Here's notes from Wednesday night's (3/10/21) bible study

From Demonism to Discipleship (Lk 8:26-39)

Intro

~ We read about a man who was filled with a Legion of demons. This man comes to Jesus and bows down and Jesus casts Legion out of the man. We read about his pre-salvation and post-salvation experience.

Body

Notice his pre-salvation condition

1 Demon possessed

2 Unclothed

3 Didn’t live in a house but in the tombs and mountains

4 The demon would take control of him often

5 He was kept bound by chains and fetters

6 The demon would drive him from the tombs into the wilderness

7 He was always crying out

8 He was always cutting himself with stones

9 He would break the chains apart and free himself when he was bound

10 Matthew tells us they were exceeding fierce so that people couldn’t walk by

His post-salvation condition

1 Sitting at the feet of Jesus

2 Clothed

3 In his right mind

4 He wanted to go with Jesus

5 He became a preacher of the gospel

~ This is the power of the gospel

Text

His post-salvation condition

1 Sitting at the feet of Jesus

~ in these passages when a person is sitting at the feet of another person they are listening and learning

~ Lk 2:46 And it came to pass, that after three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions.

~ Lk 10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

~ Acts 22:3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

~ Are we listening? Are we learning?

~ The gospel teaches us to sit and listen to Jesus Christ

~ Seated and listening is the proper posture for a child of God

~ This provides the basis for a believer’s devotional life with God

~ Apart from salvation this is where the groundwork of spiritual life is laid

~ This takes us back to what Jesus said about the man who built his house on a foundation and not on the sand. He built this foundation by hearing and obeying the word of God

2 Clothed

~ Before he was unclothed. Which indicates his lack of self-respect because of demon possession

~ When we see demon possession the demons do terrible things to the person they occupy

· Made sick, live like wild animals

· Mar_1:34, Mar_5:2, Mar_7:25, Mar_9:25; Mat_12:43; Luk_4:33-37

~ This speaks of Satan robbing the dignity of a person (Jn 10:10)

~ How does Satan steal the dignity of man? Through poor choices, through immoral relationships, homosexuality, transgenderism, the lies of social injustice, by gossip, lies that destroy another person’s reputation, words that are hurtful can damage people for effectiveness are spoken by people but motivated by people’s pride

~ Man was made in the image of God and Satan went to work to destroy that by temping Eve in the garden

~ If Satan can destroy the image of God in man, man won’t be able to properly relate to God and will be alienated from God

~ Being clothed indicates personal care and respect for yourself

~ The Prodigal Son must have looked bad because when he came home his father has the best robe put on him

~ We live in a world that is constantly trying to steal the dignity of man

~ The gospel restores true value in us

~ This man was truly unclothed spiritually but now he’s clothed with the righteousness of Christ

3 In his right mind

~ Before his mind was subject to the devils

~ Now our mind is subject to the Word

~ The book of Philippians speaks so much about the mind

~ Our mind is primary target of the devil – Because if the devil gets our mind he’ll get our heart too and then he’ll get our emotions – but it starts with the mind

~ Jonathan Edwards aimed his preaching at the heart and mind

~ The gospel restores a man or woman to their right mind about life, worldview, value system and God

4 He wanted to go with Jesus

~ The Gadarenes asked Jesus to go away but this man out of whom the demons were cast wanted to follow Christ

~ Before this man was driven by the devil into the wild, unclothed, howling but now he wants to go with Jesus

~ Before because of the demon possession he was forced to follow the lead of Legion

~ Now he wants to follow Christ

~ Look up the times where Jesus says, follow me, come and see

~ Jn 1:37-40 Andrew decided to follow Jesus and asks where Jesus is staying. Jesus says come and see

~ Jn 1:43 Jesus found Philip and told him to Follow me

~ Jn 1:45-46 Philip tells Nathaniel about Jesus. Nathaniel asks can any good thing come out of Nazareth and Philip tells him to come and see

~ Jn 4:29 After Jesus witnessed to the woman at the well she goes to the city and says, “come see a man which told me everything about myself.” Is no this the Christ?

~ Jesus walked by Matthew and said “follow me” (Matt 9:9)

~ 1 Kings 19:19-21 Elijah went to find Elisha and called him to follow him as his disciple

~ The man who was a demoniac now wants to follow Jesus

~ Jesus this time tells the man to go back to his family and tell them what God has done for them

5 He became a preacher of the gospel

~ Before this man howled because of the demon but now he’s clothed, in his right mind, a follower of Christ and now he’s sharing what great things God has done for him

~ This former demoniac becomes a preacher of the gospel

~ He leads a list of many preachers we see in the New Testament – John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples, Steven, Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, John Bunyan, Alexander MacClaren, John Wesley, George Whitefield, William Tyndale, John Knox, Charles Spurgeon, Matthew Henry