In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the negative impact of society and the law on individuals. He highlights how society fails to provide support and guidance, leading people to commit crimes and end up back in prison. The preacher calls for an awakening of the church and the practice of Christianity as the only hope for humanity. He then shares the story of a man who was wild and uncontrollable, but Jesus transformed him and gave him new clothes. However, the man's possession by demons caused havoc in the community, and even the law couldn't control him.

You'll find the reading tonight in the book of Luke, the 8th chapter of Luke, in the 26th verse, Luke 8, 26. And they arrived at the country of the Gadareans, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to the land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wear no clothes, neither bowed in any house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him. For the loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thy Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. For he had commanded the unpleased spirit to come out of the man. For of time it caught him, he was kept bound with chains and in fetters. He broke the bands and was driven of the devil into the wilderness. Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion, because many devils were entered into him. They besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there a herd of many swine feeding on the mountain. And they besought him he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man and entered into the swine. And the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake and were choked. When they had fed them, saw what was done, they fled and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done. Came to Jesus and found the man out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. They also which saw it told them by what means he that was possessed of the devil was he. Then the whole multitude of the contrabagatterians round about besought him to depart from them. For they were taken with great fear. And he went up into the ship and returned back again. Now the man of whom the devils were departed besought him that he might be with him. And Jesus sent him away saying, return to thine own house and show how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him. And it came to pass that when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him, for they were all waiting for him. Behold, there came a man named Jairus. He was the ruler of the synagogue and he fell down at Jesus' feet. Besought him that he would come to his house. For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay undied. But as he went, the people thronged him. And a woman having an issue of blood, twelve years which had spent all of her living among upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him and touched the border of his garment. And immediately her issue of blood staunched. Jesus said, Who toucheth me? When all denied Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude thronged thee, and pressed thee, and saithst thou, Who toucheth me? Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. When the woman saw that she was not healed, she came trembling and falling down before him. She declared unto him before all of the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. He said unto her daughter, Be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Go in peace. While he had spake, there cometh one from the rule of the synagogue's house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead, trouble not the master. When Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not, believe only, and she shall be made alive, she shall be made whole. And he came into the house. He suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the mission. And all wept and bewailed her. But he said, Weep not, she is not dead, but sleepeth. They laughed and bescorn, knowing that she was dead. When they put them all out, he took her by the hand, and called, saying, Made her rise. Her spirit came again, and she arose straightway. And he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished. But he charged them that they should tell no man what was done. 26 through 56, if correctly read, out of the 8th chapter of the book of Luke. This is also recorded in the other gospels, references to it, as well as the one that I read in Luke. So it's a very familiar story to all of us who know the book. May we pray. Our father tonight, we are keenly conscious that thou art God, and that we are your creation. You created us for the purpose of walking with you, and talking with you, and companioning with you, and being, serving you, and honoring you, and praising you with our lives. Wherein we've disappointed and failed you, we pray God for forgiveness and cleansing, and increase our faith that we may be found more faithful to the cause for which you called us to. Thank you for this great church and this great pastor. Lord, what a blessing they are to us and to thousands of other people across this nation. We pray that you'll bless them greatly because of their willingness to share what Christ has given them with the world around