Matthew 8:28–34Scripture
Matthew chapter 8. We conclude this chapter with a little bit of demon possession.
You know, not too heavy of a subject today. Just really light way to, you know, kick off our Sunday and all. I do find this fitting and this is going to seem strange to you before I read the text chapter 8 28-34.
What I am not saying and today is that what happened this past week at Price Chopper demonic in nature, but I would certainly not say that it was godly. There is a spirit of this age that is at work in the hearts of men. Sin has so captured our hearts, corrupted our lives that we do not function the way God intends us to function.
It's interesting because I heard and probably went through a wave of different emotions. You know, I'm the guy, listen, I'm the guy when it gets to A national holiday, we might not even celebrate it on Sunday. And then, you know, you got to try to figure out if you want to write an email and say and tell me whether or not I we should have celebrated that more, you know.
So, when events happen even in our community, I just believe that the remedy is the gospel. It's not me giving my 10 cents about it, but I think the gospel speaks about this today. So, it just so happens I'll mention it because it's kind of I think the gospel does.
But there are in this situation there were a multitude of responses that happened. I heard them some on social media, some through conversations. People were concerned about the 40 How old are you, Brooke?
Introduction
How old was she? How old was the lady? One year older than Brooke. And people were concerned about her family and so was I. Think there are some people in our fellowship who were connected to the family. And then the young man who was shot twice, I believe. I don't really know all the details. He was in the hospital. I think several of our students knew him, were friends with him. They were texting back and forth, so it was close. I mean it was right in our town and this is troubling right but it was interesting to see the pe different people respond to it. Some people were talking about as you know as they were lifellighting the gentleman who perpetrated all kinds of evil by shooting people there. What should happen to him on his helicopter flight from Price Chopper to the hospital.
Thought I was interesting. I had some ideas of what could happen to him as well. Is that honest? Is that too honest for your pastor? We tend to think and attach. We're concerned for the 45 year old lady. We're concerned for the young man. We're concerned for the people who were at Price Chopper, but are we concerned for the young man who did the evil acts?
We preach a gospel that allows Jesus to confer to those that we deem worthy right of his grace and mercy. I was convicted this week and I and please don't think horribly of me because God's still working on my heart. I was thinking this week maybe when they transfer the gentleman who shot these other people to the airport, they should just throw him out halfway instead of getting him to the hospital.
It's uncomfortable when you hear it from your pastor, isn't it? It's uncomfortable saying it and being that honest. I told Brooke and she rebuked me. We were driving in the car. I was like, "they should just give him a gentle nudge right out of the helicopter." And she was like, "Sean, how dare you?" Oh, why would you say such a thing? And I was like, "not all of us are as godly as you." For days, I sat convicted as I opened Scripture and thought, "this is exactly who Jesus drew near to." See, this is the person we put on the outskirts and say, "not worthy of our time, not worthy of our energy, no hope." That's what the city would do.
If this man showed back in our up in our city, that's what the city would do. I'm not sure we would even provide a space for him in the city that he could wander.
We're going to delegate you to this circle of town where the tombs are and you can wander there cuz we just don't know how you're going to act. You hurt people in the city. You're out of control. We're going to cage you up. We're going to chain you up out here. I don't think that would happen if he showed back up in town.
I think he would not live in our city. So before we get all up in arms about the city and how they respond to these two gentlemen, where they put him, just know that I think maybe they did better than we might.
Are you with me today? And God is really convicting me because sometimes I realize that the heart of God is not the heart of Shawn. Oh, and I want it to be. I want to long for deliverance for people who are not deserving of deliverance and realize that I'm just as undeserving as a shooter at Bryce Chopper.
Right? That's that's that's the crux of the issue really, isn't it? Is that we think we're better than, right?
We think we're more worthy of his grace and mercy than another. God came for the most unlikely, the most undeserving.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 6:49
And in case you didn't know, you're categorized in there. You're categorized in there. So as this text, as we read this text, understand Jesus drew near, this kind of a person, it's fascinating to me. Matter of fact, it's why he crossed the water again. It was the whole purpose. That's good.
