January 07, 2019

BIBLE READING : MARK 5

2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

“No man could bind him, no, not with chains”

Isn’t this interesting. Here is a man that nobody could capture with chains. And yet here is a man who could not free himself from the chains he was in. No one could lock him up. He could not set himself free. Their chains were visible, his chains were invisible.There are a number of interesting lessons here but maybe we will just mention a few.

1. Some of the worst chains that bind us don’t come from people, they come from ourselves
This passage says that this man had often been taken by people and bound with “fetters and chains”, and yet every time they did, this man literally snapped the chains and tore apart the fetters. The strongest of men could not control this man. And yet this man was not strong enough to control himself. I have met many people who are struggling with addictions and sins in their life. So often when things are falling apart, they want to blame everybody else for everything and yet the real problem is themselves.

2. Some of the worst turmoil comes from inside, not the outside.
This passage says that no man could “tame” him. There was no way that the outside could be brought under control, because the inside was unstable. Some people try all kinds of things to create peace in their life. They do things, buy things, read things, and depend on things only to continue to have chaos in their life. it is because they’re trying to create peace on the outside when there is no peace on the inside. What is inside always comes out. Look at verse five:
* 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
“Night and day”.

3. When you cannot break the chains, go to the One who can
“6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him”. As hard as this man had tried, he could not free himself. So instead of trying harder, he simply went to Jesus. You know how the story ends. Here is the point. Spiritual chains cannot be broken with physical strength. It is a spiritual battle, and spiritual battles must be fought by the Spirit of God.
* 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
* Isn’t it interesting that none of these people were afraid while that man was a lunatic, but all of a sudden when he gets saved, now they are afraid. Think about that one.