A Miracle In The Graveyard Luke 8:26-39 Luke 8:26-39 And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devils was healed. Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. Introduction: A. It must have been a wonderful thing to go around with Jesus during His earthly ministry, and see him perform His mighty miracles. 1. It would be something to see Him turn the water into wine; to walk on the water; to calm the storm; to open the blind eyes, and deaf ears; to straighten out broken and twisted bodies; and to even raise the dead. B. We may not have the privilege of seeing all these things happen today; but one thing I have learned and that is, if you follow Jesus you'll get to see Him do some things that to say the least, are very unusual. Following Jesus is exciting. C. In the book of Luke chapter 8 we see Jesus performing one of His most unusual and strange miracles. There are some tremendous lessons for us to learn from this. I. His Terrible Condition (vs 27-30) A. He was possessed with demons (v 27). 1. He had not always been demon possessed. 2. Somewhere along the way he had opened up his life to these evil spirits. 3. Demons are real. They are looking for a body to get into so they can work. Just as the Holy Spirit requires a dedicated body of a Christian to work thru, so demons require a dedicated body of an unsaved person to work thru. B. He took his clothes off, and went naked. 1. People are still taking their clothes off. This is what Satan wants. We have the nudist colonies, the topless dancers, and the many pornographic literature, and shows, which promote the disrobing of the body. C. He would not stay at home. 1. Here is another thing the devil wants to do: tear down the family. 2. Any more the house is no more than a dispatch center. It is almost impossible to visit in a home. Nobody is ever there. 3. Families ought to spend time together: a. Eat together b. talk together: have family conferences. c. Plan together. d. Work together. e. Play together. f. Worship God together. 4. He lived among the tombs. a. The tombs, or graveyard, is a place of gloom, doom and despair. Out of touch with reality. b. Have you noticed how much interest is being taken today in such matters? Séances? Witchcraft? Re-incarnation? Necromancy? (communicating with the dead). A prime example of this is Mrs. Clinton claiming to communicate with Mrs. Roosevelt. 5. He could not be bound with chains (v 29). a. We are coming up with all kind of chains these days to try to curb violence, disease, and perversions, and addictions. The truth is, things are getting worse by the day. No one seems to know what to do. The jails are full. The hospitals are full. Education has failed. b. We need to learn that we are just not capable of controlling Satan with our abilities. 6. He was miserable a. Never has there been a time when people were as unhappy as they are these days. II. His Truthful Confession (v 30) A. He admitted his condition. B. He confessed that Jesus was the Son of God. C. He fell at Jesus' feet. 1. When a person falls down at Jesus' feet, he or she is on the way up. III. His Transforming Conversion (vs 31-37) A. The demons departed from him. 1. The only answer to the problem is total release from the evil spirits. B. He sat at Jesus' feet. 1. Clothed. 2. In his right mind. IV. His Thrilling Commission (v 38-40) A. He wanted to be a disciple. B. He was sent back home to tell what Christ had done for him. He got a crowd to hear Jesus. This is the best way I know of to build a church. Get people on fire for Jesus, and see how they come out.