Participants:
Series Code: THI
Program Code: THI000047S
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00:22 Welcome to
00:23 Timeless Healing Insights. 00:24 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:26 We're continuing 00:27 today our journey 00:28 through the Gospel of Mark. 00:30 We're especially 00:30 looking at healing insights, 00:33 things 00:33 that can make a difference 00:34 as far as your personal health. 00:36 Physically, mentally, 00:37 emotionally and spiritually. 00:39 We're going 00:40 to turn our attention right now 00:41 to the subject of hope. 00:43 Hope for the hopeless 00:45 as it comes to us 00:46 from the pages 00:47 of the Gospel of Mark. 00:48 May God bless you 00:49 as we study together. 00:52 Father in heaven. 00:53 We thank You 00:53 that You have 00:54 given us Your Word 00:55 and that You speak through it. 00:57 We look forward to You 00:58 doing that again 01:00 for us today 01:01 as we open the pages 01:03 of the Gospel of Mark. 01:05 We thank You. 01:05 In Jesus name, Amen. 01:10 Well, it seems like 01:11 we're surrounded by language 01:13 about epidemics and pandemics. 01:17 But one of the epidemics 01:18 that we often don't 01:19 speak about is one 01:20 that is also ravaging 01:22 the world. 01:23 It is an 01:24 epidemic of hopelessness. 01:27 That's right. 01:28 An epidemic of hopelessness. 01:30 There are many places 01:31 in the world 01:32 where hopelessness 01:33 is pervasive, 01:35 even in places 01:36 where you might think people 01:37 are extremely blessed. 01:39 Many people struggle 01:40 with hopelessness. 01:42 It's not just a 01:43 mental construct. 01:44 It's not just something 01:45 that we say, Oh, well, it's 01:47 an interesting topic 01:48 to discuss, 01:49 but hopelessness 01:50 has very real consequences. 01:52 If you look at the 01:53 medical literature 01:54 as it relates to suicide, 01:56 hopelessness is closely tied 01:59 to suicides 02:01 and to suicide attempts 02:02 in some of the data. 02:03 In the range of 90 02:05 to 94% of suicides 02:09 convincingly linked 02:11 to hopelessness. 02:13 And so the message is simple. 02:15 If we can address hopelessness, 02:17 we can address 02:18 one of the leading causes 02:21 of one of the leading causes 02:22 of death, which is suicide. 02:25 So hopelessness is something 02:26 that grabs people's attention 02:28 in the public health arena. 02:30 And it should grab 02:31 our attention 02:33 as individuals who 02:34 Jesus has placed here 02:36 on planet Earth 02:37 to make a difference. 02:39 Now, 02:39 when we speak 02:40 about hopelessness, 02:41 most people say, well, 02:41 I understand hopelessness. 02:43 It's the opposite of hope. 02:44 And you could 02:45 define it that way. 02:46 But when research scientists 02:48 look at this topic, 02:49 they say, 02:50 Oh, it's more than 02:50 just either or. 02:52 You're not just either 02:53 hopeful or hopeless. 02:55 There's a lot more 02:56 that goes into the equation 02:57 because you can be 02:59 hopeless 03:00 in a certain domain 03:01 of your life, 03:02 but you can still 03:03 have overall hope 03:04 or you can have 03:05 hope in other areas. 03:05 Let me give you an example. 03:07 Let's say 03:08 that in our midst today, 03:10 is an aspiring athlete, okay? 03:12 A professional athlete. 03:13 And some of you are smiling 03:15 because you think I must be 03:16 speaking about you. 03:17 Anyway, 03:18 if something were to happen 03:20 to you, 03:20 a catastrophic accident, 03:23 maybe a spinal cord injury, 03:27 you may never be able to play 03:28 that sport 03:29 of your choosing again, 03:30 at least not in the way 03:31 you envisioned it, right? 