Halftime

DRIVE conference - Day 3

2008-05-08T06:01:00.003-04:00

I am back home now after a crazy day that began with 5 hours of sleep. At the conference, we had 2 more breakout sessions. The first was a question and answer session based on North Point's children's ministry: Kidstuff. It has been a ministry of theirs that has gained in popularity in many churches. The basic premise is: parents come with their kids to a production that is filled with excellent staging, decor and lighting, great singing, dancing and acting, all trying to bring across a spefic truth of the Bible that the whole family can respond to. However, it is probably not something we can pull off or that would be a fit for us. So, what I took away from that was that we needed to consider how to minister to the family, giving them ways to experience something with their children and disciple them.

Session 2 was about funding, the financial aspects of doing ministry. This was probably the least interesting and applicable to us, because the principles shared are things I have already embraced. The finances of a mega church such as North point and our small church are quite different. Putting margins into your budget, planning on having some money not already designated to something was the best idea I gained from the session.

After lunch, we went into the final, general session. I really enjoyed the worship times of singing througout the conference. For me personally, I connected with the music background and words of the songs we sang. It prompted me to really consider what I have in Christ and to focus on Him for an extended period of time.

Andy Stanley, the senior pastor of North Point, decided not to talk about his planned topic: Making it stick, which had to do with presenting and holding to the vision of the church. Instead, he shared "Recent Random Thought on Church and Leadership". In is office, he posts certain quotes that has made him really think about ministry, so that he will see them often and let them bother him until something tangible is done about it.

I will share the quotes and the application of the quote for him:
Quote 1: "To reach no one else is reaching , we must do thing no one else is doing." - Craig Groeschel

Application: Become preoccupied wit who you haven't reaches as opposed to those you are trying to keep.

Quote 2: The next generation product almost never comes from the previous generation." - Al Reis

Application: Be a student, not a critic

Quote 3: "What do I believe is impossible to do in my field but if it could be done, would fundamentally change my business"? - future edge

Application: Pay attention to teh people who are breaking the rules

Quote 4: "If we got kicked out and the board brought in a new leader, what would he do? Why shoudn't we walk out the door, come back in, and do it ourselves?" Andy Grove

Application: Acknowledge what is not working and own up to why you are not willing to do anything about it.

Quote 5: "When your memories exceed your dreams the end is near." unknown

Application: Don't let success or momentum overshadow your vision. keep the vision out in front.

I may come back to these later and really consider them for my own ministry; but these thoughts certainly had an effect on me and Steve, as we traveled back home after the session. That is what made it a little crazy, as we tried to get to the Atlanta airport to get on standby for an earlier flight - we made it, but it was crazy.

All the way home we discussed our own ministry, in light of what we have been talking about for a year now, and what we just experienced at the conference. We will see how God leads us in the future;but for now, I just want to thank God for the opportunity to have the time to experience another ministry and to have a fresh perspective of what we are trying to do for His glory.

all for now.

DRIVE conference - DAY 2

2008-05-06T23:27:00.002-04:00

Today was a full day. We attended 3 break-out sessions, one main session and a "road trip."
My first break out was "Starting Point". It is the ministry at North Point Community Church in the Atlanta area that is focused on those who are investigating Christianity or fairly new to Christianity. This seems to be an area in which we are weak at Grace; so this was good for us to sit through and think through. Their starting point is: "a conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community." We may not be able or even want to implement everything they are doing in this area; but we agree we need to do something to help people in these stages of spiritual growth.

The second break out was "Turning the Bus around". This was led by two different pastors, who led traditional churches to adopt the North Point model, which meant dramatic change for their ministries. Both churches were headed to death, according to these pastors, and the changes eventually turned them into churches that reached more people for Christ, although they lost people who didn't agree with their methods. Although we do not agree with just making sweeping changes, we do agree that we need to be purposeful in what we are doing and continue to take steps forward - even if that does mean that people decide to leave on their own.

The third break out session was "How did you do that?". It was about creating a creative team, helping to take the message and make it "stick" with the listeners. This is actually something we already started at Grace several weeks ago. I have really enjoyed the process of collaborating with others about creative ideas to communicate the truth more effectively for life change. This session will help me think through more details about this process.

The main session was entitled: "Becoming a Great Staff" by Andy Stanley. The goal: "A staff culture characterized by mutual submission." The basic idea of this talk was about truly serving one another on staff; in particular those seen as the main leaders. The key question to keep asking is: "What can I do to help?" This was a good reminder that I am here to serve everyone in my ministry, modeling the love of Christ. If I will give myself to that, I will be honoring God.

The road trip in the afternoon led us to one of the satellite churches with North Point. On Sundays, they show the same message by satellite, but do their own worship and other programming. They brought in a bluegrass band and Jeff Foxworthy, who is an attender at North Point. He was clean and very funny.

It has been a very enjoyable time so far, being able to think and talk alot about our ministry, as we can appreciate what God is doing here in his context. Tomorrow morning we have 2 more break out sessions and one more main session.

I will write tomorrow as we end our conference.

Greg

DRIVE conference - DAY 1

2008-05-05T22:46:00.002-04:00

My friend and fellow pastor, Steve, made the air trip today from Cleveland, OH to Atlanta, GA, in order to attend the DRIVE - pastor's conference at North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, GA. Andy Stanley is the senior pastor and founder of this ministry. For 3 years now, they have hosted this conference to be an encouagement and challenge to others in ministry. There are about 2,300 people attending this conference, representing 42 different denominations and over 600,000 people who attend their churches.

It is a blessing to me that my church, Grace Baptist in Westlake would send us to a conference like this. It really is a time, not only to get away to refresh, but to build a stronger staff (Steve and I) relationship; and consider what God might want us to consider for future ministry. Times like this remind me of two important things: God has given me wonderful blessings for which I need to be thankful; and there is always more to learn and implement for more effective ministry.

The conference began with an evening session, including communion (time of refection while 3 paintings of Christ were done), a time of worship through singing, and the opening message by Andy. His focus through these sessions focus on the team aspect of ministry, staffs of the church.
Tonight, Andy spoke about 2 gifts that every staff member must give to each other every day: "To maintin the relational integrit necessary to operate as a team, we must choose to trust and be trustworthy."

He emphasized that trust is a choice, albeit a very difficult one. And playing off the "Golden Rule", he said: "Trust others the way you want to be trusted." I am grateful for the trust that I think we have on our staff, in our offices and among our leaders; but I do not want to take that for granted. That can change in a moment. It is my desire that those who work for Grace and those who serve in leadership positions love what they do and wouldn't want to do anything else. That is my desire.

If I blow it, as I often do, I want to be trustworthy enough to "own up to it" and make sure our serving relationships are right and up to date biblically.

During the playing of music, painting on the canvas and communion, I was able to pray, praise and reflect on all that Christ has done for me. I feel very inadequate as a pastor, but am grateful for the privilege of serving God; and being able to do it as a part of a team.

Over the next 2 days, we will have the opportunity to hear more about this important area of teamwork; but will also attend workshops that tell us how North Point is working hard together to reach people for God's glory. I know we will enjoy it. I will try to write again tomorrow night and talk about Day 2.

All for now.

DOCTOR JESUS

2008-05-04T22:09:00.001-04:00

This message can be heard by going to www.gbcwestlake.org and clicking on the option: Listen online.

DOCTOR JESUS
Mark 2:1-17

Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 2. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 865 or 883.

Do you like my shirt? Do you know what it means? If you are basketball fan; or more specifically, a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, then you know what this means. Or, perhaps, you have seen the advertisements or large billboards that talk about us being witnesses. You have probably guessed that this is not talking about being witnesses for Jesus Christ; but this tee shirt message is about being witnesses to the Cavs basketball team, and more specifically, witnesses to the basketball exploits of its star: LeBron James.

He has been labeled King James, and in a sense, we as Cavs fans, are his worshippers. Other tee shirts say “Rise UP”, as though we are rising for royalty, for something great. When, in fact, it is just a basketball player playing a game – playing it very well; but a game nonetheless.

I am to wear this shirt, showing that I have been to the games, and am a witness to the incredible things that this team, that this player can do. I am giving the idea that I am a witness to something great, something incredible, something amazing. But, I wear this shirt today for a completely different reason. I want to point your attention to someone much greater, more amazing and more incredible than LeBron James could ever hope to be.

This morning, we join the witnesses – those who 2,000 years ago saw and heard some things they just could not believe. But, once they saw Jesus Christ as he loved people, healed people and cast out demons – once they heard him teach with great authority, unlike any other religious leader before Him – they could not hold it in. Like a crazed fan who just can’t stop talking and arguing about how great LeBron James is, these followers could not stop talking about what they saw and heard from Jesus Christ.

Mark 2:1-3 – “And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.”

Jesus has been out of town, preaching, casting out demons and healing. But, now, Mark records, Jesus returns to home. Capernaum seemed to serve as the headquarters for the ministry Jesus had in the region of Galilee. Jesus did not have his own house; so this probably means he was at Peter’s house, that served as somewhat of a home base for some of Jesus’ ministry. It is where he had recently healed all kinds of people, with all kinds of diseases, that had lined up at the door.

People had heard that Jesus had returned to town, and immediately went to see him at the house. This was not unique in Palestine. People could pretty much freely go into other’s homes during the day, unless someone asked for privacy. The door to the house would remain open and people could come as they liked. In this case, since Jesus was there, it did not take long for the house to be filled to the limit.

Mark tells us that people were crowded in the house and outside the doors, so that no one else would be able to enter. So, Jesus turns the house into a church and begins to teach the Word of God to them. We know the main message he taught everywhere he went:

Mark 1:15 – “and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus, although healing and casting out demons, continued to teach that He was the Son of God, here to save people from their sins. And this was an amazing, unique message that the people were not expecting from this carpenter’s son from Nazareth.

