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Ridgecrest Baptist Church is located in Dothan, AL and exists to Reach the lost, Build the believer, and Connect people of God to the mission and purpose of God.
Bibles and open up to Mark's Gospel, chapter 5. We'll read our text in just a moment. We're continuing in our series on the story of Jesus. And today I want to look at one of the most interesting events in the story of Jesus. It is the story of deliverance. It's also a story of denial. It is a story about comfort over compassion.
And, in fact, you might say it's a story about pigs and people, people that were more comfortable with their pigs than their own people. So let's read the story. Okay, I know you just sat down, but stand back up if you're physically able to do so. Chapter 5 of Mark's Gospel begins verse 1.
They came to the other side of the sea, that's the Sea of Galilee, to the country of the Gerizim. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat immediately, there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains, he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torture me. For he was saying to him, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit.
And Jesus asked him, What is your name? And he replied, My name is Legion, for we are many. And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, Send us to the pigs, let us enter them. And so he gave them permission, and the unclean spirits, came out and entered the pigs, and the herd, numbering about 2 ,000, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
Father, thank you again that you give us these stories about Jesus, stories of Jesus, events in which Jesus teaches us the great truths of the kingdom. Would you speak to us this morning, Father? Lord, help us to identify any pigs that we've been holding on to. That need to be delivered. And Father, speak through your word to our hearts. Now, Father, would you use my words with your word. Anoint them so that, Father, you can accomplish your purpose in this place today. For we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you. You can be seated.
Now the setting, as the first verse indicates, is on the far side of the Sea of Galilee. And, of course, upon arriving there, Jesus had been in the boat with the disciples, they'd crossed the sea, and they landed there. And upon arriving there, Jesus and the apostles came aground near a cemetery. And they immediately encountered this demoniac, this man that was possessed of demons. And not just a demon, but demons, legions, many. There was a spokesman for them, but there were many demons within this man.
And there are several things that help us get a little context to this story that we need to understand it. But about this man who came to Jesus in this setting. First of all, I would tell you that he was alive. Now, this isn't on your outline, but if you want to write this down, jot these things down. He was alive. Isn't it interesting? He was alive, but he was living among the dead. You know what the devil loves to do? He loves to destroy God's purpose for your life. He'll try to get you to live like a dead man. He was alive, this man was, but he had no life.
The second thing I would tell you about this man is he was exiled. He was separated from his family. He was separated from his friends. He was separated from the community. He lived isolated off in the graveyard. Third, I'd tell you he was uncontrollable. Did you notice that no one could bind him? They tried. They'd put shackles on him. They'd put chains on him. And this was the strength of the demonic power within, had the capacity to break those shackles. He was uncontrollable. Nobody could tame him because of the demonic presence in him.
And then fourth, I would tell you, he was a tortured man, night and day it says he was crying out, screaming, literally, he was screaming night and day. He was a tortured man. And then fifth, he was a troubled man. Matthew's account, if you go and read this over in Matthew, and I would urge you to do that sometime, Matthew's account tells us that no one could pass that way without being harassed and assaulted by this man. In other words, you didn't want to walk past this cemetery because this guy would come after you. We don't know what he did, most likely, because it says he would assault people, he would beat them up, and whatever else he could do. And so he harassed people and he assaulted people.
This is the man who encountered Jesus. And this is the way his life was until Jesus. And then Jesus changed everything. He changed everything, by the way, for this man, and he created a crisis in the community, as we'll see. Okay. I want to show you four things about this story this morning. The first thing I want you to get is the authority of the Savior. Verse 6, and by the way, keep your Bible open because I didn't read the whole story. I just read the first part of the story, and we'll see the rest of it as we go along. But keep your Bibles open because I'm going to reference some other verses in this chapter.
But we first notice the authority of Jesus. We see that in verses 6 and verse 13. If you notice, it says he gave them permission. The demons had to come to Jesus. They couldn't just go. Do whatever. When Jesus shows up, the demons are under his authority. And so they asked for permission. They had to ask Jesus, and Jesus gave them permission. And notice that the man recognized Jesus immediately. Did you notice that? And because of that, there were a couple of things that happened. The first was it says he ran to Jesus.
