The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" For Jesus had said to him, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!"

Then Jesus asked him, "What is your name?"

"My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them." He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

~Mark 5:1-20
New International Version

There's A Knock At Your Door

You don't walk into some one's house without first knocking. If you are family, a son or a daughter, you can rush right in.

Your home is where you can be private. you can do what you want any time. Usually it is polite to knock first. This is something that people everywhere do. It's an unwritten law of privacy. Do not enter without permission. You have the right to say, "enter" or "don't enter."

There is an interesting verse in the last book of the bible, in Chapter 3 and verse 20. (Rev 3:20):

"Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with me."

When one hears a knock at their door, he usually asks, "Who's there?" And then the person says. "I am." and then identifies himself, and then you decide to let them in and have a visit with them.

How do you know when someone is at your door?
What do you do when the door bell rings?

You are sitting at home watching the TV and there is a knock at your door. You have to either get up and open the door and ask who it is, or you can ignore the knock and let the person know that you're not at home.

Have you ever just ignored the knock?

Beloved, there is a door to the innermost part of your life - your heart. There is only one who can answer and open that door - YOU.

You can ignore the knock.
You can ignore the voice.
And you will forever be sorry you didn't answer.

Maybe you're too busy to answer the door. Maybe you just don't want to be bothered. Maybe you just don't want to hear who's there because you are afraid it will cost you something.

There are many reasons why people don't come to the door when you knock. However, there is one knock and one voice you need to hear and give entrance.

Rev 3:20, Jesus says to you:

"Behold I stand at the door and knock, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me."

He doesn't ask you to come out - he wants to come IN. Jesus always knocks and speaks first before coming in the door.

There are a great number of people wanting to come in and take over your life, offer you great things that never seem to happen. There are a lot of false voices.

Jesus knocks first to let you know he is there. Jesus speaks first to calm your fears. You can either reject Him... neglect Him.. The decision is yours.

Jesus wants to come in and to give peace with God, joy of living, forgiveness of sins, and purposeful living. He wants to sit down at the table with you, eat with you, and talk with you. He will listen ("and him with me") He wants to hear what is on your heart. He wants to make you a new creature. He wants to help you, not hurt you.

All the others who come to your door want what you have, and what you can do for them. They offer false promises. Jesus offers exceeding great and precious promises. Why not, while we sing. Let Jesus come into your heart.

~Bill Gibson
Mountain Villa Health Center
El Paso, TX
6/17/01

A song of the hope of God's forgiveness.

Psalm 130 (read it here) was one of the Psalms God's people sang as they traveled the dusty roads to Jerusalem. It is a song of the hope of God's forgiveness.

Someone somewhere said that our best prayers come out of a strong inward necessity. When everything is going well our fervency seems to fade a bit.

"Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD." Out of the depths of sin, shame, guilt. Out of the bondage of habits that bind. Out of the helplessness that overwhelms. Out of the loneliness even in a crowd. Out of the filth of the world around.

It is amazing how much the human spirit can stand. We get so used to the bad and evil that it doesn't seem so awful any more.

We sometimes think we can crawl out of the pit anytime... But we can't. In Psalm 40:2, it says: "He lifted me out of a horrible pit." The psalmist had come to the realization that he was in the pit of despair, and sin. He got in there all by himself and this is a cry for deliverance.

Until we see that truly we too are lost, helpless, and when we see our sin as God sees it, we will never ask for deliverance. Notice that it is while he was in the pit that he prayed for forgiveness. He didn't wait until he worked himself out of it. He didn't wait until he bettered himself. He was still in the pit when he cried out to the Lord.

"Lord hear my voice..." Not Mary praying for me. Not the Church praying for me. Not my mother's prayers for me. Lord hear MY voice.

"If you should write down all our iniquities who would stand?" Each of us have sinned and the list is long.

"But there is forgiveness with Thee." Jesus died in our place on the cross so that God could forgive the sin of the world. The justice of God was satisfied and we by trusting Jesus as our Saviour, our sins can be forever forgiven. There is no forgiveness in the church, no forgiveness in man. Only God can forgive sin. And He will forgive and deliver us out of the pit of despair when we confess that we are truly in the pits, guilty, and our sins burden us down.

