And I want to speak on the verses that we read, Mark chapter 5, verses 1 to 20, with the sermon title of Jesus Restores a Ruined Man, because this man really was a ruined man, wasn't he? Today's passage speaks of the reality of evil and the reality of sin. These are not just words, not just evangelical jargon. These are realities in people's lives. Evil and sin have a real effect on real people. And we see the stark contrast here between the reality of evil and the power and the purity of the Savior, Jesus the Lord. And there's this kind of collision, isn't there, between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan. And Jesus the King overcomes a legion of demons and powerfully, once more, demonstrates his messianic authority. Our saviour is a mighty saviour, isn't he? We saw last time how he has power over the wind and the waves, the sea. He calmed a storm with a word. He has power over nature. Today we see his power over Satan and over demons. And we'll go on to see his power over chronic disease and death and the healing of the woman with the issue of blood and the raising of Jairus' daughter. But we'll talk about that next time. We don't only see his power, do we? We see the pity and compassion of our saviour for those who are ruined, for those who are desperate to change, who know that they need a saviour. We see his pity for those who are dying. And these stories remind us that God so loved the world that he gave He's only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. If there was ever a man that seemed like he would perish for sure, it was Legion, wasn't it? He was perishing. And he met, Jesus met this man when he arrived with his disciples in the country of the Gadarenes. in the region of the Decapolis, which means the 10 cities, which was a Gentile region. There were Jews that lived there, but they were mainly Gentiles. You know, the good news of Mark's gospel is that no one is beyond the Savior's power and pity. Some people think they are. They've gone too far into sin, but you know, No one is beyond the mercy and power of Jesus. He can restore the ruined. He can break the strongest chains of sin and evil in anyone's life. And we need to hang on to that for some of our friends and even perhaps our family members. He can break the chains of any stronghold, any sin. There is a savior that ruined men can run to And your life, if you go to Jesus Christ, your life will be utterly changed, completely transformed. That's as true today as it has ever been. I believe that, and I know we believe that. But there's a believing and there's a believing. If we really believed it, as I want to, In my life, I wanted to believe it more. It would create in us an impulse, wouldn't it, more and more to share the one message that can change a human life and can set people free. Jesus miraculously calmed a storm and showed himself the Lord of nature, but now he meets a man in a storm of a different kind. Jesus had calmed an external storm, But now he needs to calm an internal storm that was raging inside of this man. It was a powerful group of unclean spirits. And as soon as Jesus climbs out of the boat, he's confronted by this wild, violent, demon-possessed man. Verse 2, and when he was come out of the ship, Immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. Well, let's begin by looking at the description of this man's condition, which we read in verses one to seven. The first thing we should say And this sounds a bit obvious to begin with, but I think it's important in this case. The first thing that we should say is that this person was a man. Because to look at him and to hear him, that wouldn't necessarily be immediately obvious. He was so possessed of devils. He was so wild, so violent that you almost have to remind yourself that underneath there somewhere is a man. And we call him Legion, but that wasn't his name. That was the name of the demons. It was the collective name of the demons who possessed him. We don't know the name of this man. But he had a name. He had a home. He had relatives. He had a biography. He was a man whose personality was dominated by the personality of demons. But somewhere there was a man, a real man, a man that Jesus loved and considered worth restoring to his right mind. You see, this man had lost his name, and he'd lost his dignity as a man made in the image of God. Man, you know, is the crown jewel of God's creation. Psalm 8 verses 4 and 5 says, What is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? For thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands, thou hast put all things under his feet. That's the status of man. But this legion, this man was a million miles, wasn't he, from the worth and dignity that God desired for a man. He was a ruin of a man. But you know, that's true of every single person born into this world who remains outside of Christ. No, not everyone, perhaps not many, are actually demon-possessed. But no one lives up to the image that we were made in, the image of God. Sin has marred and ruined every man and woman and boy and girl. And there's a sense in which we've lost our name, like Legion lost his name. We've lost our identity. We've lost our dignity. And when you become a Christian, really for the first time in your life, you begin to live as a real man and as a real woman, as the kind of person you were made to be. And you know, people crave today an identity, don't they? and many seek one in all the wrong places and they even try out different identities. This is very common today. Because why are they trying out all these identities? Because they've lost their name. They've lost their