Real Talk - Testimonies | Mark 5: Go Tell

Over the past few weeks, we’ve sat in awe listening to real stories from Joe, Cierra, and Cody, each one a powerful reminder that God is still working, still restoring, and still transforming lives today.

But this week, we take a step back and ask a deeper question:

Why does our testimony matter so much?

In this episode, Ray and Isaac walk through Mark 5:1–20....the story of the man delivered from a legion of demons and the moment Jesus gives him one simple command:

“Go home… and tell them how much the Lord has done for you.”

Together, we unpack:

•  Why your testimony is evidence of God’s power 
•  Why Jesus often sends us back to the very places we came from 
•  Why your story isn’t about perfection—but about His mercy 

If you’ve ever felt like your story isn’t enough… or you’ve hesitated to share it… this conversation is for you.

We'd love to hear from you -- email us at ListenToShoesOff@gmail.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to Shoes Off, a weekly podcast where we pause, take off what weighs us down, and take a step onto holy ground. Welcome back to Shoes Off. Over the past several weeks, we've had some incredible conversations, haven't we, Isaac?

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Yeah, some absolutely amazing guests that were super generous in giving their time coming in here, but it was a good time. I think we had a good time talking to everybody.

SPEAKER_00 0:26

Yeah, we heard stories from Joe, from Sierra, from and honestly, we just sat back. I don't think we talked much. We just was watching how God worked in each of their lives. And those those are just some powerful moments, just sitting there listening to see God's evidence of his hand in real people's lives that you know are dear to our hearts.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Yeah, and I think the thing that's been really cool over the last month is seeing, or at least what's been so impactful to us, is how every story has been different. And I think there's been some similarities between everyone that's came and talked, but I think that we've also seen a lot of things that are different, a lot of different struggles, a lot of different pathways. But what we have seen is the same truth in all those. Yeah. That God continued to show it up, that He was restoring relationships and He was continuing to work in the lives of everyone that we talk to.

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Yeah, exactly. And this week we want to take a step back and just look at some testimonies in the Bible where this really comes from. Because of what we've been hearing over the last few weeks, those testimonies, that's not just something we do today. We actually see that all throughout the scripture.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Yeah, I mean, the Bible's full of people who encountered Jesus, and we we probably only have a small percentage actually of those that actually encountered Jesus. Right. But after they encountered Jesus, many of them went and they told others about him, about the miracles he performed, about the teachings that he did. This isn't a new concept, and we see tons of it in scripture.

SPEAKER_00 1:54

Yeah, and today what we wanted to do was walk through one of the most powerful examples in the scripture, and we find it in Mark chapter five. And this is, I mean, oddly enough, this is one of my favorite scriptures in the Bible. I don't know why. I think it just reminds me of like a Hollywood movie. I totally can see how this took place, and it's really, I mean, it's really awkward. And I a lot of people don't even know this story, but this is where Jesus completely transformed a man's life, and he get actually gives them one simple instruction, and it ties into everything we've been doing over the last four weeks. Jesus ends saying, Go tell them. And so, what's that mean? Well, let's get right into the scripture. So in Mark chapter five, we're gonna look at verses one through 20. And this is the story in the Bible of a man that was possessed by a legion of demons, and we don't know what that number is, but we do get some insight into maybe what that number was, but it's it's pretty amazing. And we don't think about this a lot about people being possessed by demons, but we have scripture that backs up exactly that this man was possessed, and so I just want to give a little bit of history or a little bit of summary of the scripture, and I'm not gonna go verse by verse in reading, but I do want to go verse by verse, Isaac, maybe just to summarize. And you you know, you can comment as we kind of go through this, but yeah, this is when Jesus was coming to the other side of the sea, he was traveling and he gets into this region called the Girasinis. And as soon as he got off a boat, there was a man that had an unclean spirit, and he lived in the tombs in this area. And this was a man that no one could restrain. I think the people of the town tried to restrain him before they've tried to chain him up, they've tried to bound him with shackles and chains, and he was just so possessed with demons. I don't know if it was a strength, but no one could subdue him. And night and day, this man lived among the tombs, he lived in the mountains, and this was somebody, if you can just imagine, he was crying out. I think he was probably shouting in a loud voice and cutting himself with stones. And then he sees Jesus coming out of the boat and he runs to Jesus and he kneels down before him, and he cries out with a loud voice, What are you doing here? Essentially, like, what what do you have for me? And actually, he he said, Don't torment me. And Jesus says, Come out of the man, you unclean spirit. I mean, Jesus knew this man was possessed with a demon. And Jesus says, What's your name? And he says, My name is Legion, for we are many. Isn't that crazy?

SPEAKER_01 4:40

It is kind of crazy.