So, Mark sets up the scene for us and then tells us that a group of guys show up at the house, and they were carrying their friend, who was paralyzed. It is obvious they were not just coming to hear a good preacher. They were there for one reason: they had heard that Jesus was able to heal anyone he chose to heal, and they were hoping he would heal their friend.

This man was not able to walk anywhere on his own. He was completely dependent on others to get where he needed to go – no motorized wheelchairs in the first century! Verse 4 tells us that they brought him on the bed on which he normally laid. The word here for bed describes a mat, actually the type of bed that someone very poor would use. Here was a poor man, paralyzed, and in need of a miracle.

Mark 2:4,5 – “And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven.”

Dr. Jesus could heal people physically.

People were quickly finding that out at the beginning of his public ministry. And that brought great crowds. And Jesus’ ability to heal made an incredible impact, not only on those who were healed, but on those who viewed the healings and those who longed for people they loved to be healed. It also showed everyone that what Jesus was saying about Himself was not just talk.

I am tempted to just focus on this last phrase, when Jesus forgave this man’s sins. It then led to a controversy about Jesus’ authority to do so, and it teaches us more about Christ. But, I cannot move on here, without taking a few moments to consider the phrase just prior: “And when Jesus saw their faith…” Did you notice it, at the beginning of verse five?

“And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, My son, your sins are forgiven.” I would expect to read: when the paralytic prayed the sinner’s prayer, then Jesus forgave his sins. Or, when the paralytic demonstrated faith, Jesus said because of your faith your sins are forgiven. But, that is not what the text says. It says: “And when Jesus saw their faith, he forgave the sins of the crippled man. Isn’t that strange?!

Don’t get confused here. There is no theological doctrine in the Scriptures that teach that a person is saved because someone else in the family, or a friend is saved. We must have our own faith. But, let’s put this statement in the context of the book of Mark, and what we have already found to be an important theme of application.

Certainly, the crippled man had demonstrated faith, but Jesus includes the faith of his friends as well. When Jesus called his first followers, recorded in chapter one:

Mark 1:17 – “And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

Those who claimed to follow Jesus were supposed to make it their highest priority to bring other people to Jesus, so that they could have their sins forgiven and learn to be disciples of Jesus Christ. This group of friends demonstrated their faith by doing just that: they brought their friend to Jesus, believing that He was who He said He was, and could heal their friend. That was real faith.

And their faith that is described here was not just that they took time out of their busy schedule, and gave their strength to carry their friend to Jesus. But, included in this demonstration of faith, was what they had to do in order to get to Jesus in the first place. It was too crowed in the house. There was no way people were going to move aside for this man. Maybe they should wait. Maybe they should come back another day. But, the faith that was attributed to these men by Jesus pointed to the fact that they would do anything necessary to get their friend to the One they believed was the Son of God.

So, what did they do? Verse 4 tells us they removed the roof, made an opening, and lowered their friend down to Jesus, where he was standing. Commentator William Barclay gives us some historical details: “The roof of a Palestinian house was flat. It was regularly used as a place of rest and of quiet, and so usually there was an outside staircase which ascended to it. The construction of the roof lent itself to what this ingenious four proposed to do. The roof consisted of flat beams laid across from wall to wall, perhaps three feet apart. The space in between the beams was filled with brush-wood packed tight with clay. The top was then marled over. Very likely the roof was of earth and often a flourishing crop of grass grew on the roof of a Palestinian house. It was the easiest thing in the world to dig out the filling between two of the beams; it did not even damage the house very much, and it was easy to repair the breach again.”

So, the guys were not completely destroying the house or the roof by doing this; but they were showing their determination to get their friend to Jesus; and this is what Jesus noted as their faith that led to him dealing with their friend. In the context of Mark, we cannot move on until we ask:

SO WHAT?
Do what is needed to bring your friends to Jesus

This is a high priority. This is one major reason God has left us here. For those of us who claim to be followers of Christ: He wants us to demonstrate our faith by doing what is needed to introduce our friends to Jesus. Our faith in Christ will not save our family members or friends; but if we have faith in Jesus Christ’s ability to save them, then we will make the effort to bring them.

Now, let’s keep this straight – we are talking about bringing people to Jesus, not necessarily to church. It is Jesus that saves people, not religious tradition or church buildings. But, let’s not make a mistake to the other extreme. One key way to introduce people to Jesus is to make the effort to bring them to the church, which is: a group of people who follow Christ, who will love your friends, and where Jesus is worshipped authentically and the Word of God is taught faithfully. I cannot think of a better place to introduce people to Jesus Christ.

But, regardless of how you do it, the application is clear: find a way to help people you care for learn about the saving power of Jesus Christ. What are you willing to do to help people find Christ? Yes, God the Holy Spirit is the One who saves; and yet God has called us to bring people to Him. So, what are you willing to do?

Are you willing to take the time to build a closer relationship with someone who is not yet a committed follower of Christ? Are you willing to pray fervently and look for the right time to tell them about your relationship with Jesus Christ? Are you willing to invite them to the right environment within our ministry, where they can experience what we described earlier – a place where imperfect followers of Christ love one another and worship God?

Who knows what God might do. It may be, that God will choose, in just the right time, to open your friend’s eyes, so that his heart will believe in Jesus Christ; and His life will be changed forever. Are you willing to be a part of that process in the life of a friend?

Mark 2:6,7 – “Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

Dr. Jesus could heal people spiritually

And we will see how Jesus uses both of these truths in just a moment.
Let’s get our focus back, now, to what we are learning here about Jesus Christ. He did say to this paralyzed man something that no one expected: “My son, your sins are forgiven.” And some of the religious teachers nearby thought to themselves: What did he just say? He didn’t say: your sins are forgiven did he? How dare he say something like that! Who does he think he is? Only God can forgive sins; and that means that this imposter is committing blasphemy against God!”

They believed the Old Testament teaching: “Bless the LORD”, King David has said:

Psalm 103:3 – “Who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases.”

The LORD was Jehovah, the covenant keeping God, and only He could heal and forgive sins. So, this Jesus, whomever He is, is committing the worst sin imaginable – blasphemy; which, according to Old Testament law, was punishable by death.

Teresa likes to tell me at times that she believes she knows exactly what I am thinking; and I enjoy telling her when she is wrong (and there is some disagreement about how often that happens)! Well, Jesus really did know what these men were thinking; and so, as soon as these thoughts came to their minds and hearts, Mark tells us:

Mark 2:8,9 – “And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, Your sins are forgiven, or to say, rise, take up your bed and walk?”

When teachers debated in those days, they would often respond with rhetorical questions to make their points. Jesus loved to do this. When he asked: which is harder – to say someone’s sins are forgiven or to actually heal a crippled man?, in their minds, they were thinking: to say someone’s sins are forgiven. Why? Because that is invisible – you cannot see that taking place. But, if we saw some crippled man healed right before our eyes, yes – that is most difficult.

So, then, Jesus made his point:

Mark 2:10,11 – “But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins – he said to the paralytic – I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

Now we find the real reason for this healing. It was not to show that the friends faith was transferred to this man. It was to show that Jesus Christ was who he said he was, and was able to forgive sins. Remember – the most important thing here was not bringing physical healing. The reason for the miracles, for the incredible healings, was to authenticate this life saving message: That Jesus Christ was indeed who he said he was – the Son of God, the Messiah, who could forgive sins.

So Jesus demonstrated his healing ability while he had their full attention; to prove that he could also do what they thought was much easier – forgive the man’s sins. He wanted to prove His invisible power to forgive through the visible power to heal. So, he looks at the cripple and says: Get up, pick up your mat, go home.

Now, I know when I speak here, many of you find other things to do, and I don’t blame you. Some of you take the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. Some of you count the numbers of bricks in the walls, important things like that. Some of you play games on your cell phones or ask your friends to call you so you can escape the service. Some of you find some other fun ways to pass the time.

But, if you were in that house of worship on that particular day, you would n’t be thinking about anything else. Your attention would have been completely focused: the scribes had just challenged Jesus, and Jesus had just said to crippled man: get up and walk. But, you would not have had much time to consider what was going on, because:

Mark 2:12 – “And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, We never saw anything like this!”

All of sudden, people made room for this man. They were all paying attention to this man now. Why? Because this crippled man, at the Word of Christ, stood up, picked up his mat, and said, “Excuse me please – I need to go home”! Unbelievable. These people went right out and bought their t-shirts: I am a witness. We are witnesses. I saw it with my own eyes. I have never seen anything like this. Glory to God!

I think the religious leaders may have slithered away fairly quietly and quickly. Jesus had made his point. He had backed up his talk. Recently Lebron James answered the criticisms of an opponent who said he was overrated, with incredible team play, winning the series (so far) against the Wizards. But, how much greater is Jesus Christ, and how much greater is it to be a witness to what Jesus Christ can do? And how much greater is it to introduce people to the saving power of Jesus Christ – even more so than telling them about the greatness of basketball star!

SO WHAT?
You must go to Jesus for physical or spiritual healing

It seems pretty obvious, especially since we pointed out that Jesus does both. But, if we are being honest, most of us look elsewhere first, when there is physical problems. And even in the area of spirituality, we many times think other counselors, books, popular speakers or being busy in ministry can replace the work that can only be done through Christ and His power.

Look to God first, when there is a physical problem. All the doctors, medical procedures and discoveries, are all under His care and all came from him in the first place. Remember: His main goal is not to heal every person with physical ailments; but to heal people spiritually. And whether you need to know how to get to Heaven or how to live your life as a believer, the answers still lie with God, through Jesus Christ and His revealed Word. You must go there first. Then what?

Doctor Jesus added to His team

Jesus’ first four disciples were fisherman; but now Jesus is going to add to His team another very unique individual. He is going to join this team of followers that are going to learn from Jesus, not only about physical healing; but more importantly, how to heal someone’s soul, someone’s heart.