He went into the realm that was designated by men as a no walk zone. He had intention to go where none of you would go. That was his purpose. And this is good because there are just some places as parents we won't go. There are some places as friends that are nogo zone. You can do a lot to me as a friend, but if you cross this line, a bamoose.
Are you with me today? Everybody has a lion, right? And some people love to play on it, right? Ju just never just they live they camp. They set up camp there. Set up camp on the line.
Jesus will always he will always go places that you will not go.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 8:24
Here's the text. And when he came to the other side to the country of the gatherines, two demon-possessed men met him coming out of the tombs so fierce that no one could pass that way.
And behold, they cried out, "what have you to do with us, oh son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time? Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, "if you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs." I believe it's the gospel of Mark says somewhere around 2,000.
It was a lot. It was a lot. And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs. And behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled. And going into the city, they told everything, especially track with me. This is I missed this the first 70 times I read it, but I caught it on the last time this morning.
And so this shaped I reshaped my sermon. I was frantically trying to shift junk around because I missed this. The herdsmen fled and going into the city, they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. I think that's fascinating. That's fascinating. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they begged him to leave the region. Man, I get it.
I get it. I mean, after this last week, I get it.
I only want God's mercy to go where I assign it to go.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 10:42
I am only comfortable for God's grace to create provision in the lives of people I permit him to do that to. Now I'm speaking very candidly about what happens in my heart that I rebuke or sometimes Brooke rebukes. I know better because I have been I have been gifted the Holy Spirit. He illuminates truth. I know what's right and wrong. I can't say my flesh always wants to get on board real quick, but eventually it will acquies to what he has illuminated.
My flesh is just and I think this is the thing that Paul as he grew in his relationship with the Holy Spirit, as he grew in his walk with the Lord, as he as he began to not only be empowered to do what God had called him to do, but he relationally walked with the Lord in prayer, in obedience, in purpose. I believe that he still had this flesh issue that down in his flesh, sin dwelt there and he would pray prayers like, "God, what am I going to do about this thing that just keeps on bothering me when I know better?" So, we should be honest about the fact that our heart that he's still working on that our flesh, he's still working on that. He's still doing a job. He's still he's got a lot of work to do with you.
He's got a lot of work to do with me. Be encouraged. The work he began, he perfects. Yeah. And it's in process. Amen. Not you perfect it. Because your default setting is not good. It's not good, man. It's not good. The more I live, the more I realize my default setting has problems. I need a rewiring a lot. I mean a rewiring a lot.
God is gracious enough to rewire and there is no line he cannot
There is no line you cross that he cannot rewire you to a new creation.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 12:49
Okay. If you are possessed with a legion of demons track with me here. So many in fact that you are you there you have no control. You are the enemy's possession. No one wants you around.
No one cares about you. You have been written off by everyone in your life. Rejected by the world, rejected by the city. And you feel rejected by Christ. There is no line you cross. Who you've gone too far. He can't step into and redeem you completely. That's good news. It's really good news cuz some of us have some problems. Some of us have some dirty backgrounds.
Some of us have some issues that we're wrestled with. He's redeemed us from or we are currently still wrestling with. He cares about you. You are not forgotten. That's good news. I want to say this morning. I do quite a bit of flying around the world. I find it fascinating, not just the situation that happened this last week, but I love to people watch.
I don't necessarily love it as much when I sit by somebody and they want to carry on a full conversation for 17 hours while we fly and I don't know them. I just want to try to sleep, but I love to watch people when they're not talking to me. Sorry. I love people and I love talking to people. This not for 17 hours stuck on a plane by them.
You know what I mean? When I don't know them. I promise I'm I'm not a horrible, no good, very bad person. I promise there are parts of me that are pleasant.
I mean, Brooke married me. You see how wonderful she is? There's something there. Has to be something. Has to be something there. I'm in the airport. Nothing will let you see people more clearly than when a flight is canled.
