Steven Furtick - You Must Be Important
Have you noticed that, like, who we think is important sometimes, maybe God doesn't think is as important, in culture, I mean. Just like, have you noticed that? It seems like lately I'm praying more and more, "God, show me what's important from your perspective". I'm afraid that I'll live my life wasting my energy on things that seem important to me only to find out that they weren't as important as I thought they were. So, I'm just praying more and more in the moment, just a very short prayer, God show me what's important and I'm praying it at the start of my week more that "God, there's a lot I could do this week, but I need you to show me the difference between what's urgent and what's important". Because some things that will be an emergency for other people cannot become my priority just because they didn't make a plan.
And so, this week, I need you to show me the difference between what's urgent and what's important and sometimes it's urgent and important, but I need God more and more to show me what's, what's more important. Lately I find that it's not choosing between, you know, Netflix and Bible study, it's like which show on Netflix or Bible study. I'm just kidding. I just want to take it there. No, it's two things that are equally and to me equal priorities because I know that I need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. I don't always know what that looks like in this moment. Because my role in the kingdom consists of multiple roles.
So, on one level, I am a pastor who needs to prepare a sermon. On another level, I am a dad with a kid who wants to throw the football and I know you think that you're more important that my son's desire to throw a football, but the fact of the matter is, you know, if I dropped dead, there'd be another preacher standing here this weekend, but he's only got one dad. It's true. It's so true some of the things that I thought were more important in my 20's, now that I'm like a wise sage at the age of 38, I'm realizing that I need God more and more to show me what's important now. What's important now? What was important to me in one season, may not need the same priority in this season.
And that even applies to people. I know that everybody is equally important. Touch somebody and say, "I know you're important to God". But God is an unlimited resource and He can love everybody equally. I'm not that much like God. I only have so much to give. Come on, there's only so many bags of chips in the vending machine of my heart and I can't just have everybody grabbing everything out of me all the time. Eventually I will run out, so I need to be led by the Spirit to know what's most important in this moment, in this season of my life, what is the priority of God for me.
In Mark's gospel, we are going to study today briefly a story that he thought was important to include to give us a full picture of Jesus as we're coming to know Him, savage Jesus. It's been shocking to us some of the priorities that Jesus had and how much different those priorities than maybe what we would have expected. When we see Him stopping to heal a woman in Mark 5:21 and following on His way to heal a little girl, we are shocked, confounded and in some ways challenged because the one He was going to heal was the daughter of someone who was important. His name was Jairus. He was a synagogue leader. The woman who came up behind Jesus isn't even given a name. Nobody really cared about women like that in this culture.
He stops en route to the miracle that is more important and more urgent because the little girl has hours to live. In fact, while He stops to heal this unimportant woman, the important girl dies. Jesus isn't concerned about this because He is healer, yes, also He is resurrection. His priority in this moment is to show the people a deeper revelation of who He is. The only way for Him to give them this revelation of the power of His presence is to upset their priorities and stop for something that they see as less important. So that when He gets to the scene, which was more important, the little girl is already dead. This provides an opportunity for Him to do something that He couldn't have done if He had gone according to their priorities.
Sometimes God will upset your priorities to show you His power in a new way and I know it's hard to clap for that, but if God has been doing some unusual things in your life lately and it seems difficult to get Jesus to follow your agenda, maybe He is re-ordering your priorities. Maybe what was important to you then shouldn't be important to you now and He's trying to show you an order of importance. That's how you can know when the presence of God is really increasing in your day-to-day life. It will shift your priorities. Goosebumps don't prove the presence of God. I get goosebumps off of Bruno Mars every time. Goosebumps and sometimes I kiss Holly. Feelings don't prove the presence of God. What proves the presence of God in my life is when my priorities begin to align with His. And this is going to require a collision because cultural priorities are much different.
Now we're ready for Mark 5, a story that Mark thought was important enough to include for us. Imagine you have to write a gospel account and you have to decide what's the most important teaching Jesus gave that you want to put in Mark 4 or what stories are you going to leave out? Because it's not like you could say, "Well, that wasn't any good when He healed that blind man". You know what I'm saying? Like it'd be hard to let something hit the cutting room floor, right? Yeah, well, I mean, He opened so many deaf ears, you gotta pick and choose which ones you're going to include. Like, stuff that Jesus did on His way to His appointments would have been our greatest accomplishment in our whole lifetime.