I have heard men say, "Yeah, I am a sinner." But it means nothing, they seem to be proud of it. But when the Holy Spirit convinces you of sin and guilt it will drive you either to the cross and Jesus, or you will harden your heart and say "no" to God. God is not a loving Grandfather to give you all you want.

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,and in his word I hope;" Here we have the result of confession and repentance and believing by faith.The sin problem has been taken away and now he waits.

What is the Psalmist waiting for?

• Forgiveness... No
• Some great miracle... No

My Soul waits for Jesus, for God. We have a clear mind and heart and a longing just to see His face. I've a longing in my heart for Jesus.

Beloved if you do not have the knowledge of forgiveness you cannot sing this song.You won't long to see His face and you will see the Face of God as your judge not your saviour. Don't you think it's time to trust your soul to Jesus and ask Him to come in and save you?

Bill's Message for Today

There seems to be in the heart of each of us a desire to be with others. There are a few who like to be left alone, but most of us like company. Children like to be with children. We all like to be with others of the same background.

It isn't very much fun to be left alone. A man needs a wife and a woman needs a man. We need to have the companionship of being together. The Lord said to Adam in the garden of Eden, "It's not good for man to be alone." So he made a help-mate for Adam, and Eve came, and then children.

Jesus enjoyed being with his disciples. Every place He went He had them with Him, to teach them, to love them, to eat with them. He knew that shortly He would leave them and they would feel alone, so He made a promise. "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

Jesus knew what it was to be lonely. He knew that shortly He would know what to be forsaken would be.

It was the night of the Last Supper. Jesus had enjoyed sitting at the table with His disciples. He knew that in a few short hours He would suffer. He took Peter, James, and John and went up the mountain to pray. They slept while He prayed that the cup might pass, nevertheless "Thy will be done."

Later, they took Him and put Him on a cross and the Father abandoned Him. He suffered there alone. He took upon himself all the sin, the shame, and gave His life alone so that you and I might never ever be alone again. After three days He arose victorious from the grave and one day we will, all of us who have repented and believed in Him, might be with Him forever.

Why will you die without Christ? Why prefer to die and be alone in eternity, forever alone without him? He loved you enough to die for you so that you would forever be with Him and not alone without Him.

The decision is yours. You can say this prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus,
I believe you did this for me and I now receive you
as my Saviour and my God.

Bill Gibson
Mountain Villa Rest Home
El Paso, Texas
02/10/02

Something to hang on to: A talk by Bill Gibson

Have you ever been in a bus full of people and you didn't have a seat and there was nothing to hang on to? It is difficult when we all of a sudden find ourselves in a speeding bus with nothing to hang on to.

People come to the time when it seems the days are speeding by and it's a rocky road and there is nothing to hang on to to hold us secure.

Perhaps you feel you have lost control with nothing to hang on to? People say to us, "Hang in there old buddy," and there isn't anything we know to hang on to.



There is, thank the Lord, something to hang on to. The Lord gives us his solemn promise ant that is what helps the believer, the Christian, to stand solid when all around us there is everything happening.

The promise is a good one. I have a friend who has blood cancer and he tells me he is hanging on to this promise and is confident that he will not fall.

The promise is in Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."

Beloved, the Lord is worthy of our trust. He never fails and He will never fail you. It's so easy to trust in our own strength, our own will, and our own thoughts. But God says not to trust anybody, not even yourself because friends will fail, and you will fail, but the Lord never fails.

Does it seem that nobody cares and you are seemingly tossed about like a feather on the waves of the sea?

The message we have for you is that there is hope. There is help. There is something to hang on to that will never ever fail you.

Why not this Sunday morning put your trust in Jesus and let Him take over and hold you tight? He wants to do just that.

• Confess to Him that you are a failure, a sinner
• Believe that Jesus is your Savior and trust Him.
• Then thank him for the gift of salvation.
• Thank him for the gift of security.
• Thank him for the gift of hope.

Bill Gibson 06/03/01
Mountain Villa Health Center
El Paso, Texas