“Go back home and report all that God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39a NJB). This is the command that Jesus had for the man at Gerasenes. It’s a command that speaks across time to all who have been saved from their own personal demons.
This man, the Gerasenes, had been afflicted by not just one demon but a whole host. In fact, the chief spokesman of the demons makes the statement that they are a legion. Can you imagine a legion of demons infesting a person? A legion is roughly 6000 soldiers in the Roman Army. We today would call this a division. No wonder when Jesus exorcised them from him, he gleefully went to spread the message of the good news!
How about us? How many of us are sitting right here saying “not me”. “We are not those kind of people.” That is an answer that has puzzled me for a while now. Some years ago, I would have gone along with it, but not anymore. Now my question to you is this, “aren’t you thankful for what God has done for you?”
Are we willingly going out and telling others about what God has done for us in our lives? During church service, we call this sharing of Joys and Concerns, during the contemporary service we called that Acts of Grace. In both cases, we take time during our worship to tell others and thank God for the blessings He brings into our lives.
So I ask again, are you willing to share your renewal through God with others? Or, is there something holding you back, such as those personal demons of doubt, fear, and skepticism.
In our reading from Galatians, Paul is telling the newly converted of Galatia of the imprisonment to the ritual laws the Jewish people were beholden to until Jesus took all our sins upon His self.
One could rewrite much of Galatians 3:23-26 to read this way for us today;
But before faith came, we were kept under guard by our own desires , locked up to wait for the faith which would eventually be revealed to us. These desires served as a slave to look after us, to lead us to Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But now that faith has come we are no longer under the control of our personal desires; for all of you are the children of God, through faith, in Christ Jesus,
You see like the Law stifled the growth of the spiritual connectedness to God for the Jewish people, so too do our own personal ambitions and desires affect our relationship with God. They too hold us back, keeping us from stepping forward, pronouncing and giving thanks for what God has done in our lives.
In both Luke and Galatians we are introduced to different forms of the same gift from God… the gift of redemptive transformation. For the demoniac, he went from being afflicted and scorned by his community, to being a person newly restored through the grace of God. His health, mind, and body returned to his own, no longer to be under the influence of outside forces.
Meanwhile Paul explained to the new converts, that they too were new in body and spirit. For it was through Jesus Christ that all their sins were taken away. More over, they were not bound by the laws that had previously substituted for the grace of God in other words their redemption was completed in Christ.
So to quote an old Wesleyan greeting, “How is it with your soul?” Do you feel you are being oppressed by outside forces beyond your control? Do you feel you are hemmed into behaving in a certain way in order to fit into the community? Or, maybe you are expected to behave in a certain way, because that is the way people see you.
Well hear the good news! By remembering what God has done for us and what he wants us to do for Him, we are not under the subject of “man made” expectations of us. These expectations get in the way not only relationships with each other, but more importantly our relationship with God.
These are the kinds of things that Paul was speaking of in Galatians. When we put our own personal expectations of each other above what God wants for us and each other.
By following what Jesus wants for us we are always justified. No matter what others may think. Carrying out the will of God for our lives is the most important thing.
This brings me back to the opening paragraph and Jesus’ command for not only the demoniac but for us all; “Go back home and report all that God has done for you.” (Luke 8:39a NJB). Earlier this morning you heard Bob’s report on the Iowa Annual Conference. One of the most disturbing reports given by the Conference Treasurer was that unless things change as far as our abilities to evangelize and create a healthy and true stewardship among our members, the United Methodist Church in Iowa will cease to exist in 64 years!! That’s right the church that has been the dominate body in the state of Iowa for over 150 years will cease to exist in this state in just six decades.
Why? For this very reason, we are not doing as Jesus commanded the demoniac to do. Go back home and tell all that God has done for us. Some people have created an atmosphere with in their daily lives that makes them embarrassed of God.
Sure, you may say you believe that God exists, or that you believe Jesus is our savior. However are you willing to tell others why you believe in God? Are you willing to share your faith story with others, or are you going to continue and say “We are not that kind of people”? What will it take to get us to that point?
Are you willing to let the Holy Spirit into your life and let Him renew your through his loving Grace? Are you willing to let His grace and mercy fill all your heart and renew your spirit, so that through your new found redemption, you will be justified in spreading the message of the Gospel?
I know I have been witness here in both congregations to an Awakening ahead. For example, Nemaha has taken a major leap of faith. They have allowed God to lead them in the coming year with the restarting of the children’s Sunday School, the blessings of new members, the accepting of a half-time pastor, finding a parsonage, as well as sharing that pastor with another church, all with in the short span of a couple of months. God is working within this church and He has placed within it some very faith filled, spirit filled people who welcome God into their hearts and lives. Nemaha is placing fear and doubt behind them and is embracing what God has in store for them.
Early stepped out on faith to make this year one of Spiritual Renewal and Revival. In the coming months ahead, they look to the future with hope that as they open their hearts to God they will be blessed. Some of these blessings are already showing in the baptisms and new members over the past few months.
However, we need to let others know about these blessings. We need to give those who are not attending a reason and a hope for being faithful members of our congregation. Tell them all the things that God is doing in your lives. Show the world how you and your communities are being renewed by the Grace of God. As Paul said, Be vigilant, stay firm in the faith, be brave and strong. Let everything you do be done in love. (I Corinthians 16:13-14 NJB)
My challenge to you for the coming weeks is to remember to whom we owe our renewal. And as you do so, give thanks to Him and honor him by telling others the story of our renewal through grace! Amen.
