There’s a lot about demons in the verses we read today. Some people might feel frightened by the mention of demons. I used to feel that way too. But since having faith in Jesus Christ, this has totally changed. Instead, the demons fear me. This is not only true for me but for all who believe in Jesus. Demons fear Jesus Christ, and hence they fear anyone who has received Jesus Christ and is one with Him.

Some people get possessed by demons and suffer a great deal. When I see them, I feel a strong desire to go and help them. If one understands the Picture of God’s Will, that is, God’s will, then they can subdue the works of these unclean demons.

The event we just read is also found in the Book of Matthew, but what we read is from the Book of Luke. It was written by a man named Luke. Jesus went to the region of the Gadarenes. And there was a man who was demon-possessed. This man didn’t wear clothes and lived among the tombs. To all the people, he appeared to be a madman, completely insane. Today, his condition may be described as schizophrenia. There are quite a number of people suffering from schizophrenia. They can’t use their own will but are controlled by another one’s will, having no control over their bodies. They are literally out of their minds.

When Jesus went to that town, He met that man. Though it is not detailed here, the same event is written about in the Book of Matthew, where it mentions that there were actually two men. Jesus said to the man, “Come out!” But He wasn’t telling the man to come out, He was commanding the demon inside the man. Demons love to go into people’s bodies and resist leaving when commanded, begging, “Please let me stay here!”

And then the demon said, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God!” The extraordinary thing is that none of the people at that time believed “Jesus is the Son of God.” Even though Jesus said that Himself, they couldn’t understand Him. Yet, this demon actually recognized who Jesus was. The demon said, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God!” Then he said, “What have I to do with You? I have nothing to do with You. I beg you, do not torment me!”

The demon begged Jesus not to torment him and later pleaded Jesus not to send him to the abyss. The abyss means the bottomless pit. It is a spiritual space where demons are sent. The demon asked, “Have You come to send us to the abyss before the time has come?” From this, we understand that demons are destined to go into the abyss when a certain time comes. And it is tormenting for them. So they begged Him, saying, “Please do not send us into the abyss!”

At that, Jesus would’ve told them to get out. Then the demon answered, “If you do send us out, send us into the herd of swine over there rather than the abyss!” For the people of the region of Gadarenes, one of their primary livelihoods was tending pigs. Instead of breeding pigs in farms, they grazed pigs. Just as sheep are grazed in the open grassland, they did the same with pigs. There would’ve been hundreds or even thousands of them there.

Jesus asked the demon-possessed man, “Who are you?” To be exact, He said, “What is your name?” If the demon had been just one, he would’ve said, “I am so-and-so.”

When I was in China as a missionary, I was a lay believer and had not that much experience in driving out demons, though I did have some experience. I went to a certain village and there was a person who suffered from epilepsy, foaming at the mouth and collapsing on the ground. As I was preaching, he had an epileptic fit. So I cursed the demon in him, saying, “You unclean demon, get out of him!” Then the demon shrieked and screamed in torment. So I asked, “What is your name?” And the answer that came through the man’s lips was, “I am Wang Shyien Yien.” The surname was Wang. The demon said, “I’m Wang Shyien Yien!” Since I wasn’t from that town, I didn’t know who that was. But the people there were all surprised exclaimed, “Ooh…” Though I didn’t know who it was, all the people of that town knew Wang Shyien Yien.

So I asked the demon, “Who is Wang Shyien Yien?” Apparently, she was a little girl who lived in that town but hanged herself a few years ago. So I asked, “Why did you come into this person?” The demon said that it came in when he was startled by something. While this man was walking, someone came from behind and scared him by saying, “Boo!” The man shrieked in surprise, and at that moment, the demon went into him. When he shrieked, he fell and had an epileptic fit, which was his first. That is why, when people try to play a trick on someone and scare them, a demon can use that opportunity to go in. That is why we should not do such a thing.

So the demon manifested, I cursed it, and then the demon left. When I returned to that village 6 months later, I called that person and asked if he had an epileptic fit again since that day, he said he never had one, though prior to that day he had one almost once every week.

In this way, demons can say their own names.  So when Jesus asked, “Who are you? What is your name?” the demon that was in the man living in the region of the Gadarenes answered, “Legion!” and added, “For we are many.” If it was one, it would say its name, but instead, it answered, “We are a legion!” How many were there? There were roughly 2000 pigs nearby, and if the demons could go into the whole herd, it means it’s possible for them to be more than 2000 in number.

