Message Notes for July 11, 2021
Series: “Life with Friends” Title: Pig Diving

Key passage:
Mark 5:1-20 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Personal notes from today’s message:

Five truths of demonic warfare:

One: Their intent is destruction!

Two: Only God has power over them!

Three: You must fill the void of demonic removal.

Four: Demons cannot co-exist with Jesus.

Five: There is no price too great or power so strong to prevent Jesus from restoring a life.

Family/Group Study Notes for July 11, 2021
Series: “Life with Friends” Title: Pig Diving

Read Mark 5:1-20. What do you learn about Jesus in this passage? What do you learn about the value of the demon possessed man? How does this passage give you insight into how far Jesus will go to save a person? Has there been anyone you have felt is so far from God they can’t be reached? Why? How does this passage inspire you to a new prayer for them?
Why do you think the people were afraid? Why did they want Jesus to leave? When you view our culture and the lives of Americans, where do you see places where Jesus is not welcome? In what aspects of your life have you sent His influence away? (A lifestyle, money, a relationship, an ideal, a desire, a quest, a goal.)

Review the following from “Desiring God”:

We do know a few truths about demons.
We know demons oppose the kingdom of God (Luke 11:14–23), that they seek to deceitfully ensnare humans and manipulate them to do their will rather than God’s (2 Timothy 2:26), and that it’s possible for them to gain such an influence over a person that they essentially “possess” them (Luke 8:26–39). And we know that, unless people are born again and live in the authority of the risen Christ, demons have “the power of death” over them and therefore use people’s “fear of death” to maximum advantage (Hebrews 2:14–15).
We also know there is a hierarchy of demonic power (Ephesians 6:12), and that there is a ruling evil known since antiquity as “the devil and Satan” (Revelation 12:9) who was manifested as a serpent in Eden (Genesis 3:1–5; Revelation 12:9), was present in the divine council in Job (Job 1:6–12), and tempted Jesus in the wilderness (Luke 4:1–13).

What Makes the Devil Flee?
When the Bible instructs us how to send demons scurrying away in fear, it says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). This is powerful spiritual warfare.
Here’s the key: we grant authority to whomever we trust. The devil has no authority over any Christian, except the authority we grant him by believing him. The more we believe him, the more influence and control over us we give to him — the more he gets a hold on us. This is not some mysterious spiritual secret. This is the way influence or control works in any relationship we have.
When it comes to demons, we do not need to claim any authority over them. Words don’t act like spells with demons (Acts 19:15). Demons only recognize God’s authority and they tremble before it (James 2:19). When we submit ourselves to God — come under His authority by trusting, obeying, and enjoying Him — demons get away from us. This act of faith releases great spiritual power, and demons cannot withstand it.