The Power of Testimony

The podcast discusses the importance of confession and its power in our lives. It shares a story from the book of Mark about Jesus encountering a man with an impure spirit. The man was considered the lowest of the lows in both Hellenistic and Jewish societies. However, Jesus chose to minister to him because he was one of God's lost children. The main point is that confession has the power to bring healing and righteousness. Welcome to CCI Fellowship's podcast. Thank you for joining us. At CCI Fellowship, we are reaching God, reaching each other, and reaching our community. We pray that this week's message challenges you in your walk with the Lord, causes you to grow in your faith, and encourages you in your love for the Word of God. Would you open up your Bibles with me to Acts 1, 8-9. And as we do that together, let's pray. Father, thank you for this opportunity to be here today. Thank you for just bringing us all here safely. Lord, you have something to share today, so just ask that you prepare our hearts, prepare my mouth to be able to deliver this message that you have prepared, Father. Lord, we also want to just pray for the Metikas as they're finishing up on the tail end of their trip. Lord, we just ask for traveling mercies as they travel about the U.S. and then fly back here to Honduras. Lord, as there are so many things going on around the world, we just know and pray that you work them for your good. We want to place the recent assassination attempt just in your hands, just ask that you work for your glory. May you bring unity, especially to your people, through this situation. Lord, as elections are coming up in a lot of countries around the world, Lord, we just ask that you put the leaders that you have in place for that, so that your will may be done. Father, help us to just trust in everything, just trust in you that you have everything in control. So, again, Father, we thank you for today. We thank you that we are here, and we just ask that you just use this message to be edifying to each one here today, in your sister's name we pray, amen. All right, so Acts 1, 8 through 9. But you will receive power from the Holy Spirit, or when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all of Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. After he said this, this is Jesus, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. This should not sound unfamiliar if you have been here for the past couple months. This verse has come up quite often, and we're going to take a little bit of a different angle on it today. So Pastor John brought this up, and one of the main points he had given to us a while back, I'd say maybe two months, was about how the disciples were to wait, wait for the Holy Spirit to come upon them. They're supposed to wait in Jerusalem before going out, okay? Now fast forward to a couple weeks ago, I had the privilege to share here again, and I shared on our mission, and I talked about how as Christians we are to preach the gospel and be Jesus' witnesses. And then you go back two weeks now, I'm just kind of catching you guys back up if you weren't remembering all that was preached here from the pulpit these last couple weeks, but Ishmael got to preach, and he shared on the power of, what was it? Say that again? Confession. Wow, good job. Good memory. All right, so yes, he talked about the power of confession, and he gave us three types of confession. The first one was about admitting or humbling yourself and kind of confessing that you were wrong in a situation or that you sinned. That was the first one. Toward the end of his message, he talked about two more, which we're going to go into a little bit more detail today. And so let's read from John. First John 1.9 talks about one of the confessions. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and he will forgive us all of our sins and purify us of all unrighteousness. And then if we read James 5.15-16, it reads, and the prayer offered in faith will make the sick well. The Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. So the main points, the main points that he made was that there is power, supernatural power in confession. Confession to God, which results in our righteousness. Isn't that crazy? How we can become made righteous just by confessing our sins? Do we own that? Or do we kind of wallow in our, oh man, you know, like I, like, no, we have been made righteous. And then if we confess our sins to others, we have this other supernatural power that comes flowing into those situations where, where we can be healed as well. Okay. Now the next two types that Ismael talked about were agreeing with or professing something in relation to your beliefs. And then the third was giving thanks. And so even though this message today is, is entitled the power of testimony, it could be entitled the power of confession part two. Okay. With that said, I want to kind of jump ahead to a story that we are all familiar with out of the book of Mark. It's also found in Matthew and it's also found, it's also found in Luke. But we're going to read it out of Mark today. And I'm going to kind of give you the, the groundwork a little bit before you guys all are familiar with it. The groundwork is that Jesus was in Capernaum and he had done a lot of ministry there. He had healed a lot of people, done a lot of miracles there. He had spoken in the synagogue and done a lot of teaching. And then one evening he's like, Hey, let's go to the other side of the lake guys. And then that's when they cross over the Sea of Galilee and there's a big storm. And you guys know what happens, Jesus is asleep and a huge storm. A lot of the disciples were, were fishermen. And so this was a bigger storm than they knew would be safe to be traveling through. So they're like, Oh, we're going to die. We better wake him up. So they woke him up and he speaks to the storm and calms it. And they're like, Whoa, you know, but right now where you are now in Mark five, this is right after Mark five verse one, it