Jesus can turn your mess into a message (Luke 8:26-39)

So you'll welcome Schuyler as he brings the word this morning over here.

I thought you were gonna talk a lot longer than that.

I would like to add to that though that 14 years is a long time, and nothing good happens without consistency.

And so this all this yes is a fruit of the Lord's work, but it's also the fruit of your obedience and consistency over the last 14 years.

None of this would be possible without the consistent of you of you guys.

There have been things come and go, but you guys have remained the same.

So we appreciate you and thank you for your consistency.

So I know you guys just had to hear from me a couple weeks ago, but you get to do it again.

I know you're excited.

Uh so do we have any this might be a long shot, but are there any like safety people in the room?

Like your job is safety.

You work in safety, kind of okay.

Well then maybe some of y'all might not be able to know where I'm going with this.

But uh for those of you who don't know, I have a full-time job outside of here at James Hardy Building Products.

It's just right down the road from here, actually.

And it is a very large facility, it's very big, it's very loud because there's lots of machines inside of there running 24-7.

And due to that, we wear radios.

That way we can communicate clearly with each other with someone on the opposite side of the plant, or sometimes even right next to you.

That way we're not just all sitting there screaming at each other.

Um, and sometimes we still do that, even when we have our radios, we still just sit there and scream at each other.

But but there was one day I was at work, we worked 12-hour shifts, and I got there that morning at 6 o'clock, and it was probably about nine o'clock.

I had to change the battery on my radio, and on the bottom of the radio, there's a tab.

You push that tab, and the battery comes off, and you can swap it out for a new one.

Well, this morning, for whatever reason, I was having a very hard time with this tab.

There's two prongs in there.

When you push it back, these prongs are supposed to come in and allow the battery to come off.

When you put it back in, the prongs go out.

Anyways, could not get this dang battery off, so I thought it'd be um a good idea to use a tool.

So I grabbed a flathead screwdriver and I was like, I'm gonna push this tab, and eventually it's gonna give, and this battery is gonna come off.

And so I was pushing and I was pushing with all my might, and it sounds ridiculous just trying to get a battery off that I had to work this hard, but I did it.

But anyways, I was pushing, and the tab went ahead and broke, and the screwdriver went ahead and just planted itself into my palm.

Um, yeah, it felt real good.

Like I had to pull it out of my palm.

Um and so, yeah, it was good.

It was good.

Um, yeah, safety first.

That's why I was asking if there's any people in here you know about brute force, pinch points, all that stuff.

Yeah, I ignored all of that.

Um but because of the uh obvious blood trail that I was leaving, I had to go and report it.

Some things, you know, I can get away with.

It's just a little thing.

I can just, you know, wipe it on my pants, no big deal.

Uh, but this one I was not gonna be able to hide.

I had to go and report it uh to my supervisor, which got safety involved.

And you know, over the next couple days, safety checked up on me to make sure I was healing okay and everything, and I was, it was fine.

Although that day it felt like my hand was about the size of a baseball glove.

It hurt so bad.

Um, but safety checked up on me, and naturally, when these things happen, you become the talk of the plant.

And so they put out a whole little flyer afterwards, and I was the safety topic of the plant over the next month, and probably throughout the network, because anytime there's an incident, it gets sent out to all the plants.

So I'm sure there are many plants that got to hear about my um very wise decision that morning.

Um but the point of this is that safety went and turned my mess into a message, and in the same way, Jesus can turn our mess into a message.

So that's what we're gonna read here.

If you're following along, you take your Bibles and turn to Luke 8.

It's hard with one hand.

Luke 8, 26 through 39.

I'm gonna go ahead and read it all real quick.

It says, Then they sailed to the country of the Garasines, which is opposite Galilee.

When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons.

For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs.

When he saw Jesus he cried out and fell down before him, and said with a loud voice, What have you to do with me, Jesus, son of the most high God?

I beg you, do not torment me.

