Receive Jesus Your Restorer into Your Heart-3

⁷ 그러므로 예수께서 다시 이르시되 내가 진실로 진실로 너희에게 말하노니 나는 양의 문이라 ⁸ 나보다 먼저 온 자는 다 절도요 강도니 양들이 듣지 아니하였느니라 ⁹ 내가 문이니 누구든지 나로 말미암아 들어가면 구원을 얻고 또는 들어가며 나오며 꼴을 얻으리라 ¹⁰ 도적이 오는 것은 도적질하고 죽이고 멸망시키려는 것뿐이요 내가 온 것은 양으로 생명을 얻게 하고 더 풍성히 얻게 하려는 것이라. ⁷ So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

 ⁸ All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹ I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (Jn. 10:7-10)

²⁸ 또 예수께서 건너편 가다라 지방에 가시매 귀신 들린 자 둘이 무덤 사이에서 나와 예수를 만나니 저희는 심히 사나와 아무도 그 길로 지나갈 수 없을 만 하더라 ²⁹ 이에 저희가 소리질러 가로되 하나님의 아들이여 우리와 당신과 무슨 상관이 있나이까 때가 이르기 전에 우리를 괴롭게 하려고 여기 오셨나이까 하더니 ³⁰ 마침 멀리서 많은 돼지 떼가 먹고 있는지라

 ³¹ 귀신들이 예수께 간구하여 가로되 만일 우리를 쫓아 내실찐대 돼지 떼에 들여 보내소서 한대 ³² 저희더러 가라 하시니 귀신들이 나와서 돼지에게로 들어가는지라 온 떼가 비탈로 내리 달아 바다에 들어가서 물에서 몰사하거늘 ³³ 치던 자들이 달아나 시내에 들어가 이 모든 일과 귀신들린 자의 일을 고하니 ³⁴ 온 시내가 예수를 만나려고 나가서 보고 그 지방에서 떠나시기를 간구하더라. ²⁸ And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. ²⁹ And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?" ³⁰ Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. ³¹ And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs." ³² And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. ³³ The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. ³⁴ And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. (Matt. 8:28-34)

FCF: We may want Jesus to leave us alone.

주제: 예수님은 우리를 풍성한 삶으로 회복하시기에 그분을 마음과 삶에 맞이해 들여야 합니다.

Theme: Because Jesus restores us to an abundant life, we must receive Him into our hearts and lives.

Introduction: We have a tendency to share some news, both good and bad, with our families and friends. Perhaps, it may be because we want to share grief, joy, or information with them so that we can halve grief, double joy, or benefit others with helpful information. When he came back home during his earlier years of schooling, the first thing Joel did was sharing with his mother what happened at school. When he got a perfect score on an important test, he couldn’t keep it to himself. As soon as he got home, he said, “Guess what I got.” “I am 100.” We participated in his joy. In so doing, we increased his joy by congratulating him. He still does the same with us. We are happy to hear things from him about his school. When I heard the gospel of salvation and got to know the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior, I was overjoyed. I couldn’t forget the joy of salvation, that of meeting with Jesus, receiving forgiveness, and receiving Him into my heart, which is still vivid in my memory. I wanted to tell others about Jesus and invited them to Him. My fellow students thought I got different or somewhat odd. No matter what they may have thought of me, my salvation experience was so real that I couldn’t deny the reality of God and wanted to share it with others. It is quite natural we should share with my close ones significant things that have occurred to us or have impacted us. Social networking systems such as Facebook, KakaoTalk, Twitter, etc., are common ways we communicate with others events, achievements, or new developments in our lives. A great number of people regularly update their current status or whereabouts by putting up new pictures. If you are promoted at work or admitted into a prestigious institution or school, you will likely share such good news with all your acquittances.  