them. God bless each one of them. We pray for those tonight who are confined to home because of sickness or age, that you'll be there and dwell with them tonight and bless them greatly while you bless us here. We pray for those that's lost, inhabited, and shackled by sin. Some way, somehow, may we be able to help them to see they need to get broke loose from it. Save the lost. Revive those of us that are saved. Take thy servant tonight and loose his tongue, and illuminate his mind, and give us holy unction. And now, Father, we pray that this service shall get glory to Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, your Son. Amen. Twenty-seventh verse of each chapter. When they went forth to land, they met him out of the city a certain man, which had devil's long time, and wore no clothes, neither a boat in any house, but in the tombs. I want to talk to you tonight on Naked Man in a Country Graveyard, Two Thousand Dead Hogs and No Hot Water. And that'll be the text. Naked Man in a Country Graveyard and Two Thousand Dead Hogs and No Hot Water. We have here painted in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, a very vivid picture of a man, a human being that wore no clothes, that wouldn't stay in the house, and that they couldn't keep in jail. He dwelt in the mountains, out in the country graveyards. He'd become a terror and a horror. People knew about him many miles around, and he'd become a problem. We realize, my friends tonight, that that's the nature of demon-possessed people. To hang around bulls who are dead, that's their nature. That's the reason the sinners of the community want to hang around the honky-tonks and roadhouses, and houses of prostitution and gambling, houses of immorality and wickedness. It's natural for them to want to hang out in that society. Because they're dead in trespasses and sin, and people who are devil-possessed want that kind of association in life. It's natural. Nothing abnormal for men and women and boys and girls who are lost to seek the vulgar places, the wickedness places, the nastiest places, the meanest places, the lowdownest, trashiest places in the community. Liquor dives, beer joints, dance halls, pool halls, nightclubs, gambling dens, houses of prostitution. It's their very nature, because we came into the world a depraved human being. So as a result, it's nothing unnatural. It's just as natural for men to do evil as it is for a fish to swim when you throw him in water. He just starts swimming. It's his nature. Humanity that grows up without Christ and without the regenerated life and has not been made new creatures are so depraved, so evilly inclined. And it tells us in the Word of God that they go forth speaking lies in their infancy. But we start lying as soon as we get here. And iniquity was I shaped, and in sin did my mother conceive me. So everything about us is iniquity and sin and corruption. So there's nothing abnormal about those who've grown up without God and without the influence of the church, without the influence of Christian parents and home. Nothing abnormal about them seeking the vulgarish, nastiest, wickedest, filthiest, lowdownest society and places in the community. That's natural for them. Now Jesus came, and this man was like that. He wouldn't stay at home. Couldn't put up with the family. And he had a house and wouldn't stay in there. He went to the graveyards, went out in the mountains, and stayed in the graves, and went naked, took sharp stones, and cut himself. He is a terrible character. So, my friends, there he was. And that's a picture of what sin will do. You see, sin will carry you further than you intended to go. And when it gets you there, it'll keep you longer than you intended to stay. And it'll cost you more than you want to pay. This man went farther than he'd ever thought he'd have gone when he started with the sin crowd. And the passions of it, and the wildness of it, and the depravity, hissing of it, spirits of it, kept him longer than he meant to stay. And as a result, it's cost him a tremendous price. That's what sin does. So we stop to realize, because of this, my friends, sinful people want to run with sinful people. Those who are dead in trespasses and sin, their spirits bear witness with each other's spirit. Christians like to be with Christians because their spirits blend with each other. God's Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we're the children of God. And we like to be around the children of God. So I'm saying to you tonight, my friends, there's nothing abnormal about those who are lost and have never been regenerated, going to the worst, vilest, vulgar places that there is in the community, and the Jordan communities. And if they're vulgar enough and violent enough here, they'll go to other places and towns and cities to indulge. That's the natural trend. And unless the Holy Spirit of God convicts them and draws them and Jesus regenerates them and makes new creatures out of them, they'll never be any different. They'll get worse and worse and worse. So that's what happened. So here he is, my friends. You see, after all, my friends, the devil is homeless and foodless and friendless without a man. The only thing that'll let the devil live in them is a