The sermon 'Power Over Principalities' by Scott Brown focuses on the authority of Jesus Christ over spiritual powers, as demonstrated in Matthew 8:28-34. In the passage, Jesus encounters two demon-possessed men, showcasing His dominance over demons by casting them into a herd of swine. Scott Brown highlights ten key points from this narrative, emphasizing Jesus' control over both physical and spiritual realms. The sermon also delves into the biblical theology of disease and demonization, explaining the devil's influence on individuals and societies. Brown encourages believers to equip themselves with the armor of God, as outlined in Ephesians 6, to resist these spiritual forces. He stresses the importance of recognizing the world as it truly is—a battleground of spiritual warfare—and the necessity of teaching children about the true nature of the world. The sermon concludes by affirming the power of Jesus to deliver individuals from even the most overwhelming demonic possession, urging believers to rest in His sovereignty and authority.

Today's passage is Matthew chapter 8 verses 28 through 34. When he had come to the other side, to the country of the Gyrgosses, there met him two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs exceedingly fierce so that no one could pass that way. And suddenly they cried out saying, what have we to do with you Jesus, you son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? Now a good way off from them, there was a herd of many swine feeding.

So the demons begged him saying, if you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine. And he said to them, go. So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine, and suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea and perished in the water. Then those who kept them fled, and they went away into the city and told everything, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region." Father, Lord God, we thank you for your Word.

We ask that you make it ring in our hearts, that the words that Scott brings today that will only be used speaking through him, Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. As we've been going through this narrative, the Lord Jesus has been demonstrating his authority, not only in the words of the Sermon on the Mount, which are perfect and authoritative and astonishing to those who are listening, but he also has authority over disease. So we've been thinking about disease and our own sicknesses and what is the biblical theology of disease. We're recognizing that he controls, he rules the cells of every body.

He heals the sick. He rules the winds and the waves. Now we see him ruling over the very powers of demons and hell itself. And he holds the key to everything, including the unseen powers and principalities. That's really the theme of this text.

There's an outline before you. I'd like for us to sort of camp on ten things here this morning, to try to savor them briefly, to try to get a sense of them, to grasp their meaning, to camp on them, and to see what the Lord might be saying to us. First of all, I want us to just consider the safe arrival. Secondly, the suddenness of the confrontation. Thirdly, this man's affection for death.

Fourthly, his ferocity. Fifth, his worship. Sixth, his awareness of his impending doom. Seventh, the negotiation with the demons, of the demons. Number eight, God's mighty power displayed.

Number nine, the demons entering into the swine. Number ten, the whole city coming out and begging him to depart. And then finally, some application. Now, the focus of Matthew's testimony in the healing of the Gataring demoniac is the exclusive power of God over all spiritual powers and principalities. This is different than Luke's focus and Mark's focus.

Mark seems to focus on what happened to this man, how he was so transformed, what was happening to him in detail before his transformation, and then this wonderful wave of grace that came upon him. That's the focus of the other gospel writers, but that's not the focus of Matthew. So we'll try to keep our focus on what Matthew has to say, although we will be speaking somewhat of the other gospel writers. But we learn a number of things from this narrative. We we learn something of what demonization looks like.

We learn what the demons know, and what they think, and where they go. And we also learn what it looks like to reject the presence of the holiness of Jesus Christ in your town. And so those are the basic things. Now let's count, first of all, in verse 28, this safe arrival that we see. There is a safe arrival through the storm.

Jesus has just demonstrated that the winds and the waves obey Him. You know, there are people out there that think that it's the demons that rule the winds and the waves, and if something bad happens in the weather, it's the demons that did it. Or if there's even bad traffic, somehow the demons have done it. The demons are doing everything. But here what we find is that it's not the demons who rule the waves and the winds.

It's God Almighty. Let's get that clear. I just pray that in this church we have a generation of people who understand that. That it's not the demons that rule the winds and the waves. And that matters.

It really, really matters in your life. So they were going to the other side for rest, and they arrived here and they find a very sudden confrontation. And so we come to the second thing that I'd like for us to just see here in Campon, the suddenness of the confrontation. So there met him two demon-possessed men. If you go to the Gospel of Mark, you see, and immediately, it's like they just got right out of the boat, bam, here are these men.