                  However, Christians today seem to remain silent about the greatest news of all news, that is, the good news of Jesus Christ. Many say people today don’t believe what we tell them about Jesus Christ. So, zeal for witnessing seems to be very low. Even our church has not been able to do much about soul-winning and disciple-making. Even though we know preaching the gospel of salvation is necessary, we don’t practice evangelism in our everyday living as we ought to. One of the greatest reasons for our failure to witness to the grace of salvation to others is a fear of rejection from people. Today, I would like to call your attention to the topic of evangelism. The demon-possessed man was given a mission to proclaim what the Lord had done for him. No one cared about him. Indeed, he was rejected by all but Jesus. The Lord Jesus came to save him from demon possession. He came to deliver him from sin and eternal condemnation. Indeed, casting out the legion of demons, Jesus restored God’s image in him. The maniac came back to his right mind. He no longer cried out day and night, naked, feeling no shame, violent, terrifying to others. Now, he sat at the feet of Jesus, decently dressed. His behaviors changed. His relationships were restored. It was through his witnessing to the great things the Lord had done for him. Instead of granting him his request to be with Him, the Lord ordered him to return home to tell what the Lord had done for him. Let me remind you again of my overall theme: because Jesus restores us to an abundant life, we must receive Him into our hearts and lives. Thus far, we have covered the first two points: 1) we must receive who comes to meet with us by His providence and 2) we must receive Jesus who restores God’s image within us by His power. My final point is we must receive Jesus who appoints us as His witnesses by His grace.  

I.              섭리를 따라 우리를 만나러 오시는 예수님을 맞이해야 합니다.

We must receive Jesus who comes to meet with us by His providence.

II.            능력으로 우리 안에 있는 하나님의 형상을 회복하시는 예수님을 맞이해야 합니다.

We must receive Jesus who restores God’s image within us by His power.

III.          은혜로 우리를 그의 증인으로 세우시는 예수님을 맞이해야 합니다.

We must receive Jesus who appoints you as His witnesses by His grace.

I would like to deal with how people responded to the supernatural act of Jesus for the demon-possessed man. He didn’t deliver a specific message concerning the kingdom of God. But His act of casting out demons demonstrated the kingdom of God, that is, the reign of God, came upon the demon-possessed man. It was a manifestation of the kingdom of God over against the kingdom of darkness. Jesus demonstrated His authority over the supernational, which is the message of the kingdom of God. He not only cast out the demons out of the man, but also imprisoned them into the pigs. In one or another way, people, who had a chance to witnessed it or heard about it, were to interpret it and decide how to react to it. Every word and act of Jesus is a display of His person and work. Even modern readers are called to respond to the methodical presentation of the gospel stories of Jesus Christ. The Gospel writers ask us how we are to respond to Jesus Christ who has authority over all things.

Now, let’s look into how the people in the narrative reacted to Jesus’s supernatural act for the demon-possessed man. First, the herdsmen witnessed all things that had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs as well. Indeed, they witnessed all things Jesus had done for the demon-possessed man. They got all the facts related to the supernatural event. They were eyewitnesses. Modern media would turn to them for factual information. Instead of rejoicing with the demon-possessed man for his newly-found life and freedom, they were afraid of having lost the pigs to mass drowning. They were in charge of taking care of the pigs for their masters. Technically speaking, pigs’ perdition in the sea was not their faults. They didn’t cause it. They didn’t want them to die. They were doing their duties for the pigs. The pigs were drowned due to demon possession.

A series of events put the herdsmen into panic. What the legion of demons did was frightening. Also, they were afraid they would be called into question about the destruction of the pigs. They would lose their jobs. Not only so, but also they would be considered culpable for the drowning of the pigs. On the top of all this, they seemed to be terrified by the rush of the pigs into the sea. They seemed to be terrified by the demons. Being terrified about all this, they failed to respond to Jesus Christ by faith. All they were concerned about was to establish their innocence before their masters and people so that they would be acquitted of neglect of duty. Instead of marveling over the love and power of Jesus for the demon-possessed man and finding in the case of the demon-possessed man Jesus’ love for the poor, underprivileged, or sinners, they were working hard and fast for their security and protection. For this reason, they failed to receive Jesus Christ into their hearts and lives by faith. Even though they had a wonderful opportunity to witness what Jesus had done for the demon-possessed man, they never got close to Jesus and let Him depart from them. Unfortunately, they were so near Jesus Christ the Savior of the world locationally, they failed to consider receiving Jesus as Savior and Lord into their lives.