Scholars are mixed as to what that meant, that he ran to Jesus. Was the man running to Jesus, or was it the demons forcing him to come and acknowledge Jesus? I don't know why they have to be mixed. I think it was both. The demons understood the authority of Jesus, and they were forced to come and kneel before Christ. And the man also must have understood something about Jesus himself. And so for both reasons, this man ran to Jesus. Now, to me, so it doesn't really matter what got him there because whatever the case, the authority and the presence of Jesus, compelled this man and compelled the deacons, uh, the, the demons.
There is a school where they call them demon deacons, you know. Sorry, Mr. Chairman, but, uh, I, Hey, I've been in some churches. What? Well, not here, not here, but they compelled the man and the demons to quickly get to Jesus. Now here's a principle I want to give you this morning. It's a principle. It's a lesson for us. Now, listen, are you ready? Whatever? Whatever your problem is, take it to Jesus as fast as you can. Whatever your problem is and take it to Jesus as fast as you can. All of us are in that category. Take it to get to Jesus as fast as you can. The secret to victory in the Christian life is to get to Jesus and stay near next to Jesus.
But not only did this man run to Jesus. Did you notice the second thing he did? The Bible says he knelt before Jesus again. I don't think this man fully understood who Jesus was. But he knew there was something special about Jesus and the demon sure knew who he was. And the demons understood that not only was he the Christ, but they understood that he had authority over them. And the authority of Jesus was expressed when the demons declared this authoritative title of Jesus. Did you notice what they called him? Son of the most high God. That was a recognition of his authority.
And then the authority of Jesus was expressed. The authority of Jesus was expressed by the demons when they begged Jesus not to torment them. Did you see that? They begged him. Don't torment us. Isn't it interesting that this passage also says that this man was being tormented by the demons. And now the demons are saying, Jesus don't do to us what we've been doing to him. We've been tormenting him, but we know you can torment us. Jesus don't torment us. Jesus is Lord. That's the point. He's Lord over all things because he is the creator of all things.
In Matthew chapter 28, Jesus said to his followers, he said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. I have all authority. By the way, the Bible says that Jesus will be the judge and that we will rule with the judge. And even says that there will be an element of judgment that will be the result of God's people in heaven. The fact is, the demons are often more perceptive about Jesus' lordship than the average Christian. Would you agree with that? You see, the demons knew exactly what the presence of Jesus signified. It signified that he is the master. We may not like it, but he's the master. He's the ruler. He's the king. He's the sovereign. He is Lord over all. They recognize that. The demons did.
Some years ago. England's Prince William and his wife Kate attended a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game during a trip they had made to America. And this was back when the Cavaliers' top player was nicknamed King James. It referred to LeBron James, as many of you probably know. And while they were at the game, they met with LeBron James. But then LeBron James did the unthinkable. He put his arm around the future queen of England for a picture.
According to protocol in Britain, a commoner is not supposed to even touch members of the royal family, even if it's an innocent gesture. And it certainly was. Look, I'd have probably done it too, wouldn't you? Hey, future queen, how you doing? You want your picture made with King James? You know, we probably would have done something like that. But it's against protocol. Now, they didn't make a fuss out of it, somebody, some British historian, you know, made a deal out of it. But let me tell you something. When Jesus shows up, the demons know what protocol is. When Jesus is around, they take his presence very seriously and how they are to respond to him. You know, the fact is, if the demons can get it, so should we.
So here's a principle and a lesson again for us as it relates to the authority of Jesus. And that is. When you get into the presence of Jesus, bow down, submit to yourself to him and to his Lordship. Recognize that he is Lord. And by the way, if you don't do it now, you're going to do it eventually. The Bible says one day every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And those who are bowing will be in two categories. Those who are bowing out of adoration and reverence because he is their savior and they finally come into his face -to -face presence. And the others will be those who rejected him and will recognize he was Lord all along. And I turned my back or I rejected him. But everybody is going to. So you ought to get a little practice in while you're down here. Bow down and submit.
You know, we talk about at the invitation time, bowing before Jesus. I know Jesus hears your prayers and you say, well, I can't always bow down or I don't always go forward or that sort of thing. And that's okay. But listen, there's something about bowing in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this man, they didn't, when he ran to Jesus, Jesus didn't have to say, you're full of demons, bow down. This man automatically, because the demons knew that they had to submit themselves. And whether this man understood it, the demons sure understood the authority of Jesus Christ. Learn to submit to, the key to victory in life is submission. Submission to Lord, not to his Lordship, not debating him. Well, Lord, I don't know. It is, Lord, whatever you say.