And it was just the very moment they came ashore. And the term here that is used, two demon-possessed men. Now, the term demon-possessed, I don't believe actually exists in Scripture. It's really one word. It's demonized.

The King James Bible translates it demon possessed. I think I rather like the term demonized because that's that's the word in the original language. There's this whole question of whether there are two or whether there really is just one demonized man And because the other Gospel writers say that it's one, somehow Matthew has double vision. Now Matthew actually does have double vision in a number of places. Some of the gospel writers say one I think I would have to go back and check.

I think it's nine times Matthew has double vision while everybody else has single vision So what's that all about why it's very easily explained it's very easy to harmonize here You know when when to come up typically there's a spokesman. There's there's a dominant personality. That's most likely what it was. That one was doing the talking, one was doing the confronting, and so the other Gospel writers just speak of it, speak of it that way. But the text never says there was only one demoniac.

It doesn't say that. It says that there were two. Matthew says there were two and the other gospel writers say that there was one. But they don't say there was only one or anything like that. So I think it's easy to harmonize this passage of Scripture.

Now when we encounter this demonization, we have an opportunity now here as a church to consider something, to really help us understand the influences of the world that you live in. I mean, this is something I want my own children to understand. I want them to know what kind of world that they live in. You know, the song says, this is my father's world. And it is.

It is your father's world. He created it. And he has even set forth the demonic forces for his own glory. And So it's critical that we understand the nature of things. And I pray that you as parents are faithful to teach your children the realities of this world.

Don't think, oh, it's too scary for them. Oh, this will terrify them. Don't think that way at all. Tell them the world that they live in and tell them who rules that world. Don't try to hide things from them in order to try to somehow protect them from things that are explicitly taught in Scripture so that they would understand the world.

It's part of a responsibility of parents to teach their children what this world is all about. Well, I hope that you understand this world too. This is a world that is, we see a window of it here where there are demons. And so we have to just recognize that through this passage we're being taught how to understand the world that we live in. And it's a world that includes unseen demonic personalities that are having an influence on individuals and on nations and even on cities.

So that's the kind of world that we live in. So this passage takes us in to consider that world. We learn from Isaiah chapter 14 how this world came to be. In Isaiah chapter 14 We learn of the fall of Lucifer Have fallen how you are fallen from heaven Oh Lucifer Son of the morning how you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations. For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven.

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit in the mountain of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. Yet, you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the pit.

Those who see you will gaze at you and consider you, saying, Is this the man who made the earth tremble? Who shook kingdoms? Who made the world as a wilderness? And destroyed its cities? There's a lot to learn there.

We could spend the entire time doing an exposition of Isaiah chapter 14. But what we learned, we learned a number of things here and that is we learn, we learn how the world was filled with evil. We learned, we really learned the source of every sorrow that has ever been experienced in the human breast. We learn about every...the reason for all of our trials in terms of the attacks of Satan against us. We learn the reasons for many things.

And it comes straight from the heart of Lucifer himself, where he says, I will, I will, I will. That's the heart of every human problem, is when man says, my will be done, not yours. That is the central issue of all heartache and brokenness and demonization and every problem in your marriage, every problem with your children, Every problem that you're at work that comes from the devil can be traced to this very, very simple formula. I will. And then we also learn that the devil is at work.

In your Father's world, the devil does have an impact on nations and cities. It says here that he made the world a wilderness and destroyed its cities. So we have to be aware of his schemes. He does desire to destroy your city. He desires to destroy your nation.

He desires to destroy your family and also to destroy your soul. We just have to understand this is the world that we have been born into. We should not be foolish or Pollyannish in our view of the world. There are so many that would like to make you think that there are no spiritual powers, there are no demons. That's the imaginary world of John Lennon.

Imagine. Just go on imagining while The devil is destroying the cities of the earth and making them like a wilderness. We learn where the demons come from, particularly in Revelation chapter 12, 9 and 10, where this passage is thought by most to teach that a third of the angels rebelled and fell. And when Lucifer was cast down, he took many with him. I'm not absolutely confident that passage teaches us that, but that's the general understanding among those who have interpreted it.