dignity. There's something deep within them in which they know they're not living in the way that they should be. you only find real peace, real identity in Jesus Christ, in the Lord God who made you in the first place and who bestows on you the true dignity and worth of a person made in the image of God. That's the only identity that will ever satisfy you or anyone. The values and beliefs of our society today show that we live far below the biblical vision of a man. When I say man, I mean all of us. Schools teach our children that we share a common ape ancestor with chimpanzees, can you believe? The last statistics for abortions in England and Wales are from 2022, when 251,377 babies were put to death. Their names were taken from them. Their lives snuffed out. Across the world, euthanasia and assisted dying rates are soaring and we're bringing that law into our country. In Canada, a country which we are very close to and in many ways similar to, in Canada in 2023, one in 25 people were legally killed. We've forgotten what a human being is, haven't we? But Jesus hasn't forgotten, you see. This is the message of the gospel. Jesus hasn't forgotten what a human being is. He has come to seek and to save that which was lost. In the words of the old Methodist hymn, he's come to write his new name upon our hearts, isn't he? His new best name of love. You see, he can give us a name, his name, the name that we originally were given, that name of dignity which we seem to have despised. So he was a man. But secondly, he was a man in a wretched and pitiful condition. He's been abandoned by society who can do nothing about him. He lives among tombs carved into the rocks and he wanders around in the wasteland wailing in agony and in despair. And as he cries out in desperation he cuts himself with stones, what we call today self-harming. And always, verse 5, night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying and cutting himself with stones. He's violent to himself and he's violent to others. And he seems to have a kind of superhuman strength, because no one can bind him. Verse 3, no man could bind him, but not with chains, because that he had often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces, neither could any man tame him. Wow. You see, somehow this man had come to be possessed and dominated by evil spirits, unclean spirits. And when Jesus asked, was it exercising these demons, he said, what is your name? And he answered, my name is Legion, for we are many. Legion being a the name of a standard Roman army military unit, normally about between 5,000 to 6,000 soldiers, plus other administrative staff. I'm not saying that's how many demons there were, but obviously multiple demons possessing this man. And he lived among the tombs, and he lived among the pigs. I believe this man was a Jew. because the Lord Jesus in the first place came to save the house of Israel, didn't he? And yet he was living amongst uncleanness. Isaiah 65 verse 2 describes apostate Israel as a people which remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments, that's graves, which eat swine's flesh and broth of abominable things is in their vessels. This demon-possessed man was the epitome of uncleanness. And why does Mark spill, as it were, so much ink on the condition of this man? It's because Legion is a vivid illustration of the plight of the human condition. It shows how destructive sin can be in a human life. And it demonstrates the malice and the hatred which Satan and his demons have towards those who are made in God's image. I think we sometimes forget the hatred Satan has, not just for God, but for every man and woman that has been made because they were made in God's image. We are made in God's image. Just as this man among the tombs was a slave to satanic powers, so every single person born into this world is by nature in bondage to sin and to Satan. Jesus said in John 8, 34, whosoever committeth sin is a servant of sin, a slave of sin. And this man among the tombs is in this terrible mess because of sin. Somehow he had opened up his life so much to sin that Satan and his demons had entered in. and possessed him. Man, though, is always responsible for his sin. Some people blame Satan. They even blame demon possession and say, that's why I'm living as I'm living. But if you're in the rare cases where there is demon possession, it's still as a result of sin. You can't blame Satan or say that the reason you are the way that you are is as a result of the sins of your ancestors. That false doctrine of generational curses, that's a lie from the devil. There's no generational curse on you. If you're under a curse, it's because of your own sin. It's your responsibility. You have sinned against God. And there's a point where you can get into such vile sins and certain sins where it can become a gateway to even you being possessed by demons. And that's likely to increase as we descend more and more into paganism. If you don't believe in demon possession, go and ask some missionaries. They'll soon put you right. And we'll see it more and more here. It'll be a challenge for us. But it is true to say of everyone that by nature they are in bondage to sin and in bondage to Satan. The classic biblical description of the human condition which Legion illustrates is found in Ephesians 2. We all know these verses. