Tell Them Mark 5 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
We have been sowing the word of God continuously through: Preaching, Teaching, Radio, Internet, Fishers of Men, Port Ministry, Tracts, etc. However, most seed sowing is impersonal to an extent. We simply hand someone the words of God. Now it is time to add another dimension to this. There is a personal aspect. We need to, “Tell them.”
Tell them is what Jesus said to the man from the country of the Gadarenes in Mk 5:19. Notice what we can learn from Mk 5:19-20.
God commanded the man – Mk 5:19 – go home and tell – the Lord said “Go” in Mk 16:15, “Go” in Matt 28:19 – and “Ye shall be witnesses” in Acts 1:8 – the command to tell is a command; it is not a suggestion and it is not an option – a Christian is just as disobedient when he doesn’t go as a sinner is who disobeys Jn 3:7 – he gets hell for his disobedience; I wonder what we get – God commanded the man to:
- Tell thy friends – Mk 5:19 – he wasn’t talking to perfect strangers – he knew these folks and they knew him – much soul winning is among strangers – the disadvantage is that you will never see them again – your friends are folks you will see again and again – these are folks with whom you have relationships – Andrew “first findeth his own brother Simon,” Jn 1:41 – “Philip findeth Nathanael,” Jn 1:45 – Cornelius “called together his kinsmen and near friends,” Acts 10:24 – you may feel apprehension when talking to people you know, yet you have continual access.
- Tell how great things the Lord hath done for thee – Mk 5:19 – I believe that one of the reasons our testimonies are lacking power is that we don’t speak of the great things the Lord has done for us – this man had been crazy and was hopeless – Jesus healed him and gave him his right mind – today the world is enamored with superstars and sees the things of the Lord as miniscule by comparison – but the Lord is by far greater than all of the world’s stars combined – we shouldn’t be ashamed – brag on Dad [he rose from the dead, he saved us from our sins, he made us new creatures in Christ, he speaks with us in the scripture, he is returning to rule, and we will rule with him] – Andrew found the Messiah – Philip found the Messiah – the Samaritan woman found the Messiah – we have been saved by the Messiah – that’s a big deal!
- Tell how he “had compassion on thee” – Mk 5:19 – no one ever cared for me like Jesus – consider his great love – Jesus loves me this I know – there is none who has loved us more than he [greater love hath no man than this…] – God is love – the people who have a hard time loving others have forgotten how much God loves them – they have forgotten what the Lord found when he found them – they don’t realize where they would be today without him.
The Man Obeyed – Mk 5:20 – he departed and began to publish – he didn’t let anytime lapse – he began right away – there is a difference between the fear of God and the fear of the consequences – if we fear God we will obey – if we fear the consequences we will disobey if God doesn’t “hurt” us right away for disobeying him [Ecc 8:11].
Men Marveled – Mk 5:20 – all men did marvel – you will see them marvel when they get saved – the joy that comes from seeing men marvel and from seeing men get saved is not a joy that you will ever know by hearing others tell you about it – this joy comes from experience – you must see it for yourself.
Conclusion: You and I have been commanded by God to tell them – like this man in the Gadarenes we need to obey – and then we see them marvel as we tell them of the great things that the Lord has done!!