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"Deliver Us From Evil"
I have a small confession to make. I have sometimes watched
movies that were not very good for me. One in particular
that I am curious to see if anyone else had a similar
experience. I was a teenager when it came out. Old enough
to be driving because I know my parents didn’t take me to
see this movie although perhaps not old enough to have
gotten in without their permission – but that’s another story.
The movie was “The Exorcist” and I remember quite vividly
going with my best friend to the only theater in the little
town we lived in. When the movie was over I don’t think we
spoke two words to each other on the way back to his house
and then the thought of driving the seven miles to my house
on dark country, gravel roads seemed more than I was willing
to risk. I stayed in town that night and I am fairly certain
that neither one of us slept more than an hour all night
long with the images of demon possession burned into our psyche.
The attraction of the human mind to the depiction of evil
is an amazing thing. Hollywood has made a fortune of it.
“The Exorcist” and a long list of movies that followed have
been a box office smash. It is as if we are fascinated and
frightened at the same time. We want to dismiss the reality
of evil and yet can’t quite convince ourselves that it is
safe to do so. It seems everyone loves a good scary story
every once in a while. But we’ll have to better than that
if we are going to deal with our text for today.
First we’ll need to very briefly touch on the very clear
teaching of Scripture that the devil, the demonic, and
the evil they produce are very real. It is the nature of
our sophisticated and modern world to dismiss the whole
notion of the existence of Satan, whom the Bible describes
as a fallen angel, created by God perfect and holy with
the ability to choose to fear, love and trust in God
above all things.
We do not have time in one sermon to deal with all that
Bible says about Satan. Come to Bible class and we’ll
look up every verse that mentions the devil and discover
that Satan rebelled against God and that other angels
followed him in that rebellion and were cast out of
God’s presence into an eternity of torment. And that
Satan’s singular goal from then on has been to steal
and lure away from God as many of God’s most precious
creation, human beings, as possible.
What is critical for us this morning is to note that Jesus
in our text has complete and total control over Satan, the
demonic and the evil they produce in the world. This sermon
is an argument for you to consider that goes from the greater
to the lesser – that if Jesus can send demons squealing away
to their own destruction then he can in fact do what he taught
us to pray – He can deliver us from evil.
Look at what this text teaches us about the nature and the
power of evil. It is not very pleasant. Verse 29 perhaps shows
it most clearly; For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to
come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though
he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had
broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into
solitary places.
Evil is not something we are going to be able to handle
by ourselves. Underestimating the power of your enemy is
a guarantee of defeat. How many sports or military
illustrations have we seen to prove that point? And yet
that seems to be our favorite path when facing evil. For
the past 100-150 years western culture has tried to deal
with evil by explaining it away and hoping that we will
figure out a way to overcome it on our own. Psychology
says, “Get some counseling.” Sociology claims it is a
matter of fixing the social problems we have that breed
evil. Build a better society and evil will diminish. Medical
science says take a pill.
I don’t know if you noticed or not, but it doesn’t seem
to be working. In fact we seem to be getting worse - from
the holocaust of the Second World War to the horror of
September 11th and the rise of terrorism. I don’t think
we are going to get out of this business called life alive
without some help.
Look carefully at how evil creeps into our lives little
by little until we wind up in a place we would never have
imagined. The text says that “for a long time this man had
not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the
tombs.” Now the implication of that is that there was a
time when he wore clothes and lived in a house not in the
tombs. Verse 29 remember talked about him being “chained
hand and foot and kept under guard.”
That’s the way evil works. It takes us away from healthy,
normal living to a place where we become isolated and alone,
where nothing seems to be able to stop our foolish, even
insane pursuit of whatever it is that promises success or
pleasure or fun or relief from our pain.
Want to see evil at work in your own life? Then consider
carefully what it is you think you need in order to find
satisfaction and fulfillment. Whatever your seek most in
life will begin to possess you. Those who seek power wind
up controlled by their need for power. Those who seek
acceptance are controlled by the people you are trying
to please.
Surely you kids know exactly how that works with your
friends – the more you want their attention the deeper
you fall into doing whatever it takes to get it. It’s
the stuff Nickelodeon after school specials are made of –
friends betraying friends to be cool only to learn the
hard way that being cool doesn’t last.