And now, Mark has to decide, all right, what are the most important stories? And so, in order to do that, he has to choose one theme and he has to get this theme across because Matthew, who wrote a gospel account is going to have a theme. Luke is, John is. Mark's theme, he decides, is going to be to show the authority of Jesus. The authority of Jesus. And authority is illustrated, not explained. Can I talk about that? People who always need to tell you they're in charge, aren't really in control. When you really have power, you don't have to shout. Just walk through my house and watch Holly look at one of our kids a certain way and you will see that power doesn't have to shout. I mean, there is a look she can give, and I don't know where the kids go after that. They crawl under parts of the house I've never seen, off of one look.
And this is a demonstration of Jesus' authority that I don't think you'll soon forget. Let me read it to you. Just relax and listen, okay. "They went," Mark 5:1, "across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus got to 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'd 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". And that's called foreshadowing, class. "No one was strong enough to subdue him".
And this is where we need a savage Jesus. Sweet tart Jesus can't help this man. Cutie pie Jesus can't bless this guy with a little cliché. Ichthus on the back of your car Jesus, jewelry Jesus around your neck can't do anything about this situation but you might come to a point in your life where you've lost sight of who you are and Whose you are and in those moments, you don't want a little puny Jesus who stands over on the side and waits 'til you rub your hands together and pull Him out of the bottle on Christmas and Easter or when you decide to bless Him with your presence at church. No, in those moments you're going to want a strong Savior with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. I'm talking about a savage Jesus. Somebody shout, "I got a great big God".
Night and day, verse 5, "Among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones". And verse 6 is interesting. "When He saw Jesus from a distance," now this is the first time he's seen Jesus, but this is not Jesus first vision of Him. He saw Jesus from a distance. Jesus did His ministry in Capernaum. This account is from a gentile region, the region of the Gerasenes. No one knows exactly where that is, by the way. There's a lot of debate about it. I went over to a spot where they think this story might have happened last year and he showed me how Jesus would go up in the mountains and pray early in the morning and late at night. And across the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus has just traveled, the sound would have traveled.
So, if this man is crying out day and night, there's a good chance Jesus would have been up early while the man was up late and while the man was up late crying, Jesus was up late praying and maybe one morning after hearing the man cry one more time, Jesus decided today is the day for me to make my way toward this man and set him free. Could it be that God has heard your cry and He has heard the secret petitions and disappointments of your heart and He had you log on or show up today because today is the day that He came to see about you when you thought no one else was listening and you thought you were all alone, could it be that He heard you and now the man sees Jesus possibly before Jesus even lays eyes on the man and he ran and fell on his knees in front of Him, verse 7, "He shouted at the top of his voice, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the most High God?'" Oh, by the way, your first response to God will often be fear.
When He shows up in your life in real power, there will be something in you that will resist that authority because it goes against everything that is engrained in our humanity to be in the presence of one who is greater than us and it often causes us to re-evaluate our priorities. Now, in this man's case, there is a specific reason that he falls on his knees and shouts, "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, here it is, "Come out of this man, you impure spirit". And Jesus challenged the spirit that was within the man and the spirit within the man resisted the challenge of Jesus because anytime the enemy has occupied a territory for a while, he won't let it go without a fight.
And Jesus asked him a question not for information but for revelation. He doesn't need to know this, He knows all things but He asked the man because the man might know who Jesus is but this man doesn't know who he is and Jesus asked the man, "What is your name"? and the man responded, "My name is Legion for we are many and he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area". The demons begged Jesus, "Don't make us leave". And this is where the story gets interesting. Verse 11. And I promise you the Bible is way more bizarre than you give it credit for. Exhibit A, verse 11. "A large herd of pigs," we know we're not in Jewish territory anymore, right? Because there would not be a large herd of pigs.
Jesus has left His home turf and He's crossed over. And now He's in gentile territory, the region of the Gerasenes and there's a large herd of pigs standing nearby on the hillside feeding and the demons begged Jesus, "Send us among the pigs. Allow us to go into them". He gave them permission. "Okay, you gotta leave the man, but you can jump on the pigs". And the impure spirits came out and went into the pigs and the herd, about 2.000 in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drown. I know you're worried right now that I'm going to find a way to preach about this in a way that applies to your life, but trust me, I've been doing this a long time. I've got a good track record and I promise you there is a connection between you and these pigs and if you give me a few minutes and pay close attention, I'll show you what it is.