03:32 Yeah, there is Paralympics 03:34 and other things like that. 03:36 So you may lose hope 03:38 as far as your career 03:39 dream to be a NBA 03:42 basketball player. Okay. 03:44 But that doesn't mean 03:46 you have to descend 03:47 into hopelessness 03:49 as it relates 03:50 to your entire life. 03:50 Are you seeing that? 03:51 Now often 03:52 these things go together. 03:53 If it's a large, 03:54 if it's an important 03:55 area in your life, 03:55 if you see 03:57 hopelessness 03:58 in a certain domain 03:58 that can carry over, 03:59 but they're not 04:00 necessarily equivalent. 04:02 So you can be struggling 04:04 with hopelessness 04:05 in a certain area, 04:06 but you can still be hope 04:08 filled 04:09 in other aspects of your life. 04:12 So you say, 04:12 what does all this have to do 04:14 with the Gospel of Mark? 04:16 The Gospel of Mark, 04:17 whether you realize it or not, 04:18 the last story 04:19 that we looked at together 04:21 at the end of Mark 4, 04:22 is the first 04:23 in a series of four stories 04:26 where Jesus brings 04:28 hope to the hopeless. 04:30 Four stories 04:31 where Jesus brings 04:32 hope to the hopeless. 04:33 Now, if some of you are saying, 04:34 Oh, well, 04:34 this doesn't 04:35 relate to me at all, 04:36 I have no problems with this 04:37 at all. 04:38 I'm always filled with hope. 04:38 Well, just just wait a minute. 04:40 Let me remind you 04:42 that it doesn't 04:43 have to take 04:43 a major catastrophe 04:46 to induce 04:47 feelings of 04:48 hopelessness or to be 04:51 causing a response in someone 04:53 of being hopeless. 04:54 Story, some years ago, 04:55 I was lecturing 04:56 to a group of health 04:57 professionals in the southwest. 04:59 They were especially working 05:00 with a Native 05:01 American population. 05:02 And one of them shared a story 05:04 of how 05:05 they were working 05:05 with a young man 05:06 who was struggling 05:07 with hopelessness. 05:09 The reason for hopelessness, 05:11 he had been diagnosed 05:13 with diabetes. 05:15 Now, some of you say, Well, 05:16 I have diabetes, 05:17 I'm not hopeless. 05:19 That's a good thing. 05:20 I mean, most people 05:21 who have that diagnosis aren't. 05:23 But why was he struggling 05:24 with hopelessness? 05:26 As his story 05:27 played out, he saw in his mind 05:31 diabetes was associated 05:33 with two things. 05:34 He saw it 05:35 pervasively in his family. 05:37 It was associated with 05:40 dialysis and amputation. 05:44 So his mindset 05:45 as a young man in his teens, 05:47 he hears diabetes 05:49 and it doesn't matter. 05:50 His blood sugars are fine. 05:51 They're under control 05:52 with maybe one pill. 05:53 It didn't matter. 05:54 He hears diabetes, 05:56 and what is he thinking? 05:57 I'm getting ready 05:58 to go on dialysis 06:00 and to have my limbs cut off. 06:02 How would you feel 15, 06:04 16 years old, 06:05 if that's what you heard 06:07 when the doctor said 06:08 you have diabetes? 06:12 Now, 06:13 there's other diagnoses that 06:16 you might be 06:17 dealing with yourself 06:18 and you're going along 06:20 fine in life. 06:21 God's blessing, you. 06:24 There's there's one diagnosis 06:26 I really don't like. 06:26 When I, when I tell patients 06:28 they have this, I . . . 06:30 if I'm mindful, 06:31 I try to explain it to him. 06:32 It's it's 06:32 a terrible name, heart failure. 06:36 I mean, if you're a layperson, 06:37 you hear heart failure. 06:40 How about 06:40 if you go to the mechanic 06:42 and you said you've got 06:42 engine failure, 06:43 what are you thinking? 06:44 You're thinking, 06:45 oh, no big deal. 06:46 What oil do I need to change? 06:47 I need different oil. 06:48 No, what are you thinking 06:49 when you hear the word failure? 06:51 It's like over, right? 06:54 So heart failure, 06:55 though, you can 06:56 you know, 06:56 there are reversible 06:57 causes of heart failure. 