This sermon emphasizes the unfailing nature of God and His ability to bring victory, power, transformation, and freedom to His children. It contrasts the temporary relief offered by human counsel with the permanent rest and deliverance that only the Spirit of God can provide. The narrative from Mark chapter 5 illustrates the authority and power of Christ to cast out unclean spirits and set people free from torment, showcasing the victory and dominion Jesus has over all forces of darkness.

He is a God who cannot fail. He will never fail his children. He will never fail his people. Hallelujah. You can trust him. You can put your life into his hands. You can entrust your family to him. You can entrust your future to him. You can give your failures to him. You can give it all to him. And he gives you a victory. He gives you power. He gives you a new mind. He gives you a clean heart. He gives you bounce in your step. He puts a song in your heart. He changes you from image to image and glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Mark chapter 5 says that this man, verses 3 and 4, he had his dwelling among the tombs. No man could bind him. He had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder, and the fetters broken in pieces, and nobody could tame him. And that speaks to me about the counsel of man. You see, the counsel of man can tie you up momentarily and make it seem like everything is okay. The counsel of man can stop you from cutting yourself momentarily. You can go to a psychiatrist's office and pay 200 bucks an hour and walk out and feel pretty good about yourself because you've just decided it's all your grandfather's fault that you are the way you are. And it can tie you up for a little while and stop you from cutting yourself. But you see, that's not the problem. There's an inherent problem. This man had an unclean spirit in him, and no matter how many people tried to tie him up and no matter which way they tried to do it, eventually his hands would break free again and he would start cutting himself. There's no counsel of man, beloved, that can ever bring you to a permanent rest. Oh yes, it can give you temporary relief, but you will not be brought to a permanent rest because your problem is not physical, it's not psychological. Your problem is spiritual. You have an uncleanness inside of you that only the Spirit of God can come and touch and take out of your heart and give you the new life that you've always longed for and desired. Now in Mark chapter 5, verses 6 to 10, we see the incredible power of Christ, not just to deliver us for a moment, but to send all of our enemies somewhere. It says, when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him and cried with a loud voice. He said, what have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? If you can hear it, the torment in you is crying out for mercy right now. The torment in you is crying out, saying, okay, just take it easy now. Don't get overexcited about what the pastor's preaching. I promise I'll make it easier on you. It's just a temporary thing. It's going to go away. They're crying out for mercy because they know exactly what's going to happen before this hour is out. And he cried with a loud voice, what have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the Most High, I adjure thee by God that thou torment me not. For he had said unto him, come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him and said, what is thy name? And he answered and sang, my name is Legion, for we are many. There are many memories here. There are many oppressions here. There are many things that have gotten into this man's life that are causing him this torment. Yes, there are demonic powers, but there are reasons why those demonic powers eventually begin to dominate the mind of this man and the life of this man. Verse 10 says, and he besought him. I want you to see this. He besought him that he would not send him away out of the country. That's an amazing thing. James says, the devils believe and tremble. They weren't just concerned about being cast out of the man. They were being concerned about being cast out of the country. You see, they know the power of God. Have you come to torment us? Have you come to send us into the place that God has written we're going to go to? The devils know. Have you come to torment us before the time? Another scripture says, have you come to torment us before the time? Devils know their time is limited. Devils know they have no power in the presence of Jesus Christ. And they said, please don't cast us out of the country. Now, I don't know really what that all involves, but I have a feeling it's just the country in a sense is this world, this earth as we know it. Don't cast us now into the place of torment, but give us another chance to torment somebody else. You see that? Just send us not too far away. And that's exactly what the devil wants to do. You see, God wants to cast them away from you. But the enemy wants to always make a bargain with you. Like, I won't go too far away. I'll be around if you ever need me. You'll be free of drugs today, but you know, you don't have to go very far to get some more if you find that you need my comfort. And of course, it's torment one more time. The psalmist in Psalm 103 verses 12-13 says, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pities his children, so the Lord pities them that fear him. God says, I've removed your transgressions. If you've come to me for forgiveness from your sin, I've taken your sin, and I've removed it as far away from you as the east is from the west. Now tell me, where does east and west stop? There is really no stopping to it. I've taken it away from you. It's gone. It's forgotten. Ephesians 4-8 in the New Testament says, when he ascended up on high, that's Jesus Christ, he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men. When he ascended up on high, after he had paid the price on Calvary for your sin, after he had defeated the power of the devil, he was laid in the grave, and God the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit, raised him up again from the dead and brought him to the right hand of all authority and power. And he says, when he was raised from the dead, he took captivity captive. Everything that would captivate you as a person or as a child of God, Jesus took it captive when he rose from the dead. He took it with him. He dominated it. He put his foot on the head of the serpent. The enemy has no right to your life anymore. Do you understand this?