Authority over Darkness

PASTOR ANNOUNCEMENTS

Good morning everyone! I’m David, the Lead Pastor here at Renovation Church.

Well, as many of you know, we are just one week away from the Grand Opening of our Shoreview location!

Please be praying for that this upcoming week!

Also, we are asking that you DO NOT attend their Grand Opening.

If even 10% of us go over there, we would overwhelm them, and we want to have open seats for all of the seekers and nonbelievers that are absolutely going to come.

If you want to go to see it sometime, they would love to see you this summer, when they will have open seats!

And secondly, as Pastor Nate said, our Illuminate Fund is ending in a week or so

I just want to personally say, “Thank you so much for your generosity to this building expansion!”

600 people have come to Christ since Illuminate started.

Personally, I don’t know if I’ve ever made a better investment in my life.

I know for some of you, your Illuminate giving was above and beyond your tithe even, and that’s amazing. Thank you for stepping up during this period!

But I also know that, for many of you, Illuminate was an opportunity to increase your generosity and get closer to tithing (the Biblical 10%), and for some of you, it helped you tithe for the first time.

If you’re in that camp, don’t go backwards here. Take what you were giving to Illuminate, and when you set up your giving on the new system this week, give it to the General Fund, and keep tithing.

Keep trusting in God’s Word and walking in Biblical stewardship.

INTRODUCTION

All right, we are in our last week of our series called the Authority of Jesus

This series has allowed us to cover some very unique topics that we’ve never covered in the past.

Especially our topics about healing and today’s topic about darkness.

And when I say darkness, I mean more specifically Jesus’ authority over demonic possession.

And this is a good opportunity for me to again, reiterate that today’s message is not a message intended for children.

I know we say that once or twice a year, but I’m really serious about this one.

When you read through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) in the Bible, stories about healing & darkness are everywhere.

Someone gets healed. Jesus sends a demon out of someone. Somebody else gets healed. Jesus confronts another demon.

But despite how frequently these types of stories occur in the Bible, unless you grew up in a Charismatic church or something, most of us haven’t ever heard teaching on these subjects

And because these stories feature so prominently in the Gospels, I wanted to provide some teaching on it, so you can have a better understanding when you read these things in your own Bible.

Now, we’ve definitely taught a number of times on spiritual evil or spiritual warfare before…

But we’ve never done a message specifically on demonic possession and Jesus’ authority over demons.

THE PASSAGE

So let’s open our Bibles together

Mark 5:1-20

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Right before this passage, at the end of Mark chapter 4, is the story that Pastor Nate, covered a few weeks ago of Jesus showing his authority over the natural world…and calming the storm.

And now, immediately after, Jesus is going to show his authority over the dark forces of this world.

Let’s walk through this passage together bit by bit as there is a lot here.

(Mark 5:1-5) - NIV

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

Mark 5:1-20

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Let’s pause here for just a minute. Keep this open.

Firstly, a word about impure spirits, or demons, as the passage will call them in a second.

The Bible tells us in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of Revelation that demons were once angels.

But they aligned themselves with Satan, whom the Bible tells us is a real entity that rebelled against God

And Satan and his demons seek to steal, kill, and destroy (that’s John 10)

And this man in Mark chapter 5 has been possessed by a demon.

And notice the descriptions here…as this is actually the most detailed description of a demon-possessed person in the entire Bible.

We see that this possessed man has incredible, supernatural, strength even.

The people of the town had apparently tried to subdue him with chains, but it didn’t work.

And so now he’s been banished from town, and he’s living out in the cemetery.

And the demon is torturing the man psychologically.

The man is crying out…and the demon has even convinced the man to damage his own body with self-harm by cutting himself.

Let’s keep reading.

(Mark 5:6-13) - NIV

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”
9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” 10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.
11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13 He gave them permission, and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Mark 5:1-20

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Let’s pause again here.

Okay, the demon knows (unlike many in the crowd), that Jesus is the Son of God.

Then the demon tells Jesus: “My name is Legion, for we are many”

What’s a legion?

Well, a Roman legion was an army unit that typically consisted of around 6,000 men.

Was this 6,000 demons in one man?

Maybe not (remember demons lie), but certainly there are many here

And they did, as verse 13 said, go into 2,000 pigs, so who knows?

But why do they want to go into the pigs?

Luke tells us in his Gospel that the demons do not want Jesus to send them into the abyss.

They want to continue to steal, kill, destroy and wreak havoc…

And here we learn here that even animals can be possessed.

And Jesus sends them into the pigs in part because it was a way He could visibly prove that He has all authority over darkness.

Onlookers didn’t need to just believe it worked somehow in the spiritual realm, they could literally see his authority in action in the physical realm

Let’s keep reading

(Mark 5:14-20) - NIV

14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. 17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

So Jesus casts the demons out, and the man is fully changed.