Mark 2:13,14 – “He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, Follow me. And he rose and followed him.”

Jesus is by the Sea of Galilee again, and the crowds are still coming. In this case, it mentions that he is teaching. We know that his healing ministry, casting out demons, and teaching about how to get to God were all a part of what he was doing at this time. His team was not yet fully set. And it was time to call another disciple.

Jesus sees Levi sitting at the tax booth. Beginning in chapter 3, he will be known as Matthew. Levi was a Jewish tax official, serving Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee. To serve in this way was to be known as one who cheats people. The tax collectors of that day would extort extra money from the tax payers, so that they could keep the extra. It was a known and accepted practice; although despised by the common people.

If you or I were to counsel Jesus on who to make a part of His ministry team, we would never have suggested a tax collector from that day. Are you kidding me Jesus? This guy is a cheat. That is how he makes his living – cheating people out of their hard earned finances. Let’s find a social worker somewhere who is at least concerned about people, trying to help them be financially stable in our society! Nope. Jesus goes to Levi and gives the now familiar call: FOLLOW ME. And Levi doesn’t hesitate. He leaves his life as a tax collector, making a pretty good living (albeit dishonest) and becomes a follower of Jesus Christ.

I am not going to spend much time breaking this down, but I cannot help but think of the application for us as it relates to who Jesus decided to call to be His followers.

SO WHAT?
Remember that Jesus calls sinful people to follow Him.

Remembering that should cause you to be eternally grateful that He called you. You didn’t deserve to be His follower any more than Matthew did. Your sins were just as bad, your reputation with God just as tainted. But He called you anyway. Give praise to the One who is mighty enough to save even you – and me.

Remembering this should also remind us that no matter how sinful you think your non-believing friends, family or neighbors are, God still may very well call them to follow Him. Don’t discount people just because you think they are living too sinful a lifestyle or working in an occupation full of deception and cheating. God loves to call people like Matthew into His service.

***BRIAN INTERRUPTS anytime now
OK – Assuming no one else has anything to say, let’s continue in our text:

Mark 2:15 – “And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him.”

Matthew begins to follow Jesus and one of the first things he does is throw a party. He has Jesus and His friends over for dinner. In fact, it says, many people who had begun to follow Jesus, were there. And this verse identifies them as tax collectors and sinners. Hmmm… Tax collectors – we have already described their reputation back then; and then the general term – sinners. This was the term used for the common people who did not abide by the religious leaders standards of living.

Dr. Jesus came for sinners

Jesus was hanging out with the people we warn our children to stay away from. These people today would be those who were into drugs, alcohol addictions, pornography, gambling away their savings, lying and cheating to get ahead; and just your regular sinful people who couldn’t seem to get their lives straightened out.

This was Matthew’s circle of friends and the kind of people Jesus was calling to follow Him. And this really ticked off the Pharisees, who prided themselves on abiding by the letter of the law and going beyond that, holding to man-made traditions that made them feel holy. So, this scene with Jesus hanging out with the common sinners, brought a response:

Mark 2:16 – “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

This was what Brian was so upset about. First of all, I’m up here speaking but I am a hypocrite. I don’t always keep all the regulations. There are people more holy than me. I don’t even keep all the things I preach about. And then, what about the people I am spending my time with. You are all hypocrites as well; and some of you might even admit to messed up lives. And I spend time with other people not here at church, that do not follow Him yet. They are sinners as well.

Can’t you hear the pious, religious people of today saying things like this? Come on Jesus – you can’t be hanging out with sinful people. What will the people at church think? What will people say? Aren’t we supposed to abstain from all appearances of evil? You’ve got people smoking outside, drinking alcohol inside, gambling in the corner, telling their jokes, living filthy lives; and you are eating with them – which makes you a part of it.

When someone follows you, aren’t they supposed to be holy now, like us? Aren’t they supposed to completely and immediately come out of their sinful habits; and certainly, they are supposed to stay away from sinful friends – right? Jesus, there are many holy, moral, religious, church going people, who have high standards and good friends, that you should be spending time with and encouraging your followers to spend time with.

The Pharisees make this accusation in question form, addressing his disciples. But, of course, Jesus heard it, and responded – once again clarifying why he was here in the first place, doing what he was doing:

Mark 2:17 – “And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Jesus answered the question: Why are you spending time with sinful people? He answered it from his position as a physical and spiritual doctor – a healer. He said: I’m here to help those who are sick, not those who think they are well. I am here to help the sinners, who know they are sinners, not the people who already think they are righteous, and have it all together.

He did not call them righteous because they actually were in God’s sight; but because they thought they were righteous, in their own eyes. The sinners were the ones who knew they needed healing. They were humble before God, and acknowledged that they needed help. Those were people who were constantly struggling with sin. So, Jesus spent his time with them, because they were the ones who needed him most. That is why He came.

This has always been a struggle for churched people to try to figure out and handle the way Jesus did. You may recognize William Booth as the man, who in the mid to late 1800’s started in England what would become known as the Salvation Army. One main reason he began that organization is because the established churches of that day wanted nothing to do with the poor and sinful people that he believed God loved and wanted to reach. That led to William to take his ministry outside the church and eventually led to the establishment of this service organization and church, The Salvation Army, that continues on today.

Jesus had to do his work outside of the religious establishment as well. The religious leaders wanted nothing to do with the sinners, people they thought were well below them in terms of holiness and acceptance by God. One of the most famous illustrations in the Bible of this is in the gospel of Luke. Our focus is on Mark, but this story that Jesus told illustrates why Jesus was reaching out to Matthew and his friends, while the religious leaders, the Pharisees, were critical of him:

Luke 18:9-14 – “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner! I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

This is exactly what was taking place with Matthew and the Pharisees. Matthew and the sinners were humbling themselves and following Christ’s lead, appreciating what He could do for them. The Pharisees didn’t think they needed any help spiritually, or otherwise, and saw Jesus as a troublemaker, who could n’t be from God, if he was spending time with these horrible sinners.

So WHAT?
Spend time with sinful people, pointing them to Jesus

No, Jesus was not spending time with them, taking part in their sins – and neither should we. No, these were not his best friends, from whom he gained spiritual support or encouragement – and we also need strong believers who will help us grow. No, these were not the only people Jesus spent time with; but these were the ones who needed to hear the truth; and spending time with them showed that he cared for them and their greatest spiritual need.

We cannot get around this. If we are going to be Christ-like, following His example and doing what he has called us to do, we must be spending time with people who do not know Him; people who do not think they are more holy than everyone else, with no spiritual need.

This means you may be criticized. Brian was pretending to criticize me for not only being sinful myself but for spending time with sinful people. If you spend time with those in need, there are religious people who will criticize you. It means your children may hear words you do not want them to use or see things you would rather they not see.

Don’t misunderstand: if you are spending time with non-believers just because you are comfortable with them, and you never tell them the truth about Jesus, how much he loves them and the changes he can bring to their life, then your friendships can be harmful and not glorify God.

Jesus spent time with sinners in order to help them find God through a relationship with Himself. We are to be around sinful people, always keeping in mind why we have these relationships. It may take time. This may require sacrifice on your part. For most of us, it is easy to just be with committed Christians all the time, and it has great benefits; but it is hard to make the time to have relationships with people who have not yet committed their lives to Christ, and to take the necessary steps to introduce them to Him.

The people in that day were all witnesses – to the fact that Jesus Christ was who he said he was, and could bring eternal life to those who believed. We are still witnesses of God’s mighty power to save, even today. We know He continues to change us and we have seen Him dramatically change the lives of others. And it is up to us, to let others we care about know what we have witnessed.

[John begins playing]

Would you please stand with me? Please bow your heads in prayer. Let’s take some time for silent prayer. Is there one thing that God’s Spirit is speaking to your heart about today? Is there one commitment you need to make, from this passage of Scripture today? What is it? Take some time to consider that in prayer. Then, we will close with singing a song about knowing Christ. This is all about knowing Christ ourselves, the one who can save; and then introducing him to others as well. Let’s pray. Let’s pray.

KNOWING YOU

Bible Reading

2008-05-01T05:42:00.002-04:00

Psalm 86:1-3 - "Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for i am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am godly; save your servant, who trusts in you - you are my God. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day."

Psalm 86:5 - "For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you."

Psalm 86:8 - "There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours."

Psalm 86:11,12 - "Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my hert to fear your name. I give thank to you, o Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever."

This Psalm resonates with my heart right now. I love it, because much of this is what I have been praying personally. I call out to God in desperation, because I many times feel weak, spiritually dry, and incredibly needy. I many times have no idea what to do or how to feel differently than I do. So, all through some days, I find myself crying out to God for help.

I also lean on His forgiveness. I count on that, and it revives my heart often. Without His forgiveness, I would die inside. I feel like I need it so often every day; and yet I know that truth: everyone does, even though we act as though we are fine on our own. But, God's forgiveness I something I thank and praise Him for often.

Recently, I had the opportunity to join the worship team in church; and I have been able to focus more on singing these types of praises, the one I privately rehearse on a regular basis: for how great God is, how there is none like Him; and that I am committed to glorify Him all the days of my life.

My daily prayer is contained in verse 11: Lord, please teach me your truth, I need your help. I don't want to just know the truth, but I want to live in it.

Take some time today to share your heart with our Heavenly Father; and then go live in His truth.

THE FAMOUS ONE

2008-04-27T21:57:00.002-04:00

This was the 2nd message from the book of Mark, a part of our SHOW ME THE WAY message series. It is my desire, throughout this series, to keep the emphasis not on the scholastic journey, but on the process of application and life transformation. This book should have a great effect on or pursuit of becoming more fully devoted followers of Christ.

