He Said What? - Lesson 6: "Go Tell"

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Dolly, thank you so much. Play opportunity to be in your presence today to be with our brothers and sisters. To be with our Family Guy on. God, we're so grateful for each and every person in this room and their willingness to be here. Everybody's here. Maybe for a different reason, but the common Bond we have is that we're here. We've made time we've made the effort, we put you first in this moment and God for that. I'm grateful cuz I know you are. Because you helped us grow as we open up your words a day. Allow your spirit to fill our hearts to fill our mind to fill our Soul's gone. So that we can walk in step with the spirit every single day. And every move that we make. God over the last few months, we've been studying, just the words of Jesus. And nothing is more powerful than his words. That's what Paul preached to swap Peter Creech, but all the apostles preached. That's what the writers of scripture talked about. With the words of Jesus above everything else. Help us to focus on those words today, in Grew From This encounter in this moment in his life and it's in your son's name. We pray. Amen.

Mark chapter 5. You don't have your Bibles. It'll be on the screen. Follow the lawn as we go.

Who says they went across the lake to the region of the garrisons where Jesus got out of the boat. And a man with an M. Pure Spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs and no one could bind him anymore. Not even with a shedding your head off and been changed or had been chained hand and foot but he's for the chain apart and broke the iron on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him not in day, but among the tombs and in the Hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones. When Jesus saw him from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. He shouted at the top of his voice. What do you want with me? Jesus, Son of God, the most high or son of the most high God in God's name. Don't torture me for Jesus had said to him. Come out of this man. You a spirit then Jesus asked him. What is your name? My name is Legion here applying for we are many and he begged Jesus again and again do not send them out of the area. Allergia, large herd of pigs with feeding, on the nearby Hills. The demons beg, Jesus, send us among the pigs allow us to go into them. He gave them permission, and then a Spirits came out and went into the pigs, the herd of about 2,000, and number rushed down the Steep Bank, into the lake and were drowned.

Those 10 pigs ran off and reported this in the Town & Country side. And the people went out to see what it happened. When they came to Jesus. They saw the man who have been possessed by the Legion of demons sitting there dressed. And in his right mind, and they were afraid those who have seen, those who have seen it, told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed, man and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region as you was getting into the boat. And the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him but said, go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you. So the man went away. Began to tell and the decapolis how much Jesus had done for him and all the people were amazed. Isn't this just a really neat store? There's a lot going on in the story. Isn't there? I remember the first time I ever heard our preacher in Savannah, preach this story and it just it was just an amazing. I just, I just marvel at all the things that we're going on. There's a lot of things that we can talk about from a lot of different perspectives of it this morning, but I want to just talk about a few things that that that I think that we can pull from this and grow from an our life. And if we get to the last point, today, we're going to touch on the last point, but we're really going to flush the last point out tonight in our Bible, study at 6. So here's the first thing I wanted to start with this morning. Here's the first idea that I want you to kind of think about it, roll around in your mind that When sin and Satan has control. It never just affects you. Okay? When Stan and Satan has control, it never just affects you and your life and your, your, your kind of deal and what's going on with just, you not read this story, as I read the story, I get the impression and I might be wrong, but I get the impression that this guy may be started out as demon possessed, but maybe he started out, not like his demon possessed, as he was when Jesus finds them. And I think there's some hints and some Clues to that. Because it seems like maybe it seems like maybe they begin to try it as his possession gets worse or is acting out gets worse. It seems like maybe at one point, they were able to subdue him and maybe keep him under control, but as the spirits within him, maybe gain more power, got more control than maybe he became bigger and stronger. And in that possession within his life became more more prominent and you know, you do read a scripture in this time of demon possession that but you might drive a demon out, but if you don't fill it with Jesus came to just leave the house open, he says that he will go and grab some of his friends, basically and bring them and move them into just because he says, his name is Legion and he says, there's a bunch of us. This is just commentary, I get the impression. But maybe more demons had possessed this man as he went on. And it started out maybe as one, but then more and more and more kind of came into him and he got worse and worse and worse. I think that's just maybe something that you could see in the text here. And in the reason I bring that up is because a lot of times in our life when we were talking about this idea of sin and Satan the things that we struggle with and the waist Satan can kind of get control of Our Lives. I think that falling into a life of sin. And being controlled by Satan. Is never an all-out thing. All of a sudden is it was never an all-out thing, all the sudden very rarely there and I'm not saying it doesn't happen. But very rarely. Do you see people who start out will use look 15 for instance? Very rarely. Do you see people who start out at home? And then they're very next destination is the pigpen you're staying. There really isn't that I'm living a life that I'm supposed to and then tomorrow, boom, I am is deep into sin. Is I've ever been and I ever can be, it's usually 1, it's usually a process, isn't it? I'm letting my guard down. I'm a maybe, maybe I'm struggling with this little sin. Play. Maybe I'm struggling with what? I consider a little sin. And that little sin begins to maybe get a hold of me and that little thin, then becomes a little bit bigger sin, and then a little bit, bigger sin, until the point that that I've shut got out. And I've let this sin control, my life James talks about this very idea. James kind of gives this idea. He says, when tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me for God. Cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempting, you one? But each person is tempted, when they are dragged Away by their own evil desire and enticed we call that a Temptation temptation of them self or not wrong, but they can pull us away in a direction. We don't need to go then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin when it is. What was that word? Full-grown gives birth to death, so So James gives us this perspective here, that living a life of sin and then let me say this morning, huh? You've heard me say this has been a while since I've said since I've talked about this, but I struggle with the idea. I struggle with the idea of people, making this statement. We're all sinners. We use that phrase a lot. Don't, we are all sinners. And I struggle with that statement because to me that statement is about what defines you. If you are a child of God, what word do we use to define our self? Christian right. Christian, I'm a Christian and I look at it like this. I am a Christian who is defined by Jesus, who is Walking In The Light. He was living in the direction of God, but there are going to be times in my life. I send. Does that make sense? But if I stay, I'm a sinner. Then I am defining Myself by things that are not of God. And I think we have to be careful with that idea. We got to be careful with what we label ourselves. That sometimes we want to say. Well, I'm just a sinner because we think it's kind of humbling us. It says don't be afraid to Define yourself as a child of God. I am a Christian. If you're a Christian just want to say that I am a Christian. Play It Again, everybody. I am a that is what defines you, okay.

