In the fifth chapter of Mark we find Jesus and His disciples setting foot on new land – Gadara – the home of the Gadarenes. As Jesus got out of the ship he was met by a man with an ‘unclean spirit’. This was a man possessed.
This man had been bound by chains and fetters (manacles), but had broken them repeatedly, and made his dwelling among the tombs. He literally lived amongst the dead. Day and night he was tormented by his demons, screaming and cutting himself with sharp stones, the jagged edges of rocks.
When Jesus set foot upon his homeland the man came running up to Him and fell down at His feet, worshiping Him and crying out to Him.
Jesus said unto the unclean spirit – come out of the man!
The unclean spirit in the man was called Legion, for they were many. Legion asked Jesus not to send them away from this country, Gadara, but instead to send them into a herd of pigs feeding near by. Jesus gave them leave and they entered the pigs, who ran into the sea and drowned.
The pig feeders ran back to their city, telling everyone of what they had seen, and the townsfolk came out to see what was going on. What they found astounded them – they saw the man they had all come to fear, the one who had been bound by chains but had broken it, the one who screamed and cut himself, sitting clothed and in his right mind with Jesus. They were afraid. This caused them such fear that they begged Jesus to leave Gadara, to go away.
Jesus left them, and so did the man who had now been set free from demonic bondage, to publish the good work Christ had done in him.
The Psalmist writes – (Psalm 18:6) 6In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
The man of Gadara, with the unclean spirit, was in distress. He had a problem. A huge problem, but he knew as soon as Jesus showed up that he would be saved. When he saw Christ he knew his savior had come.
How did he know that Jesus could be his savior? How did he know that Jesus was God in the flesh?
Ecclesiastes12:7: reads – 7Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
In Psalm 19:1-3: we read – 1The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 2Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. 3There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
All of creation testifies of the Creator, and so also the spirit breathed into us by God testifies of Him. Job tells us that it’s the spirit in man, the breath of the almighty, that makes man understand. There is a certain level of God-awareness in all of us – a little voice in the back of our head that says – GOD EXISTS!
When that man fell before Jesus, he was aware that God was there for him, that God would save him. I would even argue that God, out of His foreknowledge, knew of this man and purposely went there to save Him.
The point is that when Jesus set foot on the land, the man came and fell before Him because he knew God was there!
The demon was also aware of this – for it cried out – What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
Not only do the Heavens and the Earth testify of God’s power, but the demons do too. There is no power or force or spirit that does not know the Most High – that does not know His name.
James 4:7: says – 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
By falling at His feet, by giving over to Christ, he was submitting himself to God. When we are rooted in God, when we dwell in His shelter, in His shadow, we are safe. In His name we can resist the devil, and he WILL flee from us.
But we can’t just use His name and expect that the devil should flee. We should give the situation to God, we must stand in Him, and then resist the devil.
It is very important that if you find yourself in a situation like this, bound by a force, or spirit, that you don’t just go saying – In Jesus name! You have to pray, you have to communicate with God, you have to call out to Him with all your heart, and all your soul. You have to KNOW that HE SAVES! You have to REALIZE it and CONFESS it – you have to BELIEVE IT and SAY IT! Then, and only then can you resist the devil.
Our authority rests completely in Him.
It’s also important that we read James 4:8:
8Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
When we draw near to God, He will draw near to us – but we have to realize that choosing Him means choosing life. We have to realize that choosing Him means a change of lifestyle. When we are facing a situation and we go to God, we need to realize that we have to change our mindsets and our lifestyles. We have to start living for Him. We need to cleanse our hands and purify our hearts.
In James 4:7-8: God asks us to do three things – (1) He asks us to submit ourselves to Him – to give our situation, all our burdens to Him – we need to give Him something to work with. (2) He tells us to resist the devil – to confront the devil, openly and loudly, and finally he asks us (3) to draw near to Him – to start building a relationship with Him, to lay down sin (which leads to spiritual death) and choose life!
But God doesn’t just give us orders – no – He also makes two awesome promises – (1) The devil WILL FLEE from you, and (2) GOD WILL draw near to you!
David says in Psalm 40:1-3: – 1I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
David also states in Psalm 121 that God is his help – his protector – that God, who watches over us, does not slumber or sleep.
To close this off I want to end with Romans 8:35-39:
35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You may feel hopeless – blinded by your situation – you feel overwhelmed by despair. It is important that you realize that God loves you so much – the Psalmist says – Praise the Lord, He is good, His steadfast love endures forever.
God’s love is greater than any situation, but first we must choose to embrace Him, to embrace His love and mercy and grace – to embrace the salvation we have in Him.
Smith Wigglesworth said – spend much time in prayer.
If you have a situation like this, start spending more time in prayer, start seeking God with all that is within you – He is your rock and your salvation, the only one by whom you can be saved. Once you establish yourself in God – resist the devil and he will flee from you. Remember to follow the steps as provided in James 4:7-8:
1. Submit yourself to God – cast your burdens down at the foot of the cross, give your situation to Him.
2. Resist the Devil – Confront him in Jesus’ name.
3. Draw near to God – Seek God and His ways all the more – read Psalm 91