|
|
||||||||
 |
Jesus Is Lord Of All - August 13, 2006
JESUS IS LORD OF ALL MARK FIVE The gospel according to Mark gives us the message that Jesus is Lord over the demons, disease, and death. First His mastery over demons is shown in the account of the demoniac who said his name was Legion. LORD OVER DEMONS
The Lord and His disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee and a great storm threatened to sink the boat. Jesus, who was asleep in the hindermost part of the ship, arose and rebuked the wind and the sea and there was a great calm. When they came to land on the other side they ran into a storm of a different kind: a storm that was raging inside of a man possessed with a legion of demons. This man lived in the tombs, wore no clothes. He was fierce, and it seems a threat to the public. He was crying out at night in the mountains and all attempts to tame him failed. He would break chains and there was no way to bind him. He had super human strength he was Super Mugger. When Jesus asked him his name he said his name was Legion. Now the word; BESOUGHT is found four times regarding Legion. The first besought is when the demons besought that Jesus would not cast them into the abyss or bottomless pit. Mark says that Legion saw Jesus from afar off and the unclean spirit cried with a loud voice. Now listen to these demons as they hiss at the Lord, "Torment me not." Matthew adds the time element to this request. "Art Thou come to torment us before the time?" When Jesus shows up on the beach the demons thought that He is going to start their torment ahead of time. The devil believes in Hell. Many people say they don't believe in it. The Devil believes in hell and he knows it is just a question of time. Remember how the demons hissed out the truth of the matter when they said, “Torment me not, before the time.” Another message the demons hiss is in regards to their number. Jesus asked him, "What is thy name?" "He said Legion for we are many." There were many demons in this one man. This fact indicates how vast the number of evil spirits there are in the kingdom of Darkness. If the Devil could spare that many to torment one man, surely the forces of darkness are of an overwhelming number. The philosophy of the demons was the same as many we meet every day. They hissed, "What have we to do with thee?" They want nothing to do with Jesus Christ either here, or in eternity. They hate angels they hate the Church, they hate the Bible, they hate Jesus, and they hate the Christian. The second BESOUGHT was a request to the Lord if He was gong to cast them out they would rather go into the swine. Jesus gave them leave and no sooner did they enter into the hogs than all two thousand of them ran down a hill and drowned in the water. It is a morbid thought and I do not like to dwell on it but we can't help note that if the Devil ever gets control of your life he will rush you as fast as he can into the lake, the lake of fire. This demon filled man said that his name was legion for we are many. What kind of a life style does a person have whose life is 3 It is hard to understand these bleeding heart liberals. They want to kill babies yet they don't want to execute rapists and murderers. Many today like Legion are crying out. Just turn on the radio and television and listen to their unintelligible hissing as they bellow out the ballads of Beelzebub. They cut themselves with something worse than stones. They perforate their lungs by inhaling smoke. They destroy their livers by drinking poison. They fry their brains by shooting cocaine. Mankind controlled by the Devil of course lives like Legion among the tombs. It is impossible to drive around a city or countryside very long without seeing a cemetery. We always hear the hiss of the serpent in every funeral procession. When the towns people came out to investigate and they found the man sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind. In other words it is spiritual insanity to live life in this world without Christ. Think too, of the fact that he went around naked. No wonder he lived alone. Actually if the devil had his way we would all take our clothes off. The devil hisses: “It is all right because everybody else is doing it.” And now here is the third BESOUGHT. The town's people wanted Jesus to leave. The reason was Jesus is too expensive. I asked a farmer about the price of hogs. He said a good rule of thumb would be a hundred dollars for a pig just big enough to get to market. Now think of that. Two thousand hogs floating belly up in the water would be worth about two hundred thousand dollars if they only weighed a hundred pounds. That was quite a jolt in the local economy.
It was nice of Jesus to make this demoniac a good citizen, but the price was too high. Jesus we can't afford you; get out of here. The demons always hiss when money is mentioned regarding the ongoing of the Church. They besought Him to depart from their borders. Jesus never stays where He is not wanted. What a haunting statement: Depart from our borders. Jesus Himself will use the same words some day to many when He says, "Depart from Me ye cursed into the eternal fire."
The fourth BESOUGHT was when Legion besought Jesus that He might be with Him. The parting word of the Lord to the man He delivered from the demons was a commission: “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and had compassion on thee.” And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus done for him: and all men did marvel.
Two chapters later the Lord came back to Decapolis and this time they brought to Jesus a man who was deaf and had an impediment in his speech and they beseech Jesus to lay His hands on him. Jesus healed him and this time they did not say, “Depart from our borders;” they said: “He hath done all things well. He maketh even the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak.” Legion had done his job well when he told everyone what great things the Lord had done for him.
We Christians need to remember that Jesus has given us the commission to go and preach the gospel to every creature until the Lord returns.
On that great day when the voice of the Master is calling and the gates of the city unfold
And the saints of the ages are thronging into the city of gold. How my heart shall oe’r flow with rapture if some brother shall greet us and say, “You pointed my footsteps to heaven, you told me of Jesus the way.” Jesus was more powerful than all the demons that dominated him. He is Lord over Demons. Next we note that He is Lord over Disease. LORD OVER DISEASE
And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she heard of Jesus, she came in the press behind, and touched his garment, and straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up, and the Lord looked round about on her that had done this thing. The Lord looked on her with the looked of compassion.
