Christ Rules! (9) Breaking the Chains that Bind Us

Christ Rules! Gospel of Mark Series

A Sermon By Jim Hammond from Mark 5:1-20

Focus:  Jesus dared to invade and claim the enemy’s turf.  Satan will contest every square inch of Christ’s expanding reign, but Christ who is superior is able to break all the chains that bind us.

 I.  A Major Difference between Humanism and Christianity is in the Explanation of EVIL

A.  Humanism:  You can overcome evil through human effort alone because you are basically good

B.  Christianity:  You need A Savior to overcome evil, because 1) You have evil in your own heart, and 2) there also exists evil supernatural powers that oppose God

II.  Angels and Demons are Real

A.  Deliverance is not just for derelicts and foaming lunatics.

B.  Deliverance is often resisted by those who need it most

III.       The Good News:  God Took the Initiative to Deliver Us

IV.       Let Christ Break the Chains that Bind You

I want to start this morning with a couple of testimonies I read recently.  These are modern examples of how Christ Rules by Breaking the Chains that Bind us.

Set Free from Suicidal thoughts

Jesus Christ saved my life. I am reborn in him. Before I knew him personally, I was a wreck. My brother killed himself when I was 5 and he was 16. I tried killing my self in the past year over 16 times. I was in a mental hospital 4 times totaling about 5 weeks. I was in an after school program at that hospital as an out-patient for 2 months. Nothing helped. I went to a special school because of this and my music teacher was a minister’s wife to a church in the city next to me. She invited me to a youth service they have every Thursday. I went and I gave my life to Jesus. I used to cut my self three times a day, but when I gave my life to Jesus, the cutting and suicide thoughts, threats, and attempts went away. Starting this summer, I will be going to a day program for kids like me. Jesus helped me to get accepted. [i]

Here’s Another One. .  .

At the age of 2 I was used in satanic rituals. This went on for roughly 2 yrs. it opened horrible doors. the cult had an agenda for me. my sister also. At that time demons entered into me as they were invited. the next several yrs brought hauntings, witchcraft, clairvoyancy, drinking and pure hate. my spirit was crushed.

IN 91, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST STEPPED IN. He knocked on my hearts door. THE SPIRIT OF GOD drew me[JOHN 6]. I decided to surrender at the cross roads. I was just getting ready to get back into heavy metal singing as I had a band the year before.

In a church my sister in law recommended I saw the Holy Spirit in action. HE WAS SPEAKING TO MY HEART. The song ID RATHER HAVE JESUS was being sung. THEN THE HOLY SPIRIT CHALLENGED ME on the second verse. DID I want Jesus more than men’s applause? I Knew it was the living GOD asking me that. I JUST KNEW. So I soon said YES. Then HE really went to work!

After I agreed to forgive ALL who hurt me, HE and the angels! went to war against the demons inside me. IT was like he said , you want to see real power?

The demons fled and I was set free!!! That’s a quick version of my story. GOD BLESS all!! [ii]

 These are testimonies that are similar to the passage we are about to study this morning. 

But before we look at Mark 5, I want to prepare you a bit more. 

 Focus:  Jesus dared to invade and claim the enemy’s turf.  Satan will contest every square inch of Christ’s expanding reign, but Christ who is superior is able to break all the chains that bind us.

I.  A Major Difference between Humanism and Christianity is in the Explanation of EVIL

A.  Humanism: 

·   You can overcome evil through human effort alone because you are basically good

B.  Christianity: 

·   You need A Savior to overcome evil, because 1) You have evil in your own heart, and 2) there also exists evil supernatural powers that oppose God

 Which view is more realistic?  What seems to match your understanding of evil in our world? 

 Aren’t you troubled by some of the evil you read about in the Newspapers?  Sometimes does it just baffle you?  How could anyone be so evil? 

You don’t have to search long to be baffled:

 On Thursday in the AZ Republic was one such story that makes you scratch your head as we puzzle over evil:

A man proposed in the dead of night, and she accepted.  What the man did next shocks the senses.  Phoenix police said Rodriquez told his new fiancée he had a surprise for her early Wednesday, drove her to central Phoenix landscaping business where he worked and asked that she close her eyes and lie down.  Then he lay down beside her, on what turned out to be a  conveyor belt, and fed himself into a wood chipper.

