Mark: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ #15

God First
Mark Chapter 1 (Review)

For the last couple of months Ken has been preaching from the first chapter of the Gospel of Mark. Tonight’s message is designed to be a recap of a few key ideas that I gleaned from this chapter.
- Jesus is God incarnate; and
- Christians are to put God first
If you are a Christian, your first reaction might be “well, duh…” – my two big ideas are fundamental to our faith, to how we are supposed to worship and live, and to our mission as Christians. But, like so many simple (but not easy) concepts they bear repeating over and over so that I don’t forget them, or set them aside.
So let’s start with Jesus –

Mark 1:1

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Right away, we see testimony from men as to who Jesus is – the Son of God. A little further on, we receive testimony directly from God himself:

Mark 1:9-11

9At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

But it’s not just in words or proclamations that Jesus deity is revealed; as Jesus begins his public ministry we see actions that speak to who He is.

Mark 1:21-22

21They went to Capernaum, and then the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

As Ken pointed out to us, only the author has the authority. Because Jesus is God, he authored the Law that was handed down to Moses. Because he was there from the beginning (see the first chapter of the gospel of John), Jesus knew the meaning and intent of every single word of the Law. Jesus spoke with authority, unlike the human teachers who could only comment on each other’s interpretations, and on the traditions and practices handed down by man over the years.

In addition to his teaching, Jesus healed many – healing the people of various diseases because as God He holds the very power of life. Because Jesus is God, he was able to cast out the demons with ease – demons with power far superior to humans were cast out by Jesus’ words alone. In Jesus we see Emmanuel, God with us; fully God and fully human.

But why is this concept so important to us? Why is it so critical to Christians that Jesus is God? Because this is the very heart of the gospel – the good news.

We are sinners – every human that has lived, or will live, has been separated from God by sin. This goes back to Adam and Eve; and the poor choice they made brought sin into this world, corrupting creation and breaking the relationship between God and man. And so God put into motion His plan for the restoration of creation and the reconciliation of man to God.

And in the Old Testament we see God’s plan begin to unfold, starting with the creation of Israel – called out of the pagan nations to be God’s own people, redeemed from slavery for His purposes. It continues with the words of the Prophets, who were given glimpses of the Messiah, the one who would come and finally reconcile the people to God. And in the first chapter of Mark, we see John the Baptist (called from birth) calling the people to repent and believe.

Is 40:3

A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.”

Because we are all flawed and imperfect (Romans 3:23), it is impossible for any of us to come before God on our own – no amount of giving, or good deeds, or sacrificing can make amends for the sins that we have committed against God. In order for us to stand before God, the penalty for our sins must be paid; God’s wrath must be absorbed.

This was Jesus mission while on earth – to reconcile and restore all things to Himself. To do so, He took on human flesh in order that we might be reconciled to Him. Jesus did what we could not, living in perfect obedience to God the Father and giving Himself over to death, absorbing the wrath that was due me (us) for my (our) sins. Jesus was then raised from death, so that the power of death might be broken for those who believe, and that we might be clothed in His righteousness. In his letter to the church in Rome, Paul puts it this way:

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The second big idea is the response that should come from our profession of faith – putting God first in our lives and living according to His will. And in the first chapter of Mark we see Jesus showing his disciples, and us, what this looks like. We see Jesus’ perfect obedience to God the Father.

Mark 1:12-13

12At once, the Spirit sent him out into the desert, 13and he was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus is sent into the desert to fast and be tempted by Satan. And in this part of the story we see a couple of key pieces to putting God first in our lives:
- Going where God tells us to go
- Trusting in God to provide for us and keep us from harm

Notice that when the Holy Spirit told Jesus to go into the desert, there was no argument. Jesus didn’t complain that his cloak was still wet from the baptism, or that the desert was too hot this time of year, or that he needed to go hang out with his friends. Jesus answered the call from God with complete obedience and went where God told him to go, the moment he was told to go.

We also don’t see Jesus packing up a bunch of food and water and other supplies. He simply went into the desert, confident that God would provide. At the end of verse 13 we see that “angels attended him” – God sent servants from heaven to keep Jesus safe from harm and provide for his needs while in the desert.

Within the first chapter of Mark, we also see this same level of obedience displayed by the first four disciples – each was called by God, and each answered the call without hesitation. John the Baptist is another great example – for a more detailed look into his calling, see the first three chapters of the gospel of Luke.

Throughout this chapter we see plenty of other responses by man to Jesus, some appropriate and others not so much.
In the synagogue, the people react with amazement to Jesus’ teaching. They are astounded because they had never heard anything like it. Nor had they seen anyone who had the power to drive out demons.

Mark 1:27

The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching – and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.”

