Title Spiritual Alarm Clock / Luke 8:26-39
Contents
There is one thing that modern people who are very busy with their day to day need, and that is an alarm clock. The sound of an alarm clock that wakes me up is very unpleasant and annoying, but I can't tell how happy it is when I think that a new day begins with that sound and a new opportunity is given to me.
The story of the demon-possessed man in Gerasa is a famous article that is all recorded in the synoptic gospels. Let's receive grace from these words of Jesus meeting a man possessed by a demon who left his home and went back and forth between the tombs, restored his spirit and sent him home.
1. Jesus met a man possessed by a demon.
In modern society, there is a disease that is increasing day by day, and that is mental illness. Seeing the increasing reality of modern people who are addicted to drugs and debauchery due to the psychological anxiety that builds up in a competitive society, I seriously think about who will solve this problem.
According to Freud's theory, people are born with a potential for mental illness. Even when we are healthy and there is nothing wrong with us, when we suddenly have an explosion of words and actions that we never thought possible, we ask ourselves, 'How did I do this?' And I get the feeling that some other power other than my own is controlling me. That is why the Bible refers to this kind of life as 'the one possessed by a demon'.
According to the Bible, he ran out of the house naked, unaware of shame, and went back and forth between graves. Like a ghost-possessed person who runs through the dark and lifeless graves alone, without dreams or hopes, without meaning or purpose in life, and is slowly dying in failure, self-righteousness, inferiority, feelings of alienation and despair, We may be living among people who have lost their purpose and are possessed by countless evil spirits. I myself don't want to do that, but lust, anger, bad habits, selfishness, and covetousness dominate me, and I am self-deprecating in modern times.
The biggest problems in our society these days are youth crime and unemployment. People who cannot solve these difficult problems with a healthy reason commit violence, robbery, even murder, and commit suicide. But most of them are not children of poor families, but children of the middle class and well-to-do people. Those who live under the control of evil spirits with no shame and no order in their lives must hear the sound of Jesus' spiritual alarm.
Jesus came to give us refuge. He came to heal our sickness and to give us peace. But sometimes Jesus makes us uncomfortable. Before giving us peace, the Word renews us with a sharp sword, and instead of healing by stroking our wounds, He awakens us by shocking us from the depths.
Most modern people refuse to hear the sound of a spiritual alarm and tell them not to bother. This is a common modern reaction.
Living by believing in Jesus and obeying the Word is like forgetting a stinging chestnut. When you first believe in Jesus, sometimes it hurts like stepping on chestnuts. The chestnuts also have hard skins, which must also be peeled off. It also has downy hair. You can eat delicious chestnuts only after you have stripped them all off.
Likewise, today, when the sound of a spiritual alarm sounds to us who are possessed by evil spirits, please believe in the lesson that we must cross the Sea of Galilee and meet the Christ who came to Gerasa in order to make us whole.
2. Jesus asked the possessed man, "What is your name?"
We all have names, but we are unable to express ourselves without living up to those names.
In the Bible, when Jesus asked a demon-possessed man, “What is your name,” the demon-possessed man answered, 'Army', without giving his name. This word is 'legion' in Greek, and this is a confession that 'I do not have control over me, but 6,000 evil spirits are controlling me'.
Today, we often find ourselves wandering in divisions divided into thousands, losing our identity and the image of God. I think that Jesus came and asked, “What is your name?” is another spiritual alarm awakening.
A man sold his body to a medical school to use his blood, cells, and all tissues and organs as test water. He went back to the anatomy class and sold himself again to use his body as an anatomical specimen when he died. Shortly thereafter, he was put on trial for double-trafficking. But in the courtroom, he said, "I'm not the one standing in this courtroom. I've already sold everything. I'm nothing."
The demon-possessed person who confessed that something other than the image of God was in control said, "Help me. I am not me. I am possessed by Satan." that was confessed.
The Bible says, "Do not rejoice that the demons surrender to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20).
