Snapshot17 Mark 7:24-8:10 “Grace and Power”
Questions for Community Groups
1. Have you ever felt that God was rejecting you?
2. Are you dealing with a "spiritual stronghold"? (A sin or issue that does not seem to go away)
3. How is your communication with Jesus? Explain.
4. How does it make you feel that Jesus has compassion on you in your times of trouble?
5. Have you witnessed a time of God's grace in your life?
6. Have you witnessed a time of God's power in your life?
Grace is getting something good that we don't deserve.
Power is the ability to do something.
In this next grouping of passages we see that Jesus displays His power and sheds His grace among the Gentiles. This is an important section to those of that day because Israel was know as His children but those outside were not. To the Jews Gentiles were not accepted by God. They did not know God and God did not want to know them. For the Gentiles to have Jesus meet their needs communicated that He cared for them and wanted to deliver them.
It is important to us in this day because it communicates that Jesus cares and has enough Grace and Power to help us. Now we all realize that we are created by God and through faith in Jesus we become His children. He cares for His creation and His Children and wants to come in with grace and power to help our spiritual problems. What could we consider a Spiritual problems?
Vrs 24-30 Syrophoenician women's daughter. -Jesus has grace and power to accept us. Jesus statement in verse 27 is not to be taken as derogatory. The term Dogs was sometimes used as a derogatory term by the Jews for Gentiles.
Alexander McClaren states it this way. 'Let the children first be filled.' And that 'first' distinctly says that their prerogative is priority, not monopoly. If there is a 'first,' there will follow a second. The very image of the great house in which the children sit at the table, and the 'little dogs' are in the room, implies that children and dogs are part of one household; and Jesus meant by it just what the woman found in it,--the assurance that the meal-time for the dogs would come when the children had done.
This is a Biblical concept that the Gospel goes out first to the Jew then to Gentile. Does this mean that God cares more about the Jews and considers certain people to be more important then others? No in God's time He will accept those who seek after Him.
Jesus was impressed by this women's statement because she was seeking after Him.
App. Point: Maybe you feel like you have done things and because of those things God will not accept you. The nature of the Gospel is that God accepts based upon Himself and what He did for us. GOSPEL
The next thing we learn from this passage is...
Jesus has grace and power to break spiritual strongholds.
She also had a deep spiritual stronghold in her house. Her daughter had a demon.
Spiritual Stronghold can be something in your life that you have been dealing with such as a sinful behavior or sometimes like this little girl an "inner demon" you have heard people say they are battling "inner demons" referring to abusive and destructive behavior issues.
Drug, alcohol, lust, anger, bitterness, anxiety, self image issues
Do you have a spiritual stronghold and you feel that Jesus has forgotten you? Maybe you have been praying about something for some time and it seems that God is not answering it. Maybe you see other people being delivered from strongholds and you feel that Jesus thinks they are more important then you?
App Point: Trust that Jesus can break that stronghold. Give it to Him.
The next passage in many senses sometime describes where we are at spiritually when we have acceptance issues and stronghold issues.
Vrs 31-37 Deaf, mute man -Jesus has grace and power over spiritual communication. (Eph-pha-tha)
In this account we have a deaf-mute who was a Gentile brought to Jesus by his friends (I presume). We see Jesus heals the mans hearing and apparently speech.
We may have acceptance issues we may have spiritual stronghold issues but maybe they are coming from our spiritual communication issues.
At face value Jesus shows that He has power to heal the physical but it is interesting that earlier in the chapter when Jesus was teaching the people that what comes out of the heart is what defiles in verse 16 He says "He who has ears let Him hear" Those who are spiritually ready to communicate with Him.
Imagine for a moment that your world was quiet and because of that quiet world you never learned to speak properly.
As Christians we can fall into that trap we don't hear God because we are not listening. We check out of church, reading His word, listening to spiritually uplifting music and solid Bible teaching on the radio or podcasts.
Because we are not listening we really don't talk back...we have nothing to say. We don't pray we don't tell the Lord our fears and hopes and issues. We are a spiritual deaf mute.
What happens it almost feels like we do not know God because we don't listen to Him or talk to Him.
App Point: Regularly communicate with Him.
Here is what happens when we do that. We become better at it. Morris Code illustration "if you understand this come in"
You understand God deeper in a deeper way.
Maybe you are suffering with one of these three problems acceptance, strongholds and communication with Him.
The next passage shows us the character of Jesus and that fact that He is more then willing to help us.
He is motivated by compassion. Vrs 1-10 4,000 fed.
This is a different account then the 5000 this is a group of Gentiles, the first group was primarily Jews.
Vrs 2 is what I want to focus in on the fact that Jesus had compassion and was willing to meet a huge need. It is evident that through this miracle Jesus displays power, it is also evident that it is a display of Grace but the driving force behind what He does is His compassion.
Compassion is : the concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others misfortunes.
Guess what? We all have misfortunes we all suffer and Jesus cares.
So how does this help us?
