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Bishop Ogles’ Sermon
The Third Sunday in Advent
The
Collect.
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O
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LORD Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming didst send thy
messenger to prepare thy way before thee; Grant that the ministers and stewards
of thy mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready thy way, by turning the
hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second coming
to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in thy sight, who
livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit ever, one God, world
without end. Amen.
The
propers for the First Sunday in Advent can be found on Page 90-92:
The
First Sunday in Advent
The Collect.
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LMIGHTY God, give us grace that we may
cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in
the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in
great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious
majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal,
through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, now and ever.
Amen.
¶ This Collect is to be
repeated every day, after the other Collects in Advent, until Christmas Day.
And
they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the
Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out
of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the
tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been
often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by
him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And
always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and
cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and
worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou
torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of
the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What
is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are
many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the
country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine
feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that
we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean
spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a
steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in
the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the
country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to
Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion,
sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And they
that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil,
and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray him to depart out of
their coasts. And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed
with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him
not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends,
and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had
compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis
how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. (Mark 5:1-20)
This miracle is mentioned in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew as well as here in
Mark.
Depraved minds are capable of great strength and capacity for evil.
History is replete with examples such as Herod, Tamerlane, Count Vlad Tepes
(the source inspiration for Dracula) of Wallachia, Lenin, Stalin, Mao, Hitler,
Bin Laden, etc. The demoniac of the Gadarenes was an example of such. His
strength seems near super-human. We often wonder at the capacity to
perform evil of those who are of like mind with demons. Their evil schemes may
seem ingenious to us and seem to prosper more than those of the righteous. Why
is this possible? Evil knows no limits to its exploits for power and control.
Any means will always suffice. This same proverb holds true to those who are
adherents of Maoism or Communism –the end justifies the means. It may be said
that the cruel and madly wicked are not in their right minds, and this is precisely
the case, for no one is in their RIGHT mind apart from that Mind which was in
Christ Jesus! It is interesting to observe that the people of Gadara cared more
for their income-producing swine than they did for the wellbeing of the man who
had been freed from the demon possession.
And they came over unto the other side of the
sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Christ has come to a people who were either not knowledgeable of the
Law of Moses, or who were openly disobedient thereto. The demons waste no time
in confronting the power of God when such power invades their long-held regime!
And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of
the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. This unclean spirit was
even reflected in the unclean animals which was the source of livelihood of the
Gadarenes. They were raisers of SWINE! This man was one Who had
his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains
had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither
could any man tame him. The works of the devil never stray
far from his intent for his victim – the tomb! This man lived among the tombs
and constantly faced death and its master every day. Demons have great power,
if we allow it to them, and this possessed man exemplified that power in being
beyond being chained and bound for his own protection. No man can tame an evil
mind, but even the most evil of men may be tamed by God!
And always, night and day, he was in the
mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. My heart bleeds for the depth of despair that drives this man to such
abject misery. He was always alone and deserted. He cried always in his pain
and misery. He, in a single word, hated himself! He had only contempt for the
person he had become. He even cut his body with stones. I have seen such misery
among precious young girls of the Far East who were sold into prostitution and
who would cut their bodies with broken glass in fits of rage against their
predicament. It was a condition that would break the heart of any decent-minded
person but one which is beyond real change
without the Spirit of Christ working among those people. I still see those
images vividly and I regret that I could not have said, or done, something to
alleviate their sufferings. The innocence of the very young was sold for
pittance into the hands of the devil by greedy and unrighteous men and women.
But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and
worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with
thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? Even the demons set a better example than
many of those among us who neither love nor hate God, but are simply
indifferent to His Sovereignty and Truth. At least the demons recognize, even
at a great distance (which they shall always be from Christ), His Presence and
Coming! Demon spirits are reprobate, having deserted their first love and followed
Satan into that reprobation, yet still plead for a solution to their damnation.
Their hope is forlorn. They certainly do, better than some ministers, in
recognizing Christ for who He is! Should we not, at least, have the same
presence of mind to recognize Christ for who He is as do demons? I adjure
thee by God, that thou torment me not. Do you feel it strange that many
false ministers can call upon the name and power of God while they are complete
imposters? Look, the demons do it, too!
Unlike Eve before the damnable Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil,
Christ does not engage in a dialogue with the devil except to identify him for
what he is. For he said unto him, Come out
of the man, thou unclean spirit. But Christ will
always identify the evil that plagues our hearts: What is thy name?
Let us, too, be knowledgeable of the evil with which we are dealing in
purifying our spirits and the Church.
And he answered, saying, My
name is Legion: for we are many. Among men who are
indifferent to God (as were the Gadarenes), the demons prosper just as they do
among any people or nation that grow indifferent to God. . And he besought him much that he would not send
them away out of the country. This land of the Gadarenes was
a land of unclean people, therefore, the unclean spirits felt well at home
here. They desired to remain in this country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine
feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that
we may enter into them. A demon is not very particular about
where it lives as long as it is a place of uncleanness. There are an abundance
of unclean peoples in our world that are always vulnerable to such spirits. The
unclean have not God’s protection against demons: And forthwith Jesus gave them leave.
And the unclean spirits went
out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place
into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. The very object of the devil and his demons is the destruction of his
victims. The demons will never lead you into green pastures and beside still
waters, but to certain destruction. The greatest amazement of this occasion is
not the destruction of 2,000 swine (so there must have been at least 2,000 demons possessing the man), but the
reaction of the Gadarenes at this great miracle of Christ! And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in
the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was
done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil,
and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were
afraid. Notice that fear of the Lord does not always lead to
repentance. These people feared Christ for the wrong reasons – their profits
from the filthy swine! And they that
saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and
also concerning the swine. They should have rejoiced one
soul was saved from the power of the devil, but did they?
And they began to pray him to
depart out of their coasts. These men prayed
to the right person, but for the wrong purpose. Ye ask, and receive not,
because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. (James
4:3) It is a great tragedy that these men prayed, not that Christ would come to them, but that He might depart from them! They would prefer to
live in the company of swine and demons than the Lord of heaven. Is America
becoming like that?
And when he was come into the
ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be
with him. From the very moment that God casts the
demons from our hearts, we immediately desire to be with Him always and
rightfully so. This man had literally had his fill of demons and swine, now he
desires, above all else, to the One who can grant complete Liberty! Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto
him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how
great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion
on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things
Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. The
boy once possessed by demons spread the Gospel of Christ’s healing to the ten
city (Decapolis) region. We often experience a wonderful time of fellowship
with God and His people at worship or during the Convention
and we wish not to leave it and return home. We want to bask in the love and
warmth of God in places that are full of His presence, but God will have us go
to the place where the NEED is greatest – a mission field, a community without
Christ, or a place of raising smelly swine where the people need daily
reminders of the power of God. The place a Christian heart occupies will always
be full of God’s Presence regardless of the
outward evils. Do you prefer swinely lusts to the presence of Christ?