Second, the townspeople heard about all the event from the herdsmen. The whole city was in panic. All the people were in an uproar about the mysterious things that happened around their city or the mysterious figure Jesus. Since they heard about the tragic losses of their pigs, they had to take action to clear all their questions. They were not eyewitnesses. However, they got all the facts from the herdsmen. When they heard the story of the demon-possessed man and the drowning of the pigs, they couldn’t keep in idleness. They had to come and see all the happening to ascertain whether the herdsmen’s report was true or not. They may have been hesitant to trust all the words of the herdsmen. At any rate, they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right man. Then, they were afraid. They came to know how Jesus set the former crazy man from demon possession. They witnessed all the evidence of Jesus’ supernatural power and love demonstrated for the maniac. They knew the demon-possessed man used to be naked, shameless, uncontrollable, violent, etc. Now, they saw the man learning at the feet of Jesus in his right mind. What more evidence would they need to be convinced that they should trust Jesus for salvation?

Unfortunately, they refused to receive Jesus into their hearts and lives. Rather, they asked Him to depart from their region. Why? They were greatly afraid that Jesus would do them harm. Their fear of Jesus was not reverential, but mercenary. They didn’t fear Jesus as a divine Being. They didn’t know who Jesus was. They were not interested in getting to know Him. Rather, they inferred from the demise of the pigs that Jesus would bring them economic collapse. From their Gentile worldview, they simply regarded Jesus as one of the Jewish exorcists, not the Lord over the supernatural world. They failed to reason from the fact the maniac became a normal person through His love and power, that the Lord Jesus would deliver them from the bondage of sin and eternal perdition. They were attached to the things of here and now. They were steeped in the common philosophy of the day, that is, economic prosperity. Surely, they loved material possessions more than people. Their value systems are of the world. They lived for money and possessions.

Without having fear of the holy presence of Jesus, they asked Jesus to leave them alone. They concluded that Jesus was not good for them, even though Jesus was the only Savior of the world, whom they needed desperately more than anything else in the world. They were drastically different from the Samaritans who heard from the immoral woman about Jesus and came to see Him. They invited Jesus to stay with them longer. Jesus stayed there with them two days and taught them the kingdom of God. Then, they came to conclude from their experience with Jesus that Jesus was the Savior of the world. So, more people came to believe in Jesus. Listen to what they said to the Samaritan woman: 이제 우리가 믿는 것은 네 말을 인함이 아니니 이는 우리가 친히 듣고 그가 참으로 세상의 구주신줄 앎이니라. "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world" (Jn. 4:42). Unlike these Samaritans, these Gentiles rejected Jesus and asked Him to leave their region. They had the Savior of the world right in front of them, but they unfortunately rejected Him for their material prosperity. They lost eternal life for temporal life. They didn’t want Jesus to come into their lives. They wanted freedom for themselves. But they were bound by greed for money. They were imprisoned by a wrong value system.

In contrast, the maniac used to be bound by chains and demons. He was not only banished from people, but also banished to a desolate place, that is, the tombs. He was considered an unclean demoniac. No one desired to draw close to him. He was completely left alone in isolation and desolation. He was possessed by the legion of demons. His heart was ravaged. His body was harmed. His relations were broken. There were no meaning and significance in his existence around the tombs. He was a threat and abhorrence to the community. But, Jesus came to save him from the bondage of demon possession. He set him free from isolation and desolation. He gave his life back to him. He restored him to a normal and abundant life with God.

He became Jesus’ disciple, sitting at the feet of Jesus. In the past, he was opposed to Jesus. But through the divine intervention of Jesus, he came to see Jesus as His Savior and Lord. His relationship with Jesus was transformed from opposition to discipleship. His sitting at His feet suggests the idea that he was learning the word of God from the Lord, which implies that he became his loyal disciple. He was clothed with proper clothes, which signifies he was restored his status in the kingdom of God. He was no longer a maniac. He was conducting his life in his right mind. He became a servant of Jesus, not a servant of Satan. He became a wholly new person by grace. 