Now as we look back we understand that Jesus will accept us because He has compassion, He will break spiritual strongholds because He has compassion and He will be open to communication with us because He has compassion.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Snapshot Series: "Useless Traditions"
Community Group Questions:
Read Mark 7:1-23
1. Have you been taught to follow traditions that are not biblical and are man-made?
2. Was this experience confusing to you?
3. Do you feel that you religious do something that you can’t support biblically?
4. Can man-made tradition make you acceptable to God? Why or why not? Do you feel they actually bring you further from God?
5. In the passage what was the point that Jesus was trying to make?
Snapshot16 Mark 7:1-23
• The problem with following “Mans Traditions”… 7:1-13
-Promotes self righteousness. Vrs 1-5 (I can do it myself)
Vrs 5. The Jewish leaders thought that the disciples’ failure to observe ritual washing was a symptom of a deeper problem. That Jesus was leading them astray. The teacher was blamed for the actions of the followers. Because they were so puffed up and judged one another by how the ones who followed them lived
-Causes hypocrisy Vrs 6-7 hypocrisy -the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.
By teaching the tradition of men they were actually saying “this is how you please God or become Godly” but in reality it made them further from God because is those things they were ignoring His commands.
The Pharisees are hypocrites for two reasons: (1) their actions are merely external and do not come from their hearts, which are far from God
(2) their teachings are not from God but reflect the tradition of men. They had more passion for the man-made traditions then they did for the God-given law.
Not only do man-made rules not “clean” you they actually bring you further from the truth of God.
-Ignores obedience to God. Vrs 8-13
Traditions get in the way of following the Lord…Ill-Like the church the could not figure out what their tradition was regarding standing or sitting during the opening Scripture reading.
So if a son declared his property Corbin he neither promised it to the Temple or prohibited its use to himself but legally excluded his parents from the right of benefit. Then if the son changed his mind and regret he did this the scribes would say that the vow was valid and must be honored
The scribes would then say that the son had to obey Num 30:1 This is why Jesus quoted the Isaiah passage to ensure the Scribes that they miss the point and their hearts were hard.
Corbin illustrates a hard heart toward obeying the law of God and a blinded heart that follows man’s tradition. They really did not care about the law of God or man’s tradition they really only cared about themselves. Religion is selfish “what can I do”, or better yet “look what I can do”
Many religious people want to add to that and make extra Biblical rules, they want to say that church has something to do with our Salvation and they elevate traditions in doing so they elevate people over the Lord Jesus.
There are three things that Christians need to remember. Preferences, Convictions and Absolutes.
Illus. Standing for worship.
The preferences and convictions we cannot put on others but the Biblical Absolutes are for everyone. What Jesus is saying here is that you are ignoring Biblical absolutes because of your traditions. In order to look more Godly you are actually becoming less Godly.
This is our conviction: We trust Jesus and live in accordance to His Word that the Holy Spirit helps us to understand and follow. We don’t follow people but we appreciate people who have dedicated their lives to study the Scriptures so we can have a better understanding. We don’t bog ourselves down with man-made traditions but try to be culturally relevant with Biblical truth
-Does not fix our problem 7:14-15
Vrs 14-15 Nothing outside a man (generic, “person”) by going into him can make him “unclean” (cf. 7:2). Jesus spoke in a moral not a medical sense. A person is not defiled morally by what he eats even if his hands are not ceremonially washed. BKC
• Our problem is a sinful heart 7:16-23
Vrs 16 Some manuscripts “If anyone has ears let him hear”
Vrs 17-19 Jesus explains that ceremonial washings and “defiled” foods don’t actually defile a person morally. The rulers should understand it is the heart. Jer 17:9
Vrs 20-23 The heart being the center of the person is where sin comes from. Jesus rattles off a list and its not comprehensive of every sin but the disciples get the picture. In lists like these every person says “oh He named mine”
All these evils defile a person, and have their source from inside, from one’s heart. So Jesus took the focus of attention away from external rituals and placed it on the need for God to cleanse one’s evil heart Psalm 51
We get callous toward personal sin
If you live in a graveyard too long you stop crying when someone dies. Traditional.
Our hearts become hard and unfortunately sometimes tradition is a small band-aid attempt to make us feel better about our hard heart. (because I did something)
Then how do are hearts become clean? And freed of sin?
-The solution is Jesus.
Gal. 3:24-25 says So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
We come to know truth not only reason, but still more so through our hearts. B. Pascal.
The 19th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard identified two kinds of religion -- Religion A and Religion B. The first is "faith" in name only (2 Tim. 3:5). It's the practice of attending church without genuine faith in the living Lord.
Religion B, on the other hand, is a life-transforming, destiny-changing experience. It's a definite commitment to the crucified and risen Savior, which establishes an ongoing personal relationship between a forgiven sinner and a gracious God. GOSPEL
Conclusion: We have a heart problem that no tradition, religious act or good work can ever fix. Only faith in Jesus can fix .