Verse 14, "Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside and the people went to see what had happened and 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. And then, then, then, the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. Touch them again and say, "Can I get your autograph"? Touch them. Say, "You must be important". You must be important that Jesus would go through all this trouble to keep an appointment with you.
Oh, I'm so sorry. I messed up. I started reading in the wrong place in the Bible. It happens. I'm sorry. This is my third time preaching it. You will have to forgive me. I was supposed to start in Mark 4:35 and I started in Mark 5 and you can't understand Mark 5 without Mark 4:35-41. So, if you will forgive me for my slight oversight, I'm gonna do what I should have done before. I went to tell you about the storm that came before the miracle. This passage of scripture will preach all by itself because watch this, how many of you are going through a storm in your life today? Just raise your hand. Or somebody close to you is going through a storm? Raise your hand.
Now, see how easy it is to preach about storms? Did you see the high percentage of hands that went up? Except in Blakeney. They never raise their hands when I ask them to. But let me try this one more time. How many of you are going through a storm, you just came out of a storm, or you know there's probably a storm around the corner? Come on, be a meteorologist and touch your neighbor and say, "There's a storm out on the ocean".
So, so, let me read this to you 'cause it's important. Somebody say it's important. "That day when evening came". This is the same day, remember same day. Mark didn't divide this into chapters. We did that later. Mark's writing it all as one story. "That day, when evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let's go over to the other side.'" Note, He doesn't tell them why. He doesn't say because I've got an appointment on the other side. He doesn't tell them why. He just tells them, what. Can you obey what God says when you don't know why? Can you just get in and go even though you don't know where this is going? If you believe He has all authority, you don't need full details to be obedient. This is just for the obedient Christians, who are willing to cross over. Now, make a note of this, you can't cross over without conflict. And Jesus is moving the mission forward. He's leaving the comfort zone of, what did we call it? Capernaum. Oh, Nahum, comfort, Capernaum, Capernaum, it's the place of the comforter.
He's leaving the comfort zone and He's moving into enemy territory like some of you are doing right now in your life. You are beginning to move forward in the things of God. You're changing your circle. You're changing your values. You have begun to prioritize the presence of God. But let me warn you. When you make God your priority, the enemy will send a storm. You never cross over without conflict. Did you expect the devil would let you go without a fight? Did you expect that he would let you leave Egypt without sending his chariots to chase you down? You been serving the devil 42 years and now you decide to stand up and be a Godly man and you think it's just going to change overnight? As a matter of fact, I want to announce to you, the reason the storm is raging might not be because you're Jonah headed away from the will of God. It might be because you're crossing over into the calling that is on your life. That's what the conflict is all about.
I know I should just calm down and talk to you. But sometimes when you're in a storm, sometimes you need somebody to holler at you and say, "Hey, you're gonna make it through this". "How do you know"? "'Cause Jesus said we're going to the other side, so you can't die in this. That's what I came to say. I preached so many sermons about this storm and I've told so many people that they can survive what they're going through but there's a more important question than will you survive. The better question to ask is why did you survive the storm. Have you thought about, have you ever thought about how many things the enemy did even early in your life to try to stop you from having a relationship with God?
Remember this is Mark 4, not Mark 5. This man has not even seen Jesus yet, yet there is a storm that is sent to the Sea of Galilee to keep Jesus from getting to Him. I know. You're like, "Well, how do you know the devil started this storm? Maybe it was just climate change". 'Cause it said Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves. Jesus doesn't rebuke natural elements, He rebukes demons. The same demonic oppression that was oppressing that man was in that sea trying to stop Jesus from getting to the man. You were on the devil's hit list before you were ever born. There were things in your family line that were happening before you were born that were designed to keep you from being in church at this moment today.
Touch somebody and say, "You must be important because in spite of all the storms that had your name on them, in spite of all the winds and the waves and the hurricane forces, in spite of every attack, look at you in church. Look at you clapping. Look at you taking notes. Look at you praising God. Look at you believing for a brighter day. Look how you made it. You must be important. You survived.
You know how I know you're important? It takes boldness to call your sermon You Must Be Important. It takes boldness to call your sermon that, but I know it, not because of the car you drive, not because of the house you live in, not because I looked up how many Instagram followers you have. I know you're important because of your storm. See the size of your storm tells me something about your importance. The size of your storm lets me know the importance of your assignment. The devil doesn't start a storm for somebody who he's not threatened by. If you're going through a storm, there's something so big on the other side! High five three people and say, "You must be important because that big bad devil's been huffing and puffing, and he thought he would blow your house down but the trials you serve to prove your foundation".
