Pastor Mark Olmos
May 30, 2004 - W0422

I remember a time God took hold of my heart when someone shared the Gospel with me. I was 17 years old and it just turned my life around. The one thing I learned that stuck with me early on was that it wasn’t about religion. It was about following Jesus and being His disciple. You see, we follow a risen savior moment by moment every single day.

Another thing I learned is that Jesus will lead us along and ask us to obey Him. However, every now and then, He’ll ask us to do something difficult. One of those things is to share our faith with others. And though it may be quite easy to share the Gospel with people we love, what about people who are difficult to love? How do we fulfill His command then? Well, if we take a look at scripture, we capture the kind of heart that Jesus has for people who are difficult to love. It could be your boss at work who abuses his authoritative power. It could be the person who cuts you off in traffic. Or it could be the difficult relative who shows up for every family gathering. Even so, God wants us to develop a heart for those kinds of people if we want to be serious followers of Christ. .

In the Bible there was a man who ruined his life. For whatever reason, his life choices had given him an exposure to evil. It may have been an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or even playing around with the occults. Nevertheless, it created a vulnerability to spiritual possession in him that resulted in total demonic enslavement. He became an outcast and lived in seclusion tormented by these demons. He was a forgotten soul with no hope. That is until Jesus came to town. And the Bible says, “Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, ‘What business do we have with each other Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God, do not torment me!’” (Mark 5:6-7) You see the demons recognized Jesus right away and knew Jesus was capable of destroying them. Then when Jesus asks the man his name, the demons answered, “My name is Legion, for we are many. And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country…The demons implored Him, saying, ‘Send us into the swine so that we may enter them’”. (Mark 5:9-12) The Bible says that Jesus gave them permission to leave the man. So the demons entered the pigs,   the pigs went nuts, ran down the bank into the lake, and drowned. Then the herdsman ran to tell the people what happened.  “They came to Jesus and observed the man who had be demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion and they became frightened”. (Mark 5:15)

So what was the people’s response to Jesus’ power over the demons? The people of the region were so afraid that they pleaded with Jesus to leave. It was too overwhelming for them to comprehend. You see spiritual warfare is usually invisible. People live unaware of the spiritual struggle going on around them. So when Jesus made the invisible visible, it scared them.

Now this man was so grateful that he wanted to go along with Jesus wherever He went. But the Bible says: “As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your family 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 5:18:20) Jesus told him instead of going along with Him, he should tell everyone what the Lord did for him. And that he did.

I love this story because we really see a slice of the heart of the Lord we follow. And in order to be a committed follower of Christ, He really wants us to have that kind of heart – a heart like His. So we can follow three important points from…

WHAT JESUS TEACHES US:

1.      I NEED TO HAVE JESUS’ HEART FOR THE FORGOTTEN.

“This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain.” (Mark 5:3)

What makes the story of the demon-possessed man so compelling is that he did not have a chance. He was an outcast, beyond help, and abandoned to the tombs. Yet that’s not the end of the story because Jesus had a heart for people like and we find that Jesus healed him.

We see it again with a man named Zeccheus. The Bible says that Zeccheus swindled people all of his life as a tax collector and people hated him. Yet when Jesus came to town, He went to his house for dinner. And the evening Jesus spent with Zeccheus changed his life. And at the end of that encounter Jesus says, “And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.” (Luke 19:10)

You see Jesus had a heart of the lost; people whose choices had taken them far from God. Another lost soul was Levi, a tax collector who became the writer of scripture. There was also the Samaritan woman confused about spirituality. Still another was the woman caught in adultery because of unwise choices she’d made. Jesus had a soft spot in His heart for giving people another chance.

Jesus has a heart for the forgotten. And if our Lord would reach out to the lost and forgotten, so must we. The truth of the matter is that we have a category in our life called “the unlovables”.  Yes we all have them and you know who I mean. There are people in our lives who are just difficult to love. And maybe we may feel that, “They’ve made their choice and deserve whatever consequence that’s coming. So what if their life is in shambles, there’s no use reaching out to them because they’ll not appreciate our efforts”. The fact is that we must care because they matter to God. Jesus died for all of us, even those who are tough to love. So keep in mind that Jesus has a heart of the forgotten and He wants us to have a heart like that too.

I remember as a young pastor, I begged God to give me a heart for the lost. I just wanted to be real. So God began to answer my prayer. One day I was at a mall with my Bible and journal. I sat and observed people walking by and wondered just how difficult life is for those who don’t know Jesus. Then I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to my heart, “Mark, they matter to God and so many of them don’t know Me yet and I want you to do something about that.” Tears began to stream down my face. It broke my heart. Another day I was sitting in a stadium and looked around at the crowd and the Holy Spirit again whispered to my heart and said, “How many people do you think are headed for crisis eternity? How many people really know Me?” Pretty soon tears welled up again and flowed. Another time I took this same heart God had given me for the lost and went to Japan. There, less than half of one percent really know the Lord and attend church. So I remember sitting at an airport and listening to a CD of praise music. I wondered, “God how in the world are You going to reach these people?” And as I listened to the CD, God gave me a vision of a room filled with Japanese young people singing praises to God. And boy the tears just overflowed.