Read Galatians 2:16-21
Read Mark 7:1-23
1. Have you been taught to follow traditions that are not biblical and are man-made?
2. Was this experience confusing to you?
3. Do you feel that you religious do something that you can’t support biblically?
4. Can man-made tradition make you acceptable to God? Why or why not? Do you feel they actually bring you further from God?
5. In the passage what was the point that Jesus was trying to make?
Snapshot16 Mark 7:1-23
• The problem with following “Mans Traditions”… 7:1-13
-Promotes self righteousness. Vrs 1-5 (I can do it myself)
Vrs 5. The Jewish leaders thought that the disciples’ failure to observe ritual washing was a symptom of a deeper problem. That Jesus was leading them astray. The teacher was blamed for the actions of the followers. Because they were so puffed up and judged one another by how the ones who followed them lived
-Causes hypocrisy Vrs 6-7 hypocrisy -the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.
By teaching the tradition of men they were actually saying “this is how you please God or become Godly” but in reality it made them further from God because is those things they were ignoring His commands.
The Pharisees are hypocrites for two reasons: (1) their actions are merely external and do not come from their hearts, which are far from God
(2) their teachings are not from God but reflect the tradition of men. They had more passion for the man-made traditions then they did for the God-given law.
Not only do man-made rules not “clean” you they actually bring you further from the truth of God.
-Ignores obedience to God. Vrs 8-13
Traditions get in the way of following the Lord…Ill-Like the church the could not figure out what their tradition was regarding standing or sitting during the opening Scripture reading.
So if a son declared his property Corbin he neither promised it to the Temple or prohibited its use to himself but legally excluded his parents from the right of benefit. Then if the son changed his mind and regret he did this the scribes would say that the vow was valid and must be honored
The scribes would then say that the son had to obey Num 30:1 This is why Jesus quoted the Isaiah passage to ensure the Scribes that they miss the point and their hearts were hard.
Corbin illustrates a hard heart toward obeying the law of God and a blinded heart that follows man’s tradition. They really did not care about the law of God or man’s tradition they really only cared about themselves. Religion is selfish “what can I do”, or better yet “look what I can do”
Many religious people want to add to that and make extra Biblical rules, they want to say that church has something to do with our Salvation and they elevate traditions in doing so they elevate people over the Lord Jesus.
There are three things that Christians need to remember. Preferences, Convictions and Absolutes.
Illus. Standing for worship.
The preferences and convictions we cannot put on others but the Biblical Absolutes are for everyone. What Jesus is saying here is that you are ignoring Biblical absolutes because of your traditions. In order to look more Godly you are actually becoming less Godly.
This is our conviction: We trust Jesus and live in accordance to His Word that the Holy Spirit helps us to understand and follow. We don’t follow people but we appreciate people who have dedicated their lives to study the Scriptures so we can have a better understanding. We don’t bog ourselves down with man-made traditions but try to be culturally relevant with Biblical truth
-Does not fix our problem 7:14-15
Vrs 14-15 Nothing outside a man (generic, “person”) by going into him can make him “unclean” (cf. 7:2). Jesus spoke in a moral not a medical sense. A person is not defiled morally by what he eats even if his hands are not ceremonially washed. BKC
• Our problem is a sinful heart 7:16-23
Vrs 16 Some manuscripts “If anyone has ears let him hear”
Vrs 17-19 Jesus explains that ceremonial washings and “defiled” foods don’t actually defile a person morally. The rulers should understand it is the heart. Jer 17:9
Vrs 20-23 The heart being the center of the person is where sin comes from. Jesus rattles off a list and its not comprehensive of every sin but the disciples get the picture. In lists like these every person says “oh He named mine”
All these evils defile a person, and have their source from inside, from one’s heart. So Jesus took the focus of attention away from external rituals and placed it on the need for God to cleanse one’s evil heart Psalm 51
We get callous toward personal sin
If you live in a graveyard too long you stop crying when someone dies. Traditional.
Our hearts become hard and unfortunately sometimes tradition is a small band-aid attempt to make us feel better about our hard heart. (because I did something)
Then how do are hearts become clean? And freed of sin?
-The solution is Jesus.
Gal. 3:24-25 says So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
We come to know truth not only reason, but still more so through our hearts. B. Pascal.
The 19th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard identified two kinds of religion -- Religion A and Religion B. The first is "faith" in name only (2 Tim. 3:5). It's the practice of attending church without genuine faith in the living Lord.
Religion B, on the other hand, is a life-transforming, destiny-changing experience. It's a definite commitment to the crucified and risen Savior, which establishes an ongoing personal relationship between a forgiven sinner and a gracious God. GOSPEL
Conclusion: We have a heart problem that no tradition, religious act or good work can ever fix. Only faith in Jesus can fix .
Read Galatians 2:16-21
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Snapshot Series: "The Provision of Jesus"
Snapshot15 Mark 6:30-56 “Provision of Jesus”
Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever felt that you were so busy that there was not enough time to rest? Explain.