07:00 If your heart is beating real 07:01 fast for some reason, 07:02 maybe you've got a heart 07:03 rhythm problem. 07:04 You can go into what 07:05 we call high output failure. 07:07 Your heart is not able to 07:09 pump enough volume out. 07:11 Heart failure 07:11 simply means there is 07:14 more work to do than your heart 07:16 is keeping up with, 07:17 and it can be 07:18 totally reversible. 07:20 But some people, 07:21 when they hear that diagnosis 07:22 or that a parent 07:23 who is diagnosed 07:23 with heart failure 07:24 and six months later 07:25 they were dead. 07:26 They hear heart failure 07:27 and what happens? 07:29 Hopelessness is what 07:30 they're struggling with. 07:32 So the reason 07:32 I mention that to you is 07:33 it doesn't matter what 07:35 the situation is, 07:36 whether it's financial, 07:37 whether it's career related, 07:39 whether it's 07:40 relational, 07:41 whether it's physical. 07:43 There are things that happen 07:44 that for some people, 07:46 when that happens to them, 07:48 they start struggling 07:48 with hopelessness, 07:49 where the other people 07:50 say no big deal. 07:53 So with that background, we 07:54 want to look at four situations 07:56 that are hard to argue 07:57 with anyone 07:58 not thinking that things 08:00 look hopeless. 08:01 So Jesus doesn't 08:02 give us any gray areas 08:03 as He lives out His life 08:05 and as Mark records it 08:07 in the fourth 08:07 and fifth 08:08 chapter of his gospel. 08:09 So just to remind you, 08:11 as Mark 4 closed, 08:13 we had this picture 08:14 of a violent, 08:15 despair inducing storm. 08:17 We might say a hopelessness 08:19 promoting storm. 08:20 And the reason we can say that 08:22 without equivocation 08:23 is these 08:24 are the very words 08:25 of Jesus냥sciples. 08:27 And I want to remind you 08:28 that we don't know a lot 08:30 about the careers 08:31 of many of the disciples 08:32 before they followed Jesus. 08:34 But we know 08:35 enough about a number of them 08:38 that we can say 08:39 there were plenty of disciples, 08:40 at least four of them, 08:42 who spent their lives 08:43 on the Sea of Galilee. Right? 08:45 James, John, Peter, Andrew. 08:47 They were all 08:48 fishermen, well, 08:50 well acquainted with that sea. 08:52 And we saw in Mark 4:38 08:54 that as one voice, 08:57 those 12 disciples 08:58 come to Jesus saying, Teacher, 09:01 don't You care that 09:02 we are perishing? 09:04 Was this a bad storm? 09:06 I mean, this is, this was 09:07 cataclysmic, okay? 09:08 They're going down. It's over. 09:11 These guys, 09:12 some of them all 09:13 their lives at sea. 09:14 It is over. 09:15 Jesus, don't 09:16 You care that this is the end? 09:18 They're saying 09:18 this situation is what? 09:19 Hopeless, humanly 09:22 speaking, it's hopeless. 09:24 And you know what happened? 09:26 Jesus gets up 09:28 and He simply says, Peace 09:30 be still! 09:31 The wind ceases 09:33 and there's a great calm. 09:36 They come to Jesus. 09:38 Jesus acts, 09:39 and it goes from hopelessness 09:44 to a future of hope. 09:47 Mark 5, 09:48 the second in these 09:49 four stories, begins this way. 09:52 Then they came 09:53 to the other side of the sea. 09:54 Jesus and His disciples 09:55 had been on the eastern shore 09:57 of the Sea of Galilee, 09:58 largely a Gentile, excuse me, 10:00 they'd been on 10:01 the western side, 10:02 largely 10:03 a Jewish side of the lake, 10:04 and now they've gone 10:06 to the eastern side. 10:07 I've got to be careful 10:07 with my gestures 10:08 because, of course 10:09 you're seeing things 10:09 at the opposite direction. 10:11 But they are traveling 10:12 from a 10:14 side where there is Capernaum 10:16 northwestern shore 10:17 of the Sea of Galilee, 10:18 traveling over to the east 10:20 where it's largely 10:21 a Gentile region. 