And we can also understand this from the demon’s answer, which said, “Legion!” A legion refers to a unit in the Roman army at that time. It is similar to a regiment. The demon answered, “We are a legion!” At the time, there had been a war between the people of that region and the Roman army, resulting in the deaths of over 2,000 people. Many of those demons had gone into this one man. So this man couldn’t overcome this, lost his mind, and became insane.

Then when Jesus appeared before him, the demons couldn’t hide but revealed themselves. They begged Him, saying, “What have I to do with You? Do not torment me! Please leave me! Let me alone! If You are going to send me into the abyss, permit that I go into the herd of pigs instead, because the time hasn’t come yet!” Then Jesus permitted this. And then what happened? Demons are invisible, aren’t they? But the demons that were inside this man were cast out. In that moment, the herd of pigs, about 2000 in number, all rushed in one direction. They rushed towards a steep place—a cliff—which falls to the sea. The herd of pigs rushed off the cliff, fell into the sea, and drowned. They all died.

When a demon enters a person, the demon’s nature manifests. Even if the demon goes into a person he likes, he will display his own character. What demons always do in people is kill—making them sick, causing death, and tormenting them. Though they might be his beloved family, once a demon goes in, he will ultimately try to kill them. Thus, it will only be your loss if you stay close to a demon.

But the people in Korea, many Asian countries, and many other parts of the world want to be close to demons. Why? They believe that demons can give them some help. Hence, they worship demons. They perform ancestral rites. While demons might appear to protect the people for a short time, in the end, those people will share the same fate as that of the demons. For example, if someone who died of cancer became a demon, the demon goes inside another person and then that person also gets cancer. If someone who died of alcoholism became a demon, the person possessed by that demon also starts drinking alcohol. And a demon that originally died of hypothermia will cause the person he possesses to die from hypothermia. These are scary things. However, for us who believe in Jesus, it is not scary. But for those who don’t understand these things, it does sound scary.

A certain pastor in China wrote me a testimony. One of his church members would complain of shortness of breath every time a demon manifested. As the demon manifested in him, a red mark would appear on his neck like a rash. At first, the pastor wondered what that was. But as he was casting out the demon, he found out that the demon was originally a person who hung themselves to death. After the demon was expelled, the person became completely sound. Even in these times of advanced science in the 21st century, we witness these things occurring frequently around us. People brush this off and say, “There’s no such thing!” as though they don’t happen. But they do occur very often.

Such occurrences are even more frequent especially in churches like our Sungrak Church, where we have a thorough understanding of the Bible and the spiritual realities it reveals, and strive to lead a proper faith life. Every member of the church has not only experienced demons being cast out of themselves but also experienced driving out demons from others.

But what is the problem then? It is that the world regards demons as friends and cooperates with them. They say, “I will look after you, and you must worship me!” This is the worldly way. There was a guy I knew from school; he was my senior. His father had passed away early on in a car accident. When this guy was about to start his own business, his dad appeared in his dreams and suggested to him, “I know you’re my youngest. But you need to serve me well. If you serve me well, I will make your business flourish!” When he awoke from the dream, it was still very vivid. So he told his older brother, “From now on, I’ll take charge of the rites for our father.” And then he started his business. And the business did well. In this way, people collaborate with demons.

But did that success continue? The business was doing good for some time, but later it totally collapsed. One of his employees was his relative. Because the business grew in a short time, itwas hard to hire people, so he relied on trusted relatives. However, they were under immense stress later on because they were not getting paid. One of these relatives, who was only in his thirties, died of liver cancer. For a short time, it appeared as though everything was going well, but eventually, the business failed, his family was in trouble, and the people who worked with him struggled. This is what demons do.

Demons not only torment us on earth but ultimately hinder man’s spirit from meeting God. They ensure that the person is cursed, becomes a demon in the end, and finally goes to hell. That is what they do.

The very reason Jesus, the Son of God, came to this world was to save mankind, who is in despair. Thus, Jesus condemned the prince of demons. What the prince of demons did was kill Jesus. He condemned and killed Jesus legally by the laws of this world. But do you know what is more remarkable? God raised Jesus from the dead. Though He was put to death according to the law, God raised Him to life, and therefore proved that Jesus is sinless. As Jesus has already destroyed the authority of demons, those who believe in Jesus today have the authority to overcome demons.