But if we're not careful. And we allow Satan to get a foothold. We lost a to get a foothold, those desires that we have. I'm a Christian. I'm defined by Jesus but I still have troubles and temptations and things in my life, but I want to do that. I know I can't do pop rocks about that. Right? And it's a really worried passage and is kind of hard, but Paul basically says, there's things that I want to do that, I cannot do. But the things that I cannot do, I want to do bad things, I want to do, I cannot do. Do you follow that? That's kind of how that passage read, the basically what he say is he saying there's things that I know I need to be doing in my life and at times I struggle to do those things, but the things that I wish that I could just get rid of and have no part in my life. The fleshly, the first, we thought the human side of me. The men's side of me, the part that sends man. It's easy to give in to those things, and if we give in to those things, as James sis, we give it to those things. Those things can begin to take over. Those things, can become the things that define us. It can go from a, if you'll allow me a little sin. This is one thing that I'm struggling with and it can grow to something else and then to something else and then to something else to the point that the sand becomes. What is James de full row known, and it takes up all of my life and it, shut God out. Now you're all going to find yourself at different points in this process. Am I believe? Some of us are, I know some of us are in a in a phase in our life or we're just Christian? Okay, and we are really living and being defined by God. That's a great place to be. But then there's some of you here this morning, that's probably struggling with that little stand. That thing that just keeps creeping back in that thing that Satan knows. Hey, if I, if I just keep throwing this Saturday, if I just keep throwing this, adding that idea, I've been tossed in the world and in James that words, the hunting and fishing term, it's like dangling, a, a hook with a great-looking worm on it for the fish, putting some bait in a in a trap for an animal. I'm going to I'm going to keep putting this in front of you so that I can pull you in my direction cuz some of you are there State invoice Titans working on you. But you're trying to resist a man is working on you and then, you might be in this full grown this morning. You might be a place where you are full grown into sin, and if you are praise God, that you're here today. Amen. That means you have it completely given up. Regardless of where we are. Regardless of where we are. We all need the healing and cleansing power of Jesus, Amen. Let's try that again. We all need the healing and cleansing power of Jesus. Amen.

