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Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack doing a little later in the program tell you how you got the grand moments. First, here's the message three and he personally spoke with them regarding their spiritual condition and as these became followers of Christ, we learn today how we also are to follow Christ and when we meet Jesus how our lives are changed. Today we're going to encounter a man were going to discover a man who met Jesus on the most dire and desperate circumstance. A man who cried out, not to God but he cried out first to Satan. And yet when Jesus entered his life.

He changed everything really take time to read an extended passage of Scripture. In fact, were going to read the entire story that is given to us here in Mark's gospel chapter 5 the first 20 verses they came to the other side of the seed to the country of the garrisons and when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the two, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. For he had often been bound with shackles and chains but he rents the chains apart and he broke the shackles and peace. No one had the strength to subdue him night and day among the tombs and on the mountains. He was always crying out and bruising are cutting himself was spelled and when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him and crying out with a loud voice he said, what have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most high God. I am sure you by God.

Do not torment me for he was saying that his Jesus was saying come out of the man you unclean spirit, and Jesus asked him, what is your name, he replied, my name is Legion for we are many, and he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country know a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside and they begged him, saying, send this to the pigs. Let us enter them. So he gave them permission and the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs and the herd numbering about 2000 rushed down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled and told in the city and in the country and people came to see what it was that it happened and they came to Jesus and saw the demon possessed man, the one who had the Legion sitting close and in his right mind, and they were afraid, and those who had seen it described it to them what it happened to the demon possessed man and of the pigs and they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.

As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him and he did not permit him but said go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you and he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis that is the Twin Cities. How much Jesus had done for him and everyone marveled this man that we need in Mark chapter 5 the stories also recorded another Gospels was a tortured suicidal maniacal man who was filled with forces from hell. In other words, he was a demon possessed man completely controlled by the power of Satan. When Jesus asked him his name. He said my name is Legion, but there are many of us, a Roman legion consisted of approximately 6000 soldiers. So here is an individual demented divided demon. I guess we told that this man lived in the tombs. He lived at the cemetery and you could hear him howling at night is frightening.

Of course, to be near this man is freaking is screaming the beating and bruising and cutting himself with stones. Can you imagine seeing this individual. Scripture tells us in Luke's gospel that he was running naked without clothes. It was a wild man living like an animal's hair matted blood taking his skin infections and open sores and then of course the psychological and emotional breakdown of this man's life. It seemed that he was in a helpless and hopeless condition. No doubt the day we would put this individual in a mental institution. Can you imagine what happened when Jesus met this demon possessed man who had been chained and yet would break the chains he had supernatural strength and supernatural powers that been given to him of the devil. This man who was addicted to forces and controlled by forces beyond himself. No one could stop this man. No one can control this man. He couldn't control himself, but he was a man that Jesus loved. He was a desperate man and the fact that Jesus met him there on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

That's no accident. Jesus. Jesus often went out of his way to find people with the most in the most desperate of condition. A woman at the well, the hurt of this woman drew him there, little man climbed up a tree by the name of Zaki's Jesus said I'm coming to your house today. Jesus spent his life reaching out and finding people who needed him.

So this was of course a divine assignment of our Lord because Jesus specializes in hopeless situations. And while we are telling the dark story that happened a long long time ago. It is as current as your own life as current as the morning newspaper on the evening news and I'm speaking to people today who are under the power under the influence under the seduction and the addiction of satanic forces in your life and the world can only do so much.

You see society. The culture here. They tried to put this matting changes the control and send them out into the tombs and there is a dead man walking living in hell is breaking these chains when you find a person like that at heart.

Every person is without control can't be contained by change.

But would you find a person like this, realize that the culture can really ultimately help. The Bible teaches that we can change our behavior, but only God can change the heart there some things that we can do to help ourselves when we are dealing with habits or addictions or problems in our lives.

There's some things we can do for ourselves, but there's some things that only Jesus Christ can do. Too many people never get that they live and die with a heart staying with sin that you can modify your life and you can modify your behavior through therapy were grateful for that. When it assists us in finding our our lives and support groups. You can get better with sheer willpower.