reads, they went across the lake to the region of Gerasenes. When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This man lived in the tombs and no one could bind him anymore. Not even with a chain for he had been given, sorry, for he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him night and day among the tombs and in the hills. He would cry out and cut himself with stones. Okay, we're going to stop right there. We're going to read on in just a little bit more, but I kind of want to give us some thoughts that maybe we have had before, or maybe we haven't with this certain situation. So they just crossed over to the other side. Most of the ministry Jesus had been doing right now, or prior to this had been in the Jewish centered areas. And this was a moment when he took the disciples and said, Hey, we're going to the other side. And the other side where they landed was a pagan area. Okay. And when I say pagan, it's probably not the thought that's coming to your mind of what you think of pagan is. This was a, an area that was mainly, it was kind of a Roman run area. It was very Hellenistic and to simplify, this is very oversimplifying a Hellenistic type of culture, but it was very, very human centered and can closely be related to what we have in Western culture today. For example, where they found their truth was from their mind. Okay. That's where ultimate truth came from. What was true was what could be logically understood or determined. They placed a huge and high value on science. The way that you gained your level in the culture was through accomplishment. You also were of high stature if you were thought to have lots of beauty or appeared to look really nice. They really, really valued titles, knowledge. They really had a high value on sporting acumen. If you were rich, you were also somebody very important in the community and society. Actors also played a, had a high, high place of stature in that community as well. And so that, all of those things were kind of similar to what you and I would kind of relate to today. Am I right? Like it doesn't seem pagan, okay? So with that now, I want you to think of, and the last point of that, that type of society marginalized and pushed everybody else out that wasn't of value, okay? If you didn't have the value that was sought after, you were somebody very, very low in that society. So now picture this guy that is at the tombs, okay? In the Hellenistic society, this guy was the lowest of the lows. If you were in that society, you could probably look and if you're feeling bad about yourself one day, you could be like, well, at least I'm not like that guy, you know, because there's no getting lower than this guy. He was crazy. In Luke, it says he was naked. He cut himself all over with sharp rocks. He was sleeping in the tombs amongst bones and dead bodies. He yelled out uncontrollably and attacked people. Probably didn't shower, probably smelled pretty horrible, probably didn't cut his hair, okay? So this guy, lowest of the lows, Hellenistic society. Now think about it from the Jews' perspective, okay? Think about the disciples now. They just came over on the boat with Jesus. Where would this guy be in the Jewish society? This guy also was the worst of the unclean. They weren't supposed to be in this area. They weren't supposed to associate. They were supposed to stay away from dead things and stay away from people who touched dead things. And this guy was sleeping with the dead. He was oozing open sores. He was naked, which is very indecent. There was, again, nobody lower or more unclean in the Jewish culture than this guy. And this is who Jesus chose to go over and cross the lake for and minister to, because he was one of God's lost children, the lowest of the lows. Let's pick back up at verse 6, so you guys can read with me now. Not actually verbally, but follow along. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him. And he shouted at the top of his voice, What do you want with me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? In God's name, don't torture me. For Jesus had said to him, Come out of this, man, you impure spirit. Let's take a pause right there for a moment. So in Jewish culture, names are hugely important. I don't know if you've picked that up, but names have a definite value in Jewish culture. They carry a title. They carry a kind of like a calling. There is possibly like even some authority with it. And if you notice with me here, he is calling out Jesus, son of God, or son of the Most High. In essence, he could be trying to invoke and use his name to have some authority here. And so Jesus responds, actually, we'll go here in a little bit. Yes. Okay. So here's Jesus' response in 9 here. It says, Then Jesus asked him, What is your name? My name is Legion, he replied, for we are many. Now I don't know if this is the way I took it before, but in kind of doing some reading and some research into this, there was another perspective that was brought up to my attention. I always thought that this was kind of a cowering moment, but it might have been the opposite for this guy possessed with the evil spirits. So remember that this is a Hellenistic Roman society. And they had legions that kind of basically got Caesar and put him in power. They were the ones that fought and won the battles and gave Caesar his power. And so there was one kind of legion in particular, which was the most famous in that time, who had won a lot of battles, very, very successful. And on their kind of crest, there were two things on their crest. There was, like the Romans, had an eagle on it, and there was also another animal on it. Does anybody think they know what that other animal was? It was wild boars. And it was a symbol of strength. Has anybody here been to a pig farm before? I just recently went to a pig farm this last year. I did not realize how big these things get. These things are ginormous, the ones that get really big. I went and looked it up. So wild boars, wild pigs, they can grow up to 600 to 800 pounds and