He is Good | Your Story of Jesus | Mark 7:31-37 | Coleton Segars

We're in a series going through Mark titled He is Good.

We're in a particular story today, which this image is just the best, right?

Look at that.

What is Jesus doing to this bro?

But this is the story that we're looking at today, and uh the artist who read this story and was like, I'm gonna paint something.

He chose to paint it like this.

And so this is what you're gonna look at all day, and we'll focus in on more of it in a little bit.

But in a series right now titled He is Good, Going Through the Gospel of Mark, and today we're in the last part of chapter 7, starting in verse 31.

This is what Mark writes.

He says, Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis.

There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears, then he spit and touched the man's tongue.

He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, Ephatha, which means be opened.

At this the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone, but the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.

People were overwhelmed with amazement.

He has done everything well, they said.

He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.

This is the word of the Lord.

Thanks for your practice of sharing your testimony, or the what I'll continue to call it would be sharing your story, because testimony comes with a lot of baggage, especially in a Christian culture.

And so the practice of sharing your story of what Jesus has done for you, that's what I want to talk about today.

I have two reasons why I want to talk about this.

The first is sharing your stories as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus, of what Jesus has done for you in your life, sharing those things regularly, sharing those things openly is the call of a follower of Jesus.

Doing what he says is what it means to be a disciple.

And I came across this quote from an author I read when I was in seminary and was just reminded of the importance of churches forming and making disciples or forming and making followers of Jesus.

And this is Neil Cole in his book, Search and Rescue.

This is what he says.

He says, Ultimately, each church will be evaluated by only one thing, its disciples.

Your church is only as good as its disciples.

It does not matter how good your praise, preaching, programs, or property are, we don't even have that.

If your disciples are passive, consumerist, and not moving in the direction of radical obedience to Jesus, your church is not good.

And just being reminded of that, and just going like, man, it's so great that we have people showing up to our men's events and women's events and youth events and all those things.

The stuff that's happening in our church is super encouraging to me.

But just to be reminded like the goal, the point of this thing is to form and fashion disciples, followers of Jesus in his image that look like him, that become his bride, that ultimately one day will meet him and rule and reign with him.

And so I want a church, I want our church to be formed and fashioned and shaped into producing disciples.

And one of those things, if we're going to follow him, is to learn and lean into sharing our story, learning how to do that, and then doing that thing openly so that we actually have a church that is making disciples and not just a church that gathers together and loves one another really well, but that we actually have a church that's forming followers of Jesus.

So that's why our vision of a church is followers of Jesus, following the way of Jesus, and I'm not just trying to get converts of Jesus or people to show up to a thing.

Followers of Jesus, following the way of Jesus.

And a part of that is sharing our story.

And so I want to talk about that today.

The second reason why I want to talk about sharing our story, sharing our testimony of what Jesus has done, is that if you in this text we just read, in that in that text we just read, that story does not exist if a story of what Jesus has done hasn't been told.

Okay, so there's no one in this particular chapter seven sharing their story about Jesus.

But this story exists because in chapter five, someone ran into the Decapolis and started sharing their story about what Jesus had done in their lives.

And so this passage does not exist, if you remove that story, this passage doesn't exist.

And so if you remember back in Mark 5, Jesus cast out a legion of demons out of a man who, and then they go into the pigs and the water and the whole thing.

But Jesus does that thing, and then I'll pick up in chapter 5, verse 18, it says, as Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.

Like you just did this amazing thing, I want to go with you.

And Jesus did not let him go, but said, No, no, no, no.

Go home to your own people, tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.

And so the man goes away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and all the people were amazed.

And so everything that follows in this chapter, everything we we just read, only exists.

Everything that follows is happening because the demon-possessed man didn't go with Jesus, but rather went back into the Decapolis and started sharing that story.

And so it's important.

His story had power.

There were things about his story that did something in a culture that didn't want Jesus, that ultimately shifted into a culture.

They're like, we actually want something to do with him.

So his story made all the difference.

Now, I want to talk about that.

Um but I want to define the word testimony because I didn't grow up in the church, but many of you did, and I hear some of your stories, and some of them scare me, and some of them are just wonderful.

Um but I want to express to you what I mean by testimony because the way I've seen people or heard people share their testimony, I'm going, I don't know what that is, but it's not a testimony.

Um and so not mad at it, just that's not what I'm saying.

And so here I just want to define a term that we see here in order to help you understand what I'm actually saying.

Because if we get to the end of this and you go, like, totally understand what you're doing, I'm gonna go tell people, and then you tell me what you're about to go and say, and I go, Oh, it wasn't clear enough.

That's not what I want you to go and do.

So I want you to understand what I'm saying, okay?

Uh in our culture, we've been brought up to believe that testimonies or stories about Jesus are my testimony, is how I came to believe in Jesus.

That is not what I'm saying.

That is not the test.

That's fine if you call it a testimony, that's fine.