10:22 And they come to this country 10:23 of the Gadarenes. 10:25 It says, 10:25 when He came out of 10:26 the boat, immediately 10:28 there met Him out of the tombs, 10:30 a man with an unclean spirit 10:33 who had his dwelling 10:34 among the tombs. 10:37 No one could bind him, 10:39 not even with chains, 10:40 because he had often been bound 10:41 with shackles and chains. 10:43 And the chains 10:43 had been pulled apart by him, 10:46 and the shackles 10:47 broken in pieces; 10:48 neither could anyone tame him. 10:51 As far as this man's future, 10:54 what kind of picture 10:55 are you getting? 10:56 Well, the Gentiles in general, 10:59 Paul even said, 11:00 they were without hope 11:01 and without God. 11:02 They didn't, 11:03 they didn't know 11:04 about Bible truth. 11:05 But it's worse for this guy. 11:08 I mean, he is, 11:09 he is ritually unclean. 11:11 You couldn't be in contact 11:12 with death, living in tombs, 11:15 and not be rendered unclean. 11:16 So he's spiritually unclean. 11:18 He's racially unclean. 11:21 He's not from 11:22 the people of God. 11:23 But what else? 11:24 His situation is so hopeless. 11:26 No one can bind him. 11:28 No one can even control him. 11:29 He can't control himself. 11:30 No one can control him. 11:32 This is a picture, 11:33 humanly speaking, 11:35 of hopelessness. 11:38 Now, if you'd 11:39 never heard this story before, 11:41 just what we've read in those 11:42 few verses, you would say 11:43 this is not an 11:45 ordinary individual. 11:46 We are dealing with someone 11:48 who has supernatural power. 11:49 You've already got the clue 11:51 that this man 11:52 is demon possessed. 11:53 And we soon find out 11:55 just how cruel Satan's rule is, 11:58 because Mark 12:00 continues in verse 5, 12:02 And always, night and day, 12:05 he was in the mountains 12:06 and in the tombs, 12:08 crying out 12:09 and cutting himself 12:10 with stones. 12:12 I mean, 12:12 what kind of a life is this? 12:13 I mean, 12:14 he just kind of picture 12:15 that for a minute. 12:16 What would it be 12:17 like to be living 12:18 in those circumstances? 12:21 Terrible. 12:23 Now, what's 12:24 so amazing about the story 12:26 is a lot of people, 12:27 as they read the story today, 12:28 they say, 12:28 oh, well, 12:29 that guy just had, 12:30 you know, mental illness 12:32 and they didn't know 12:33 what mental illness 12:34 was back then. So 12:36 they'd call it 12:37 demon possession. 12:38 There is no way you can read 12:40 Mark 5 and say 12:41 this man 12:42 was merely mentally ill. 12:46 How many times? 12:47 Well, 12:47 let me just put it this way. 12:48 I'll tell you 12:49 my own experience. 12:49 I've dealt with many people 12:51 who have mental illness. 12:52 I've never seen 12:53 a mental illness 12:54 go from one person 12:55 into one or more animals 12:57 and cause them to do something. 13:00 Now, you could say, well, you 13:01 know, animals can get 13:02 like their owners, 13:03 but no, we're talking 13:03 2,000 animals here. 13:05 As this story plays out, right? 13:07 Well, we'll 13:07 get there in a minute. 13:08 So this man is 13:09 what the Bible says, 13:09 demon possessed. 13:11 And the question becomes, 13:13 for a lot of thinking people, 13:14 they say, well, 13:16 how did he get demon possessed? 13:17 I mean, could 13:18 that happen to me? 13:19 And the question I 13:20 would ask you is, how did Satan 13:24 gain control 13:24 in the Garden of Eden? 13:27 Wasn't it 13:27 Adam and Evehoice? 13:29 And I would suggest to you 13:30 that's the essence 13:31 of demon possession. 13:32 It begins 13:33 when people give 13:34 Satan a place in their lives. 13:37 And speaking about Mark 1, 13:39 the demoniac 13:40 in Capernaum 13:41 that we studied earlier, 13:42 the book Desire of Ages 13:44 provides a scenario of demon 13:46 possession. 