If I asked you to guess the name of the other great evangelist you would never get it. Funny enough, I doubt if anyone would get it because no one knows his name.
He was an unusual evangelist. He was not even a disciple of Jesus. Yes, he begged to follow Jesus, but Jesus sent him on his way to be an evangelist. He was sent on a mission without any training or adequate knowledge of the master. His experience and testimony was all he needed to know. His experience was God’s mercy.
Are you still rummaging your mind or your bible to get the name? He was known or tagged as demoniac. (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39). Please go through these passages again and follow through with this write up.
We have heard this story several times over. It is one of the most heart-warming stories of how a devastated man was brought back to life. He was ransomed, healed, restored and brought back to the world of the living. He was set free. The man could set himself free from the chains but could not set himself free from the evil spirit that possessed him.
This is one of my favourite stories in the bible because it tells me that many people experience challenges or suffer from sorrows they might not have caused by themselves. They are simply in a bondage greater than they can understand or manage. The Good News is that Jesus has come to set us all free, regardless of the type of bondage.
But, the real restoration and transformation is noted in the man’s willingness to follow Jesus. He gave his life to Jesus. He saw the power of God in his life. He experienced the mercy of God.
This man who met/experienced Jesus in less than 1 hour, is the man who became an evangelist. He went to 10 cities to evangelize. Mark 5:20. It was his way of serving the master. It was his way of saying thank you Lord. It was his way of obeying Jesus. His way of worshiping God.
I always wonder what was he preaching..? Did he need extensive knowledge of Jesus or of God before he could preach? No he didn’t.
His conviction of the power of God in his life was enough material to go about and spread the good news. He just did as Jesus directed him to in Mark 5:18-20.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had had the demons begged him, “Let me go with you!”
19 But Jesus would not let him. Instead, he told him, “Go back home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how kind he has been to you.”
20 So the man left and went all through the Ten Towns, telling what Jesus had done for him. And all who heard it were amazed.
If I should ask, who was the other great evangelist. Your response shouldn’t be the Demoniac. Why can’t you be the other great evangelist. You who has experienced the power of God in your life for days, weeks or even decades. What is holding you back from spreading the Kingdom of God. Every time you tell others about how much the Lord has done for you and how he has been good to you, you do the work of an evangelist.
Today, I invite you to share the love of God through every platform you are. Say something about the goodness of God; because God is indeed good. Let us spread the love of God and by so doing we spread the Kingdom of God. Be an evangelist today. Go and tell you friends, families, colleagues and everyone the good things the Lord has done for you, how God has shown compassion on you. Let people be amazed about the wonders of God!
May thy Kingdom Come! Shalom!
Speechless!