But I don't want you to run out and tell people something that you've begun to do.

Because people can hear what you've begun.

Here's what I've become to, I've come to believe, and they will go, good for you.

I'm not believing any of that.

I don't want you to do that.

What we see in this text, what this man does in Mark 5, is he doesn't run in and start shouting, guess what I started to believe?

He doesn't do any of that.

What he starts doing, he's like, I'm going to tell you Jesus is alive and he's done something in my life, in my time, and it's visible.

Take a look.

I'm not the same person anymore.

And so he runs and starts talking about what Jesus did physically and actively and literally.

He does not talk about what he did and what he began to believe.

I heard the doctrine of sanctification and I believe, and da-da-da-da.

I was like, I don't give one rip about that.

Like, he doesn't say any of those things.

And if you believe, you know, whatever.

I'm a Calvinist.

I don't care.

I want you to talk about what Jesus.

And so testimony, testimony is a story, a moment, a breaking in where Jesus has done something actually, not something that you have begun to believe.

You can, if that's what you think a testimony is, it's fine, but just shift.

I'm not talking about that today.

I'm talking about telling a story of what he has done.

Is that clear?

Does that make sense?

That's what I want to talk about today.

We need to share stories about what he has done, not what we have done.

And the reason that's important is because when this man runs into the capitalist and starts sharing what Jesus has done, that story has power.

Sharing what he has done, we don't know whether it would have power or not, but sharing a story of what Jesus has done in his life, that story has power that people respond to.

And in this text, Mark 7, we see what the power of that story did.

And so there's three things that we see in this text.

The man runs in and says, Here's what Jesus did for me, how good he's been to me, and here's what it does in this text.

It changes people's hearts.

And a culture that didn't want anything to do with them, it changed people's hearts.

Second thing this man's the demoniac story did was that it ends up leading another man, completely different man, leads another man to Jesus, and then leads to that man's life being changed.

And then the third thing that it does is that it led people who rejected Jesus once to turn into worshipers of Jesus next.

And so we're rejecting you in one space, then we hear a story, and now we'd like to worship you.

You have done all things well.

And so it turns people into completely different people because he's announcing here's what Jesus has done, not what I have done, not what I have come to believe.

Who cares what you've come to believe if your belief doesn't change you?

But it does matter if Jesus has done something.

Then you place an an eye, you place an actual thing in front of people, and they still might not believe that Jesus did that thing for you, but they got to reckon with the fact that honestly, you're a little bit different than what you used to be.

And they still might not point to the demoniac and go, like, Jesus didn't do that for you.

I don't know if I believe any of that, but I do have to deal with the fact that you're not filled with a bunch of demons running around the graveyards anymore.

You're a different bro.

And they had to deal with that thing because and he talked about Jesus doing a thing.

And so, a story, a testimony, what I'm referencing is you walking into people in their lives and saying, Here's what Jesus has done for me.

That story has power to do these three things.

I want to take them one by one and then give you some practical steps on how to do that.

Pause just for a second.

Sorry about the uh text here.

I don't know if white text does better.

We got these lights that went Nova, and now I'm like, we gotta get like bright red text on there.

I don't know if black works better.

Anyways, I'm gonna shift back to white because as I look at this, it's like somebody's gonna go blind trying to decipher the newspaper I have on that screen there.

So sorry about that.

Um but we're gonna take these one by one.

Maybe the text will get bigger, maybe not.

Here we go.

All right, the first thing that man's story did that we see in this passage is that it changed people's hearts.

Look at who they were.

Go to the next slide here.

Look at who they were and what their people did before the story.

So again, difficult to see, but in Mark 5, before they hear the demoniac story, the people in the decapitalists, they weren't worried about bringing sick people to Jesus.

They were chaining people up.

That's how they how we fix problems.

Anybody got any chains?

Like they're just tying folks up, they're sending them to the graveyards just to get them out of the sight.

Like, where do we stick them?

It's like, let's treat them like they're dead.

Just get them out of sight.

They're dead to the community, just get them out of here, might as well put them there, they'll die later.

No hope of a future for them.

And they ultimately are ending up asking and begging Jesus to leave.

Then they hear the story, okay?

After they hear the story, in this text, we see they're not sending anyone to the graveyard anymore.

They're bringing people to Jesus.

You have a problem?

We used to send people to the dump yard, now we're gonna take some folks to Jesus.

It's a completely different shift.

We used to go in this direction, and now we're gonna go figure out where Jesus is, we're gonna take you to him.

They're not chaining people up anymore, rather, they're taking him by the arm and carrying them to Jesus.

This man is being cared for, and they're not begging Jesus to leave, they're actually begging him, and it says in this text, they begged him, would you please come and place your hands on this man?

And so we used to beg you to leave, and now we're begging you, please stay and please do something among us.

And so what you see in this text is they have completely changed.

They're just a complete change of heart that you see.

And what's so interesting to me about this particular text is what Jesus told the demoniac to go and share.