He’s in his right mind and wants to follow Jesus.

The people of the town, however, are afraid of Jesus’ power…and they ask Him to leave…which is crazy!

DOES THIS STILL HAPPEN TODAY?

So what do we do with passages like this one in the Bible?

Because I know what some of you are thinking.

You’re thinking, “David, I’m a smart, modern, educated person, and I believe in God and all, but it’s a little hard for me to believe in demon possession”

And even harder to believe that it could still happen today.

Others of you are thinking, “Aren’t demons just what ancient people falsely attributed disease and sickness to?”

Like, they didn’t have an understanding of cancer, so they just called cancer a demon?

You might be surprised to hear this, but the Bible actually differentiates between sickness and the demonic often

Look at Matthew 4:24 for example:

(Matthew 4:24) – NIV

News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.

Jesus didn’t look at every sick or struggling person, and say, “You have a demon”

No, he believed some people had physical issues, some psychological issues, and others, truly had demonic issues.

Okay, but can this still happen today?

And I’m not just talking about temptation or spiritual warfare, but actual demonic possession?

Where someone is indwelt by a demon in such a state that a demon has direct control over a person’s thoughts or actions (like the man in our passage in Mark 5)

Generally, most Christian scholars would say that Christians cannot be possessed by a demon because they are already indwelt with the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit does not rent out space to spiritual evil to share occupancy

But, while Christians cannot be possessed, they can certainly be oppressed…that is tempted, harassed, attacked by their spiritual enemies.

Okay, but can non-Christians still be demon possessed today?

I’m sure most of you are thinking, “Outside of like the movies or something, I’ve never seen that”

Honestly, I hadn’t either…until 4 years ago.

4 years ago, our church went on a Missions Trip to Mwanza, Tanzania, which is known by many as the “Witch Doctor Capital of Tanzania.

In fact, over 50% of the population of Mwanza frequents actual witch doctors for their problems.

They’re literally trying to solve their relationship issues, health problems, infertility, you name it, by engaging in the dark arts.

In summary, this is not Blaine, MN.

When we got to the big outreach for the weekend, there were maybe 50,000 people in attendance out on this open field.

And as my friend Sammy Wanyonyi shared the Gospel, hundreds and hundreds responded, showing interest in receiving Christ as their Savior, and they started walking forward to the alter as he instructed them.

And as they began walking, many of them began shrieking and falling over.

And I watched as local church volunteers carried maybe 50 of them behind the stage to another open field.

I asked an African friend what was happening and he said, “They were about to pray to receive Christ, but the demon within them acted up before they could come forward and pray to receive Christ”

Much like the man in Mark 5 thrashed around, cried out, and cut himself.

And I’m going to be totally honest with you, at this point, I said to myself, “I’m not sure I believe this”

I’m by nature a skeptic and logic guy…so this is not easy for me.

But I said myself, “I read about this in the Bible, I BELIEVE the Bible…so…I’m just going to go look and see”

And I walked behind the stage, and what I saw was unbelievable.

I actually took detailed notes later that night in my journal because I wanted to remember the details vividly

I came upon this young woman on the ground whose back was arched so high that she was basically resting on toes and fingertips.

When I came upon this scene, it was maybe the most scared I’ve ever been

But I saw that the local Christians were not afraid, and they were beginning to pray in Jesus’ name.

The woman then proceeded to begin hitting the back of her head against the hard ground repeatedly…despite the Christians best efforts to protect her

And I’m telling you it would literally be impossible to do that on your own. I’m sure she had a concussion the next day.

Even when you fake fall, you can’t get yourself to actually fall hard because your brain knows it must protect itself…but she just kept slamming her head at full strength.

And after we prayed for her and for the demon to leave in the name of Jesus for about 10 minutes, she woke up, tearful, and incredibly confused about where she was.

And so we told her what happened, and then she gratefully prayed with us to receive Christ as her Savior and Leader.

And the other Christians talked to her about never going back to the witch doctor again

I then moved over to another woman who was also thrashing around on the ground…and began helping another group of Tanzanian Christians pray for her.

In a few minutes, she too seemed to wake up.

And we began leading her through the sinner’s prayer to accept Christ.

But when we said the part where you say, “That you sent your son Jesus”

She literally couldn’t physically say the name of Jesus.

She just said, “J…J…j…j….j…” and then she fell back down and began writhing again…

…because like the man in our text, or Mary Magdalene in Luke 8, there were multiple demons involved.

And now, having been to East Africa 6 different times, I’ve seen this in multiple cities and multiple countries.

