September 9, 2012
SOVEREIGN GRACE BAPTIST
CHURCH
LOCATION
Rocky Hill Firehouse, 2nd
Floor
150 Washington Street
Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 08553
Telephone: 615-513-4464
Schedule of Services
Sunday 10: 15 AM Bible Class
Sunday 11:00 AM Morning Service
Thursday 7: 30 PM Midweek Service
THREE REQUESTS, THREE ANSWERS
Mark 5: 1-21
In this passage we find a request
asked to the Lord by the unclean spirits. The Lord gave them their request. Secondly, the countrymen made a request. The Lord granted them their request. Thirdly,
the man who Christ saved made a request but the Lord did not grant him his
request. Let’s see what we can learn by these requests and the Lord’s answers.
The Request
of Legion (vv10-12)
The devil and devils have much
power. They had power over this man and
are too powerful for you and me. They had power to destroy the swine. But they had to ask the Lord Jesus permission
to do anything. That means Christ is God
over all. Satan and the powers of
darkness are under the total control of the Lord Jesus Christ. If the devil
could not go into those swine without permission then he could not have entered
this man without permission. Unclean
spirits can go only where Christ Jesus permits, and can only do what Christ
allows them to do. (v10, 12-13) (Job 1: 6-12; 1 Pet 5: 8) Satan is powerful but not omnipotent (Rev
20:1-3). Why does the Lord allow the
devil to do anything? The Lord only allows satan to do what serves the Lord’s
purpose in bringing glory to his name in the salvation of chosen sinners. They requested to go into the swine. Christ gave them permission so that in the
destruction of the swine Christ might show his glory. Christ crushed the serpents head. He cast our sins into the depths of the sea.
Christ binds the strongman and spoils his house, making his children clean, in
our right mind, to sit at his feet and to be clothed with his
righteousness. Christ is God working all
things together on purpose for his own glory and the sake of those he has
everlastingly loved.
The Request of the Countrymen (vv15-17)
These men begged the Lord to depart
from their coasts for two reasons: they coveted the power of God and they
coveted earthly riches. First, they were
angry because after they had tried to cure the demonic to no avail, Christ
did. Natural men despise the fact that none
but Christ is able to put away the sin of his people and deliver lost souls
from the power of satan. (Acts 10: 38; Heb 7: 25) Secondly, they asked Christ to leave because
their two thousand head of pigs died. In
both points, the “hope of
their gains was gone.” (Acts 16:19)
The owners of these pigs were in as bad a shape as the man possessed
with devils. By asking Christ to leave
their coasts, these men were choked by the cares, riches and pleasures of life
as surely as the swine were choked in the sea. (Mk 4: 19) There is no greater hindrance to a sinner from
trusting Christ than covetousness for Christ’s glory and for gain of this world.
(1 Jn 2: 15-17) Take heed: they requested Christ to turn away from
them; Christ gave them their request. (2 Tim 3: 5)
The Request of the Saved
Man (v18)
The demons prayed let us stay in this country but depart from you—the
Lord gave them their request. The
countrymen prayed for Christ to depart
from us—the Lord gave them their request.
This man prayed, “that he might be
with him.” But Christ denied him his
request. Instead, the Lord sent him to
tell his friends what Christ had done for him.
What a gift God gave to this man and this man’s friends! Those the Lord sends do not necessarily fill
the office of a pastor, maybe not even a deacon, maybe no office at all—this
man did not—but he was sent of the Lord. Where ever we are the believer is sent
of God to bear witness of him. How do we
bear witness of Christ? “Tell them how great things the LORD hath
done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”
What Have We Learned?
From the first two requests and answers
we learn that the Lord will give us what we want. There will be some whom the Lord will give what
they want whose will it is to walk in their glory and by their own will shall end
up choked by their own lusts. This is
not God’s fault. It is what perishing sinners want. Then there will be others who the Lord will
give what they want who will trust in Christ and part with all else to have the
Pearl of great price because they have been made willing in the day of God’s
Power. This is all to the praise of the
glory of his grace!
From the last request and answer, we
learn that though we desire to be with Christ, until the Master calls us home, Christ
will have us to bear witness of him in this world. The fact is, the Lord was with his witness
all along, and Christ promises while we are in this world that he will never
leave us nor forsake us. He will come again.
We shall be with him in glory.
Father, make us willing to want only
Christ. Lord Jesus, make us faithful
witnesses of you! As one writer of old
put it:
All
for the Master, all without reserve,
All to
the utmost of our manhood’s might;
Each
pulse, each throb of heart and thrill of nerve,
Each
hour of busy day and silent night,
All
for the Master!