Sunday Sermon
sunday morning 14th Feb 2010
Mark 3v1-35
In this chapter we see Jesus press on with the work of salvation:
He teaches, heals, casts out demons and very importantly sets apart the 12.
But for most of the time he is completely misunderstood: the Pharisees don’t get it, his own family don’t understand and the people objectify him into some magical cure all drug!!
1) The Pharisees try to trick and trap Him: esp. v1-6
· They were silent judgemental haters of Jesus:
V1 Jesus is in a familiar setting, in the synagogue doing his teaching work. But there seems to be a bit of a trap set for him! A man is there – in the front row! With a sling on!
Will Jesus heal or not
V2 the Pharisees watch for a reason to accuse him
Jesus gets the man to stand as an object lesson before the people, then asks what the Sabbath is all about: doing good or evil!? he heals the man.
V6 then the Pharisees want him dead so badly that they plot with their otherwise enemies the Herodians!
· They spoke evil of him: (20-22)
Later on in another teaching setting Jesus is accused of being demon possessed!
App
The great question is who is this Jesus?
The Pharisees thought he was an imposter! Not the saviour!
What about you?
2) The People try to overwhelm him, use and abuse him!
They could not get enough of Him:
V8 from all over people are flocking to Jesus because of his wonder working power.
V9 at the lake edge he is almost crushed and needs a boat to get out of their way
V10 the people were just clawing at him!!
Then there is an interlude while Mark describes the appointing of the 12 disciples v13-19.
Yet as soon as that is over V20 the crowd swarm round him so he cannot even eat!!
App:
Again who is Jesus?
The people thought he was an object to be used for their own good.
Often we treat God like that, we want God for what we can get out of Him!!
3) What does Jesus make of all this?
A) What does Jesus make of people who hate him?
V5 – hated their hardness of heart but that grieved Him.
Here is the saviour who longs to save but cannot, due to hard hearts, thus is angry and grieved. Wrath mixed with mercy.
App
You might think that Jesus simply hates in return those who hate him!
But that is far from the truth!
Jesus is angered by the hard hearts that rebel against God, so that they will not believe.
But he is still full of compassion for the person!
He grieved over the hardness of heart!
Further Jesus warns those with hard hearts to be careful what they say:
V29 – gives strong warning to people so that they do not press on beyond the pale!
· The unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit is something we need to be careful with.
The first point that Jesus makes is that all sin is forgivable! V28.
But then blasphemy against the Spirit is unforgivable?!
The case in point was the teachers of the law calling the work of Jesus the work of the devil!
But even they are just warned to be careful – they are not condemned to hell.
So the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not simply calling Gods work, the devils work!
Although that is of course serious – and perhaps we are in danger of committing that sin when we look down on the work of other denominations, or the work of those with a different theological perspective!!
So what is the blasphemy against the Spirit that eternally condemns?
The Spirit is the one who speaks to our hearts showing us Jesus and calling us to repent and believe. Now if we put the Spirits calling off and off and off, then one day, He will stop calling because we have ignored him too long, we have blasphemed Him and our souls will be eternally lost!! We will have so hardened our hearts that we have condemned ourselves!
Yet, that is the extreme case.
Our concern is to follow Jesus now, thus we don’t need to worry about the unforgivable sin!
b) what does Jesus make of those who crowd around him?
V34-35 welcomes whoever will follow him into the family. We see again His great welcome!
He brothers and sisters and mother were looking for him, they thought he had lost the plot!
But Jesus takes the opportunity to call all those who had gathered around him to his family.
He wants the people to have a far deeper relationship with Him than they had used him for.
So far they had flocked to him for his healing and amazing teaching.
Jesus now calls them into family membership!
App:
Salvation is all about joining the Family of God.
Jesus wants you in his family!
But as in every family there are certain conditions/regulations.
Membership in Gods family requires doing Gods will!
What is that? We will see next:
c) what does Jesus expect of a family member v13-15.
V13-19 – in calling the disciples he is revealing his ongoing strategy of salvation.
The disciples would be the ones to carry on the Good News, they were being trained to follow in His footsteps.
Notice the training the first disciples received:
There were called to be with Jesus! That was how it all started!!
Then there was the moving on into service: Preaching and casting out demons
App
Today, the first step in the life of a disciple is the same, we are to be with Jesus.
How? by being constantly obedient to his leading and guiding.
Jesus went up on the mountainside and called the disciples to himself and they came!
Jesus is calling us apart, we must follow, we must obey.
Following that there is the eventual sending out!!