13:47 Let's walk through it 13:48 and see what you think. 13:49 The secret cause 13:51 of the affliction 13:51 that had made this man, 13:52 this demon possessed man, 13:54 a fearful spectacle 13:55 to his friends 13:56 and a burden to himself 13:57 was in his own life. 13:59 He had been fascinated 14:00 by the pleasures of sin, 14:02 and had thought to make life 14:03 a grand carnival. 14:05 He didn't dream 14:06 of becoming a terror 14:07 to the world 14:08 and the reproach of his family. 14:10 He thought his time 14:11 could be spent 14:12 in innocent folly. 14:14 But once in the downward path, 14:16 his feet rapidly descended. 14:18 Intemperance and frivolity 14:20 perverted the noble attributes 14:22 of his nature, 14:23 and Satan 14:24 took absolute control of him. 14:27 So did it start 14:28 innocently enough? 14:30 I mean, just 14:31 following his own decisions, 14:32 making his own decisions. 14:34 I'm not going to have anyone 14:34 tell me what to do. 14:35 Even if that person's God, 14:37 I'm going to have my fun 14:38 and he ends up 14:40 in the control of Satan. 14:42 Remorse came too late. 14:44 When he would have sacrificed 14:46 wealth and pleasure 14:48 to regain his lost manhood, 14:50 he had become helpless 14:51 in the grasp of the evil one. 14:53 He had placed himself 14:55 on the enemy's ground, 14:56 and Satan had taken possession 14:58 of all his faculties. 14:59 The tempter had allured him, 15:01 reeled him 15:02 in, with many 15:03 charming presentations; 15:05 but when once the wretched 15:07 man was in his power, 15:08 the fiend became 15:09 relentless in his cruelty, 15:12 and terrible 15:12 in his angry visitations. 15:14 So it will be 15:15 with all who yield to evil; 15:17 the fascinating pleasure 15:18 of their early career 15:19 ends in the darkness of despair 15:22 or the madness 15:24 of a ruined soul. 15:26 They say, Well, 15:26 but that didn't happen 15:28 in my life before Christ. 15:29 One of you might be saying 15:31 I didn't end up in 15:32 despair, but maybe you did. 15:37 You say, But 15:38 I've been around 15:39 a lot of people, 15:40 some of them obviously 15:41 not following Jesus, 15:42 and I've never seen anyone 15:43 acting like this 15:44 demon possessed man. 15:47 That's a thing of the past, 15:48 right? 15:50 Does demon 15:51 possession occur today? 15:52 That's the question. 15:55 And if it occurs today, 15:57 why does it seem 15:58 to look so different 15:59 or does it look different? 16:01 Here's the perspective 16:03 I'd like to share with you. 16:05 What we're seeing 16:06 in this battle 16:07 between the demon possessed 16:08 man and Jesus is an example 16:11 of what we call 16:11 the great controversy. 16:13 It's Satan 16:14 and his minions 16:15 fighting against Christ 16:18 and those who are loyal to Him. 16:20 And Satan is trying 16:21 to entice us 16:23 to choose his leadership. 16:24 And you see what 16:25 plays out in this story, 16:26 as in others, 16:27 that sometimes it ends up 16:29 in this overt possession. 16:32 But how does Satan 16:33 especially work today? 16:35 How is he 16:36 especially getting people 16:37 to join his ranks? 16:40 I would suggest to you 16:41 that one of the most 16:41 powerful influences 16:43 in today's world, 16:44 especially in the 16:45 Western world, is atheism. 16:48 When people give up on God, 16:49 they often 16:50 declare themselves what? 16:52 I'm an atheist. 16:53 There is no God. 16:54 There is no, 16:55 there is no spiritual realm. 16:56 There are no devils, 16:58 there are no angels. 17:01 It's all just humanity. 17:03 Okay? 17:04 And we're here 17:05 and there's no God. 17:06 So think about this 17:07 for a minute. 