2. Do you find it hard to rest when you know you have a lot of things to do? Why?
3. Have you ever had a situation in which you tried hardest but nothing seemed to work? Explain
4. Did you eventually realize that you had to bring that situation to Jesus? How did it work out?
5. Do you ever feel like what you accomplish depends only on you? Why?
6. When you look at your life what do you fear the most? Do you have any control over that fear happening or not happening?
Tonight I want to look at the narrative and not really investigate the details of the accounts as much as look at the few specific directives that Jesus gives.
Big idea: We should not live in fear because Jesus can provide.
At this point in Mark’s gospel we can see the disciples answered the call of Jesus to go out and do ministry and Jesus knew that they were realizing that this was demanding work.
Vrs 30-32 “come away and rest”
• Jesus provides rest
He calls them only to rest awhile; they must not expect to rest long, only to get breath, and then to go to work again. There is no remaining rest for the people of God till they come to heaven.
Matthew Henry
“Rest: the sweet sauce of labor” The sleep of the labouring man is sweet. Eccl 5:12
Jesus directed them to come with Him for a brief, well-earned rest. This was necessary because so many people were coming and going that they had no time to eat BKC
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”
As a parent I remember pretty much with all our children when they dropped the nap, we would put them in their crib and all of sudden they were not interested anymore. Of course it was frustrating as a parent because your day is planned around the nap. But I always said to myself “ why would you drop the nap, I wish someone would enforce a nap time on me”
“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest” Ashleigh Brilliant
Jesus does want you to take a rest (the Christian worker) This is a concept that God the Father modeled from creation. 6 labor and 7th rest.
Why we don’t rest…
-We worry and obsess
-Others will not let us Vrs 32 & 33
Vrs 33 interestingly enough the people got there ahead of them. Isn’t that just typical of our lives. There is always someone waiting to take my rest away.
-We depend on our own performance (pride)
Transition: We need not depend only on ourselves to meet the needs that we have. We need to realize that Jesus is willing to provide for us.
• Jesus provides for daily needs
Vrs 34 Jesus has compassion on those who are in need. “sheep without a shepherd” no guidance and no one to meet there needs
Some people don’t believe that God cares or is there. (Atheist Joke)
An atheist was upset and tired of his Christian neighbor praying next door. One day the lady did not have money for groceries and was praying loud for God’s provision. The atheist got so tired of listening to her that went to the supermarket to buy her some groceries. He then left the bags on the steps in front of her house, rang the bell and hide in the bushes. When the lady opened the door and saw the bags, she thanked God for the groceries and the atheist came out and said: I got you!! The lady asked him why he got her and he responded: "God does not exist, he did not buy you anything, I heard you and went and bought you the groceries and left them here".
The lady looked at him and then looked up and said: Thank you God for your provision and for making my enemy pay for it!
Notice the need He met first was to “teach them”
Jesus knew that their spiritual need was their greatest need GOSPEL
Vrs 35-38 The disciples are worried about what everyone will eat.
Jesus answered “give them something to eat”
The disciples ask if they should go out and buy food. They were probably not serious in their offer because it would have been 8 months salary to feed this crowd.
Feeding could be a foretaste of the wedding supper where the Lord continually provides for His people. Did you know that in Heaven it is not an issue of where our food will come from?
Vrs 38 “how many loaves do you have? Go and see” I think that Jesus may have been comparing what they had with what He could provide.
What can you provide? What can Jesus provide?
What may Jesus be asking you to do to help others? When we use what we have to help others it does two things.
1. It helps others.
2. It displays that we trust Jesus that when we use something we have to bless others He will take care of us.
Vrs 39-44 the miracle
Why we don’t trust Jesus’ provision…
-We worry and obsess
-We won’t let others help us. (pride)
-We depend on our own performance (pride)
Transition: So many times we don’t rest and we trust that Jesus provides for our daily needs because we live in fear.
Fear can be very powerful.
Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms.
Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.
Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
Pediophobia- Fear of dolls.
Pedophobia- Fear of children.
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.
Ideophobia- Fear of ideas.
Ecclesiophobia- Fear of church.
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news.
Homilophobia- Fear of sermons.
Geliophobia- Fear of laughter.
Vrs 45-52 A. T. Robertson says “Perhaps Peter was not fond of telling that story.”
Vrs 50 “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid”
• Jesus says “do not be afraid”.
When Jesus is saying “take heart it is I do not be afraid” He saying I got your back.
Question: What are you not letting Jesus take hold of because you are acting in fear? I can’t take a rest from this, I have to do more Jesus will not take care of me.
Vrs 51-52 The disciples were trying to make sense of all this and because they could not and Jesus did not fit their idea of what the Messiah may look like “their hearts were hardened”
When we act in fear we have hard hearts.
Vrs 53-56 And Jesus continues to provide for the people.
• Jesus is willing and able:
If you think He does not care, you are wrong. If you think He can’t handle whatever issue or situation comes into your life, you are wrong. If you continue to act in fear and not trust Him, you are wrong and He will continue to teach you that He is right.
Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever felt that you were so busy that there was not enough time to rest? Explain.
2. Do you find it hard to rest when you know you have a lot of things to do? Why?
3. Have you ever had a situation in which you tried hardest but nothing seemed to work? Explain
4. Did you eventually realize that you had to bring that situation to Jesus? How did it work out?
5. Do you ever feel like what you accomplish depends only on you? Why?
6. When you look at your life what do you fear the most? Do you have any control over that fear happening or not happening?
Tonight I want to look at the narrative and not really investigate the details of the accounts as much as look at the few specific directives that Jesus gives.
Big idea: We should not live in fear because Jesus can provide.
At this point in Mark’s gospel we can see the disciples answered the call of Jesus to go out and do ministry and Jesus knew that they were realizing that this was demanding work.
Vrs 30-32 “come away and rest”
• Jesus provides rest
He calls them only to rest awhile; they must not expect to rest long, only to get breath, and then to go to work again. There is no remaining rest for the people of God till they come to heaven.
Matthew Henry
“Rest: the sweet sauce of labor” The sleep of the labouring man is sweet. Eccl 5:12
Jesus directed them to come with Him for a brief, well-earned rest. This was necessary because so many people were coming and going that they had no time to eat BKC
“Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”
As a parent I remember pretty much with all our children when they dropped the nap, we would put them in their crib and all of sudden they were not interested anymore. Of course it was frustrating as a parent because your day is planned around the nap. But I always said to myself “ why would you drop the nap, I wish someone would enforce a nap time on me”
“Sometimes the most urgent thing you can possibly do is take a complete rest” Ashleigh Brilliant
Jesus does want you to take a rest (the Christian worker) This is a concept that God the Father modeled from creation. 6 labor and 7th rest.
Why we don’t rest…
-We worry and obsess
-Others will not let us Vrs 32 & 33
Vrs 33 interestingly enough the people got there ahead of them. Isn’t that just typical of our lives. There is always someone waiting to take my rest away.
-We depend on our own performance (pride)
Transition: We need not depend only on ourselves to meet the needs that we have. We need to realize that Jesus is willing to provide for us.
• Jesus provides for daily needs
Vrs 34 Jesus has compassion on those who are in need. “sheep without a shepherd” no guidance and no one to meet there needs
Some people don’t believe that God cares or is there. (Atheist Joke)
An atheist was upset and tired of his Christian neighbor praying next door. One day the lady did not have money for groceries and was praying loud for God’s provision. The atheist got so tired of listening to her that went to the supermarket to buy her some groceries. He then left the bags on the steps in front of her house, rang the bell and hide in the bushes. When the lady opened the door and saw the bags, she thanked God for the groceries and the atheist came out and said: I got you!! The lady asked him why he got her and he responded: "God does not exist, he did not buy you anything, I heard you and went and bought you the groceries and left them here".
The lady looked at him and then looked up and said: Thank you God for your provision and for making my enemy pay for it!
Notice the need He met first was to “teach them”
Jesus knew that their spiritual need was their greatest need GOSPEL
Vrs 35-38 The disciples are worried about what everyone will eat.
Jesus answered “give them something to eat”
The disciples ask if they should go out and buy food. They were probably not serious in their offer because it would have been 8 months salary to feed this crowd.
Feeding could be a foretaste of the wedding supper where the Lord continually provides for His people. Did you know that in Heaven it is not an issue of where our food will come from?
Vrs 38 “how many loaves do you have? Go and see” I think that Jesus may have been comparing what they had with what He could provide.
What can you provide? What can Jesus provide?
What may Jesus be asking you to do to help others? When we use what we have to help others it does two things.
1. It helps others.
2. It displays that we trust Jesus that when we use something we have to bless others He will take care of us.
Vrs 39-44 the miracle
Why we don’t trust Jesus’ provision…
-We worry and obsess
-We won’t let others help us. (pride)
-We depend on our own performance (pride)
Transition: So many times we don’t rest and we trust that Jesus provides for our daily needs because we live in fear.
Fear can be very powerful.
Helminthophobia- Fear of being infested with worms.
Lachanophobia- Fear of vegetables.
Bibliophobia- Fear of books.
Pediophobia- Fear of dolls.
Pedophobia- Fear of children.
Dutchphobia- Fear of the Dutch.
Ideophobia- Fear of ideas.
Ecclesiophobia- Fear of church.
Euphobia- Fear of hearing good news.
Homilophobia- Fear of sermons.
Geliophobia- Fear of laughter.
Vrs 45-52 A. T. Robertson says “Perhaps Peter was not fond of telling that story.”
Vrs 50 “Take heart, it is I. Do not be afraid”
• Jesus says “do not be afraid”.
When Jesus is saying “take heart it is I do not be afraid” He saying I got your back.
Question: What are you not letting Jesus take hold of because you are acting in fear? I can’t take a rest from this, I have to do more Jesus will not take care of me.
Vrs 51-52 The disciples were trying to make sense of all this and because they could not and Jesus did not fit their idea of what the Messiah may look like “their hearts were hardened”
When we act in fear we have hard hearts.
