Living With A Testimony
- And when He (Jesus) had come onboard the ship, the one who had been possessed with the devil begged Him that he might be with Him.
- However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and had mercy on you.”
- And he departed and began to broadcast in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him: and all the people marveled.
Mark 5:18-20
The Problem with Personal Testimonies
Given the choice of challenges or comfort, most of us choose comfort. It is human nature to ask God to make our life easy or to give us things that would ease our burdens. The point is this: comfort and burden free living may not yield such a great testimony. A good testimony sometimes comes when we graduate from the school of hard knocks. A good testimony is more profound when we have travelled the rough seas and know what it means to really trust God.
I’m amazed at the number of people that give testimonies of how much they own or the places they have been in the world. While that sounds like a good testimony it is really religious bragging. I’m thrilled to know that you have more than you did when you first started in life. People love to brag about how good their children are, what a great job they have, and where they went on vacation especially when they know that you are struggling. It is wonderful when you can buy nice things and go to nice places, but that is really bragging. Bragging people want to tell everybody about how good their life is.
It is another thing when you want to tell people what you have been through. It is another issue when you are willing to let others know that God brought you a mighty long way. That’s a different issue. Trust me when I say that people get a lot more out of what you have been through than when you tell them about your possessions. They want to know about the One that has kept you through the ups and downs and crazy turns in life. O to be kept by Jesus! That is a testimony.
As we see from the text, Jesus sent the healed man back to his home and to his friends to testify of the Glory of God. When Jesus had come onboard the ship, the one who had been possessed with the devil begged Him that he might be with Him. The plan of the man was to follow Jesus physically. The plan of the man was to be not only saved but also safe. The plan of the man was to simply let others see that he was now on the Lord’s side, literally. But the plan of the man was not the plan of God. God’s glory is not about your life being without challenges. God’s glory is to allow people to see that you made it because God made a way. When people can look at you and know that if it had not been for the Lord on your side, you would not be where you are. Yeah, that’s the plan of God!
God’s Better Plan
Please note from the text, that the folks in that region had asked Jesus to depart from their coast. Mark 5:17, reminds us that not everyone is ready for the Power of God’s deliverance. When the townsfolk saw the evidence of God’s deliverance, they begged Jesus to depart out of their coast. So as Jesus prepared to leave, the young man that received God’s deliverance said, “Lord take me with You” and Jesus did not permit him. What a letdown! What a disappointment when you first observe the text. As you look closer however, you can see that God is not leaving the man behind, but He is really sending him on a mercy mission.
Now this is not the main part of my message, but it needs to be said. There are some who will not admit that they have struggled with devilish living. The problem with many “church folk” is that they claim they have been good all their lives. In this case, if the Lord has saved them, He really didn’t have to do a lot (or so they claim). There is a problem with that testimony. It is mediocre at best and a lie in most cases. So it is really not a testimony. So when those with know testimony hear the praises of those who know they were delivered, there is contention. Those that testify about God’s goodness are often met with hostility from the ones who claim they were never in the dark. These “church folk” quickly say, “it doesn’t take all that.” But they don’t know like you know – what the Lord has done for you. They don’t know the times you cried trying to shake a habit that was destroying you. Or perhaps, they don’t know the times you prayed for a child who was in the streets and hanging with the wrong crowd. They don’t know the times you struggled to pay bills. They don’t know about your times of pain when you waited on the Lord to make a way out of no way. They don’t know because they don’t have your testimony. But when you can testify about the goodness of the Lord and all He has done for you, you ought to do it. Don’t worry about folk getting upset. It’s your testimony and you need to tell it because someone else out there might be in your shoes. Go on and testify!
So God’s better plan is about having His witnesses in strategic places to give glory and honor to God. Jesus said to the man, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and had mercy on you.” What shocked me from this text is two things. Thing number one, the man had friends. Thing number two, this man had no training or preparation.
I thought about it, what kind of friends did this man have. Then Jesus reminded me about some of the friends I had that we got into trouble with. This man knew other folks that the devil had ruined their life. This man knew about the outcasts who were just like him. You might say, it takes one to know one. So, it made perfect sense to send the man back home to his friends.
Then to send the man untrained, would that not lead to failure. The Lord reminded me that testimonies don’t depend on the head but on the heart. This man knew what the Lord had done for him. All he had to do was show up and start talking, and the folks would know immediately that God had touched Him. The profound wisdom of God sends us into situations that are seemingly impossible. It is clear from the text that the man had something that he did not have before: He not only had his healing; he had a Word from the Lord. When God sends us with a Word, our testimony is simply to let others know what the Lord said.
Don’t Forget Your Testimony
What we glean from this message is that following Christ does not require us to be physically in the “presence of the Lord” as long as we know that His presence is with us. The one thing we have learned from this pandemic is that worshipping God can be done with or without a building. We must wean ourselves from the dependence of physical things as our inspiration. What do I mean by that? Some had turned innocent houses of worship into idols or even worse “Idles.”
Many of us were going nowhere other than just waiting on the Lord. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that testimonies are showing up on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Folk are taking Jesus at His Word. When He said, “Go into all nations,” that included the world of Google.
Here are some closing points to help you maintain a strong testimony in this world. First, know the One who sent you by keeping your focus on Him. The man who was delivered never forgot that it was Jesus that rescued Him. Many times, our mind should go back to the place where we first surrendered our lives to Christ. It is not history, that is the main part of your testimony. It is all about Jesus. Second, never forget the message that Christ has planted in your heart. Let that message of Mercy and Grace burn like a mighty fire. Paul called this being fervent in Spirit serving the Lord. Romans 12:11. Show some excitement as you serve the Lord. Lastly, never look down on the people that you are serving. Jesus said to the man, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and had mercy on you.” The Gospel work has no place for arrogance and self-righteousness, but there is plenty of room for sincere people telling the simple message of the Cross. Go ahead, Give the world your testimony.