Do you remember the story? Allison and I were talking recently about the story of Peter fishing all night. Remember? And he didn't catch anything. He fished all night and he came ashore and they were cleaning their nets. I mean, they, that was a process itself. And Jesus walks up and he says, I want you to put the boat back out. Let's go fishing again. And Peter says, Lord, you know, you know, we fished all night. We are professional fishermen.
Jesus could have said, yes, and I created the fish. But he didn't. But Peter said, but Lord, you know, we fished all night. But here's what I love. He said, but at your word, at your word. Lord, we, even though we're the pros, your word is enough to compel us to submit to your instructions. And so they put back out. Jesus said, cast your net over here. And they pulled up a catch. You know, they couldn't. They had to bring in another boat and had to fill that sort of, you know. Listen, if you're going to go fishing. Just a little footnote. Take the creator of fish with you.
But do you understand what Peter was saying? I love that. He says, Lord, at your word, we will do it. What was he doing? He was saying, I'll submit to your word. I won't say, well, I'm the pro. And he said, well, you know, we fished all night. And Jesus said, doesn't matter. Come on, let's go. And he said, at your word, I'll do it. Do you bend the knee at his word? Or do you debate? you know, I think there's a better way.
The demons actually teach us about the authority of Christ. Don't they? And then second, I want you to see the anxiety of the people. Look at verse 15, if you will. The anxiety of the people. And so they came to Jesus. The herdsman, verse 14 says, the herdsman fled. And they told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And then look at verse 15. And they came to Jesus and they saw the demon -possessed man, the one who had had the legion sitting there clothed and in his right mind. I'll come back to that later. And they were afraid. They They were afraid.
Instead of rejoicing, you would think they would be rejoicing, right? This guy, you know, we couldn't even take that path. Because this guy would come out and jump on us and harass us. And we've tried to help him through the years and we couldn't help. You'd think that these people would be rejoicing because of this marvelous deliverance of this man from his pathetic state. But it says instead the people were afraid. And it's astounding to me that the people of the city were so disturbed by the work of Jesus that they, it said, look at this, they begged him to leave. Now you have two interesting contrasts here. Earlier, the demons are begging him, we beg you, let us go into the pigs. And now the people are begging Jesus to leave them. A lot of begging going on here, but it's not good.
And so they were afraid. They were anxious people. Why did they beg him to leave them? Well, first because they were afraid. Because they preferred pigs over people. Now don't miss this. They were passionate about their pigs. The Bible says that the herdsmen ran to tell the people in the city and the country what had happened. Their pigs were more important to them than the deliverance of the wild man, of the demon -possessed man. Now listen to me. Satan will always try to convince you that your pigs are the most important things in your life and ought to be hung onto at all costs. You see, now it would have been okay to them if Jesus had to solve their crazy man problem as long as he saved their pigs. Let me ask you something this morning. You have some pigs that you're clinging to? You have some pigs in your life you're holding onto? They preferred pigs to people.
But not only did they prefer pigs to people, they also valued swine over the Savior. They wanted Jesus to leave them alone. Can you imagine that? But I want to tell you something. If Jesus walked in some of our churches today, we'd say, now Jesus, we had this thing grooved. Don't come in and mess it up. Somebody said this one time, I like it, that if Jesus was the pastor of our church, it would be a lot smaller.
It probably would, wouldn't it? He would change the dynamic. They preferred swine over the Savior. They missed the opportunity of a lifetime. Would you agree with that? The Savior's right there. And yet they said, leave us alone. Really, they missed the opportunity of eternity. I got to thinking when I was working on this about a story I came across years ago about a Welsh woman who lived in a remote valley in Wales. And she went to a great deal of trouble to
have electricity installed in her home. And so she had it installed. And then the power company that had installed it after some time noticed that she wasn't using very much electricity at all. In fact, her usage was so small that they sent a meter reader out to check on the matter to see if there was some problem, it just wasn't registering. He checked the meter and then he came to the door and he said, ma 'am, we've looked at the amount of electricity you're using and you just don't seem to be using much, if any, electricity at all. She said, oh yes, yes we do use it. We turn it on every night to see how to light our lamps and then we switch it back off.
