Go Tell Thy Friends and Family

Go Tell Thy Friends and Family

Text: Mark 5:1–20

1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: 4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces:

neither could any man tame him.

* I want to take a minute right here and stress that only the preaching of the Gospel can tame a man!

* When the Devil has control of a man, he is bound by his sin like this man! He is wild and unruly! He is a danger to himself and everyone around him!

* Jesus went around unstopping the ears of people, healing the deaf, because the Devil causes a man not to hear God’s voice in his heart!

* Jesus went around restoring people’s vision because the Devil blinds men to the truth of God and the Word of God!

* Jesus went around causing the lame to walk because the Devil causes a man’s feet to go astray into the paths that lead away from God!

5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

* My friend, the devil is about the business of destroying men and women this morning!

* We see here, in the passage before us, the story of a man consumed by his own sin.

* Let this be a warning to us all that if I allow sin to rule unchecked in our lives, our own sin, like the snake in the snake charmers basket, will turn on us and in the end control us and take us over.

* Demon possession is not just in the Bible my friend; it is real and relevant in our society today.

* In the Bible, every time there is a great movement of God in the earth you see an influence of demonic activity.

* At the time of the flood in Genesis, many Bible scholars believe there was great demonic activity, demons or fallen angels, taking for themselves human wives, corrupting the seed of mankind and creating giants in the land.

* The Bible says that “as it was in the days of Noah” so shall it be when Jesus returns.

* Every time there is an increase of demon activity on this earth we see also the earth given over to homosexuality and sexual corruptions.

* My friend you don’t have to be foaming at the mouth and your head turning around backwards to be demon possessed.

* A good indication that a person is demons possessed this morning is that they are completely controlled by sin, it consumes their every thoughts and controls their life. A the case of a demon possessed person, they become defined by their sin.

* You can read about this in Romans Chapter 1. Where God turns people over to defile themselves among themselves.

* The Bible tells us in the book I Timothy that there will even be people in the church controlled by demons.

1 Timothy 4:1

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith,

giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Jude 4–7 (AV)

4 For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

5 I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not.

6 And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

* The good news is that Jesus still has power over the demons that possess men!

* I want to point out here that even the devils knew who Jesus was and worshiped Him.

6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,

* The other thing I want you to see is the Jesus had complete control over the demons.

7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, 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.

8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 9 And he asked him, What is thy name?

And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.

10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.

* And here we the first record in the Bible of demons committing sewi-side… you know… pigs… by the sea side… sewiside…

14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. 15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

* This man Legion was miraculously and wonderfully saved!

* You see him now in his right mind! Before the sinful demons he acted crazy and did things that harmed himself and those around him.

* That’s the way it always is when you are being controlled by sin and the Devil! You act wild and crazy, and you are continually hurting those around you!

16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. 17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. 19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him,

* Here now we come to where I want to take my text for the message today:

Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

Introduction:

* In this passage of Scripture, we see this man Legion, saved, born again, a new creation in Christ!

* We now find him sitting at the feet of Jesus, all cleaned up and in his right mind.

* At the story goes, this man now begs Jesus to let him go with him and follow him like his disciples.

* A strange thing happens here. You would expect Jesus to say come and follow me like he did with the apostles, but instead, God reveals to him that God has a different plan for his life.

* We can see from this passage of Scripture that for some of us, the will of God is not to go off to Bible College somewhere, or to go off halfway around the world and be a missionary, but to stay right where we are and serve God here, right where God put us in the first place!

* Jesus told this man to go home! It was the will of God for this man to stay right where he was!

* Did you know that most of the time God puts people exactly where he wants them to serve Him?

* It may very well be that the reason you were born in the city you were born in was that He intended you to serve Him there.

* You may have heard the phrase “grow where you are planted.” This is exactly what that means. Many times God plants us right where He intends for us to grow.

* As a teenage God had planted me right where He wanted me to grow. Jefferson City, Tennessee.

Illustration:

* I remember the time before I went off to Bible College as a teenager in Jefferson City, Tennessee.

* I remember then was a time in my life that someone was getting saved every week.

- At the age of 13 I ran a bus route, with my dad, then it became by bus route.

- I remember leading people to the Lord to be saved over and over.