Actually Jesus looked on many people. He looked up into heaven before He healed the deaf man when He returned to Decapolis when it was said He hath done all things well. That was a look that healed.
When Jesus made the prediction that He would be crucified, Peter took Him and rebuked Him saying, “Lord, this shall never be unto Thee.” Peter had rejected the thought of Jesus dying on the cross. Jesus turned about and looked on His disciples, and rebuked Peter, saying, “Get thee behind Me Satan, for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of Men.” Does He not give that same look of rebuke today on those who reject His sacrifice on the cross?
Another time Jesus looked round about on His disciples and said, "Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever doeth the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister, and mother.” That was the special look we have for loved ones of our family. Every Christian can sing: I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God.
Another time Jesus looked round about Him in anger was on the Pharisees because of their hardness of heart. One might wonder if Jesus still looks on those today in anger that hear the gospel preached and will not accept how He suffered for them on the cross. Then there is the look of Jesus in the early part of His ministry when Andrew brought His brother Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked upon him and said, “Thou art Simon the son of John: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation Peter.” Jesus looked on Peter and saw an Apostle. What does Jesus see as He looks upon you? I think I can say Jesus looked on me and saw a preacher. At last this woman had found the right Doctor. She had found the Great Physician. Some Doctors today specialize. Jesus is a specialist in everything. He is a good chiropractor. One time a woman was bowed together for eighteen years and could not lift herself up. He laid His hands on her and immediately she was made straight and glorified God. One adjustment was all that was needed. He was a great Ophthalmologist. One time He healed a man from blindness who was born blind. He was a good psychiatrist with one look He could tell what they were thinking He knew their thoughts. With the woman in this case He demonstrated that He was a great Oncologist, or blood Doctor. He was also a wonder podiatrist when He caused a man to walk after being lame for thirty-eight years. This case would be a real test for the Great Physician; sick for eighteen years and no one else could heal her. 6 Some people depend on Doctor Feeling to pull them out of it. I overheard people talking at a nearby table in a restaurant, and one of them was evidently a preacher. I heard him tell the others that the Lord had told him five things He wanted him to do after the first of the year. I wondered at the time, how did the Lord tell him. Did He call him on the phone? Did He fax him a message? Or did He just holler it down to him from Heaven. I suppose if someone had asked him. He would have said he just felt the Lord was talking to him. Doctor Feeling is a quack. Some people spend all they have on Doctor Denomination. I heard one man pray in a church service, “0 Lord there are over three hundred denominations in the Christian religion and I thank you for every one of them.” Jesus prayed that they all might be one. Then there are some that worship Doctor Baptism. Some depend on being immersed in water as the only step in the plan of salvation. The command that was given to the believers on the day of Pentecost, “Repent and be baptized,” and it was to be done in the name of Jesus Christ. By His authority many have heard those words and have turned a deaf ear to the repent part. At the point of obedience, Jesus will say to you as He said to the woman with the issue of blood, “Thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.” Jesus 8 LORD OVER DEATH
And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, and besought him greatly saying, “My little daughter is even now dead: I Pray thee come and lay thy hands on her and she shall live.” The majority of people turn to thoughts of religion at the time of death. They may never show any interest any other time, but when a loved one dies many will turn to a preacher. So it was in this case. It may never have actually happened, and then again maybe it did. A preacher had talked to someone about attending services and the promise was “I will come when I get straightened out.” Time and time again the same excuse was given and then one day the man died and the family brought him to the Church for the memorial service. The preacher wanted to say something comforting regarding the corpse and said, “This man was a truthful man. He always said he would come to services as soon as he got straightened out. I will have to say that he is just about as straightened out as he is ever going to be.” Usually the religious feeling is for a short time. In a few days it is back to business as usual. If death makes people think of spiritual matters it is well that the preacher take advantage of the situation 9 What would you think of a doctor who examined you and knew that you had cancer, but to make you feel good told you that you were in the best of health? People may not want to hear the truth, but they need to hear it anyway. They expect you to preach their loved one to the front row of heaven with a crown on his head and a harp in his hand regardless of his relationship with Christ. Many listening to me at this time may feel as the audience did about Jesus in this case before us. When He said the damsel is not dead but sleepeth they laughed Him to scorn. They laughed at Jesus, so we are in good company when they sneer at us.
Jesus told Jairus, "Be not afraid, only believe." Only believe. That's it. That is the secret for unity of all that would be united in Christ. Only believe. Just only believe what Peter told you to do in the name of Jesus Christ when he said, “Repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins....” If everyone would only believe that, there would be no division or the matter of how to be saved. Be not afraid only believe. Try that formula on any thing where the Lord has spoken—only believe.
And taking the child by the hand He saith unto her, “Tabitha Cumi Damsel: Arise!” And straightway she arose and walked for she was twelve years old. He commanded that they should give her something to eat. That is a good thing for the church to remember. Whenever there is a baptism and a person is buried with Christ and raised to walk in a newness of life give them something to eat. Give the Lord's Supper on every first day of the week and feed them the bread of life 10 This was the same argument for the resurrection that He would later use on the Apostles concerning His own resurrection. Have you any thing to eat and they gave him a honeycomb and a piece of broiled fish? By taking food there was no doubt that He was not just a Spirit, but in fact a resurrected body. When Jairus's daughter came out of the room eating a Big Mac with fries, and sipping a classic Coca-Cola through a straw, there was no doubt about her resurrection. This was the real thing. Jesus is indeed Lord of all.
|
|||||||
