Do you fear Christ? You should!

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Welcome back to the Iron Saints Podcast with your host, Dan Willis.

Welcome back, Saints. It's a new week and I am excited to start it off continuing our journey through Luke. For those of you that are new to the podcast, we are currently working our way through the Book of Luke and eventually, hopefully, through the Book of Acts and then the Epistles. Right now we are floating around Luke 8. If you guys have missed past episodes and you want to catch up or you're interested in, in, You know, starting from the beginning and going all the way through Luke. All the episodes are available for you. They're about 10-15 minutes. Feel free to start wherever you would like and make your way back here, or just keep going with us where we are. But last week we finished off with Jesus calming a storm in Luke 8. Today we're going to tackle him healing men with demons. And I hope that, as always, we're able to just kind of break down the word, have a good time together here, and see what God has for us today in his Scriptures, so let's not take too long here and get right down to it. As always, I will make a point to read directly from Scripture, guys. I I think that this is a value for many of you who may be commuting. Many of you may not have a Bible handy on you at the moment. So as always, I will be reading from the ESV. But I do encourage you, if you have a Bible nearby, if you have a Bible app on your phone, to open up whatever translation paraphrase you prefer and follow. Along in the scriptures, take notes if, if possible. So, uh, Luke chapter 8, verse 26 is where we're going to start, and we're going to go to verse 39. So then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me! For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert. Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion, for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, return to your home and declare how much God has done for you. And he went away proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. So again, guys, in scripture, it's never coincidence when things are kind of grouped together or huddled together and have similar themes. Oftentimes it's a, it's a really great way for us to get a very clear message about what Jesus is doing. So last week when we had finished off, we had tackled Jesus calming the storm and us not having fear in the things of the world around us, knowing that Christ is Absolutely in control of all things, even when it's beyond our comprehension, even when it's beyond our perception. Christ is in control. He has the authority; it's been given to him as his. Here, what we see though is Christ using that authority, and because it's beyond our perception, because it's beyond what we're willing to grasp or what we can grasp because of the things of this world, we. Then have a fear of Christ. And what's interesting is we are called to have a fear of God. The majority of the mentions of fear in the Bible are not this modern interpretation of fear is a measured level of respect, but instead they derive often in the New Testament from the— not often, in the majority in the New Testament from the same root that we take paranoia from. It's a genuine fear and awe at the incredible nature and power of Christ, what he's capable of. This is no small example where he is able to take somebody who is bound and lashed, breaking chains with supernatural power, which was beyond the understanding of the people there, only to see Christ walk up and in a conversation overcome what has been and completely heal the man. And I think it's really of note, guys, that to be in awe of Christ does require realizing that there is a power beyond us. There's something that is beyond our control. And for many, that is something that really scares them. I don't understand it. I don't understand how Jesus is who he is, what he does. I don't understand where that power and authority comes from. And yet for those who experience it, Those who have seen it, those who have lived it, those who have loved it—all they can do is draw near. When you see the end of this passage and you see this man who's been healed, this man who has been cleansed of legion, thousands of demons inside one man—he he begs to stay at the side of Christ. Means meanwhile, all the people of the country around him that came to witness the great miracle. Saw exactly what they wanted to, and then departed with great fear. Those that know will know, and those that don't will not. And we see this repeatedly when we were when we were tackling the parables in Luke. We saw this as well. Those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, those are the ones that these teachings are meant for. Christ has come for those that belong to him, and here we are again. This man, by all means, should have been cast out of the community, should have been stricken down, should have been stoned to death, should have been removed. And yet they chose instead to chain and imprison him. And Christ chooses to break those chains, to set him free. And he does no less for each believer here today. So I challenge you today, guys, as you start your week, When's the last time you felt some awe, some wonder, some fear of how massive the power of Christ is? But at the same time, how much does that make you want to cling to him all the more? How much more does that make you desire a relationship with him, to walk with him, to go the ways that he did? And then that much more, guys, realize that the final instruction that he gives this man isn't Stay by my side and and and just cling to me. It's go, go into the world. Tell them the thing that I've done for you. So there's a couple of challenges to start your week. I know it's a lot for a Monday morning, but stop meditate for a moment after you you're done listening here. Who is Christ? How powerful is he? Realize what he's done for you. Don't run in fear from it. Embrace it. And then at the same time, go, go into the world, go into your day, go into your week. Let people know what he's done for you. All right, guys, I am going to lift you all up in prayer as we head into the week. As always, I am greatly appreciative for all of you guys that have been listening to the podcast. It's been amazing to see that returning to the podcast and starting up again hasn't hasn't slowed down even after the brief hiatus. So I am so thankful for that. But yeah, I I really do want to be praying for you men as a community, and one of the things that hasn't. Return as quickly is people that may or may not have prayer requests on their hearts. So, if you do have a prayer request, all of the social media channels are there for you guys to reach out to me. Any prayers that need to remain more anonymous, I am happy to just use a first name or pseudonym. That's never a problem. But I do want to be praying for you guys that are listening to this regularly. So, if you do have prayer requests, please let me know. But let me pray for you guys. Lord, thank you so much for the men that have the time to take with you today. Thank you that you are a strong, powerful. God beyond understanding, you are so massive. We couldn't hope to grasp all of you, but what we can grasp, Lord, and what we can appreciate is what you have done for us. I pray that the men listening today, whether they would be in a time of toil and strife, they feel that there is legion within them or around them, that they feel they are chained, that you would break those chains, Lord, that you would set them free. For those who have been set free, Lord, I pray that you would set them on fire this week, that they would share that. Joy, that good news, that life with the world around them. Lord, I lift up all of the unspoken prayers for the men of this community. Lord, I pray that you're working in their lives, that you're loving on them. You know their hearts; you hear their prayers. In your name we pray. All right, guys. Have a great morning and a great week. As always, we will be putting out daily episodes. So I look forward to continuing through Luke with you guys. And if at any point you are enjoying the podcast enough or want to give some feedback. Reviews wherever you may be listening to the podcast are greatly appreciated. Have a great day.

Thank you for listening to the Iron Saints Podcast. If you are looking to share your prayer requests, check the description for social media or email to contact the show. Blessings on you all until next time.