While the amazement of the people is certainly an appropriate response to witnessing God’s power on earth, as with most good things man tends to look for what’s in it for us. As soon as the Sabbath is over, the whole town seeks out Jesus so that they can be healed – seeking healing from God is not a bad thing by itself, it simply depends on where your heart is.

Jesus’ new disciples even appear to get carried away with their new found fame, trying to adjust Jesus’ mission and work to fit their expectations instead of serving God and putting his will first.

Mark 1:36-37

36Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

I’ll touch on the two other examples of Jesus’ healing touch in Mark 1.
First up is Simon’s mother-in-law. After she is healed of her (grand) fever she gets up and begins serving Jesus and the others. Out of a glad and thankful heart, this woman responds to Christ’s healing touch by serving others. In her, we see our right response to Jesus healing our own sin sickness – setting aside our plans and serving God.

Next is the leper, who comes to Jesus with an attitude of humility; he acknowledges that Jesus can cure his leprosy if Jesus wants to. Up to this point, the leper is a great example for all of us – we need to remember who God is, and who we are, and adjust our attitude when we approach Him. God isn’t a genie who grants wishes – He is the creator, the one true and living God, He is the very life breath that is within each of us. I exist only because he allows it – and it is with this understanding and humility that I need to approach God with any petition.

It is after he is cured that the leper goes off the rails. Jesus gives the leper very specific instructions.

Mark 1:43-44

43Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44”See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”

However, the leper doesn’t do anything that Jesus told him to do. The leper responds to Jesus power with rebellion instead of obedience.
So there’s the big picture look of Mark chapter 1. We’ve seen God’s love as He sent His son into the mess that is the world; we see Jesus establish His authority and do what He came to do – to preach the Good News – which is the same message that we try to bring you every week. He preached and we preach – Repent and believe.


Now, the question comes to you, and it is the same for everyone in this room. Whether you are a believer or non-believer, grey haired saint or infant in the faith; no matter who you are or what you’ve done in your life.

What are you going to do with Jesus?
One choice is to reject Him, the other choice is to accept Him. But remember friends, to accept Jesus is to accept Him as He is and to follow Him where He sends you. What will your choice be?

If you need to talk this over with someone, get with us afterward and we will answer whatever questions we can, and point you in the right direction for anything we can’t answer…

Let’s pray.

Mark: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ #14

Follow Jesus, Not Your Feelings
Mark 1:40-45

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Let's Pray...
Last week we spent most of the service exploring the good things about the leper in Mark 1:40

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

Just as a review, we see that this man with leprosy:
− Recognized his own deep need for Christ. And we explored how that is true for us for salvation, but it is also for us - to remind ourselves of our need for Jesus at every step in our life.
− Next we saw the leper's recognition of deep need turned into a RIGHT REACTION to Jesus. There was no demanding attitude, there was no blaming God, there was simply a reaction of, “I need your help, Jesus. Please Help me.” And, that RIGHT REACTION was followed or closely connected to:
− A strong faith. There was no question in the leper's mind that Jesus was able to heal him on the spot. “If you will, you CAN.” I hope that you left here with a renewed passion to pray those kinds of prayers for yourself, your family, your neighborhood and the city as a whole. Anywhere you see a need for Jesus' healing hand, you should follow the recognition with bold prayer.
− Finally, we saw the leper submit to the will of God.
Before he said Jesus could heal him, the Leper acknowledged that Jesus only WOULD if it was in His will to do so.

So that's review, and as always, if you want to talk about all that more, see me after the service or you can look up the sermon notes from last week online.

Now, You might think from last week and from that one verse (v. 40), that this leper was an amazing person to mold your life after. But before you go and try to follow his life as a great example, we really do need to get through the rest of the passage.

And, when we do that, you will see that this guy is far from perfect, just like every other sinful human in the Bible and in the world since Adam and Eve.

The fact is that, after this bold deceleration of faith and submission to Jesus that we saw last week, the leper then flips the script and leaves in an act of outright rebellion.

Lets read it again from v. 41.

41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them." 45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

Now, before we get going with this, let me add that I've seen one thing as constant in the life of believers – one thing that seems to be true across the board from young to old, from rich to poor, men and women.

Here it is believers get in a lot more trouble during good times than bad. When this guy was sick and an outcast and when he was in this DEEP need for the intercession of Jesus, he was on his knees pleading, submissive and ready to do what ever it took to line himself up with Jesus.

But as soon as he is healed, he goes out in rebellion.

There's an old saying that it is easiest to go on a diet right after you ate a whole cake.

You see this with teenagers who are all about love and obedience when they see a need for their parents, but then they lose their minds when they get the car keys and a fist full of cash.