THE FAMOUS ONE
Mark 1:21-45

Please turn in your Bible to Mark 1. In the Bible in front of you, it is on page 865 or 882.

Last week, we learned that John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, had been raised up to prepare the way for the Messiah, for the ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus called his first disciples, four fisherman, and they were the first to experience the kind of ministry that Jesus would have over the next 3 years. They entered Capernaum, which was on the North Eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and the home base for those disciples. It would also be the center of Jesus’ ministry in the region of Galilee.

My plan, as we work through Mark, is to take this journey with the disciples, as they experienced who Jesus Christ really was, and what He was here on Earth to accomplish. We want to learn about Christ and His disciples; but let me challenge you to make this very personal. Put yourself in the sandals of one of these first disciples, and consider what response to Jesus Christ God is asking you to make in your life today. The theme of our message series in Mark is: Show Me The Way. We are looking at the gospel of Jesus Christ, in order to become more fully devoted followers of His.

You may have heard of American idol, the show that caused other shows to be created, such as America’s Got Talent. I want to introduce you to a young man, on Britain’s version of this variety show, who doesn’t look or sound very impressive at first glance; but then amazes everyone listening to him:

Britain’s Got Talent Video – 2:49

When the audience looked at this guy and heard he was going to sing opera, they were not quite sure what they were going to hear; especially since people know that many who sing on shows like this are absolutely terrible. But, then, he began to sing and the audience couldn’t believe it. Even if they were not opera fans, they were amazed at the incredible voice from this mobile phone salesman. It is not what they expected. When I saw this for the first time, I was expecting maybe a high, squeaky voice that the judges would make fun of; and then I heard this strong voice that everyone cheered.

This morning, we are going to see that the people who first encountered Jesus in His public ministry were completely amazed at what they heard from Him. This is not what they expected. He didn’t look like anything special; and they certainly were not ready for the claims he was about to make; and the incredible authority by which he made those claims.

Mark 1:21,22 – “And they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and was teaching. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority and not as the scribes.”

As I mentioned last week, Mark will use the term “immediately” quite often in this book, and we are reminded that this is a book of action. Jesus and His disciples went into the synagogue – the place of Jewish worship, to attend the normal Sabbath gathering. And probably by invitation, Jesus began to teach. They were used to different religious leaders, travelling rabbis, different scribes speaking the Word of God. But, this was different. Who was this guy? He didn’t look like anything special. But when he spoke – it was clear – He was unique.

Becoming famous:
Jesus had authority in His teaching
v.22 – “they were astonished at his teaching” why? “he taught as one who had authority, not as the scribes.”

They had heard the religious scribes read Scripture. They had heard the religious scribes teach. They were put to sleep by many of them. They were just doing their duty, reading and teaching. But, this guy Jesus – there was something different about His teaching. This was coming from deep within His soul. And when He taught, you just knew – this is meaningful. I need to pay attention. This man has authority from God!

It is interesting that although Mark’s gospel mentions Jesus teaching often, he does not tell much about the specifics of Jesus’ teaching. You read more about that in the other gospels. But, our focus is on this gospel of Jesus Christ as recorded by Mark. Without knowing the details of the content, we are supposed to know that Jesus’ teaching had authority – more so than any of the others who had taught in that place of worship.

This was just the beginning of Jesus’ problems with the religious establishment and its leaders. Because Jesus was so different, people were going to listen to Him. And His message was going to have a completely different focus than that of the religious leaders. And they were not going to appreciate that - at all!

The scribes would read the Scriptures and quote the readings from those who had come before, stating tradition after tradition. Perhaps you have seen or heard teaching like that: just readings from the past – no personal interaction, no life, no transformational truth. But, Jesus was definitely different. He would not be quoting some other scribe. He would be reading the Old Testament and demonstrating how those prophecies were now being fulfilled. This was new. This was strange.

Becoming famous:
Jesus had authority over demons

Mark 1:23-26 – “And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit. And he cried out, What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be silent, and come out of him! And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying out with a loud voice, came out of him.

Jesus’ authoritative teaching brought out strong responses in those who were listening; and one of those who responded strongly had an unclean or evil spirit or demon in him. He knew, unlike many of the other listeners, who Jesus was. He knew Jesus had the power to destroy demons and he stated that concern, along with the declaration: “I know who you are – the Holy One of God.”

The demons knew the truth but obviously did not accept it. So, Jesus said: “Be silent”. This is not the librarian instructing “shhhh…please be quiet” but the forceful admonition: “shut up – come out of him!” And with terrible convulsions and loud cries, the demon came out.

I am sure that one of the questions that comes to our minds with stories such as these have to do with demon possession today. I don’t have all the answers. We know in that day demons possessed people, caused great destruction, and even spoke out loud. Jesus specifically addressed demons and cast them out. There is no doubt that demons still do this today, even if we do not recognize it as a society or come upon it clearly ourselves.

What is important to focus on here is that Jesus Christ, this person who has come on the scene claiming something absolutely incredible is now going to do some things to demonstrate that He is exactly who He said He was. And one of those things was the ability to have authority over the demonic world. Even though the demon spoke truth about who He was, they had no authority to speak such things, while doing their destruction in people’s lives. Here is the key question: How did the people of that day respond to this?

Mark 1:27 – “And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

Here is something new. They were amazed, astonished, surprised. Not only was His teaching completely different than the present religious leaders; but that teaching came with authority over demons, which they had never seen before. The scribes certainly didn’t have that. The Pharisees didn’t have it. Only this new teacher: Jesus Christ, from Nazareth.

SO WHAT?
Believing and speaking the gospel must include the truth about Christ

I think this is an important application because it was then, and is today, the point of contention. The Jewish people were fine with the scribes teaching tradition and even talking about a coming Messiah. But Jesus was teaching that He was the promised Messiah and the only way to God. Today, that is still the issue. People do not believe that is only through Jesus Christ that they get to the Father. But, it is the true message each of us must believe and speak to others. It is actually a very unique message in our day of pluralism and tolerance.

And, just in case, using the word famous bothers you, when referring to Jesus, look at the fact of:

Mark 1:28 – “And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.”

As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for people to spread the news: There is this carpenter’s son from Nazareth, of all places, who claims to be the Messiah, the Son of God. His teaching is like nothing we have ever heard, and He alone has the authority to cast out evil spirits. It is unbelievable!

I have heard people, who feel they have been healed of something, tell me and everyone else who will listen about the person or product that they now fully believe in. Word spreads fast when someone truly believes their life has been changed.

Now, one of the important things we are going to learn on this journey with Jesus, is that He doesn’t necessarily do the things that we would expect. He doesn’t remain there in the synagogue, waiting for large crowds to come gather. Instead, as Mark reports, there are other places to go and more action to come:

Becoming famous:
Jesus had authority over disease

Mark 1:29-31 – “And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.”

From the synagogue, it is time to eat lunch and they go to Peter’s house. When they arrive, they find Peter’s mother-in-law, who was going to do the cooking, sick with a high fever. Jesus simply touched her and the fever was gone. And her first response to her healing was to serve Jesus and her guests. This demonstrates that just by Jesus’ touch, she was completely healed, needed no recovery period, and was ready to immediately serve. But the authority over disease went much further than a high fever.

Mark 1:32-34 – “That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.”

Word got out – There is a guy here who can heal people. Now, we know there are people today who claim they can heal; but I don’t think anyone believes that a human has the authority to heal like Jesus did. God obviously still heals today; but not like He did with Jesus. There is a very pertinent reason, I believe, why Jesus was doing this back then. It was not to eradicate disease. That was not his purpose. It was not to become famous. He wasn’t about that. We will come back to this in a moment.

The people of the town waited until sundown to bring the sick to Jesus; probably because they wanted to obey the Sabbath laws and religious regulations. But, because Jesus was able to heal any disease at any moment, it is no surprise that people, who had sicknesses of all kinds or were struggling with demonic oppression, came to him.

In fact, it was one of the tasks of the early followers of Christ – to bring people to Jesus who were in need. Again, John Mark uses hyperbole (exaggeration for effect): “the whole city was gathered…” because it certainly seemed like everybody had come to Peter’s house to see the healings or be healed. When people today are struggling with some type of disease and they hear a story that someone has been healed, they are probably going to follow up on that news, even travelling or going to great expense; just with the possibility of being healed.

Did the last phrase of verse 34 catch your attention: “…and he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.” If they were speaking truth, why wouldn’t Jesus allow them to speak? Keep in mind, that one of the things Jesus was trying to accomplish was not finding demons who would speak truth, but to demonstrate his complete authority over demons, which showed that he was who he said he was. They knew who Jesus was, they knew the battle they were engaged in; and they wanted the authority. Jesus would not allow it.

SO WHAT?
Take people to Jesus for physical and spiritual healing

Still today, Jesus is the name that can defeat the Devil and His demons. Still today, God heals, and in the name of Jesus, may choose to do so. Still today, it is only through Jesus Christ that someone can be spiritually healed and on their way to Heaven. Don’t forget that is what Jesus has called us to do, in terms of fishing for men; but it is still the unique work of God in someone’s heart.

You have probably heard the stories of people who have become famous, only to then lose everything that was once important to them. Many times, those who “make it big” end up struggling with the fame that it brings: relationships fall apart, people take advantage of them, they try to cope through drugs and alcohol, or they quickly lose their riches through bad decisions or wasteful living. Many people who have won the lottery or become famous for other reasons, will eventually say that the fame ruined them. Once they had priorities of life in line, strong relationships, and a purpose. Now, they have realized that money and fame do not satisfy; in fact, not handling it well can lead to living life without real purpose, except to remain rich and famous, or just to survive.

But, Jesus Christ, although becoming famous, proves that he knew exactly what he was here to do; and he also knew how temporal fame was, and how quickly people can turn on you. So, he did what was needed to stay in charge of the purpose for which he came.

