“As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.” (Mark 5:18-20)
I can imagine what a testimony the man who used to be possessed would have when he returned to his village. He would take off his shirt and point to the raw skin on his wrists and say, “See these marks on my wrists?” I used to be a mad man out of my mind chained like an animal but Jesus set me free. See these scars all over my arms and body, I used to be a cutter, mutilating my body until Jesus made me whole. I used to be possessed and haunted by thousands of demons until released me from their control. Let me tell you what the Lord has done for me and what a difference it makes in my life today that I am saved by Jesus."
Yesterday I shared my testimony as part of my message at Toney UMC. In front of the congregation I told them of the demons of my past that controlled my flesh. The addictions, attitudes, lies, and behaviors that had me living a death like existence “among the tombs.” (v.3). “Martha said of her dead brother Lazarus, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead for 4 days.” (John 11:39) For a time in my life I had been spiritually dead for years, and there was a stench coming from my life and I was a rotten person. But like Lazarus, I heard the voice of Jesus calling me in my darkness, and he raised me back to life. And yesterday, like the demon possessed man in Mark’s Gospel, I went and stood before those gathered, and I showed them my scars, and I told them how much the Lord has done for me, and how he has had mercy on me. I told them what difference it makes in my life today that I am in Christ Jesus.
All of us who have been saved in Christ Jesus have a testimony to share. To be “saved” means you have had to be saved from something to something else: death to life, darkness to light, pain to comfort, sadness to joy, bondage to freedom, selfishness to giver...ect. All of you have a testimony of all that the Lord has done for you and the mercy he has shown you. You were “saved” for the mission of sharing your testimony with others. All of us, no matter what your proficiency in Scriptures or gifting of evangelism, are called to simply go home, to work, to our friends and tell them what Jesus has done for you.
“Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony…” (Revelation 12:10)
My family, I pray starting today, you tell at least one person each day this week what is the difference in your life today that you are in Christ Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen. Please pray the same for me. God bless you my friends!
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