Go Tell What Great Things God Has Done — Brian Brodersen

All right, let's open our Bibles tonight to Mark chapter 4. We are picking up this evening in verse 35 of Mark chapter 4 and We just ask you to be in prayer for The Chaddock family. Tim Chaddock is one of our interns on staff and he's he plays with the other praise band on Monday night Smithfield and He's up in Northern, California right now with his family and his father's in the hospital with terminal cancer and They've gone ahead and taken him off of life support.

So it's probably just a matter of hours and Just remember them in prayer. His dad Mike is of course a Christian and he's actually served the Lord for many years as a pastor of Calvary Chapel up in Napa.

But his time is Approaching to enter into his glorious reward. And so if you could just keep the whole family in prayer during this time, that would be greatly appreciated so mark 435 Jesus has been Teaching in parables and This was all happening right there on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and He was actually in a boat.

Jesus Calms the Storm on the Sea of Galilee

There were so many people that were gathered around he had to sit down in one of the boats and just sort of be pushed out a bit from the shore and it was from there that he was instructing the people now that Occurred for quite a few hours on this particular day and then at a given point Jesus went back into The house where he was residing and he taught the disciples more specifically about the parables.

He gave them an understanding of them. But as we come to verse 35 of chapter 4, we are still Dealing with events that occurred on that particular day. And so it says on the same day When evening had come he said to them let us cross over to the other side.

So they're going to cross over now the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is about 13 miles long and At its widest point. It's about eight miles wide. But at the particular area where they would have crossed it probably would be more about a five mile crossing but it's evening time and so They would have just set out on their journey and probably the Sun would have been going down right about that time.

But the Lord said to them. Let's go over to the other side now when they had left the multitude they took him along in the boat as he was and other little boats were also with him and a great wind storm arose and The waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling.

But he was in the stern asleep on a pillow and they awoke him and said to him teacher Do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea peace be still and The wind ceased and there was a great calm, but he said to them Why are you so fearful?

How is it that you have no faith and they feared exceedingly and said to one another? Who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? What a Fascinating story and You can understand the response of these men at this point.

Nothing like it ever in the history of the world here a man stands up and speaks To the elements. He speaks to the wind. He speaks to the sea and he commands a calming and they're calmed immediately and So they're terrified.

They're wondering who? Could this be well, of course, we know who it was. They were just Beginning to understand at this point it was just slowly, you know being revealed to them but we know of course this was the son of God or God in human flesh and so he was able to speak just as he spoke the universe into existence.

He was able to speak to the wind and the sea and calm them. But as we go back over this story, there are a couple of things that I want you to notice first of all, I want you to notice that Jesus was the one who initiated the journey to the other side.

He said let us cross over to the other side. So it was his idea. It was his plan. But it wasn't all that long into the journey That suddenly they were met by this great Windstorm this fierce storm came upon the sea now.

It's interesting that Although the Sea of Galilee is more, you know, literally a lake Yet, it's amazing how That particular body of water has the capacity to become Like Something you would expect out of a raging ocean when these winds come blowing through these narrow canyons, they can whip up the sea and the height of the surf on this Lake really can be elevated sometimes to about 10 feet amazingly.

We were in Israel some years ago. And a storm hit at that time in the area of Galilee and they had 10 to 12 foot waves Breaking on the shore of the Sea of Galilee wiped out some hotels and some of the resort area was just completely devastated by the storm but that's the type of storm that came down upon them as They were ready to make their journey across now.

Remember these guys. This was their life. This was their Livelihood. They grew up on this lake they Traveled it regularly. They fished on it daily. But they're petrified at this point. This was indeed an intense storm and The boat was in danger of being sunk now Jesus initiated the journey, but They're about to go under it seems on the way across and you know There's a parallel here for many times when the Lord Will send us out on a journey of some sort.

It's not long into the journey before we meet fierce opposition. Sometimes we're tempted to think because of the opposition that Maybe the Lord isn't in the journey. But as we see here from this story, he was.

