Great Things Jesus Had Done

Here is a note of the hymns we shall read in our service tomorrow, God willing. There is a link to our YouTube channel here  You will find us broadcasting live from about five minutes before the start of the service (5:30pm BST, 10:30am MDT).

_______________________________

Dear Friends,

As we prepare for tomorrow’s worship here are some thoughts that might help to open up the passage before us. In tomorrow’s service we will continue our series in Mark’s Gospel in chapter 5. Sunday’s hymns for reading are below. I hope you have opportunity to look at them beforehand. Our verses are:

Mar 5:14  And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

Mar 5:15  And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Mar 5:16  And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.

Mar 5:17  And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

Mar 5:18  And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.

Mar 5:19  Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.

Mar 5:20  And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

The ‘Great Things Jesus Had Done’

When the Lord Jesus Christ had delivered the Gadarene demoniac from Legion and set him free from Satan’s bondage, Mark tells us, ‘he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him’. Having once met the Lord this man would not let Him go.

What a transformation had occurred! The wild man of the tombs who struck fear into the hearts of all around is ‘sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind’. Many talk of getting converted but here is proof before our eyes. ‘If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed’ (John 8:36).

However, the local people learning of the events of the day responded rather with fear than wonder. Today’s religion tries to make Jesus appealing to natural men and women, moulding Him to suit their tastes, but Christ’s Lordship is neither pleasing nor acceptable to any but those made willing in the day of His power.

Then, as his Deliverer turns to leave the coasts of that country the man asks to be allowed to travel with Jesus and His disciples. He quickly concluded it was better to be an outcast with Christ than dwell at peace with those who turned Him away. But Jesus had another plan. He said, “Go home to your friends, tell them of the great things the Lord has done for you, tell them of my love for you”.

What a personal testimony that man had to give! Just a few hours earlier his body was home to a legion of demons and his mind a house of horrors. It drove him to despair. He had no power to resist or rid himself of the dominating force. Then Christ intervened. The Lord Jesus came to where he was, searched him out, expelled his enemy and brought peace into his soul.

This is a beautiful picture of sovereign grace. The Lord Jesus Christ did for this man what the man could not do for himself. Christ delivered him. Christ saved him. Christ set him free. The Lord Jesus sought him, found him, healed him, gave him rest, and even clothed him. There is no talk of human agency or inherent power in this account of salvation. There is no ‘decision for Christ’ just deliverance, no ‘choosing to be saved’ only conversion, no ‘exercising free will’, simply glorious free grace.

And there is love. Powerful, particular and personal compassion from the Lord Jesus Christ towards this poor creature. Love that made a change and made a difference. Love that acted and accomplished the end for which the Saviour came. Love that brought salvation, and effected great things in the life of this needy individual. This was this story the man had to tell.

This saved soul was not destined to join Jesus’ band of close disciples. He was not called to be one of the Twelve. There would not be for him the familiar, intimate and personal relationship with the Lord Jesus that characterised the ministry of the apostles. Yet, still he had a service to fulfil and a debt of gratitude to repay. “Go home to your friends”, the Lord told him, “and tell them of the great things the Lord has done for you, tell them of my love for you.”

The Lord Jesus Christ crossed the sea in a storm to deliver this man. The Son of God came from heaven to deliver His church, offering His blood in death to redeem its life. He comes to each of His lost sheep personally, with transforming grace and sovereign power to save.

Having felt that power and experienced that love well might we, like the Gadarene, seek to be with the Lord and dwell in His presence. Soon we shall. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming again to take us home to heaven, that where He is there we shall be also. But not yet. “First,” the Lord says, “go home to your friends, tell them of the great things the Lord has done for you, tell them of my love for you.”

Our hymns for tomorrow are from a selection made by William Gadsby and are listed below.

Hymn 1 

Gadsby’s selection 344

Perseverance. Ps. 89. 28-34; Isa. 49. 16

W. Hammond              C.M.

1
For us the dear Redeemer died;
Why are we then ashamed?
We stand for ever justified,
And cannot be condemned.

2
Though we believe not, he is true;
The work is in his hand;
His gracious purpose he will do.
And all his word shall stand.

3
If once the love of Christ we feel
Upon our hearts impressed,
The mark of that celestial seal
Can never be erased.

4
The Lord will scourge us if we stray,
And wound us with distress;
But he will never take away
His covenant of peace.

5
The peace which Jesus’ blood secures,
And fixes in our hearts,
To all eternity endures,
Nor finally departs.

Hymn 2

Gadsby’s selection 70

Divine Providence. Deut. 33. 27; Ps. 73. 24

C. Wesley                      S.M.

1
Thrice comfortable hope
That calms my stormy breast;
My Father’s hand prepares the cup,
And what he wills is best.

2
My fearful heart he reads;
Secures my soul from harms;
While underneath his mercy spreads
Its everlasting arms.

3
His skill infallible,
His providential grace,
His power and truth, that never fail,
Shall order all my ways.

4
[The fictious power of chance
And fortune I defy;
My life’s minutest circumstance
Is subject to his eye.]

5
O might I doubt no more,
But in his pleasure rest;
Whose wisdom, love, and truth, and power,
Engage to make me blest!