๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ -๐จ๐ฃ
โข Is there something many people like but you donโt find appealing? What is it and why?
โข Who are the people you always share your good news with?ย
โข Have you ever had a bad habit? How did you get rid of it?ย
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด, ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ? ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ. ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ด-๐ฎ๐ต
(Read also ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ณ, ๐ฏ๐ฌโ๐ฏ๐ต.)
Oppression comes in many forms; not just demonization. Some of us may not experience such an extreme form of oppression, but the enemy could oppress people in different ways. In this story, a man severely oppressed by a demon needed deliverance. Jesus was the only one able to free him from his bondage. Today, as we look closer at this story, letโs be in faith. If Jesus could deliver people from severe forms of oppression, He could free us and those around us from whatever holds us in bondage, too.
๐ญ. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ช๐ต๐บ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด. ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ ๐ฏ๐ฐ ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ญ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ข ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฃ๐ด. ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ณ
Jesus had just arrived in the town of Gerasenes when He met a man who was oppressed by a legion (or thousands) of demons. He was driven insane, walked around naked, isolated, lived among tombs and in the desert. No one could, or wanted to, help him. They may have stayed away out of fear. If this happened today, some people may be cautious around such a person and be reluctant to help. Why do you think the man seemed to be a hopeless case?ย
๐ฎ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ธ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ช๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ญ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฅ ๐ท๐ฐ๐ช๐ค๐ฆ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด, ๐๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ? ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ, ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โ ๐๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ. . . . ๐๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฑ๐ช๐จ๐ด ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐จ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฆ. ๐๐ฐ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ช๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ. ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฎ๐ด-๐ฎ๐ต, ๐ฏ๐ฎ
Jesus has authority over everything, even demons. Jesus ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ค๐ญ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ช๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ, and they recognized Him as the Son of the Most High God. Out of fear, the legion of demons begged Jesus not to condemn them yet into the abyss, but to let them inhabit the pigs on the hillside instead. And so He let them. Because of His presence and authority, the man was now free. This shows that Jesus is truly the Son of God. When we call on the name of Jesus, we too can experience deliverance from oppression. According to Luke 4:18, what did Jesus come here to do?
๐ฏ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ด๐ต๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ, ๐ด๐ช๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ถ๐ด, ๐ค๐ญ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ง๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฅ. ๐๐จ๐๐ ๐ด:๐ฏ๐ฑ
Jesus did more than just set the man free. After the demons had gone from him, the man was ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ. Jesus had restored the manโs identity, dignity, sanity, and place in society. Moreover, Luke 8:38โ39 records that Jesus gave him a new purpose. The man was used by God to tell his community and the whole city about Jesus and what He had done. As followers of Christ, we are empowered to bring His restoration by the Holy Spirit to the broken places in our communities. What does John 10:10 say about the devil? About Jesus?ย
People respond to miracles differently. The man who received the miracle found new life, joy, and purpose in Jesus. Sadly, the people around him, even though they had witnessed the drastic change in the man, were filled with ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต ๐ง๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ (Luke 8:37). In the same way, not everyone will rejoice with us, recognize who God is, or draw near to Him. But that should not stop us from praying for miracles or preaching the gospel. As God continues to do miracles in our lives today, He will make Himself known to the world.ย
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข How do you think you would respond to oppression? How does todayโs message change your view or course of action on this?
โข In what areas of your life do you need Godโs deliverance? Ask someone to pray with you and consider what steps you can take this week in light of this.
โข Read and meditate on Luke 4:18โ19 this week. How can you actively take part in advancing Godโs kingdom and proclaiming the Lordโs salvation?
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God that in Jesus, we have the miracle of deliverance over any form of oppression. Pray that you would continue to live in the freedom and restoration He has given you.ย
โข Pray Luke 4:18โ19 over your family. Pray that your community can know God as a miracle-worker and draw near to Him.ย
โข As you pray for miracles, ask God to open the hearts of people to encounter Christ and receive Him as their Lord and Savior.