Becoming famous:
Jesus had authority in purpose

Mark 1:35-37 – “And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, Everyone is looking for you.”

Jesus had a very busy day of ministry. He was healing people well into the night. It was likely that the next day would hold the same; but probably all day long. Jesus needed a lot of rest and be ready for all the people that would be looking for him. But, instead, what does Jesus do first thing in the morning? He gets up before anyone else, goes to where no people are, and spends time in prayer. I mean, this is God in the flesh, and He took time out of his busy schedule, to be with God the Father.

This was hard for Peter to understand. Things are going well. All kinds of people are coming “out of the woodwork” to be healed by Jesus and find out who he was. So, when Peter finally gets out of bed, he sees all of the people waiting to be healed and see Jesus; and Jesus is nowhere to be found. How frustrating. Doesn’t Jesus know this is chance to be well known, since no one can do what he could do. Despite the demands of others on his time, Jesus took the time, even early in the morning, to spend time with the Father.

This pretty much takes away any of our excuses doesn’t it? We should take a moment here to consider this, because the Bible tells us we are to be like Jesus, and follow His example. Here is one key area that is a constant challenge for us. Are you or I more busy than Christ? We are busy, even in doing good things for Him; but certainly not more involved in ministry than Christ – especially since none of us have thousands of people knocking on our door wishing to be healed.

Jesus was without sin, but still needed to spend time before His full day of challenges and temptations. If anyone didn’t need time with God, you would think it would be God in the flesh, himself, Jesus! But, Jesus took the time, even in the midst of being the most sought after person ever, to prepare his heart for the day.

My excuses are gone: ministry, family, I’m tired, I have too much to do. Really? I was just sharing this past week, with a prayer partner of mine, that I have been struggling with this lately. For some reason, I have been sleeping more than I am used to; and that tempts me not to spend the time I need with my Father. I have got to prepare my heart each day, even in the midst of ministry. If Jesus needed to, than so do I; no matter how close I already feel to Him.
If you need help knowing what to do or read in your time with God, let me encourage you to begin simply. Take a few more minutes than you normally do, and pray about everything that is on your mind and heart. And, since God speaks to us through His Word, take some time to read the Bible. If you need suggestions, you can go to our website, listed in your bulletin, click on my blog and see a simple reading schedule for each day. Maybe just do part of it. But, whatever you do, be like Jesus in this way: take time in the business of life, and:

SO WHAT? In order to stay within God’s purpose:
Spend time each day with God.

I know that is simplistic and you have heard it a million times. But, I also know it is still a challenge for most of us to make it a top priority.
Back to our text. So, Peter finds Jesus and says: “Everyone has been looking for you.” Peter was probably thinking: Come on Jesus, we are on a roll here. People want to be healed, they want to hear what you have to say. You are famous now – isn’t this what you wanted? But Peter, and most of the people who lived in Jesus’ day, didn’t understand. Spending time with the Father was more important to Jesus than being available to people for their own purposes. And then, we are reminded of what Jesus’ purpose really was for all of these healings, in his response to Peter:

Mark 1:38,39 – “And he said to them, Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out. And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.”

There is a connection here, to Jesus’ purpose, which he proclaims, and the time of prayer he just had. Three times in Mark, we will read that Jesus went to a desolate place, the kind of place where he was first tempted by Satan, in order to pray. And in each of these cases, he is faced with the temptation to accomplish great things outside of the Father’s plan. Here, he could have set up his tent, performed all his miracles and drew the largest crowds ever. But, the healings and miracles were for a much greater purpose than notoriety.

And Jesus states it here: “Let’s go to the other villages. I need to preach there as well. This is why I am here.” In other words, Jesus was not going to just do what the people wanted; which in this case, was stay right there and keep healing people. He would heal, but for a much greater purpose than to get people physically well. In fact, he makes it clear, here, that he didn’t just go around healing people; but continued to preach. And you may ask, what was he preaching? We know his main message, from the context:

Mark 1:15 – “…The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Jesus was going public and healing and casting out demons, in order to get His message out: “The time has come: I, the Son of the God, the promised Messiah, am here, to show you how to get to the Father, how to get to be a part of the Kingdom of God. And in order to get to God, you must repent (change your mind and turn from what you have been believing) and believe the good news: that I have come to save you from your sins.”

That is why Jesus was performing miraculous healings – to authenticate his message – this new message that the Messiah had come in the form of a Jewish carpenter’s son, from Nazareth. And so that is what he did – he went all throughout the region of Galilee, probably for several weeks, healing, casting out demons and preaching this truth.

You see: Jesus was not going to be derailed from what he was here to do. Satan could not derail him in the temptation described in verses 12,13; and Peter, along with all those who wanted his attention could not derail him from spending time with God and proclaiming the gospel he came to deliver. Most famous people get derailed from what God sent them to do; but not Christ.

Becoming famous:
Jesus had authority over the process

In the midst of more healing, we are going to see, for the first time, Jesus’ understanding, not only of the purpose for why he was here, but the timing of this plan. And this is one of the reasons why, out of all the healings going on, the focus is on the healing of a leper:

Mark 1:40-42 – “And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, If you will, you can make me clean. Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, I will; be clean. And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.”

We still have Jesus demonstrating authority over sickness, in this case, a leper. Are you familiar with what this man was going through? According to commentator Jerry Vines: “…it would start with his beginning to feel a little tired. For no reason he would have a feeling of fatigue. Then his joints would begin to get sore. One day he would notice little white spots all over his skin. Later those white spots would begin to harden into nodules. They would turn from white to pink to brown, and then become scaly. Soon nodules would spread all over his body.

The appearance of his face would change until he began to resemble a lion. The nodules would ulcerate all over his body, producing a foul odor. They would cover his vocal chords so that when he breathed there would be a wheezing sound. When he talked, his voice would be raspy. His eyebrows would fall out. His hair would turn white. Inch by inch this man’s body would begin to rot. As he walked he would leave putrid spots where the pus oozed out of his feet. His fingers and toes would begin to fall off.” This is not pleasant to think about, is it? But, it may have been this man’s reality.

“Leprosy attacks the nervous system in such a way that a person loses all sensation of pain. A man in the grips of leprosy might accidently put his hand in the fire and feel no pain. He would burn himself severely. He would step on a thorn in the path and feel nothing as the thorn ran through his foot. A leper was a walking death that lasted an average of nine years until its victim finally collapsed in a pile of corruption.

Not only would a person suffer unbelievable horror physically, but there was also social rejection. When it was determined that a man had leprosy, he would be banished from the village. He was no longer allowed to have communion with other people. He had to leave family, friends, and tear his garments so people would recognize he was a leper. Over his upper lip he had to wear a cloth so he wouldn’t spread contamination. Every time he saw people coming, the leper was required to cry, unclean. It would warn them that a leper was nearby. They would sometimes pick up stones to throw at him.”

This man was desperate, falling on his knees, and demonstrating faith: “I know you can heal me of this terrible disease, if you choose to”. “Please heal me”, is what he was saying. And Jesus did something against the religious law in that day. He touched the leper in order to heal him. That is not always how Jesus healed people. But, he was in control of this process; and I believe he was showing his kind of compassion as he touched this man no one would consider even being near.
And , Mark writes: “immediately, the leprosy left him, and he was clean.” Wow!
Once again, Jesus had this authority. It was Jesus’ choice, and he chose to heal him. The question has arisen: When Jesus healed someone, does that mean that they were automatically saved, and now going to Heaven; or was it just a physical healing? We don’t know for sure. But, there are a couple things we do know.

When Jesus was healing, he was also preaching the truth about repenting and believing the gospel (vs. 14,15,39). Also, we know how people are saved in any generation, whether it was before Christ came or after: we are saved by grace through faith. In this case, the man demonstrated faith in Jesus, in what He could do, which was connected to who he was. We are not told in most instances whether or not a healed person was also saved; but we know that physical healing is not what Jesus was there for – it was to bring salvation. Physical healing alone, just like baptism, would not have saved them. But, if they had faith, even if it was not demonstrated in a sinner’s prayer, then they could have been saved right then.

And then we have another very strange comment that was hard for them to understand, and we’re not sure we understand it still today. This is what Jesus said to the man after he healed him of leprosy:

Mark 1:43,44 – “And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Don’t tell anyone, Jesus said. Instead, go do what you know is your duty. Show yourself to the priest, so he can see you are healed, and then declare you ceremonially clean. Some believe Jesus just didn’t want him saying anything until he went to the priest and then he could talk about it. But, it seems more likely, based on what we will read in the next verses, that Jesus knew what would happen if he did go tell everyone; just as already had been happening as people found out about the healings.

Jesus was becoming famous, but he, following the plan of His Father, had authority over the timing of his popularity. Here is what happened, after the man had been healed of leprosy:

Mark 1:45 – “But he went out and began to talk freely about it and to spread the news, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter a town, but was out in desolate places, and people were coming to him from every quarter.”
The healed leper couldn’t help it and I guess I can understand. He began telling everyone what happened to him, and that news spread so far and wide, that Jesus was not able to just go into a town and preach because it would be overcrowded. So, he has to go out to the desolate places, probably like where John the Baptist used to do ministry, and handled the numbers of people coming to him.

You see: our perspective is not the same as God’s. Jesus commanded the man not to speak and he shouldn’t have. Just having crowds, healing every person there is to heal, was not Jesus’ purpose. But, we don’t have to worry. God’s purpose was not thwarted because this man didn’t obey. Jesus had authority over the plan, even when the humans involved “blew it”. That can be an encouraging reminder for us today, as well.
Last week, we pointed out that Jesus has called each of us to follow him and to learn to bring others to him. We blow it all the time; and yet somehow, God still saves every person that is going to be saved – amazing! Jesus as God and Jesus as fully man are balanced in these stories.