Vrs 53-56 And Jesus continues to provide for the people.
• Jesus is willing and able:
If you think He does not care, you are wrong. If you think He can’t handle whatever issue or situation comes into your life, you are wrong. If you continue to act in fear and not trust Him, you are wrong and He will continue to teach you that He is right.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Community Group Questions
1. Share with the group a time in life when you felt rejected.
2. Have you ever been rejected for your faith?
3. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus was rejected?
4. Have you ever compromised your own moral values in order that others accept you?
5. Of the 3 points from Mark 6:13-17 which is the most helpful and why? (points are at the bottom of notes)
Snapshot14 Mark 6:1-29 “Rejected”
We all have a need to feel accepted. In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need to belong only comes after basic needs and security needs are met. No one wants to be rejected.
The feeling or reality of rejection tends to stick with you.
“A boo is a lot louder than a cheer.” Lance Armstrong
Tonight I want to look at Mark 6 and in it we see people who were rejected and felt rejected including Jesus. Then Jesus gives some directives to His disciples about going out into the world to tell others about the Kingdom knowing they would be and feel rejected.
-Sometimes the feeling of rejection has to do with personal sin. Herodias 6:14-29
Vrs 19 Herodias had a grudge.
Vrs 24-25 Herodias asked for the death of John
Often times people who feel bad, act bad and try to make others feel bad too.
People who tend to stick by their sin as if it is not sin will look for way to make themselves look good or exonerate their name. “I am right and I will go to any extreme to prove that”
With that mindset we actually start to reject those who want to help us. In Herodias’ case it was John
-Sometimes we are rejected because we do what is right. (John the Baptist) Verses 17-18
John was trying to uphold righteousness and was rejected for it. But he was also trying to help because he knew the right way.
Did you ever try to help someone who was so intent in their sin that it just turned into a disaster? They didn’t look at you as trying to help them.
Maybe you rejected someone because you were so intent on your sin and you did not want to hear them out. Proverbs 27:6 “wounds from a friend are better then kisses from an enemy”
-Sometimes rejection is one of our greatest fears. (Herod)Vrs 26-27 Backtrack vrs 21-23 Herod Antipas has some serious acceptance issues.
When have you fallen into the trap of doing the wrong thing because you were afraid people will reject you?
We start to think, “people will not like me, they will make fun of me or will not respect me” James tells us to “confess our sins to one another” admit your faults so you can move on.
-Rejection is a result of spiritual blindness Vrs 6:1-6
How do we know this? People rejected Jesus. Like many prophets before Him Jesus is not honored in His hometown.
Jesus will not force his miracles on a hostile, skeptical audience. It stands in contradiction to the character and will of Jesus.
There was no limitation on His power, but His purpose was to perform miracles in the presence of faith. Only a few here had faith to come to Him for healing.
We know that Jesus was no stranger to rejection.
John 1 talks about Jesus being rejected. “stone that the builder rejected” Mt 21:42
He was despised and rejected1 by men; a man of sorrows,2 and acquainted with3 grief;4and as one from whom men hide their faces5he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isa 53:13
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Lk 9:22
Jesus was willing to be rejected on our behalf to show that HE would go to extreme measure to prove to us that He is willing to accept us if we trust in Him. GOSPEL (sum up what we learned a bit)
In the next passage Jesus commissions His disciples
It seems that Mark may have put these two accounts together because he wanted to remind his readers that there will be rejection from others anytime we are following Jesus. And this section can help us deal with times when…
When you are rejected (or feel rejected). Mark 6:7-13
A. Rely on Jesus’ power. Vrs 7-9
Jesus directs the disciples to rely on Him. Not stuff or even people. Those things have no real power.
We should not let the people who are rejecting us have power over us. They don’t define us… Jesus does. They have no control over us… Jesus does. They don’t love us like… Jesus does.
B. Don’t let it get to you. Vrs 10-11
They should also expect rejection. If any place would not offer hospitality or listen to their message, they were to leave there and to shake the dust off their feet.
Devout Jews did this when they left Gentile (alien) territory to show that they were dissociating themselves from it. This would tell Jewish hearers they were acting like pagans in rejecting the disciples’ message.
When friends or family reject you on the account of the message “shake the dust off, don’t let it get to you.” You are not wrong… it is not you it is Jesus and His message.
C. Keep following Jesus. Vrs 12-13
Don’t let the feelings or reality of rejection in any way, shape or form discourage you from following Jesus. Let it rejuvenate your commitment.
“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” Sylvester Stallone
Jesus said in John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
1. Share with the group a time in life when you felt rejected.
2. Have you ever been rejected for your faith?
3. How does it make you feel to know that Jesus was rejected?
4. Have you ever compromised your own moral values in order that others accept you?
5. Of the 3 points from Mark 6:13-17 which is the most helpful and why? (points are at the bottom of notes)
Snapshot14 Mark 6:1-29 “Rejected”
We all have a need to feel accepted. In Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the need to belong only comes after basic needs and security needs are met. No one wants to be rejected.