But what you can't do for yourself, and what others cannot do for you, Jesus, can you see you can't deal with the stain of sin in your heart. The prophet asked the question, can a leopard change his spots or can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin and of course the question is, can a man change his own heart in his own ways in his own life and ultimately the answer is no because the fundamental question is how do we change our hearts, not just externally but internally change or have only God can change your listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham in today's message free when you set aside daily time to connect with God to give me the ability to live a happy life and fulfill his plans for you in the coming year and we'd like to help you walk even more closely with the Lord in your head by sending you pastor grams 180 day devotional moments in the word. It's our way to thank you for your gift today to help proclaim the gospel around the world to PowerPoint. This is the last week of this offer to call today. Call 1-800-795-4627 that's 1-800-795-4627 can also text the word PowerPoint to 313131 text PowerPoint to streamline 3131.

And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org shop E store online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email our website again is Jack Graham.Borge. Now let's get back today's message free person can be changed and only changed ultimately and finally by the power of Jesus Christ due alone can give us a new heart for is one thing to get all the demons out but if you're still empty. What does it matter. Jesus told an unusual parable about a man is demons were exercise I left they swept the house and cleaned it, but then those demon forces came back and multiplied influence how you see, if you just get empty of the disease are the demons are the sin itself. If you just sort of empty yourself out. And yet you're still empty your wide open to additional assaults from the attacks of the enemy, and that's why God doesn't just empty us of evil spirits and powerful demonic forces, but his Holy Spirit comes to live in the and his spirit therefore enables us to walk according to his statutes and live according to his word and his wisdom. And so what happened to this man was not only an exorcism. When Jesus remove these terrible demons from his life, but he's now sitting close.

It is right matting at the feet of Jesus. You see the work of Jesus Christ is not superficial is supernatural.

It is spiritual. It reaches into the depths of our being and changes us from the inside out. Therefore if any man be in Christ. He's a new creature, all things are passed away and everything becomes moot and our love for send is replaced by a love for God our love for sinful pleasures are exchange for a love of holy pleasure, our desires to fulfill our passions and our emptiness with that which is wrong, and disobedient is now filled with fuel.

With the power to live for Jesus Christ. These demon spirits bag in the presence of Christ to be cast into a herd of pigs. These demon spirits knew Jesus well shrieked and struck from his presence wanted. We had to do with you. Oh son of the most high God. The Bible says the demons of hell believe, and tremble in his presence, while evil is powerful and wickedness in this world is damage and destructive evil is no match to the power and the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is the son of the most high God, and they must.

These spirits must obey him.

And so when he said, going to the pigs. They went into the pigs. What a scene that must've been herd of about 2000 there now filled with these devils. They run to the bank and jump over drown themselves. That's the first case of deviled ham right there know the great preacher RG Lee made the point in a message on this text that the devil's second choice is a hall.

This first choice is a human being. But if you can't live in humans to live in haunts and so these hogs are round and when that happens. Of course the herdsmen go running away tell the boss man that how they lost all these hogs know one thing the believer so they ran out there to see what happened and that's when they saw this man who had they all knew him he was this craziest man I ample individual living there in the wilderness and in the tunes. Now he's sitting there with peace and joy. It's got his clothes all it wasn't just that Jesus put an old man in the new suit he put a new man in Olson. That's what he does and when they see him there there upset and there's a sad postscript to this story because the townspeople of the business people of that community began to ask Jesus to leave. I can imagine that rather than rejoicing rather than crying out to him for salvation themselves in revival breaking out in their community and across the Twin Cities of the Decapolis. Something within them resisted Christ was it because they were so interested in their money. They seem to be more interested in their money than the man who had been delivered and no interest in spiritual things. They were all caught up in material things. Could it be that Jesus was getting too close that he was reminding them of their own sin of their own need of God.

Why do men reject Christ because men loved darkness rather than light, and sometimes when the light of Christ shows up man want to go the other direction is like when you turn on a light in a dark room or maybe a place a closet or a storage shed, something that's been sitting in darkness for a long time and you turn on the light of all kinds of critters begin to scurry away so the light of Christ is in their country and they invite Jesus to leave. Apparently Jesus was bad for business, and he may be that business does not honor God. While Jesus may be bad for business. In some cases he is good always for the heart and for the life so they asked Jesus to leave.