And that's the second idea that I want you to follow up with me this morning, is that if you give Jesus a chance, he's not going to make you. This is a volunteer business, like the military has no draft anymore. You got to sign up and volunteer to do it. And once you get there you're there and you're going to be there and they're going to have to teach you and trained. You what you need to be and all that's true about the Lord's army. Okay, there's all these things that we need to be in, need to do because he I'm going to train you. I'm going to help you do this, but it starts with this idea that Jesus will give you a new life. Jesus will give you a new life. So, a life of sin has great impact on your life. You believe that a lot of Stan has great impact on your life. Just as Jesus can have great impact on your life, has great impact on your life and it can do a few different things. And I just want you to think about these things for a moment. If you, if you go from that idea, that little sin is creeping into, I'm allowing it to become full-grown. What is he going to take away? How is it going to affect your life will aside from the idea that James said that it creates death or another way to think about that. Is it create separation between God and yourself? It also deprives you of spiritual strength and comfort. The deprived, you of spiritual strength and comfort. Scripture that when we have the Holy Spirit, that we are going to have the power from God to face things in our life and overcomes things, send takes that away. Friend puts us in a place where that relationship isn't as functional as it once was. I think about, I think about the Prodigal Son. The prodigal son, when he left home. I love this imagery. He was always a son of his father, right? That never changed. He was always a son of his father. But what he did is he put himself in a position where he no longer benefited from being sign. You no longer benefited from being a sign. He had to figure things out on his own after a long hard day and working cattle with his Dad. One of the greatest benefits of coming home and moms cook, this big great wonderful meal. He had any gets strength from that. It gets renewed from that. Now, I've left home. And what do I have to do? I have to figure out my own meals. I can figure out my own things. Dad. Always took care of this. You always help me with this. He always make sure I had dip now that I'm not there. I kind of figure it all out on my own and then that's the story of the prodigal son. And I think that we have to understand and can relate to that when we live a life of sin, instead of a life of Jesus and it's your choice, your choice. But you're choosing to live a life that is empty of the power of God in your life. And also you have, you have a limited amount of comfort, a limited amount of comfort. There's no greater Comfort than that, of Jesus, and up his church family. Don't know where some of you that are going through things and walk through things in your life, that you'll stand up this morning. You had it. Not been for my church family. I would have never gotten through it. And you understand the comfort that comes with that sin takes that away, sin leads us to a dark place.

If you walk in the what? Light, as he is in the lot, you have Fellowship one with other, but that also means that there is another way to walk in. That is in what? Darkness. Walking in darkness. Things are different in the dark, aren't they? Things are different in the dark in the dark, things grow, and become more than they should be. For example, Legos, grow into the most dangerous toy in the dark. Say something else that grows into something. Dangerous in the dark. A clothes, hanger slipped on a clothes hanger in the dark. Now, some of you are lying. Okay, some of you were lying. I mean that clothes hanger becomes a slick as glass and you slide for 30 ft. You feel like and then if you are lucky enough to stay on, upright, you hurts. And if you fall you part, but I mean things in the darker, different aren't, they are different. There's no guidance. There's, there's there's no mrs. Is it's hopelessness. They still won't send. There is Darkness. Then produces slavery. This guy in our story was bound and Shackled for periods of time and send bonds Us in shackles cuz I was thinking about getting Ron to do some more handcuff Impressions. And then last time I did that he put me on the floor, so I didn't want to do that again.