human being. The only thing that'll be a friend of the devil is a human being. The only thing the devil can live off of is corruption from human depravity. So as a result, he puts forth a fight. He's like a roaring lion. He's like a murderer. He takes hold because he don't want to give up his place of abode. We have a very interesting story. I think I referred to it once since I've been here. But there was an unclean spirit left to man. Went out and he swept this house clean, garnished, and empty. The unclean spirit went out. Treeless places. Notice, treeless places. Dead places. Dry places. Seeking a place of refuge and found none. Came back and looked into this fellow's house. And found that it was still empty and clean and garnished. He was somebody that had joined the church and turned over a new leaf and tried to live right about God. While the unclean spirit, Jesus said, was out going to and fro trying to find somewhere to abide, he ran into seven more spirits, more wicked than he. And then all eight of them came and took up their boat and this man. And he's eight times worse off than he was when he cleaned up without God. He's got eight devils now instead of one. Anytime a human being, intelligence, or with culture or with wealth or poverty, anytime any of you try to clean up without God, you're just building a bigger place for more devils to come and take over and to destroy. Now then, there's something about this man that couldn't wear any clothes, couldn't stay with his family in his house, went out to the country graveyards and broke into tombs and lived with the dead folks and the skeletons. Something about him. Now first of all, I want to notice what society and the world did to this man. Now the reason this man is like he is, society in which he lived and the world in which he lived made him what he was. They influenced him to be what he was. Your society that you associate with, the world that you live with, has its impact upon you. Lot pitched his tent towards Sodom and Gomorrah. The men in there were exceedingly sinful and soon his family forgot God and took up the habits of the Sodomites and Gomorrites. Your family, my friends, is going to take up whatever the habits of the society in which they live and the world in which they live, they're going to take up their habits. It's going to leave its impression. It's going to leave its influence. It's going to mold their characters. So that's all the more important reason. You ought to bring up your family in the church and in a godly home and godly society. Because, my friends, this man was one time some mother's innocent boy. This man was one time some dad's boy that he was proud of. He had great anticipations for him being somebody in life. His mother loved him and taught him and tried to lead him right and train him right. But he got with the wrong society. My friends, the society in which he lived and the world in which he found himself associating they dined him, they wined him until he made a glutton out of him. Until he made a drunk out of him. They danced him until he made a disgrace out of him. They doped him until he became incapable of taking care of himself. Society and the world wind you. They'll make a drunk out of you. They dance and they disgrace you. They dope you, leaving a world crazy with inability to control yourself and to know where you're going. That's what society did for this fellow. And it's what it'll do for you. Oh, society without Christ and without God will do the same thing for you that it did for him. So, my friends, they sexed him. The crowd that's out there in society and in the world without God, they're sex mad. All they think about is gratifying their sexual natures. They made a sexual pervert out of this fellow. He got so sexually wild, he wanted to expose himself all the time and he wouldn't keep on any clothes. I've seen them like that. You have too, probably. The world sexed him. He framed his passions in their society of dancing and dining and whining and doping until he couldn't contain himself and he wanted to expose himself and he'd strip himself naked. That's what society will do for you. Without God, without Christ, it inflamed his passions. And his lust got the upper hand of him. He became a wild man. He became a vicious man. Who made in that society that was without God? The world didn't believe in God and no God. He wasn't that to start out with. He's some innocent young man. But when the society that he associated with, the world in which he lived, got through with him, he's the victim of what the Scripture says. So I want you to know, Mom and Dad, it's all important that you see that your children are brought up in the right kind of society. The right kind of a world. Because if you let them associate and run with the society of the world, you know what they're going to do. You know the outcome of your sons and daughters. A society without God. A society who don't have any regard for God. The liquor crowds gone. The wineries and the beerers. They don't have any regard for God. The nightclubs and gambling dens, house of prostitutes have no regard for God. The gambling dens, the world of sin places has no regard for God. They want you to lend them your sons and your