SO WHAT?
Trust in God’s plan and process

Like the first disciples, we do not always understand what God is doing or why he is doing it. We kind of know God’s overall plan, but there are many things we do not understand. Let us learn from Jesus and those first disciples: All we are responsible for is to trust Him and to obey what He asks of us. And when we fail, as we do each day, we can still trust that God will accomplish what He is going to do; and no one, not even us, can derail Him from it. Thank God for that!

Yes, Jesus was becoming famous, in terms of how the humans of that day were responding. It is not what they expected; but it did not take long to find that most of them did not fully appreciate what Jesus had to say. But, one thing was for sure: Jesus was here to give the truth that would save, and nothing would stop Him.

WHY IS GREG SINGING - IS THIS A JOKE?

2008-04-24T19:44:00.002-04:00

This was the question a teenager in our church recently asked her mom during our worship service. I went up front with the worship team, grabbed a microphone and prepared to sing with them, when this teen asked her question. Maybe I should have been offended, but I wasn't. I can understand her question. I had not sung on the worship team before and there were already some voices on the team, including a male. So, it couldn't have been because they were desperate. I did like to do the unexpected, using creative ways to communicate truth (even though most of my creative ideas were actually someone else's creative ideas). So, someone could have thought I was up there to make some type of point that I would bring out later. Plus, it is possible that our people had heard me make disparaging comments about my own singing in the past. This question was not really surprising.

Hopefully, after we sang, she still didn't think it was a joke! Let me share with you why I joined the worship team:

1. I love to sing. I really do love it. I love singing when I am alone in the car or worshipping in a congregation. Singing on the worship team means that I get to sing even more often; and I have no choice but to sing if I am up front!

2. I love to lead people; and although I speak every week, this is leading with my heart, in expressive worship to our great God.

3. I can be a part of a team that is serving. When I preach and even when I prepare for messages, I am pretty much on my own. But, going to practices, following another leader, and participating with a group is a real joy. With this particular music team, it is fun to be together and serve together. Relationships make any sacrifice more than worth it!

4. Music is one of the most powerful tools God has given us, in which to worship Him. He also chooses to use it often to change our minds and heart attitudes. I want to be a part of seeing God work through this incredible medium.

5. It takes pressure off of me and I can just enjoy this ministry. I am not leading, so I do not have to worry about alot of the details of it. But, I can just show up to practices and our times of leading worship. I can just sing. It is actually a release of pressure and stress for me, not the other way around.

6. People close to me encouraged me to join the team. I don't believe I would seriously considered it if it hadn't been for my family and friends. It is a good reminder for me that God many times uses others to help us get involved in serving Him in ways we would not consider on our own.

7. I want to be an encouragement to those who are leading and participating in our worship music. I want them to know that I believe in what they are doing; and that I am willing to support them even with my own participation. We are in this together.

8. I truly believe that God is pleased with my joining the worship team. I am not just looking for something else to do. I already am very busy. But, after receiving encouragement from others to consider it, I spent much time praying for God's leading and for His will to be done. I sensed God's leading to be on the team. It was a desire on my heart that I believe He placed there. If God is leading, then I believe He will allow me to get everything done that needs to be done, including my participation on the worhsip team.

So, these are my reasons for being on the worship team. I know it may not last a long time; but while I am doing it, I am going to thank God for it, and enjoy serving Him in this way!

IN THE BEGINNING

2008-04-21T08:16:00.002-04:00

This is the first message in our Mark series and the first time I have preached through the book. I am excited about how it will change my life.

All of our messages, including this one, can be listened to online by going to the church website:
www.gbcwestlake.org

The video mentioned in the message can be viewed for free at bluefishtv.com The name of it is A Man Fell Into a Hole

IN THE BEGINNING…
Mark 1:1-20

Please turn in your Bibles to Mark 1. In the Bible in front of you, it is page 864 or 881.

“In the beginning” is the Bible’s version of the classic line: “Once upon a time”. When you hear that line, you know you are going to hear a story; and in the Bible’s case, a unique story of something at the very start…something new…something fresh. The first words of the Bible are “In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.”

This morning, we are at the beginning of a new message series. We are going to walk our way through the book of Mark. Over the next several weeks, I will share with you some more of the background of this great book; but today, I wanted to jump right into its message. We are going to take some larger portions of this story, so that it doesn’t take us years to finish; but it is my hope that you will not only learn from this story of Jesus Christ; but that it will make a difference in your life – now, on a daily basis, and for eternity.

Mark 1:1 – “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

This is something new. It is the beginning of something. It is not the beginning of the world, as God created it. But, it is, as Mark writes it, the “beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ…” This is the gospel according to Mark. There are four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each of these books is God-breathed, inspired by God the Holy Spirit.

Each of these books has the same theme: the gospel, or, the good news about Jesus Christ. But, what is different about each of these is that although they are each God-breathed writings, God used a different human author to write according to his particular perspective and personality, as they each wrote about some of the same stories concerning the same person: Jesus Christ. Many scholars believe Mark was the first gospel written. This is a unique gospel, for another reason besides authorship, because it emphasizes Jesus’ actions more than His teaching. Mark uses words like “immediately” often in his book, to emphasize the action taking place. Mark includes 18 of Jesus’miracles but only 4 of His parables. Over a third of this book is dedicated to the final 8 days or so of Jesus’ life, from His entry into Jerusalem (celebrated on Palm Sunday) to His crucifixion, and His resurrection (celebrated on Easter Sunday).

Mark was a close associate of the Apostle Peter; and since Peter calls him his “son” (I Peter 5:13), he may have been led to the Lord by Peter. We are going to focus on how Mark presented the good news story of Jesus Christ. He is referred to several times in the Scriptures as John Mark: John (the Hebrew name), also called Mark (his Latin name). It will be tempting to think about Matthew’s, Luke’s and John’s perspectives; but I truly believe that God gave us this book of Mark; and within its writings, we have truth that can transform our lives. So, the very first words from the hand of Mark are: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

IN THE BEGINNING…
Jesus, the Son of God, was to be the Savior of the world.

The gospel here is not referring to the message about Mark, but it is referring to the message about Jesus Christ: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The simple definition of gospel is “good news”. This is the good news about Jesus Christ. Historians tell us that by the time Mark wrote this book, the term gospel was being used to describe the communication of the truth that Jesus Christ was on Earth to save people from their sins. That is the ultimate good news. In this first verse of Mark, we are introduced to the main topic: This is about Jesus (Savior), who is the Christ (the promised Messiah from the Old Testament) and is also the Son of God. He is uniquely THE SON OF GOD. He was fully man. He was fully God. This is the good news story of the most unique person who has ever lived. And He can change your life.

IN THE BEGINNING…
John the Baptist prepared people for the ministry of Jesus.

Mark 1:2-4 – “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight, John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

Mark didn’t begin this good news with the birth of Jesus, but instead goes right to the introduction of His public ministry. And he starts by referring to the prophecy of Isaiah (given about 800 years before the birth of Jesus), that mentions that someone would come to prepare everyone for the message and ministry of the Messiah. We now find out who that prophecy was about. It was someone who would prepare the way. It was someone who, in a desert region, would immerse in water, people who believed in God.

That person, according to verse 4, was John; and because his main ministry before Christ was to baptize, he was known as John the Baptizer or John the Baptist. And this name helps us keep him straight in our minds, different than John Mark, who wrote this book and The Apostle John, whom we will be introduced to in a few verses.

Verse 4 says John the Baptist was “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” At first reading, you might wonder if he is saying that you have to be baptized to be saved from your sins; but that is not what he communicated. The people already knew about baptism because Jews required Gentiles who converted to Judaism, to be baptized. But, John was saying that those who turned from their sins were then baptized to demonstrate their forgiveness. This phrase could be translated: baptism of repentance “with reference to” the forgiveness of sins; or “because of” the forgiveness of sins. The baptism was a sign of a commitment on the person’s part to identify with God and His coming Messiah.

Commentators Walvoord and Zuck: “Forgiveness was not conveyed by the outward rite of baptism, but baptism was a visible witness that one had repented and as a result had received God’s gracious forgiveness of sins.” This is supported by the rest of Scripture, which teach that baptism comes after salvation, not before; and is a demonstration that a person has been already saved, and wants to publicly identify with Jesus Christ. He was baptizing people who were repenting; that is, they were turning their lives around, in order to follow God and accept whomever He would send. Mark then tells us a little more about John the Baptist:

Mark 1:5-8 – “And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Mark uses hyperbole (exaggeration for effect), saying all Judea and all Jerusalem – meaning - that a great group of people from all over the area was going out to hear John speak. And, as he pointed ahead to the coming Messiah, he was baptizing those who believed; those who were willing to confess (agree with God about) their sins. Someone estimated that John baptized as many as 300,000 people. John was described as wearing the clothing and eating the food associated with someone living in the desert. This was the prophet God chose to get people ready for the Messiah. There were similarities between this man John and a prophet who had come before: Elijah.

God didn’t choose someone to go into the middle of the capital city, well respected, scholarly, looking the part of a Scribe or Pharisee. He chose someone who would be out in the desert, not necessarily the person you would expect to prepare the way for the Messiah. But, John the Baptist was the one chosen by God, who fulfilled the prophecy and got people ready for the most unique person to ever walk the Earth: The Son of God.

And in verses 7,8, we have a summary of John’s preparatory message: Someone much greater than me is about to come. I am lowlier than a household servant, when it comes to this particular person. And although I am immersing you in water, those of you who have confessed your sins…this man will immerse you in the Holy Spirit.

The prophecies of Isaiah, Ezekiel and Joel, all pointed ahead to a time when the coming Messiah would give the power of the Holy Spirit to God’s people. It would only be a few years before the followers of Jesus Christ would experience the power of God the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.

