WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO TAME A WILD PERSON?
SCRIPTURES: MARK 5:1-15; II THESSALONIANS 2:7-12; GENESIS 16:7-12
WILD—NOT CIVILIZED, SAVAGE, NOT SUBMITTED TO CONTROL, UNBRIDLED, WITHOUT RESTRAINT MORALLY, RECKLESS…
Have you ever watched wild things? A wild cat? A wild dog? A wild person? There is a funny thing about some things that are wild. Everything around them can be civilized or in order, and all of a sudden that wild thing just shows out. Wild hair is a simple example. Every strand almost is manageable, and all of a sudden, wild strands pop up. You try to tame them by greasing them, putting a cap on them, frying them, curling them—but sometimes they just will not be tamed. You have to live with them or cut them off.
If you have ever watched a bunch of young people, sometimes, it seems that the overwhelming majority of them are mannerly, well behaved, orderly, polite, respectful, but all of a sudden, on the playground, in the classroom, on the streets, in church or anywhere, really, some of them just “show out.” They show that they are wild or untamed. And it seems that talking to them won’t tame them. Being nice to them won’t tame them. Taking away their privileges won’t tame them. Even calling the police and putting them in jail won’t tame them. Wherever they are, they “show out” as being wild or untamed.
We know that there are wild people everywhere such as those who are suicide bombers. What can the tamed do to help the untamed? You know, it seems that in many cases if not all cases, it takes Jesus to tame them. That is what the first Scripture we cited indicates. Remember, we are talking about taming wild persons, not demons or fallen angels. Demons or fallen angels and false prophets who are wild people will never be tamed. They will be cast into hell fire without judgment to be tormented forever. So with regard to a wild person who has a wild spirit, a wild mind, a wild soul and a wild tongue, we say the following:
Jesus can tame that wild spirit.
Jesus can tame that wild mind.
Jesus can tame that wild soul.
Jesus can tame that wild tongue.
1. In today’s first Scripture, we find that the man here had demon spirits. He was possessed. He, therefore, was made wild in his own spirit. Of course, he may have already been wild in his own spirit before these demon spirits possessed him and made his own spirit wilder.
2. These demon spirits probably caused him to have a wild mind, if he did not have a wild mind before they inhabited him.
3. We know that this man’s soul was wild and on fire.
4. We also know that his tongue was wild based on the stuff he was saying.
What are demon spirits anyway? From where do they come? How and why do they inhabit some people? Demon spirits are really fallen angels, those who refused to do God’s will but decided to follow Satan’s example. God expelled them from heaven and they now roam the earth. God allows them to conquer and inhabit some people who reject the truth confirming their eventual damnation, according to the second Scripture we cited. Since these people were not possessed originally, the people must have chosen the wrong path, making God angry, and He gave the demon spirits permission to possess them. There surely should be a lesson here for us who are not possessed of demons not to keep on rejecting the truth.
What is a wild mind or what causes a wild mind? The mind in the sense that we are talking has to do with one’s desires and will. It is affected also by information. God gives information. Satan gives information. There is information and knowledge all around us. If we are not careful, we try to absorb too much information causing an information overload of the mind because of our own wills. We want so much. And we have breakdown. We just can’t deal with too much information. And as we misuse this information, using it not according to rules and laws, our minds can be said to be wild of our own making.
Even some of us church folks get a little wild in our minds, thinking more highly of ourselves than we should. There are many examples. If we just talk about some of our behavior in church, we notice the following things which indicate a little wildness of our minds. If you put us up in service to read a Scripture, we’ll preach. If you put us up to pray, we will sing a song. If you put us over a segment or part of a program or something, we will take over the whole thing, say what we want to say, and claim that we are being led by the Holy Ghost. We get a little wild and need taming. No wonder the Bible tells us saints to let—allow—this mind which was in Christ Jesus also be in us. And if God gets angry with us because of our continually rejecting the truth and our leaning on our own understanding, He sends devils to oppress us or possess us. And when the devils are possessing us, they really mess up our minds.