Come on, my house is on the rock, I can't. Oh, I was so confused for so long, I thought the storm meant that God had left me, you know? But in this passage the storm means He's on the way. Did you hear what I said? If you're going through a storm right now or if one happens to hit on Thursday morning, I want you to know that the storm is a sign that grace is on the way. The Bible says the storm came up suddenly. The moment Jesus started in the direction of the man, here came a storm, not because God wasn't with him but precisely 'cause He was headed in his direction!
Nobody attacks what isn't valuable. I promise you, if I went to play game seven today, LeBron wouldn't guard me. I promise you, they would let me run all around that court and do whatever I wanted to do. They would hand me the ball, gladly. You only guard... Why would you guard someone who wasn't in a position to score? I know you're important. Look here, Brooke, when I prepared this message, I was like, "Everybody won't get this message, 'cause they'll do this thing. When I get to this man called Legion, and I say he was living among the tombs and cutting himself with stones, they would disassociate themselves and say, 'Well, I've got some problems, but I'm not that bad.'" "And when he says, my name is Legion, they'll back up off of him, and they'll disassociate in the text and they'll say, 'Well, I'm like the disciples going through a storm, but I'm not the man called Legion.'" Really? Are you so sure? 'Cause it said he lived among the tombs. So, you don't go to dead places? Are you sure? Are you sure this isn't you?
Somewhere in here it may have a different demonstration, but it's the same dynamic. 'Cause it said they would try to chain him up, and he would break the chains and they couldn't hold him anymore, and he would hurt himself. Are you tellin' me there's no area of your life where you're out of control? I started to study the text, thinkin' I was like Jesus, and who do I need to go help? The more I studied it, I thought maybe there's some Legion in me. I don't mean demonic possession, but I do mean oppression. I've got my own chains. I'll tell you the greatest secret God ever showed me about you, yes, you. He told me that all y'all are crazy. True story. I was getting ready to preach one time, and I wanted to preach from my own dysfunction, but I was embarrassed to do it because I thought like, everybody that I was preaching to had their act together, and why are you gonna listen to a preacher that's crazier than you? And, it was very interesting for me, the path that I went on in those two years that I was learning this lesson, watching millionaires who were miserable.
And I realized the devil doesn't check your net worth before he tries to wreck your house. And I saw really nice smelling people with like, country club memberships and stuff, who drive eco-friendly cars and eat hummus. And freaking out on depression medication, and yeah. And once I found out y'all were crazy, I was no longer intimidated to preach this Bible like it really is. Once I realized that you might be out of control in your spending, your eating, your sexuality, if I kept going long enough, I'd clear the whole room out of self-righteousness. There would not be one more Pharisee spirit left to hear this sermon if I kept going. Dare me to do it! I will name every demon in this room! 'Cause once I stop talkin' about the stuff you can't see, then I would move over to gossip. Some of y'all can't stop talking about people. You are so ugly! Okay, see what I... I told you! I told you. I told you you were crazy! He knew the man was crazy when He got on the boat. It didn't stop Him from comin'. That got me excited! I figure maybe He knows about my issues, too! "I am Legion," they said.
A legion is 6.000 foot soldiers. That's a lot of demons. Jesus said, "What is your name? "You know My name, do you know yours? Do you know who you are, or do you have so many different personas..".? You know, because we're all Legion. We're all a little bit of Legion. There are many me's. Somebody told me that Abby looks just like me. They said, "She's your mini-me". I was like, "You don't know how true that is". There are many me's. Huh? There's online you. There's Sunday morning you. That's the only one I ever get to see. But then, I found out there's a Friday night you. Don't make me interview your spouse, please. I will pull them up here and give 'em the mic. There's the you only she knows, he knows. There's a you that only you know. There's a you that cries out day and night. You don't cut yourself with stones, I understand that. But sometimes you inflict pain on yourself and you can't stop it. And you don't even know why you keep pushin' people away. You've been livin' among the tombs so long.
Somebody's tomb is the mall. Somebody's tomb is pornography. Somebody's tomb is an addiction, that if we named it in the room, you'd think surely that person wouldn't come to church. You'd be surprised how quick the demons run to Jesus. Those demons ran before Jesus, and fell before Him and said, "Don't make us leave. We've got it like we want it here. We've got these people on lockdown". But they knew that this man was important to Jesus, and they knew, they knew that they were about to have to vacate the premises of this man's personality and his psychology. And they knew that someone strong enough to subdue them had finally showed up in the region of the Gerasenes. 'Cause you've tried everything else, and you've run to everyone else, but I declare today you are in the presence of a greater grace, and what works couldn't do, and the law couldn't do, and chains couldn't do, and shackles couldn't do, God's about to do it in your life. Grace can do what chains can't do.