Surely, he was in his right mind, whereas the townspeople were out of their minds because they asked Jesus to depart from their country. Being in his right mind, the former demoniac pleaded with Jesus that he might be with Him. In the past, he was like the townspeople who didn’t want to be with Jesus. Now, he experienced the love and power of Jesus for his deliverance. He changed his mind about Jesus. Jesus was not a mere exorcist. He was the Lord and Savior to him. He was everything to him. He knew Jesus accepted him as he was and made him new by His power. He learned Jesus was the Savior of the world. Thus, he had a new desire to be with Jesus. He wanted to keep following Jesus. His whole heart was with Jesus. Jesus was a new life, a new hope, a new beginning to him. Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life to him. Jesus was the light and life to him. So, he didn’t want to be separated from Jesus. His desire to stay with Jesus implies that he became a faithful follower of Jesus.

Knowing all this, therefore, Jesus didn’t think he was to follow Him in the way the apostles were following Him. Of course, Jesus knew the former demoniac needed to learn much more from Him about the kingdom of God. Jesus knew he would benefit more from Him if he was to be with Him. He was not against his being with Him. Instead of allowing him to be with Him, the Lord decided to send him back home so that he could witness to his family, friends, and townspeople about God’s intervention and goodness. Instead of talking the townspeople into believing in Him, Jesus dispatched him as His representative, whom Jesus thought of as the best person who could remove their misunderstanding and wrong fear of Jesus and show them what Jesus did for him.

So, He established the former demoniac as His eyewitness, servant, or evangelist. He was asked by his frightened townspeople to leave the region. Instead of leaving them to their own perdition, Jesus installed him to witness to what he had done for him. Mark records the conclusion of the narrative this way: ¹⁹ 허락지 아니하시고 저에게 이르시되 집으로 돌아가 주께서 네게 어떻게 큰 일을 행하사 너를 불쌍히 여기신 것을 네 친속에게 고하라 하신대 ²⁰ 그가 가서 예수께서 자기에게 어떻게 큰 일 행하신 것을 데가볼리에 전파하니 모든 사람이 기이히 여기더라. ¹⁹ And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." ²⁰ And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled (Mk. 5:19-20). Also, Luke records it this way: ³⁹ 집으로 돌아가 하나님이 네게 어떻게 큰 일 행하신 것을 일일이 고하라 하시니 저가 가서 예수께서 자기에게 어떻게 큰 일 하신 것을 온 성내에 전파하니라. ³⁹ "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you." And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him (Lk. 8:39).

Based on these two texts, I would like to discuss a few points about Christian witnessing. First, Christian witnessing is the Lord’s command and commission. The demon-possessed man, now a new man in Christ, was ordered to return home. The Lord was not giving him His suggestion or good idea. Rather, He was issuing him a clear-cut command. This fact tells that witnessing is not an option, but a mandate. However, a lot of Christians assume that witnessing is only given to a few devoted Christians. Christian witnessing is the Lord’s imperative, which we are to obey. His imperative, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you,” is like the first commission of the Lord Jesus. Before He ascended into heaven, the Lord issued His final Great Commission to His disciples: ¹⁹ 그러므로 너희는 가서 모든 족속으로 제자를 삼아 아버지와 아들과 성령의 이름으로 세례를 주고 ²⁰ 내가 너희에게 분부한 모든 것을 가르쳐 지키게 하라. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you (Matt. 28:19-20). Sharing, witnessing, or proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most blessed business for all God’s people. We should take it seriously and put much effort to let Jesus Christ be known to the world.

                  Second, Christian witnessing is about what Jesus has done for us. It is not about what we have done for God. Christian testimony often goes wrong when some so-called Christian elites, who are fervent in their Christian ministries and evangelism, praise themselves for their great fervency and effectiveness and rob the credit reserved only for God. As the Lord made it clear in His command, the former maniac was to tell others what the Lord Jesus had done for him. Luke records it as “what God has done for you.” Mark mentions one more thing “how the Lord has had mercy on you.” So, the former demoniac was supposed to proclaim the Lord’s goodness done for him. According to Jesus, Christian testimony or witnessing is about what the Lord Jesus has done for His people.

