STAY HOME!

Dr. Richard J. Henderson June 20, 2010

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Psalm 42(responsively)
Luke 8:26-39

Introduction

Isn't that a strange story we just read? A man lives among the tombs, apparently because he has been rejected from his home. He walks around naked and often goes into seizures. He is scaring the daylights out of people. Sometimes he even has to be put in chains and shackles. But he is so strong that he usually breaks them and gets free. He's terrorizing people and he's in tremendous turmoil himself.

Luke says that he is possessed of demons. Probably we would consider it severe mental illness today. And yet demon possession may not be too far off; people who have suffered through severe mental illness sometimes say that it is like there are demons within you.

Jesus heals this man by sending his demons into some pigs nearby. The pigs then run into the lake and drown. The man now begins a healthy life. He dresses normally and carries on regular conversations. He's been healed. He is so grateful to Jesus that he sits at his feet and learns from him. His whole life has changed.

Apparently at some point he was rejected by his family. The people in his community knew him and were terrified of him. He had to be restrained. He was feared and made fun of. Now he sits in discussions with Jesus and asks and learns and grows in faith. Jesus not only healed him gave him his identity. He gave him a life.

I

The next part of his story is intriguing. As Jesus prepares to move on, the man follows him (as so many who were healed by Jesus did). The disciples pack up their bags and get ready to move on and he is right there with them. But as they are departing, Jesus stops and says to this man, "Return to your home and declare how much Jesus has done for you," "You want me to go home?" I picture the man suddenly turning sad. He wanted to be with the 12 disciples, to learn more from Jesus, to be part of his traveling entourage. He turns quietly and goes back home.

He will go back to the family who put him out of their house, to the people who were terrified and who made fun of him, to the people who put the chains and shackles on him. It would be a lot more exciting to be going with Jesus.

II

God needs evangelists like Billy Graham who travel around the world preaching, telling the good news, and making disciples. Evangelists touch people's lives. They reach people the churches don't contact. They help people look at their lives and make decisions about God. It's an important role in the Christian faith.

God needs authors who write books that help people in their faith journey. We all need the authors who travel the world teaching and leading seminars. They raise important concerns, help us think about issues of faith we haven't thought about, and they inspire us. As they travel they help people answer some of the difficult questions they have.

God needs people like the apostle Paul who travel around the world starting new churches. Paul taught and preached the good news. As people responded, he gathered them together into small house churches where they worshipped together. People in these churches spoke to their friends and relatives and more people believed. The small churches grew larger. Together the people taught and learned; helped and supported each other.

When a church was on its feet, Paul moved on to another city and began teaching and preaching there. He started another church. When that one was able to function on its own, he headed off to another city and started another church.

I have a friend who did that during his career. He started a church and led them through getting organized and the building program. Then he left and went to another city and started another new church.

God needs evangelists, authors, and church planters.

III

But God also needs people who stay in one place. There are advantages to the Billy Grahams and the authors and the new church developers, but there is also an advantage to living in one place, knowing the community, and especially knowing the people. The person who understands the history of a place and the background of people has a much better perspective. It makes a difference.

The touring preachers or authors can seem like heroes because they come into town, do or say some impressive things and then leave. The one who stays has the opportunity to witness not just by what she says, but through the way she lives her life. It's more difficult to stay in one place because you don't just talk about faith; your life has to reflect what you are saying.

Remember those years when televangelists and TV preachers were involved in scandals? We only saw them when they were on camera for an hour or two. But the elder who lives in a small town in, say, Indiana has to live his faith everyday, at work and in the neighborhood, and at home. Everybody knows him, and they know if he is living out the life he professes at church.

He also has a much more powerful message because people know him. He is able to teach a class in Sunday school, and it has double the impact because people know that he lives the faith he talks about on Sunday morning. When he has good news to tell, people listen. They know him. They know he is honest and trustworthy. They know he tells the truth.

IV

One of the problems for the Billy Graham crusades has always been how to follow up with the people who have come forward to make a decision. The crusade is moving on to another city and leaving behind hundreds of people who have made a commitment to Christ. Billy Graham's organizers worked on that problem for a long time, and their solution was to try to get each person who came forward to be involved in a church near them. They had to depend on the people who stayed home, on the people who would be there all the time.

Jesus says to the man whom he has healed, "Go back home and tell everyone how much Jesus has done for you." People know him. Imagine how powerful his story will be. Everybody in town knew how terrifying he was and how he couldn't even live at home. Can you picture how amazed they will be now when this same man speaks to them and is calm, clothed, and healthy? They will really listen when he tells about what Jesus has done for him. They live there; they know about him; they can see the dramatic change that God has brought about in his life.

Jesus most likely is calling you to stay home. Because you live in one place, people know you well, and you know them, you are able to have an important influence on those around you. You can tell people what God has done in your life and they'll listen. You have earned their ear. People at work, those in your community, your family and church know you. They will listen because they not only hear what you say but they see the difference it makes in your life. You can have a dramatic impact.

Conclusion

There was a girl in my freshman civics class in high school who was a Jehovah's Witness. I don't remember her name, but I remember her clearly. She was the kindest person I knew. She never said a bad thing about anyone. She would walk away from a group where the conversation was inappropriate.

She wasn't pompous or self-righteous in the least. It amazes me that I remember her after all these years.

I know why. I don't believe I ever heard a religious word come out of her mouth but the way she lived her faith made me say to myself, "I want a faith like that."

I went to school with her every day. I knew her well. The way she lived her life was a powerful message to me.

You can only do that when you stay in one place and people know who you are. So, stay home and tell everyone what Jesus has done for you.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2010