But One thing that we do understand is that there are demons. Here's something that I really don't understand. While there are so many cases of demonization in the New Testament, it's almost impossible to find any in the Old Testament. There's perhaps 1st Samuel 16, but I, verse 14, while you see such a prominence in the New Testament, you don't see anything like that in parallel in the Old Testament. And maybe some of you know why, but I don't understand that.

There really is a very helpful tool that we can use to help us understand how this works, the very practical nature of this spiritual world that we live in. And you have to go nowhere but Ephesians chapter 6, after the Apostle Paul is teaching those in Ephesus how the family ought to work, children obey your parents and the Lord, for this is right, fathers do not exasperate your children. And he moves to the whole relationship of slaves and masters, you know, slaves obey your masters. Right after that, right after that, in verse 12, he says, For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. So the Apostle Paul is instructing the Ephesian Church that, yes, this wrestling match goes right down into family life, it goes right down into your household, it goes into your work life where there are these slaves and master kind of relationships, it goes right down into the relationships of children.

And of course, if you keep backing up in Ephesians, you find it has to do with your marriage, it has to do with everything. So these principalities and powers are connected to the conflicts and the difficulties and the sins that happen every day in your family life as well, right in your household. The powers and the principalities are active and it work. And so he says, you know, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities, helping us to understand these conflicts that we have, These problems of disobedience and anger and rebellion that happen, all of these can be can be traced to the work of darkness in our midst. And so we shouldn't ever think that our even our very families are exempt from works of darkness.

And so the Apostle Paul just makes it very plain. And so after he says that Without powers and principalities, he says, he says, Therefore, therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may also withstand in the evil day. And having done all to stand, stand therefore. Having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end, with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. So what the apostle Paul is teaching the Ephesian Church, and he's teaching us here now, is that All of these conflicts have to do with principalities and powers, but there's a remedy, there's a way that we deal with it.

We deal with it just like this. We put on the armor of God. And so that's how we ought to respond to this knowledge of the way that the world is wired. There's something that we should do, and it has to do with putting on the whole armor of God. In other words, you're not just a victim laying there.

First of all, God is in control of all the powers and principalities. At the same time, we have a responsibility to wage war by putting on the whole armor of God. That's how you wage war against the devil in your context. And Paul is very clear. He has so therefore being watchful to this end.

So we have to be watchful, we have to understand what's happening. You know, this is the beautiful thing about God. He's so kind to us to tell us how things really are. He shows us the world as it really is. He opens it up to us and he explains to us not only what it is like, but then how do you deal with it?

How do you grapple with this world of powers and principalities that are upon you? And so he's introducing here the world, the world of demons, and you see it in just the suddenness of this confrontation with this demonized man coming. And he has been dominated by Satan. There has been a satanic takeover of this man and he is, the devil is using him and there with demonization Often a new voice speaks, a new power is experienced, and often you find significant powers. There's every kind of affliction that's connected with demonization in scripture, from derangement of the mind to paralysis, to muteness, to blindness, to epilepsy, to suicide, to self-destruction of every imaginable kind for inflicting and tempting and lying and deceiving and immorality and uncleanness.

This is just a filthy spirit that has overtaken this man. And they are called unclean spirits. They're often called deceitful spirits And like we just read in Ephesians, chapter 6, powers and principalities. And they inflict personality change. They cause enormous tumult in the soul, both physical and social, in every possible way.

And we also see that Christ here in this story demonstrates why He has come. He's come to destroy the works of the devil. So in this sudden confrontation, There is revealed right before us the purposes of God to absolutely destroy the works of the devil. In Genesis 3.16, we read that Jesus Christ was sent to crush the head of the serpent. In John chapter 12, verse 31, we read that he came to cast out the ruler of this world.

In John 16, 11 he came to judge the ruler of this world. And in 1 John chapter 3 verse 8 to destroy the works of the devil. In Colossians chapter 2 verse 15 to actually disarm, to just disarm the rulers and the powers of this world. So here with this sudden confrontation, the Lord Jesus makes himself known as well. He shows himself to display his own purposes to come and destroy the works of the devil That's the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ He takes he takes such such afflictions and hardships and he comes he comes to put them to rest.