Or when the alcoholic swears off the bottle and commits to “anything” to help him kick the habit. You know when a recovering drunk is likely to relapse? Usually about three to six months after their last drink – just enough time to think they are strong on their own again.

We are no different than any of those examples when we have had some healing time with Jesus Christ. Sometimes it is an automatic rebellion, like this leper’s, and other times it takes a little bit longer. But a common denominator is a feeling like the storm has passed.

I've seen it several times, just in this few years of ministry that I've been able to serve. And I've seen it in my own life. That's why this passage jumped out at me so clearly.

Now, with all that said, you might already be pushing back and thinking, “Hey, wait a minute! This leper that you’re calling a rebel, went out and evangelized!? Ken, that's what you're trying to push us to do every week!”

That's true and we'll get to that before we finish tonight. But, look again at vv. 43-44.

43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: 44 "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

You see, Jesus' last orders to His disciples in Matthew 28, and to us were to go and make disciples here, there and everywhere. And, we should be doing that.

BUT, he told this guy NOT to. Instead Jesus said, button your lip in the city and go straight to the priests and fulfill the ceremonial law for a cleansed leper.

And listen, in my reading, I've found a bunch of theories of why Jesus wanted this guy to stay quiet in the city and why he shouldn't tell anyone. Some of the theories were pretty logical; they followed the text well. But, some were off the wall, and in the end, the question isn't why did Jesus give the order? Instead, our question remains, what was the command from Jesus? And then we follow the orders.

Remember, Jesus doesn't rule by committee and His commands are commands, they are not suggestions. When He says, go and do something, that's what we are to do IF we are in fact His followers.

Briefly, let me hit one theory that I think was bunk. A reader said that Jesus must have been saying don't tell anyone, but he was saying it with a sort of wink and a nod. Like, Jesus was speaking in code.

Listen, One of the attributes of God, is that everything He says is true. He is not going to be deceptive to get His mission done.
Furthermore, v. 43 says 43 Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning
In the Greek, “strong warning” is the word embrimaomai, which means to sternly charge, or even to threaten.

Picture that. Jesus was serious and Jesus was clear.

Also, not only did the former leper do what God said not to do, he also didn't do what God said to do.

In Christian circles we sometimes call this sins of commission and sins omission. Either way, we need to see them as sins and not look past them or make excuses.

What this man understood was that Jesus could be a sort of savior, at least from the skin disease, but he refused to see Jesus also as LORD, or King over his life.

So, it was the classic case that many of us have found ourselves in of “God, help me! But, don't tell me what to do.” That's not how God works. Please understand that.

He calls everyone of us to obedience. Not obedience to be saved, but obedience as the right response to our salvation.

Now, if you are here and you are a Christian, there is likely some part of you that says, yes, but this man's disobedience still helped others find Jesus. And, I can totally relate, I came from a denomination that clearly contradicts the Bible in the way they govern. But, the overarching argument that they come back with (and the argument I used to buy into when I was in that denomination) is that it can't be sin if it's effective.

At the end of the day, though the leper, and you and I have to ask, what wins out in an argument? Will it be our reasoning, tainted by indwelling sin and limited by our context? Or, will it be the clear teaching of Scriptures, which we believe to be the inspired word of the Holy, all knowing, all powerful and perfect God of the Universe?

Let's move on, because now we are going to look at this leper and try to see it in the mirror of time. In v. 45 we see that, instead of going to the religious leaders, like he was told to do, this man went to the regular people of Galilee and the result was tremendous:

45 Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

The reason I think many people want to overlook the rebellion of the leper is that we are looking at things from a different point in history.

I say it a lot around here, when you are reading the Bible it is important to read it with the historical framework that the original people had. With that in mind, try not to see this guy in light of the great commission, because it hadn't happened yet at that point in history. Without that future reference it is easier to see the clear rebellion against the will of God.

But, we've looked at his rebellion, now lets fast forward to the Great Commission, in Matthew 28 and then look at how there might be a redeemable example in the leper for us:

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

For whatever reason, it was the perfect reason, Jesus told the leper, don't tell anyone, just go to the priests and do what you’ve been told to do in Leviticus 14 (the ceremonial law for a cleansed leper).

And, as we said, this guy did the exact opposite.
When we look at Him and remember the big idea of last week, that I am the leper, or that each one of us is the leper, what can we see in ourselves when we look at him?

First off, if you are a Christian, you can relate to the leper, before he was cleansed. You can relate to your sin as a disease that could only be healed by Jesus Christ.

But, can you see yourself in the healed and then rebellious leper?

Most of us are rebelling in the exact same way, but in a different method.
You see, He was told to say nothing to anyone except the priests, and instead he tells everyone except the priests.

