to a lack of

47:48

power , but because of an abundance of love . Power , but because of an

47:50

abundance of love . He's surrounded

47:52

by rebels like you , imperfects

47:55

, unholies

48:02

. He walks among them and he speaks tenderly to them , encouraging the very ones who

48:04

underappreciate him and mistreat him , and I'm one of those

48:06

, and so are you Unworthy

48:09

. To come close , ought to be fearful , and

48:11

yet he calls me family and brother

48:13

, prone to grace , amnesia

48:16

, and he gently reminds me over

48:18

and over of his powerful care over my life

48:20

, whether it's the big things or

48:23

the Tuesdays when

48:26

I forget my worth and

48:28

my values derived from

48:30

his creation of me and

48:35

my values derived from his creation of me , his daily allotment that I remain all the while as

48:37

I try to build my own kingdom in

48:39

the shadow of his . That's unlimited

48:42

grace . So I'll

48:44

make it as easy as I think Luke and the

48:46

Holy Spirit do . You can either be

48:48

a 37 or you can be a 38 . You

48:50

can see the power of Christ and you can walk away , or

48:53

you can see the power of Christ and you can draw near . If

48:55

you're a Christian , this is the time to thank

48:57

God and to not forget he

49:00

is not asleep at the wheel , holding

49:02

all things together . And if you're not a Christian

49:05

, if you have not placed your trust in him , beg

49:07

. Beg that he would forgive

49:10

you of your sins . If that means staying seated

49:12

while everybody else stands up , small

49:14

price to pay . If it means walking to the back

49:16

and praying with one of the pastors the prayer team that's

49:18

gonna be back there small price to pay . Christ

49:22

has unlimited grace and unlimited

49:24

power . Why would you wanna go anywhere

49:27

else ? Stand with me and

49:29

let me pray for us as we go

49:32

and worship . Father

49:34

, thank you . Thank

49:36

you for the display of power

49:38

that Christ has . Thank you for

49:40

the display of grace that he has

49:42

. I'm

49:44

not sure what family everyone comes

49:46

from . I'm not sure what normal is for everyone . I'm

49:49

not sure what their natural life looks like . I'm not sure

49:51

what power of evil or

49:53

darkness , the clouds that may hang over

49:55

their heads . But I do know this Jesus

49:57

you have power over all of it . You own every

50:00

minute . That means you own this one . So

50:02

may we not vacate it until we

50:04

have come close to you and

50:06

begged that you would be the master of

50:09

our life . In Christ's name , amen

50:11

.