Today's Passage - Luke 8:32-39

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 8:32-39   "A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside.  The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission.  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.  When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside...  The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, '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."   Why did the Lord command the demons to go into the pigs?  From our perspective, pigs are valuable, so it was quite a waste to let them fall into the lake.  No wonder that when people from the town found out about what happened, not only did they not welcome Jesus, but they feared Him and asked Him to leave.  Their thinking was that if so many pigs needed to die just for Jesus to heal one person, what if a lot of people needed to be healed?  They clearly valued money more than the salvation and deliverance of a person.   There are two reasons why Jesus did this: First, to demonstrate that He valued the salvation of the soul and healing more than material needs, and also to show His compassion and love for people.  He also offended many religious leaders, because He saw the sick and had compassion for them, thus He healed them despite of Pharisees' teaching that no healing should take place on the Sabbath.  This caused the Pharisees to become hostile against Jesus.  Jesus, however, told them that God values compassion more than offering, for the heart of God is to save the lost rather than making sure people follow the rules of Sabbath, for the Son of Man is the Lord of Sabbath.   Second, the Lord asked the demon to possess the pigs because those people were not supposed to raise pigs to begin with.  In Old Testament law, pigs are unclean, so Jews were not supposed to raise pigs, so the Lord was warning those who violated God's law through His action.  When the person possessed by demon was set free, he wanted to follow Jesus, but Jesus sent him back to where they belong to testify for the Lord.  When he told his family and friends about the great things that the Lord did for him, those who heard were amazed.   Brothers and sister, spreading the gospel is not difficult, all you need to do are 1) getting close to God and experiencing His salvation, and 2) sharing what God has done on you with people around you.  Starting today, tell those around you about the wonderful work the Lord has done on you.  Our Lord is indeed precious, and He is filled with grace and mercy.  He loves to share His grace and bring forth salvation, and God wants His grace to come upon everyone who believes in Him today!      Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you are the one who sets us free in glory.  Lord, please help us to experience setting free by you in our life, just like the one who was possessed by demon.  Lord, also help us to share the gospel with those around us courageously, to testify for you boldly, so that more people will turn to Jesus because of me.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!