We are to be with Jesus so that we then go out from Jesus to the world!
Why?
Because Jesus loves the world.
The world that was and is so misguided in their thinking of Him – he still loves!
Conclusion
What does Jesus think of the world? We all know, he loves the world.
He loves those who hate him, he is grieved by their rebellion.
He loves those who attempt to misuse Him, who just want him for what they can get.
We know this!
But perhaps what we need to spend more time thinking about is the way that God wants people to know that He loves them: he calls us to love them, for him!!
That is Gods strategy for Kingdom grow on earth!
Through disciples who are with Him, then go out from Him, to serve as He leads!!
sunday evening 14th Feb 2010
Mark 4v1-20
One of the fundamental lessons children have to learn as they grow up is how to listen!
Listening was also something that Jesus spoke load’s about!
Why? Because He was a Teacher!!
And the transaction that takes place between teacher and pupil comes by listening!!
As Paul famously put it: Faith comes by hearing (Rom 10v17)!!
The parable of the Sower is a lesson on how to listen:
Jesus observes three improper ways of listening and one productive way of listening!
1) teaching the crowd v1-9
V1 lets us know that Jesus is at his usual practice – preaching.
This time he is on the boat again preaching to the assembled masses.
V2 he was teaching! He used the parable technique.
V3 he calls now for special attention! “listen”
V4-8 Then he tells the story of the farmer sowing seed and how they seed spreads all over the place and then develops according to the conditions it lands in.
V9 – then his first teaching point about listening: if you want to hear listen!
· First of all there has to be the desire to listen!
Listening to Jesus must be something we want.
Jesus is not going to force our wills and understanding, He requires that we want to listen in the first place.
2) teaching the disciples
a) Jesus explains the nature of a parable V10-12
The disciples want to know why Jesus is talking in parables to the crowds!
The simple answer is that he speaks in parables because such teaching fulfils the double edged nature of the Word of God.
That is it brings salvation to some, but judgement to others! So he quotes Isaiah 6v9-10.
In telling them this the disciples are made aware of the awesome responsibility that is the listeners when it comes to God’s word!
Those who hear Gods word are put in a place of responsibility!
To accept or reject the word.
For many in Christ’s day the word brought condemnation because people were simply unwilling to listen!!
b) then he explains the parable he has just spoken v13-20
v13 He begins with an appropriate humbling question.
· Reading the word should always be done in humility!
Then he goes on to explain the whole thing: V14-20
a) 4&14 hard listener!
The word is sown but Satan steals the word!
Take the warning here, that listening to the word is a spiritual battle!
Satan can simple steal the word!!
App
Pray that this will not happen! Be aware that listening to the word is a lot more than what we just see or hear at the physical level.
Also note that the original picture was of hard ground!
The hard heart simply does not want to listen to the word!!
b) v5&16-17 the “no root”/ shallow listener.
This person receives the word with great joy! And immediately spring up!
But then if a trial comes because of the word, they simply give up!
The person gives up because there is no commitment – no depth in the soil!
The listening in the first place was wrong, there was no thinking it through!
Accepting the offer without thinking it through!
App
Persecution tests our level of commitment.
If we give up the moment we have to suffer because of the Word then we have not really been listening!
c) v7&18-19 the thorny listener
This person hears the word but..........worries.........unproductive!
The great problem here is that listening to the word is mixed with listening to the world!
Life’s worries, deceitfulness of wealth, covetousness all choke the blessing of the word!
In the end the outcome is nothing to show!! Unproductive!!
App
We can easily apply this to our own listening.
Are we really listening to God’s word, or is tomorrow’s meeting taking all our concentration......the school homework......the shopping....the Sunday roast.....?
The thorn chokes the goodness of the word right out!!
d) v8&20 the good soil listener!!
This person holds the key to good listening.
Like good soil that has all the necessary nutrients that help seeds grow and produce!
What is it? What’s the key? Listening with acceptance!!!
App
In other words if we are to listen beneficially to God’s word we must sit under it.
The word is the authority: we come to it to accept it!
This is God’s word! This is what He has to say.
My role in listening is accepting it!
My role is to obey!
Listening is then to be followed by practicing!! The wise builder, hears and obeys.
How then can we listen, knowing how vital it is, know what a responsibility it places on us?
1) listen humbly (no hard heart) and prayerfully (this is a spiritual battle).
2) listen with a commitment to obey – no matter the cost.
3) listen with trust that God cares for you – all the worries can be handed over
4) listen with hearts ready to obey – acceptance!