Sometimes having a heart of the lost and forgotten just plagues me. I see people who don’t know Jesus and it just breaks my heart. Yet that’s what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and follow Him. It’s about having the same kind of heart that Jesus has for the forgotten because it’s real. It’s not just reaching out and doing nice things. It’s about actually caring, loving, and having a broken heart for them. So I pray that God would plague you with that kind of heart. The second thing that God teaches is…

2.      I CAN TRUST JESUS’ IMMEASUREABLE POWER TO CHANGE ANYONE.

. “When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.” (Mark 5:15) This is really a story about Jesus’ power. This man was totally transformed, totally healed, and the people wondered what happened! They weren’t used to seeing visible demonstrations of God’s power. And for the disciples it was another chapter in learning about who Jesus really was. Because remember He quieted the storm and they wondered to themselves, “Who was this man, Jesus?”

Now do you realize how powerful Jesus is? Well here is just a glimpse of Christ’s power. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God, He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation.” (Col. 1:15 – see also 1:1:16-20)

Picture this: We have Jesus in the void. He appears and creates everything there is. He stands in the middle reconciling everything to God, and He stands at the end with all of creation being judged by Him. Jesus Christ is supreme over all creation. This says to us that Jesus’ power is immeasurable. And what that means is that He can change our lives. There is no problem that we are facing today that is beyond Christ’s ability. He can break any addiction we may be struggling with. He can repair even the most horrific wounds from our past. He is able to lift the guilt from our lives and offer forgiveness to totally cleanse it. In fact, He can take someone far from God and give them an intimate, joyful, and abundant relationship with the Lord.

His power is immeasurable and we need to have His heart for the forgotten and trust His power to change our lives and the lives of others. And finally…

3.      I MUST RESPOND TO JESUS’ TOUCH IN MY LIFE BY TELLING OTHERS ABOUT HIM!

“Jesus did not let him, but said, ‘Go home to your family 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) The demon-possessed man was transformed and so grateful that He’d do anything for Jesus. So when Jesus tells him to share what the Lord had done for him, he was happy to obey. So he begins to testify in the Decapolis (a series of ten Gentile cities established earlier by the Greeks).

“And then He told them, ‘Go into the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere.’” (Mark 16:15)  There is something about being sent by the person who has transformed your life that compels you to obedience. Jesus also sends us into the world to declare the Good News. The problem is that it can be kind of scary to speak up in our faith. When people know we are Christian, they tend to label us and think we have to have it all together. They treat us differently. Well if we really want to share our faith the KEY WORD IS:  BOLDNESS

No, I didn’t say obnoxious. Don’t punctuate everything with a “hallelujah and praise the Lord”. Instead, have a gentle real love that is authentic. People respond better to that. In fact one of the ways you can show people that you believe is by praying for your food. When you are honest with your faith, people respect that. Another way to share your faith is if people are going through a rough time; just tell them you will pray for them. Now don’t go up to them in the middle of the office and lay hands on them. Just let them know you will be praying and then make sure you do it. Still one more way to share your faith is to take your Bible to work. Then each time you have an opportunity, be a gentle but bold witness for Jesus. And when God opens a door, invite others to a place where they can hear about Jesus.

The question is where does the boldness come from to be a witness? Well the boldness comes from the fact that we have been sent by the One whose grace changed our life. And one way that helps me is to remember:  once I was lost, but now I’m found. Once I was blind, but now I see. Once I was dead, but now I’m alive again. And when Jesus asks us to do something for Him, we are compelled to do anything for Him because He saved us.

We have to have Christ’s power for the forgotten, trust His power to change anyone, and obey His call to share our life change with others. And finally here are some quick tips for…

GOING FROM HEART TO ACTION

Ø      Go to war for your friends on your knees.

Ø      Be authentic and open about following Christ.

Ø      Be ready to share how much the Lord has done for you.

Ø      Strategically invite your friends to a place where they will hear about Jesus.

Ø      Do it for Jesus.

Questions for discussion:

1. Is there an individual in your life who you find difficult to love? Why?
2. Have you ever felt lost and unlovable? Who are some people that God has brought into your life who demonstrate His love, care, and compassion? How can you in turn go out and example that same kind of heart to others who are lost?
3. What is God whispering to your heart and will you do what He asks?
4. What is your testimony? How has God transformed your life? And whom is God prompting you to share your faith with this week?
5. What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned this week? How can you apply what you’ve learned to your life?

If you would like to be a part of a ministry that is impacting Hawaii and the world, please contact Dawn O'Brien at dawn@enewhope.org for more information.