But let me ask you something. How many of you would be comfortable wearing a handcuff just right here. I knew you would be comfortable with that. Anybody Stacy's? Like one that may not be so bad. And okay. I mean, it's not much different than wearing a bracelet. Right? Maybe you're not comfortable with it. Let me ask you this, if you could have handcuffs with Ron, just put one handcuffs on you today. Just on one side. You got this other one dangling over here, but you just wearing half of it. How many of you could get used to that and still figure out a way to fight him. Not get in the way. Right. Am I getting away? Just figure out. How does that? Doesn't it? Seem grabs you talk to you. And it's just a tough at first, the one, and you can get used to it and it becomes a distraction at first. And then then before you know it. So you could have got the other one asked, you could you still function in life, completely handcuffed? Could you could you still put you could, could you still cook if you needed to handcuffed? You could, could you, could you still Shake, someone's hand. Could you still hold? Someone's hand? Could you still fix your hair? You know, I'll be, I mean, I mean, it'd be different if he hard could you do it? Could you get used to it? Eventually, you might even get used to it? But every new cuff. Limits your life a little bit more in a little bit more and send us that we can get used to it, we can get comfortable to it. But it's going to limit us and we're not going to live our life to the fullness that we once did. And then ultimately, it brings death and our relationship to God. I don't, you know, something this morning, Jesus wants you to have life. And one scripture saying not just have life, but have it to the fullness to have it in abundance. So, so that's what he wants with you. That's what he wants for you. So, so, he's here to offer you a new life for. This is what he says in Romans 6:23 will get to versus or three verses from the chapter. You just for the wages of sin is what death. If you live life of sin, OK? Google life of standing opposite direction of God there is going to be death, but the gift of God is Eternal life in Christ. Jesus, our lord, I love that word gift. I'm going to be like a gift. How many of you like a gift. I know you love. You had to pick, you can either. Give us receive gifts or do one. How many of you are going to pick receive. The rest of you were lying. I'm just kidding. We love to receive the gifts because like, I'm giving you the greatest gift of all. I want you to have this. It's just yours is free. Come get it. How do I get you back up into this book? And this chapter is says this or don't, you know, that all of us who were baptized into Christ. Jesus were baptized into his death. We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death and order. They just as Christ was raised from the dead. For the glory of the father. We too may say that with me live a new, he comes to give you life. In says, what I'm offering is free, come get it. We said Okay. I want to get, I want to grab. I want to take hold of it. I want this new life. This is all right, you found it through. Baptism this morning. If you want that new life in Jesus, if you want that salvation relationship with Jesus is found in your baptism. When you connect yourself to the blood and the death, the burial and the resurrection of Jesus. And as you come up out of the water, you are raised in this new life. Just as Jesus was raised from the grave.

We can say Amen to that. Can't wait. Or not. That's fine, too.

Thursday. Miss what we talked about more tonight. Jesus wants you to text wants you to tell others about your relationship with him. Jesus wants you to tell others about your relationship with him. What do you like to talk? I know who you are. I mean, if you like to talk Talking sponge, brought some of you prefer to listen, some of you just prefer to be left alone. That's fine, too.

What's your conversation been about this week? What your conversation has been about this week Dylan over the last couple of weeks. Everybody has talked to use when they talk to you about. What basketball, right final four Dylan sick of hearing about the final four, and I don't know if he is, and he's probably in the SEC Championship today, right? Pulling for Texas A&M.

He want to talk about that this morning. How many of you have had a number of conversations about Ukraine and Russia over the last couple of weeks. Yeah, because it's on her mind to something. We're thinking about how many of you Alex for the talk to you about the other than any of you have talked about the baseball lockout. That's been the biggest concern and your world and mine in my mouth. Wrong Alex. I said met but I was wrong. I send the real smart giving. Alex a reason to think we're playing Major League Baseball to me. And then the next day it was all different, but I'm happy. We're playing baseball. How many of you? I think your grandparents talk about your grandkids this week. Yeah.

How many people have you talked to about Jesus?

Think about that for a second. How many people have you talked to about? Jesus talk about everything else, don't we things that don't even matter. That matter if we played baseball this year know. Why does it matter if Tennessee wins today? No, it doesn't.

And I'm not just saying that because it's Tennessee. I promised.

How many people have you talked to about Jesus this week? I feel like we have such a misconception about evangelism. We made of Angel is about a process. We've made a vandalism about knowing all the answers to the questions. How many of you are scared to death? If you begin to talk about Jesus, someone's going to ask you about a question and you're not going to know the answer. You're, you're afraid of that. Yeah. How many of you would consider yourselves students of the word of God? Just not asking you to brag, how many of you would consider yourself students of the word of God. Those are going to consider yourself students of the word of God. Larry. You talk to bible class for how many years? Forever. If you ever been asked a question, you didn't know the answer to absolutely Sean. If you ever been actually, I've been asked questions that I don't know the answers to and I'm going to knock that Podium over. As long as I don't fall in the floor. It's okay, not to have all the answers. So don't don't let us get over that, get over having all the answers, but I want you to know something this morning.

This is a challenging thing that I've studied.

Can you evangelize and teach people the gospel without this book?

How many babies can you evangelize have Jonathan? I'm good at trick questions, right? Jonathan's looking at me like yeah, here we go. How many of you think that you can't evangelize and teach the gospel without this book? Raise your head?

How many do you think you have to have it to do it? How many of you are now? Like, I'm not answering.

