The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “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. (Luke 8:38-39)
First, we now need to clarify that “story” is an account of something that happened. It would be considered true unless otherwise stated. The need to clarify this is because the world wants us to think that if someone is “just telling stories” it means things that are not true, when a story is an account that could just as well be a true story as someone telling fables.
All that to say that my “story” is a true account of God’s work in my life, including my story of telling you how God focused on my story today!
This morning’s story of meeting with God began with my usual keeping short accounts with God about anything sarky or sinful I had not confessed to him, telling him how I was doing, and then wondering to him what I was supposed to “get” out of the amazing (but familiar) account of Jesus delivering a spiritually-traumatized man from demonization (Luke 8:26-39).
However, it was when I got to Jesus’ final words to the man that I knew what God was addressing with me, that my focus in life is to tell people what God has done for me, and that did NOT include an amazing immediate deliverance event.
My story of what God has done for me includes these scenes:
1. I grew up in a home where an angry agnostic dad was always in conflict with a quiet Christian mom. The stage was set for me to test everything I heard to know the truth.
2. At seven years old I looked up from my front yard in Sandspit, BC, and knew God was watching me. It was a good feeling.
3. At twelve years old I heard a gospel presentation at the end of a boy’s Sunday School class that triggered a clear response of faith. Without telling anyone, I inwardly asked Jesus to please be my Lord and Savior because I wanted to experience what he had done for me on the cross.
4. After struggling for a couple of years always feeling like I needed to receive Jesus again because I was still such a sinner (my dad made sure I knew this was what I should think of myself) I went forward at a Barry Moore Crusade in Abbotsford BC (early 70’s) to affirm that I “got it”. Jesus died once for all, and I only had to receive him once for all.
5. Soon after this I knew I was to declare Jesus as my Lord and Savior through baptism. However, after the pastor had visited to talk with me and my sisters about it, I was again traumatized by such a tirade about what a horrible specimen of a Christian I was that I caved and failed to honor Jesus.
6. When I was around 18, I had grown stronger in my faith and knew that it was time to confess Jesus as my Lord through baptism no matter what anyone else thought of it, and so I did. I was not aware of any celebration of the event, only that I was obeying my Savior in faith, and that was all that mattered.
7. From there, I could go on about the ways God was leading me to get to know him better through Bible college, my early years of marriage, moving to Merritt to pastor a Baptist church, and how he used Larry Crabb, Henry Blackaby, and Neil Anderson, to give me the life purpose, “Leading people to freedom in Christ so they can experience God in a real and personal way.”
What God did this morning was assure me that he only required me to tell my own story of what he has done for me, not someone else’s. And one of the delightful things is that he used a demonized man whose story was totally different from mine to encourage me to tell my story today that is totally different from his.
I simply trust that my place in God’s work is to tell of things that some people need to hear today. And if you are one of those people, what is your story of what God is doing for you right now, and how are you joining him in that work?
© 2025 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517, Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8
Email: in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted, Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.)
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