But the problem related to Christian testimony are twofold. First, the one who tells his or her testimony often takes the center stage of Christian witnessing. He or she uses Christian witnessing for broadcasting his or her greatness and righteousness. In this case, human hypocrisy replaces God’s glory. Second, a lot of people do not know what the Lord Jesus has done for them. In other words, they have no their own salvation stories. We certainly hear from the former demoniac about the Lord’s mercy for him. This man had his own story of meeting with Jesus, experiencing the powerful deliverance from the shackles of Satan, and sending him to share the story of Jesus with others. Many in the church merely come and go out of the church without having personal experience with Jesus Christ. We should have something to share with others, tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the message of salvation, peace, or freedom in Christ.    

Third, Christian witnessing starts from home to abroad. This progression is not absolute, though. It doesn’t imply that we shouldn’t preach the gospel until we preach it to all our family members and friends first. In season and out of season, we must proclaim the gospel, starting from where we are to the uttermost part of the earth. So, the Lord said to His disciples, 오직 성령이 너희에게 임하시면 너희가 권능을 받고 예루살렘과 온 유대와 사마리아와 땅끝까지 이르러 내 증인이 되리라 하시니라. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). The natural and logical progression of the gospel of salvation was from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. So, the Lord Jesus ordered the former demoniac to return home to his family and friends, his townspeople, and people in neighboring cities. The demoniac did all things according to the Lord’s word.

                  Surely, we need to share the gospel of salvation with our family and friends. We can’t guarantee their positive responses to our sharing of what the Lord has done for us. But people will notice our changes through Christ. The former demoniac used to be insane, naked, vociferous, violent, shameless, etc. His family, friends, and townspeople, who knew his former condition, were amazed about his total transformation. He was himself a living testimony of Jesus’ mercy and power. People, as they watched him and heard him, marveled at the Lord’s authority. They were called to trust Jesus as their Savior and Lord. The former demoniac did what he was called to do. He had no ability to save people. Jesus was the Savior who had ability to deliver people from the influences of sin, Satan, and the world. We simply proclaim what the Lord Jesus has done for us, to all people we encounter, and relegate the business of salvation to the Triune God.   

Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), the world-famous violinist, earned a fortune with his concerts and compositions, but he generously gave most of it away. So, when he discovered an exquisite violin on one of his trips, he wasn't able to buy it. Later, having raised enough money to meet the asking price, he returned to the seller, hoping to purchase that beautiful instrument. But to his great dismay it had been sold to a collector. Kreisler made his way to the new owner's home and offered to buy the violin. The collector said it had become his prized possession and he would not sell it. Keenly disappointed, Kreisler was about to leave when he had an idea. "Could I play the instrument once more before it is consigned to silence?" he asked. Permission was granted, and the great virtuoso filled the room with such heart-moving music that the collector's emotions were deeply stirred. "I have no right to keep that to myself," he exclaimed. "It's yours, Mr. Kreisler. Take it into the world, and let people hear it."  The gospel of Jesus Christ is the best message we have to proclaim to the whole world.

Fourth, Christian witnessing is to be carried out with fear of the Lord. The reason for success in his witnessing is found in fear of the Lord whereby he overcame fear of people. We often fail to stand up for Jesus on account of fear of rejection. When we preach the gospel of Jesus, some are vehemently opposed to our preaching. Some reject not only our message, but also ourselves. When we are rejected, we are usually discouraged. Then, we fear people’s rejection and stay silent about Jesus even when we are supposed to speak on behalf of Jesus about the great salvation of God in Christ. How can we overcome fear of rejection in our gospel preaching? In the narrative, the swine herdsmen had fear of Jesus. The townspeople had fear of Jesus. The demons had fear of Jesus. The demoniac had fear of Jesus. All of them saw the powerful manifestation of Jesus’ authority over the supernatural. Only the demons knew the true identity of Jesus, that is, the Son of the Most High God. However, they didn’t have reverential awe before the presence of Jesus. They simply feared Jesus would torment them. Also, the herdsmen and the townspeople seemed to have something similar to that of the demons’ fear of Jesus. They were afraid that they would suffer some kind of financial losses.