Do you know that this book? And any form really didn't exist for nearly three hundred years after Jesus? It was 300 years. The church grew for 300 years without this. And boy, we make everything. I'm not saying we shouldn't make everything about this. I'm not, okay. How in the world did the church grow without going on the next 238 says, this in the world, did they convert people without having book chapter verse answers to everything? They lived it. They told their story. You have a story this morning and your own personal life is about Jesus. That should reflect every word in this book. You've had experiences in your life, you had moments in your life. We're at the end of been for Jesus. You wouldn't have gotten through it, your story, your story. The way you live, your life, will more than likely have more impact on bringing someone to Jesus than just these words that they give us a path. They give us a Direction. They help us answer questions, but people are looking at you. People are looking at you. And if your story doesn't match this, they're not going to come be apart. If your love is the Same, Love is the world and not the love of Jesus. They're not going to come and be a part. If your marriage is a marriage of the world and not a marriage of scripture this year going to bring people to Jesus.

Look at this verse. This is the very last verse of the story. So the man went away. Jesus said go tell everybody but the man went away and begin to tell in the decapolis how much Jesus had done for him? It was this last phrase safe and all the people were Were they amazed that scripture? They were amazed at the interaction if this meant, how would you say were in there? They were amazed. And what Jesus had done in this person's life. Again. I'm not saying this is an important don't I don't want anybody to be like Danny Matthews talking about the Bible, not being important at all. That's not what I'm saying, but I'm saying Your Story, what you live and what you tell people is just as important. Is just as important. Some of you can go on to someone and look at him. So you know what? I used to be an alcoholic. And I turn my life around. And these are the blessings that I'm receiving. So you can save my marriage was falling apart and we really started focusing on Jesus. And this is how our marriage was healed. Some of you can say, you know, what, I used to be in financial just a financial 3 bolts and then I begin to understand what Christian stewardship really is. And these are the way I've been blessed day. Love, you can say I was sick and I've been healed. Let me tell you about my relationship with Jesus. You have a pair of powerful story. You have a powerful store. You need to figure out how to tell it figure out who to tell it to and then tell it to everyone who will listen. Listen to that. Again, figure out how to tell a figure out who to tell it to and then tell it to everyone. Who will listen and even those, who won't even those, who won't end when your story, and Jesus story intersex? Becomes amazing. Your story and it can Amaze other people. Now, I want you to come back tonight and we're going to talk about this idea of a banjo lives in a little more about sharing our story with people sharing scripture with people within that story talking about getting over some of those fears and maybe some ways to accomplish that because we just don't have the time for that this morning. So what does he tell us? What did he tell us? He tells us this morning. Go tell and not just here, not just this guy. He tells us that the Great Commission delivery. We're and make disciples. Go and tell what Jesus has done. I teach those people to go tell and teach those people to go tell and teach those people to go tell, you know, there used to be this idea. That was the preachers job to grow the church and I totally disagree with that. It's not my job to grow the not the Avenue Church of Christ. It's yours. Emma. And we do that by going to telling others about Jesus. Go to God in prayer and it will close. God, we thank you for our time. We thank you for the story. We thank you for the challenges that it puts in her office. Thank you for the hope that puts in her life. That if we are facing sinful challenges guy, that we have a guy that wants to heal us and drop the cents out of us and help us to just live a normal face focused life. Thank you for having a savior that cares about our souls and that wants us to spend eternity with him forever. I got two folders. There are those that are struggling with that this morning, help them to release those struggles. Those burdens will send to you. Walk in the light. Once again. Do with those who have never made that decision to live the new life, never live that new life, had that moment of of New Birth in their baptism with her sins, are initially forgiven and they're wiped clean and they're connected to the direction. In that moment. We pray that if that's what they need this morning that they'll make that decision and turn the life over to you in that way. God, give us courage, give us strength to tell our story to anybody that will listen. Help us to expand the borders of your kingdom and help us to understand that you are blessing our lives. And those blessings are sermons that we can share with other people. Help us to open people's eyes. Supposed to open their hearts to you. If I can find the new off as well and your son's name, we pray. Amen. Is this program has been beneficial to you, please consider subscribing on YouTube Apple podcast or your favorite podcast. Provider also would love for you to leave us a 5-star review, which will greatly assist us in getting the message of God's love and salvation to others. Would love even more for you to join us in person. We are located at 2309 9th Avenue, in Haleyville, Alabama. You can also check us out on Facebook.

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