Well, I want to tell you, like this Welsh woman, the people in our story here had missed the deeper encounter with the power of God. There was the power of God displayed right in front of them and they said, okay, we've had enough. Okay, you can go away. Jesus could have, and listen, he would have done more for them. But their value was on the wrong things. And then they desired comfort over change.
Now listen, no offense to hog farmers, but pigs are not generally raised to be pets. And symbolically, they have always represented the baser things in life. Think about the story of the prodigal son. You remember that story and finally he had gotten to such a low state in his life that he ended up working in the pig pen and then he was so hungry he ate the same food the pigs ate. These people, euphemistically speaking, their pigs represented their comfort. Their pigs represented their future. Their pigs controlled their lives. In fact, they wanted to attain more pigs. They wanted to build a pig empire. And they wanted to leave a pig legacy. They bred pigs. They fed pigs. They talked pigs. They had pig stories. I bet they spoke pig Latin.
They had prized pigs. They traded pigs among themselves. They compared their pigs with each other. They always had pigs. There were pigs everywhere. There were pigs everywhere in their life until Jesus came along. And you know what Jesus did? Jesus got rid of the pigs in their life. Do you all get it? Do you have some pigs that need to go? But you've just become so comfortable with the pigs in your life that you are afraid that dealing with them will upset your comfort zone. You know, some people have become so comfortable with their pig pathologies that they can't imagine living without them. I have, through the years, over 45 years of ministry now, I've counseled with a lot of people that couldn't let go of their problems because their problems had become their identity.
And they really didn't want to get rid of their problems because they didn't know how to function without their problem setting the agenda for their life. You see, these people were a lot like that. And we can be too. It may be the pain pig in your life. It may be the pig of bitterness. It may be the pig of unforgiveness. You fill in the blank.
I don't know if you have any or what they may be. Most of us, at some point in time, if we don't have them, we will have them or we have had them. But I do know this. Whether you have them or not, Jesus can help you get rid of them. And stop believing if you have your pigs. And you know, listen, if you've got some pigs, you know what they are. Stop believing that you can't make it if you don't have those pigs. There's something interesting about our story. The region where this happened was across on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. I've been over there. It's really right below what we call today, modern day, the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights sit up above there. And below is this area, the Gadarenes. And that's where it was. It was an isolated area. It was a remote area. It still feels that way today if you go there. I've driven around the entire lake and through that region there. And it still kind of feels isolated. It doesn't feel like the other areas. You have to go all the way across the Sea of Galilee. About seven miles to the other side. And it is somewhat today. But it was particularly then, it was isolated on the other side in a remote area. You see, pigs were not popular then. So they had to raise them in an isolated place. Can I tell you this morning that the devil loves to isolate you spiritually? By getting you to live with your pigs. To convince you that your pigs are normal. So just get comfortable with them. But friend, I will tell you this morning. Never, never become comfortable with your pigs. Never let your pigs become your comfort zone. But let me move on. Number three. I want you to see next activity of the demoniac. Verses 19 and 20. So he gets delivered, right? Jesus delivers him. And then look at this. And Jesus did not permit him. But said to him. He said, I want to go with you. I want to be with you. I want to be in your honor. Jesus said, no, you can't do that. But he said, go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you. And how he has had mercy on you. And then verse 20 says, and he went away and he began to proclaim in the Decapolis. This is the activity of the demoniac. He has been released. He has been delivered. And Jesus now gives him an assignment. He says, I want to go with you, Jesus. Jesus said, no, I've got a mission for you. I've got something you can do. But I need you to go back home. Not with me. You go back home. Jesus was creating missionaries. You know the first mission field in your life is your home? Jesus said, go back home. You tell them. And isn't this great? You say, well, I don't know how to be a witness. Yes, you do. Just tell somebody what Jesus has done for you. This was the first evangelistic training class.
