Jesus On Speed Dial.

At the beginning of Sunday's sermon, Pastor Andy shared the title: Promoting Freedom Through the Power of Jesus. He then added, "I didn't say 'promoting freedom through the pastoral team'."

Is it human nature to seek out the pastoral team before doing anything else? I ask this because I know my own knee-jerk reaction to crisis. If I am very ill, or if I think I need advice, or if a deadline is approaching and I am getting nervous about what may or may not happen, or if anything happens that even remotely resembles spiritual bondage, my first instinct is to pick up my phone and call a pastor or two. Why? Because it's much easier for me to call a pastor first than it is for me to pray first, fast first, or wait first.

I'm not alone in this boat, and I say that based on academic research and practical experiences with pastors from several churches (in addition to reflecting on my own sad track record). We congregants give great lip service to the love and power and presence of Christ Jesus in the life of the believer, but when the rubber hits the road we're not so inclined to call on Jesus. Instead, we call Pastor-so-and-so. And, because part of their role is to serve the community of faith, our ministers will typically do whatever they can to assist. That's great, and that is even appropriate, but I wonder if we are grossly short-changing ourselves by mediating our entire Christian journey through ministers instead of experiencing direct, dynamic encounters with the very Lord we claim to have given our lives to.

There is only one way to set captives free and resolve seemingly impossible situations. That way, that power, is found in the presence of Jesus. The Christian prescription has not changed: it is all about Jesus, our Lord. Worship the Lord. Pray to the Lord. Read and meditate on the word of the Lord. Give liberally to the work of the Lord. Obey the counsel and promptings of the Lord. It is this practice of complete, intimate communion with the Lord Jesus that increases our faith, trust, and patience... and it is the Lord Jesus who positions us to experience real, lasting freedom from demonic influences, oppression, and possession. That was the story of the man in Mark 5:1-20. That can be our story as well.

...Where Devils Fear To Tread.

You also know that the angels who did not keep within their proper domain but abandoned their own place of residence, He has kept in eternal chains in utter darkness, locked up for the judgement of the great Day. (Jude verse 6, NET Bible)


In this past Sunday's sermon, Pastor Andy noted that the demons mentioned in Mark 5 had an orthodox theology. What did they know that we should also know?

Hierarchy. They understood the positions and roles of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. As soon as they saw Jesus in human form, they addressed Him according to His heavenly rank: "Jesus, Son of the Most High God" (Mark 5:7).

Worship. They understood that the only appropriate posture to take in the presence of Jesus was to bow before Him (Mark 5:6).

Eschatology. The demons were aware that a day would come when they would be judged (Mark 5:7; Jude verse 6).

When Jesus came on the scene, the actions of the demonic spirits shifted into alignment with Divine order and protocol. How does the presence of the Lord inform your actions?

The Next Boat Leaves At...

When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had once been full of demons. He was sitting there with his clothes on and in his right mind, and they were terrified. Everyone who had seen what had happened told about the man and the pigs. Then the people started begging Jesus to leave their part of the country. (Mark 5:15-17, CEV)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Andy made an important observation concerning the above passage: No one rejoiced that the man had been set free from demonic bondage.

It’s a hard pill to swallow, but it is true: there are communities and groups that seem not to mind if a person remains bound and entangled in demonic systems. And, they get nervous when God steps in and does what they thought would never be accomplished.

The residents of the Gadarene region had their reasons for being terrified instead of praising God for the astounding act of deliverance they had witnessed. Interestingly, though, the Bible does not specify why they asked Jesus to leave. We can speculate on whether there were economic, psychosocial, or other reasons... but after all our speculation, we are left with the same conclusion: the community didn’t want Jesus in their region.

As for me, I love to see the Spirit of Jesus doing amazing things in the community where I live. And I am begging Him to stay.

How about you?

Deathtrap, Remixed.

When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer. Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord and because of these detestable things the Lord your God is about to drive them out from before you. You must be blameless before the Lord your God. Those nations that you are about to dispossess listen to omen readers and diviners, but the Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things. (Deuteronomy 18:9-14, NET Bible)

Thirty-five years ago, a play titled “Deathtrap” debuted on Broadway and ran for four years. The play highlighted the fact that engagement in abhorrent practices leads to a cycle of deception and death. A key character in the storyline is a psychic, who by the end of the play became entangled in the same deathtrap she had revealed through divination.

In this past Sunday’s sermon Pastor Andy spoke on Mark chapter 5, which contains the narrative of the demon-possessed man who lived in the tombs of the Gadarene region. Our pastor also took a few minutes to reflect on Deuteronomy 18:9-14. He reminded us that God’s desire for His people is that they never engage in any form of abhorrent practice. Our pastor noted that engagement in activities such as magic or the occult is never a one-time occurrence: such engagement plants the participant into a demonic system in which the participant becomes trapped, and from which she or he might never escape.

Deuteronomy18:12 indicates that engagement in abhorrent practices opens the door to one’s dispossession (being "driven out"): a loss of one's lands and habitations. This is what happened to the demon-possessed man in Mark chapter 5: a loss of property internally and externally. 

Internally, his body (which God had designed and tailor-made as a habitation for his soul) was no longer his own. It had been inhabited by demons—a group of demons so large that they identified themselves as “Legion”, a term used to describe a band of Roman soldiers numbering between one and six thousand. 

Externally, the man was no longer able to reside in his hometown. He was driven by the demons away from his household, out of his hometown, and into the demons' preferred home: a graveyard. 

It is no surprise, then, that the demon-possessed man was out of control—so much so that, as our pastor noted, the man could not even say his own name when Jesus asked him to identify himself: instead, the demonic community in the man responded.

And in light of this, it makes it all the more curious that persons who claim to be Christian would engage in practices that will result in their souls being accessed by demonic spirits, their voices being subsumed by the voices of darkness, and their covenant blessings cancelled.

What has God said? “The Lord your God has not given you permission to do such things.”

May we never be found standing in opposition to God’s directives. Never.