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It is said that the ability to make and understand PUNS is the highest level of language development. Here are a few of the winners in the International Pun Contest.

Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in the craft. Unsurprisingly, it sank, proving once again that you can't have your kayak and heat it, too.

Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says, 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'

Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.

A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named Ahmal. The other goes to a family in Spain; they name him Juan. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Ahmal. Her husband responds, 'They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal.'

Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath. This made him (Oh, man, this is SO BAD, it's good...) a super calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Puns may not be your choice of humor, but what makes us laugh is though the punch line is absurd, it is also a bit obvious.

This next account that Matthew records about the ministry of Jesus is a bit like a pun.

As we look at it today, let’s be careful not to miss the message, the punch line.

(Mat 8:28-34 NIV) When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way. {29} "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" {30} Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. {31} The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." {32} He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. {33} Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. {34} Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

Faith recognizes Evil!

Rick Warren questioned John McCain about the existence of evil this last weekend on CNN.

McCain responded without reservation about the existence of evil

For him, it is personified in Osama bin Laden.

Senator McCain is a great leader, and a committed follower of Christ, and I really don’t expect him or Barak Obama to address the problem of evil in the same way that I would as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Governments are mainly concerned with the evil that confronts their nation’s security, their prosperity.

We are fortunate to live in a country that also uses its resources to reach out to other nations and confront evil and injustice.

Jesus, however, confronts evil at a deeper level.

It is not a case of national security, pride, or prosperity.

He identifies the demonic nature of the things that vie for the heart of humanity, that rob dignity, that strip us of productivity, that wrecks relationships, that robs us of life abundant, steals our hope and prevents us from receiving life eternal!

(Mat 8:28 NIV) When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.

You can slice this anyway you want, but these two men were in a desperate state.

I am not trying to convince you that demons exist, and I am quite comfortable with the reality that therapy or Prozac may have been all these men needed.

Possibly they were traumatized at a young age, had abused drugs, been the victim of Agent Orange or Post Traumatic Stress.

The reality, however, is there was no one helping them and they were pretty much written off as beyond help and without hope, left to fend for themselves as outcasts of society.

Last week we saw Jesus calm a raging storm on the Sea of Galilee.

The week before, he healed three people who were considered outcasts.

Are you noticing a pattern here?

The apostle Paul testified to it in (Gal 5:1 NIV) It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

If you have reduced Jesus to a religious rule maker, God’s new sheriff in town here to enforce his laws and commandments, you don’t need faith. Just rules.

Jesus reveals himself as the liberator of humanity, the one sent to set captives free, to heal outcasts, to cast out demons and restore sanity and peace.

Faith confronts what possesses us!

Oddly, it is the demons that recognize Jesus as the son of God.

{29} "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"

The demons had become quite comfortable with their ability to possess and destroy the world, and to assist the evil one in holding humanity hostage.

They knew that there would come a day when God would restore his rule on earth as it is in heaven, but now they were a bit caught off guard that Jesus was going about demonstrating the Kingdom coming on earth as it is heaven, even before the appointed time.

Recognizing their defeat, they make a request of Jesus: v{30} Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. {31} The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."

Sounds like a perfect solution!

I’ve been around a few pigs, sometimes they seem a little demon possessed.

I have friends that like to hunt wild hogs, so it sounds like a good plan.

Jesus was a good Jew, so he really didn’t have much of an appetite for pork.

Sounds like the demons had a good plan.

Surprisingly, pigs must have more character than most of us give them credit. They aren’t particularly thrilled by this onslaught of demon attack on their herd and apparently Jesus knows more about pigs than the demons do.

{32} He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.

Pigs are obviously more noble creatures than I had given them credit. They know how to deal with demons. They hadn’t seen the Wizard of Oz, but they know that one sure fire way to get rid of demons is to drown them.

The pigs were willing to risk giving their lives so that these men could be set free.

Faith has a price!