He never said, like, hey, make sure you convince them.

Make sure you're compelling.

Make sure that when you tell your story of what I did for you, make sure they believe you.

He didn't say any of that.

He didn't say anything.

He's like, just go and tell the story.

Just and actually, it's pretty vague.

There's the mercy that God has had on you.

And it's like, well, what specifically should it be that it that would work?

It's like any story of what I've done in your life will be fine.

You don't have to convince anybody.

You don't have to try and sell them on a thing.

Well, what if they don't believe me?

I'm not worried about that either.

Just run in and tell the story.

And so from that space, just hearing the story, their hearts are changed.

And as he shared it, people started shifting from who they were to something completely different because their hearts are changing.

They became different people.

To me, the reason this is beautiful for us is because if you're anything like me, um, which I I hope there's this is true of us in some ways, but I have people in my life that I want their hearts to change.

Like I just have family and friends and people that I genuinely love, and some people that I just don't like and I'd love for them to change.

Um, but like I have people in my life that I'd love their hearts to change.

I'd love to see them be shaped into new and different people.

And if you're like me, you know people who are hopeless and you want them to have hope.

You love them, and you see their lives, and you're like, they're just hopeless.

I don't see any way that it's gonna move forward.

Their hearts need to change.

You have people in your lives that are stuck and you want them to be free, depressed and burdened, and you want them to feel joy again.

And they just lost it somewhere.

And so you look at your family members, you look at your neighbors, your co-workers, your extended family.

I don't know.

Like you look at people in your life, your kids, and you're like, I just want them, I want something better for them.

And I the only thing I can think to do is like something has to shift in their heart because their actions are self-destructive, their actions are addictive, their actions are, they just need to change.

And what most people do, and they they're well-meaning, uh, but what most people do when they're trying to change anybody is they run through the gamut of a couple things.

They just tell them to do better, do better, don't do that, do this, hoping that that would change them.

Some people criticize them, others shame them, other people try and scare them, threaten them.

I'm gonna take this away.

You're never gonna grow up to be anything.

If you do this, I'm leaving.

Like, so threats, scaring, whatever.

Other people start incentivizing them.

If you will, then I will.

And the truth is, those things work from time to time.

They may change people because people do respond to being threatened.

It's it's something that actually does work.

The issue is it doesn't last very long.

And it's just not gonna be a thing that actually lasts the way that you want it to, because the truth is it's not gonna change their hearts, it's gonna change their like their minds for a second.

That fear is gonna get in there in the fight or flight, and they're either gonna fight you or they're gonna give in to you.

And so what happens is they change for just a little bit, but who they are in their heart will always, forever, win out over willpower.

Your heart will win over your willpower every single time, and that's true of everybody.

Who you are ultimately will take over.

What you need is not stronger willpower, you need actually something to shift and change in your heart.

And because that's what happens here, these people's hearts shifted realistically, they're just living into a different story.

They heard a better story about Jesus, and it shifted their hearts, it shifted what they thought was possible, and then all of a sudden, instead of doing the thing that they were just, here's who we are, this is who our culture is, this is how we respond in all these different ways with sick people, with hopeless causes, well, here's what we do, and then they hear a story, and it shifts their hearts, and then all of a sudden they start responding to a better story.

In his book, uh The Iliad, uh Homer tells the, I've said this before, so I'm gonna reuse uh this illustration, but I really love it.

But he tells the story of the Odyssey and um the sirens, the mermaids that sing and try and kill sailors.

Um, and that's what they if you're familiar, again, the sirens are like they sing a song, and the sailors that are going by, they hear the song, it's a seductive song, it pulls them in and they start moving towards the beautiful sound and the beautiful mermaids or whatever, and then ultimately they all die.

And that's that's the story.

And so Odysseus knows about this, is warned about the sirens, and seeks to avert the danger of the sirens.

And so, in order to avert danger, he has himself like tied up and bound to the ship that's going by the sirens.

And then for everybody else and on the other sailors, he shoves wax into their ears to try and get them to not be able to hear the sound of the sirens song.

And so they end up passing by in safety because the sailors didn't hear the song because their ears were strapped up with wax, and then he was bound to the ship, heard it, wanted to go, but was bound to the ship and couldn't go.

And so they averted the danger.

Okay, that's one way of dealing with life.

To me, though, the better way is Orpheus's way.

Orpheus, on a different crew, passing the sirens, he didn't plug his ears, he didn't tie himself down to the ship.

All he did is he takes out his leer, his guitar, and he plays a more beautiful tune.

He made sweeter music, and he and the crew passed by the sirens in safety because they were captivated by a better song.

And I love that story because I think in so many ways, like what we offer people, what the demoniac offered these people in Decapolis was just a better story.

Like we've been operating one way, and here's what we do: we tie them up, we chain them up, we send them to the graveyards, we get them out of our sight.

How do we keep a functioning community going around?

