Overcome Your Inner Demons With One Faithful Step

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

Don’t battle your inner demons alone when the Lord desires to help you overcome them

Introduction

You can overcome your inner demons starting today, and all it takes is one step of faith.  Will you take that step of faith to overcome your inner demons?  I hope you take a moment to join me for this week’s lesson, as we take a look at how even the demons are subject to God’s voice.  This week’s Sunday School commentary covers Mark 5:1-20.

Jesus Moves With Intent

Mark 5 opens with Jesus coming to the country of the Gadarenes (or the Gergesenes Matt. 8:23). Gad was the seventh son of Jacob, though he was born when one of his wives gave her maid to Jacob. The tribe of Gad chose to live on the other side of the Jordan, in Gilead, as they saw the land to be more beneficial for their herds (Num. 32:1-5; Josh. 13:24-28; 22:9).

As we will see in this lesson, the land of Gad was filled with Gentiles over time. We can infer that the people covered in our lesson were likely Gentiles, as evidenced by the presence of pigs, an animal considered unclean by the Mosaic Law.

Now, something that’s made clear in the prior chapters is that this was not a coincidence that Jesus had come to the Gadarenes.  Moreover, in my commentary – God Is In Control Even When Your World Is Spinning – we can also see that nothing was going to stop Jesus from coming to the country.

You may wonder to yourself, ‘What’s so important that Jesus moved with such intent and determination?’  What I love about the recording of this event is that we can see God’s love for everyone since, again, the Gadarenes were Gentiles.  Many have been led to believe that God only loves the Jews, but that’s simply not true.  As Jesus told Nicodemus, God gave His only begotten Son because He loved, and still loves, the world.  

Even more than that, going to the country of the Gadarenes further confirmed the words that Christ shared with the scribes and Pharisees in Luke 5:31-32.  Jesus told them that He came for those who are sick, not those who are ‘well’ and do not need a physician.

Those who are “well” and do not need a physician are only those who think they are well and don’t need God.  The scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders, rejected Christ from a place of arrogance and self-righteousness.  Many today believe that they are well and reject Christ from that same arrogance and self-righteousness.

Yet, all of us, spiritually speaking, are unwell.  Our spirit is corrupted by sin daily, and without the Lord, sin will shatter and destroy the soul.  However, as we will see in this week’s commentary, God has power and authority over the spirit.  The Lord can heal a broken and wounded spirit.

Jesus Meets Legion

Mark 5:2 tells us that as soon as Jesus and the disciples came upon shore, they were immediately met by a man with an unclean spirit.  In this case, to say that the man had an unclean spirit was to say that he was possessed by a wicked spirit – a demon.

A desperate condition

Mark 5:3-5 goes on to tell us further of the man’s condition.  Firstly, we’re told that his dwelling was among the tombs, among the dead.  Secondly, we’re told how wild and uncontrollable this man was.  Thirdly, we’re told that this man would cry out night and day, cutting himself with stones.

In Matthew’s gospel, we’re told there was a second man who had also come out of the tombs and was possessed.  Both Mark and Luke, in their gospels, focused on the story of this particular man.  The picture that is painted of this man’s condition was one a man in desperate need of help.  

Let me just say this about the condition of sin that dwells in our hearts today.  Sin also puts us in a condition where we desperately need help.  We have inner demons that we battle, that, while we may not physically abuse ourselves, we certainly can abuse our souls.  

Do not make light of the damage that you can do to your soul!  As you care about your physical, mental, and emotional health, you ought to care as much, if not more, about the condition of your soul.

I, again, want to say that it was no coincidence that Jesus landed at that exact place at that exact time.  You see, Jesus was at that place for that man.  I believe that the man’s spirit had been crying out night and day for the Lord to help him, and Jesus came to answer those cries.

I truly believe that when your soul cries out to the Lord, He hears your cries and He moves in that moment to help you.  God is faithful, but the question we must continually answer is whether or not we will be faithful in return?  

The compassion of Christ

Something else that we cannot overlook from this event is the compassion of Christ.  Compassion:  sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

The opening verses in this chapter show us that what Christ saw before Him, though demon-possessed, was a man.  This thought is important to me because we see the compassion of Christ.  With the man being demon-possessed, Christ could have judged the man harshly.  Yet, as Christ often said about His first coming, He had not come to condemn or destroy, but to save.

As Paul said, we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses (Heb. 4:15).  Christ doesn’t view His followers as an unclean thing, but rather, He sees us and sympathizes with us.  Christ desires to alleviate us of what burdens and ails us in our souls (Matt. 11:28).  It is truly a blessing that the Lord has such compassion towards us!

I believe the opening verses imply that one or two things had happened with the demon-possessed man, which led to his dwelling in the tombs.  I believe that this man was either kicked out of town by the townspeople, because they were unable to help, or he chose to get as far away as he could from town.  Either way, I don’t believe the man had received much compassion for a long time, due to his condition.