And it's funny. It's funny to watch the different responses. Some people outraged. Can't believe this is happening to me. My whole life is over. Some people have kids and I'm just like, Lord, help them. They're stuck on an international flight with three kids and tote and a bunch of stuff. I don't even know how. Like, parents that travel need a U-Haul.
You know, it's bad when the kids are carrying the stuff they're going to be rolled in. I saw one kid, he had this thing. It was a back thing for the younger kid. And this kid was like probably this big that was three times bigger than him walking cuz I mean it was just and you should see their response. It was just total despair.
It was hilarious. It was hilarious. Have you ever felt like that? I watched a video and I tried to get it off offline this morning. This lady gets in the car. Her husband's in there bearded. He had a glorious beard. It was awesome. It was an awesome beard. And he was sitting beside her all quiet and stoic like most men try to be, right? Quiet and stoic. She gets in and she tries to She's having one of them day. You ever have one of them days?
She gets in and she's trying to get her seat belt, but she's, you know, she's a little irritated, so she's not pulling it gently like we know in normal situations. Jerking the seat belt's not a good move. It's not good. And she's jerking it and it's getting stuck and getting stuck and getting stuck and getting stuck and getting stuck. And then she goes, and you should have seen the man beside her was like, I love the response of people in different situations.
That's kind of the way that I look at this text because there are three different responses that we see when Jesus comes too close. Sometimes he gets too close for comfort.
Sometimes he'll pull right up into your problem and we don't want him there quite yet because we're still trying to work it out and fix a thing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 17:30
But he's the remedy to the problem you're trying to fix. Sometimes he gets too close. We don't want him to see that part of our life. We don't want to be classified and categorized in a way that is unbeneficial to us. So, we don't want him to see that part of our life. Some of us, we want him to pull up. It's not too close to draw close to us at church, but just don't don't draw close to me in my house on Thursday. Right.
That day right there, man, you can you listen, you can have Sunday because there's still remnants of his goodness harnessing me through Sunday. But on Monday, I'll just meet you on Sunday. Don't get too close to my house on Monday.
And some of us are okay meeting at church. And some of us are okay meeting us at certain times of week. Or maybe some of us are okay with him even showing up in our problems because we understand that he is most often the remedy of those problems, but we have a problem with him showing up in our car.
We've uninvited him from that space.
There are places in our life we don't want him to show up. He draws too close.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 18:51
It makes us uncomfortable and we kind of honestly ask him to leave. Come on now. I'm with you, Jesus. As long as you're healing me. I'm for you, Jesus. As long as you're delivering me, I'm with you, Jesus. As long as you're you're you're you're saving my servant, I'm for you. As long as you're calming the storm, but the moment you begin to cross over into places of my life where now it begins to cost me, I'm going to have to ask you to go for a while.
Are you with me today? For those of you who've been in the tax, you need to understand there is a drawing close to you that will come at a cost to you. And it isn't just a financial cost. Track with me. And I know I have points and all of that and I'm probably ruining them all and then I'm going to have to say some stuff again, but I can't help myself. There is a greater cost than the finances.
There's the cost of him delivering mercy and grace to somebody you don't think deserves it. That might be the greatest cost.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 19:53
So we focus so much that the city was irritated that it cost them financially but we don't think that maybe their greatest irritation was that they had delegated them to a place because they thought they were unworthy of such treatment.
They were so violent that people couldn't survive walking through that place. What would you want Jesus to do for the man who shot some people last week?
God's mercy comes at a cost to your plans and your desires and your will and your wants. Thank goodness. Track with me. Because there's somebody in the world who thinks they're better than you. Come on. I know. I know you think that's impossible, but I promise just ask around a little bit.
There's somebody out there that thinks they're better than you, and you don't want them to determine whether God's grace comes to you or not.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 21:08
Oh, man. Lord, help me. Lord, help me. I want to I want to draw attention to three different responses to Jesus.
Point 1The demons respond with terrified recognition
Number one, the demons respond with terrified recognition. I love this man. Matthew tells us that the demon-possessed men came out of the tombs and met Jesus. They were fierce, dangerous, isolated, and associated with death. They lived in the tombs. This is a picture of what Satan always does. He deforms the image of God. He isolates. He destroys dignity. That's what he does.