So now we get to the part about the pigs. We haven't even got to the pigs yet. The pigs are the most important part. This is the part where I'm wondering why the demons wanted to get inside the pigs? And on the surface, I understand that the devil never wants to give up any ground. You understand, once he has established a foothold... how many of you don't believe in the devil? I want to see who hasn't had kids yet. That's all I'm tryin' to do. He doesn't want you to be the first one in your family not to need drink to feel good about yourself! He doesn't want you to be the first one in your family to be able to stay stable in a relationship, rather than running around. So, what does he want? He wants to stand guard in the area, and this is a brilliant strategy! I've got to give it to these devils. The devils are smarter than a lot of church people! They know how to get in formation. They know how to accomplish a purpose. And, they know how to discern what is valuable. This is it. Stay with me. Are you with me? Come on, we're on somethin'. Are you with me? Lean into this Word. The Word you'll resist is the one that you need. Jesus is in this house! The presence of God is in this place! The power of Almighty God is in this moment!
Now, so Jesus says, you've got to go. Let that man go. He's important to Me. I went through the storm to get to him. I went through the thunder and the lightning to get to him. I went through bucketfuls of water bailed out of Peter's boat to get to him. I came two hours across the Sea of Galilee, and I've only got three years to change the world. This man is a VIP! I know everybody else has forgotten about him, but I want him! Now, let me say something real quick! If He went through the storm for this man, and He went to the cross for you, how valuable must you be? How much is your life worth to God? And Jesus said, okay, you can go into the pigs. And they went into the pigs, and then they made the pigs drown, 'cause the demons know two things. One, pigs can't swim, but we all know that. What'd the demons know that we don't know? I think the demons understood that the people in the region cared more about the pigs than they did about the man. This is 2.000 pigs. This represents a significant part of the portfolio of these pig owners. This is a region that is known for raising pigs.
So, what does the enemy attack? Whatever you value the most. And yes, he knows what you value. And yes, he knows how to hit you where it hurts the most. And that's why he'll use people to get to your relationship with God. What's really most valuable is your relationship with God, but he knows if he can get people to offend you, you will do what the people did. You will send Jesus away, because you were offended by people. He knows where to hit you. He knows where your insecurity is. He knows your playlist, what you say to yourself about yourself. He knows your proclivities, your perversions. He knows what makes you feel ashamed, so he hits you there to make you lash out in anger. He knows how to keep you bound. And since he couldn't stay in the man, the devil went into the pigs. If I kill the pigs, they'll send Jesus away. Let me hurt Job. This is when the devil had a meeting with God. He said, I've been going to and fro looking for somebody to devour, and God said, have you checked out my boy, Job? Job's a bad dude. This is an updated translation. It's a little more modern that what it says in your Bible.
And the devil said, he's only serving you because his herd is still intact. Let me touch his body. Let me touch his children. The enemy will use anything to get to your faith. What he's after is your relationship with God, but he will use the pigs to get you to push away the presence of God. He knows exactly where you're vulnerable. Guess where you're the most vulnerable? Wherever you place the greatest value! These pigs were worth $2 million in modern money. He said, if I can get in the pigs and make the pigs drown in the water, the people will be so afraid 'cause they lost their pigs that they will send Jesus away. I wonder where the enemy attacked you? I bet it was in the place of your greatest value. But, guess what? I got good news. He only attacks what's valuable, so if he has attacked you lately, guess what that means about you? You must be important! Oh, God. The devil knows more about your destiny than you do. There must be something on your life.
Can I preach this like God gave it to me? God said some of you are breaking generational curses, and you don't even know it! And that's why it's been so hard, and that's why it's been so strong, and that's why it's been so dark, because you're so strong, and you're so positioned, and you're so important to His purpose! You must be important. The devil wouldn't tie you up if he wasn't afraid of what would happen if you got loose. I can't buy an Amen, but I don't need one. This is good in my soul! I said, he wouldn't tie you up. It's the opposite. I thought the storm meant God had left me. I found out it meant that grace was on the way. I thought the shackles meant God couldn't use me. I found out that the shackles mean God is looking for someone who knows how to break chains. Now, I just wonder, are there any chain breakers in the house today? I mean, you see chain breakers, Rock Hill chain breakers. If you're a chain breaker and you know it, and you've been through some things and you have some issues, and you forgot who you were for a moment, but in the presence of God today you're starting to remember, I am a child of God, take a few moments and praise Him for what's on the other side!
