IN THE WORD DAILY
with Brother Rick
Mark 5: 2, 3, 6
And when he was come out of the ship,
immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
V- 3 Who had his dwelling
among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
V- 6 But when he saw Jesus
afar off, he ran and worshipped him.
We all know this familiar
story of the Maniac of Gadara. The man who was known for being possessed with
many devils. The man who was known by the locals to live in the grave yard and
they could often hear him screaming and shouting, The man who constantly tried
to mutilate his body and hurt himself. You know the man. He sits at the bar
every evening and pours poison into his body looking for release. You know the
man, he searches day and night for the next high, the next shot, the next hit,
trying his best to find release from his troubles. You know the man, he spends
his time, day in and day out, looking for the perfect naked woman on the
internet, someone he thinks will pacify his lusts, but he never finds her. You
know the man, he wants to fit in, so he mutilates his body with piercings and
markings to draw attention, looks like he tripped and fell face first into a
tackle box. You know the man, he sits at the table, for hours at a time,
watching and counting the cards looking for that one big payout that will solve
all his problems. You know the man, he begs and pleads and picks up cans to buy
that lottery ticket hoping his ship will come in. Let me say this, have you
seen the commercial where the lady talks about the Education Lottery, and tries
to tell us to gamble responsibly. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Would you tell a crack
head to smoke responsibly? Would you tell a child molester to stalk
responsibly? Would you tell a drunk to drive responsibly? I must be missing
something, it's insane.
We love to look at the
sinners in the Bible and point fingers and think, “What a terrible sin”, or
“How could someone get in that position?” But the reality is, if we look hard
enough, we will find that we are not as far away from this man's condition as
we would like to believe. Hebrews 12: 1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also
are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us,” We don't know this man's background,
he may have been a fisherman like Peter. He may have been a tax collector. He
may have been a lawyer or a physician. But, we do know that he had friends.
Jesus says in Mark 5: 19 says, “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith
unto him. Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath
done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.”
We don't know the event that
sent him over the edge. We don't know the sin that so easily beset him. Listen
up friend! If you think real hard, you know the sin that so easily besets you.
Here's some good advice. STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!!!! Song of Solomon 2: 15 says, “Take
us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender
grapes.” It won't take much for you to loose your family. One
adulterous affair could ruin a lifetime of happiness. It won't take much for
you to loose your well paying job. One DUI could wipe it all out. It won't take
much for you to loose your status down at the church house. One sin that so
easily besets you could ruin your testimony and your ministry. And again I say,
“STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!”
The maniac lost his way and
ended up in the tombs, but thank God Jesus came by one day. Thank God he didn't
leave him in the tombs. Thank God he didn't leave him in the bar. Thank God he
didn't leave him at the Mission
Here's the key, whatever your
sin was that sent you to the tombs, STAY AWAY FROM IT!!!
Have A Blessed Day!!!