Trusting Christ’s Word Through Opposition

We cannot make our final determination on things based upon our Circumstances we have to really seek to get the mind of the Lord and then know that regardless of the circumstances God is with us and he's gonna see us through it and That's what happened here he said let's go across but suddenly they were in the midst of the storm and They were filled with fear they thought they were gonna die and so They wanted Jesus to assure them but notice where he was he was sleeping.

He was completely at rest. He had total confidence. But they were in a panic. So they wake him up and they say teacher Don't you care that we are perishing and there he brings that peace, but he said to them why are you so fearful and Then he said how is it that you have no faith?

You see Jesus said let's cross over. He didn't say let's go under. He wasn't leading them out into The sea in order for them to perish. He was taking them across and now he's gently rebuking them because of their lack of faith.

You see they should have trusted in his word. He said let's go over to the other side. They shouldn't have been afraid they should have realized that he Commanding them to go to the other side was perfectly capable of getting them to the other side you see When the Lord gives us instruction We can be certain that even though Difficulties might come upon us even though we might encounter various forms of opposition that if the Lord has Commanded it if the Lord has spoken if the Lord has directed us We can be sure that he's gonna get us to where he wants us to be and we don't have to be afraid.

We can have confidence even if it looks like the boat is gonna sink that's what it looked like here for sure. But faith would have said no. Jesus said let's go over to the other side. He's gonna get us there and so likewise as we venture out into different things as he calls us as he speaks to us and Then we find that the circumstances aren't exactly what we were anticipating and then we start to be filled with fear.

We need to remember that word from the Lord. We need to remember what he's called us to do and by faith we Hold on to those promises. We just say okay Lord. I know what you told me. I I Remember those scriptures you gave me and I stepped out Lord believing you and I'm gonna believe you right on through this storm.

Even though it looks like we might be going under. As I was reading over this passage today I was finding some great Just application for my own life because I've had experiences where the Lord has called me to do things and you know when the when the initial call comes there's all the excitement and you know of what the Lord's gonna do and then you embark on the journey and You're partway.

You think to the goal and suddenly you find that the ship is sinking you're going down wait a minute, this isn't what I thought was gonna happen and You start to become fearful. You start to wonder what you're doing and you know, all of these kinds of things happen but then you have to go back to that initial call and remember that the Lord is gonna get you through and that's What was being spoken to me today in my own particular situation.

That I find myself wrestling with at times the Lord saying look I said, let's go to the other side. Let's go over not under and so we rest in that now as they go over to the other side they arrive at The place of the Gatorines.

Another one of the Gospels records that they arrived at the place of The Gare gareens and some people have tried to say that there's you know a dispute and then there's the another gospel records the garrisons but actually All of those cities were located right in the same area.

So each gospel writer just happened to pick a particular city mark picked. Actually, the garrisons is is a better translation of what mark picked and that's probably because mark was writing to a predominantly non-jewish audience and Garesa Was that Gentile city on the other side that they would have been familiar with and so they go over to the other side of the Galilee to the area of Gedera and Gassera and when He had come out of the boat Immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.

Jesus Delivers the Demon-Possessed Man

So the moment they arrive on the shore and it's probably Well into the night at this time, it's perhaps dark. Very dark maybe and There just so happens to be a demon-possessed man Awaiting them there.

His dwelling was among the tombs and no one could bind him not even with chains. Because he had often been bound with shackles and chains and the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces.

Neither could anyone tame him. And so here is a very Tragic picture of a man who is being tormented by Demons and always night and day he was in the mountains and in the tombs crying out and cutting himself with stones.

You you could imagine the disciples, you know, they're new at all of this stuff I mean this all all that's going on. They've just seen Jesus stand up and calm the sea and now, you know immediately as they arrive on the other side, they're met by this Vicious man, who's Living in in and among the tombs and he's so strong through this demonic control upon his life.

They can't even bind him. He just burst the chains asunder whenever they've tried to bind him and you could be sure that that would have been a frightening sight to see and So when he saw Jesus from afar this demon-possessed man He ran and he worshiped him.

And he cried out with a loud voice and he said what have I to do with you Jesus? Son of the Most High God. I Implore you that you do not torment me. For Jesus had said to him come out of the man unclean spirit.