- In the School lunch room before school started.

- My neighbor Harold, that through corn cobs at me, and hit a train on his motorcycle in high school.

- My neighbor that lived across the street that one day went missing and his body was found a year later in a ditch.

- Another neighbor Jimmy, that got saved in jail and died in a motorcycle accident in Dayton, TN.

- A little girl that brought here family to church on the bus that caused 80 people to join the church from Granger County.

- Putting tracts in everybody’s grocery bags at the Piggly Wiggly, and a family joining the church years later.

- I remember going with my father on visitation, Jerry and Jimmi getting saved, Jerry driving the church bus, Jerry dying in a car wreck.

- Before I left my hometown I walked with God and the power of God rested upon my life.

- After I left my hometown everything stopped!

- Then I remember when all of that stopped.- the day I left my place to go off to Pontiac Michigan to Midwestern Baptist Bible College.

- While there in College the numbers of people being saved stopped.

- I wandered around in a spiritual wilderness, without the power of God on my life for many years, without the power of God on my life, getting beat up and damaged by the devil.

* So we in our text this morning that see Jesus gave this new Christian an assignment. He is to serve Him at home, right where he was.

* Now I want you not notice with me who Jesus assigns him to reach with the Gospel- to his friends and his family.

* I believe that God has lain on my heart to lead Blue Springs Baptist Church in a revival starting with our own families.

* This is how the power of God, and the power of the Gospel, is working in or midst this morning. In and through our families, and in the families of those we reach with the camp ministry.

* I believe that God has placed us in our families, however dysfunctional they are, to win them to Christ.

I. God saves whole families.

A. God saved he house of Cornelius.

Acts 10:30–33 (KJV 1900)

30 And Cornelius said, Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and, behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, 31 And said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard,

and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God.

32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname is Peter; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner by the sea side: who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee. 33 Immediately therefore I sent to thee; and thou hast well done that thou art come.

Now therefore are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of God.

B. God save the house of the Philippian Jailer.

Acts 16:27–34 (KJV 1900)

27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. 28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, 30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. 32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. 34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

II. We must have a God given burden to see our loved ones saved.

* This burden must be placed upon us by the power of the Holy Ghost! It needs to be a divine burden, placed there by the Word of God and fired by the Spirit of God that burn sin our souls!

* I believe that we need to pray to God and plead with Him to lay upon our hearts a burden to see our families saved.

* Not just one or two, but a burden to see every family member saved.

* We have been talking about a community revival around here. I believe that revival can happen, but it will start right here with our own family members.

* One of the reasons that we don’t pray for our family members is that we don’t have a proper burden for their souls.

* In asking God to give us a Holy Spirit fueled burden for our loved ones this involves taking a good look at reality.

* Turn with me to Luke chapter 17.

Luke 16:19–31 (KJV 1900)

19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: 20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, 21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; 23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. 25 But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26 And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

* The people in Hell this morning have a good look at reality. Listen to the words of this man after seeing the reality of Hell…

27 Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: 28 For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. 29 Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. 30 And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. 31 And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

* I want to to listen closely to what I am about to say right now-

This man who woke up in Hell all of a sudden had a great burden to save his brothers from Hell- but it was too late!

* Don’t wait until it is too late to be concerned about your friends and loves ones!

* God is not send some important person like Moses to save your family from Hell this morning!

* God will not send someone from the Dead to warn your family about Hell this morning!

* God sent you!- And you are the best equipped to do the job!- Right where God put you!

* If we, like this man, who woke up in Hell, could see the reality of a burning Hell, we would begin to Get a real burden for the souls of our own loved ones!

* Take just a moment and visualize your family members waking up in Hell this morning!

- Visualize your son in Hell!

- Now see your daughter in Hell! Burn that image into your mind!

- Listen today to the screams of your mother in Hell this morning!

* The one who placed tender kisses on your forehead in the days of your youth is now screaming in the torments of Hell!

* The wailing and the gnashing of teeth from the pain and torments ascending out of the pit of Hell for ever and ever throughout all eternity!

- Listen to your father as he cries out because of the guilt that he feels because he allowed his family to follow him to Hell this morning!

- See your cousins and your aunts and uncles in Hell this morning!