In our lives, Jesus has issued a different standing order that we read a minute ago. It's an order, a command, to go and tell EVERYONE, and at best, we don't tell anyone EXCEPT other Christians.
That is sin.

And if, like me, you see that sin in your heart, tonight is the night that I call you to repent. That simply means to turn away from the sin and to turn to Christ. Because listen, the way you respond shows who's orders you are following.

The world's orders say “believe whatever you want, but just don't talk to other people about it or talk as though your way is the only way.”

But, Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the light, no one comes to the Father except by me and then He told us to follow Him and tell other people to follow Him as well.
Overall, you and I are called to be agents of reconciliation – reconciling lost people to the God of the Universe. We are to evangelize as we go into all the world.

Are we doing that in our homes?
Are we doing that in our workplaces?
Are we doing that in the restaurants?
Are we doing that in the political realm?
Are we doing that in the supermarket?
Are you and I following Jesus' orders?

Listen, we can do a million great things, but if they are not what He told us to do, then we've got to answer for that.

We all have specific callings as believers, but, as you go, are you making disciples?

And listen, before we go tonight I want to give some background on my own story.
Like I said, this passage hit me right between the eyes long before I got up and started talking.

Some of you already know this - When I first felt called to preach and pastor a church, I didn't want to submit to that call. But, I didn't want to be outright rebellious so instead I did all kinds of other “good” things.

It's like I was saying, no I'm not going to preach, but look, I started a Christian blog... I joined my church's stewardship committee... I started and led a Men's Bible study/small group...
It's as if I told my son to go pick up his room and he made me a sandwich and got me a soda and brought me the newspaper instead. All of those things might be awesome, but it is still disobedience.

Or, if my boss tells me he needs a picture of a person for a story in tomorrow's paper. If I go out and get a picture of a duck on the river, or a pretty sunset instead, I may need to go find another job. Those pictures might be the best duck in the sunset pictures ever created, but they don't fulfill the last order given.

I know there are some people here who have military experience. The same applies there.
In the Army, a good soldier doesn't chase after his or her best ideas, they say “Yes, Sgt.” and they do what they are told EXACTLY as they are told.

Now listen, if you’ve screwed this up, like I have, I don’t want you leaving here tonight feeling condemned or full of self-pity or guilt.

The good news if you are here tonight is that, while your best efforts may have been a smoke screen for what God has actually called you to, there is still a chance NOW to repent and follow His orders for you.

If you are not a believer, you may have looked to a million great things to be what saved you and got you to heaven, But the Bible is clear, the work that the Father seeks is that you Believe in the one He sent, that's Jesus.

Without faith in Christ, the Bible says, all of our works are filthy rags.

The good news is that, tonight the work can be done, you can place your faith in Christ as your savior and follow Him as Lord thanks to the loving grace of God.

And, if you are here and you have already believed, but like me and like this leper, you are have been running in rebellion masked as religious works, then tonight's the night to walk in the calling God has given you as an agent of reconciliation with:
- Specific gifts
- In a specific place,
- Around specific people
- At this specific time.

No one else can reach the people that He has placed in your path for you to reach with the gospel.
Let's get to it by the grace and the leading of God, for His glory.

Let's Pray...

Mark: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ #13

We’re all Lepers
Mark 1:40-42

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

Let’s pray…
I only have one point to make tonight and it is this: We are all Lepers.
This is an important thing to understand when you first come to Jesus and it is a vital truth to hold close to your heart after you have been saved by faith in Christ.

But, before we look to Scriptures to find out more about us, we should look and search out truths that God has revealed about Himself in His Word.

Tonight I simply want to unpack these three verses to see a portion, a sliver of the character and nature of God that we see in the God-man Jesus Christ.

Then, I want to show how our own salvation stories line up with this interaction.
First let’s look at Jesus. In this text we see that Jesus has:
- The recognizable power to heal and
- An ACTIVE compassion for the sick and marginalized.

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." 41 Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" 42 Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

By this point in the book of Mark, we know as the readers of the book that Jesus is the Son of God, able to heal the sick and able to cast out demons and we know that he does those things mainly to show the authority by which He teaches.

We know this, and the leper from Galilee knew it too. He knew all about Jesus’ power to heal. The power was evident to the leper. And, the leper understood that Jesus was worth pursuing because of that power.
Let me stop for a moment and say that we are all going to pursue the thing that we believe will help us. Some of us have pursued education, or popularity, or career advancement, or material gain (more stuff), others of us have pursued relationships.

Then there are a few of us who have chased a high or a drunkenness that we believed MIGHT help; and if not help, at least allow us to forget our need for help for a time.