SPEAKER_00 4:42

I mean, this sounds like a Hollywood story.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

It's so it's so descriptive to like this, everything you're reading. It sounds like we're adding details, but we're you're not. Literally, this is the details that we have written in the scripture. I think a lot of times, sometimes we just sometimes this is good advice for people reading their Bibles. Read it out loud. Yeah. Because sometimes I think we read through things and we're like, oh yeah, tombs, crying, cutting himself with stones. Oh, they couldn't chain them. Oh yeah. And then you say it out loud and you're like, Wait, what?

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Yeah, yeah. So Jesus asks his name. He said, My name is Legion, because we're many. And they begged him essentially not to send them out of the region or that area. And there was a large herd of pigs that were feeding on the hillside, and the demons literally told Jesus, Hey, send us into those pigs that we may enter them. Jesus cast the unclean spirits out of the man, they entered the pigs, and then the Bible says there was a herd of about 2,000 pigs that rushed down into the bank of the sea and drowned themselves there. I mean, so if that gives you any insight into maybe how many demons was possessed by this man, they just went into 2,000 pigs, the pigs went crazy, rushed down the hillside into the sea, and they drowned themselves.

SPEAKER_01 6:02

That's just it's a Hollywood story.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

It's a Hollywood story. So, of course, obviously that would give a lot of attention. The man who was actually herding the pigs, obviously, when they saw this, they dropped everything. They went into the the town and said, Hey, you have to see what this man just did, what Jesus just did. And then people actually knew this man, and they told Jesus like, Listen, you got to go. And the man said, as Jesus was getting in the boat, the man said, Hey, can I go with you? And Jesus told him, and this is really what we want to focus on, and Jesus told him, Go home to your own people and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you. And it says, So he went out and he began to preach and proclaim and decapitalist how much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed. I mean, isn't that just an amazing story in Mark chapter five?

SPEAKER_01 6:59

It really is, and it kind of to do almost a a summary of this too. But I think what's so interesting, it says, Go home and tell your friends, and it lets us know that there was a life before this man was possessed. Right. And that he he did have friends. He he probably had family, he had people that knew him, and they thought that he was just kind of in the the loony tune, I guess uh at one point. But but this man was in a spot where he was completely broken, he's living in isolation. I I mean I say isolation, right? But he's living among the dead. Yeah, he's just he's wandering the tombs, and and I think not to make that sound this to sound even weirder, but basically it's like he's living in a graveyard. Yeah, it's like he's walking around it, he's hurting himself, he's uncontrollable, but then Jesus shows up and he casts out these demons, he restores him to what he is, and and suddenly the man is sitting there just completely in his right mind. Like there's no he's just like, Oh, now I'm out, right? Yeah, and it is kind of interesting, and you we think that sometimes he was looking for that safety in Jesus, just to go and be like, Let me just stay with you, like you said, right? But he says, Go, go and tell people, go and tell people what I've done, and that's it. That's the end of the story. Yeah, it there's no and he goes out there and he just starts preaching, and there's no there's no theology class that he takes, there's no training, there's no there's no waiting. Jesus just said, Go, yeah, go, go and tell people. And that's not that's not me saying that it's not important, right? That studying theology is not important, or training, or that's not what I'm saying today. But he was just saying, go tell people what I have done for you and what what God has done for you. Yeah, and the button.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

The Bible says he begged earnestly for him to go with Jesus, like he did not want to stay there. And imagine how easy that could have been, right? He could have just gone with Jesus and then been on his way. But what was interesting is Jesus said, No, the power of your testimony is gonna be more powerful here than if you go with me. You know what I'm saying? So all the people that used to know you and knew you were possessed and knew you lived, now you're gonna go back to them and tell them what I what I did for you.

SPEAKER_01 9:08

That almost reminds me of I I can't think of where it's at right now, but Paul writes that at one point that he says, I'd rather be basically he kind of writes that I'd rather be in the presence of the Lord. Yeah, I'd rather be, you know, what I'm doing. And Paul lived a very difficult life, especially in the ministry of Christ. But you know, he he was like, I would love to just be with Jesus, but it is better for me to be here to talk to you right and to spread the gospel and to do this missionary work that I'm doing. Yeah, it's it's important that I go and do that right over anything else. And and Jesus kind of sets a precedent for that right here of go. And the thing is, is that Jesus was still with him, God's present was still with him, and he he probably didn't realize that at that moment, but he it is still there, but he does want us to go out and tell that.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

Yeah, sometimes we question why we're in the place that we're in, and maybe it's not in the nicest place, maybe it may, maybe it's not in the boat with Jesus. I mean, obviously, we'd always love always love to be right beside Jesus in every walk. But the cool thing is he stayed there, but Jesus was with him now, right? He was in his life, and again, if you question the maybe the place you're in, just realize that's where God has put you for now. This is your time and this is your season. And let's be honest with the whole testimony, this is where we struggle a lot. I mean, we're okay with talking about God in general. We're okay about talking about church, but when it comes to our story, that's when we hesitate. So can you imagine? I mean, it, you know, what if I don't say it right? We've all probably had seen that. Even when we're asked to pray, it's like, man, am I gonna say the right words? You know, what if people judge me or look at me because of my testimony or my story, or what if my story isn't powerful enough? And then some of us think, gosh, I don't have a dramatic testimony, like that guy or maybe somebody else. But the reality is your testimony isn't about how crazy your past was. All of our testimonies is about how merciful God was.