The feeling or reality of rejection tends to stick with you.
“A boo is a lot louder than a cheer.” Lance Armstrong
Tonight I want to look at Mark 6 and in it we see people who were rejected and felt rejected including Jesus. Then Jesus gives some directives to His disciples about going out into the world to tell others about the Kingdom knowing they would be and feel rejected.
-Sometimes the feeling of rejection has to do with personal sin. Herodias 6:14-29
Vrs 19 Herodias had a grudge.
Vrs 24-25 Herodias asked for the death of John
Often times people who feel bad, act bad and try to make others feel bad too.
People who tend to stick by their sin as if it is not sin will look for way to make themselves look good or exonerate their name. “I am right and I will go to any extreme to prove that”
With that mindset we actually start to reject those who want to help us. In Herodias’ case it was John
-Sometimes we are rejected because we do what is right. (John the Baptist) Verses 17-18
John was trying to uphold righteousness and was rejected for it. But he was also trying to help because he knew the right way.
Did you ever try to help someone who was so intent in their sin that it just turned into a disaster? They didn’t look at you as trying to help them.
Maybe you rejected someone because you were so intent on your sin and you did not want to hear them out. Proverbs 27:6 “wounds from a friend are better then kisses from an enemy”
-Sometimes rejection is one of our greatest fears. (Herod)Vrs 26-27 Backtrack vrs 21-23 Herod Antipas has some serious acceptance issues.
When have you fallen into the trap of doing the wrong thing because you were afraid people will reject you?
We start to think, “people will not like me, they will make fun of me or will not respect me” James tells us to “confess our sins to one another” admit your faults so you can move on.
-Rejection is a result of spiritual blindness Vrs 6:1-6
How do we know this? People rejected Jesus. Like many prophets before Him Jesus is not honored in His hometown.
Jesus will not force his miracles on a hostile, skeptical audience. It stands in contradiction to the character and will of Jesus.
There was no limitation on His power, but His purpose was to perform miracles in the presence of faith. Only a few here had faith to come to Him for healing.
We know that Jesus was no stranger to rejection.
John 1 talks about Jesus being rejected. “stone that the builder rejected” Mt 21:42
He was despised and rejected1 by men; a man of sorrows,2 and acquainted with3 grief;4and as one from whom men hide their faces5he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isa 53:13
“The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Lk 9:22
Jesus was willing to be rejected on our behalf to show that HE would go to extreme measure to prove to us that He is willing to accept us if we trust in Him. GOSPEL (sum up what we learned a bit)
In the next passage Jesus commissions His disciples
It seems that Mark may have put these two accounts together because he wanted to remind his readers that there will be rejection from others anytime we are following Jesus. And this section can help us deal with times when…
When you are rejected (or feel rejected). Mark 6:7-13
A. Rely on Jesus’ power. Vrs 7-9
Jesus directs the disciples to rely on Him. Not stuff or even people. Those things have no real power.
We should not let the people who are rejecting us have power over us. They don’t define us… Jesus does. They have no control over us… Jesus does. They don’t love us like… Jesus does.
B. Don’t let it get to you. Vrs 10-11
They should also expect rejection. If any place would not offer hospitality or listen to their message, they were to leave there and to shake the dust off their feet.
Devout Jews did this when they left Gentile (alien) territory to show that they were dissociating themselves from it. This would tell Jewish hearers they were acting like pagans in rejecting the disciples’ message.
When friends or family reject you on the account of the message “shake the dust off, don’t let it get to you.” You are not wrong… it is not you it is Jesus and His message.
C. Keep following Jesus. Vrs 12-13
Don’t let the feelings or reality of rejection in any way, shape or form discourage you from following Jesus. Let it rejuvenate your commitment.
“I take rejection as someone blowing a bugle in my ear to wake me up and get going, rather than retreat.” Sylvester Stallone
Jesus said in John 15:18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Snapshot Series: "Our Faith Needs"
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Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever been in a hopeless situation that you finally realized Jesus was the only one who could do anything about it?
2. What happened and what was the outcome?
3. If negative, did you fall into the trap of feeling like you did not have enough faith for things to turn out differently? Why is that a wrong way to look at the problem?
4. Generally speaking how does your faith in Christ help you daily? Does it force you to live with a different perspective?
5 Think back to when you became a Christian...what made you finally realize you had a need for Jesus?
6 Do you find yourself living in your own power and not relying on the power of Jesus? When & Why?
Snapshot13 “Our Faith Needs” Mark 5:21-43
We all have faith in something and we will hold to that until it fails
Big Idea: We exercise the most faith when we have the greatest need.
In this account we see two people who are at their darkest moments and have nowhere else to turn. So they turn to Jesus. We also see a group of people who are blinded to their own personal darkness.
-A ruling official with a dying daughter. Vrs 21-24a & 35-43
-A hopeless situation
The fact that Jairus … fell at Jesus’ feet demonstrates his real need and his sincerity. He was a ruler who came in humility.
