Luke 8:26-39
 

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” 29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

          On February 18, 1546, at the age of 62, the noted German church reformer, Martin Luther, died. They discovered a piece of paper in his pocket which recorded Luther’s last written words. The final sentence read: “Wir sind Bettler. Das ist wahr.” (“We are beggars. This is true.”) Do you know what Luther was getting at—the biblical truth he was expressing? Today we’ll meet three groups of beggars: demons, a stunned crowd, and one believer. They each begged Jesus for different reasons. As Luther correctly stated, we all are beggars. The question is “When is it OK to beg?
 

“When It’s OK to Beg”
 
I.  Not for the demons
II.  Not for the angry villagers
III.  For God’s people

 
          Jesus had been preaching and teaching along the shores of the Sea of Galilee about a year into his 3-year ministry.  He was exhausted after a long stretch so he and his disciples got into a boat to cross the lake.  A storm came up quickly which Jesus easily calmed with a simple command.  The disciples were amazed and asked, “Who is this?” (v. 25)
          Jesus would soon show his disciples that it wasn’t just natural storms that were subject to his commands.  He also had power over supernatural storms as well.  Arriving at the southeast shore of the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was confronted by “…a demon-possessed man from the town.”  Luke reported, “When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, ‘What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God, I beg you, don’t torture me.’”
          Here we meet the first group of beggars.  Luke wrote that Jesus asked, “What is your name?” and the reply was, “Legion,” showing that there were many demons possessing this poor man.  Recognizing Jesus, “they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.”  Jesus was clearly outnumbered, but he was not outmatched.  The “legion” of evil angels pleaded desperately for Jesus to be merciful to them, fearing that he would send them back to “the Abyss,” the home of their leader Satan with all of its terror and torture.
          We should pause for a moment to note their fear of hell.  They dreaded being sent back to hell.  They knew what it was really like there — more terrible than we can imagine.  Since we’ve never seen the reality of hell’s terror, it might be a temptation for us to minimize its danger.  How many in the world today live contrary to God’s Word and will without any fear of the final outcome of doing so?  Some even foolishly mock the thought of an actual place of sheer terror and torture.  These demons, who had been there before did not.
          Luke wrote that the demons begged Jesus not to send them back to hell.  He described what happened in vv. 32-33, “A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. ³³ When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs….”

 
II.  Not for the angry villagers

 
          As soon as these servants of Satan entered the pigs, chaos ensued.  Luke reported, “and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.”  When those tending the pigs saw this, they ran back and told the people of their town what had happened.  Shockingly, there was no mention of joy over the man who had been freed of the demons.  There was no interest in the power of the one who had performed this miracle.  Their only concern was for the lost pigs and the revenue that they could have brought the owner.  Our text said, “Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.”
          How firm must the grip of unbelief be on a heart that begs Jesus to leave it?  We should be terrified to realize that the devil is powerful enough to have people who have the privilege of standing face to face with Jesus beg him to leave.  Oblivious to the wonderful and powerful miracle that Jesus had just done, they begged him to leave.  They failed to see what Jesus had brought to them – the power and mercy of the one true God – and focused only on what he had taken from them – their herd of pigs.
          We, God willing, will never go so far as to beg Jesus to leave us.  But I think we have to admit that there are times when we don’t really want Jesus to be so fully involved in our lives.  The little “pet sins” that we like to indulge at the urging of our sinful nature are detestable to our Lord, so we might be more comfortable obliging them if Jesus would just look the other way for a few seconds.  We might even want Jesus to ignore some of the other sins that we would label as “more serious” because our anger or jealousy or greed drives us to the brink of believing that we are justified in giving in to them for one reason or another.  While folded hands might not offer up the prayer, “Jesus, I beg you to give me a moment or two alone,” our weak flesh might just offer up a similar request.
          The reaction of the pigs to the hostile takeover of the demons shows us the power of the devil and his evil angels.  We should never, for any reason whatsoever, want Jesus to step out of our lives, even for a brief second.  The devil is bent on destroying us, just as his minions destroyed the pigs in our text, and he will watch for every opportunity to do so.
          And that leads us to the times when it is OK to beg.
 

III.  For God’s people

 
          The man who had been freed from the grip of the demons treasured the presence of Jesus in his life.  Luke wrote, “The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ ‘Return home and tell how much God has done for you.’ So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.” Jesus knew that this man did not need to go with him and his disciples.  Although Jesus was physically leaving the man, he would be with him spiritually.  Remember, Jesus has promised to send his Holy Spirit to those who are a part of God’s family through faith.  We’ve been focusing on his power and his role in our salvation for a few weeks, and Jesus was well aware that this man would be perfectly protected by the work that the Holy Spirit would continue to do.
          In fact, Jesus pointed out that the Holy Spirit would prepare this man to do some work of his own.  Jesus pointed him to the fields ripe for a spiritual harvest right in his own back yard.  “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”  This man would be an important piece of God’s ministry in the region of the Gerasenes.  The angry reaction of the villagers over their lost pigs showed that much work needed to be done. The grip of the devil on their hearts needed to be peeled away by the power of the Gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit.  This man had his mission field waiting for him.
          Nd that leads us to think about our own lives and the opportunities that God is giving to each of us.  There are countless circumstances that have come together with the result that we are who we are and where we are.  Quietly orchestrating what we call “our” life, is our loving God in heaven.  While allowing us to make certain decisions in our life, it is God who keeps us on the path to our eternal home in heaven.
          So here we are, where God has led us.  And here we are in fields that are also ripe for the harvest and in need of people to do God’s work.
As individuals and as members of the Emmanuel church family, God has given us opportunities to live to his glory, serve as salt and lights in his world, and find opportunities to share the joy of knowing Jesus.  This past week I spent some time with my brother in Michigan.  One day we played golf with 2 men from the neighboring church.  While we are getting ready to begin our round of golf, I watched as these two men began to talk to some of the young employees of the golf course and was amazed at how quickly they went from introducing themselves to inviting them to come to their church.  I don’t know if the young employees ever will go to their church, but these two men did what God gave them the opportunity to do.
          So we look at our opportunities to serve the Lord in the places that he has led us.  And as we do, we are invited to beg him to be with us and to bless our efforts.  We are looking forward to participating in the July “Downtown Thursday” event in July and August.  We’ll meet some people and share information about our church and its ministry, and I don’t know what will happen.  I don’t know if we will find someone who needs to meet Jesus or someone who needs spiritual guidance, but we’ll plead with God to bless us and the ministry work that we are doing.
          Martin Luther was right, “Wir sind bettler.  Das ist wahr.”  “We are beggars.  That is true.”  It is NOT OK to beg Jesus to let you get away from him or to have him get away from you.  We NEED to beg Jesus never, ever, to be away from us or leave us.  And we need to be careful that we don’t slowly drift away from Jesus by poor decisions made in our lives.  Pray, yes, beg, that God will always be a part of your life, here on earth and forever in heaven.  Amen.