Now, one of the key doctrines that you will find throughout the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation, and what we see a glimpse of here is that God is the only one who can completely satisfy the hunger in our hearts. And so He is who we should turn to.

And listen, all of those other pursuits that I listed are not evil in and of themselves, but if we seek our ultimate happiness from created things, from people, money, jobs, etc., then what we are doing is called idolatry and God takes that very seriously.
To God, idolatry is comparable to adultery between a husband and wife. In Hosea you can read about a woman who had a husband who was willing and able to take care of her and rescue her from bondage. But she just kept going back to other men for her satisfaction.

That is how we violate our relationship with God when we pursue other things and elevate other things above Him in our heart and life.

But, the other piece of God’s character that we see in Jesus here is His ACTIVE compassion for the lost.
Listen close. It IS an ACTIVE compassion. When some of my friends think of God, they have a view of an intelligent designer who is like a watchmaker who created a watch, wound the watch and let it go, without ever interacting with it again.

Those friends say, yes there is a creator who started the universe up, but He doesn’t play a part in how the parts have moved since He kicked things off.
But, the God that we worship, the God who has revealed Himself in this book, is both, the Creator and sustainer and we are taught that He is sovereign over all things.

To put it simply, He is involved and deeply interested in every facet of His creation.

Jesus Himself is the clearest picture of this. In Jesus we see the God of the Universe, who set everything in motion, also coming into the creation to redeem it and reconcile the Universe to Himself.

He isn’t some obtuse God who doesn’t know or care about our problems. And He is not a concerned God who has His hands tied and is unable to help us.

No, the story of redemption that runs through this book tells is that God sees our desperation and that He has been ACTIVE in His compassion and grace ever since the fall of the first man and woman.

And one more point on the active Compassion of Jesus Christ, the main thing we see is something that we’ve seen before in the book of Mark.

When Jesus sees this man, He is moved with compassion and what does He do? Does He form a council or committee to figure out a help plan? Does He look for someone more capable to help? Does He wait to act until He figures out what the reaction might be from the people around Him?

No He reaches out and touches the man. And touch is a weird word. In the Greek the word is haptomai (hap'-tom-ahee) and it means to fasten one’s self to, to cling to. It could be that Jesus grabbed or embraced this man, who up to that point had probably not been touched for a very long time.

Jesus’ compassion was ACTIVE! Please, if you call yourself a Christian, then reflect that aspect of Jesus to the people around you.
Don’t wait for someone else, do SOMETHING.

Let’s move on…
Now that we’ve seen the character of Jesus, God in the flesh, let’s look at the man with leprosy.

And when you look at his story, I want you to see yourself. Remember, the Big Idea is that in one way or another we are all Lepers.

Like I said earlier, it’s important for us to understand that you and I wee lepers. We were sinfully unclean in our spirit when we first came to Jesus.

If you are here and you are not a Christian, this is a great model for how you can come to Jesus, if your heart is being stirred to do so by the Spirit.

And, for the rest of us who profess and I hope possess faith in Christ as savior and lord - it is a vital truth to hold close to your heart throughout this life – that you and I are still lepers to a degree. We needed His grace unto salvation. And, we still need His grace daily for our sanctification.

40 A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean."

The first thing we see in this man is that he has a deep need for Christ. We can feel sorry for him for his leprosy, but in a very real way, the leprosy may be the best thing that ever happened to him in the light of eternity.

If we went through the crowd here I know that we could share story after story of how we found God to be closest - and our fellowship with Him the most vibrant and real - in the midst of desperate trials.

The WORST thing that could happen to someone - I think - is that they might go through their whole life without any significant stripping away of their worldly comfort or security.

If we don’t feel the need, we might never turn to Him. Let’s move on though because deep need isn’t the only thing we see. There is also a RIGHT REACTION to the need when God comes into view.

The leper responds in his desperation with a reverence, or deep respect for Jesus.

We see that he came to Jesus and begged Him on his knees. Oh! If only we would have the humility and the respect for God to approach Him in this way more often.
In the world today we see many people in a deep pain or a desperate trail who show contempt for God instead of a respect for Him.

IF there is even a recognition that He exists, the world scowls and belittles God and demands, “If He’s there and He’s so powerful, Then Why Doesn’t He just fix me right here and now!?”

I used to do this, as if He was some lackey who existed to do my bidding! As if he owed me anything except wrath for my life of rebellion!

Friends, I would plead with you not to see God as some weak and passive God who would do anything for your approval.

Please see Him as the Holy and Mighty God of the Universe who would be JUST to wipe us out for our sin, but who instead has continued to pour out grace and has provided ample opportunities for us to repent and believe the Gospel.

If you are here and you aren’t a Christian, then tonight, I beg you, turn to Him. Take Christ.