Go home and tell what good things, great things God has done for you. That's what you go do. You go just tell people what God has done for you. That was his assignment. And I'm sure that once Jesus left the people, they returned to their pig management corporation. And I'm sure they returned to their pig mindset. And I'm sure that they returned working in their isolated world of pig pens. But not this man. He was changed. And he became an evangelist. And he began to preach. He began preaching. In fact, the word proclaimed there is the Greek word keruso. And it is the word we use for preach. He became a preacher because he was simply telling. You know, when you go tell somebody what Jesus has done for you, that's keruso. You're preaching. You're proclaiming. Let me tell you what Jesus did for me. And by the way, nobody can argue with that. Some years ago before I became your pastor, we developed a tool to help assist people. We're going to be using some of it in January. We're going to have a story here in our book study Sunday nights. I hope you'll be here for it. We're going to teach you how to tell your story very simply in three steps. We developed a tool, and we used it around the country, and we trained people around the country. And all it was is teaching people how to tell their story. You see, nobody can argue with your story, can they? I once was blind, but now I see. See, nobody can argue with that. And that's what Jesus said. You want to be an effective evangelist? Just tell somebody what I did for you. Just tell somebody what God did for you. How God changed your life. Hard to argue with that. People can't say, no, he didn't. Yes, he did. Here I is. Here I be. I'm standing in front of you. Look what Jesus has done for me. So he first went back home.
I wonder who in your family needs to hear what God has done and is doing in your life. Who is it needs to hear what God has done? And then next he went into the world. Did you notice he said he began proclaiming? He began proclaiming in the Decapolis. You know what the Decapolis is? It means ten cities. There was a ten city region right in there. And he moved from city to city. And he was telling people about what God had done for him. And here's some application for you. When Jesus changes your life, he does some things. He gives you new meaning. You see, before this, remember this guy was living among the dead. He was in the cemetery. He was dead in his trespasses and sins. But now he's free. He's a free man. He's a delivered man. Fullness and purpose are now the byproducts of his changed life. And he's excited about it. You could imagine that, couldn't you? Listen, if you've been living in a cemetery, everything is up from there. No pun intended.
But Jesus gives you new meaning when he changes your life, when he touches down in your life. But not only does he give you new meaning, he gives you a new mind. I love what it says there that when the people saw him, what was he doing? He was clothed. Thank you, Jesus.
He was sitting, which he had not been doing. And he was in his right mind. He was in his right mind. You know, when you come to Christ, you know what Paul says you and I have? We have the mind of Christ. We have the mind of Christ. You know what Paul said in Romans? He said, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Only Jesus can do that. This man had a renewed mind. He had a new mind. He had a righteous mind. He had a right mind. Jesus gives you a new mind. And then when Jesus changes your life, he gives you a new mission. As we've already seen, he went back to his family and to his friends. And then throughout the region, he had a new mission. He had a new purpose. That's what that's all about. Jesus changes your purpose. He shows you what real fullness and purpose is. Don't you, wouldn't you like to hear this guy preach? Wouldn't you like to hear him tell about some of those? And he might have even stood in your community and said, oh, hey, Robert. Remember when I beat you up that time? When you walked in front of my cemetery? You remember how wild I was? I bet there were people there that had some kind of encounter with him. But now they're looking and saying, is this the same guy that used to harass and cuss us and assault us when we went that way? You know, we just quit going that way. It just wasn't worth it. This is him?
Listen, he had a new purpose. New purpose.
And when Jesus changes your life, not only does he give you a new mission, he gives you a new purpose. He gives you a new message. It was a message of praise. It was a message of bragging on God. You remember what Jesus told him to do? Go and tell what good things God has done for you. That's praise, friend. That's bragging on God. You know, I think God, look, we know how to brag.
But there's nothing that pleases God more than when we brag on our Heavenly Father.
My grandsons just left yesterday, headed back to Nashville. They're Allison's grandsons, too.
And we love it when they're there. And you know what? I look for ways to work them into my sermons.
And I have the biggest platform, so. But I love to brag on them.
And you know what I love when they brag on their pops?
They can get just about anything they want.
And did, I might add. can you imagine how God feels when you brag on him? That's why praise is so important. Praise is bragging. Bragging on God. Let me tell you what God has done for me. I want to tell you something. Maybe you need to think through again. I ought to be bragging on Jesus a little bit more. Well, I just got lucky. No, you didn't. You didn't get lucky. Jesus said, you're my child. Do you know Jesus doesn't operate in the world of luck?