What’s this story really about? Is this just a demonstration of Jesus’ power over demons? Not totally.

{33} Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. {34} Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.

A title I considered was Faith: Killing our Pigs. It just didn’t seem to have much curb appeal.

It seems that this story is actually more about the people in the community.

It looks to me like these people were more concerned about a herd of pigs than a couple of crazy men.

Can you blame them? This was someone’s livelihood. It may have been their only form of income.

What do you think the person tending the pigs is going to say to the owner. THE DEVIL MADE THEM DO IT!

This miracle, this healing, this deliverance cost the community!

Let’s not kid ourselves. Of course we want to see people delivered, healed and saved, but what if it costs us something. What if it means sacrifice. What if it means demands on our life and livelihood.

William Wilberforce worked diligently to end the trafficking of Africans into slavery. His work in the late 18 th century and the early part of the 19 th century introducing laws to end the institution of slavery in Great Britain and making it illegal to participate in slavery as means of economic gains.

In the movie, it depicts also Wilberforce’s relationship with John Newton, the former slave trader whose faith in Jesus Christ led him to denounce his former life and occupation.

Among his greatest contributions to history was encouraging William Wilberforce, a Member of Parliament, to stay in Parliament and "serve God where he was", rather than enter the ministry. Wilberforce heeded the ex-slaveship captain's advice and spent the next twenty years successfully working for the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.

The abolition of slavery was not the issue, it was the economy.

Revenue would be lost, pigs would be drowned, and people’s way of life would be affected.

Faith has a responsibility!

Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz what it means to follow to Jesus (pg. 106) "The thing I have to work on in myself is this issue of belief. Gandhi believed Jesus when He said to turn the other cheek. Ghandi brought down the British Empire, deeply injured the caste system, and changed the world. Mother Teresa believed Jesus when He said everybody was priceless, even the ugly ones, the smelly ones, and Mother Teresa changed the world by showing them that a human being can be selfless. Peter finally believed the gospel after he got yelled at by Paul. Peter and Paul changed the world by starting small churches in godless towns.

Here is the trick, and here is my point. Satan, who I believe exists as much as I believe Jesus exists, wants us to believe meaningless things, for meaningless reasons. (Like pigs matter more than people). Can you imagine if Christians actually believed that God was trying to rescue us from the pit of our own self-addiction? Can you imagine? Can you imagine what Americans would do if they understood over half the world was living in poverty? Do you think they would change the way they live, the products they purchase, and politicians they elect? If we believed the right things, the true things, there wouldn’t be very many problems on earth.

But the trouble with deep belief is that it costs something (Our Pigs). And there is something inside of me, some selfish beast of a subtle thing that doesn’t like the truth at all because it carries responsibility, and if I actually believe these things I have to do something about them.

Gary Haugen, who leads International Justice Mission, an organization that redeems people from sex slavery dens, sweat shops. Watch this clip of Gary to see a person who has let go of his pigs so people can be set free.

Gary challenged us at the Leadership Summit with that God has no B plan. We are the ones that he is expecting to do the work, sacrifice our resources, in order to change the way the world is. In order to set captives free.

Don’t be possessed by your possessions!

Are we possessed by our possessions so much that we become unwilling to give what it takes to see people set free? To see justice and mercy rule and reign in our world?

We are the A plan, there is no B plan.

After the service today, I am meeting with a team of people who believe that there is more that CrossRoad can do to end human suffering, to set prisoners free, to bring the redemptive love of Jesus Christ to more people and offer them hope for eternity.

Personally, I am being called out of my comfort zone to evaluate which matters most, people or possessions.

I challenge every one of you today to look at your faith and ask what it is that Possesses you.

If you need to repent a little today and take a new step of Faith, step up to the plate, accept that you are God’s A plan. I want to invite you to come forward as we sing this last song and for us to pray together and make a new and fresh commitment to be totally possessed by Jesus and not our possessions.

 

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