What God Loves to Do (Mark 5:1-20) (Mark 5:1-20)
- What God loves to do is to undo the work of Satan, turning the most broken and damaged people into the strongest and beautiful members of his Kingdom.
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Video cover image by Bart Everson Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Mark 5:1–20
- So they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes.
- Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs and met him.
- He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain.
- For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, but he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him.
- Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
- When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him.
- Then he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone, Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God—do not torment me!”
- (For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)
- Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
- He begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region.
- There on the hillside, a great herd of pigs was feeding.
- And the demonic spirits begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.”
- Jesus gave them permission. So the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about two thousand were drowned in the lake.
- Now the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.
- They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind—the one who had the “Legion”—and they were afraid.
- Those who had seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man reported it, and they also told about the pigs.
- Then they begged Jesus to leave their region.
- As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed begged if he could go with him.
- But Jesus did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you, that he had mercy on you.”
- So he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him, and all were amazed.
NET Bible
- Jesus made a special journey across the sea of Galilee to this country, just to save this man
- why?
- Do you know what Legion means? It is a number (Roman numeral L) (1000)
- Do you ever think “how could God love me?”
- So, (1.) God loves the unlovely:
- This is one of the most important aspect of his character
Betel
- I want to tell you about a modern-day legion that I met:
- Brief intro to Betel
- Now over 20 countries across the world
Sean (right)
Sean’s Story (not his real name)
I shared a room with:
Sleeping quarters
Birmingham Betel
worship
worship
worship
Furniture Store
Workshop
Workshop
Workshop
Workshop
William’s Story (not his real name)
William (left)