He comes to bring calmness to this man in the same way that he brought calm to the storm. He can bring calm to a body, calm to a storm, and calm to a demonized person. And so here we find Jesus, he's in a confrontation and combat mode against these powers and principalities that have so destroyed this man. We know that he's already told us, Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. He's given us that same power He said he said the worst that I do you'll you'll you'll you'll do even greater works And I believe that that's that's part of this one.

We are given the same kinds of powers. In Ephesians chapter 1, 21, we read that he is far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. And he comes with that power through the power that was demonstrated on the cross, where he disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public spectacle of them on the cross. And so we can all look back at the cross. It's so important that you understand the significance of the cross.

As we move toward our time of celebrating the Lord's table, we have to understand this is what has happened, that the powers have been disarmed. What a great, what a wonderful thing to celebrate the victory that Jesus Christ has accomplished for us. You know, with this sudden confrontation, we see Jesus Christ, we see such a beautiful vision of our Lord. In Luke 19 verse 10, we learn that the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost. In 1 Timothy 1, 15, we learned that Christ came into the world to save sinners.

And he came to give his life as a ransom for many. So with this, with the very suddenness of this confrontation, outcomes really the whole plan and personality of Jesus Christ for mankind, suffering under the bondage of darkness. Then let's look at this third thing that I'd like for us to camp on, his affection for death. Remember he was coming out of the tombs, that's what we read in verse 28. The devil loves death.

And so the devil loves all imagery of death. And so the devil is tormenting the unconverted by presenting this macabre life, by showing, by just giving them tastes of it, by showing them how dark and Disappointing it is he wants them to feed on he wants them to see it all the time That's why when you see people who are wearing we're wearing dark things imagery of death they're just drinking in that death The devil just wants them to drink it in and think in terms of macabre and filthy kinds of ways. He desires his servants to think that way. He wants them to understand that that's what they're drinking. And so he gives, the devil gives this man a life among the dead.

And he pursues, he pursues the dying to death, continuing to fill up the imagery of death. You know, it's obvious to see how much of the imagery of death is in our modern culture. When you see young people walking down the street with shirts on and attire that just tell the story of the imagery of death, you must know where that comes from. And we're being told here in this text where this comes from. And this is exactly why this demonized man was living among the tombs.

And then his ferocity in verse 8. Our text here in Matthew says he was exceedingly fierce that no one could pass by. So he was very, very fierce. If you read Mark chapter 5, you learn that nobody could bind him, no one. He was completely uncontrollable.

And Mark also uses the term, no one could tame him. Mark uses very, very tender hearted, heartbreaking language to explain the state of this man and what has happened to him. You see such an amazing picture of bondage, of how destructive the devil is, how harsh he is on his servants, how he hates them. And here, no one can even tame him. Mark says he's crying out, he's cutting himself with stones.

Luke says he has no clothes on. So this is a person who is just, he is ferocious in every possible way that you can imagine. From his clothing, from his strength, everything about him is really all about anger and destruction. Those who are being destroyed are also destroying. And we see that here in his ferocity.

You know, when I was reading this, I was just so reminded of Deuteronomy chapter 28. I mean, here, the term that Luke uses, I mean, that Mark uses, that he's crying out, it's really a word of screaming, not crying out in any intelligible fashion. The word just actually means to just shriek, just an absolute visceral outpouring of anguish. That's what had gripped this man. The devil always gives you a reason to scream and have anguish.

If anyone needs any argument for personal holiness, this would be the argument. Because the devil is so destructive. You know, when we were reading in Deuteronomy, in Deuteronomy 28, 28, the Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart. And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in the darkness. You shall not prosper in your ways.

You will only be oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you." This is the ministry of the devil to give you anguish. Does anyone need any reasons to turn away from sin? Does anyone need any more reasons to turn away from the rebellion in your heart, from your running from Jesus Christ. This is such a powerful, powerful argument. He is gashing himself with stones.

He is mutilating himself. The devil is always about self-mutilation. Everything the devil wants to do in your life is to mutilate you. Everything. This is just a parable.