daughters that they might feed upon. The devil is a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He's hungry. And he wants to feed upon their lives and their character and their morals. And the immorality that they furnish him. So as a result, and have you realized, my friends, we stop to remember, he goes out, the seducing spirits get a hold of him. Society of the world introduces your sons and daughters to the seducing spirits of the devil. To seduce them to do things. To seduce them to become rebellious and haughty and mean and wicked and vicious and violent. That's what society of the world did to this boy. And as a result, my friends, he became wild. His character is gone. He don't have any more self-respect. His honor is gone. He don't have any more honor. You hear me, my friends. When you turn your family loose to the devil's society of present-day world, I want you to know their character is headed for blighting. They'll be degenerate. Deteriorated. That's what society today is setting out to do. I'm talking about a society that isn't Christian. You know what I mean by it. A society that's Christian sets out to salvage and save and protect. But this other, my friends, we stop to realize, it's blighted his character. It's made him wild and dangerous. But how come it'd be a man couldn't keep any clothes on? How come it'd be a man that wouldn't stay at home? Who made him like that? God didn't. The church of the Son of God and Christian environments didn't. Who made him like that? You know. And it'll make your sons and daughters the same thing. And make you lads and lasses the same thing if you'll go with them. That's their business. That's their desire. That's their ambition. So as a result, his character's gone. Self-respect is gone. Won't keep no clothes on. Won't expose himself all the time. Go out there and dig in tombs and get skeletons and hug them and commit acts of sin with them. And come out of there stinking like an old corpse. Back then, a lot of the corpse wasn't even farmed. And you'd hug them, come out of that old corruption all over him. Sores, bloody, wild, screaming society. Now they hate him. Now they're against him. My friends, they're afraid of him. They shun him. They don't want him around. They drive him out of their homes and the society. They don't want him in their homes anymore. They don't want him running with their families anymore. They're afraid of what he'll do. So they shun him. They refuse him. They won't let him come in their houses. The society that drank him and wined him and dined him and featured him, don't want him anymore. You know they tell you something, lads and lasses, but listen to the old preacher tonight. When society gets through dining you and dancing you and wining you and sexing you and playing with you, when they get through you'll be such a character none of them want you. They got no use for you after that. Because you become embarrassing to them. When they've wrecked your manhood and womanhood and your character's gone and your virtue's gone, you become a victim of sex and of drink and disgrace. They don't want you around in their society. They don't want you in their homes. They don't want you as a part of their civilization. And they're through with you. Now that's what society without God do. So I want to say to you lads and lasses tonight, the safest, sanest, best thing on the face of God's earth for you is to come up in a devout Christian society. Because if you don't, you're in bad shape. Here he is. They didn't want him. They drove him out. They did not cast out of him, if you please. They ceased to be a friend with him. They drove him to the graveyard because they wouldn't let him stay in their homes and visit their parties, participate in their activities. When he becomes a wreck and a disgrace and blighted and cursed, they're through. They don't want you. You don't have to be intelligent. You ought to be a college graduate or a high school graduate to see that, boys and girls. Look around you. You've seen boys and girls as give themselves over to the society of the world and wickedness. Folks don't want them. Thumbs down on them. They're a disgrace. Unwanted. Nobody wants them in the home. Nobody wants them in their socials. Nobody wants them in their activities. They're afraid of what they might do to embarrass and to humiliate and to hurt that which they participate in. And that's what happened. This young man, demons started working in him, coming in him, and now he's got 2,000 demons. And as a result, my friends, you keep this in mind, we start to realize, if you want another biblical illustration, take the prodigal son. He took his inheritance, went down into a far country, and spent his money with richest living, women and liquor and gambling. And when he had spent all, now they featured him. They played him up and turned the bright lights on him. Did a lot of things and had him in their homes and entertained him at the dining tables. Danced him at their dances. Played him up and got his daughters and sons to run with him. But when he'd spent all, spent his manhood, spent his character, spent his virtue, spent everything else that was worthwhile, they didn't want him. They didn't need him. They turned