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. You see the dominating power of sin and Satan in those verses over the lives of unbelievers. The difference between the average Joe, the average person, and the man among the tombs is not one of kind, it's just one of degree. be in no doubt, dear friends, if you're outside of Christ this morning, if you don't know him as your saviour, that Satan and his demonic forces want to destroy your personality. They want to rob you of your dignity as a human being and they want to send your soul into hell. That's their mission. That's their pledge. Satan's mission is to oppose God and to destroy his image bearers. Jesus, referring to Satan as a robber, said, the thief cometh not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. That's the nature of the enemy. Speaking to a religious people, Jesus describes Satan as a murderer from the beginning who abode not in the truth because there is no truth in him. He's a murderer, he's a liar, he's a destroyer. Peter graphically describes Satan as a roaring lion who walketh about seeking whom he may And you know, Satan, demons if you like, will do anything to lead you or encourage you on your road to destruction. And in extreme cases will even possess your mind and your body physically. And whatever wicked tactics it takes, he will try to destroy your body and your soul in hell. And that's the desperate plight of every single person outside of Christ. Sin and Satan are the reason why so often there's a storm in your mind, in your heart, in your life. It's the reason why so often there's no peace within. Why your emotions are so out of control and it's like a wild storm perhaps going on inside. There's no peace and you seem to be on a road to destruction. Well, not everyone feels that. Satan can rock people to sleep and get them into hell that way as well, but he can also torment. and whatever, you're on a road to destruction and you need deliverance. If you're not a Christian this morning, you need deliverance from the one, the same one who delivered this desperate ruined man who lived among the tombs. That's his condition. But secondly, let's consider the great deliverance Jesus gives this man from his bondage in verses seven to 15. In those verses we have the record of this man's glorious salvation at the hand of Jesus. We see Jesus in a way battling, don't we, for the soul of this man. He wouldn't give up on this man as he won't give up on you if he has his hand on you and on your life. The Lord Jesus, the sinless Son of God, entered this place of death and uncleanness to contend for this man's life. Satan had a firm grip on him, didn't he? He really had a strong hand on him. But Jesus is the mighty champion of men's souls. His arm is stronger than Satan's arm in people's lives. Satan torments his subjects and keeps them in spiritual bondage, but Jesus sets people free. Isaiah 49, 25 speaks of the delivering power of the Messiah. But thus saith the Lord, even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered, for I will contend with him that contended with thee, and I will save thy children. Jesus is someone who will contend, contest, for someone's soul. It does it even today. And here in this story we see the victory of Christ over the powers of darkness. It's like, I don't know, is it 8K at the highest resolution you can get now on a computer or a TV? It's like this story is Christ's power projected in 8K, the highest resolution you can get. With the multiple personalities in this man's life, it's hard to be sure. But we read of how he ran to Jesus. Was that the man choosing to run or the devil's running? I don't know. But whatever, it ended up with this man running to Jesus. And Jesus began to rebuke the demons. and legions shrieked at the top of his voice, What have I to do with thee, Jesus? Thou son of the Most High God, I adjure thee by God that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. This isn't the first time, is it, in Mark where we have evidence from the voice of demons that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God, that Jesus is divine. Demons hate Christ and they would not give him any recognition were it not to be the fact that he is the Son of God. James 2.19 says, Thou believest that there is one God, thou doest well. The devils also believe and tremble. The demons actually believe more than some liberal churches, don't they? Demons believe in the divinity of Christ, but we believe in the divinity of Christ and we rejoice. Demons believe in the divinity of Christ and they tremble because they know what that means for them. And once again we see evidence of the fact that Satan and his demons have an insight into their own future, into their end punishment. I adjure thee by God that thou torment me not. You see, they know they're going to a place of torment, ultimately. Satan and his demons know their fate. In Matthew's account of this story, He records the words of Legion in this way. It says, what have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou son of God? Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? You see, there is a time set when Satan and his demons will be punished, will be sent into the lake of fire. We know this from the book of Revelation. Chapter 20, verse 10, and the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever. You see, when we face the enemy, when we when we battle perhaps against temptation and these things, let us remember who wins in the end. Let's remember the end of Satan. It ends in defeat. It ends in torment. Verse 15 of that same chapter in Revelation is a great warning though to unbelievers because it says, whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. there's a great risk, well it's not a risk, it's a fact that everyone who does not bow the knee willingly to the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour will end up in the very same place for eternity as