Send them out of here, and then they hear a better story and they're like, there's a better way forward, y'all.

Like all we have to do is start living into this other space.

We need to go figure out where Jesus is, find him.

Sometimes he's walking on water, he's a weird dude.

We gotta go find that, bro, and we gotta send everybody to him.

And their hearts shift because the story is just more beautiful.

And it's like, man, there's something better available.

And so for us, what we offer people, when we share our story of what Jesus, not what we believe, but when we share our story of what Jesus has done for us, it gives people the opportunity to live by a better narrative and to live into a different story.

And regardless of whether they believe you or not, that's not what you're called to do.

You're not called to convince them, but you are called to give them that Orpheus style story and go, like, hey, you know you don't have to live this way.

And having that available in their lives, all of a sudden, what begins to shift and change in their hearts is like, maybe there is a better way of doing this.

Maybe there is something out there that's different.

And so my question is, and I want to ask this three, four, five, six, ten times, what has he done for you?

Not what do you believe?

What has he done for you?

Where has he been good to you?

Second thing that the demoniac story did in this text is that it led another person to Jesus.

It led another person to Jesus into another life being changed.

The only reason these people bring this man to Jesus is because they've heard what he's done.

That is the only reason they do this.

Why are they bringing him to Jesus?

We've heard what Jesus can do.

It's pretty amazing.

We've heard what he can do, we want to bring him to him.

If you remove that story, we have no idea.

Who knows what they're doing with this man?

Maybe they're taking him to the graveyards.

They're probably just leaving him alone and not looking at him.

We can't help you.

And actually, we've experienced this.

You see somebody, like a homeless person on the side of the street, and you want to help them, but you don't have anything to give them.

And so it's like eye contact, no, no eye contact.

And so, like, that's what you're like, I'm not even gonna stare at you, and like that's probably, I don't know how to help you.

And so I can't help you, I don't know what to do, and so I'm I'm just gonna avoid you.

We stuck another dude in the graveyard, he's here somewhere, but like we don't we don't know what to do with you.

And if they haven't heard that story, they're not bringing this person to Jesus, but because they heard a good story, they heard this testimony of Jesus, and they end up bringing this guy to him.

And they beg Jesus to place his hands on him, so it leads another person to Jesus, and then Jesus changed this man's life.

Look at verse 33 through 35.

It says, After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears, then he spit and touched the man's tongue, looked up to heaven with a deep sigh, said to him, Ephatha, which means be opened.

And at this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly.

Jesus did change this man's life.

And one of the important things that we need to notice is that Jesus didn't change this guy's life in exactly the same way that he did the demoniac.

Okay?

I mean, look at the picture, go to the next slide here.

Look at this picture.

Like, this isn't this isn't the like if you're the people like just standing around having heard the demoniac story, you're probably looking at this and going, like, did we get the right Jesus?

Is this the look at this bro here, go to the next one here.

This guy feels it.

Look at him.

He's looking back like, mm-mm, this ain't him.

I go, we got there's a Jesus is a very common name.

We got the wrong bro.

Like, this is this guy's doing some weird stuff.

Oh, I saw that picture and I thought it was so funny.

But it's a completely different interaction, right?

Like he's doing something completely different.

But there's no doubt, you talk to this guy who has his tongue being touched by Jesus after he spat.

You talk to that guy like what Jesus does is like, he changed my life.

Like I can hear, I could not hear.

I was deaf, and now I can hear.

I couldn't speak.

Now listen to me.

Listen to how I speak.

He changed my life.

I know he didn't do it the way that the demoniac did it.

It was a little odd.

Honestly, this is awkward for everybody.

Maybe no one needs this type of healing, but like he changed my life.

He did do something in my life.

And he absolutely changed it.

And for me and maybe for you, one of the things that normally stands in my way and other people's way of sharing what Jesus has done in our lives is again, what if it doesn't work?

Like, what if what if Jesus was like really good with Colton?

Like he could really help Colton.

Colton was like, he was he was hurting and broken in all the ways that Jesus is like really strong at fixing.

But like, what if I tell my story and then somebody else hears that story, buys it, and then goes, like, all right, I'm in, and then what if he does?

What if Jesus doesn't come through for them the same way that he came for me?

Maybe Jesus is good for me, but what if he doesn't do the same thing for them?

And I know for me and people I've talked to is like, that's that's hard for us.

Like, what if he doesn't do the same thing?

What if, what if, what if it's great for me, but it but it disappoints them?

What if he lets them down?

What if he did an amazing work in my life, but he's not gonna do the exact same thing in their life?

And the truth is, he likely won't do the exact same thing in their life.

Because he didn't hear.

Nobody needs that.

I'm like, what is this?

Like the demoniac, if he would have seen this, he'd be like, I don't know.

Sorry, like I don't, I didn't know he was gonna do that.

Um but he didn't.

For the demoniac, what he did, and then for this man, completely different situations.

But the common thing, the similar thing was both of them would say, He changed my life.