17:08 If Satan is working with 17:09 special force in our culture 17:12 to induce people 17:12 to throw God out and say 17:14 there is no God, 17:15 how effective 17:16 would it be for Satan 17:18 if he's possessing someone 17:20 to have them act in a way 17:22 that shows 17:23 there is no question 17:25 that there are supernatural 17:26 forces at work? 17:27 Would this be in his interest? 17:28 It doesn't make sense 17:30 for him to act 17:30 that way, does it? 17:31 He seems like he's 17:32 smarter than that, 17:34 because if he started having 17:35 people going crazy, 17:36 you know, and 17:37 and your pets all running out 17:39 and all the Fort 17:40 Wayne pets, you know, 17:41 running into one of the rivers 17:42 here, we'd say, 17:43 I mean, this is something 17:44 spiritual, right, going on. 17:46 But no, 17:47 how does Satan work today? 17:49 Let me go back 17:50 to that description 17:51 of Desire of Ages 17:52 that goes back to a demoniac 17:53 we mentioned earlier. 17:56 The same evil spirit 17:58 that tempted Christ 17:59 in the wilderness, 18:00 and that possessed the maniac 18:02 or demoniac of Capernaum, 18:04 controlled 18:06 the unbelieving Jews. 18:09 But with them 18:11 he, Satan, 18:12 assumed an air of piety, 18:15 instead of being crazy, 18:16 foaming at the mouth, 18:17 rolling on the ground, 18:19 cutting themselves, 18:20 living in the tombs. 18:21 It was an air of what? 18:23 Of piety. 18:25 Holiness. 18:27 Seeking to deceive them 18:28 as to their motives 18:30 in rejecting the Saviour. 18:32 Their condition 18:33 was more hopeless 18:34 than that of the demoniac. 18:37 Why? 18:38 Because they felt 18:38 no need of Christ 18:40 and were therefore held fast 18:42 under the power of Satan. 18:44 So two classes 18:45 of demon possession, right? 18:48 One looks like this 18:50 crazy thing. 18:50 Mental illness. It's terrible. 18:52 And others, 18:53 just these respectable 18:55 looking people. 18:56 It's sobering, isn't 18:57 it, to think about. 18:59 Well, back to Mark 5. 19:00 Because 19:01 even though 19:02 this man is inhabited, 19:05 as the account says, well, 19:06 turn there to Mark 19:07 5, if you will. 19:08 I want you to realize that 19:09 this is not just 19:10 a simple, 19:11 ordinary demon possession, 19:14 but is 19:16 this man in Mark 5, 19:18 this demon possessed 19:19 man sees Jesus. 19:21 The account tells us 19:23 that his response 19:24 is that he 19:25 sees Jesus from far away 19:27 and he runs. 19:29 And he does what? 19:31 He worships Him. 19:33 He worships Him. 19:36 Now, I don't know 19:37 what translation you have. 19:38 Some of the modern translations 19:40 take out that word 19:42 worshiped Him. 19:43 But Greek scholars tell us 19:45 this is a very accurate way 19:47 of translating what happens. 19:49 It's the idea that he falls at 19:50 Jesus놿et, okay? 19:52 So he's 19:53 coming to worship Jesus, 19:55 but he's possessed by demons. 19:58 And the account says, 19:59 if you look there in chapter 5, 20:00 it is not just a single demon. 20:03 Do you see what it says there? 20:05 What is this man dealing with? 20:07 He is dealing with demons 20:10 that identify themselves 20:11 as legion, in verse 9, 20:14 for we are many. 20:17 And so when he falls 20:18 at Jesus놿et, 20:19 instead of being able 20:20 to say, Jesus, 20:21 Lord, help me, here's 20:22 his prayer. 20:23 Now, think about this, 20:24 those of you 20:26 that are tempted to judge 20:28 other people's prayers, 20:30 what would you do 20:31 if you heard someone 20:32 pray this prayer? 20:34 How likely do 20:34 you think God would be 20:36 to answer it? 20:37 What have I to do with You, 20:38 Jesus, 20:40 Son of the Most High God? 20:42 I implore You 20:43 by God 20:44 that You do not torment me. 20:47 What would you think? 