grow up to eight feet in length. The ones that are more domestic, the biggest one, grew up to 2,500 pounds, okay? These things can be very, very big, okay? And imagine that you have a lot of these now, wild, huge boars and stuff. That can be pretty intimidating and dominating, okay? And so this symbol that they used of wild boars and I am legion, okay, you could take it as they were many, okay, and a legion was, I believe it was 6,000 in the unit. But it could be he was boasting and like, I am legion, you know, and like he had thinking back to those chains that he's just broken, no one is able to subdue him, you know, and trying to like intimidate Jesus. But very, very quickly, Jesus kind of, well, he flipped the script and then he started begging Jesus again and again not to send him out of the area. Like he recognized very quickly, it's not working, say, don't send me, please don't send me out, send us out of the area, in verse 11, a large herd of pigs was feeding on a nearby hillside. The demons begged Jesus, send us among the pigs, allow us to go into them. So Jesus, he gave them permission and the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about 2,000 in number, rushed down the steep bank and into the lake and they were drowned. Okay, so again, a lot of theories on why pigs, I just entered another theory that maybe it had to do with legion, you know, and like that specific legion that was thought of as really, really strong. You could also, because the pig was very, very unclean and unkosher, and possibly there's a theory out there that the owners of the pig, pigs, were Hellenistic Jews. In that area, for the Romans and all that, but they were, that was also the area that I think it was the tribe of Gad had inhabited, the ones that didn't want to cross over. That was the area. So there might have been some Hellenistic Jews in that area. So that's a theory out there. And so if they were Hellenistic Jews, they weren't necessarily following their culture and being an influence on the culture around them. They were definitely letting the culture around them have the influence on them. For whatever reason it was, Jesus had his reasons. Going to 14, those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and the countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 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. Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs as well. Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. Why? I never understood that, and I still don't quite understand it. There are some theories out there. But he had just healed somebody who was a huge nuisance. No one could pass in that area because of this one guy, or two, by the way. I didn't point that out in Matthew, it says two guys, which there are some theories out there, but I'll let you dive into that on your own. But why would they want him out of there? And so, Jesus, going to 18, as Jesus was getting back into the boat, I want you to notice that right there. It says, as Jesus was getting into the boat. And I want you to go back to verse 2 of that. Can you help me out here, verse 2 here, Melody? Actually, I got it. It says, they went across the lake to the region of Gerasenus when Jesus got out of the boat. I might be reading into this a little more. It doesn't say anything about the disciples getting out of the boat. I'll just put that away there for a little bit. It only talks about Jesus ever in this passage, getting out of the boat, interacting with the demon-possessed man. Demon-possessed man, free from the evil spirits, sitting at Jesus' feet, never mentions the disciples getting out of the boat. Alright, so, picking back up. 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 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. So why, this is probably one of those questions that you've asked yourself, why wasn't this guy allowed to go with Jesus? It would seem that a new convert, the first thing that you would need is to hook them up with some discipleship, right? Get them growing in more information, knowing how to be a Christian, a Christ follower. But Jesus says, No, you stay in this area and you tell people about what I've done. Tell your people. And so this guy does. He goes to all of the Decapolis, those are the ten Roman cities in that area. And so remember that he doesn't give him more. He's basically saying, You have enough right now. Go and use it. Go and tell people. Go and testify about me. You don't need anything more right now. And when Jesus came back into this area, guess what there were? There are other believers now in this area. And then when you look at the historical records and all that, there are churches dating back way, way, way back, Christian churches in this area. And so it makes you wonder, where did that all start? And my estimation, what I surmise is that it all started through the power of testimony. Oftentimes we think, Oh, I need to learn more. I need to read my Bible, which is good. You need to read your Bible and learn more. But sometimes you're frozen and like, I can't tell people about Christ because I don't know much. This guy had his testimony and was sent out and things happened. So when I got to speak here last, I think it was three or four weeks ago, I offered a homework assignment, a challenge to those of you that took it upon yourselves to do it. And that was to research what the word means in Greek for witness in the context of that Bible verse that we first read. Okay. So let's go back to Acts 1, 8 through 9, it's the first verse we read, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So what is this word witness mean? You think about a court. When you are called to be a witness, you are to give your testimony. You're called to a courtroom and you're supposed to testify about what the truth is that you saw. But if you look at the Greek roots, it's actually a little bit more. The word comes from, the word, I don't see it, here we go. The word is martis, which is where we get the word martyr from, which when