The baptism Jesus would give would not be a physical one, but a spiritual one. Although those who chose to follow Christ would be baptized, the baptism Christ offered was to immerse them into a spiritual organism: the Body of Christ. The Bible tells us, in I Corinthians 12:13, that every true believer has been baptized into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. This was unique. This is something no one else could do.Yes, this was going to be a unique minister with a unique ministry…greater than any other. And John was preparing the way.

IN THE BEGINNING…
Jesus was baptized by John and affirmed by His Father

Mark 1:9-11 – “In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opening and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

During the days that John the Baptist was preaching repentance and baptizing those who believed, here comes Jesus, from the obscure, belittled, town of Nazareth. And what is the very first thing Jesus does? He gets baptized. We know he wasn’t getting saved. There did not need to be confession of sins, because he had none. But certainly, being baptized was going to give those who would follow a very clear picture of identifying with Him. Jesus set the standard; and being baptized by John not only showed his support of the ministry of John the Baptist; but He was identifying with the sinners He came to save.

This was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry. What a start! And, just after he comes up out of the water, who shows up but God the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, and God the Father, whose voice comes from Heaven, affirming: “You are my beloved Son; and I am very pleased with you.” There was to be no doubt. The entire Godhead (the Trinity): Father, Son and Holy Spirit, were involved in the beginning of this ministry, which would save those who believed.

God was leaving no doubt: This is my Son, I love Him, and He has my full support. It is interesting that this would be a key issue of contention with the religious leaders of that day. They did not believe Jesus was from God; but those who witnessed His baptism, knew what they saw and what they heard. And as you will see in the book of Mark, those who experienced Jesus, and the change He brings, were the ones who believed.

Napolean Bonarparte said this, "You speak of Caesar, of Alexander, of their conquests and of the enthusiasm which they enkindled in the hearts of their soldiers; but can you conceive of a dead man making conquests, with an army faithful and entirely devoted to his memory? My armies have forgotten me even while living, as the Carthaginian army forgot Hannibal. Such is our power.I know men and I tell you, Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I have founded empires. But on what did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded his empire upon love; and at this hour, millions would die for him.I search history in vain to find anyone similar to Jesus Christ, or anything which can approach the gospel. Neither history nor humanity, nor ages, nor nature, offer me anything with which I am able to compare it or to explain it. Here everything is extraordinary.”

And, of course, he was right. There has never been a man like Jesus Christ, who was also God. And there has never been a gospel like the good news about Jesus, which could forever change lives.

IN THE BEGINNING…
Jesus was tempted by Satan

Mark 1:12,13 – “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.”

There is more information about this temptation in the other gospels, but our focus is on what God wanted to communicate through Mark. And it is communicated in a straightforward and simple way here: God the Holy Spirit led God the Son into the wilderness for many days; and during that time, he was tempted to sin by Satan Himself. The very picture of the enemy of God personally showed up to try and lure Jesus, here at the beginning of His public ministry, into sin.

We are also told, here, that Jesus was with the wild animals, to further the dangerous picture of the wilderness as Satan’s domain. But, God protected him, in the midst of the danger and temptation, with His angels. It says here that they were ministering to Him. They were serving Him all throughout this battle. His Father had not left Him to struggle alone. His messengers were there to strengthen Him.

He battles Satan at the beginning of His ministry, and wins the victory. He will battle Satan at the end of His public ministry, and win again, as He dies on the cross and then rises from the dead. This was all foretold in the first book of the Bible, that tells the beginning of all things. In Genesis 3:15, God foretold of a time when the serpent, Satan, would bruise the heal of the ONE who would come from a woman; but that same man would crush Satan. This was the prophecy looking ahead to the coming Messiah: Jesus Christ.
At the very beginning of His ministry, Satan attempts to derail Him from what He had come to do. And what was that?

IN THE BEGINNING…
Jesus proclaimed the good news of God

Mark 1:14,15 – “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Near the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, John the Baptist was taken off the scene by ruler Herod Antipas, because John had publicly criticized Herod for divorcing his own wife so he could marry his brother’s. Mark tells us that after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, and it was now his time to proclaim the message he had come to proclaim. John had prepared the way, and now it was Jesus’ time.

Sadly, it had already been prophesied what the majority of the people would do with the good news Jesus was preaching:

Isaiah 53:1-3 – “Who has believed what they heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, And no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

But that did not stop Jesus from coming to proclaim the message He was sent to proclaim. Mark 1:14 says that Jesus was “proclaiming the gospel” (good news) of God; and here is what He was saying: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand…”

The first part of His good news (gospel) is: The time is fulfilled. With Jesus’ arrival on the scene, the time of preparation had been complete; and it was now time for Jesus to show people the way to God. In fact, the second part of the good news (gospel) is: “The kingdom of God is [near].”

Commentators Walvoord and Zuck wrote: “This presents a key feature of Jesus’ message. Kingdom means kingship or royal rule. Involved in the term is the sovereign authority of a ruler, the activity of ruling, and the realm of rule including its benefits…Thus the kingdom of God is a dynamic concept that refers to God’s sovereign activity of ruling over His Creation.”

The Kingdom of God is one of those potentially confusing themes in the Scriptures. It is one of those things that has the already, but not yet features. The Bible tells us that when we become a Christian, we have eternal life. We have it, already, but we have not experienced it yet. That is for when this life is over. The Kingdom of God is similar. We are to be preparing for it, by living for the Kingdom and abiding by Kingdom principles. But, the Kingdom of God will be experienced in the future. However, when Jesus came, the Kingdom of God came near.

What did Jesus mean: The Kingdom of God is near? I thought the Kingdom was still in the future. The people of Jesus’ day were familiar with the Kingdom concept from the Old Testament. They expected a Messiah would come to establish the Kingdom from the line of David here on Earth. Many of those who heard Jesus thought this is what he was talking about; and thought maybe Jesus would overthrow the Roman government and set up that Kingdom.

But, when Jesus said the Kingdom of God was near, as usual, the people did not understand what he was saying. He was not suggesting he would set up the kingdom right then; but that He, being sent by God the Father, was the good news of the Kingdom. The sovereign ruler had sent His Son to be the good news message. This is how you make it to the Kingdom. And in this sense, the Kingdom of God was truly near.

But, there was a response to the arrival of this good news, to the fact that the Messiah had now come. If you will, this was the SO WHAT? for the people of that day, who heard this message from Jesus Christ Himself. It is the last phrase of verse 15: “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

Although Jesus had just been baptized and certainly supported the prior ministry of John the Baptist, who had baptized those who believed, He made it clear – this is what you must do to be a part of the future Kingdom of God: “Repent and believe in the gospel.”

There were two aspects to this application:
First, they must Repent: It means to turn around and go the other direction. In this case, it meant to turn from what they were believing in to believe in this message. It means to have a change of mind. The message Jesus preached to all those who lived back then is the same good news message He proclaims and we proclaim today:

SO WHAT? [what does this have to do with you?]

Repent and Believe the Gospel
What might it mean for you to repent? Let’s say you are a very religious person and it is your desire to make it to Heaven by being good and religious enough. Jesus would say to you: You must repent – turn from that belief. You must start thinking differently. You cannot trust in yourself.

Ephesians 2:8,9 – “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

If you are trusting in your good works to get you to Heaven, to get you to God, Jesus would tell you that you must turn around: Repent.

Maybe you are living a certain lifestyle. You are addicted to pornography; or you are living in adultery; or you are a continual liar; or you steal on a regular basis; or you are addicted to greed; or you are spiritually arrogant. Whatever sin struggles you have. You can fill in the blank. And Jesus comes to you and says: You must repent. You must turn from whatever it is you are addicted to, living for, can’t seem to turn away from. You must turn away from that and turn to me, giving your life to me, be willing to walk away from what has controlled you.

Can you see why this is so difficult for people? Most people are content with their religion, their morals, their lifestyle, their addictions. They may not like everything about their life, but they have found a comfort level, and they are not convinced that anything else is better than what they have right now; or that anything is worth the risk of life change. So, the majority of people in Jesus’ day, and the majority of people today remain religious to some extent, but will not turn from their present life to Jesus Christ. What about you?

In that day, just as today, there are many voices, religious voices, that offer a solution to our sin problem; and a way to get to God for eternity. But, in our day, just as in that day, there is only one voice, one way, one truth that leads to eternal life. And Jesus came proclaiming that He was the only way – the solution to their sin problem. Let’s take a look at a story that illustrates this truth.

VIDEO: A Man Fell Into A Hole

Not only must you repent, but Jesus said, you must believe in the gospel. You repent by turning away from whatever or whomever you have trusted in and turning toward Jesus Christ, the good news.

Believe in the gospel: They were to turn from believing in their religion to believing in the Messiah who has come: Jesus Christ. They needed to believe that He was, in person, the good news they had been waiting for…for centuries. They needed to commit fully to this message. This was a turning from their sinful lifestyle to following the ways of Christ. This was not going to be easy.

This was not the message they were expecting. This was not the Messiah they were expecting. But, this good news message, this person, who claimed to be the very Son of God, the promised Messiah, is exactly the message they needed to commit to. This was different. This was unique. They had to believe that this was now God in the flesh, in the form of a carpenter’s son from Nazareth. Could this be true?

Jesus would return one day and set up His Kingdom, and we are still waiting for that. But, when Jesus spoke these words, the Kingdom was near because Jesus, the future King had come to Earth, to bring salvation to those who believe. And again, let me reiterate that Jesus was not just looking for people to say a prayer of belief. He was looking for people to demonstrate their belief by life change. He was looking for people who would step forward and say: I believe in Jesus Christ and I am giving my life to Him. I will obey.