For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.

For many a time it had seized him, he was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.

Jesus then asked him, What is your name?

And he said Legion, for many demons had entered him, and they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.

Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these.

So he gave them permission.

Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country.

Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.

And those who had seen it told them how the demon possessed man had been healed.

Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Garrisons asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.

So he got into the boat and returned.

The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.

And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

So the title of my message, because I forgot to say it a second ago, is Jesus Can Turn Your Mess into a Message.

Point number one this morning is that Jesus goes where others won't.

We read that in the very beginning there that Jesus sailed across the lake.

He intentionally went into the region where this man lived.

And while others had isolated the man, it says he was living out in the tombs, while others had isolated him and given up on him, Jesus went towards him.

Because the truth is that Jesus isn't afraid of messy people or messy places.

The people saw a problem, but Jesus saw the person.

Now many of us we often avoid the person that everyone else has labeled as too far gone.

I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't done it before.

I think we're all guilty of that.

But Jesus crossed the lake to reach someone that everyone else had stopped trying to reach.

So we have to ask ourselves this morning if we come here and we we pray to be more like Jesus, and if that's something that we really want, we have to ask ourselves, who have you written off?

Is it a difficult coworker?

Maybe a rebellious family member?

I'm sure we all have a few of those.

Maybe it's a person with a bad reputation or a neighbor that nobody talks to.

But don't just pray for God to send someone to those people.

Ask God if He wants to send you.

Because remember in your circle that you might be the only Jesus that people see.

You never know what people are going through, what their home life is like, what their work life is like.

And you might be just the little bit of hope in Jesus that people get to see.

It's just like when you throw a rock in the water.

First you get a big splash, but then at what?

It ripples out.

And you might not know just how far your story might encourage someone to do the same.

So ask God if he wants to send you.

Point number two is that Jesus restores what has been broken.

Verse 35, it says, Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind.

And they were afraid.

The same man who is who was isolated, demon-possessed.

He said his name was Legion, and back in Roman times and everything, that meant a lot, thousands.

So safe to assume there was more than one demon possessing this man, and he was going through a lot.

And they found him clothed and in his right mind.

Same man who was isolated and tormented has now been restored.

Because Jesus restores what has been broken.

He doesn't just change our circumstances, but he changes us.

He doesn't simply just want to make your life easier, but he's come to make your life new.

Think about it like this.

If you've ever seen an abandoned house, maybe you're driving by in a neighborhood, wherever, sometimes I like to drive by and just I live in Burlson, sometimes I'll be out in the town and I just drive by random neighborhoods.

I don't know why.

I just like to do that.

Just look at houses.

To me, that's fun.

I don't know why.

But anyways, sometimes you see houses that you're just like, that house is nasty.

That house needs some work.

I've seen a few of those where maybe the windows are broken, the roof's missing shingles, the yard's overgrown, um, well, what have you.

The paint's faded, the house is turning gray.

We just drive by it like, oof, I'm glad that ain't my house.

But maybe a builder drives by that house and he sees what it can become.

He says, that's okay.

I can I can I could replace the siding with some really good siding from James Hardy Building products with a fresh coat of paint.

We could put some new shingles on there.

I could make a nice porch out on the front, a patio in the back with some string lights.

Yeah, this house has real potential.

I see, I see what it can become.

That's what Jesus does.

Others see our past, our faded paint, our broken windows.

But Jesus sees what you can become.

So stop believing the lie that you're too far gone.

Your failure isn't final.

Your past is not your identity, and your brokenness is not beyond Jesus.

Bring your broken places to Jesus because He has the final word.

Not your past, not your current circumstances, but Jesus has the final word.

Point number three.

Jesus turns our testimony into a mission.

Verses 38 through 39 says the man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him.

But Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.

And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

See, the man wanted to go with Jesus, as we all would.

But Jesus tells him, Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.

Jesus doesn't tell him to go away and keep his story to himself.

He sends him back to the people that knew his past.