This is a parable of every work of the devil. This is not just about this extreme thing. This is the way it really is. This is what every ounce of rebellion actually does. You're mutilating.

You're being mutilated. You're being stripped naked. You're cutting yourself. You're killing yourself. This is what sin does.

Sin should terrify us. Those who want to play games with sin through their eyes or through their ears should understand the true nature of this world. And the devil is real. So we need to evaluate what is going on around us. When you are tempted, you need to understand that capitulating to that temptation means that the devil wants to expose you in every possible way.

To mutilate you, to humiliate you, to give you such anguish. It's described in one of the prophets as drinking down shards of glass. So we need to evaluate the world that is around us. Now, When people have this kind of behavior, we typically put them in a mental institution and give them medication. That's what we do in our society.

This is actually a mental hospital here in Raleigh that was just shut down recently. I believe it was started in the 1850s by a woman named Dorothea Dix, who had a revolutionary idea. She came to the North Carolina legislature and presented it and got money to get this hospital built. And it sort of, you know, it ruled the whole mental health world here in North Carolina up until just recently. Dorothea Dix formed a completely new pattern of looking at what we call the mentally ill.

And while she did identify cruelty and abuse in some of these institutions that were in operation, She really wanted to put the care of the mental EL into the hands of the state. But the fundamental principle of Dorothea Dixon's philosophy was that the Puritan view of mental disturbances was wrong. She created a whole new definition of disability that was rooted exclusively in natural causes, as opposed to supernatural causes. So they just rejected the historic view of insanity and demonic possession and cutting and nakedness and love for death and all the things that happen to people in the world. So we see his ferocity was properly diagnosed by the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then his worship in verse 29. And suddenly they cried out saying, what have we to do with you Jesus, son of God? So here, it's interesting how the demons are always speaking right doctrine. They're always right on in their theology. It's almost impossible to find a demon speaking anything that's not true about God.

And here's just another example of it. It's really remarkable. The demons make this confession. In Mark, it's reported that they say, the Holy One of God, Son of the Most High. And so, this man is now coming to Jesus, bowing down before him.

The term that's used in the other gospel is proskeneo, bow down. It's the word we use for worship. It's the word that is used for worship in the Bible. It means to kiss toward. It has to do with awe and respect.

So this man was actually worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, James says in chapter 2 verse 19 that the demons also believe and they shudder. So intellectual assent to who God is or who Jesus Christ is or you know what he did on the cross is meaningless Because even the devils believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God The Holy One of Israel the Savior of the world the one who will finally persecute the devil for all eternity, the one who came on the cross to die for sinners. The devil believes all those things. It doesn't matter at all if you believe that.

The only thing that really matters is that you repent of your sins and with all of your heart fall down before Him in worship, in true worship. And that your life changes. That you bring forth fruit in keeping with your repentance. That's what true salvation is. It's not being able to recite a creed or to declare a right theology.

There's a lot of right theology out there. And among those who have right theology, there's a lot of Lack of true relationship with Jesus Christ. So we find that same principle here. This man though, as he comes to Jesus, he is getting ready to see the prison doors open wide for him, by the power of Jesus Christ. But that hasn't happened yet.

In verse 29, he says, Have you come here to torment us before the time? So the demons know of final judgment. They know that every soul will appear before God at the end of the age. Luke says, have you come to throw us into the abyss? Matthew says, have you done it like Matthew before the time?

This is the place of every unconverted soul. And the demons know their end. They understand the rulership of God. You know, these demons are more doctrinally astute than many preachers today. You know, I've been in funerals just this year where the preachers, they obviously don't even know this.

They don't even understand this. Because everybody goes to heaven. But even the demons know more than most of the Southern Baptist preachers around here. It's just the truth. And then there's this negotiation of the demons in verses 30 and 31.

Now a good way off from them there was a herd of many swine feeding. So the demons begged him saying, if you cast us out, permit us to go away into the herd of swine. So now the demons are negotiating. They know that they're under divine control. They know that they can't do anything unless God allows them to do it.

They know they can't go anywhere. They know they want to inhabit a person, and they also want to be in a region, because they want to bring that region down. They want to destroy that person. They want to stay in the place where they're destroying that city. That's what these demons want to do.

