“Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee….” (Mark 5.19.)
Introduction. The poor wretch referred to, being possessed with a legion of evil spirits, had been driven to something worse than madness. He was worse than the wild beasts, for they might be tamed. In misery, he would howl and cut himself. Jesus passed by and told the devils to come out of him, and he was healed in a moment, and converted. Out of gratitude, he wanted to follow the Lord. The Lord told him to show his gratitude by going home and telling his friends about his deliverance. This teaches us that true religion does not separate men from their families. Superstition that calls itself Christianity has done that. Monks and nuns ought to go home to their friends! Be not without natural affection. True religion cannot be inconsistent with nature. Christianity does not free me from my duties as a son; it makes me a better son. Its intention is to make households which death itself shall never sever; it reunites families on the other side of the flood. Some are going home to see their friends. Our subject is about the story they have to tell.
(1) Here is What They are to Tell. It is to be a story of personal experience. You are not commanded to go home and teach your doctrines, but to speak on what you have felt. Tell your friends how you were once a lost abandoned sinner, how the Lord met with you, how you poured out your soul before God, and leaped with joy. Next, it must be a story of free grace. It is not about what you have done, but about what the Lord has done for you. It is not about your doings, willings, prayings, and seekings, but about God who makes sinners his children, and heirs of everlasting life. And this poor man’s tale is a grateful story. A man who is grateful is always full of the greatness of the mercy God has shown him. With great earnestness, tell them it is a great story, and I hope they may be brought to believe that you, at least, are grateful. Lastly, the tale must be told by one who feels undeserving. Tell about ‘how he hath had compassion on thee.’ Do not tell the story of your conversion as if to boast about your sins, but with gratitude and thanksgiving.
(2) Why Should We Tell this Story? First, for your Master’s sake. You can never think of his pierced hands and feet without loving him. Will you then refuse to tell the tale of his love to you? Next, if your friends are pious, tell it to make their hearts glad. Can you picture the joy when this poor demoniac went home and said that all the evil spirits were gone? If you, once possessed with sin, would go home and tell of your release, the scene could be somewhat similar. If they are bad, tell them for their soul’s salvation. Do not tell this story to your ungodly friends together, for they will laugh at you. Take them one by one, and they will hear you seriously. An elder in America rode five miles on horseback to tell this man that he had a concern for his soul. The next day that man was at the deacon’s house asking what he must do to be saved.
(3) How is the Story to be Told? First, tell it truthfully. Do not tell Bunyan’s experience, but your own. One fly in the pot may spoil all. Next, tell it humbly, not as a preacher, but as a friend or a son. And tell it earnestly. Do not laugh at holy things, and maybe they won’t either. Also, tell it devoutly. Tell it to no man till you have told it to God. Wrestle with God for them, and you will be able to wrestle with them for God. Rely on the Holy Spirit. Trust not yourself, but fear not to trust him. He can give you words. He can apply those words to their hearts.
Selection from Conclusion. “And shall such a tale be told in heaven?…Wilt thou not sit in the grassy meads of heaven, and tell the story of thine own redemption?…You will tell a long story there.”
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