Come on, children! Come on! Come on, chain breakers! Come on and praise Him! I don't care I'm on a screen! Shout unto to God with a voice of triumph! I don't care you belong to a country club! Shout unto to God with a voice of triumph! I'm a chain breaker! You must be important. He threw you in the fire so He could show Nebuchadnezzar that He is God. You must be important. He let you spend the night with the lions so He could shut the lion's mouth and demonstrate His strength. You must be important. He drowned all those horses in the Red Sea so that the nations would know that He is God. You must be important! High-five everybody looks happy, say, "You must be important". You gotta be! You gotta be! How else do you explain the fact that you're still here? Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, so that only that which cannot be shaken will remain. You know what it means if you're still here? You were shaken! The trial came. The foundations quaked, but the house stood firm, 'cause it wasn't on the sand! And this man was so important that Jesus went through the storm to get to him, and you are so important that Jesus went through Gethsemane to get to you, and you are so important that He passed through the membrane of eternity into the construct called time to come to you.
Don't you ever let the devil tell you again somebody else needs to raise those kids. Don't you ever let the devil tell you again somebody else belongs in that spot. And the next storm that comes, I want you to wave it on by, 'cause there must be somethin' so great on the other side. Listen. In my Bible, it says something very strange. It says that when Jesus set the man free, the man went and got down in the boat, 'cause he was like, you are not leaving me here with these people! Look at Verse 18. I didn't read it to you, I was saving it. "As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who was demon-possessed begged to go with Him". That's like, if you're in my car on the way home. That would be weird. Now we've got a contrast, 'cause the demons are like, don't make us leave, and the man is like, don't make me stay. And it's sexy to want to step out into something new. And the brother is clothed and in his right mind, and he's amazed, and he's grateful, and he wants to be on Jesus' team, so he's like, I'm gonna come with you, all right? It's cool, I promise. No more of that cuttin' and chain breakin' stuff. I'm gonna... let me keep the books. I see that guy you got, Judas. I don't think he... see, a devil knows a devil, I'm tellin' you.
Let me be the treasurer. But something happens so strange to me, because I just read in Mark 2 where Jesus called the disciples and He said, come follow Me. Leave what you know and follow Me. And I'm gonna show you how to do something new for My glory. And they had the faith to go, and it takes a lot of faith to leave a situation you're familiar with. It takes faith to go. Then, Jesus did something kind of strange. He looked back at the man and He said, you can't follow Me. Jesus didn't let him leave, but said, I need you to go home to the same situation that I delivered you in. I'm not gonna take you out of it, I took it out of you. I changed your condition, but I'm gonna leave you in the circumstance, because I want these people to know, watch this: Go home and tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Give me my verse, please. Thank you. "And how He has had mercy on you".
I want you to be a trophy. In fact, it's better than that. Look at Verse 20. Touch somebody, say, "You must be so important. I don't know why the ushers let me sit next to you. You must be so important". "And he went away and began to tell in the Decapolis". That's ten cities. The man became a missionary. You know what we could call this sermon? "From Maniac to Missionary". I need somebody crazy enough, 'cause when the people see how much you've changed, they're gonna be amazed. Sometimes God gives you the faith to go. Other times He gives you the grace to stay, and I think that's amazing, too. Because some of you are in a difficult place, and all you wanna do is escape. "Jesus, take me with you. I mean, let me get a new start".
And sometimes in those moments, and you know if you're in one, where you just want to escape the situation, or the pain, or the trial, God says, I'm gonna give you something better than the faith to go. I'm gonna give you the grace to stay. See, you are so important to Me! And the man, who wasn't even living with the people, became the first missionary to the Gentiles. He was the first one. Some of you are gonna be the first. You are going to be the first to break a chain. None of your friends have done it, none of your family did it, nobody around you believes you can do it, and you didn't believe in yourself, but in this moment, the presence of the Lord is in this place. 'Cause now I know who I am. I thought I was worthless. I believed that for years. But now, I know who I am. He came through all that for me. Now I know who I am, because the enemy only attacks what's valuable.