20:48 Would you think 20:49 this is a prayer 20:50 that Jesus is going to answer? 20:53 The demons are saying, 20:54 leave me alone. What is? 20:55 Why did the man run to Jesus? 20:58 Presumably he wanted 20:59 Jesus to heal him. 21:01 He wants the demons out of him. 21:02 And the demons are saying 21:04 no, get out of me. 21:05 So here's the deal. 21:07 The words coming out 21:08 of his mouth 21:08 don't seem like faith 21:10 filled words, 21:11 but his actions demonstrate 21:13 his faith. 21:14 He runs to Jesus, 21:19 unspoken cry. 21:21 And what does He do? 21:22 He frees him 21:24 from the demons 21:25 that have plagued his life. 21:27 As you read through 21:28 the account, 21:29 you see this amazing story. 21:31 Verse 15, 21:33 it says that after 21:34 Jesus ministers to him, that 21:37 demon possessed man is sitting 21:41 and clothed in his right mind. 21:45 But we don't want 21:46 to miss something in the story 21:48 because part of the drama 21:50 here is 21:51 the demons 21:52 make a request of Jesus. 21:56 Okay. 21:57 Look at it there with me. 22:01 In Mark's version, 22:03 verse 10, it says, he begs 22:06 Him, the demons 22:07 speaking through the man, 22:08 begged Him earnestly 22:09 that He would not send them 22:11 out of the country. 22:12 If you compare it 22:14 with other gospel 22:15 accounts, Matthew and Luke, 22:19 you'll find something 22:20 very interesting. 22:22 Luke 8:31 it says, 22:24 the New International 22:25 Version translates 22:26 it quite literally. 22:28 They beg Jesus repeatedly 22:31 not to order them 22:32 to go into the abyss. 22:35 The abyss. 22:36 Now some people read this 22:37 and they say, Oh, well, 22:38 they there's a place 22:40 where the demons dwell. 22:42 They might call it hell 22:43 or something else. 22:44 And they say the demons didn't 22:45 want Jesus 22:46 to put them in this 22:47 place of hell 22:48 that exists right now. 22:49 That is actually not 22:50 what the Bible teaches. 22:52 The Bible teaches 22:53 something quite different. 22:54 It does teach about an abyss 22:57 or a bottomless pit. 22:58 Same word in the Greek. 23:00 Look at with me Revelation 20. 23:04 Revelation 20. 23:06 John is giving this picture. 23:07 So this is after 23:08 all, the plagues on the earth. 23:11 Sin and sinners 23:12 are no more on planet Earth. 23:14 Jesus has come back. 23:16 And now the earth is left 23:18 in a state of 23:21 abyss 23:23 without form and void, 23:24 like the original pre 23:26 creative states. 23:27 I'm using this term 23:29 analogously not literally. 23:32 And so the earth is 23:33 without form and void. 23:35 Satan 23:35 and his angels are on planet 23:37 earth 23:38 bound by chains 23:40 of circumstances. 23:41 Let's see how John 23:42 was shown it in Revelation. 23:44 Then I saw an angel coming down 23:46 from heaven, 23:47 having the key to the abyss, 23:49 translated 23:50 in the New King James 23:51 as the bottomless pit. 23:52 Same word 23:53 that is used by the demons 23:55 in Luke's account in Luke 8. 23:58 Key to the bottomless pit. 23:59 A great chain in his hand. 24:01 He laid hold of the dragon, 24:02 that serpent of old, 24:03 who is the Devil and Satan, 24:05 and bound him 24:06 for a thousand years. 24:08 The point of Revelation 20 is 24:09 there is no abyss right now. 24:11 There is no bottomless pit 24:13 right now. 24:13 That's something that is formed 24:17 when Jesus comes back 24:19 and it exists on this earth 24:21 for a thousand years, 24:22 while the living righteous 24:24 and those who died with faith 24:26 in Jesus are resurrected, 24:27 they're reigning with Christ 24:29 for a thousand years. 24:30 But this planet, 24:33 the chaos of this planet, 24:36 Satan and his angels bound here 24:39 by their circumstances. 24:41 Here's 24:41 the interesting thing 24:42 about this dialog. 