to hate him. They turned to be ashamed of him, embarrassed with his presence. So they sent him down to the hog pen to sleep with the hogs and eat with the hogs. You hear me, lad and lassie? Hear the old preacher tonight. When sin gets through you, it'll put you in the hog pen. That's what it'll do with you. To eat with the hogs, to sleep with the hogs. Decent society don't want you when sin has made you an indecent person. So I want you to know tonight, sin will take you further than you mean to go. It'll take you so far you'll lose your character, your manhood, your womanhood. Lose self-respect. Lose your happiness. Then when it gets your passions inflamed, your appetites worked up, it'll keep you out there longer than you want to, meant to stay. To feed your appetites and to satisfy your inflamed passions. And it'll cost you more than you meant to pay when you started. It'll cost your happiness. It'll cost respect to the public. It'll cost you peace. It'll cost you your character. So why fool with that kind of a society? We stop to realize, then after they'd done it, they didn't want him. They called the law and said, come in, get this fellow and lock him up. They began to appeal to the law enforcing officers. We've got a man here that's wild. We're afraid of him. We hate him. He's horrifying us. He's terrifying us. Put him in jail for us. The law, you see what society did for him? They made him such a character they don't want him. And they say to the law, lock him up. The law locked him up, but he's so demon-empowered, he'd grab the jail doors and rip them off in a hinge. Go again. They said, well, chain him. They'd get big chains and chain him. But the demons were so powerful, he had 2,000 of them in him, and they'd take a spell, and that man would be so strong he'd break those chains like twine and string. Be loose again. Hey, sheriff! Hey, police! How about you supposed to put that fellow in jail? Dead, but he tore out. Why don't you put some chains on him? Dead, but he broke the chains. We can't do nothing with him. He'd run back to the graveyard out in the mountains, in the country, break in some more tombs. Those who had loved ones buried outside was horrified. They were afraid to even go visit the graveyard for fear of what he'd do. And he'd break in and steal their loved one's corpse and dance with them, and commit acts of sin with them, probably eat part of them. Fired, vicious. The law couldn't handle it. They imprisoned him. They took away his freedom. They chained him. They fettered him. They bound him. I never have quite understood, my friends, why we legalize liquor as a state or as a county, then lock up the fellows that drink it. To me, that's the meanest, nastiest thing I can think of. Well, you see, we want to legalize beer and liquor and wine so we can sell it and get taxes off of it, and then to turn around and lock up the fellows that's drinking most of it. That's stupidity. I don't think any state or county that legalize beer and liquor and wine has any right to lock up the ones that get drunk on it. They wouldn't be allowed to do it. You give it to them. A lot of states is coming along now, legalizing liquor, beer, and wine. Say, well, we're going to legalize it and get the tax off of it, build schools to educate more fools, to drink more liquor to get more taxes, to build more schools to educate more fools to drink more liquor so we can build more schools to make fools. That's modern-day society for you. But keep this in mind, my dear people, the crowd that's pushing legalizing beer and liquor and wine is your worldly society, and they'll make drunks out of them that'll kill you and wreck you and disgrace your family and do all kind of acts of sin against you and your families. But I want to tell you, my friend, that same crowd never tries to correct it. The liquor crowd's never built an orphan, yet they've made a lot of orphans. The liquor crowd's never built a hospital to take care of the wrecks, hurt people, but yet they're continually causing wreck after wreck after wreck. If the dirty lowdown winery and brewery and liquor crowd had to build hospitals and take care of everybody that got hurt because of their product and had to build orphan homes and take care of all the orphan children their product has brought around, I'll tell you, they'd stop and think a little while. The society of the world without God in it is a vicious thing. You take Hollywood, for example. When they come to select a girl to be a movie star, they don't select some harlot and prostitute outcast of society. They hunt all over the nation to find the purest, most virtuous, beautiful young woman in the nation. Then put her on the bright lights and display her until she's a harlot and a prostitute. Then they kick her out and hunt another. The Hollywood folks who go out and hunt a young man don't hunt a drunk or a dopehead. They hunt the finest, purest, handsome, virtuous young man, Megan Fern. And they put the lights on him and play him up and display him to the world until they make a wreck out of him. And then when they've made a wreck of society out of him, they discard him and go after another. That's not the Lord's kind of business. He wants to salvage lives. So as a result, I