He makes men dwell among death while still breathing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 22:21
This is a level of being of destitute that many of you have experienced. Alive, dead. Hopeless, helpless, destitute. But as terrifying as these men appeared to everyone else, here's the hope. Jesus didn't care. He was not terrified at all. The demons cry out, "what have you to do with us, oh son of God?" They know who he is.
Like their ability to identify him was resolute. Yeah. Right. Today we have an issue for those who are believers in Christ. I'm not even going to do the air quote. Like believers in Christ sometimes miss identifying him in a resolute way.
Sometimes we accredit to him what's not him. Sometimes we miss him completely. Didn't even know he was in the room. Yeah. And we're his. But the devils know, right? The demons, they know. They're resolute. When he shows up on the scene, they don't miss him. That's good. They don't miss him. The demons cry out. They recognize one standing before him. Here is the first searching truth. Truth of the passage.
Correct recognition is not the same as saving faith.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 24:04
That's good. It's not the same. Now, this becomes extremely problematic in our culture today because we have created a presentation of the Gospel that says that it is we create and I'm listen track I'm not against altar calls. I'm against bad ones, right? I would prefer you never do one than do one improperly.
That's why we don't do many. I'm scared I won't do it properly. I don't trust myself to do it properly. God draws. We preach the gospel. We rightly divide truth. The Holy Spirit's got it. He don't need you to move the room to get people to come. They'll come if he grabs their heart. They'll do it. They don't need an altar to come to.
The altar is their life. Here's the first correct recognition is not the same as saving faith. That we have people that recognize Jesus in church, recognize Jesus in the world. They say his name. They pray prayers to him. But they have not been transformed. And in essence, they haven't submitted their lives to him. Listen,
The demons have better theology than some of us.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 25:35
The you know why Satan can twist Scriptures? Because he knows the proper interpretation of it. Yeah, you can't twist what you don't know the proper interpretation of. The problem with us is we don't know the proper interpretation. He knows Scripture more than you.
So don't get it convoluted. They know Jesus is the son of God. They know judgment is coming. They have a good over overreaching idea of what's happening in the gospel story.
They understand more about final judgment than many people sitting in churches today. They know there's an appointed time. They know Christ will judge. They know they cannot resist his authority. But they do not love him.
They do not worship him. They do not repent. They tremble but they do not trust. That's the response of the demons. This should sober us.
A person may know true things about Christ and still remain far from Christ.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 26:48
A person may affirm doctrine and still resist his lordship. A person may speak accurately about judgment and yet have no love for the judge.
A person may fear consequences and still hate holiness. They know Jesus is the son of God, but they do not know him as savior. They recognize his authority. Can I just kind of stop here for a second and say the problem with these two men were not the men. The problem with the two men with this the two men were the ones in the men. Yes.
When you think about the shooter, the problem with the shooter is not the shooter. We don't wage against flesh and blood. We wage war against spirits and prince and principalities. There's something at work in the hearts of men that God did not originally want for the world.
You listen. He redeems people like that shooter. He redeems people like the possessed people. He redeems them. He draws near to them. He comes to restore them. You're like them. Because if you have Listen, if you talk bad about your brother, you might as well have just pulled out a rifle and shot him. That's what the Bible says.
That's how the judge sees it. There is a level of holiness that moves beyond like it doesn't classify it in terms in the ways that you do. You are infinitely guilty and honestly listen you should want deliverance for these people. Jesus shows up. Listen, they beg Jesus if you can cast us out. Hey, send us to the pigs. Poor pigs.
I saw a video this week that Brandt is using downstairs. Brandt's preaching to the students downstairs. He sent a video. It was a cartoon and Jesus cast the demons and the pigs and the pigs just kind of go running on the cartoon screen into the water and when they hit the water it turns to bacon.
Brooke almost hit the floor in laughter. I thought it was hilarious. And I thought to myself, now this is now I understand why the city is so mad.
