What are you allowing to push Jesus away? This weekend Pastor Joaquin Pardo continued our WAITING ON A MIRACLE series with a message about a man who had a legion of demons.
Mark 5:9-12
And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.”
In this passage, we see that when Jesus steps into darkness, He doesn’t leave things the way He finds them. He brings order. He confronts opposition. He tears down strongholds. But He also exposes what we may be valuing more than Him
1) He brings chaos into order.
Before Jesus ever reached the demoniac, He calmed a violent storm. Mark intentionally connects the chaos of the sea with the chaos in this man’s life. The same God who brought order to the waters in Genesis speaks “Peace, be still” over both external and internal storms. Wherever Jesus has authority, chaos cannot remain in control.
2) Opposition before breakthrough.
The storm in Mark 4 wasn’t random; it was resistance. Breakthrough is often preceded by opposition. Deliverance is often preceded by disruption. If we misinterpret resistance as rejection, we may turn around when we are actually on the brink of a miracle.
3) Strongholds that bind.
Legion represented occupation but not every stronghold looks like demonic possession. Often, it’s a pattern, a mindset, or a small crack the enemy tries to use. He doesn’t need a big opening; just a little space. But we are not powerless. Scripture calls us to take every thought captive, submit to God, and resist the devil (2 Corinthians 10:3–5; James 4:7). We give the enemy no room because greater is He who is in us (1 John 4:4).
4) The stronghold that protects.
Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Not all strongholds are evil. The enemy builds prisons but God becomes our protection. We don’t just need deliverance from something; we need refuge in Someone. When Jesus becomes our stronghold, fear loses its grip.
5) When pigs costs you Jesus.
Mark 5:17
And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
The miracle was beautiful but it was expensive. After the man was healed, the townspeople were afraid. Not of the man, but of the loss. Their pigs, their security, comfort, and stability were gone. And instead of celebrating the miracle, they begged Jesus to leave. The question we must ask ourselves is: What are our pigs? What feels too costly to surrender?
When Jesus invades our darkness, He sets us free but He also exposes what we’ve been valuing more than Him. And nothing we treasure is worth asking Jesus to leave.