How do you ask Jesus to leave your life. Sometimes it is something in your life you decided was more important than him more important than God made a series of choices you decided that your way was more important than His Way, Jesus was getting in the way he was. He was cramping your style. He was ruining the party so you say Jesus out of my life. I'm going way or maybe just neglect you didn't mean to do it just were empty and you turned away and maybe you said something like the next time Jesus comes by. I'll get interested, I'll get engaged. I'll get involved with him, but not now. I got too much stuff going on in my life right now. But here's the interesting thing about this story. They asked Jesus to leave in the left left you need to be very very careful about how you invite Christ out of your life. The Bible says, my spirit will not always strive with man Jesus spoke of a blasphemous and unpardonable sin of resisting the work of the Holy Spirit in your life and if you say no and no and no go away go away go away enough time to get good at it. Your own heart is habitually hardened. That's why the Bible says today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Just as calluses can cover your hands if you work with your hands.

Calluses can cover your heart, you no longer hear the voice you start hearing other voices like this man. We meet in the story was hearing all of these voices from hell. Thank God he met Christ. He was changed and he was delivered but these people.

They invited Christ out of their lives, just like Jesus in his love and his grace.

He left the witness behind this man as Jesus was leaving came up and said let me go with them to be with you. Jesus said no, what I want you to do is go home.

Tell your wife tell you kids tell your mom to your dad until the friends in your community wherever you go.

I want you to tell people of the great things that God has done for you. Imagine that they would Legion came walking home close that in his right mind. Somebody said Legion is coming locked doors that matches but while man is walking the streets goes to his own house young man answers the door sign and says daddy you look different plus change the walks in the house. He's no longer shoving his wife around violently abusing her screaming and shrieking. Now he's embracing her and loving her and asking for her forgiveness and experience there together the grace of God and for the rest of his life. This man rather than walking in death. He's walking in life for the people of this city who asked Jesus to leave. He left the witness behind and it was this big change, the power of Jesus Christ.

That's happened to you. You need to spend the rest of your life telling people what great things God is to remember what it was like to be lost. Now it feels to be free because you can be free and be if the sun will set you free.

You will be free in your listening Jack Graham in today's message free.

Looking ahead to a new year can fill you with expectation. They can also fill you with desperation if things get worse.

But if the world gets crazier. But if you don't have the strength to face what comes your way.

It's their spending daily time in God's word that we find the strength, peace and hope. We need and we want to help you do that by sending you pastor Graham's 180 day devotional moments in the way moments and the word is our special thanks for your gift this month. This is the last week of this offer so call today: 800-795-4627 that's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word PowerPoint 23131396 PowerPoint streamline 131. And don't forget to visit Jack Graham.org shop store online or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email our website again is Jack Graham.for pastor. What is your PowerPoint in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Mark see a remarkable story about a madman set free by the Lord Jesus Christ set free from the evil that tormented his soul in his life and is such a great reminder of what Jesus has done for you and me without Christ we were addicted to sin broken and bruised, self-destructive, hurting ourselves, our family and our friends.

But when we invite Christ into our lives. He doesn't just clean this up. He changes us. He breaks the chains that binds us he gives us a brand-new heart we read what God does for our hearts. In Ezekiel 11.

The Bible says I will give them one heart and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them, and they shall be my people and I will be there God you see being a Christian isn't about just getting cleaned up and trying to hang on for dear life. No coming to Christ means you have the power of Jesus to overcome your habits, your addictions, your sins, you are no longer your own nor are you in bondage to yourself, you are set free by the love of God. The apostle Paul reinforces this in second Corinthians 517 therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the oldest, passed away the whole, the new has come is not just getting the evil out is getting the power of Jesus in that is what changes you. When Jesus comes to live in you, he will clothe you with his brand-new righteousness the righteousness of God and then the love of sin is replaced for a love of God, the love of simple passion and simple pleasure is replaced with a love of holy purposes and passions that honor God the old view passes away and the new year takes its place. I pray that this glorious promise will encourage you today and that you will take the time to thank God for the incredible and powerful work he has done for you and if you've never received Christ invite Jesus into your life this very moment, pray and receive Christ and he will change you. I guarantee it by the word of God and that is today's PowerPoint. Remember when you give a gift to PowerPoint Graham 180 day moments. Call 1-800-791-7954 six also text the word PowerPoint 131 PowerPoint enjoys again next time. As Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can glorify God by stewarding resources well next time on PowerPoint with Jack PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint ministries