He just did it in completely different ways.

And so for us, I think we have this space where it's like, yes, he might not do the exact same thing in their life as he did in your life.

That's likely because their need is different than your need.

But what he will always do, what he will definitely do, if they will let him, he will change people's lives.

He will absolutely do that if they'll allow him.

He'll never he's never gonna force it.

But what Jesus does, you can be confident in, if people go to him and allow him to, he will transform radically their lives from what they were to what they are.

He may do it weird ways and in different ways and all the rest of it, but he's going to do it.

He's going to change people's lives.

That's what he does.

And so he can't change who he is.

He moves into people's stories and he radically transforms their lives.

That's what he's going to do.

And so, one of my favorite stories about this type of change and how Jesus just does some weird stuff every now and then is from a man named Lee Strobel.

He wrote Case for Christ and Case for Faith and Case for Miracles and all these different things.

Great, all of those books are great.

And uh he shares this story.

He used to work at the Chicago Tribune and started researching about Jesus and the resurrection and wanted to figure out like, is any of this real?

And uh and so he tells this story.

Um he says, Back when I was a new Christian, and I was still the editor of the newspaper at the Chicago Tribune, I felt the Holy Spirit in a very specific way nudging me to go into the business office of the newspaper and tell my atheist friend what God had done in my life and invite him to come to Easter service at our church.

And so I did.

And he said, Strobel, you know I'm an atheist.

I don't believe that stuff.

I don't want to go to your stupid church.

And it's like I walked out and thought, what was that?

Why did I feel so specifically compelled to share my story with a man who would shut me down?

And it bothered me for years because to this day that man is still an atheist.

He says, But four years later, I'm pastoring my own church at that point, and a guy comes up to me at the end of the service and asks, Can I shake your hand and thank you for the spiritual impact you've had in my life?

I said, That's really not really nice, but who are you?

And he said, Well, years ago, right before Easter, I was in the business office of the Chicago Tribune.

I was on my hands and knees working on the tile on the floor behind a big desk, and then you walked in.

I don't even think you knew I was there.

You started sharing with another guy about what God had done in your life, and you invited him to church, and to be honest, that guy was shutting you down.

But I was on my hands and knees listening to your story, and my heart started beating real fast, and I began thinking, I need God in my life.

And as soon as I left, I called my wife and told her, We're going to church this Easter.

And we went to church that Easter, I came to faith, my wife came to faith, and my teenage son came to faith, so I just wanted to say thank you.

And like, like, what can happen with you sharing your story?

It's like, it sounds like on accident, it can shift and change and break into people's lives and change them completely.

Not just one person, but a whole family.

And it's like, well, I wasn't even trying to convince that guy.

I didn't even know that guy even existed in the room.

It's like, that's not the point.

The story itself is filled with power.

The testimony of Jesus and what he has done in your life, the story of what he has accomplished for you is something that has power to move into somebody else's life to begin shifting and doing things and leading them to experience life change for themselves.

Because life changes what he does.

He will change people's lives.

He will do it differently for every single person.

And it will look sometimes odd as he does it.

But what he does do is he does change people's lives.

And so we can feel confident to go like, I don't know that he'll, I know that he's helped my relationship with Rainey numerous times.

I know that he's healed my son so that he could speak.

I know that he's done that.

I struggle to share that story sometimes because I'm nervous.

I'm like, I don't know that he's going to do it for you, but I do know that he is good and you will experience his goodness if you follow him, if you come to know him.

I don't know that he'll do exactly the same thing in your life as he'd done for mine, but he will transform it if you'll let him.

That's what he does.

And so when we share our stories, it has the opportunity to lead another person to Jesus, and it has the opportunity to lead another person to experience life change like you have.

It just might look a little different.

And so, what has he done for you?

What has he done in your life?

Where do you have this space?

Not what have you come to believe, but like, do you have a realistic encounter with the person of Jesus who is still living and is still active and wants to have a relationship with you where you experience his goodness on a regular basis, on the daily, you experience something from him where it's like he's still being good to me, he's still showing grace to me, he's still being compassionate to me, he still answers my prayers, he still hears me and responds.

I sought the Lord, he heard and he answered.

That's why I trust him.

Like, is there's a space in your life where he's doing something?

What has he done for you?

We gotta share that story.

Number three through the demoniac story, it led people who once rejected Jesus to embrace and worship Jesus.

This is probably my favorite.

They're all good, but I like this one.

Mark five, next slide here.

That is impossible to see because the text is black.

Mark five, Mark seven, just back to back.

Those who had seen the demoniac and what had happened to the demon-possessed man, they told that, and then the people began to plead with Jesus, leave our region.

We've seen your power.

It's weird.

You're a strange bro.

We've seen what you can do.

Get out.

I don't have anything to do with you.

Then that man runs into town, starts telling his story, and it says, when they see what happened, uh, when they see what he did to the man who was deaf and mute, it says, the people were overwhelmed with amazement, and they said, He has done everything well.