We Christians, listen, he operates in the world of providence. You're his child. Right? Brag on him. Don't say, well, I got lucky. No. No. Jesus, thank Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you what you did, Jesus. Thank you. And somebody around you may say, oh, you just got lucky. No, I didn't. My God didn't operate on luck. He operates on providence and care. He gives you a new message, a message of praise and a message of bragging on God. And here's the conclusion of that message. What he has done for me, he will do for you. And that's what makes it so powerful. Nobody can argue with your story, can they? Nobody can say, he didn't do that for you. Yes, he did.
So let me ask you this morning, does your activity reflect that Jesus has changed your life when you're out there? Who are you going to give credit to? I'm giving credit to him. My message is, it's God. It's not a complicated message, is it? Let me tell you who I was. You say, well, I don't have a cemetery demonic testimony. Praise God. But tell them, you know what? I was pretty good, but I still needed God. There was a hole, as Pascal called it, a God -shaped vacuum in my life that only God could fill. And when he filled it, it made all the difference.
That's your message. What he's done for me, he can do for you. And then here's the final thing I want to show you, and I will close with this. Note in verse 20 the amazement of the community. Did you see that? Look at that. So he's preaching. He's proclaiming the message in the Decapolis. How much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled. Literally, they were amazed. Now, let me clarify something for you. These people that are amazed are not the pig people. It's not the pig people who are marveling. It's the people that the man was preaching to.
So don't confuse that. It's not like, oh, he went out and then, okay, so those people that had begged Jesus to leave,
they suddenly kind of come to, they're not the ones who are amazed at what has happened. It is instead the people he's telling his story to. Let me tell you what Jesus did for them. They're amazed. Are you kidding? Wow. They received the message with wonder while the others had already dismissed Jesus and dismissed the miracle that Jesus had done. And, you know, people still do that today, don't they? People still dismiss Jesus. They dismiss his life -giving, life -transforming power, and they just keep on living in the graveyard or near the graveyard when they don't have to. Now, this happened over 2 ,000 years ago. Jesus delivered this man, but he hasn't stopped delivering people.
Jesus hasn't stopped delivering people. Let us never get over the amazing power of Jesus Christ to deliver us. I'll tell you a little bit of a personal testimony. My mother, she died in her late 60s. She was a sweet lady. She never finished high school. She and Dad married before she ever finished high school. She was very smart, wisdom with wisdom. She recognized God's call on my life and helped me understand that. But she wasn't a theologian.
But she had this great kind of wisdom. And for much of her life, though, she smoked. She was a smoker. She and my dad grew up in an era where smoking actually was kind of, well, you know, you remember. A lot of you remember smoking was kind of a symbol of significance that you smoked. Hard for us to imagine that these days, but she smoked for much of her life. And she had a heart attack in her 50s.
And Allison, I guess we were already down in Florida serving down there, and Mom had a heart attack. And so after that heart attack, I asked her, I said, she just stopped smoking. Just like that, she just stopped smoking. I mean, she put them down one day, and she was a heavy smoker. And she put them down one day, and she never picked them up again. And so I was talking to her on one of my trips up to visit with her. And I said, Mom, it's been a couple of years now since you've had a smoke. And I said, do you ever have that craving again? And she said, I have not had the craving since I put them down. And she said, I can't explain it except that the doctor told me you need to stop smoking. And I thought, I can never do that unless Jesus helps me. And she said, so I cried out to him, Jesus, help me. Stop. She literally put them down, she said. And I said, do you ever get that craving? She said, nope. She said, I haven't craved a cigarette since I put them down. And she never touched another one the rest of her life. Do you think that was a miracle? I think that was a miracle. I think Jesus, I think Jesus delivered her. She cried out to him. She called out to him. And he delivered her. People are still being delivered by Jesus today. Maybe, again, there's some pig or there's something that you need deliverance from. I want you to know, I just want to encourage you to say, listen. You say, but I've called on Jesus, and I've still got my pig.
Don't stop. Keep calling on Jesus. When you fall down, get back up. And say, Jesus, help me again. It may be, have you ever thought about this? Sometimes Jesus has to deliver you every day.
Okay, it's a new day. Jesus, deliver me today. It's a new hour. Deliver me today. Today. Don't stop. Don't stop. You may have to give your pigs to him every morning. Lord, take these pigs and run them down a cliff. Take these pigs and cause them. And cause them to commit suicide.
That's pretty bad, isn't it?
You know what my daughter, just a little footnote here. You know what my daughter says? She says, oh, Daddy, those are so cheesy. And I will say, I said, well, sweetheart, the congregation laughed. And she said, Daddy, that's a courtesy laugh.
