What God Loves to Do (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

God’s Favourite Work

  • If God were to tell us his favourite work, what would it be?

%I know this would be “bring glory to his name”, but how?%

  • Saving the lost?
  • Love?
  • How about: “Undoing all the evil Satan has done”
  • Turning the worst brokenness into the highest value
  • The most hopeless defeat → the greatest victory

Mark 5:1–20

  1. So they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes.
  2. Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs and met him.
  3. He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain.
  4. 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.
  5. Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.
  6. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him.
  7. 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!”
  8. (For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)
  9. Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
  10. He begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of the region.
  11. There on the hillside, a great herd of pigs was feeding.
  12. And the demonic spirits begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.”
  13. 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.
  14. Now the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.
  15. 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.
  16. Those who had seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man reported it, and they also told about the pigs.
  17. Then they begged Jesus to leave their region.
  18. As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed begged if he could go with him.
  19. 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.”
  20. 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)

1. God Loves Unlovely People

%Jesus seemed to specialize in loving unlovely people:%

%Examples ?? lepers, blind, corrupt tax-collectors%

  • Jesus came to show us what God is like
  • The accurate & true revelation. Not just one facet.
  • God loves the unlovely:
  • This is at the center of his identity
  • 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

2. Saving someone like this reveals his power

%as well as his love for people%

  • “He/she’s a nice person—would make a good Christian”
  • Jesus has greater power than all the other powers in the universe put together
  • one man against 1000 demons and it is no contest—all they can do is plead to go into pigs

%it is so pathetic it is almost funny if you think about it%

  • There is no situation so bad that Jesus cannot turn it around

3. What God loves to do more than anything else

  • To undo all the damage that Satan has done!
  • Two kingdoms: Kingdom of God & Kingdom of darkness %no contest%

%The character of the two kingdoms%

  • Satan likes to twist & destroy people—Turn them into garbage

%To take a person created in God’s image (as we all are) into trash%

  • Jesus loves to turn garbage into jewels

%Trash into gold, silver and precious stones%

%He has a special joy in undoing all the human misery and wrecked lives%

%turning them into pillars in his kingdom%

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 (right)

Sean’s Story (not his real name)

I shared a room with:

I shared a room with:

Sleeping quarters

Sleeping quarters

Birmingham Betel

Birmingham Betel

worship

worship

worship

worship

worship

worship

Furniture Store

Furniture Store

Workshop

Workshop

Workshop

Workshop

Workshop

Workshop

Workshop

Workshop

William’s Story (not his real name)

William (left)

William (left)

4. How should we respond?

  • Maybe your life is in a mess
  • Jesus specializes in turning lives around and replacing the bad stuff with good stuff

%He loves to do it! Just come to him and ask him!%

  • We are either members of the Kingdom of darkness or the kingdom of light
  • If Jesus is not your king, then don’t waste any time

%All you have to do is to ask and he will take you into his kingdom%

%You have nothing to lose and everything to gain%

%don’t be like these people in v.17 who just wanted Jesus to leave%

Summary

  1. God Loves Unlovely People
    • We respond by having the heart of God in us
    • but first we must be secure in his love for us!!!
  2. Saving someone like this reveals God’s power
    %We believe in God’s awesome power for today%
  3. What God loves to do more than anything else
    • We join him in doing this: Take on this aspect of God by loving the broken
    • Make a determined persistent decision to pray for particular people
    • Trusting his power in you, join him in undoing all the damage that Satan has done in this world