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On Becoming the Kind of People Who Don’t Give Up On People

September 7, 2018

Mark 5:1-8

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. 7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!”

CONSIDER THIS

57. We are moving into a series of stories that I would label as “impossible situations.” Today we see a man possessed by a demonic presence. The demons had literally driven him insane. They drove him into an exilic place of death: a grave yard. How much further from life and light could a person go? This was a person who had been written off, discarded and left completely alone. Not only could he not be helped, he could not be restrained. He was completely disconnected from people and was totally at odds with himself, cutting himself with stones. We are looking at an extreme case; an impossible situation. How will Jesus respond to him?

58. Here’s what I find most interesting about this part of the story. The demonic spirits drove this man to the most isolated place on earth. This is the gravity of darkness and death. With the entrance of the presence of God, the gravity of the Holy Spirit overwhelmed the gravity of the evil spirits and literally pulled this man to the very feet of Jesus. No one could restrain this man yet the Spirit of God seemed to move him almost effortlessly to the feet of Jesus.

59. The Holy Spirit through the person of Jesus, and now through the Body of Christ, walks right into the midst of the darkest places, into the most impossible situations and hopeless causes and sets captives free. The Holy Spirit, who is in you, is infinitely more powerful than the evil spirits who are in the world. The Holy Spirit never gives up on people, no matter what. When the Holy Spirit has full reign in us, he makes us the kind of people who never give up on people, no matter what.

The question we must answer is, “Do we want to become the kind of people who never give up on people, who will believe beyond belief in the possibilities of God for anyone and everyone?” These are the kind of people the Holy Spirit searches to find. To become one of these kind of persons requires a willful decision on our part. It will mean being transformed into the shape of the Love of God. We aren’t responsible to solve the problem. We are responsible to show up, to be present to Jesus in the presence of people facing impossible situations and to be ever saying, sometimes aloud and other times under our breath, Come Holy Spirit!

So here’s a challenge for us today. Ask the Spirit to bring to mind impossible situations with whom we are in touch. Write those down. I want us to explore how the practice of prayer with fasting can impact these situations soon.

THE PRAYER

Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. I want to believe you in the face of impossible situations yet I confess I often do not. I need a new perspective, a deeper perception, a faith beyond mere belief. I need Divine Love to possess me. Melt me. Mold me. Fill me. Use me. For the glory of your name, Jesus. Amen.

THE QUESTION

How are you dealing with the impossible situations in your life right now? Giving up? Grasping for more love? Could it be a test to see if you will give up?

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For the Awakening,
J.D. Walt
Sower-in-Chief
seedbed.com

Get my latest book, THE DOMINO EFFECT.
I write every day at THE SEEDBED DAILY TEXT.

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WHAT IS THIS? Wake-Up Call is a daily encouragement to shake off the slumber of our busy lives and turn our eyes toward Jesus. Each morning our community gathers around a Scripture, a reflection, a prayer, and a few short questions, inviting us to reorient our lives around the love of Jesus that transforms our hearts, homes, churches, and cities.

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