But you get the point. Hey, you may have to get up every morning and say, Lord, run these pigs down the hill into the water. Run them down the hill. Because they'll try to come back. All right? Just let him take care of them every day if you need to. And if you fail, get back up. Keep giving them to him. Let me close by telling you about General Jonathan Wainwright. He was taken captive by the Japanese in World War II. And he was held prisoner in a concentration camp. And they treated him pretty bad. They tortured him. He was treated cruelly. Finally, by his own admission, he had become a broken and crushed pig. A crushed and hopeless and starving man in the prison camp. But then the Japanese surrendered.
And the war was over. And a United States Army colonel was sent to the camp to announce personally to all the prisoners, and in particular, General Jonathan Wainwright, who was the lead officer in that camp, that Japan had been defeated and that he was now free. And listen to this. And he was in command of the camp. Well, after Wainwright heard that news, he returned to his quarters. And he was confronted by some of the same guards that had been so cruel to him and had tortured him and had mistreated him. And they began to attempt to mistreat him again as they had done in the past when suddenly Wainwright, with the news of the Allied victory still in his mind, he looked at these who had been his captives. And with authority, he declared, No, not you anymore. I'm now in command here. And I'll give the orders. And from that moment on, he lived in victory until those soldiers were rescued. You know what the devil wants to do? He wants to imprison you. And he wants to mistreat you. And he wants to make you think that he is in control. But the good news is, this morning, the resurrection announced that the enemy has been defeated. And now Jesus is the deliverer from the bondage, the Bible says, that you and I were in, the death that we had experienced because of our sin and trespasses. And Jesus' resurrection announces for us that he is in control. And because he is in control, we are free. And the pigs no longer can control our life. Isn't that good news for us?
So I say to you this morning, if you're bound up by a herd of pigs, let Jesus deal with the pigs. You know what we do with good intentions? We try to deal with them. Well, I'll just have to get stronger. I'll have to get better. I'll have to let Jesus. Give the pigs to Jesus. The pigs are from hell.
Give them to Jesus. And if you need to do it tomorrow, do it again. If you need to do it this afternoon, do it this afternoon. But you give the pigs to Jesus until the herd has been drowned.
Father, remind us that we can be victorious because of the great victory over hell and our arch enemy, Satan. I pray for those who are watching by television, those who are listening by radio, live stream, in this audience that have believed the lie that the pigs are here to stay. Father, help them to give them over to you. I pray, Father, that you'll help them to fight the good fight of faith. And then, Father, help us to walk in victory, telling others the good things that the resurrected Jesus Christ has done and continues to do. For us. In Jesus' name. Amen. Would you stand with me? Well, I'm so glad that you have tuned in to the broadcast today. I hope you've been encouraged by God's word. It sure has been a joy to share it with you. And even now, people at Ridgecrest are making decisions for Christ. Perhaps as you've watched this broadcast, you've recognized the need for your own decision for Christ. The prompting of the Spirit has caused you to recognize that you need Christ as your Savior. And the good news is, you can receive Him right where you are. The Bible says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. Right where you are, you can call on Him. Say something like this from your heart to Him. Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I know I'm a sinner, and I know that you came into this world and died on the cross for my sins. And right now, I invite you to come into my life. Forgive me and be my Savior. I can assure you, if you'll call on Him, based on what God has already told us in the Bible, that He'll hear that prayer and He'll answer that. And He wants to begin this new journey in your life with you, transforming you into His image. We'd love to help you with that decision as well. You'll see a QR code on your screen. And if you would scan that, or you'll see contact information, or if you'll contact us about your decision today, we'd love to help you take next steps. There are no strings attached, no fees involved. We'd just like to help you begin that journey with Christ. You may be watching this broadcast today and say, I need a church family to belong. I already know Christ as my Savior, and I'd like to be a part of the Ridgecrest family. Also, if you will, scan that QR code. That'll take you to a location, and we'll be able to help you make those kinds of decisions like becoming a member here, or if you've never been scripturally baptized, those kinds of things. So contact us through that QR code or through the contact information on the screen. Well, again, it's been a joy to have you with us today, and I hope you've been encouraged by God's Word. Whatever decision we can help you with, by all means, contact us. May the Lord bless you.