Because the truth is, what Jesus has done in you is meant to point others to Jesus.

And your testimony is not about how great you are, it's about how good Jesus is.

Because all of us are nothing but filthy rags until the love of Jesus came and cleaned us up.

In our own self, we have no power.

We have no righteousness.

We have nothing but filthy rags.

But Jesus came, died on the cross, cleaned us up so that we could go and tell how good Jesus is, what he's done for us, and what he's still doing.

You don't have to be a Bible scholar to tell someone what Jesus has done.

Okay, I have no formal degree or formal education in this.

I grew up in this.

That is my education.

I grew up in church.

That my education is my experience in obedience to where the Lord has called me.

But I don't have any formal education to do this.

It helps.

You probably learned some things that probably I don't know right now, that might help you explain some things more clearly to people, but it's not a necessity.

You can simply just say, This is who I was.

This is what Jesus did, and this is who I'm becoming.

And if you ever need help writing a testimony, maybe you said, Well, I don't really know if I have a testimony.

You do.

You do.

Jesus has done some things in your life.

And if you don't know how to word it, you can take those three things and write it out that way.

This is who I was.

This is what Jesus did.

This is who I'm becoming.

And you can take that, and you can tell that to anybody.

Because people need to hear it.

So who needs to hear your story?

Is it your family?

Your friends?

Your co-workers?

That's personally who I'm I've been working on lately, is my co-workers.

I got some crazy ones.

Uh they're yeah, same.

So my co-workers are, they're a they're a trip, they are a trip to talk to.

Um, but they're fun.

It's fun to try to uh to tell the gospel to them in a way that they're not gonna tune out.

And a good way to do that is by the experiences you've had, your testimony.

This is what Jesus is doing in my life.

So don't waste what God has brought you through.

You may have came kicking and screaming, may have been dragged through the mud, but you made it.

You're here.

God brought you through it, and you got a story to tell, and someone needs to hear it.

So don't be afraid.

Point number four.

Don't let your mess be the end of your story.

In verse 39, it says that the man goes out throughout the city telling people what Jesus had done for him.

And one transformed life became a testimony that impacted an entire community.

Because the truth is that Jesus can take what was once your greatest mess and use it as part of your greatest message.

See, for this man in the story, the tombs weren't the end.

The isolation was not the end.

His past was not the end.

Jesus had the final word.

The people left him out there, they didn't know what to do with him.

It says they tried to put him in chains and shackles, and he just kept breaking it.

They couldn't contain him, and they didn't know what to do with him, so they got rid of him.

As we said earlier, Jesus came and he saw the person.

So we have to take a moment and remember what Jesus has done for us.

And then ask yourself who needs to hear what Jesus has done in my life.

So this week, don't just tell people about church.

Tell someone about Jesus.

Don't just tell them what you believe.

Go and tell them what he has done.

Now, don't get me wrong, it's fun and it's easy to tell people about church.

I do it all the time.

Like I said, my coworkers, I tell them all the time, joking around with them that, you know, y'all need Jesus, y'all need to come to church.

And I tell them what time we have church and what days.

You know, it's fun.

Um and it's cool to talk about church because I believe we have very spirit-filled worship.

It's really good.

And Jesus always moves.

And we have great prayer people up at the front that love to pray.

We have great lead pastors that come and pour themselves into this place.

And we have amazing people, you guys, that come and make this place as good as it is.

But as good as all that is, people come here because they need Jesus.

They don't need another four walls to sit in, they need Jesus.

And when you strip all of this away, the one thing at the heart of all of this is Jesus.

So we go around telling people, yes, invite them to church.

But tell them about Jesus.

Tell them what he's done in your life.

Because if you have a testimony to share, and again, you do, I bet people will respond more likely to a personal experience you've had of what Jesus has done in your life than just a text that says, hey, come to church on Sunday.

Not that that's bad, we should still do that.