And to turn the spotlight on us as believers, please go to God as your Abba, Father. But don’t be so flippant as to forget who God is. Don’t let your relationship drift into disrespect.

Another thing we see in this man is a strong faith. We talked about this earlier, Jesus’ power to overcome even an obstacle like leprosy, was as good as a done deal.

The man said if you are WILLING , YOU CAN make me clean. I asked a few weeks ago, do you really believe that Jesus CAN heal you? So many of us don’t pray bold, out-of-this-world prayers. Don’t be scared to ask for what you believe you need.

Of course you need to continue in your growth in the Spirit to be transformed by the Word of God so that your outrageous prayers won’t contradict God’s will, but start praying. Praying for yourself, your family, your workplace, your neighborhood, your city, nation and the world with bold prayers.

God will answer the prayers that are within His will. He already knows what you need, and He tells us again and again, to pray.

But don’t doubt God’s ability when you come to Him. Don’t be like the man with the boy who had a demon in Mark 9. He said the demon:

…has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us."
23" 'If you can'?" said Jesus. "Everything is possible for him who believes."

The last point is closely tied to this one. In verse 40 we see a desperate man who deeply desires to be healed. We see a bold confidence in Christ, but we also see a submission to God’s will in the situation.

Listen, I have seen God do all kinds of amazing things in the lives of friends and family. I really do believe in miracles.

In fact, we’re working a story at the paper on a guy who beat cancer and He was weeping as he talked to me on Monday about how God answered a prayer within 24 hours.

Why did God answer the prayer? For His glory – that’s for sure. But the avenue by which God’s glory was revealed was through this man’s bold prayer and through His testimony after the fact. But, we’ll talk more about the leper’s testimony – his reaction to his healing next week.

But, back to submitting to God’s will; I have also seen friends die of cancer, I’ve seen my grandmother die of AIDS. And I’ve also been there when they buried my brother, who was only 14 when he died.

In the end, we must – as Christians – find our rest in the fact that God decides according to His purpose and will who will live as a testimony to His wonderful works and who will not.

Either way, we believe that God’s plans are beyond our comprehension and they ARE ALWAYS GOOD, because He cannot do wrong.
We may not know until we get to Heaven why some suffered more than others. I suspect that at that time – the radiance of His glorious presence And the renewed fellowship with believers in Heaven, free of sin, free of sorrow, free of sickness and pain, will wipe a lot of those questions out of my mind.

Now, back to the FACT that we are all lepers. Please! Christians, do not forget this. Do not forget that you and I, we had a problem INFINITELY greater that the problem of leprosy.

We were COVERED in sin, CONTROLLED by our sinful nature, UNABLE to please God or pay our sin debt.

And, in our time of desperation that was worse than that of this leper – at that time Christ saved us.
He saved us and it was not because of who we are, not because of where we were born, not because of what skin color we have, not because of what our bank accounts looked like, not because of who we voted for, and not because of or what we did – good or bad – Christ saved us because of who He is.

Christians, when we forget that we were just as desperate than this man, then we WILL hinder the Gospel. We’ll hinder the Gospel, either through our arrogance or our laziness.

In respect to arrogance, I had a non-believer ask me this week, how people could call themselves Christians and at the same time spew anger, malice, hatred and racism out like a fountain with their words.

My response is that such people either forgot that they were just as sinful as any other person on earth, or they never knew it in the first place.

One pastor says that we as Christians are the worst hypocrites when we don’t give the grace we’ve been given in Christ.

Don’t be that Christian. Remember that we were all Lepers in need of cleansing by the touch of Christ.
We were all beggars in need of bread.
We were all foreigners looking toward Home.
We were all prisoners seeking a pardon.
We were all slaves running to the cross for freedom.
We are all sinners saved by grace.

If you cannot let go of the hate, if you refuse to forgive, if you deny the rights of others, or if you see yourself as better than THEM, then I beg you for the first time or in a spirit of renewal – REPENT AND BELIEVE in the Gospel.

Otherwise you will never be able to follow Christ and show Christian compassion that is active and life changing to the other lepers around you.

Let’s pray…

Mark: The Person and Work of Jesus Christ #12

He Came to Go and Preach
Mark 1:32-39

32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.
35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

Let's pray...
Last week we went through a majority of this passage, if you weren’t here you can pick up the sermon Notes online or see me after the service and I’ll give you a review.

Tonight we started reading at verse 32 again, because without the background information, you’ll miss out on what’s going on in verses 36-39.

On to the Big Idea, let’s read the passage again, starting in verse 36.

36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

The Big Idea is this, Jesus came to “Go” and “Preach”…

Now, some of you might push back like I did and say, I thought Jesus came to die on our behalf.
I thought that Jesus came to save us from the wrath of God.
I thought Jesus came to live the sinless life that I –WE – couldn’t live.