It’s the same for adults. Looking for love in all the
wrong places you will be overtaken by your need to be
loved. Whatever pleasure you crave will never be enough
to satiate your appetite. And I don’t even need to mention
money and what it does those who believe it is the answer
to life’s problems.
Look carefully at those places in your life where you
are becoming more and more alone, isolated from your
family, your friends, your church. I think that might
be the number one clue. Where are you most alone, hiding
your thoughts and feelings and motivation?
God said, when He created us, “It is not good for man to
be alone.” Satan seeks to get us alone. God seeks to put
us together. It is why he created the church. It is one
of Satan’s most successful lies when he convinces us that
we can do our life and our faith by ourselves – me and
Jesus – without the community of believers to surround
and embrace us.
You know the definition of insanity? It is doing the same
thing over and over again and expecting to get different
results. Evil doesn’t usually suck us down in one big
gulp. It slowly entices us to keep trying to do it
alone. It was CS Lewis that said the “the road to hell
is a gentle slope downward with no potholes and no
warning signs.” It is a thousand, million little
decisions to sin that wind us up in a place we would
never have imagined being – addicted to everything
under the sun – even good things like hard work and
making the church successful and of course a whole
lot of bad things.
Pretty amazing in our text that not even the demons
want to go into hell! “They begged Jesus repeatedly
not to order them to go into the Abyss.” And yet we
dabble with evil as if we can manage it quite nicely.
Now remember the primary lesson here – Jesus has absolute
power to do what he taught us to pray – deliver us from
evil. My friends this is what the Bible and the Christian
faith claims will happen when you meet Jesus. Picture the
man in our text, tormented, alone, the other gospels report
him injuring himself, cut and bleeding from the chains that
bound him, crying out in despair.
Now behold the man named Jesus who went into the wilderness
alone after his baptism the Bible says and faced Satan one
on one. Picture this man Jesus allowing himself to be
isolated and beaten, kept under guard and brought before
the authorities for judgment. Stripped of his clothes,
nailed to a cross, crying out in the ultimate despair,
“My God, my God, why have your forsaken me,” and
then placed in a tomb.
We believe that in Jesus a magnificent exchange occurs. He
steps into our skin and absorbs the full fury of evil
inflicted on His body and we receive new life – his life,
delivered through the cross and sealed by the resurrection.
We believe that in baptism a supernatural event occurs. Jesus
changes places with us. We believe that in this fellowship
every Sunday morning when the words of forgiveness are spoken
we are delivered again from evil. We believe that in, with
and under this piece of bread and cup of wine Jesus is
miraculously and powerfully present to deliver us from evil.
He takes us naked and bleeding and hiding and heals us,
clothes us, and gives us back our sanity to live within
the boundaries God has established for us, His most precious
and dearly loved children. Those boundaries become a delight
to us rather than a burden. You know what they are. God made
a list to help you remember.
Keep Him first above everything else in your life. Bear His
name proudly and with great integrity day by day. Worship –
be part of the fellowship. Honor authority. Don’t hurt or
harm or think evilly about anyone out of vengeance and anger.
Don’t misuse the precious gift of sexuality. Don’t take what
doesn’t belong to you. Stop gossiping and mind your own
business. And for pity sake stop living in a constant state
of discontentment obsessing over what you don’t have that won't
make you happy even when you get it!
Folks, this is the best way to live. When you’ve met Jesus
and experienced what he has done for you – taken away all
your sin, restored your life, given you a place in heaven
as a gift – there will come a burning desire to be with
him. Do you see it in the text, right at the end? The man
begged Jesus to let him go with him.
Contrast that with the town’s people who saw the man
“dressed and his right mind; and were afraid.” Then
comes one of the saddest verses in the whole Bible –
“all the people of region asked Jesus to leave them
because they were afraid.”
Don’t be afraid to change. Don’t send Jesus away.
Someone wrote that one of the ways we get Jesus to leave
is by taming Him, by turning Him into someone who is kind
and gentle, who never gets too upset, who is not a threat
to anyone. Another wrote, the people who hanged Jesus on
the cross did so because they believed He was too dangerous
to let live. I liked this image, the author wrote, “We have
very efficiently pared the claws of the lion of Judah,
certified Him “meek and mild,” and recommended him as a
fitting household pet.”
Don’t be afraid to change. Don’t send Jesus away. He is
the almighty, one and only true God of the universe who
has and used the power to do what he taught us pray –
He delivers us from evil.
Amen.
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