Then Jesus asked him. What is your name? And he answered saying my name is Legion for we are many. So here's this man he says Under the the control of the spirit. My name is Legion. A Roman Legion consisted of 6 ,000 soldiers and so whether there were 6 ,000 demons that were possessing this man or if that was just a way of expressing that he was possessed by many spirits.

Whatever the case he was in a horrible Situation he was in a helpless situation. He was in a place that Was beyond any Human Ability to deal with and So he was just consigned to this Life of misery and torment and suffering they're living among the tombs.

Can you imagine that kind of a thing? But yet, you know, there are people today in Similar states there are people today who we might see occasionally maybe you see him on the streets sometimes. Maybe they're in hospitals in some cases.

But they're beyond the help of man. There's nothing that anybody could do for him at this point in some cases Their minds have been blown through drugs and different things and in other cases There's probably a lot more demon possession than we realize Happening with people today, but there are people around us still today that are beyond the help of man nothing can be done for them humanly speaking, but Here's the thing.

We've always got to remember That doesn't mean that they are hopeless. It doesn't mean that they are entirely beyond help because the Lord can help them. The Lord can deal with problems that no man can deal with medically there comes a time when doctors as educated as they are these days and as advanced as our Techno technology is in that realm.

There comes a point where The medical community can do nothing for a person. But at that point, it's still not a hopeless cause because the Lord can intervene and there's nothing that's hard for the Lord and When you see a person who's deranged mentally through whatever sort of illness or whatever they've done to themselves that have caused these kinds of things or even through a Situation where one might be demon-possessed what we need to know is there's There's hope and That can be dealt with and we can pray for people like that and we can ask the Lord to help them and to work in their lives.

Satanic Opposition and the Authority of Christ

Now an interesting thing that I want to point out to you is When they were crossing over the sea and this great windstorm came up when Jesus Was you know awakened and and dealt with the situation? It says something interesting in verse 39 that is tied into the whole story here.

It says then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea the word rebuked is the exact same word that was used earlier in Mark when Jesus cast a demon out of another person and What could possibly be being hinted at here?

Is that this whole storm on? The sea was something that was the result of satanic activity. You see Satan has power the Bible refers to Satan as the god of this world and What the Bible means when it refers to him as as the god of this world is that he is the one who is presently Controlling the world he has dominion over the world.

And In that position of authority that he wields he exercises power and sometimes his power is demonstrated in natural disaster and Catastrophic events and things like that. You know, we've just heard this past week about all of this devastation in parts of our country through these Winds these tornadoes and things that have come through and You know, what is the explanation for that?

Well, the insurance companies will tell those people whose houses were blown away. Sorry, we don't cover acts of God. You're out of luck. It's interesting that they refer to these things as acts of God.

I don't know that that's really the best way to see it. I Think a better way to see it would be acts of the devil because Satan his whole job description really is to just destroy. That is actually one of his names in Scripture Apollyon which means the destroyer and He comes with destructive power and he makes life miserable for people through natural disaster and catastrophic events and Oppressing people and possessing people and Then quite often People look on and blame it on God and that of course as part of the devil's strategy as well.

To put the whole blame on God. It's God's fault. But it's interesting that this windstorm this fierce windstorm Came upon them as they were crossing over to meet this man and it could very well be that Satan was seeking to avoid the loss of one of his captives.

Knowing that Jesus is in this boat knowing that there's going to be an encounter with this man that he's been binding and oppressing and controlling and tormenting and he doesn't want to lose that Death grip on him.

So he's trying to sink the boat before they can get across. But Jesus rebukes the wind. Perhaps because of the satanic element in it and now he comes face to face with this poor pitiful person and so He begged this man begged earnestly.

That he would not send them out of the country. Now there's an interesting thing going here because as you as you read it First of all, the man is speaking and He's speaking as himself in a sense. What have I to do with you Jesus?

You know and so forth. It seems like there's sort of a back-and-forth thing going where and one sense it's like the you know, the man himself is speaking and then in another sense the demon is is being the one who's expressing there and There was just this radical control and These Spirits they were imploring Jesus not to send them out of the region not to send them out of the country.

Why it was that they were doing that well, we know that they were afraid of judgment themselves. They were actually requesting not to be sent into that final incarceration that they're headed toward. That's what they were pleading for at the time.