That’s all true. But He came to Go and Preach FIRST, so that once He had died, been buried resurrected, ascended to Heaven – then everything that He had taught them would come to their memory and they would finally BELIEVE with saving faith in a way that they wouldn’t have been able to without His teaching.

If He would have just lived and died without explaining all of this to His disciples, then it wouldn’t have made any since to them when He went to the cross.

And not only would the Gospel that He preached bring some to saving faith once they saw the work of the cross and the resurrection - but the preached word of the Gospel – and Jesus’ works would leave those who refuse to believe without an excuse.

Keep you finger in Mark 1, and turn with me to John 15:22-27

22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. 25 But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'

26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

UNPACK: The Holy Spirit was sent not only to bring us to faith, but also to help those who were with Jesus in His earthly ministry to remember the important attributes about Him.

That’s one of the reasons for the Epistles. Since most of the writers of the New Testament were witnesses to Jesus life and teaching, death and resurrection, they were able to write to us, to the world and to the church, and in their writings, they were able to flesh out the qualities of Jesus.
So now, because of the Holy Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit of God, when we say we are Christians, and we say that we believe in Jesus Christ, we can KNOW what that really means.
Without Jesus’ preaching and teaching ministry, and the records that we have in the New Testament, we could redefine Jesus to be anything we want Him to be.

But since we have the Scriptures, God is able to tell us who He is without shape shifting and changing with each new change in culture, national power or political movement.

If you look around though, we have countless groups in the world today who try to change who the Triune God is. Sadly we have it in what are called Christian churches today.

And, the first step that people take in redefining Jesus to suit themselves is to deny the Bible. But, it isn’t new. There is nothing new under the sun, not even this kind of sin. Turn back to Mark 1 and we’ll see the earliest followers trying the same thing.
Start back at verse 36.

36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!"
38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

If you don’t take anything else home from this part of Mark, then please at least take this lesson: Above all else God’s purposes trump ours. Every time.

Jesus was out there, making time to pray on purpose, in secret and in quietness and here comes the crowd. Mark reports it simply as Simon and “his companions”, and one great thing about having the four Gospels is that you get a fuller picture with all of them together than from one alone.

Luke’s gospel tells us that Simon’s companions included the people from the town and that when they were looking for Jesus it wasn’t some “easy going” way of looking for Him.

In Luke 4:42, the word for look or search is epizétéo (Epi-zay-tayo) in Greek, which means to wish for or to crave, to clamor for and demand. They were searching for Him and wanted Him – They wanted Jesus – for their purposes.

Verse 42 in Luke goes onto say that the crowd, which included Simon, tried to keep Jesus from leaving the area.
And what’s Jesus tell Simon?

“Let’s go somewhere else – to the nearby villages – so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.”

Jesus doesn’t mince words and He doesn’t waste time, He knows His time is limited before He faces God’s wrath on the cross.

He’s not interested in staying in a place and being a local celebrity and building a mini-empire by being some one trick pony in Capernaum.
No, He was on a mission to plant the seeds for a Kingdom Movement that has continued to grow over the course of two millennium, and will continue until He returns.

And the way that movement began was the same way the earth and the heavens began. With a Word of God.

We talked about this before. It was with a word that God created all of this (heavens and earth) and it was against His word that Adam and Eve rebelled. It is against His word that we have been kicking back against ever since. And it is by His word – the Gospel – The Good News – the Good Words – by which God, the Holy Spirit is working salvation and sanctification into our hearts.

Jesus said let’s go somewhere else so I can preach (proclaim the Words of LIFE) to others also. And He said THAT is why I’ve come.

You see the crowd was only interested in what Jesus could do for them - healing, teaching and casting out demons. Their shortsighted desires kept them from seeing God the Son - Jesus’ long-sighted plan.

Here’s what I mean, here’s what they didn’t see: When they were healed, they eventually got sick again and died. But Jesus was on earth to do more than take away their sickness that destroys their bodies, He was there to take away the sin that led to spiritual death and eternity in Hell apart from God.

And Simon and the disciples weren’t in the clear either. They were just starting to follow Jesus. They didn’t quite know what to expect. And here they saw a quick rise in popularity, people were coming to them, the town was buzzing about them, they were the people to know. It was awesome.

So, they probably thought, why mess with a good thing? Who knows how the people in the next city will react? We’ve got something good here, we’d be stupid to let go of this.
And listen, at the root of the disciples and at the root of the crowd is not just shortsightedness, it is also selfishness. Their actions spoke louder than any words. Their selfishness screamed out, “Who cares about those people across the border, those strangers. Let them fend for themselves.