Legion reveals himself

The man’s condition becomes somewhat clearer for us in Mark 5:6-7.  In Mark 5:6, we’re told that the man had seen Jesus from afar and when he met Him, he worshiped Christ.  So, to clear this up, before Jesus and the disciples had come ashore, the man had spotted them, ran to meet them, and he bowed in honor when they came ashore.

Now, some of us may wonder, why would a demon-possessed man worship Christ?  The indication from Mark 5:6-7 is that this man likely suffered from a split personality.  The man worshipped and honored Christ because he was happy to see Him.  

Whereas Mark 5:7 shows us that the demon knew Christ and feared Him.  The demon asked Jesus, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?”  It almost sounds like the demon asked that question with disdain, but we’ll see that he implored Christ not to torment him nor to send him out of the country (Mark 5:10).  The demon knew he stood no chance against Christ and His authority!

Jesus then commanded the demon to come out of the man, along with his name, to which the demon replied that his name was Legion (Mark 5:8-9).  Legion then said to Jesus, “For we are many.”  The man was possessed by many wicked spirits who, it seems, could speak all at the same time, or maybe even one at a time

The revelation of this split personality makes the man’s condition even more dire.  The man was literally at war in his own body for control.  It makes me wonder whether or not the man or the demon was responsible for the cutting of himself.  I believe that the demon was trying to destroy the man, as the man would cry out night and day for help.

If we think of the man’s condition in that manner, many of us will see that we face the same battle within.  We have demons that, like the man, desire to control us.  Doubt, anger, fear, covetousness, greed, lust, temptation, anxiety, worry, sexual immorality, and addiction are just a few of the demons we face that are constantly fighting us for control.  

Jesus Casts Out Legion

I want you to consider the fear that Legion had shown of Jesus.  Let’s then consider how the man had cried night and day for help. Then, let us consider the happiness he had in Jesus’ arrival; he was happy because he knew help had arrived.  

What do you think we should do to receive help with our inner demons and overcome them?  We should turn to the one the demons fear, shouldn’t we?  

In Mark 5:12, we will see where the demons begged Jesus to send them to some nearby swine.  The demons begging Jesus not only show their desperation, but they also show they recognize who was in control.  God is in control of everything, all that is seen and invisible–the physical and the spiritual!  

Mark 5:13 tells us that Jesus permitted the demons to enter the swine, and then, the herd of swine ran and drowned in the sea, killing the swine.  I don’t believe that the demons were responsible for the death of the swine; I believe Jesus did that, as He would not permit them to enter anyone else.  

Reality of Demons

This brings up an interesting question and point about the demons.  Since they could possess the swine, why didn’t they do that in the first place?  Why did Legion choose to possess the man?  

What this passage of scripture reveals to us are the intentions and plans of demons.  Demons are doing the works of the one whom they followed right out of the kingdom of heaven.  Revelation 12:7-9 speaks of the devil and his angels being cast out with him.  Satan is the Devil and his angels are demons.

Legion recognized the Son because, at one point, they worshiped Him.  Now, they take part in Satan’s plan, actively working against the Lord by attacking mankind with a desire to torment and destroy.

So, if even the demons recognize His authority, shouldn’t we recognize His authority?  If the demons were pleading for permission to be able to move, shouldn’t we recognize the Lord’s command over our demons?

A Living Testimony of God

After being freed from the bondage of Legion, we are told in Mark 5:15, tells us that the one who had been possessed was sitting and clothed, and in his right mind.  Sometimes we combine this scripture in saying that we are clothed in our right mind.  While there is certainly nothing wrong about being clothed in your right mind, that’s not what the scripture was talking about!

In Luke’s gospel, the doctor tells us that this man had demons for a long time, and that he literally wore no clothes (Luke 8:27).  Mark tells us that when the people heard of what had happened to the swine, they came to see the man was now clothed and in his right mind–the man was dressed and wasn’t acting uncontrollably.   

What this testifies to is the healing work of the Lord.  When God heals us, it is a complete healing, not simply a band-aid.  The Lord had made this man whole, and on top of that, the man had a desire to go with Christ (Mark 5:18).  When your soul comes into contact with the Lord, it will never want to leave Him again.

Sin is what drives the soul away from the Lord.  As I said earlier, sin will pollute, corrupt, and kill the soul if left unchecked.  However, when one goes to visit the great physician, He will restore that which has been corrupted.  The corrupted soul will turn into a light which God will desire to shine in the world.

This we can also see in that Christ did not permit the formerly possessed man to come with Him.  Christ commissioned the man to go and tell the great story of what God had done for him, and that is what that man went and did (Mark 5:19-20)! 

All of us, God’s children, share that same commission today.  Why should we sit down and keep quiet about all that God has done for us?  There is someone right now who needs to hear about how God is helping us to combat and overcome our demons.  Some of us may not have overcome our demons just yet, but we certainly have not been overcome.

Whether you realize it or not, you’re a living and breathing testimony of God’s goodness.  God’s goodness needs to be heard today!  So, let us go and tell the story about how a Savior came from glory and has given us life over our demons.