He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.

The people who once wanted nothing to do with Jesus are now worshiping him.

You do all things well.

Praising him, saying, You do all things well.

It's amazing.

It's so easy to think that what will sharing my story about Jesus actually do.

It's this tiny little rock and a sling that I'm throwing at a giant of the atheist friend or the agnostic or the non or the whatever you have in your life of the people that's going like, they've been so church hurt, and so this and so that.

There's so much stuff that they're dealing with.

There's no way they're ever gonna believe that.

What can my story do?

It's like, well, it seems that it has the power to turn rejectors of Jesus into worshipers of Jesus.

This is what's possible.

And I'm not saying it's gonna happen every single time, but there's a testimony in the scriptures for us and for our benefit to go like, should I share my story?

Yeah, shoot that shot.

I would absolutely do it because the possibility exists that you people who in your life who are currently rejecting him have the ability to hear a story of his faithfulness, his goodness to you, and ultimately lead them to go, like, I want some of that.

I don't want to reject him anymore, I want to worship him.

Now, I do think that your story needs to be what Jesus has done and not some doctrine.

A lot of people want to start sharing their faith and start talking about the doctrine of hell.

I'm like, why'd you start there?

Don't do that.

And like, I'm gonna I'm gonna talk to you about sin.

It's like, I just what has he done for you?

The demoniac didn't run in, like, let me tell you about all my sin.

He's not talking about himself.

His eyes are fixed on Jesus, and his story is fixed on Jesus, and he's just running in them like he's amazing, and what he has done for me is available to the world.

Do anybody want this?

And a bunch of people were like, I do.

But if he had rolled in there, I'm like, you guys want to burn?

Like, like that's probably not the best.

Like they're gonna throw him off the cliff like the pigs.

Like, it's just not, it's not gonna go well.

But I do think what's available is that our story has the ability to turn rejectors into worshipers.

And again, it's easy to think the story won't do anything, but it happens here.

And the encouraging thing is to me especially, is that what changed these people from rejectors into worshipers wasn't a sermon.

Like, I would love my sermons to change rejectors into worshipers.

I'd actually, Lord please, by faith.

I'd love that.

But what I love in the story is like this is just a random person, not even a disciple, really, not an apostle.

Jesus said, actually, I don't want you to be an apostle.

I want you to just go and share your story.

I want you to be a lay person out in the streets of your city sharing a story of my goodness.

And it's this random story from this random person that talked about his encounter with Jesus one day in a graveyard.

And from that space, ultimately people are turned into worshipers because they see him.

They just walking down the street and they're like, hey, you look different.

Like you used to be scratching at yourself and clawing your skin with rocks.

You remember that?

Yeah, you don't do that anymore.

Why is that?

It's like, I met this guy, named Jesus, he changed my life.

And so, like, it was this visible thing, it's a story that they're able to share.

There was no altar call, no preaching, no door-to-door evangelism, no Romans Road.

I'm not even sure if I know what that means.

Um, but I just hear Christians talk about the Romans Road.

Uh, no threat of hell trying to scare people to Jesus.

It wasn't doing that.

Just a simple story that led rejectors of Jesus into worshipers of Jesus.

And I think that's beautiful.

And so, what can your story do?

What can you do?

I'm not a preacher, I'm not whatever.

Like, actually, that checks out.

I think that's actually great.

I've said this before, um, but I'll say it a lot.

I have no numerical goals for our church.

Okay, I don't care if we're smaller or bigger.

I'd like to keep going, but I have no numerical, we're not trying to hit some some type of number or make it in some fastest growing church magazine.

I don't, I don't ever want that.

Um but I do want to see people genuinely, I do want to see people have a genuine encounter with Jesus and have their lives changed by him.

I do want that.

And if our church grows by people encountering Jesus from stories in your life, in your community, and then our church is filled with people who have heard your story and want the exact same thing, I'm thrilled with that.

I have no numerical goals, but if that happens, I do actually want to see people encounter Jesus the way I have and have their lives changed by Jesus the way that mine has been changed.

I do want that.

I read this stat that I shared earlier in the prayer room.

Um recently it says this Tom Rayner, he says, studies show that only three to five of American churches are growing primarily through people coming to faith in Jesus.

The remaining growth is mostly transfer growth of or people leaving one church for a different church.

So the stat shows 95% to 97% of churches are not growing the way the early church grew in the book of Acts.

Like people are not coming to faith.

All we're doing is like, you got some folks over there, we'll take about 10 of those, you come over here, and then people leaving one thing to come to our thing, and then we'll swap 10 for this, and we'll go here.

And the number of believers aren't growing.

We're just swapping Christians around the community.

And I want to be careful because we have people in our church currently that left a church to come to this one.

We love you.

You're welcome in this space.

God bless you.

We're so thankful.