have you realize tonight, my friends, the law bound him. Society, my friends, made the man like that and then they want him locked up. And I want you to realize the law couldn't handle him. You hear me? It's shockingly so. We're getting to the place today. Listen to the preacher. So where the law doesn't want to handle our society that's a victim of the places of sin. They can kill you and rob you and get out in two or three years. They can rape your daughters and get by with nothing. To illustrate what I'm trying to say, one of the finest Christian young women in the city of Memphis, a great church worker, had finished her degree as a nurse and was nursing at the Baptist Hospital in Memphis. One night as she left, the 11 o'clock shift had started her car. A black boy grabbed her and raped her and killed her. They put him in jail for life, which they ought to have done. But did you know he was 17 when he got 18? The law says that if a minor goes to jail over any kind of crime, the new federal law is that when he gets 18 he can't be held in prison any longer because he went in there as a minor. And when he becomes an adult, the law doesn't hold him anymore. And he's out. What are you saying, preacher? I'm saying it's got to the place where if you've got enough money, you can get enough lawyers, you can get out of any mean trick, any mean thing. We can't lock them up anymore. We can't stop them from the violent sinning anymore. My friends, the law, if they've got enough money and their kinfolks have got enough political influence, they won't stay in jail and get out. And you know what I'm talking about. I'm not being mean. But my friends, it won't stop them from their sinning. The only hope of correction, that is a Christian society produced by God's church. And we must face it. Then, my friend, more and more folks who commit crimes are getting out. The law can't, prisons can't hold them. They're breaking out on us. And society is demanding the states to build such nice jailhouses, where it's like staying in a motel when you go. You know what I'm talking about. A lot of them get to let them out and they're going to come in another crime, get back in because they don't have to work to eat, or where to stay and they get another crime. That's what society of the world is doing for humanity. Our only hope is an awakening of the church and the Christian religion to stand up and teach and preach and practice Christianity again. And as we think of it, then my friend, you saw what the society did to this poor fellow, and then you saw what the law did for him. Third, I want to talk to you about what Jesus did for him. You see what society will do for you. The law will bind you and take away your freedom, and imprison you and shackle you and chain you. Habits of sin, blind people, shackle people, and put you down at the end of this meal to grind the rest of your life. Oh, how sin binds you and shackles you with habits, makes you to grind your life away at the end of this meal. But Jesus came along. Let's see what He did for this man. Jesus, first of all, loosed him and set him free from the devil. Nobody wanted Him. Nobody believed in Him. They all hated Him and despised Him. And He stayed down in the country graveyard in the mountains, screaming, Go by there, all kind of corruption on Him, and bloody who had cut Himself with stones. They'd hear Him screaming in the days and the night. What a horrifying thing. People couldn't sleep at night for Him. People afraid to travel the road. But one day, Jesus was coming along, going down by the graveyard, and He'd been screaming down there all morning. No doubt they would say, Hey, mister, don't go down to that graveyard, that wild man down there. Hear Him howling, screaming? He's liable to jump on you and tear you up. If He don't, He'll put an old corpse on you. Jesus kept walking another neighbor around, Hey, mister, the wild man's down there in the graveyard. You'd better watch Him. He might kill you. He might tear you apart. He might hit you with a stone. We're all afraid of Him. The law can't change Him even. He's wild and bad. Hey, mister, don't go by that. Please don't. Jesus continues going on by. And just as He got about even, the wild man saw Him coming. There comes Jesus. Just as He got even, the wild man ran back and got crawled in a tomb. Crawled in a tomb. Jesus got there. He'd come up. Jesus said, Put these clothes on, son. Where'd He get them? Jesus knew He needed them. He had them with Him. Put these clothes on, son. Oh, I feel so good. But out yonder, on the hillside, was two thousand hogs, all but Gerash. Most of them probably. Mr. Gerash had a sick girl. His only daughter lay sick. Gerash said, Honey, if you can just hang on till I can sell the hogs, we'll get a doctor. He'll cure you. I'm sure. Don't give up, darling. Hang on, honey. Gerash comes in again. Looks at the hogs. Part of them's ready to top out the sale, but no, they're not quite all ready. He said to the men who were caring for the hogs, He said, How long do you think? He said, Oh, a couple more days. They'll all top the market. He goes home and said, Honey, if you can just hold out another couple of days, Daddy will put the hogs on the market. We'll get a doctor and