{"id":36884,"date":"2025-08-05T22:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-08-06T05:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/?p=36884"},"modified":"2025-07-29T15:28:58","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T22:28:58","slug":"mark_5_11-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/mark_5_11-20\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Entertain Evil Spirits, but Welcome Jesus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark 5:11-20\u00a0 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 5:11-20.\u00a0With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the\u00a0GAME sharing\u00a0below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 5:11-13 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.”
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-13:\u00a0 Notice a couple things here.\u00a0 First, notice the authority of Jesus.\u00a0 When Jesus confronted the demons, the demons could only beg for mercy and plead that they take refuge in the pigs instead of the man they had possessed.\u00a0 Jesus is far greater than evil spirits, both in power and in authority.\u00a0 So\u00a0if you have Jesus in your heart, you don\u2019t need to be afraid of evil spirits; evil spirits need to be afraid of you, not because you are anything, but because the Name Above All Names lives in you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Second, notice what the evil spirits did to the pigs once they went into them: they had them killed.\u00a0 Just as the evil spirits led the man they possessed to want to harm himself and live among the tombs, just as they led the pigs to commit mass suicide, so evil spirits have only one agenda: to kill, steal and destroy the life that God has given.\u00a0 So\u00a0don\u2019t entertain an evil spirit.\u00a0 They\u2019re not there to entertain you; they\u2019re out to destroy you.\u00a0 But praise God that Jesus, the Lord of life and the name above every name, is with you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 5:14-17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened.
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man–and told about the pigs as well.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 14-17:\u00a0 Jesus had done what the town could not do: he tamed the man who had been demon-possessed, not by putting chains on him but by setting him free.\u00a0 Yet the town didn\u2019t want Jesus there.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because the deliverance of this one demon-possessed man came at the cost of losing two thousand pigs.\u00a0 The people loved their money (which was in livestock) more than they loved their neighbours.\u00a0 How about you and me?\u00a0 Are we willing to spend money to help our neighbours to know Jesus and to get the help they need?\u00a0 Or would we prefer to hoard our money and say to hell with our neighbours?<\/p>\n

Also, consider what would have happened if the people didn\u2019t plead for Jesus to leave, but instead welcomed him.\u00a0 I believe this: Jesus would have blessed that town and the owner of that herd of pigs and done even more miraculous things.\u00a0 But because the people didn\u2019t trust that Jesus had their best in mind, they told him to go away.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When we push Jesus away rather than welcoming Jesus and waiting on Jesus, we forfeit God\u2019s presence as well as the greater blessings that God has for us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mark 5:18-20 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 18-20:\u00a0 Earlier the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus said yes.\u00a0 Now in verse 18 the formerly demon-possessed man begs Jesus to let him go with Jesus, and Jesus says no.\u00a0 Remember this:\u00a0when God says yes to you, it doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re any good; that\u2019s just God showing you grace.\u00a0 And when God says no to you, it\u2019s not because He doesn\u2019t love you; it\u2019s because He has a better plan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s understandable why Jesus would tell the man that he had set free to stay in the town instead of going with Jesus.\u00a0 It\u2019s because Jesus was not welcome in the town, but the man was.\u00a0 So Jesus strategically keeps the man there to be a witness for Jesus\u2019 kingdom.\u00a0 Similarly,\u00a0maybe your company, your school, your home is not one that welcomes Jesus, but you\u2019re there.\u00a0 Here\u2019s believing that God has strategically placed you in that environment, like an undercover witness for Christ, so that Christ\u2019s mission can still move forward through you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally remember what a witness does.\u00a0 A witness does not argue the case.\u00a0 A witness does not play the judge.\u00a0 A witness simply tells others what they experienced.\u00a0\u00a0May you not be afraid to be a witness for Jesus in the place where God has you now.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus, I praise You because You are the Name above every name and all authority is in Your hands.\u00a0 I welcome You in the very place where I find myself today, and pray I would be a good witness for You.\u00a0 Let Your will be done.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Mark 5:11-20.\u00a0With an open mind and a humble heart, read this passage and see what sticks out to you in this passage.\u00a0 Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?\u00a0 After you\u2019ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the\u00a0GAME sharing\u00a0below.\u00a0 Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Mark 5:11-13 (NIV)
\n11\u00a0\u00a0A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.
\n12\u00a0\u00a0The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.”
\n13\u00a0\u00a0He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.
\n\u00a0
\nOn verses 11-13:\u00a0 Notice a couple things here.\u00a0 First, notice the authority of Jesus.\u00a0 When Jesus confronted the demons, the demons could only beg for mercy and plead that they take refuge in the pigs instead of the man they had possessed.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36886,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36884"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36884\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36887,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36884\/revisions\/36887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}