Satan and all his demons will end up. And there's no good saying, well, it will be an annihilation that will just be snuffed out and we won't feel anything or know anything, because it very clearly says that they shall be tormented day and night forever. It's an eternal punishment, conscious punishment. Legion was a powerful group of demons possessing and destroying this man. But as I said at the beginning, when the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan clash, there's only ever one winner, isn't there? Jesus said, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Legion, these demons are many. They're a legion, and they're well organized like a Roman army. Scripture says, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. This is the good news of the Gospel, dear friends. Jesus and his kingdom have come. This is the message of Mark's Gospel. The mission of the Messiah, the long-promised serpent-crushing Messiah, is to deliver men and women from their sin and from the bondage that Satan has over them. Even those who are desperate and hopeless as the man among the tombs. This is a wonderful privilege to tell you this. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Announcing his mission in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus turned to Isaiah. and found the place where it is written, the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. No one is beyond his mercy or his power. That's why he came. came for people like you and me. And this man, whatever the impulse, runs to Jesus and gets to Jesus. And meeting Jesus was a life-transforming event, as it is for everyone who ever comes into contact with the Lord Jesus Christ. Charles Spurgeon. He had a term which he used often called the sinner's privilege, which only a fool would spurn. And he writes of this man among the tombs in these words. He says, Christ has come to the district where he is. It is a horrible country full of tombs and full of pollution. and the man has made it more horrible himself by his wildness and his madness. Yet there is the Christ himself treading that same Gadarene shore. He who is mighty to save has come into the land of death's shade. He would cast out devils He has come into the devil's very own territory. He has come to beard the lion in his den. Herein, and this is it, herein is also the privilege of men today. The Lord Jesus Christ, who made heaven and earth, is still among us and will be with us to the end of this dispensation. He who could raise the dead, heal the lepers, cast out demons, is still here by his Holy Spirit. Though corporally he is gone, yet in efficacious power to save, he lingers among us still, and his lingering means salvation to all who trust in him." Put simply, Spurgeon is saying, exactly the same saving, delivering power is available to anyone today. Even though the Lord Jesus Christ is physically not here anymore, spiritually he is and he has power to save through the gospel. The day of salvation is not closed, dear friends. That's the good news. It will be closed one day. The door will be shut and it will be too late. Summer would have gone, winter would have been past, and it'd be, we all say, we are still not saved. But the call of the Christian gospel is still open, still available. It's the call to run to Jesus, like this man, to bow down before him and worship him. Seek his deliverance and salvation. It's the only way to be saved. This man couldn't deliver himself, could he? He couldn't break the leg irons by himself. He got rid of them. But he couldn't get rid of the internal leg irons. He couldn't get rid of the chains around his soul. He can never break the chains of sin. Only Christ can bring sinners out of darkness and the shadow of death and break their chains asunder. And Jesus commands Legion to leave, to exit the body of this man. Because it was not time for the final judgment of the lake of fire, Jesus accepts the demon's plea to enter the herd of pigs nearby. And the unclean spirits go into the unclean pigs, and they're drowned in the sea. It's a picture of judgment, isn't it? This is why Jesus came, to destroy all the works of the evil one. The man is set free and the powers of evil are destroyed. That's what's going on here with the pigs. I'm not going to get into all the nonsense that's spoken about the pigs. The Lord Jesus Christ is judging Satan and demons. But I think he's doing something else as well. I think he's showing to this man visually that these demons will never come back to him, that his sins are forgiven, that he is set free forever. And just imagine, Jesus delivered you and you see with your own eyes these demons going into the herd of pigs and rushing across the field and going down the cliff to destruction, your sins. Your chains, the demons are gone forever. Micah 7, 19 says, he will turn again. He will have compassion on us. He will subdue our iniquities and thou will cast all their sins into the depth of the sea. Jesus has overthrown evil. Satan and his servants are defeated. The victory belongs to Jesus. And it's true in this cosmic battle between Satan and the Lord God. The seed of the woman has triumphed over the seed of the devil. Jesus has crushed the head of Satan upon the cross. And that's why we say the battle belongs to the Lord. He's won. Notice the great contrast between the appearance and the demeanor of this man before and after. that Jesus delivered to him. You sometimes see those before and after photos. It's perhaps a slimming world or something. There you are, all big and not looking very nice. And then that's the before, and now there's the after. You're looking thin and