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Yeah, whether you were saved at a young age, or you were saved later in life, or whether you have been in church your entire life, or maybe you've been out of in and out of church every other that has nothing to do with with how real God's mercy is and how forgiving he is and and the things that he still does in his in our lives.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

Yeah, yeah. I'm sure this man didn't have it all figured out. No, he all he knew is that what Jesus had done for him, and he went to tell the people, and it it's really that simple.

SPEAKER_01 11:41

So this is just something that I was thinking about too, when we think about the story within itself, is if you go back to Mark chapter four, okay, we were in Mark chapter five. In Mark chapter four, Jesus teaching a parable to some people, and after he finishes that parable, he actually tells the disciples, he said, Hey, let's we need to go to the other side of the uh this body of water, like we just need to travel across it really quick. And he goes, and there's actually a very famous story at the end of Mark 4, and this is when the storm happens, and Jesus says, Like, why are you fearful and stuff like that? But here's what's so interesting about Legion, and I think this story is they get off the boat. Jesus says, We need to go to this other side, you know, he's he goes to the other side. He goes and he talks to Legion, and then if you read the end of it, they get back in the boat and go back to where they just were. Yeah, and there's something in there too, in the story at least, that where you may feel like you're completely trapped, right? Maybe you feel like that you're you have all these, maybe you do feel like you do have uh 2,000 demons inside of you or whatever, but maybe it's just a storm that you have in life, and you you know what it is, and you're in the most difficult part. But you what you know is that Jesus is willing to leave where he's at to come find you, specifically to find you, yeah. And you're not out of the way. It was probably like the I wonder if the disciples ever wondered that. Like at one point, it's like like he is just like, Okay, now we're going back to the other side, and he's like, What are you talking? Like, they just faced it, probably took at least a day or two for them to cross the body, and they just went, they thought they were just gonna die in the storm. They just get across of it the next morning, and then like I mean, Jesus probably did this in uh 20 minutes, yeah. You know, this whole story could happen 20 some minutes, yeah, and then they just leave and go back to the other side. But what a testimony of him leaving just for one person and to go out and get one person, right?

SPEAKER_00 13:32

Yeah, so there's uh three points that we want to bring out around the testimony and using this man as an example, and for each of us, so point number one is your testimony is evidence of God's power. I mean, the man obviously was the evidence. The the people, as you've mentioned, Isaac, the people knew who you who he used to be, right? He said, Go back to your friends and your family. Who knows? I mean, he could have still had the chains around his hands, right? He just may have broke them. I mean, they said he was in chains and shackles, so he the shackles could have still been on him. They saw that, but what they see now is that Christ had made him whole. And again, that's where our testimony matters. It's because that it just shows that God just doesn't speak, He just He transforms us, and the scripture actually backs that up, right? We see that all through the New Testament that believers are called to declare what God has done, and our story becomes a living example of grace.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

So, again, point number one, our testimony is an evidence of God's power, and then that kind of takes us into point two, which Jesus sends us back to where we came from. And this part is is really huge. The the man actually begged to go with Jesus, and honestly, like we've talked about that, is something that made sense. Yeah, why wouldn't he want to leave that place behind? Right, because there there's probably an idea that like he was probably afraid to go back because everyone would just think of him as the possessed man, and that you know it they wouldn't see him as his new thing. But but no, Jesus says, No, you need to go back, you need to go back to your home, to your people, to your family, to your friends, to your past. And sometimes the answer to that is why? Well, why do I need to do that? But it's because those are the people who know your story, and they're the ones that are gonna recognize the change in you. Yeah, they're gonna see something. And and sometimes we think following Jesus means leaving everything behind. And in some cases, I mean, don't get me wrong, in some cases it does. Yeah, it really does, but sometimes it means that it's time to go right back into it, but with a new identity founded and built on the foundation of Christ Himself.

