1. He had super strength. Even when they chained him, he would break the chains apart.
2. He roamed night and day in the grave yard he wanted to be alone.
3. He would cry out continually and cut him self with the stones in the grave yard he was self abusive.
4. He came up to Jesus and begged Jesus not to send him out of the region, but he wasn't looking at Jesus face when he spoke to him. Jesus said, "Look at me" This man didn't like to make eye contact.
The Bible goes on to say that this man had MANY demons in him.
This man is a representative of society, and he is more like people today than we realize. First people are strong willed. They have a stubborn will that cannot be broken. People are so selfish, each one wanting their own way. And people don't like to make commitments and take on responsibility. If we feel like anything is holding us back, we just break those issues off and toss them away, even if they are our own children, we don't let anything hold us down.
Second he was looking for a life, among the dead. What are you going to find in a grave yard? You certainly are not going to find life there. We put barriers around our hearts, and isolate ourselves from the rest of society because we want to be alone. We think in the solitude of our own existence that we can find peace and safety but what we find only haunts us. There is no life in a pill bottle, no health or peace in another snort. There is no lasting satisfaction in finding someone to be with. All of these things are of the world and they are dead, passing away. Only God can bring you life, joy and peace. Only God can bring lasting satisfaction into your soul.
Third we torture ourselves and self abuse with guilt and condemnation. We are never good enough, rich enough, or done enough...We torture our self with unpleasant memories. We cry out in the darkness of the night and cry our self to sleep. We rip ourselves up and chew ourselves out...then we go to work, and come home to do the same things all over again. We have to quit being so hard on our self and take the focus off our self, and put our focus on the goodness of God. If I weren't such a sinner, then he couldn't save me. Why do I want to focus on my failures when I can think about God's goodness? We have to stop beating ourselves up, and we have to start lifting JESUS up!
Fourth we can't make eye contact with God. We don't want to look at the pages of the HOLY bible and read what it says. We want to look the other way. We don't want to look at the message from God. We don't want to look our momma in the eye, cause we know we done wrong. We don't want to look out kids in the eyes, cause we know we let them down again. We don't want to look our spouse in the eye, cause we know we have been messing up again.
And we are tired, we don't want to be sent away, put away, shut in or sat down. Let me tell you that if any man had a 'right' to commit suicide it would have been this man. What hope was there for this man that was so full of demons? He didn't have no life. Living in the graveyard, crying out, self abusive, naked, disturbed...completely hopeless.
But his hopelessness wasn't as hopeless as it seemed. Jesus went to him, and helped him even while he was still possessed by demons. NOBODY ever went out to this man, he was dangerous! They avoided him, but Jesus paid him a visit one day. Suicide is not the answer to your hopeless situation. You don't need another pill, all you need is a visit from Jesus one day. Jesus said, "I stand at the door and knock." He is waiting on you to open the door and let him in!
Mark 5: 7-15
7And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the most high God? I adjure you by God, that you torment me not.
10And he begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11Now there was there near unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12And all the demons begged him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13And Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (there were about two thousand;) and were drowned in the sea.
14And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15And they came to Jesus, and saw him that was possessed with the demon, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
After Jesus passed by this man that was possessed with the demon was sitting, clothed, and in his right mind...
Don't think your life is too far gone, because it isn't. Hopelessness isn't always hopeless, Jesus is still putting people's lives back together. Have you had enough? Just give it all to Jesus.