- Listen to the cries of your friends and family on this earth in Hell asking why no one did whatever it would take to warn them about the reality of Hell!

- Don’t leave this vision yet! Stay here a little longer and let the image of your grandchildren in Hell burn into mind and heart!

* My friend the first step to a heaven sent burden for you loved ones is to do a reality check about Hell!

III. Make up your mind that you will discipline yourself to pray for every family member.

* While waiting to make the move here to this place, I spent six months in prayer, praying every day for God to awaken my children to the spirit of God. God has done great things for my family in the past four years.

* God has turned around situations that I never imagined he could ever do for my family members in the last 3 and ½ years!

* God has changed the hearts of people in my family that it seemed it was too late for them to ever change!

* God has visibly answered my prayers for my loved ones right before the very eyes of this congregation this morning!

* I kept a prayer log during that time, and I have written evidence of how God has removed great obstacles and answered my prayers for my family members.

* Concerning praying for your friends and family Jesus said the following from John chapter 15, and verse 16:

John 15:16 (KJV 1900)

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain:

that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

* Jesus taught that if your closet, and God will reward you openly…

Matthew 6:6 (KJV 1900)

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

* Determine right now that you are going to pray for each of your family members every day until God saves their souls.

* If they are already saved, then determine that you are going to pray for them every day until they are in the perfect will of God for their life.

* One by one your family members will come to Christ to be saved, if they are already saved, they will submit themselves to the lordship of Christ and begin to follow Him.

* As your family members come to the Lord, they will in turn get a burden or their family members, and saturate the throne of God with prayers for their loved ones!

* This morning this is the formula! This is the secret to a real, sent from God, on fire from Heaven, Holy Ghost powered revival!

IV. The second part of the formula for genuine revival is showing what God has done for us.

* Jesus wanted this man to go back to his friends and family because they would believe if they saw the difference that Jesus had made in his life.

* In our text the people of Decapolis were amazed when they saw this terrible awful sinner changed by the power of the Gospel! They saw the raw power of God in the life of a man who had met Jesus.

* The woman at the well was saved and ran out and brought her family and friends and the Bible says that many came out to see Jesus and were saved!

* The friends and family saw a living object lesson about what the grace of God can do for a man!

* Let me ask you this morning to do another reality check.

* Can your family members see a change in you because of what Jesus has done for you?

* I was talking to Tori, Debbie’s daughter, about some things that are going on in her life, and she told me that her boyfriend’s mother called her a “Holy Roller.”

* Do you know what this really means? It means that Debbie’s family members have seen a change in her because of her relationship with Jesus!

* That change in Debbie has created in them a conviction of their own sin! That change in Debbie is causing a Holy Ghost conviction about the Holiness of God, and their unholy, sinful and lost condition, in the minds of these people!

* We are all called to be “holly rollers” who reveal the holiness of God and bring Holy Ghost conviction upon the hearts of men and women as we live out our testimony for Jesus!

* Do your children see anything in you that would make them want to come to Christ and be saved?

* Can they see anything in your life that would make them want to stay right with God and live a life pleasing to God?

* I believe that we can hinder our own prayers for friends and family, and even worse, we may be the stumbling block that would cause our family members to go to Hell!

* The rich man woke up in Hell and realized that his brothers were going to go to Hell because of Him!

* Will your loved ones go to Hell because you are an unfaithful, disobedient follower of Christ this morning?

* Before we can see a true revival we must first have a God given burden for our loved ones to bring them to Christ.

* Not only must we have a burden, but like the man Legion, we must have something to show our family and friends- a changed life.

* If we will be effective in our efforts to pray for our loved ones we must get the sin out of our life!

* We must confess our sin before God and make every effort to turn away from our sin in true repentance!

* If we would win our families for Christ they, the like the people of Decapolis, must see a change in us.

Conclusion:

* Grow where God has planted you. Instead of thinking God may use me someday, realized that God is using you now to reach your friends and family.

* Ask God for a burden from Heaven for loved ones.

* Discipline yourself to pray for your family members!

* Make sure your life is drawing your loved ones to God instead of turning them away.

* Let’s ask God to start a revival right here in this little church, one family at a time!