I get it now cuz because when Brooke cooks bacon, I'm not trying to make little of this situation. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Just just forgive me. I you know, God does what he wants with this. But when Brooke makes bacon and somebody reaches in to grab a piece of bacon, I might just inadvertently smack their hand and be like, "Get away from my bacon.
I love some bacon." The fact they use it on dessert should say something to you about how splendor how wonderful it is. They It's magical.
2,000 loads of bacon, man. That's a lot of bacon.
Provision, food, sustenance. It's what they filled their stomachs with. Track with me here.
Was lifegiving in essence. In essence, the demons said, "How much do you value these two men? Send us to the pigs. Is there value worth more than that?" Jesus says, "Yes, that but that cost listen that listen who it doesn't cost anything to be delivered. The two men." Amen. Well, that's not fair.
You mean to tell me somebody comes into my church, it could be possible that their deliverance comes at a cost to me, but not to them?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 31:17
That's called community. That's good. You need to prepare because everybody's like, "Man, Sean, if you would hold a class on evangelism, I could get down with that so I can be a great evangelist and I could tell people about Jesus." God love him, man. I love Jesus. He's the best. It ain't folders, man. He's the best part of waking up. Just need some Jesus in my cup.
I love him. I want to know how to tell people about him. I want to be able to tell people about them and then turn their life around and run to him and love him and be committed to him. Okay. Okay. That's great. But it's not about the delivery. Sometimes sometimes deliverance for one comes at a cost to the community. That's true.
This isn't taught in a class. This comes from a heart who's willing to suffer for Christ. Jesus will suffer for you. Those that suffer with me will reign with me. Yes. See,
We want reigning without suffering. We want people's deliverance without sacrifice. We want to be we want to be a part of his mission without a cost. It don't work that way.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 32:29
That's right.
It don't work that way. This isn't about pleasure. We didn't come to entertain you this morning. Amen.
Church has become in many places a mockery to the gospel. We prioritize people's flesh and their wants and their desires. And I'm not about just saying come in here, sit on attack, and be miserable, man. It's not what I'm saying. But I am saying that the point where we will we cater to all your wants and then you realize that true missionary work, true going, true being sent, true preaching the gospel comes at a cost to you. Particularly in America when we think nothing should cost us anything.
We get disillusioned by the mission that he called us to.
Oh man, I don't I can't say this definitively and Jesus would have already known.
Could it be that the demons knew that if the pigs were dead, the city would be mad, Jesus would leave. I don't know. I believe they have the I don't believe they have fornowledge but I do believe the power of deduction is for us all. It is interesting sometimes the cost is not happen stance. Sometimes it could be opposition from the enemy.
The truth is meant to strengthen the believer. Whatever darkness frightens you, whatever bondage grieves you, whatever evil seems untameable, it's not above Christ.
The powers of darkness are real, but they are not ultimate. Evil may rage, but it does not reign. Christ does.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 34:49
But this truth that we see in this text with these demons is meant to examine us. The demons responded to Jesus with terrified recognition. They knew who he was but they did not love him. So we must ask this and I'll move on to my next point.
Is my response to Jesus merely recognition? Do I know his titles but resist his rule? Do I confess his power but avoid his presence? Do I fear judgment but back but lack love for holiness? The first response in this passage is demonic fear.
Point 2The herdsmen respond by reporting what happened
It's
It is accurate but not saving. It trembles before Christ but does not treasure him.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 35:55
Number two, another response we see first we see the de the demons responding to Jesus and another response we see when Jesus draws too close is the herdsmen respond by reporting what happened. Oh man, you guys, now that we read it and I drew attention to it, you might already know what I'm going to say. Maybe not.
But it's fascinating, folks. Now, herdsmen may not have owned all the pigs. They might have owned a few. It's possible these pigs were managed by the herdsmen. And although the herdsmen might have owned some, most often the wealthiest people in the city owned the pigs. It doesn't mean everybody in the city owned a pig and the herdsmen took care of them. But many in the city would have owned the pig. And the herdsmen were paid to care for the pigs.
So the loss of the pigs, it might have cost them personally a pig or two, but even if it didn't, it cost them their livelihood.