24:44 Some people say, 24:45 Well, the demon said, 24:46 don't cast us into the abyss. 24:48 That means 24:48 there must be an abyss. 24:49 How many of you think 24:50 demons have got 24:51 everything figured out 24:51 100 percent? 24:54 Did the Jews in Jesus냝y 24:56 have confusion 24:56 about what Jesus 24:57 讣rst coming would usher in? 25:00 They did. 25:00 They thought it was going 25:01 to usher in, 25:01 you know, the Messianic 25:05 kingdom, right? 25:06 Physically, 25:07 Jesus was going to reign. 25:08 They equated prophecies 25:11 that would be 25:11 ultimately fulfilled 25:12 at the Second Coming 25:13 with what would happen 25:14 at the first. 25:15 I would suggest to you 25:16 one reading of what's going on 25:17 here is 25:17 the demons were confused, too. 25:19 They thought 25:20 during Jesus듌nistry, 25:21 He's going to constitute 25:23 this abyss. 25:24 It has not happened yet. 25:27 So having said 25:28 all this, 25:28 how does the story conclude? 25:31 Well, it 25:31 concludes with, 25:33 as you see it 25:33 there, with pigs 25:35 jumping into the steep 25:38 place in the sea. 25:39 That's verse 13. 25:40 The unclean spirits 25:42 go out, 25:42 they enter the swine, 25:43 the herd runs 25:44 violently down the steep 25:46 place into the sea, 25:47 and they drown in the sea. 25:49 Now, you might say, 25:50 no big deal. 25:51 Who cares about pigs? 25:54 We are going to dive into that 25:56 a little bit deeper. 25:57 But at this juncture, 25:58 I want you to notice something. 26:00 Two stories. 26:01 The first two 26:02 in this group of four 26:03 showing the same thing, 26:06 that Jesus has power 26:08 to help people 26:09 in the midst 26:09 of their hopelessness. 26:11 I don't know what 26:11 your situation is, 26:13 but I know Jesus 26:14 wants to minister hope to you. 26:16 When we come to Jesus. 26:18 Even if we can't pray the way 26:20 we think we should, 26:21 even if our situation 26:22 looks hopeless, 26:23 we cry out to Him, 26:25 He speaks peace 26:26 and healing to every one of us. 26:30 The Bible, 26:31 especially Mark's 26:32 gospel, is indeed full of hope 26:33 for the hopeless. 26:35 With that in mind, 26:36 let me pray for you. 26:37 Father in Heaven, 26:38 I want to thank You 26:39 for each one 26:40 who has joined us today. 26:42 Father, this world is 26:44 greatly in need of hope. 26:46 And I just pray 26:46 that these words 26:47 that we've studied 26:48 today would continue 26:50 to minister 26:51 hope to each one who's tuned in 26:53 and that they would 26:54 take that hope 26:54 and share it 26:55 with those around them 26:56 so that the world 26:57 would be blessed 26:59 even more greatly 27:00 by Your Word 27:02 as it is shared with power. 27:04 We ask it all in 27:05 Jesus name, Amen. 27:08 Not only is God's 27:09 Word powerful 27:11 and ministering hope, 27:12 but we want to let 27:12 you know that 27:13 we're here to try to minister 27:14 Hope in practical ways. 27:16 In addition 27:17 to those that come directly 27:18 out of the Word of God. 27:20 Feel free 27:20 to drop by our web site 27:21 at TimelessHealingInsights.org. 27:24 You'll find a whole host 27:26 of helpful 27:27 resources there, 27:28 including a handout 27:29 that covers today's program. 27:31 And while you're there, 27:32 don't hesitate to join with us. 27:34 Help us to bring this content, 27:36 help it to go 27:36 out on the airwaves. 27:38 We value your prayers 27:39 as well 27:40 as your financial support. 27:41 You can make your donations 27:43 at that very same 27:43 website, 27:46 TimelessHealingInsights.org. 27:48 And if you haven't 27:49 taken advantage 27:49 of our free health programing, 27:51 it's all there for you as well. 27:53 TimelessHealingInsights.org. 27:57 I'll see you there. |
Revised 2023-07-17