And I don't actually mind if people leave a church and come to our church if the reasons are good, because I think there's a part of that that makes a lot of sense.

And I don't want the primary growth of our church to come through people leaving one thing to come to our thing.

I don't want transfer growth to be the reason our church grows.

I want people hearing your story in your community and going, like, I want the Jesus that you talk about.

I want the story that you talk about.

I want to see those things.

And then if they end up coming to this church, what a gift.

Or if they go to another church, that's also fine.

But I don't want our church to grow because people are leaving one thing looking for a better thing at our thing.

And if you're here, that's fine.

We love that.

We're so glad that anyone's here.

But I want to see the kingdom of God advance.

I mean, the verse, memorize it.

Habakkuk 3.2, Lord, I have heard what you've done in the past.

I stand in awe of your deeds.

But I just want them in my time.

Like I want to see these powerful things that you've done in my life and the lives of those in history.

I want to see those things again.

And if we don't have that, if all we have is a bunch of people going, like, I don't like it here now, and this pastor, blah, blah, blah, and we're gonna come here, I'm like, we're so we'll welcome anyone is welcome here.

But like there's this testimony in the scriptures that exist for us to be able to move into the stories and the people around us and just share this simple one-liner or two-liner thing of like, here's what he's done for me.

And then it has this subversive power to break into people's hearts and ultimately shift them and change them and lead to this life change and save them from whatever heart that they had and save them from the life that they thought, like, this is as good as it gets.

And it's like, oh my goodness, like, no, I have so much more for you.

Let me tell you a better story.

You're plugging your ears, you're you're tying yourself down, trying to have a good life and make sure you don't blow it.

Let me show you a better story, let me sing you a better song so that you can live into a better narrative.

There's something better for you.

And we have the opportunity to do those things.

I want my friends and I want your friends who want nothing to do with Jesus to encounter him the way that I have, the way that you have, so that their lives can actually be saved by him.

Not just for eternity one day, but here and now, to experience a heaven-like and eternal-like life here and now on earth as it is in heaven.

It would seem that it is possible, regardless of how people in your life currently feel about Jesus, regardless of how they currently feel, that your story of what he has done for you has the ability to change rejectors of Jesus into worshipers of Jesus.

And so what's your story?

What happened through the demoniacs testimonies that changed people's hearts, led people to Jesus and changed their lives, and it led people who once rejected him to now worship him.

And I believe that is still available.

I think that's still the way the world works.

I think if he still rules and reigns on his throne, then that's still possible because that's the way that he's decided to move this thing forward.

And so what has he done for you?

What story can you share?

Now, three things by application.

If you want this, if you want this, I've said this already.

If you want, like I'm in, like, and if you are and you your heart's with mine, I love it.

Please, more of that.

Love it.

Um, I want this too.

But if you want this, I would encourage you to ask the question what experience do you have with him?

Not what do you believe about him?

Uh what experience do you have with him?

What has he done specifically for you?

Tim Keller says we need to speak of our experiences.

He says we are to give personal testimony to the difference God has made to us, how he's brought us out of bondage into freedom.

We are not only to speak about beliefs and our behavior, but we have to speak about our experience with God as well.

Most people, especially in the Southern Church, most people settle for their altar call experience.

The only thing they know about Jesus is one day I responded to him, he forgave me of my sins, and I don't go to hell anymore, I go to heaven.

And if that is your only experience with Jesus, that's something, and it's beautiful, what a gift.

But he has more for you now.

He wants to move into your story now, shift things in your life, in your family, set things free in your heart, in your mind, strongholds, bondage, uh, fear, peace, anxiety, like I mean, just all the different things.

He wants every aspect of your life to come under the submission and under the authority of the King Jesus so that your life looks completely different than what it looked like before, because now you operate under a new king and you operate under a new authority.

He wants to leave nothing, he doesn't want to do it all at once because you'll die.

That'd be too much.

But he wants to go slowly with you, walk with you, and over time shift the things that you also look at and go, like, I wish this weren't here.

And he's going, I could do that for you.

I want to do that for you.

And you trying to willpower, you trying to do it yourself, I will actually do those things because I have the power to do so.

And so if your only experience of him is like, what has Jesus done for you?

Save me, forgive me for my sins, that's what a gift.

That's the beginning of a relationship.

Like, I love the beginning of my relationship with Rainey.

But if we never went on dates and got to marriage and then things that come after marriage, like if we'd never gotten there, I've been missing out.

I would be, I'd be like, I love backyard burger.

It was a really good first date.

But if that was the only thing I ever experienced with her, I'd have missed out on 15 or 18 years.

I don't know how long we've been.

It's been a minute.

It's been a while.

Like, I would have missed out.

Brett, don't shake your head at me.

Brett's in the back going, stick to your notes.

But at the beginning, like the beginning of the relationship is it's wonderful and it's great.

And the entrance into that thing is so great.

But the long-term gift of like seeing her help me and me step into her story and us working on this thing together, like we've experienced more in the fruit of our relationship the longer we've been together.

