Go. Tell Them of God's Mercy.

Mark 5:18-20 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”  20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
 
DO you ever wonder how you, one person, can make a difference for Jesus? Look, then, to the redeemed man of the Gerasenes. No longer does Legion – an army of demons – control him. His insanity has become a right mind. He is an average-looking man, saved to live as one should. Oh, how he wanted to be with Jesus. He begged to go with him!
   Here’s where the man began to live into his new freedom. For the first time in many years he had choices. But sometimes choices are very difficult for people who have been trapped in despair. With Jesus the could begin a new life more easily!
   Jesus, though, had a purpose for him. Jesus saved him to be an evangelist, to plant kingdom seeds. Jesus commanded him, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 
   It is obvious he did so because all the people were amazed. Jesus chose this very broken man with a terrible reputation for evil to demonstrate his power to change all people regardless of their broken lives into the good life. Some of you reading this have come from Satan’s brutal occupation of your mind. Now in your salvation, you can testify to what Jesus has done for you. And we who hear are amazed.
   Now here’s something that will amaze you. The Decapolis was a group of ten cities: Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Gerasa, Dion, Canatha, Raphana, and Damascus. Note this. One of the early Christian churches is in Philadelphia (Revelation 1:11). Damascus had many early belilevers, and the apostle Paul began his work there. Hippo was a central city of the early church and Christian learning. It was at the Council of Hippo in 399 AD that the books of the New Testament were established as we know them today. It was from Hippo that great theologians, including Augustine, would study, write and tell the truth of Jesus Christ’s amazing work. Augustine had lived a very immoral life. He could tell the world how much Jesus had done for him.
   Do you think it all began because one transformed man obeyed Jesus’ command to tell how much Jesus had done for him? One of the best ways to help people know Jesus is to tell them how much Jesus had done for you. Your true story is a transforming story. People must know the Lord God is a personal God, who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed. (Psalm 103:3-6) Pause and consider the power you possess to tell someone what Jesus has done for you. Who knows? Your testimony may affect the world 2,000 years from now.