His last act was to try to pull her in with him.[iii]

 The headlines on the front page of Friday’s paper read:  “A fascination with slayings”.    It showed three pictures of people and how they were murdered.  One of the pictures was of a cute 2 year old girl named Kristen Salem who was set on fire in the desert by her father.

 You feel like asking the question, “From what universe different from this one that most of us inhabit does this kind of evil come from?” 

If you are a humanist, how do you explain it?

Does the humanistic understanding of evil adequately explain our own experience with the evil lurking in our own hearts?

Notice the New Testament assumptions about evil as we read.

(Mark 5:1-20 NIV)  "They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. {2} When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. {3} This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. {4} For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. {5} Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. {6} When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. {7} He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" {8} For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" {9} Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." {10} And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. {11} A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. {12} The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." {13} He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

 You know what we have here don’t you?!  A Recipe for Deviled Ham!  :o)    You know the animal rights people really don’t like this passage but we probably won’t get into that today

 {14} Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. {15} When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. {16} Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man--and told about the pigs as well. {17} Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. {18} As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. {19} Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." {20} So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed."

II.               I believe Angels and Demons are Real

Demons Defy God, by destroying, defacing, defeating, deforming life that reflects HIM

 Which is more realistic, Humanism that teaches that this deranged man of the tombs could have helped himself if he’d just put his mind and will to it, or the Christian belief that there are powers outside of self both good and evil.

 Not only does the New Testament teach that supernatural evil exists.  It teaches that (READ the Focus again:  Jesus dared to invade and claim the enemy’s turf.  Satan will contest every square inch of Christ’s expanding reign, but Christ who is superior is able to break all the chains that bind us.

 People today are controlled by a legion of cravings, captivations, and destructive impulses.  We need a savior to overcome evil. 

 Have you ever felt like nobody could subdue your cravings? 

A.    Deliverance is not just for derelicts and foaming lunatics.

1. He was Homeless, living among the tombs (perhaps wishing he were dead, or others wished him so).

2. He was feared by others. They tried to chain him (we tend to fear what we can't control).

3. The man was wild - he could not be controlled, even with fetters (he broke the chains).

4. He never had any relief - he was tormented "day and night" (there was no peace of mind).

5. Certainly, he was considered to be a nuisance with all his "crying out". 

6. Furthermore, he was Self destructive, as he "cut himself with stones". 

7. And he was controlled by "Evil" spirits (actually, the word is "unclean"). 

·   And We thought We had problems!

You Know What?  We do.

C.S. Lewis recalls the imagery of this story in describing his life before his conversion as “A zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds.  My name was legion.”[iv]

            We may hide our need better than this man. . . WE HIDE OUR NEED behind our coherent words rather than rantings, our well-kept homes rather than tombs, and our smart attire rather than running around naked.  But if WE will only reflect a little I think WE can see ourselves in the mirror of this disturbed man. 

Have you ever felt beaten down by others?  (I have)

Have you ever felt divided against yourself with a civil war raging within you?  (I have)

Have you ever felt like you were living in the gloomy tombs of life and feeling all alone? (I have) If you have also, then you need to know that deliverance can come to you when Jesus lands on the shores of your life. 

B.  Deliverance is often resisted by those who need it most

1.     Some resist by denying that they need deliverance.  “I don’t need help.  I can stop drinking any time I want to”.  They just have never proved it by stopping. 

2.     Some People come for counseling wanting change, then fight for all its worth against the change that will help them.

It sounds strange, but I think we understand it.  We want the benefits of change without changing anything that caused the problem.

III.     The Good News:  God Takes the Initiative to Deliver Us

This is clear in the passage we are looking at.  But it is profound when you realize what God’s word had already declared.

(Isaiah 65:1-5 NIV)  ""I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.' {2} All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations-- {3} a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick; {4} who sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil; who eat the flesh of pigs, and whose pots hold broth of unclean meat; {5} who say, 'Keep away; don't come near me, for I am too sacred for you!' Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day."