Jesus called the disciples to be a witness for him, he was letting them know basically what the cost of them telling people about Christ would be. It could cost them their life. Now I want you to look at then why the Holy Spirit is so pivotal in this. Now remember they were called to wait, wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes upon you to be my witness. Now I think we all will understand this reference, but we can look at Peter pre and post Holy Spirit. Now I kind of gave you an example of a possibility of Peter not getting out of the boat potentially when they went over to the other side because he didn't want to or they didn't want to become unclean and because it was basically unlawful for them as Jews to do so. But then look post Holy Spirit, Peter, after being told by Jesus, don't call what is unclean unclean, he needed three times to be reassured that he could actually do it. He was the first missionary to go to the Gentiles, to Cornelius, his whole household. So that's a change there. The one that you guys probably first thought of, he denies Christ three times after kind of self-righteously saying, no, I would die for you. And then denies him three times. But later on, you see him in front of the Sanhedrin, the people that had the power to kill him, they jailed him. And then he's like, no, you guys, you guys are all looking for the Messiah and you missed it. He was, he was right here sitting in front of you and you guys killed him. And they're like, no, stop, stop, stop saying that, shut up, you know, and, and no, like you guys, you guys had it like, it's Jesus. I can't stop because, you know, like this guy totally flipped, you know, and it wasn't him. It wasn't out of his power. Like he tried doing it out of his power. He's like, no, I'm going to, I'm going to die for you. But no, when he was, when he was challenged, he shrank back into cowardice, but the Holy Spirit gave him power to be his witness. And then Paul, okay, Paul, you guys know that he was on the road to Damascus and then he saw that light and a voice. And Jesus says, Paul, why are you persecuting me? Or Saul? He said, Saul, not Paul yet. And so if you look at Acts 9 verse 6, so he, Saul was trembling and astonished and said, Lord, Lord, what do you want me to do? And then he said to him, arise, go to the city and you will be told what you must do. It kind of sounds a little bit what the disciples were told to do, right? Wait, go to the city and wait. Why does he have to wait? Because he needs something. Guess what? Something he's going to get. Fast forward to Acts 9, 15, 16. But the Lord said to him, Ananias, go for he is a chosen vessel of mine to bear my name before the Gentiles, kings and children of Israel. For I must show him how many things he must suffer for my namesake. And Ananias went on his way, entered the house and laying his hands on him, he said, brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road as you came has sent me that you may receive your sight and what? And be filled with the Holy Spirit. You are going to need the Holy Spirit in order to be God's witness, to be Jesus's witness. I am, I've got a lot here and only six minutes left and that's okay. The reason that you need the Holy Spirit to be his witness is because it comes with power. It comes with authority. It comes with promptings. It gives you guidance into what you should do, where you should go, who to talk to, what to say. I have a quick testimony and then I'm going to give the microphone over to two other gentlemen to give another quick testimony of two different instances about being prompted, okay, and then being prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something and the result, okay? So this was back when we used to meet up in the auditorium and I had just come back from a long weekend, an athletic trip where we participated and let's just say it was a basketball tournament and so I was in charge of a bunch of teams up in San Pedro and we came back and I was here at church and I was tired and I was really glad because I had nothing that I was responsible for. So I'm sitting there because it was one of those weeks where I don't have anything to do and then something prompted Pastor John that we were going to spend a little extra time praying for people, that if people needed prayer, they should come forward and be prayed for and at that moment I was prompted, does everybody remember Tim Price? Tim Price suffered with a lot of back pain for a long time. I was prompted that Tim Price was going to come to me and ask me to pray for him for his back. Guess what happened? Tim Price came to me, I prayed for his back, Tim Price's back was healed. I cannot do that like out of my own power. I can't be like, like right now I'm sick, I've been suffering with some cold and some other things like I've been sweating this whole time up here. I can't be like, I mean I hope sometime maybe I can get to this, you know like, no like it was one of those moments where I knew God was calling me to do something, I followed and it happened. So in closing, what is it that God is telling you, is asking you, is pleading with you to share with others? What testimony has he given you as your way to move in power in not only your life but in the lives of others? I challenge you that you have what you need if you have the Holy Spirit in you and you have that testimony, you have enough right there to begin to be a witness and share your testimony with others and fulfill the call that he has called us to as Christians. Thank you for listening to this week's podcast. If you are ever in the Tegucigalpa area and looking for an English speaking congregation, please join us on Sunday afternoon at 4pm in the main auditorium of Iglesia CCI in Colonial Trapiche just off Boulevard Suyapa near UNAH. If you would like prayer or more information about our church, contact us at fellowships.cci at gmail.com, that's fellowships.cci at gmail.com or follow us on social media. We hope to see you or hear from you soon. Blessings. Amen.