Meanwhile Jesus’ message is a message of reconciliation. It is a message of reconciling the world (In Capernaum and beyond) to Himself by the proclamation of the Gospel. That is why He came and that is why He did not – Could Not – stay in one place.

And that’s why we as a church body and as individual Christians need to see the importance here of pursuing God’s purpose, and not trying to box Him into our purposes, which are usually shortsighted and oftentimes selfish.
Let me give a couple of examples of where we are sometimes shortsighted and where we threaten to deter the movement.

We are shortsighted when we seek the good of our city with a million good things while allowing those good things to stop us from speaking – SPEAKING - the Gospel. The good things get in the way of the GOOD NEWS.

Don’t get me wrong, As Christians,
• We should be supporters of the animal shelter.
• We should keep our city clean and river looking good by picking up litter and cutting down on what we throw out when we could easily recycle.
• We should be adamant about feeding the hungry and providing shelter for the homeless and clothing those in need.
• We should be active in local, and national government.
• We should fight for the rights of people from the womb to the grave.
• We should be lovers and supporters of the arts.
• We should promote Health and wellness.
• We should fight slavery, the sex trade, and other atrocities that are still rampant today.

But, too many churches lose sight of THE REASON that Jesus came and THE REASON that we are supposed to be doing any of those things.
THE REASON He came was to preach the Gospel. And, THE REASON we should be doing any and all of those things that I just listed are as natural responses to the Gospel AND as avenues by which we can spread the Gospel.

If we don’t make Christ the central point of all of those endeavors then we are epic failures in our supposed goodness. The Social Gospel is only what we’ve been called to when we are bringing the Gospel to the society.
What’s the good of helping a city and our neighbors in the city with a million temporary helps if we don’t do our part to help them find Christ and escape God’s wrath?

If you are a non-Christian and you are here tonight, make no mistake, that’s why we are here. That’s why we do what we do. Because we believe that the message that we are called to share is the message that truly has the power to save.

In another portion of the New Testament, one of the early church leaders said,

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16)

I was talking to a guy in town during one of the recent festivals and he was talking about how he was going to a particular church, because they were interested in helping the city but they didn’t feel the need to push all of the “Jesus stuff” all the time. Those were his words.

You will not get that here. We believe that a Christ-less Christianity is no Christianity at all.

Now, onto selfishness, this will be brief, we will cover it again next week and most weeks really.

When we look at the reaction of Simon and his companions who wanted to make Jesus stay put we see a common human reaction. We are all quick to run from any struggle and pain and any trial. At times we will even quietly push it off onto someone else if we can get by with it without hurting our reputations.

But, when things get good for us, when things get easier, when we start feeling better, what do we do?

We cling. We cling to money, to power, to health and fitness, In church we cling to the people and the traditions that made us feel better. And we do whatever we can to keep a hold of the good feeling and the ease.
And we may share, if it doesn’t mean letting go. And if it doesn’t mean that we have to lose a noticeable amount of the good stuff or the great people.

The crowd says, No, no stay here. What if we get sick again, Jesus?
The disciples say, No, no, let’s all stay here, Jesus. What if they don’t like us in the next city?
We say, No, no, they don’t deserve the message if it means I’m going to have to go out of my comfort zone, or if our church releases some of the best people to leave and start a new work in an unreached part of the world (locally or across the globe).

We say, No, no, we can’t afford to be generous to them what if our money runs out?

Or, on point with our shortsightedness, we say, No, no, we can’t evangelize to them, they might not like us anymore.
But with all that said, Jesus, Son of God, did not banish Simon and His companions. He didn’t tell them they should be ashamed of themselves for their demands on Him. He said the most important thing, The REASON He came was to Go and to preach. To preach what? To preach the Gospel.

What they needed to hear is what we still need to hear today. We all need to hear for the first time or to be reminded again, that God created everything in the heavens and on the earth. Then in love He created us to rule over the creation and to enjoy it all to the praise and glory of God.

All things were created by Him and are sustained by him and as we enjoy the creation we are to give thanks to Him.

But we didn’t, from the first sin of Eve and “the fruit” to the sins that you and I have committed this week, we have all rebelled against the Holy God of the universe. And our sin demands justice.

Without someone taking on the punishment due to us, we are in line for the growing wrath of God.

BUT! God in His infinite mercy and grace sent His son, Jesus Christ to take the punishment for us on the cross and to conquer the sin and death that awaited us.

Now, the Bible says, if we repent and believe in Jesus and what He has done for us, we will be saved.

That’s the Good News. That is what Jesus came for. That is what draws us to Him and that is what we are sent to GO as missionaries to share with people with our words.

Let’s pray…