I Have Power Over My

Deliverance

Mark 5:1-20 1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

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.

5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

Mark 5:1-20 6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.

8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.

9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

Mark 5:1-20 11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.

13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

Mark 5:1-20 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.

16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.

17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.

Mark 5:1-20 19 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.

20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

Jesus had just crossed the sea with His disciples, having an opportunity to teach them another object lesson when He spoke to the wind and the waves and calmed the raging sea.

Jesus, having spent time with His disciples explaining and teaching them how the kingdom works showing them through the parable of the sewer and the seed, reaches the country of the Gadarenes; He encounters a man possessed with demons who dwelt among the dead in the graveyard, cutting himself and becoming supernaturally strong, so that no man could bind him.

Notice that even though this man had a legion of devils, they could not stop him from approaching Jesus.

True deliverance from the bondage of sin does not come because someone else wants it for you; it only comes when the person wants it for himself.

When you want deliverance for yourself, then nothing can stop you --not even hell itself because you set yourself in agreement with God’s word.

We have to be clear that, many times, we make our deliverance the responsibility of someone else when our deliverance is our responsibility; others can assist us, but, ultimately, our freedom is ours to obtain.

The demons must get permission to posses or overtake someone; they do not have the power to just violate you.

They had to get permission to go into the swine; they had to get permission to stay in the region.

All the spectators were amazed to see the man free and clothed in his right mind. They were amazed to see the herd of swine commit suicide rather than be possessed with an evil spirit.

It was even more interesting that those who were not possessed with the devil wanted Jesus to leave because of what they saw. Whenever counterfeits see the real deal; they don’t want it around.

Here we see the induction and commission of the one of the first evangelists.

The man who was delivered wanted to become one of Jesus’ disciples wanted to submit himself unto Jesus and serve under his leadership.

For some reason, Jesus did not have any more job openings and rejected the young man’s offer.

Many people don’t possess the discipline for discipleship; they are not willing to submit themselves to the level and process necessary to be trained for kingdom authority.

Although Jesus rejected his request for discipleship, he did not reject the man’s desire to be in ministry.

1. Jesus commissions the young man to go back to his home --a familiar place where people knew about his past-- and show them who he had become.

2. Jesus gives him the right message to share with those with whom he is familiar.

3. Testify of your past; tell people about a Man from Galilee; tell them where God has brought you from.

The man’s deliverance came through his worship.