It's the layoff of all layoffs. Right? So we get to see their response. We see the demon's response, but we get to see the herdsman response. They go into the city and it says that they begin to tell the story. They told the whole story.
That means they talk about the pigs dying. They talk about Jesus coming and drawing near. They talk about the demons running to him with a fierce kind of run, rage. They talk to them about the demons having this conversation, Jesus giving permission. They talk about all of this. But then in the text, in the text it says this. Let's go back to it.
Matthew 8. So fascinating. The herdsmen fled and going into the city, they told everything. Now the demons ran towards Jesus. The herdsman fled away from him.
I would say probably this is a sign that the demons weren't the only ones who were afraid. Amen.
What do you do when you get afraid? Do you run towards him or do you run away from him?
Pastor Shawn Gray · 38:31
Because demons run towards him. I'm not saying you're demonic if you run towards him. I'm just saying we should probably I mean It's just a different response to fear.
It's fascinating. They fled and going into the city, they told everything, especially track, that word's really important. That word specifically means they prioritized that the that what had happened to the demon-possessed men. They drew special attention to and prioritized the amount of time they talked. They talk mainly about the demon-possessed men being delivered.
When something when suffering enters your life like an arrow piercing through into your life.
What do you talk about most? Yourself, your cost, your when something cost you, what do you talk about most? Do you go on moaning and having conversation with people about all this stuff you this suffering and cost and the price you paid?
What do you glorify? What do you give attention to? Well, the herdsmen, they're teaching us something. The herdsmen responded by reporting what happened, but specifically the deliverance. They talk little about what it cost them. They talk much about it, what it ble how it blessed the possessed men.
That's shocking. It's sudden. It's costly. It's public. It's impossible to ignore. And then Matthew says the herdsmen fled, went to the city, told everything, especially that. Now that detail matters. The herdsmen had just lost the herd. Was not some small inconvenience. This was their livelihood. It was an economic loss. This was the type of event that would shake a community. Yet, Matthew says they especially reported what had happened to the possessed men.
They did not merely say the pigs, they're gone. They told the city, "the men, they're delivered.
You know what's going to make your neighbor glorify Jesus when you have conversation and break bread with them at the table? Not when you moan to them about all your life difficulties, but when you witness to them about the saving nature of Christ.
All right, try it with me here. You know why I'm, you know why I come down so hard on this me first stuff? My problem, me first. That don't help no one. That's right.
When you glorify your problem becomes God.
The more you talk about your problems, the more your problems are elevated to lordship.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 42:10
They mention what happened, but they didn't belabor it. Oh, let us learn a lesson from them. I know you like to talk about your problem. See, some of you think that the way out of your problem is to talk much about your problem.
See, I think the way out of your problem, because I think this is biblical, not cultural. I think the way out of your problem is to talk much about Christ.
Psychology won't tell you that. They'll say, "the more you talk about your problems, the more you get freed from your problems." The Bible says, "the more you talk about me, the deliverer." Just try to go through a day whenever you hear get yourself thinking about something negative. Why don't you just try to dwell on Christ and see how long you continue to think about something negative?
Whenever you find yourself going down a rabbit trail or snowball rolling down a hill about all the problems going on, why don't you stop yourself, recognize that he's bigger than your problem, and you begin to give glory to him. My mom used to say, "you say one bad thing about somebody, you need to find two good things to say about them." I She didn't do that, but that's what I thought inside my body because if I ever said it, did this while she was talking outside my body, well, I from the south, I'd be dead.
I see. I grew up in a gener I grew up in a generation, my parents were awesome, but my dad knew how to take his leather belt and put the fear of God in me. And it wasn't when he spanked me with it. It's when it was coming out of his pants.
I knew a reckoning was coming. What was I talking about? I forget. I forget. What do you talk about? What do you talk about? It says the Bible actually teaches us whatever is pure, whatever is holy, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is true, dwell on these things.
Oh, I but I thought my pain, my hurt, my problems, my angst, oh my anxiety, oh my stress, oh oh my problems. No, he didn't. Believe it or not, he didn't tell you to dwell on those things. Matter of fact, he didn't tell you to dwell on those things. He didn't even tell you to talk about them. He just says, "Dwell on these things."