cure your little sick body. Please, fight. Fight. Fight. Be brave, honey. Don't give up. We'll get the hogs on the market a couple of days from now. They're looking good. We'll get plenty of money to get you well. He got back. But all of a sudden, Jesus, when He told the devils to come out of this man and left him in his right mind with his clothes on, the demons said, Let us get in them hogs. Don't send us to hell yet. Don't send us deep. Let us get in them hogs. Jesus said, Get in them. And there was two thousand big old hogs just ready for the market. Grazing around on the hillside, grunting and eating. But all of a sudden, Wee! Woof! Wee! Woof! Wee! Woof! Wee! Woof! Woof! Woof! Woof! Two thousand of them run down the hill and jumped into the sea and drowned. Two thousand dead hogs and no hot water What a loss! What a loss! The fellows looked at them, rushed in town and said, Hey, Geras, get the other men together. Every one of those hogs went wild and drowned it in the sea. Oh, we've never seen such a thing. We tried to stop them and the run of horse knocked us down. Trampled on us, squealing and chewing. Just leaped in there and drowned us. Hmm! Geras went out and got the others and said, fellas, what happened? Oh, there's a man they call Jesus around here and he said some of them hogs and they went wild all around. You know that fellow been down there in the graveyard hugging skeletons and dancing around with the skeletons? You know that? He's got his clothes on. He don't have no more spells. Oh, he's a handsome man right now. Geras and his men said, Where is he? Where is he? They went and there was Jesus. He said, Church, we desire you get out of this country. We desire you to leave here. We don't want you in our community. Get out from here. We're grunted at you. Jesus never stayed where he didn't want to. He started to get in the boat and leave. And poor old man, old boy that's in his right mind's clothes, said, Let me get in there and go away. Master, let me go away. I don't want to stay with this crowd that's against you. I don't want to stay with them. Let me go. Jesus said, No, son, you can't go. Oh, let me go. No, son, you run back home and tell your family what I've done for you. Show your people. Oh, thank you, Lord. I hadn't thought about that. Goodbye. I'll hear you leave. He ran home. He took out home. And the community had seen him run without fits and had his clothes on, dressed up handsome. And he was really running. And no doubt the kids saw him coming. And they said, Mama, you ought to come down here and fix another fit. They ran in the house and screwed it under the bed. She ran and barred the doors. Locked up the doors. Oh, get out of the way under the bed, kid. You liable kid. I wish he wouldn't come back. Oh, what a mess. What will we do? Go away. Go away. We're all scared to death of you. You'll beat us up and nearly kill us. We don't want you. Go away. Mother, I don't act like that anymore. Let me in. A man of Jesus done something for me. See, I ain't trying to break in. I'm just knocking. I beg you, let me in, honey. You kids get away under the bed. Let me go up the window. Mother, he don't look like he did. He looks like he did when I married him. Leave all open. Mother, let me in. I don't have no feet. I ain't got no graveyard stuff on me. He walked in, dressed handsomely. Clean, sweet smelling. Perfume of heaven on him. He said, honey, I'm not going to crush you. I'm not going to try to kill you like I used to. Just let me love you like I did when we married. A man by the name of Jesus changed the whole picture. They fell in each other's arms and kissed each other. Mother, where's the children? They're under the bed where they always get when you have a fifth. A little boy peeped out and said, He's a huggy mama. And don't look like Daddy. He got on some clothes, darling. See, see? And he went and said, You children come on out. Daddy's not going to beat nobody up. Jesus took care of me. And they come out. And he grabs them and his wife. And they all love each other. They rejoice in each other. In the meantime, while this is going on, the little girl thought about her little girlfriend down the road. She went back, run down to the little girlfriend's house, who was Jairus' daughter, and said, Honey, guess what? A man by the name of Jesus got a hold of my daddy and put clothes on him. He's the sweetest thing you've ever seen. He's come home. He don't have no more fits. He's loving me and my brother and mama. And he's so sweet and kind. He's so wonderful. Listen, honey. I bet you if your daddy get that Jesus to come in here, he could heal your sick body. And you wouldn't be sick no more and have to die. Why don't you try it? I just want to bear the news with you, honey. Goodbye. I'm going back to see daddy again. A little bit Jairus came in. I hate him. But we got him out of the country. He'll not bother us no more and bother our hogs no more. We're through with that Jesus stuff. What's the matter, daddy? Oh, honey. There's a man by the name of Jesus who got all the hogs stood up and had drowned him. Every one of them is dead. Drowned him down there in the sea. He can't even clean them. Lost the whole business. Now won't be able to sell them. Won't