Where is that authority? It is in the name of God, namely Jesus. That is why we believe in Jesus. If we curse the demons in Jesus’ name, they will flee, and we can be healed as well. Though I am not a special person, by cursing demons in Jesus’ name, I healed the blind to open and the deaf to hear. Among our Sungrak Church members who are fervent in prayer and obedient to God’s word would have such similar experiences whether great or small. We all can truly live with this power that is like God.

But what did the demon-possessed man in the region of the Gadarenes say to Jesus? “You are the Son of God!” And he added, “What have I to do with You? Please leave me!” Yet when the demons were cast out of him, what happened to him? He was in his right mind. He became sane and sat before Jesus. Later, he even said he would follow Jesus. But Jesus deterred and sent him off, saying, “Go to your family and testify about what you experienced!” Likewise, the man, became completely sound in his mind that he even said he would follow and become a disciple of Jesus.

However, there would have been people who saw the herd pigs rushing into the water and drowning, wouldn’t there? Those people went into town and told all the people. They saw the demon-possessed man become sound and the herd of pigs that had died, and they started to worry. What they worried about was that if Jesus stayed in their town, all the pigs in the town would die. That’s what they thought. So they thought, ‘We cannot let this man stay in our town. He will take away our livelihood!’ And they begged Jesus, “Please leave us!” Thus, Jesus left that region. They sent God’s Son away because the Son of God was too much of a burden to them. If He remained with them, all the demons would get expelled, but all the pigs would die too. There is an immediate financial loss. That is why they asked Jesus to leave them.

If they had received Jesus, those people would have received eternal life. And they would have been healed and all of their troubles would have been resolved. They would have received answers to problems that even the people of the world could not solve. Their most fundamental problems would have been resolved. But for the sake of saving their pigs, they sent Jesus away.

What those people said is the same as what the demon said: “What have I to do with You? Why have You come to torment me?” In other words, they said, “Why did You come here to cause trouble on us? Why are You bringing us financial losses? Please leave us!” By doing so, they became those who had nothing to do with Jesus. They didn’t get to receive any of what God wanted to give. In this way, while we try to keep our financial gains, as well as our traditions and culture, we may end up pushing away Jesus, who came to give us life and blessings.

Every one of you must know who it is that you are trying to meet here at our church. He is God. Jesus is the One who can give us life. He is incomparably more precious than those herd of pigs. He is the One who can give us what we must obtain, even if we lose the pigs. You may think you can’t go to work on the Lord’s Day if you come to church. Yes, there could be some financial loss. However, you can gain something far more precious than that through Jesus.

I’m in charge of the Chinese worship service, and there are many Chinese people who come to the service. But the majority of them came to Korea to work. Regardless of their previous jobs in China, when they come here, they have to do labor in order to earn money. They work in restaurants and take on all the hard jobs. Yet despite this, in order for these people to worship on the Lord’s Day, they have to find a job where they can take a day off on the Lord’s Day. But is that easy to find? Which restaurant closes on the Lord’s Day? Which workplace gives you a day off on the Lord’s Day? So it is hard to find a job.

Despite the financial loss, some people bear the hardship and endure with determination, “I am not leaving Seoul! I will find a job where they give me a day off on the Lord’s Day!” And in the end, after much prayer, they do find a good job. When you look at such people, strangely enough, they seem like they don’t earn a lot, yet later, we see that everything goes well for them. But for people who chase after money, though they appear to have earned a lot, they don’t have anything left at the end.

There was a person who was working in Korea while staying illegally for 10 years. When he was about to return home, he became ill and went to see a doctor. He was told he had cancer. Because he didn’t have health insurance in Korea, he couldn’t afford treatment. So he went to China to get treatment. This man worked hard for 10 years, but all the money he worked for, he had to spend on paying his medical bills. Likewise, humans do not know what is ahead of them. Unless God meets us, we are not guaranteed of anything.

So I bless you all in Jesus’ name that you will receive in Jesus, the Son of God. Do not be like those people who, for the sake of a few pigs, said, “Please leave us! What have we to do with You?” Instead, I bless you in Jesus’ name that you will all say, “Jesus, the Son of God! Please come and meet me!” I will pray.

God our Father, thank You for sending us Your Son Jesus. You willed to give us Your life and Your blessing and have fulfilled that. May that Your will be fulfilled upon everyone gathered here today. Help them to open their hearts widely and meet Your Son. In Jesus’ name. Amen!