They did that when they had great cause to dwell on the cost of that it came to them. They dwelt on the deliverance that came from Jesus.
This is a great witness. Some of you want to be a witness for Christ. I believe you can be a witness for Christ.
When something that comes at a great cost for you don't talk about that as much as you talk about the one who can deliver you.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 45:26
Yes. Just saying. That's good. The herdsmen, they tell the city hears the report, but the report becomes a test.
What will they value more? The deliverance of men or the loss of the pigs? The mercy of Christ or the cost of Christ? The presence of a savior or the preservation of life as they knew it?
Oh, that'll get you. Because some of you got comfortable living the life you're living. Some of you have made your trouble your bedfellow. And the reality is this is an unhealthy way to live. That is often how Jesus confronts the heart. He does not always come to us in a way that allows us to keep everything untouched. He comes with mercy, but his mercy may expose what we love most.
He comes with power, but his power may dis disrupt or disturb our arrangements. He comes to save, but his salvation may cost us the illusion of control.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 46:26
The herdsmen saw both loss and mercy. They saw the herds destroyed, but they also saw men delivered. They had to tell it. And once they told it, the city then had to respond. What will your response be when you're in a community that at the deliverance of one comes at a cost to you? I'll tell you how the
Point 3The city responds with fearful rejection
City respond. Number three, the city responded with fearful rejection. And I know we would like to say, I man, I wouldn't respond that way.
Let me break this down for you in a simplistic terms. I get annoyed that the older I get and the longer that I'm married, I love you, Brooke. This is my preface here. You're amazing. But I get annoyed that the older I get and the longer I'm married, it feels like the slower she gets. Especially when we're getting out of the car.
Men, can I get an A? Men, are you with me? Are you with me? No. That was really bad. Are you with me? It drives me crazy. I was sitting thinking about all of this. And we just don't like to be inconvenienced at all.
M much less when it comes at a cost for us and it comes at a blessing for another. I'm just talking about everyday life just being inconvenienced.
But how can we how can we take our inconvenience and use it to make it a blessing? So here's what the Lord here's what I believe the Lord is impressing upon my heart. I'm not saying he said this, but I am saying I feel this impression on my heart because I begin to ask questions. Okay, I'm inconvenienced by this, but how can I convert an inconvenience into a blessing?
And I was like, well, it takes Brooke forever to get out of the car. The boys and I joke about it. Matter of fact, we can be we can park at Seiki, get all the way into Seiki, put our names in, peek back out the door, and she's still fiddling around in there doing something. I don't know what she's doing. I don't know what she's doing in there. It's fascinating.
Lord said, since you have so much time, you should walk around. I feel like the Lord is impressed. Maybe you could walk around and open the door for her.
Yes. And that becomes your thing. I actually thought first thing was people would think I'm weird. We started doing that. People would think, "Oh, you're just doing that to look like you have a good relationship."
Well, I'll open the door for her, but she'll walk 10 steps behind me. Why don't you walk with her arm in arm? See, sometimes here's here's the epitome of what I'm talking about. We just don't like to be inconvenience. And we try to put that inconvenience off as the other person being the cause of it. And we see that person as a problem rather than the this situation as an opportunity to become a blessing.
It's really interesting to me because I believe
If we have the heart of God, we're like Jesus. We our whole life is about being inconvenienced and converting inconveniences into opportunities for blessing.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 50:07
He made you in his image. He formed you in his likeness. You are a new creation. And I know you have a default setting that says, "Don't inconvenient me. I'm trying to get to my destination." But you need to know seeking ain't your destination. God has joined you in a union and she is your calling.
Are you with me, men? Now you should say amen to that as well. Sometimes we take inconveniences and we don't convert them into opportunities to be a blessing. Jesus was a prime example of this. The whole city comes out their face. Now what now we've heard the witness. Now what are we going to do with this Jesus? We that we see what the demons did. We see what the herdsmen did. Now we have an opportunity. How are we going to respond?