However, the former demoniac experienced Jesus’ divine power over the legion of demons. Instead of fearing the demons or Satan, he feared Jesus as the Lord or God. He didn’t have fear of people. For years, he had been rejected, mocked, and shunned by his family, friends, and townspeople. He knew well how painful it was abandoned by others. However, once he was accepted by the Lord, he found security, significance in Him. He no longer was afraid of being rejected by people. Even though they might reject him, he no longer regarded their rejection as pain or shame. With positive, true fear of the Lord, the maniac overcame fear of people and proclaimed what the Lord had done for him. He continued to fulfill his mission through a larger region. He met with the sick, the demon-possessed, the poor, the rich, or the socially marginalized. He met with all kinds of people. He simply told them what the Lord had done for him. Due to his evangelistic ministry, they had heard about the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely, many of them came to believe Jesus as their personal Savior and Lord. The Lord made this former demoniac, who was forgotten, abandoned, living a worthless life, a powerful preacher of the Lord’s goodness. How marvelous, matchless grace of the Lord Jesus Christ! We must not forget the same grace of Jesus Christ endowed upon us. Reliance upon that saving grace enables us to carry out the gospel ministry for God’s glory.

Oswald Chambers said, 내가 예수 그리스도를 순종하면 하나님의 구속은 나를 통하여 다른 사람들에게 흘러갈 것입니다. 왜냐하면 순종의 행동 배후에는 전능하신 하나님의 실체가 있기 때문입니다. “If I obey Jesus Christ, the Redemption of God will rush through me to other lives, because behind the deed of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God.” The key to success in evangelism lies in the Reality of Almighty God, not in our willpower. What we need is not about another preaching on the necessity of evangelism, but on our simple obedience to the Great Commission. We need to stand up for Jesus and proclaim the gospel of salvation to the world. We can’t force people to become Christians. But we can show them how to be saved or why they need Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The young salesman was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, "I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The manager replied, "Son, take my advice: your job is not to make him drink. Your job is to make him thirsty." So, it is with evangelism. Our lives should be so filled with Christ that they create a thirst for the Gospel.  When people saw the transformation of the former demoniac, they felt thirsty for the Lord Jesus. This is what we are called to do.

Conclusion: Dr. Harry Ironside told of a man who gave his testimony, telling how God had sought him and found him. How God had loved him, called him, saved him, delivered him, cleansed him, and healed him. It was a tremendous testimony to the glory of God. After the meeting, one rather legalistic brother took him aside and said, “You know, I appreciate all that you said about what God did for you, but you didn’t mention anything about your part in it. Salvation is really part us and part God, and you should have mentioned something about your part.” “Oh,” the man said, “I apologize. I’m sorry. I really should have mentioned that. My part was running away, and God’s part was running after me until he found me.”

                  What about you? Have you run away from God? Are you still running away from the God of salvation? God is calling you to eternal life with him through Jesus Christ? You may feel empty, weary, heavy-laden in life. Jesus Christ is willing to fill your empty heart, refresh you, and take up your sin burden for you. He is the Light and Life to you. Please, come unto Him as you are. Receive the Lord Jesus into your heart and life. Then, this will be a new day of salvation in Christ. Who would die for your sin and transgression? Who would rise again for you to find eternal life, security, and significance? It is the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have Him as your Savior and Lord, then you are called to return and tell others what the Lord has done for you. As you obey the Great Commission like the former demoniac, you will be a blessed witness to God’s goodness in Jesus Christ. May your witnessing be used for the glory of God!

Benediction: ²⁴ Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, ²⁵ to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 능히 너희를 보호하사 거침이 없게 하시고 너희로 그 영광 앞에 흠이 없이 즐거움으로 서게 하실자 ²⁵ 곧 우리 구주 홀로 하나이신 하나님께 우리 주 예수 그리스도로 말미암아 영광과 위엄과 권력과 권세가 만고 전부터 이제와 세세에 있을지어다 아멘 (Jud 1:24-25)