What are wild souls? Wild souls are, to begin with, unregenerated souls whose desires and emotions have gone contrary to God, and have gotten away from the image of God. If the soul is the seat of emotions, when these emotions can hardly be restrained, checked, or modulated by anything, then we say that the soul is wild.
We all know what a wild tongue is. Some time back, Hillary Clinton demonstrated a wild tongue when she talked about her dodging sniper fire in Bosnia when she visited there, and talked about the historical assassination of Robert Kennedy when he was seeking the presidency as a reason for her to prolong her candidacy. I don’t want to condemn her; and she usually has her tongue somewhat if not totally under control. She is a great lady. Her tongue just went wild that day. I’m just giving an example of a wild tongue here, and we all need to find a way to control our tongues. The best way, of course, is through God’s power.
I think that all of us at one time or another have had a wild spirit, a wild mind, a wild soul, and a wild tongue either of our own accord and free wills or by the influence and/or possession of devils. There may yet be a little wildness in the tongues of some of us if not wildness in the other areas. But I am here to tell you that Jesus can tame anything that is wild about us.
Everything was wild about this man in the main Scripture cited. He probably rejected God’s truth too many times, leaning upon his own understanding, and God sent demons to possess him. We know he had a wild spirit, because he was living amongst tombs, and nobody could bind him. He was always cutting himself with stones and crying. That is not normal. Such behavior also indicated a wild mind, trying to injure his own self. You don’t hurt your own self if your mind is tame, if your mind is normal. (People don’t blow themselves up to kill others in hopes of getting rewards in heaven in they are not wild.) This man must have had a wild soul, couldn’t sleep much at night, troubled by his dreams, acting strangely with uncontrolled emotions night and day. And who knows what kind of wild tongue he had, probably cursing day and night, probably blaming everybody but himself for his problems. But fortunately for him, Jesus passed by, and he saw Jesus. When he saw Jesus, it made this man nervous. The devils within him made him think that Jesus was coming to torment him more. So the man ran to Jesus, kneeled down before Jesus, and worshipped him, pleading with him, crying in a loud voice, “What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” In other words, the man was saying to Jesus that the demons within him were tormenting him enough, and he was asking Jesus not to torment him also. The demons let the man know that Jesus was the judge, and the man knew that he had done plenty wrong for which to be judged by the Son of God. He pleaded with Jesus to have mercy on him. You see, if we have enough trouble, we will ask Jesus for mercy, even though we know that we deserve what we are suffering. Jesus seemingly ignored the man, but spoke to the unclean spirit within the man, and this scared the man. Jesus said to the unclean spirit, “Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.” When Jesus asked the unclean spirit, not the man, “What is thy name,” the unclean spirit, not the man, answered, “My name is legion: for we are many.” From then on, the conversation was only between Jesus and the unclean spirit or spirits. The unclean spirits had found a comfortable home among the Gadarenes, and did not want to leave to have to go elsewhere. They even elected to be sent into the swine or hogs that were in the field rather than to leave that country. So Jesus granted these fallen angels, these demons, their wish. You see, the people of that country were doing nothing to make these demons uncomfortable, so they wanted to stay there.
Are unclean spirits comfortable in you? Are unclean spirits comfortable in your house? Are unclean spirits comfortable in your church or country? What are you doing to make them feel uncomfortable? I know how to make unclean spirits feel uncomfortable. Just call the name of jesus. That will do it. Just live right and call the name of Jesus. And you know, when you make the unclean spirits uncomfortable enough, they have to leave and go elsewhere. And it will all be by using the name of Jesus. And in so doing, many humans, many people, will receive peace and be tamed. Our spirits will be tamed. Our souls will be tamed. Our minds will be tamed. And even our tongues will be tamed. Even if we may be a little wild by oppression, and not possession, we will be less wild. We will have peace of mind by keeping our minds stayed on Jesus. We will have joy of the Lord and have our emotions under control. Jesus will come, be with us, and tame us in all our areas of wildness, because only Jesus can tame a wild person.