Matthew says, "and behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus." Sounds hopeful. They came running to Jesus. Woo! It's going to be a movement, man. It's going to be a conference of conferences. We're about to have a revival.
They come out. They've heard that the two men have been delivered. They've heard that demons have been cast out. They've heard that the one who did this is still there. What will they do? Will they bring their sick to Jesus? Will they begin bringing their bound? Will they fall down and will they worship him? Will they ask him to stay and to teach them? Will they say, "Lord, if you can rescue these men, then surely you can rescue us as well." No. No.
Matthew says, "when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region." That is one of the saddest responses in the Gospel of Matthew. I promise it's right here. You just hit it.
The demons begged to enter the pigs. The city begged Jesus to leave. The demons wanted distance from judgment. The city wanted distance from mercy.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 52:27
That is terrifying.
Yes, that is infinitely terrifying. They did not deny his power. They did not debate the miracle. They did not accuse the herdsmen of lying. They saw enough to know that Jesus was no ordinary man. But instead of receiving him, they asked him to get out of dodge. Why? Because Jesus had come too close for comfort. His presence was too disruptive. His authority was too costly. His holiness was too unsettling. His mercy had touched the untouchables.
But it had also distributed disturbed the economy of the city. They could not live with demon-possessed men in the tombs as long as they stayed out of the way. Could have done it. But they could not live with the son of God in their region if he threatened their comfort. That is dread. That is that and honestly that's the dreadful irony.
They learned how to live with darkness but they could not bear the nearness of the light.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 53:51
God help us. God help us.
That has been some of your stories and it may still be some of your stories today.
You know how to live with darkness, but you just can't bear the light. This is not only their story. This is the human heart apart from grace. We say we want Jesus until he challenges what we love. We say we want deliverance until deliverance disrupts our idols. We say we want mercy until mercy becomes holy. We say we want the kingdom until the king starts ruling over the kingdom.
The city's response exposes one of the deepest sins of man.
We would rather manage our misery than surrender to Christ.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 55:06
We would rather keep familiar bondage than bow before sovereign mercy. We would rather have pigs and tombs than Jesus and transformation. Lord, help us.
Yes. The most visible terrified figure at the beginning are the demonp possessed men, but by the end, the most spiritually terrifying figures are the respectable towns people asking Jesus to leave. Don't get it convoluted.
And there are churches filled with people like this today. The men in the tombs were bound, but the city was blind. The men in the tombs were tormented, but the city was unwilling. The men in the tombs were dangerous, but the city was dead in a quieter way. And we must ask ourselves, where am I here?
Who am I like? Am I like the demons recognizing Christ but not loving him? Am I like the herdsman reporting facts about Christ but not yet bowing before him? Am I like the city wanting Jesus at A safe distance because his nearness threatens what I do not want to lose? And this passage presses us to see that there are many ways to respond wrongly to Jesus.
Many ways I'll close with this and I'm done. First, do not confuse knowledge about Jesus with saving faith in Jesus. Second, do not re resend the disruption of Jesus. Do not resent the disruption of Jesus. Sometimes his mercy enters your life by overturning what you trusted in most. Third,
Do not ask Jesus to leave the places where you most need him to reign.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 57:07
Fourth, treasure the mercy that rescued rescues ruined men, even when it comes at a cost to you.
Because that's what Jesus does. He crosses seas for ruined men. He enters unclean places. He confronts darkness. He speaks with authority. He restores what sin and Satan have shattered and ultimately he will do something even greater than what we see in this passage here. The demons ask if he has come before the time of torment. But at the cross Jesus will bear torment in the place of sinners. He will enter the place of uncleanliness. He will be treated as the curse. He will be forsaken not because he was defeated by darkness but because he was saving his people from their sins.
The one who delivered men from the tombs would himself be laid in one. But he wouldn't stay there. He rose.
Pastor Shawn Gray · 58:10
And the risen Christ still saves today. If you've grown uncomfortable with darkness, it's time for you to turn to the light. He is the hope. Jesus is the way. Amen.
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