I was in an area of Mozambique once where a woman started walking forward to accept Christ, and a demon began manifesting to the point that she was shrieking and writhing…and so I began to pray with a group of Christians from Mozambique

And this was an area where basically no one spoke English. They speak Portuguese and local tribal languages

And I prayed (in English), “In the name of Jesus, we command you to come out”

And the woman, who didn’t speak English, looked right at me, and went (she shook her finger in my face)

And yet, every time, in every country, I’ve seen this happen, Jesus has AUTHORITY OVER DARKNESS.

And every time, ALL of the people were delivered and set free.

Because His Light triumphs over darkness.

But what do we do with this?

And why don’t we see a lot of this here?

As you might imagine, I also had A LOT of questions when I started seeing this.

That same weekend in Tanzania (when I first saw demonic possession), I got the chance to speak at the church of one of the leaders of the movement there.

He was an incredible man. Very smart. Well educated.

Even spent time being educated in theology in the U.S.

And so while he was driving us back to our hotel after church (w/ Nina Solberg & Hannah Sommer), I asked him, “Why don’t we really see this in America?”

And he, who sees it almost every time he gives the gospel in Tanzania, said, “I was in the U.S. for three years, and I never saw it once.”

And it’s not that it doesn’t exist, it does.

But then he said, “Here, in Africa, everyone is spiritual”

He smiled and said, “Atheists don’t exist in Africa.

“And so the devil can’t hide like he can in America.

He said, “Here in Africa, it is much more of an open war rather than in America where it is a hidden war”

And think about it…the last thing the devil wants to do is reveal himself.

He wants people thinking he’s a cartoon, or better yet that his way is the good way:

The Bible tells us

(2 Corinthians 11:14) – NIV

14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

In our Authority of Teaching Message a few weeks ago…we said:

Plenty of Americans already believe that the greatest good is expressive individualism (following your feelings and flesh to wherever they lead you)

That’s just what the devil wants.

Plus, the devil is already working quite effectively through plenty of false teachers that will tell you that all religions are the same, or that all people go to heaven, or that you just have to be a good person.

And so trust me, demonic possession is a last resort for the devil and his demons.

In part, because listen, honestly, those experiences I had in Africa proved to me that God is real almost more than other experience of my entire life.

And so if the devil plays his hand outright through possession, I believe it will cause even more people will run to God…

They’ll see the devil as darkness and crave the light.

But let me say this: I do wonder if we may see more of this in America over the next few decades.

As I said two weeks ago, it’s becoming more and more clear every day that our culture is not heading towards a secular utopia like many thought it would 20 years ago.

Secularism and atheism are not on the rise…at all.

It turns out, humans are deeply religious.

They cannot escape the God-shaped hole in their heart.

But this is heartbreaking: When Americans have no one to tell them they can have a relationship w/ Jesus, people are tragically turning instead to paganism…to manifesting (that is trying to make things become a reality by ‘speaking them into existence’…

…they’re turning to crystals, mediums, psychics, to Wicca, and more.

There are now more Wiccans in American than Presbyterians.

And as more and more Americans turn to the dark arts, we American Christians might need to learn more from our African, Haitian, and Asian brothers & sisters in Christ who see the effects of demonic possession often

But the main Biblical takeaway from this is that Jesus has all authority over darkness.

If by chance you think you ever come across this in real life, and you think someone may be possessed…

The power of the Holy Spirit resides in you, but also, don’t do anything alone.

Ask for help from a Christian friend, an elder, a pastor.

But the ultimate authority is in Jesus.

And I want to say that I know in a room this size, that a few of you may be dabbling with some of the darkness we have talked about today

Crystals, metals, trying to manifest words & situations, spirit guides…

Or even Ouija boards, astrology, horror movies with the demonic…these things are not as harmless as our culture suggests

I cannot urge you enough to get rid of all of that in your life.

You don’t know what you’re messing with. It’s real, and it’s dark

I’ve seen firsthand what happens to a culture when they embrace these sorts of things.

The Bible forbids these things (read Deuteronomy 18) and tells us to have nothing to do with them.

In Acts 19 in Ephesus, when Paul reached for Christ people who had been previously practicing sorcery, those new Christians came together and burned their scrolls, even at a massive financial loss.

They had met Jesus, and they wanted nothing to do anymore with the dark ways of Satan

And so don’t even open that door a tiny crack to these sorts of things

In fact, there may be some of you in here that haven’t yet given your life over to Jesus Christ…

…who is the Son of God who came to die on the cross for your sins, and set you free from darkness.

He has the authority to make the darkness flee from your life.

He can bring you into a beautiful light.

And if you’ve never truly believed in Him before as your Savior, and never made him the Leader of your life, I want to give you a chance to do that after we sing this final song of worship.

Let me pray