beautiful, and everyone wants to marry you now, sort of thing. Well, just imagine the before and after photos now. This man, he looked like a wild animal. before but now. They saw him, the townspeople saw him who was possessed with the devil and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind and they were afraid. What a transformation. The remarkable change between who he was and who he is now. Why? Because Jesus has touched him. Jesus has delivered him. He was naked, cutting himself, wandering and wailing in agony and despair among the tombs, unclean, the epitome of human alienation from God. And now that Jesus has come, he's clothed in his right mind, restored and whole at last, a man, a new man. picture of a person's changed life when they come as a sinner to Jesus. And that can be for you today. You're on a road to destruction but you can be saved. And after salvation a person is clothed with the righteousness of Christ and they are transformed by the renewing of their minds. You're given a new mind of a new man. And you can be completely healed and delivered and restored by the power of Christ. That's the wonder of Christian salvation. And if you're far from Christ today, know that he loves you as he loved this ruined man. He made the effort. He came all the way from the other side of the sea and entered into a place of death to save a human soul as he came from heaven. He left the purity of heaven and he came into this world of death and disease and sickness and sin to seek and to save your soul and mine. He went to the place where death reigned to save a man who lived among the tombs. And likewise, sinners outside of Christ are dead in their trespasses and sins, but he can make you live. We'll see how he raised Jairus' daughter from death to life. And he can speak into the dead life of anyone and cause them to be born again and breathe the breath of life into them. and make them new and whole. Lastly, and quickly because of time, let's consider the great rejection of Jesus by the people. Verse 17, and they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. Jesus who had come to this people who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death. He'd shined upon them with his light and his power. But as often is the case, they preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil. They begged Jesus to leave, can you believe? You would have thought that they would worship Jesus They'd heard the shrieks of this man for years in the night. You can imagine parents saying to their children, if you don't behave, we'll take you up to the man who lives among the tombs. He was kind of the bogeyman of the village. And here they see him, clothed in his right mind. And do they worship Jesus? Are they glad for this man? No. Their reaction revealed that they valued their pig business more than this man's salvation. They valued their pigs more than their own salvation. They valued money more than the Savior's love and mercy. In some cases, the Lord Jesus is bad for business. Some businesses don't do very well when people become Christians. Tough. The value of a human life is worth more than pigs. It's worth more than immoral businesses. Jesus said, for what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? The message of this chapter is don't be foolish like these townspeople by rejecting Christ and clinging to the sins that ultimately will destroy your body and soul. You hang on to them, they'll destroy you in the end. And what a contrast is the response of the new man, the restored and the delivered and cleansed and gloriously saved new man. All his heart is now saying is, thy will be done, isn't it, in my life. Let me be with you, Jesus. All he wanted was to be with Jesus. Verse 18, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. That's what we feel like when we first become Christians, isn't it? All we want to do is be with Jesus and be with his people, and we should never lose that. We should never leave that first love. Jesus commissioned him to minister the gospel in his hometown to his friends and preach the gospel. Jesus says, the great things the Lord hath done for thee and had compassion on thee. And he was a great evangelist. He was a great witness. Verse 16, and he departed and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him. And all men did marvel. And that could be you this morning, dear friend. Jesus can make you completely new. He can restore all that's ruined in your life. He can deliver you from all that binds you. But you have to run to Jesus. This is the thing. You have to fall before him. And once you do that, once you run towards him for mercy, you will find that like the father of the prodigal son, the Lord is actually running towards you as well. And you're running to him and he's running to you. and he'll embrace you and he'll put his best robe upon you and he'll put a ring on your finger and sandals on your feet and he'll love you and cherish you and protect you and save you and bring you to him to eternal glory in heaven. But you must decide, biggest decision of your life, whether you will go with Jesus or whether you want Jesus to go. That was the decision of the townspeople. whether you'll run to Jesus or run away from him. That's the challenge of this gospel message, this text. Will you run to the only saviour of sinners, the only one who can save your soul? I pray that you will. In Jesus' name, amen. Feel free to contact us at Sovereign Grace Church in Tiverton. Email us at grace2seekers at gmail.com. That's grace2seekers at gmail.com. Alternatively, you can visit our website at www.sovereigngracereformedchurch.co.uk.