Demoniac Set Free
No pigs were harmed during this miracle. (Mar 5:1-20)
This morning, as I was on a prayer call with my pastor friend in India, he narrated the following incident to me, illustrating the wonderful saving power of the risen Christ.
A few days ago, he was in a remote village in the state of Orissa in India. This is the same pastor and brother in Christ who was beaten up for the name of Jesus Christ, as I have described in “The Mighty Hand of God series.” There in that village was a man who was physically bound with chains because he was violently insane. In his insanity, he would attack others, and therefore his family had to restrain him with chains. For two years he remained in chains. The Scriptures that came to my mind as I heard this account was Mar 5:1-20.
My pastor friend went to this tiny village because someone had invited him to pray for this insane brother. It is normal in India for people who go through serious life issues to reach out to those who are perceived to have the spiritual power to help them. Unlike in the west, they intuitively know that there is a spirit realm, and that often their problems are more spiritual than physical. Because of this spiritual awareness, they tend to turn to those who can help them find spiritual solutions to their problems. But being in a traditional system that does not believe in the One True Living God who revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ, the spiritual sources they rely on are not of God. This is often taken advantage of by religious fraudsters and those who do witchcraft, causing immeasurable harm to the gullible.
In this case, they reached out to a true child of God who faithfully walked under the lordship of Jesus Christ and was filled by His Holy Spirit. In that village, he had a small meeting to share the good news of God’s forgiveness of sins through His Son, Jesus Christ, and he prayed for this man, who had no ability to understand what was going on. The Lord Jesus Christ miraculously healed him. He was made whole, of sound mind, by the power of the Holy Spirit and was set free from his chains, both physical and spiritual. Seeing the miraculous power of the resurrected Christ, six families, including the family of this man, who had come to attend the meeting, put their faith in the Lord Jesus, . They had an encounter with the Lord Jesus, which they could not deny, and they simply gave their hearts to Him.
We live in a world that exalts science and logic over the spiritual. Yet ironically, we seem to have so much faith in the fake supernatural represented by X-Men like characters. Somehow true faith in the omnipotent, Creator God eludes us. Our children are enchanted with the fake supernatural from the time they are toddlers and are brought up in a system that tends to ridicule and reject God and His things while eagerly accepting even the most ridiculous. But know for sure that the fakes come from the faker, ‘The father of lies,’ the devil.
But you can know the Lord Jesus Christ personally and have an intimate relationship with the Risen One through His Holy Spirit. An encounter with Him will change you forever and can make you a new creation who is humble and sacrificial, just like Him. You can walk in union with Him and experience the true supernatural because He will live in you by His Spirit. He will continue to do through you the same works He did while He walked the earth because He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
The demoniac of Gadarenes wanted to follow Jesus, but he was sent away by the Lord saying,
“‘Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.’ And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.” (Mar 5:19-20)
Let’s hope and pray that this brother too will go forth and boldly proclaim what the Lord did for Him.
It is a joy to share with you what the Lord is doing in and through our lives. Thank you for praying for us.
Please share ‘Resurrection Life’ with your friends and family and bring them along in our journey with the Lord. All glory to the One who rose from the dead, never to die again – our Lord Jesus Christ.
Weeping while I read this! I love the delivery of the Gadarene demoniac, by the power of Christ, one of my favorite stories of Jesus! Funny, that after the man was delivered and set free, the neighbors asked Christ to LEAVE...too much stirring of their pot, I guess.
In India , I have read that the lowest of the low in the caste system, are sometimes so drawn to Christ and His immense LOVE for them. Christ ministered so heartily to the downtrodden, the poor, the brokenhearted! The lowest, the deplorables, the cast-offs, the hated, His compassion so overwhelmed them and they repented of sin and came gladly in to His Kingdom. It is NOT your money, your looks, your sexy, your power, your influence, God looks on the HEART. This is why we love Him so deeply, as He saw all our flaws and failures and loved us all the way through them and into Glory! Wendy
Yes Wendy what you said is very true. The lowest of the low come into the kingdom more easily and therefore often poor Christian pastors are accused of offering them money and material to convert them, which is not true. God has chosen the lowly, the poor and the foolish. His heart breaks for them. Praise the Lord.