be able to get an old doctor to help heal your body. I've got a hope for you, honey. Not one real hope. Hogs are dead. Everything's gone. We've lost everything we had messing around. I ain't got nothing to promise you. But I got rid of him. I got your man together. We run him out of the country. He won't be back no more. Daddy. Oh, daddy. What did you say his name was? Jesus. Oh, daddy. Daddy! Daddy. You remember the man y'all couldn't do nothing with in the graveyard? Went naked all the time. Blood, ache, wounds, cut himself. Come home, beat up his family. That Jesus done something to him and he's home being a daddy and a husband and the sweetest thing they say it's ever been in the country. It's changed him so much. Daddy. If you'd have got that Jesus, I bet you he could have healed my body. You know, if he healed that maniac, he could heal me. Daddy. Oh, daddy. Why didn't you run him away? Why didn't you bring him home with you and let him heal my sick body? Oh, man. Wretched man that I am. Lost the hogs. But what is that if I can get my daughter healed? Not run him off. I was so ugly and nasty to him. Now she'll have to die. I'm sorry. Not run him off. He went back out to the town and said, say, folks, we didn't need to run Jesus off. We need to keep him here. Somebody go with me. We'll go and see if we can find him. They found Jesus. And the Scripture said there when He returned, when He returned, they gladly received Him. They were glad for Him to come back. And Jairus was so glad He was coming back. Instead of staying gone, he said, Master, I've got a little girl lying dying with an incurable disease it looks like. Would you be so kind as to go and help her? Jesus said, Oh, yes, I'll go. On the way, a great crowd out there. A little old woman, thin, and drawn, and bloody all over. She'd spent all of her life in repositions. None of them had been able to heal her. She'd been sick all those years. She slipped her little thin hand through and got a hold of the garment of Jesus. And immediately her issue of blood stopped. She was well. Jesus said, Who touched me? The disciples said, Well, there's thousands of people pressing you. Who touched you? They said, Yes, but somebody touched me because of a reason. Virtues going on in me. And she ran around and fell in the front of Jesus and said, Master, I touched you. And said, I've had an issue of blood all these years and spent everything I had with physicians. None of them could stop it. But as soon as I touched the garment, you wore, immediately the blood stopped. Jeri said, Oh, that's what I'm looking for. Here's the woman I need. Oh, I'm so glad you're going back, coming back to our community, sir. About the time he got all highly excited about seeing that woman healed with the blood. Trouble. A messenger ran and said, Master, Sir, Don't trouble the Jesus man anymore. Your little daughter's dead. We just laid her out in the upper room. She's gone. Come on home. Don't bother this time. Oh, Jeri said, Oh, man. Oh! Had healing at my door. Drove it from me. Had help at my door. Drove it away. I'm sorry. Jesus said, Never mind, sir. She's just sleeping for a little while. She'll live again. She'll be made whole. Take courage. They went on. And they go in the upper room. Peter, James, and John. You remember them last night? That inner circle? They also got to be the three that saw the transfiguration, wasn't they? When you stay inside and not mess with the world, you can see so many things. So they got to go up there and see Jesus perform this thing. Went in. She's laid out on the bed, dead. They were all mourning. Jesus said, Just excuse yourself from the rooms, please. Somebody excuse yourself. Said, She's not dead. She's sleeping. They laughed at him. Said, Get out. Went on and laid his hand in the hand of the little girl. Said, Maid, Arise! Arise! Her eyes opened, and she jumped up. Said to her parents, Got anything to eat? Give her some fish. Brought her some fish. She's alive. And she ate all they needed with Jesus. My friend, Lot of you got wrecked homes. All you need is Jesus. You don't need society and the world. They can't save you. They can't heal you. They can't secure you. But Jesus, Jesus, The Son of God, Came to seek and to save and heal. Let the homes go. Let society and the world go. Don't run Jesus out of your homes. Don't run Jesus out of your lives. Invite Him in. Somebody here tonight, God tells me, That you've been tempted to push Him out and say, I'm through with trying to be a Christian. I'm through with this Jesus stuff. We're going to sing a song. We're going to give you a chance to repent of it. Down here at the altar. There will be somebody that will help you tonight. When you come. The pastor, some of the people in the church here will help you. When you come. You've been inclined to turn away from Jesus and go join the world. And the society of this present day world. Doping, drinking, Lying and dying and dancing, Sexing and so on. It will eat you up. It will bind you. And it will cost you more than you can pay, beloved. I wouldn't do it. I'd come in tonight. And say, Lord, I've been thinking about going the other way, But with Your help tonight, I'm coming home. Come on in, Lord. Let us stand and sing it.