Deliverance of a Region

A teaching based on Mark 5:1-20. 

Most Christians know of the account of the Geresene demoniac as told in 3 of the epistles. Jesus traveled across the lake, met a demon-possessed man (2 men as told in the book of Matthew), drove out the demons and the man returned to his right mind. As I studied this account found in Mark, Matthew and Luke, I came to see that not only was 1 man set free from a legion of demons, but so was an entire region.

Prior to Jesus arriving on the scene, the demoniac was impacting the entire region, or Decapolis, which consists of 10 cities. The book of Mark uses the word “region” 3 times and the term “Decapolis” 1 time within the account. We read in the book of Matthew, “They (demons) were extremely violent that no one could pass by that way” (Matthew 8:28). With this in mind, we can imagine that this affected citizens who traveled from the surrounding cities. In the book of Luke, we learn that the man had to be kept under guard (Luke 8:29). They tried to keep him chained up, but he broke the chains off (Luke 8:29). He was a menace to society.

Because Jesus drove the demons away from the demoniac, the region also became set free and then evangelization could take place and bear fruit for the Kingdom of God. We see this happen as told by Mark, “And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him” (Mark 5:20). When God delivers a city, state, region or nation, expect to see a mighty harvest of souls! Principalities hinder people from receiving salvation, so when the united prayers of the righteous reach the ears of God, He sends His angel armies to drive them out, which opens the way for the reaping of souls. Evangelists, like the reformed Geresene demoniac, share the Gospel with others and the message is received because the hindrances have been removed.

I believe the Lord revealed this teaching to me and used it to show me when He had delivered a region, city or state that I was interceding for. The first time is when I traveled to DC for the national prayer gathering led by Awaken the Dawn in 2017. I feel that God showed me that through those 3 days of non-stop prayer and worship, He drove away principalities or wicked spirits from DC. He also showed me in a vision prior to the gathering, people getting hit by the Holy Spirit and thus coming to Jesus. More recently, God used this account in Mark 5 to show me that He delivered my region of New England from principalities after there was a 3-day gathering in New Hampshire where believers throughout the region joined together to pray and worship God. God’s Word tells us, “The heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man (believer) is able to accomplish much (when put into action and made effective by God—it is dynamic and can have tremendous power)” (James 5:16 AMP). We also learn from God’s Word of the value of the body of Christ being united. In Psalms 133 we read, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for the brethren to live together in unity… It is like the dew of Hermon coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For the LORD commanded the blessing there—life forever” (Psalms 133”1,3). God’s power is released when the body of Christ unites in prayer.

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