And if it had just been like, what's the entrance into the relationship?

It's like, oh, I asked her if she wanted to date me and she said yes.

And it's like, cool, done.

I'm gonna live the rest of my life with that.

It's like, y'all know, you'd be missing out on a ton.

And if your only experience with Jesus is the entrance into the thing that you will one day have when you die, there's just more for you.

He wants to do more for you in your life.

He wants to hear your anxieties and he wants to see the things that you also want to see changed, and he's like, just tell me.

I'd love to work on those things too.

He wants to move into our lives with goodness and mercy.

So, what experience do you have with him?

What has he done for you specifically?

Share that story.

Second, your goal is not to convince anyone.

I've said this already.

You are called to testify to the truth, and if they believe it, great.

If they don't, it is not up to you to try and convince them.

They may call you weird, that's okay.

You're probably weird to them in other ways already.

So don't worry about that.

Your call is to just tell them the story, tell them the truth.

You're not, your goal is not to convince them.

Jesus isn't mad at you.

It's like, well, that wasn't very good.

He doesn't do that.

It's like, thank you for testifying to the truth.

I will take it from here.

I will use that story and I will weave it submerged or subversively into their story where it gets into their hearts and it messes with them in a good way.

All right, last one is don't force it.

If you're gonna share your story, please don't force it.

Sometimes people try and force and bend their story into someone's life.

It's like, you seen the news lately?

No, but I got good news.

And then they start trying to talk about Jesus and build a bridge.

It's like, stop, stop that.

Stop that now.

Um cold outside, yeah.

Well, if you don't know Jesus, it's gonna get a lot warmer.

Like, don't use any of those either, okay?

They're all good, but don't do that.

I've heard like you gotta find bridges into the gospel, and if that's your thing, Lord bless you.

I'm not that's not my thing.

Don't bridge into the gospel.

It's better than that.

And what I love about this passage, actually in verse 36, Jesus tells them, shut up.

Don't, please don't tell this story to anybody.

No, I totally got you.

We'll be right back.

And like they ran and told everybody.

But what happened, like you have to see it like this.

They're not being disobedient.

They're they're a little like like I am, like my mom is with Christmas presents.

Like we can't wait till Christmas to give the gift.

Like we're we're so excited about the gift that we're just like, what day is it?

It's August.

It's like you want your Christmas present.

Like, I'm just super excited to give you this thing.

And that's how they're sharing.

They're sharing from that, they're sharing from a space of passion and joy and excitement.

Like, I have seen the most incredible thing.

You need to not say that.

It's like and they just run out and they start sharing this thing.

And to be honest, y'all, y'all know this.

Those are better stories, anyways.

Ones that you're just thrilled and filled with passion versus like, all right, I gotta find a bridge.

When do I get in?

Like double dutch.

When do I get in?

When do I get in?

I'm gonna try and bridge into the gospel.

Like, no.

Just enjoy him, experience him, and then enjoy him out loud.

And from that space, you're not trying to force anything, and they don't feel like you have a motive or an appointment with them or something like that.

It just turns into this thing.

It's like I'm sharing from a space of joy.

He's great.

I promise you, he's great, he'll be great to you as well.

So don't force it.

What has he done for you?

It would seem that Jesus has empowered your personal story about him and what he has done for you to use that to bless those around you, and if you will, share those things.

In my experience, and I believe according to this text, other people will hear that and it will change their hearts.

Jesus will use it to lead people to him, change their lives, and it will shift eventually.

Not all of them, maybe, but it will shift and change rejectors of Jesus into worships of Jesus.

Share your story.

What is it?

And share that story.

Let me pray.

Lord, I um you've been good to me.

Seventeen years of searching.

I'm trying everything.

I'm looking under every rock, every stone, every girl, every bottle, every sport, every accolade, looking at everything, trying to find fulfillment and contentment and joy.

And this angst in my heart to find a space where it rests.

And then you sought me.

And even though I didn't want you, you didn't leave.

And you just chose to stay and seek to bless me.

Because you had a son for me, and you had a wife for me, and you had a church for me, and you had a plan, and you had joy and contentment on the other side of my unbelief.

Thank you.

There will never be a truer song than what we're gonna sing, that you are a good, good father.

That's who you are, and that is what you've come to do, is be good to us, and to lead us and shepherd us into goodness and mercy.

And those things chase us.

And so, God, I pray that we would look back into our lives, in our past and currently in our present and to our future.

What are you going to do?

What have you done?

And what stories can I not be silent about because it I'm just you've been so good.

Lord, use those things to bring new sons and daughters into your kingdom so that the church doesn't just trade believers, but that new people whose hearts are desperate like mine were for some kind of truth, desperate for some kind of joy, would hear a story and find that what they've been looking for in all those other spaces and not finding what they've been looking for is found in you and in you only.

God, I pray that you would do that in Jesus' name.

Amen.