The people of Jesus’ day were in the same hole all of us start in. And only Jesus Christ, because of what He would do on the cross, could save us out of that hole and bring us to live for God. Our responsibility is to repent and believe. He will not save us if we want to continually try to save ourselves. And finally,

IN THE BEGINNING…
Jesus called His first disciples
Mark 1:16,17 – “Passing alongside the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

According to scholars: “The Sea of Galilee, a warm-water lake about 7 miles wide, 13miles long, and 685 feet below sea level, was the scene of a thriving fishing industry. It was geographically central to Jesus’ Galilean ministry.”

Jesus is walking along the shore and he sees Simon (surnamed Peter) and his brother Andrew casting a net (probably a circular fishing net about 10-15 feet in diameter). And the text tells us that they were doing this because this is who they were: they were fisherman. This defined them. This was their job…their livelihood. They were fisherman. And listen to Jesus’ words to them…
“Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” How strange this must have been. But, apparently the Holy Spirit had been working on Simon and Andrew; because after Jesus made this challenge, this call to them to follow Him as disciples, they didn’t hesitate:

Mark 1:18 – “And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

They were fisherman. Now, they were, at once, going to walk away and follow this Jesus, who claimed he would make them into something completely different. I don’t think they had any idea what being a fisher of people was going to be like; but they made the commitment to leave their old life and start a new one.

Mark 1:19,20 – “And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”

Jesus keeps walking, and sees a couple other fishermen. They were fixing their nets. He also called them; and they also left immediately to follow Him. In this case, it mentions they left their father and the men who worked for their father in the fishing business; and they became followers of Christ.

It is hard for us to imagine. You are working the family business. Your father is hoping you will take it over one day when he retires. In walks this stranger, who tells you that if you will follow him now and in the future, he will change your life and cause you to find other followers as well. And you tell your dad: see you dad…got to go with this strange man. All I can say is that when Jesus called these men, the Spirit must have prepared their hearts, and they were ready to leave everything and follow Him.

SO WHAT? [what about us…today?]

It is almost unbelievable; but do you know the truth? It is the same call Jesus still gives today; and He has given that call to you. Some of you in the past, responded to that call. You left whatever belief system you had in the past and you put all of your faith in this God whom you cannot see. Some of you, still today, are holding on to your belief system and Jesus is giving you the challenge: Come follow me.

I listened to Andy Stanley, pastor of North Pointe Community Church talk about this in our Sunday school class video series. Jesus said, Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men. He did not say, Come follow me and I will make you rich or happy or safe or comfortable or faithful or a better person or sinless. He specifically told them that if they followed him, his main goal was to turn them into those who would fish for people instead of fish. It is no different today:

SO WHAT?
Follow Me and Fish for the Hearts of People

That is His challenge and call to you. It is not just following Christ to church. It is following Christ, which means leaving things, even relationships that are very important to you. And it means learning to reach out to other people who are not yet followers of Christ. This call to fish for people is not just for pastors or missionaries or evangelists. This call to fish for the hearts of people and direct them to the good news of Jesus Christ is for EVERY PERSON who follows Him. Do you believe that?

The story is told that Mark Twain loved to go fishing, but he hated to catch fish. The problem was he went fishing to relax, and catching fish ruined his relaxation, since he had to take the fish off the hook and do something with it. When he wanted to relax by doing nothing, people thought he was lazy, but if he went fishing he could relax all he wanted. People would see him sitting by the river bank and they would say, “Look, he’s fishing, don’t bother him.”

So Mark Twain had the perfect solution: he would take a fishing pole, line, and a bobber, but he wouldn’t put a hook on the end. He would cast the bobber in the water and lay back on the bank. That way he could relax all he wanted and he would be bothered neither by man nor fish. Mark Twain is like a lot of Christians I know. They have their pole in the water, but there is no hook on the end. They are not fishing; they are relaxing. Do you think this is what Jesus had in mind when he said: follow me and I will make you fish for men? Of course not. But it is true for me, and many other followers of Christ: we have our pole in the water so people think we are fishing; but many times, we are just relaxing, enjoying the benefits of the Christian life without the risks of fishing for the hearts of people.

Let me put this in the context of your life. Not too many of you spend your days fishing for your livelihood. Some of you might do it as a hobby on the weekends. What is your job? What defines you?

For some of you who are housewives or husbands. You love your family and spend most of your time caring for your children and home. Family is your life. Jesus comes to you and says: Come, follow me, and I will not only make you a part of my family; but I will make you into someone who brings others into my family.

He comes to you, the salesman, and says: Come follow me, and I will turn you into someone who convinces people to invest their life in eternity.

To the mechanic, to the construction worker, he says: Come follow me, and I will teach you to build something that last forever – build into other people’s lives for the Kingdom of God.

Take whatever defines you, like fishing defined these men; and listen to Jesus’ words: Be willing to leave what you know and are comfortable with, but is temporal; and be willing to be trained to give your life in order to share the good news with others – for eternal value.

I realize that some of us read this and listen to this, and we think: that’s alright for the disciples. They were special men. But, I can’t do that. But, I think one of the reasons we have recorded in Scripture what we do, is to remind us of this truth: Jesus called normal guys. He called men and women with real sin issues. He called men and women who would fail Him miserable…and often.

He has called every one of you who has trusted in Him alone for salvation. And if that is true of you, then it is also true that he has called you to be used in someone else’s life, to bring them the good news of salvation. Jesus has called you to it, and promised that he will do the work.

Philippians 1:6 – “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”

HAND OUT THE CARDS

You are being handed out, right now, a card, that will help you remember what we have talked about today. Would you please consider the 2 key applications for today? These are the 2 things Jesus told those who experienced him for the first time 2,000 years ago; and it is the same things he tells you and I today:

Repent and Believe: If you have been trusting in a church, in a religion; or in your own good works, this is the first decision you must make: Turn from whatever you have been trusting and place your complete faith and trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation. If you want to do that, you can make that decision in your heart and mind when we pray. Just let us know you have made that decision so we can rejoice with you and help you take the next steps of growth.

Or, perhaps you have already repented and believed in the past, but you have not publicly identified with Jesus Christ, following His example through baptism following your conversion. If that is something you are interested in doing, please let me or Pastor Steve know.

Secondly, Jesus says to you what He said to them: Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men.

The Sunday school elective I am teaching right now deals with this issue: How can we learn to share the good news of Jesus Christ, when it doesn’t seem to come naturally? If you are not attending another class already, I invite you to come for the next several Sunday school classes.
Maybe for you the decision is to truly follow Christ with all you have, leaving some addiction or sin struggle or idol behind. Perhaps, for you, it is about your willingness to share the good news of Jesus with others, rather than justifying the fact that your pole has been in the water, with no hook on it.

WE HAVE FAMILY IN IDAHO?

2008-04-03T19:51:00.004-04:00

It was 10 years ago that Teresa and I received one of the most unexpected phone calls ever: we were told that there were 2 year old twins (a brother and sister) waiting in New Jersey, who came from Romania 6 months earlier. We were told that if we wanted to adopt them (even though we had not filled out any paperwork or sent any money), that we could come to New Jersey and go through the process to adopt them. That was an unbelievable phone call. A couple months later, we brought them home to Florida as our own children.

Last week, we received another phone call, which was also very unexpected and almost as surprising. Friends of ours who are planning to move to Romania to minister to street children, called to give us the news: We have family we didn't know existed, living in Idaho! And yesterday, we met them face to face for the first time. How did this all come about?

When we adopted Alex and Isabella, we knew there was a birth father, and some brothers and sisters living in Romania. Our understanding was that most of them were much older than our two, and were married with their own children. We have come to find out that Alex and Isabella are the 2 youngest out of 9 children, ranging from age 13 (that is what they turn on Sunday) to age 37!

One of our friends going to Romania grew up in Romania, still has family and contacts there. It "just so happens" (by God's providence, we believe) that contact was able to be made with the father and brothers and sisters there. So, we sent pictures of Alex and Isabella, intending to wait and see if the family there would respond in any way. But, that is not what the phone call was about.

The phone call was to inform us that Alex and Isabella have a brother (1 of the 9) who was adopted by a family who lived in California, and have since moved to Idaho! We had no idea. Their brother, Michael, was adopted by Dennis and Sammy, a very loving couple, soon after he was born in Romania. One of the interesting facts is that Michael is just 17, a little over 4 years older than Alex and Isabella. We really didn't know Michael existed, and were overwhelmed to find out that he was close to their age and living in the States!

The news got better. When we received the phone call, the family from Idaho, including Michael, was over in Romania, visiting the birth father and all the brothers and sisters. They saw the pictures we sent, and the Michael and his parents found out for the first time where Alex and Isabella where. They knew they were born 12 years ago, but did not know who had adopted them or where they lived. There was now this incredible connection, for them, with the entire family.

Dennis and Sammy were soon on the phone with us, telling us what they were finding out about Alex and Isabella's birth family and the place they were from. They were also able, after our invitation, to change their flight plans, and fly into Cleveland late Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Alex and Isabella were finally able to meet one of their brothers, the one they never even knew about. It was awesome.

The family brought us a ton of pictures and lots of good stories that helped us connect some dots from our children's past. We can see God's hand in how everything has worked out, from before Alex and Isabella were born and up until today. We know God has been at work since before the foundation of the world, but it is pretty cool once we mere mortals get a little view of what He has been doing!

We always wondered what Alex and Isabella's lives would have been like if we had not adopted them. We now know even more of how God has protected them and the incredible miracle He has performed in bringing them safely to us. We are also very excited to not only have Michael in Idaho but more opportunities to communicate with Alex and Isabella's birth father and brothers and sisters still in Romania.

And today, the new family from Idaho shared a wonderful blessing with us. As God provided financially for them to travel last week to Romania, they would like to financially provide for our family to go over to Romania to meet the remainder of the family. Isn't God awesome! We are humbled and grateful for our new additional family members, and looking forward to future opportunities God may give us to be together.

Take a hard look around you and see the wonderful things God is doing in your life today.