They don't want to leave. They've been terrorizing these people for a long time, apparently, And they don't want to leave. They want to stay in that region and afflict the people in that region. So they're negotiating now. You know, it's so, I can't remember who said this at Bible study on Tuesday.

He said, these demons used to be in heavenly glory. And now they're just happy to inhabit pigs. It's the best they can get. And so they're trying to strike a deal in the same way the devil is trying to strike a deal to afflict Joe. They want to just delay their demise.

They know it's over, but they want to delay it. They still want to drink in the dark. They still want to wallow in the filth. And there are 2, 000 of these swine. Now we learned from the other Gospel writers that the man gives, actually not a name, it really misunderstands the text to say that you should have a demon name himself you know this name demons name was legion no he didn't give a name he gave a number and numbers there are probably about 6, 000 demons in this man that's what a legion was Can you imagine being overcome by 6, 000 demons?

Mary Magdalene had seven demons that Jesus cast out, but imagine, imagine the pressure and the forcefulness and the ugliness and the depression and the depravity of 6000 demons. This is a very extreme example. 6000 demons, 2000 swine. They're negotiating now. They want to go into the swine.

It's three demons per pig. That's what's going to happen. And they've negotiated this deal. And then God displaces mighty power. Verse 32.

And He said to them, Go. Go. That's it. Go. Now there are all kinds of, you know, Charismaniacs who are who have created all kinds of exorcist terminology that they might use to cast out a demon.

And so if you just use the right terms, you just use the right phrase, the demons will go. They have to believe you if you say it like this. That is totally false. The demons only go when Jesus makes them go. Jesus just says, go.

I just find that so fascinating that he uses one word. The demons are subject to Jesus Christ. And there's no situation in your father's world where there's an equal wrestling match. Jesus Christ is more powerful. That's one thing that your family needs to know.

While there are these powers and principalities that afflict individuals and cities and nations. While that's absolutely true, while this affliction can come out of your family life every single day, You need to understand that it's not an equal wrestling match. Because the demons can't do anything except under the permission of God. And Jesus Christ did come to destroy the works of the devil and disarm them. You know, though His craft and power are great, as Luther said in that song, they are limited.

I mean, this should be a comfort to us. Now, when you think about this matter of the magnitude of this demonization, and recognizing that there are 6, 000 demons in this man. Why is Jesus doing this? Why do we have this story for us? As a church, I just want us to really savor this principle here.

And that is this. I don't know how big your problems are in your personality. But here's a guy who has six thousand demons upon him. Now you compare that with your problem. Here Jesus Christ is presenting himself as the Holy Perfect Son of God.

He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He's the ruler of all sickness. He's the ruler of the waves and the winds of the sea. And He is the ruler of every single force of darkness. And if you had 6, 000 demons in you, it would be nothing to Him.

Nothing. I don't know how big you think your problems are, but they are nothing to Jesus Christ. Nothing. Do you feel overwhelmed? Do you think that Somehow you can never get out of this.

Have you thought, I can never change? Perish that thought. If you had 6, 000 demons upon you, Jesus Christ is your deliverer. And He's promised to sanctify you. He's promised to make good on all of his promises.

I just pray that nobody walks out of here being so overwhelmed by their problems. Please do not do that. Because you do not have an overwhelming problem not for Jesus Christ now if you keep trying to fix your problems your own way Then you got problems. They will be overwhelming to you If you keep trying to fix your problems by by not putting on the full armor of God, but by doing other stuff, then you're going to keep having problems. But surely, surely, if a man can have 6, 000 demons and be instantaneously delivered by Jesus Christ.

Why do you think that your problems are too big for God? They're not. You know, Luther called the devil God's devil because God owns him. Demons don't come out because of formulas, but because of God's power. Number nine, the demons enter into the swine.

Let's consider this. So when they had come out, they went into the herd of swine and suddenly the whole herd of swine ran violently down the steep place into the sea and perished in the water. The devil makes for impulsive destruction. He hurries people to their demise without restraint, without any government. He just runs them into the most dangerous things and destroys them.

What happens to these pigs is what happens to people who allow a door to open up. And these animals are demonized. It means that animals can be demonized. It doesn't seem to happen very often. I've known some cats I thought were demonized, but I'm not sure.