SPEAKER_00 15:41

That is so powerful. I mean, when you were just saying that, I was thinking about the friends that knew us when we didn't know Christ. How powerful would that be to reach back out to those people now and say, hey, I just want to let you know what God did to me in my life and see the change. I've met so many people in church that had that same testimony about, hey, I went back to the friends that I used to do bad things with, and they're like, Man, what happened to you? And he's like, Yeah, I got saved. It's it's so powerful. So, point three is your testimony is about mercy, not perfection. And Jesus didn't tell this man, go explain everything that just happened. He said, Tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how much mercy he has had on you. I mean, how powerful is that? Our testimony isn't about us at the end of the day, it's about what the Lord has done for us and how much mercy he has had on us. I mean, that's the message, right? Yeah, it's not about perfection, it's not performance, and again, it's not to put us on a pedestal like, oh, look at me now. It was never about that. The testimony is about mercy, it's not perfection. I just think it's really cool that Jesus told him, Go tell him what God has done for you. Yeah, and if we ever doubt what our testimony should be, just tell them what God done for you. And we've heard that over the past several weeks. We've heard testimonies about salvation, we've heard testimonies about coming out of addiction to drugs and alcohol. We've had testimonies about finding your family, and it was all about what God has done for them.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

Then this is another thing that we see across scripture all the time of God using ordinary people to share an extraordinary grace. Yeah. And I mean, we could go to almost every page within something when we see an underdog uh of some side, but yeah, it it's it's the idea that God can use the ordinary to make the extraordinary. And the other thing this does is that it it makes our stories, like you kind of said, it points to him, but it points to his compassion. It is compassion on us, and what it does for us is it shows that we're not actually able to do it by ourselves. Yeah, we have no ability to do those things by ourselves. It's only from his compassion, his love for us that we can even have these testimonies within themselves.

SPEAKER_00 18:00

Yeah. So let's get to the call to action this week for our listeners and what we want to leave with you as you go into this new week and bring the story into our lives. So we again we've been talking about testimonies, and here's a few questions just to sit on this week as you wake up every day. Where has God shown you mercy? So just think about in your life, where has God shown you mercy? What has he brought you through? Just think of this man, everything that he went through, and how that would relate to you in your life, and then who in your life needs to hear that? And you say, Hear what? Hear about God, what the Lord has done for you, how much mercy he has shown you, or what he was brought you through. Or maybe the harder question is for you, what's holding you back from sharing it? Is it that you feel you know you won't have the right words, or does it feel like you feel like people will judge you for your past? Because I can tell you there's someone in your life that needs to hear your story. Yeah, and that's exactly why Jesus said, No, you can't come with me, you're gonna stay here, because Jesus knew the people in that area needed to hear his story. And it's the same thing for you. Someone in your life or someone around you, or maybe someone at work, or maybe someone at school, they need to hear your story. And it's your story that will either plant the seed or maybe they'll water it, but God has great work to do in that story.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Another thing in this, too, is that when you're doing that, you're inviting people to come and experience the change that that God has made in you. And sometimes I think we think when we share our testimonies, that it's like, well, I'm not a preacher, I'm not a Sunday school teacher, or I'm not a I'm not that and you don't need to write a sermon. It's not something you need to do or to give an invitation in a formal sense of it, but they do need your story and they need to understand. And it takes me, my my head goes to a couple different areas, but there's a place in John where Nathaniel is there and he's been invited to come meet Jesus, and his friend just comes and finds him and he says, Hey, come and see. Yeah, come and see what he's done. And and this is what you're able to do with your testimony is hey, come and see. Like, let me show you the parts of my life that's changed, let me show you what he's done for me, and everything. And that's just it's important, but like you said, people need to hear your story because your story is God's story and what his ability is to do in people. And here's the good news about that, right? Is that you don't need to be perfect to share your testimony, right? You don't have to have all the answers. If you have experienced Jesus, if he has changed anything in your life, that is enough. And just like that man, God can use your story to reach people you never knew you could reach on your own. And and you never know when you're gonna be in that time or in that opportunity, and you may be nervous, but the thing is, is God tells us that he'll always be with us and that God will give us the words to say, that the spirit will be there to comfort us, but the spirit will be there to guide us, to give us the words to to do. And I remember that like sometimes I've had conversations with friends, and I started, and I'm like, I we're kind of talking about the Bible, and we're talking about Jesus, and I don't know where it's going. And then all of a sudden, it's just like, oh, yeah, this is flowing, and I get it, and that's just that's just God's presence. And that's the good news, right? It's that we don't need to be perfect in any of this. It's just we just need to glorify Him and showcase Him, and people will be drawn to that.

SPEAKER_00 21:33

Well, focus on the call to action this week. We want our listeners to go read Mark chapter five, and again, pray where God can use your testimony. Just ask God, hey, where do you want me to go? And open doors for me to be able to share that. And that's our prayer for you this week. So let's close in prayer as we end this episode, and we look forward to seeing you next week. God, thank you for your mercy. Thank you that God, you don't wait for us to be perfect, you meet us right. Where we are. Help us to have the courage this week to share what you've done in our lives, not for our glory, but so others can see you. Put people in our path who need to hear it, and give us the boldness to speak in your name. In Jesus' name. Amen.