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains so all the demons begged him saying send us to the swine that we may enter them and At once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine.

There were about 2 ,000 and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and they drowned in the sea and so those who fed the swine fled and they told it in the city and in the country and they went out to See what it was that it happened so a really bizarre a Story, you know here this man comes out and then these demons start begging not to be sent off into torment and they Are then sent into this herd of swine?

The man is liberated the swine are then taken control by the demons and They run violently into the sea and they are all drowned in the sea now. They went and told Those in the city what had happened and then they came to Jesus and now listen to this.

They came to Jesus and Saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion so they would have known this person. They would have been familiar with him. They probably all would have been very terrified of him.

But they saw him sitting and clothed and in his right mind and It says and they were afraid. Now, why would they have been afraid? It seems like they would have been Thrilled it seems like they would have been full of joy for this Person who had been in such a horrible condition and now he's Sitting and clothed and in his right mind.

But no it says they were afraid and Those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed and about the swine and now listen to this. Then they began to plead with him to depart from their region.

Sinful Resistance to Deliverance

What kind of response is that it just seems like the opposite response of what should have come. You would think that they would have seen this man who? Was in that condition and now he's in his right mind and they would have said oh, this is glorious.

This is wonderful. Oh Jesus come back with us to our city. But instead they implored him to leave to go away. It's amazing. But you know, it is true That oftentimes people don't want to be Unsettled in their sin.

They want to stay in it. It's amazing to think that that's the case with people, but it really is and in many cases that becomes the only plausible explanation for why people aren't Delivered from their sin.

For why people aren't saved, you know people I know people who are tormented who are miserable whose lives are a wreck who spend their life doing nothing but moaning and groaning and griping and complaining and making life miserable for everybody else and You tell them about Christ and you tell them about what he can do for them and how he loves them and wants to save Them and they I don't want to hear that.

I don't want to have anything to do with that and It's amazing that people will choose a life of misery Over a life of liberty and freedom but it's because Men love darkness rather than light the scripture tells us.

See a lot of times we think of people in sin as sort of victims. All these poor people, you know, they're just caught up in this sin and They don't have any control over it. Not so. They have control.

They choose to remain in that place. We live in an age of Irresponsibility. People don't want to take responsibility for their actions. Everybody's a victim. If you're a miserable wretch it's because somebody else did it to you and And You know, it's somebody else's fault.

People are very reluctant. Even to this very day To open up the door and let Jesus come in because they love What they're doing even though they might say I hate it, even though they say oh I want to be freed from this yet.

When you give them the remedy, they don't really want it. It's a strange thing. But it is part of the human condition the sinful state. And so they began to plead with him to depart From their region and when he got into the boat He who had been demon-possessed begged him that he might be with him.

Notice something before we move on notice the transformation the instantaneous transformation of this man. How many years he had spent in that condition God only knows. It was probably a very long time but in an instant he's clothed.

He's sitting. He's in his right mind. And now he's saying Jesus. I want to go with you that is a demonstration of the power of the gospel. The power of God. God can take a person from the most hopeless Situation and in an instant transform them and We've seen it happen hundreds and thousands of times over and There aren't any cases that God is not able to work in it really comes down to a willingness on the part of people.

Are we willing to let the Lord work in our lives? Now This man comes and he begs that he might be with him. But Jesus notices Jesus did not permit him. That seems strange. Here's a guy who says Lord. I want to go with you.

I want to join the team. I want to be part of this Group of people that's just with you all the time. He was just volunteering himself for Apostolic service. But Jesus He said no. He said instead go home to your friends and tell them What great things the Lord has done for you and how he's had compassion on you.

Telling Others What Christ Has Done

I think that's interesting. You know, sometimes we think of serving God in only one. Sort of a way, you know, we think I I want to serve the Lord so I'm gonna go sign up for Bible College and Get my education in the Bible and then I'm gonna go down and fill out an application at the church to be a pastor.

Or I'm gonna get some training and I'm gonna go off to the mission field. I'm not. You know putting that down at all going into the ministry or going up to the mission field those are great things. But the big question is what is the call of God and for some people for a lot of people the call of God is go home to your friends and tell them what the Lord has done for you and Sometimes actually that's where everything starts a lot of times people come and say I want to be a missionary.