Did you spot the parallels with the story in Mark:  The mention of demons (Isaiah declares they were a people who offered sacrifices in gardens.  To whom?  To demons they called gods.

Did you note the mention of dwelling in tombs in verse 4, the warning to keep away in verse 5, and the reference to the pigs in verse 4).  This Old Testament passage serves as a backdrop, showing how Jesus fulfilled God’s plan reaching out to those who were not reaching out to God!  God takes the initiative to turn us around!  The Garasene resists God’s initiative, the people of the region resist it also.  But Jesus invades it with the news of his kingdom.

IV.     Let Christ Break the Chains that Bind You

A couple of things to remember:

The Bonds of Satan are Stronger than the Chains of Man

No one was strong enough to subdue him  (5:4)

The Man Could Not Control Himself

We are not told how he came to be in this pitiful state.

• Perhaps the man tried to control power (spiritism) and soon it controlled him

• Perhaps the man was caught in sin (dabbled, until the power of Sin took over.  What is the power of sin?  Sin is enslaving.  Sin opens doors to demonic power.  Sin enslaves.  Demons play where sin enslaves.

•  The Man was being destroyed by Demons.

• That is the plan of Satan, to steal, Kill, and destroy.  His intention is to destroy what remains of the image of God in man.

Society Could not subdue him even with Chains

• He was beyond the help of counseling

• He was Beyond the help of man

• When men tried to “Help”, they used chains.  Perhaps the chains were like the use of straight jackets to protect him from self destruction and destroying others.

• The saddest attempt is to medicate a spiritual or moral problem.

The man was storm tossed by the demons as the disciples’ boat had been storm tossed.

The Power of Jesus is far stronger than any Bonds of Satan

·       Christ Came to Reclaim Enemy Territory

·       The Enemy shudders at his vastly superior firepower

·       Jesus is Synonymous with the Lord (5:19-20)

THIS DRAMA IS PLAYED OUT IN OUR LIVES

Suppose you were a guardian angel and could see the spiritual battle going on for the souls of mankind.  In your observation, you see a brooding angelic figure of the other kind lurking outside the door of a young Christian named Billy.

Brilliantly disguised as an angel of light, this demon subtly suggests that Billy open the door to sin:  Why don’t you take a peek at that internet porn site?  You know you want to.  You will get away with it.  Who would know?  Everybody else does it.

The Spirit of God within Billy brings immediate conviction and offers a way of escape.  But Billy’s flesh argues against the Spirit of God:  What’s wrong with looking at pornography anyway?  After all, I was created with these desires?  How could you create me a certain way then condemn me for it?

The battle in the mind is intense.  Billy failed to take the way of escape the Spirit of God offered.  He did not “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).  At first the pictures are a delight to his eyes, and his body responded with euphoric feeling.  But the pleasure is only for a moment, because “each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15)

The brooding figure takes advantage of the open door, because Billy acted independently of God by choosing to sin.  The demon gets a foothold.  He uses it to inflame the desires.  Chains are wrapped around Billy’s volition, his desire to choose.  Even still, the same tempter changes roles and becomes the accuser.  “How can you call yourself a Christian and do this.  You are pathetic.”

With a conscience that is overcome by guilt, Billy cries out to God, “Lord, forgive me, I’ll never do it again.”  Two days later, Billy sins again, which precipitates another cry for forgiveness. Billy experiences the downward spiral of sin, confess, sin, confess and sin again.  A Satanic Stronghold, a fortress hiding evil is built into his life.  He is stuck in this stronghold.  He is in bondage.  When in bondage, sometimes confession alone does not break the chains that trap a person in sin.  One must also learn how to be submitted to God and how to successfully resist the devil.[v]

If Billy doesn’t recognize the nature of his battle, he could be stuck a long time.  I want simply to say this.  Jesus is the answer.  He has come to break the chains of sin that binds us.  He specializes in this.  Will you turn to Jesus this morning and choose to lean upon his greater strength in your struggle with sin, whatever that struggle looks like?