And then the whole city came out and they begged him to depart. What you see here with this city and the keepers of the herd are a number of things. One thing, you see the worldliness that had gripped this city. You see that they become a heartless people, and they didn't even bring their sick to be healed. Instead, instead of bringing their sick, they wanted him to depart.

We have just seen that wherever Jesus goes, He's healing everyone. Can you imagine turning this away from your city? Can you imagine being a city father and not wanting Jesus in your town? You don't want Him to come and heal every person there, even the undeserving. You don't want him to come and raise the dead and heal the sick.

You don't want him to take that paralyzed friend or that person with the fever. You don't want that. No. No, they don't. They don't want that.

Isn't that astonishing? Do you think that they hadn't heard the news? They'd heard the news of what Jesus was doing. But imagine, Imagine the heartlessness of the city fathers and the people and these herdsmen that would not want Jesus to just come among them and heal them and lay his hand upon their brow and bless them. What a tragic thing.

They hated authority. They would rather have the demon eyes with them than the authority of Jesus. The people had just gotten comfortable with demon possession. They would rather have that kind of imagery. They'd rather have the dark imagery than the light.

They just had grown used to it and that's what they liked, that's what they were used to, that's what they wanted. And they wanted Jesus out of there. They were just uncomfortable with holiness. They were holiness intolerant. That's what they were.

And so they wanted him to leave. They were terrified at the presence of God. They were terrified at the presence of a holy man. And so he was being excommunicated from the town. They were a covetous people.

They were more concerned about their herd than about heaven. You know, the Gospel always has an effect on your pocketbook. And here the Lord Jesus, you know, puts His finger on their most precious piece of anatomy, and that's their pocketbook. They were more alarmed about their loss of these pigs than about their salvation. It's just amazing.

So, you know, Mark tells us more about what happened at this point in the story. Luke says that he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. The man wanted to be with Jesus And Jesus wouldn't let him stay with them. They got back in the boat and left, and that man stayed on that beach. And this man has been turned into a servant of Jesus Christ.

He loves, he wants to be with Jesus. But while these towns people wanted their pigs back, Jesus gave them a missionary who would go among them. Can you see any parallels here with us as a church? Jesus has advanced into His heavenly glory. He's sitting at his father's right hand, and he's praying for us continually as a faithful and merciful high priest, and he has sent us out into our Gadara, so that we would go and do the same thing as He was doing.

So Christ did not go into the city, but His news went into the city. And that's why I wanted us to ponder this whole matter of this last tenth point, the whole city begging him to depart. And while they sort of got what they wanted, they didn't exactly get what Jesus wanted. What a blessing that was to that town. Okay, application.

Application number one. I just want to go back to this whole matter of how do you resist and keep yourself from vulnerability. And taking us back to Ephesians chapter 6 where the apostle Paul is instructing the church there in family life and then he says, you know, put on the whole armor of God. We don't wrestle against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities. There are demonic spirits near us.

They intend us to injure us and give us anguish and self-destruction and lying and immorality. And this tempter is a real person. This real person occupies real places. Don't be foolish to think that this is just a naturalistic world of naturalistic forces. You know, we've seen, we've seen so much already how Jesus is attacking the whole naturalistic understanding of sickness.

And so many of us have been polluted. Our whole minds have been defiled by thinking that our sicknesses are all going to be covered by eating the right food and getting the right medicine. That's wrong. We've been so misled by this naturalistic world. We even think that when the weather gets bad, we can control the weather.

And there are people who are trying to do that. And then you have people like Dorothea Dix who think that you can control every human malady by giving a drug. And so we've been so misled about it, even it comes right down to our own homes, where we think that our homes are just these natural places, we're natural forces at work. That's not true. That's not your father's world.

Understand that there are spiritual powers of darkness that desire to subdue you. It might be you as a father, it might be you as a wife, it might be you as a child, but the devil is seeking to those whom he may devour. And he wants your children, and he wants your wife, and he wants you. We just have to understand that's the world we live in. We should be in readiness, we should be aware of the schemes of the devil.

