I thank God that last Sunday I had the opportunity to preach from Mark 5:1–20—the story of the Gerasenes man—at the 10:30 a.m. Cantonese service and the 12:00 noon Bilingual service.
This is probably a story very familiar to many of us: Jesus and His disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee from the western, Jewish side to the eastern region of the Gerasenes to cast out demons from a Gentile man. This man was possessed by a legion of unclean spirits. No one could bind him or subdue him. He cried out constantly and cut himself, and his condition was truly pitiful. Therefore, Lord Jesus took the initiative to cross the sea to seek him out and commanded the unclean spirits to come out of him. After the demons left him, he returned to his right mind and begged to stay with Jesus—that is, he wanted to follow Jesus and become His disciple., Jesus’ response however was unexpected.
Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:19–20).
Lord Jesus wanted this formerly demon-possessed man to return home, to his relatives, and tell them about the great things Jesus had done for him.
During the recent Christmas and New Year holidays, my wife and I returned to Hong Kong to visit our family and relatives. Sadly, I did not seize the opportunity, like the demon-possessed man did, to share with my relatives what Jesus has done for us—such as how God has given us stable jobs, income, and provided all that we need, enabling us to serve young people and to serve through music.
I prayed and asked God to forgive my sin, and I asked Him to help me be better prepared the next time we return to Hong Kong to visit family, so that I may tell my unbelieving family members and friends what God has done for us and bear witness to the Lord Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, when faced with Jesus’ words, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you,” how would you respond?
感謝神讓我在上週日十時半的粵語崇拜和中午十二時的雙語崇拜中宣講馬可福音5:1-20，關於格拉森人的故事。這可能是一個大家都很熟悉的故事 --- 耶穌和門徒乘船由加利利海的西岸猶太人的地方，去到東岸格拉森人的地方，為一個外邦人趕鬼。這個人被一群污鬼附着，沒有人能捆住他、制伏他。他時常喊叫，又自殘身體，景况真的很可憐。所以主耶穌主動過海去找他，吩咐在他身上的污鬼出來。污鬼離開他後，他就回復正常，並懇求和耶穌同在 --- 就是要跟從耶穌、作主耶穌門徒。但耶穌的反應卻出人意料之外。
耶穌不許，卻對他說：「你回家去，到你的親屬那裏，將主為你所做的是何等大的事，是怎樣憐憫你，都告訴他們。」 那人就走了，在低加坡里傳揚耶穌為他做了何等大的事，眾人就都希奇。馬可福音 5:19-20
主耶穌要這個以前被鬼附的人回家、回到親屬那裏，告訴他們耶穌為他所做的大事…
在剛過去的聖誕和新年假期，我和太太回到香港，回家探望我們的家人及親屬。但很可惜，我沒有把握機會，像這個被鬼附的人一樣，向親屬分享耶穌為我們做的事，就如神賜給我倆穩定的工作、收入、供應我倆一切所需，讓我倆可以服事年輕人、以音樂服事…
我祈禱求神赦免我的罪，並求神幫助我在下次回港探親的時候，可以做好準備，告訴未信主的家人和朋友，神為我倆所做的事情，為主耶穌做見證。
弟兄姊妹，面對耶穌所說的這句話：「你回家去，到你的親屬那裡，將主為你所做的何等大事，和祂如何憐憫你，都告訴他們。」你會怎樣回應呢？