I want to be a pastor. I want to teach the Bible. And you say well, what have you done thus far with your relationship with the Lord? Well, not much. You know haven't really done anything. It might have been Christians for some time, but they haven't really Impacted their immediate sphere of life and and the Lord wants to Use us in our immediate circle.

First that's where things start it might eventually develop beyond that into you know other areas but but this is the place where it all starts and sometimes this is the place where God has people spend a lifetime with friends and with colleagues on the job and with neighbors in the community and and they're there just Telling people about the great things the Lord has done for him and now he's had compassion on them and God uses those people powerfully, I Thank God every time I meet somebody and they tell me you know in the course of Conversation about how they were maybe talking to their next-door neighbor or they were sharing with somebody they work with or something like that I get so excited for them and I get excited for the work of God and I'm thankful that I can be part of that by helping people to understand the word better so they can Be more effective in their communication of it, but it's a glorious thing To tell others about Jesus and that's what this man was Commanded to do go home and tell your friends What great things the Lord has done for you and how he has had compassion on you?

You know There's something hidden in here. That's interesting to me. Tell them what great things the Lord has done for you. Now Jesus of Course is making reference to himself. He's the one who did it right this word Lord would have been understood in a Jewish context as the name of the God of Israel and that of course is Legit because that's exactly who Jesus is but What he's wanting him to go back and communicate is that I've I've been touched by God.

God has met me God has done this God has restored me and Just like he did for this hopeless man as I mentioned a while ago He's still doing that today and wants to keep on doing that and what a powerful testimony when somebody who? others had sort of written off and just you know, there wasn't any hope and and we've tried everything with this person and you know, the psychiatrist said that They were beyond help and and yet Jesus comes along and They're delivered they're restored.

They're brought into a place of sanity notice this to the demon possession Actually caused insanity in this person. Insanity is an interesting thing. I To some degree or another at least the more people I meet the more I realize it's not all that uncommon really Everybody's got a bit of it.

But you know true insanity is a very tragic thing. Somebody who's really truly lost their mind. They are beyond the ability to reason they can't Think properly about anything. Demon possession can be a cause of insanity.

It's not always Insanity can be caused by illness and different brain malfunctions and things like that. But I think it is important to note that that demon possession causes insanity as well it can and I think it's important to note that because I do believe that there are a lot of People that have been labeled insane who really are demon-possessed.

That's the problem and If the demons were cast out the insanity would disappear as it did in this case here. Boy when you go into mental Hospitals and places like that you see all kinds of really bizarre things as you can imagine that you would but one of the things that always strikes me as very intriguing is So often the Preoccupation that people have with spiritual things and not just spiritual things, but particularly with Jesus With the God of the Bible and and with sin and those kinds of things.

You know, I've yet to go into a mental hospital and find somebody with radical mental hang-ups about Buddha or You know any other Religious leader for that matter it's it's Jesus and all you know and that to me shows the the activity of the devil and The reason I'm bringing this up again is because you know people in this state.

We generally do in our society anyway tend to just dismiss them as as a hopeless cause. But the Lord is able I have a good friend Who Had a series of mental breakdowns For years and years just repeatedly one right after another, you know to the point where he barely Would begin to recover and then he would break down again.

He was by his own admission a rank sinner. He was involved in all kinds of vile and wicked things and One day I Mean almost like the story we're reading here. He had an encounter with Jesus Christ and the Lord met him powerfully and Convicted him of his sinful life.

Not even dealing with the insanity issue, but just his sinful life. He just in it even in that whole, you know gloom and darkness that he was in of his mental confusion He still knew Of his sin. He was aware of it and he became greatly burdened by it and he confessed and he asked Jesus to come into his life and he did and That neck the very next day for the first time in his whole life, he walked into a Christian bookstore and He happened to run into two of my friends and they happened to be there telling the folks in the store about a new church that we were planting and They told this guy About the new church and he came the next week and that was seven years ago, and he's been there ever since and he's never had another breakdown and God has done such a marvelous work in his life.