Let's don't be foolish about that and put on the full armor of God. That's what we should do. Put on the full armor of God. Number two, when we see things like what the Gadarene demoniac was engaged in, we should conclude that this is the work of the devil. Now, when you live in a culture that's obsessed with nakedness and death, where people are cutting themselves, where violence is exalted, think of the violence that's exalted among the films of our day.

Think of the nakedness. Think of the self-destructed things that you see. People just think they're normal. They go to a rock and roll concert and they see Mick Jagger or they see Lady Gaga. You have to realize this is a work of darkness.

These people are demonized. You're watching someone who is demonized. Is it appropriate for you to do that? Do you want to learn from the demonized? We just have to realize that when we see these things going on in our culture, you have to know where they come from.

They come from the devil himself. This gathering demoniac is given to you as a gift so that you will understand your own culture. And when you see these things happening, you understand their source and you flee to Christ and you reject them. You expose them for what they really are. That's what Paul said.

You'll partake in them, expose them. And that's what Jesus is doing here. You know, these rock and roll personalities, these violent films are so socially acceptable, but they are from the pit of the devil. That's where they're from. You like them?

If you have them, you should throw them away. You should get them out of your life, completely out of your life. Things that exalt these things are from the devil. Number three. Think about yourself and your problems and the problems of others.

Because this passage does, it does so declare the authority of God over the most pernicious and impossible problems. And here's what we learn here. God can heal a man. God can deliver a man from his anguish. God can give a man such a heart that he doesn't cut himself anymore.

That he stops terrorizing, that he stops raving, he stops his madness. And God can clothe him. The whole power of the Gospel is displayed here. That Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and then to sanctify them. So, you know, who are we in the story?

As we've said many times, whenever you read a passage of Scripture, you have to ask who you are in the story. And I just want us to place ourselves in the story as this demoniac. It's appropriate that we do that. It's appropriate that we say, I am the demoniac. It's appropriate that we say, I am the Pharisee.

It's appropriate that we say, I am the demoniac. It's appropriate that we say, I am the Pharisee. It's appropriate that we say, I am this publican. I am this sick person. I am this person, and Jesus Christ is in front of me.

Now, this is how we should see the demoniac personally. We should see ourselves with these same categorical maladies. And He is the one. We are the broken ones. We are the anguished.

We are the cutters. We are the haters. We are the insane. We are the naked. That's who we are.

And Jesus Christ has come and He has saved us with such a mighty salvation. And He has promised to deliver you. And we should just soak in that this morning. You know, back when we were talking about, it's one thing to have authority, but What kind of authority is it? It's authority with love.

And that's what Jesus Christ has for us. And I just want us to consider our own problems. You might want to consider the problem of your spouse, right? Maybe you think your spouse has way bigger problems than you do. If you do, you might be in need of some other instruction.

But if you think your spouse has bigger problems than you, like enormous problems, like you think these are impossible, you're just thinking wrong. Your husband's problems are not too big. If Jesus Christ can take a man with 6, 000 demons, Certainly, he can deal with your husband. So would you let would you let your mind be so filled with the knowledge of Almighty God and His exclusive sovereignty over all things, that He rules the sicknesses and the waves of the sea and even the demonic powers? Would you this morning somehow let your fears be seen in that light and confess that God is good?

Can you agree with Him? Can you throw your whole life on the deck of His ship where Christ is the tiller? Can you cast all of your cares upon Him because of His great and mighty sovereignty? Would you regard everything that's happening in your body as something to tell you something about your repentance and what you need to do. Your great need of Him.

Would you let this be a big floodlight on your sins and the ways that you participated in the works of darkness, but you must continue to renounce them. Matthew's focus is Jesus' authority to cast out devils. And he's proclaiming himself to be the promised Messiah. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, that those who would repent and believe in Him, because He came that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly. And that those who lived in anguish and degradation and self-destruction and who lived in the pigs could have life.

So this is such a wonderful passage of Scripture to lift us out of our sorrows and our anguish and help us to really see who God is. He is the ruler of everything and I hope you understand that today. Let's pray. Lord, Lord, you are so wonderful. Thank you for showing us your power over a man with 6, 000 demons.

Oh we thank you that you are such a mighty savior. Amen.