In Genesis 32, when Jacob was wrestling with an angel at the ford of the river Jabbok, an angel of God asked him, "What is your name?" When he answered Jacob, the angel said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have struggled with God and with men, and you have prevailed."
Until now, Jacob, who had only looked down on the land with human means and methods and lived a selfish life, crossed the Jabbok River under the new name of Israel and became the nation of Israel today.
Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson said that all human beings were created equal, but even they themselves had conflicts in which they lived with black slaves until their death.
Leo Tolstoy was a humanitarian and philanthropist, but he lived in a conflict where he could not pour water or say a kind word to his beloved wife. This is the human form.
A university professor confessed, "It's so different from my life when I talk to students from the pulpit.
In his words, we say, "I am not me. The unwanted self is controlling me. Help me. With your power, drive the evil spirit out of my heart and make me a new being." You can find a confession you want to change.
While we worship every Sunday and listen to the praises of the great choir, we may return with satisfaction and emotion in our hearts, but sometimes we turn away from the experience of being reborn, which must bring about a fundamental new change.
The demon-possessed man in Gerasa heard the alarm clock of Christ. As we are the locals, when we commit ourselves to God, saying, "I am not me. Help me," like the demon-possessed in the region, the Lord will drive out all the world of evil spirits in our hearts and make us whole and healthy human beings. please believe that
3. Jesus made perfect.
In order to save one man, Jesus slaughtered a herd of 2,000 pigs in Gerasea. This is the lesson that in order for a soul to become whole and be saved, a high price must be paid. Here we can find the holy will of the Lord who values one life more than the whole world.
It is Jesus who saves us, paying such a price that He had to die to forgive our sins. But when they saw a herd of 2,000 pigs being slaughtered to save a man possessed by a demon, the people of Gerasea were so afraid that they even told Jesus to leave.
The demon-possessed man of Gerasa showed three symptoms after being made whole.
1), he was dressed.
Having leapt through the graves alone, unaware of the shame of his nakedness, and of his moral and ethical values, until now, he began to get dressed again. I got new clothes. It means that he is no longer living his own life, but has returned to a self with moral ethics and knowledge of shame.
In the Old Testament, when the people of Israel rebelled against God and fled, the prophets rebuked them, saying, "You shameless people, you people who do not know the shame." Today's age is an age where there is no shame. You should get dressed right away. When we change into new clothes that live in upright morals and values, the history of becoming whole takes place.
2), he has a sound mind and an upright mind.
The demon-possessed man could only see his neighbor when he came to his senses. That's when my existence is revealed. I cannot exist without you.
Now our hearts are broken. I can't see things right away. It is full of resentment. When you overcome all these things and become perfect, you will live a truly worthwhile life.
3), he sat at the feet of Jesus.
This is an acknowledgment of the authority of Jesus. At first, he rejected Jesus saying, “Do not trouble me,” but now he has defeated all the forces of evil spirits in his heart and knelt at Jesus’ feet and said, “I am a sinner. Only the Lord can save me. "He acknowledged the authority of Jesus himself and returned to the attitude of worship in which he submitted himself before the Lord.
A person who does not know how to worship is a sick person. Those who do not recognize the authority of God and do not receive the Savior are still those who walk between the graves. Let us kneel at the feet of Jesus. Jesus is my master and I am his servant. God is my Creator and I am His creature.
Also, after the demon-possessed man was healed and was about to follow the Lord, Jesus said to him, "Go home and testify to them that God has done great things for you, and heal your home and your town." We must listen to these words.
Isn't our home full of scars today? Aren't you sick? Today, sometimes, there are people who try to heal society while still being possessed by evil spirits. But neither my family nor society can heal until I cast out my own evil spirits. That is why Jesus asked, “What is your name?” and after defeating the devil who is occupying our hearts, He made us kneel.
Today, when the Lord comes to us who are possessed by many evil spirits and rings the spiritual alarm, I pray that you will be able to listen to the sound of the alarm and become whole with the Lord's word and heal society with a healthy and healed personality.