But I'm just thinking how much more likely would they be to come if we actually had conversation about what Jesus is doing, about what Jesus has done, about what Jesus is still going to do.

And not wait for them to get here before we tell them.

Because Jesus told this man to go and tell people, not go and get them to come over here.

To the beach, so I can tell them.

He said, You go and tell them.

I gotta go do some other stuff.

You go and tell them.

So how much more should we be going and telling what Jesus has done?

So as I begin to close, I think about some things that your testimony isn't about how perfect you are.

It's about how faithful he is.

Jesus went into the mess.

Jesus restored the broken.

And Jesus gave the man a new story.

Jesus sent him back to tell the story.

And Jesus can turn your mess into a message.

The same way he did for this man.

So the question this morning, if that's true and if we believe that Jesus can turn our mess into a message, the question this morning is not what has Jesus brought me through.

The question is who can I help?

Because Jesus brought me through it.

Because God did not bring you through whatever He brought you through for no reason.

There's a purpose and there is a calling on your life to go and do whatever it is that Jesus has for you.

All we have to do is say yes.

But there's somebody out there.

Somebody out there that myself, Pastor Todd, might not be able to reach, but you can.

Maybe people that'll never come to this church or any church.

But they'll come to you.

And you can point them towards Jesus.

Because again, like we said earlier, you might be the only people, the only person, the only Jesus that people get to see.

So it's important that we steward that well.

That we understand the mission that Jesus has given us to go and tell.

That you understand that your testimony has power.

Your testimony can have an impact.

Your testimony is for other people.

So what are our transformational moments this morning?

Number one, are you asking God where he wants to send you?

Not who he wants to send to them, but does he want to send you?

I think we all have one person we can probably think of, at least one, that we would like to see come to know Jesus, that we would like to see in church this morning.

I've got a couple.

I could probably name five off the top of my head.

But it's up to me to ask God where He wants to send me to meet those people.

Not God, will you please send somebody to that person?

Maybe it's not you, I don't know.

That's between you and God.

But don't be afraid to ask, God, is it me?

Do I need to go?

Number two, what brokenness do you need to bring to Jesus this morning?

Maybe you're here and you're still in your brokenness.

Maybe you're wondering if Jesus can really turn your mess into a message.

And he can.

But what brokenness do you need to bring to Jesus this morning?

In a moment.

We're gonna have a time of altar.

Don't hesitate to come.

Whatever brokenness you have, maybe your broken windows or your faded paint.

Whatever it is, Jesus can restore it.

So don't be afraid to come lay it at the altar.

Point number three.

Are you going to let your miss be the end of your story?

I promise you that your miss this morning is not the end of your story.

Your past, your current circumstances, your troubled relationships, whatever it may be, that is not the end of your story.

Jesus has good, good plans for your life.

God wants to use you.

He wants to send you.

He wants to love you and bring you joy and peace.

But we can't let our mess be the end of our story.

Sure, there are many great, great people in here that maybe wouldn't be here today if you let the mess be the end of your story.

If you decided that you were too far gone, that Jesus couldn't save you.

And hear me if if any of you are in here and that you're thinking that, that is a lie.

You are not too far gone.

Jesus can save you.

So if you're here this morning, and you haven't made that decision, maybe you're still sitting in your brokenness, and you're wondering, Do I have a testimony?

Can Jesus really turn my mess into a message?

He can, and it all starts with just laying it down and accepting him as the Lord and Savior of your life.

That's when he can begin to come in and work in you.

So I'm gonna say a prayer.

And if you never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I would encourage you to pray along with me.

Pray out loud in your head, however you want to.

But I'm gonna say this prayer.

And I would just encourage you, if you haven't before, to accept Jesus right now into your heart and begin a relationship with him.

Father, I know that I'm a sinner.

I know that I need your love in my life.

Pray that you would just come in and make me whole.

Take my life and use it for your glory.

I pray all this in Jesus' name.

Amen.