And he's one of those guys that every time I see him I just get so thrilled because I Know his past. I know the hopeless condition he was in and and when I see him and I see that smile on his face and I Listen to him and he just tells me how much he loves the Lord and how thankful he is for what God did for him.

And how he's you know, just about the business of telling as many people as he can. It's just a thrilling thing. But you know had he never had that encounter with the Lord I'm sure he would have spent the rest of his life in a mental institution such as the power of our God and He's doing it today.

He's doing it still don't give up. Hope on. People don't write people off. Don't look at somebody and say all they're beyond help. They are we can't do anything for them but know that through prayer and through the power of the Word of God and sometimes through the help of medical technology God uses Medication and things to keep people Stabilized and things like that.

Those are those aren't bad things sometimes I think the impression is given by some Christian leaders that that's sinful to Take any sort of medication to help you with depression or something like that.

Not necessarily. It all depends on what the cause of it is. Now it is possible to be depressed because you don't trust God and taking medication isn't going to help that. You need to trust the Lord but it's also possible to have a depression that's rooted in some sort of biological disorder and a medication at that point can be very helpful to Bring some stability and some some balance to a person so they can start thinking straight and and You know receiving what the scriptures say and so on.

And so we thank God for those things, but we recognize that apart from the power of the Holy Spirit. Those things are not enough. They're not adequate now. There's one other thing that we want to address real quickly here and that's The concerns of the people.

Jesus, the Law, and the Drowning Swine

For the ethical treatment of animals, you know the group PETA. Well, they would be incensed over this Account here because these poor pigs I guarantee with that group. They would be mad that The guy got off the hook and the pigs got the short end of the stick.

They would I'm sure much rather have the guy still in torment than the poor pigs drown in the sea. But people have said How could Jesus do such a thing? Well You know sometimes depending on the mood I'm in I might try to give a nice answer to that.

And other times I might say you know what Jesus created those pigs. He could do anything he wanted with him. That's the reality. He's God He wants to send pigs to their death off of a cliff. Who's gonna challenge him?

But you know, you have to realize the context of this story. Pigs Were against the law in Israel. They were deemed unclean. By God way way back when the nation was established God gave the law to Moses and He gave a listing of clean and unclean animals and Pigs were right on the top of the list of the unclean animals so the very fact that they were Raising swine was a violation of the Mosaic Covenant and so the Lord is basically just evicting these unclean animals off of his property the land of Israel and He's also Bringing it into the prosperity.

That was coming to the people through illegal practices. You see that's part of the reason why they were upset with Jesus is they lost some dough. Those pigs were valuable but you see It was not a legitimate business in that land it was against the law.

And so Jesus is just exercising his Divine right and authority as judge now people don't want to hear that today. I don't know that they ever have really. But you know you start talking about Jesus judging and Jesus having authority and that and people just get so uptight.

But you know what? You can get as uptight as you want, but one day you're gonna find out the truth of the matter because you're gonna stand right before him and He's gonna judge and if you have persisted in your rebellion against him then just like these pigs you're gonna go right off a sheer cliff into eternal damnation.

That is not politically correct language at This time but it's Biblically correct language, it's true. It's a reality and We can't soften that it's Something that we need to be Communicating more and more these days, I believe.

Because it is gonna happen. The Lord is the judge and just as he judged these pigs and the Owners and everything else he's gonna come and all of the illegalities and all of the Criminal activity and all the sin in the world.

That's just going on ceaselessly Without people ever giving it a second thought. Oh, this is just what we do. This is business. This is the way we operate one day the Lord's gonna clean house and This is just a reminder among other things of the fact that that is going to happen.

And so it says in verse 20 and he departed and began to proclaim and to clap Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him and all Marveled so he did what the Lord told him to do. He went back to his Family, he went back to his friends.

He went to the area of Decapolis now on that side of the lake. They had gone over to that was known part of that region was known as the Decapolis Meaning ten cities. There were ten cities there that were very very populated and they were very Idolatrous cities if you go to Israel today You can actually go now over to that area and they've uncovered the ruins of many of the cities of the Decapolis and It's amazing to walk through these things and to you know See the remains of these cities that were once there at the time of Jesus.