Mark 5
17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.
18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.
19 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 how He has had compassion on you.”
When the possessed was healed he wanted to accompany Jesus. But Jesus did not permit him, but said to him that he should go and proclaim what great things God had done for him. In this way many souls would be touched through him although the people chased Jesus away. So he was to go to his people and tell them that Jesus is alive and has come into this world to save the lost.
This is the commission Jesus gives to each one of us. We must tell others what Jesus had done for us.
Unfortunately we as Christians have become timid and do not like to tell people what the Lord Jesus had done for us. Is it pride? Maybe we are shy to tell them because we don’t live it. We can only tell what we have experienced. I can give the most excellent message on earth with the most glorious truth but if I don’t live it people will question it.
Others don’t know what Jesus had done for them. They have never truly met with Jesus. That is why many Christians keep quiet. It’s better to keep quiet than to tell a lie.
When we read of the mighty men of the Old Testament, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, Abraham, we read of the experiences they had with the Lord. It is of utmost importance that we meet with the Lord.
So too you might speak about the experiences your forefathers had with God. And your father might live off the experiences of your grandfather. They live under the laurels of their fathers but they themselves didn’t have a meeting with the Lord; or they once met Him long ago but no longer meet with Him day by day. But God has no grandchildren or great-grandchildren. He only has children.
We must experience God ourselves changing and transforming our lives. We must be born-again personally.
To the children of Israel their faith was only an inheritance they received from their fathers.
And even in our days we see that when children inherit something from their parents they don’t know what to do with it. They don’t appreciate it. Their fathers had to work and sweat for it.
So too when the forefathers experienced a re-birth which was God-given, those that used to steal stole no longer, and those who committed adultary did it no longer. But the children who inherited the blessings from their fathers now live a relaxed lazy Christianity. They have everything and do not need to work or sweat for anything.
And to the next generation it becomes a burden and strain to serve the Lord Jesus. They have to be pushed and enticed to serve the Lord.
So we have the grandfather who worked and prayed for God’s working and blessing. The next generation inherited the blessings, but have no desire for the experience which the previous generation had. And the next generation is comfortable and praise the godliness of their parents and have an easy comfortable Christianity. And for the next generation it is a burden to pray, read the Bible, go to school. They look at how those in the world enjoy themselves and they desire the world.
To which of these generations do you belong?
Are you perhaps like the second generation where you also experienced the Lord and have become fully satisfied with God’s blessings. There isn’t that earnest desire to seek God’s best – you’re simply satisfied with God’s blessing. There is no zeal or compassion for others anymore. In the beginning you were on fire, wanted to preach and testify to what the Lord Jesus had done for you. But today you’re perfectly satisfied with God’s rich blessings you’ve received from your fathers. You don’t need to go out and preach the Gospel anymore. You’re happy to just tend to your home and family and enjoy the wonderful blessings. You’re so happy that you’ve met the Lord Jesus 50 years ago. But you’re not concerned whether you still meet with the Lord today. When last did you bring a seeking soul to God?
This blessed generation sometimes span two generations.
Through this illustration of the four generations I want to show you my and your spiritual life. What does your spiritual life look like? To which generation do you belong?
It is my cry to lead my posterity into a living experience with the Lord Jesus day by day.
As Jesus had said to the man who had been delivered from demons, so you too should go and tell people what Jesus had done for you. Oh, that those who hear and see your life might experience the Lord Jesus setting them free and saving them.
May we today have a meeting with the Living God. That we will have school-children on fire for God; young people on fire for God, going home and telling others what Jesus had done for them.
May Jesus ignite us with His Spirit.