-A women bleeding for 12 years. Vrs 24b-34 (uterine hemorrhaging)
-Was a socio-religious outcast because she was unclean
Lev 15:25-27 By touching Jesus’ garment, she technically renders him ceremonially unclean (cf. Lev. 15:19–23), but Jesus is greater than any purity laws, for he makes her clean by his power instead of becoming unclean himself.
-Went to all the physicians
-Spent all that she had
Jesus wanted to know who touched Him.
not that he might blame her for her presumption, but that he might commend and encourage her faith.
-Jesus was the object of her faith.
BKC states “Faith, confident trust, derives its value not from the one who expresses it, but from the object in which it rests.” (Jesus)
Her faith for physical healing at the same time resulted in her faith for salvation.
-The Mockers These people did not realize there own personal darkness or their need for Jesus.
-Are you laughing? Vrs 40
-Do you think Jesus is too busy to help you, your problems are insignificant to Him. Vrs 35
I think any person who reads these accounts has an itching question of “does God work like this now? Or why doesn’t God work like this now?”
Here is what happens if a physical healing does not happen all the time, for some then it negates the fact that it could ever happen. For others it forces them to explain away that God had another plan or purpose. For the skeptic these answers usually don’t cut it.
Some of you may remember Karl Marx’s comments on religion and faith “religion is the opium of the people” For Marx, the problem lies in the obvious fact that an opiate drug fails to fix a physical injury — it merely helps you forget pain and suffering. Marx is saying that faith only makes you forget the suffering but does not do anything about it.
This is what I think we need to take away…Jesus is the God that is capable and His time spent here on earth displayed that. It also gave us a small glimpse at what living in the eternal kingdom of heaven will be like.
-Jesus the healer. He was willing to act on and help those who expressed faith in Him
Jesus knows our greatest needs and wants us to realize them and express faith in Him to take care of them
So what do we do? What are our greatest needs?
- We have a need to have faith for salvation : Realize there is a problem that needs to be taken care of.
We all have a desperate need for Christ. We were all sick with sin and only Jesus can heal us through faith. We were all dead and only Christ can raise us through faith. This life is constantly showing us that there are problems that need to be fixed. (Gospel).
Francis Schaeffer said in The God Who is There. “The true basis for faith is not faith itself but the work which Christ finished on the cross.”
That is why we look to Revelation 21:1-4
Matthew Henry Said: “Most people do not apply themselves to Christ, till they have tried in vain all other helpers, and find them, physicians of no value. And Jesus will be found a sure refuge, even to those who make him their last refuge”
-We have a need to have faith in Jesus’ power: Live with faith in Jesus knowing that we are powerless and He is powerful.
How does that work? Everyday life. What are you trying to do on your own and not having faith in Christ to accomplish it through you. We all have a problem with only going to Jesus when there is nowhere else to go.
We only exercise faith when it is a last resort. Christians should live with faith in Jesus for everything first. That involves a vibrant prayer life. Here is what happens when you pray…you are inviting God the Holy Spirit to work in and through you.
Today being January 1st many people will start to make resolutions because we want to better ourselves. Before we make any resolutions we have to come to the reality that without the help of the Lord we are destined to fail.
God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing. Martin Luther.
Jesus wants to bring us all to the point in which we rely on Him for everything and in every situation.
The habit of a Christian should be to go to Jesus first because we are really deficient in all areas. We just fool ourselves into thinking we are something when we are not.
-We have a need to persevere in faith: Keep on going. Finish the race Vrs 35-36
Its tough to keep focus living in a sinful world and things do not go the way they should. People laugh and mock and we get discouraged.
But despite this we need to exercise faith daily because we are daily at the point of our greatest need.
Community Group Questions
1. Have you ever been in a hopeless situation that you finally realized Jesus was the only one who could do anything about it?
2. What happened and what was the outcome?
3. If negative, did you fall into the trap of feeling like you did not have enough faith for things to turn out differently? Why is that a wrong way to look at the problem?
4. Generally speaking how does your faith in Christ help you daily? Does it force you to live with a different perspective?
5 Think back to when you became a Christian...what made you finally realize you had a need for Jesus?
6 Do you find yourself living in your own power and not relying on the power of Jesus? When & Why?
Snapshot13 “Our Faith Needs” Mark 5:21-43
We all have faith in something and we will hold to that until it fails
Big Idea: We exercise the most faith when we have the greatest need.
In this account we see two people who are at their darkest moments and have nowhere else to turn. So they turn to Jesus. We also see a group of people who are blinded to their own personal darkness.
-A ruling official with a dying daughter. Vrs 21-24a & 35-43
-A hopeless situation
The fact that Jairus … fell at Jesus’ feet demonstrates his real need and his sincerity. He was a ruler who came in humility.
-A women bleeding for 12 years. Vrs 24b-34 (uterine hemorrhaging)
-Was a socio-religious outcast because she was unclean
Lev 15:25-27 By touching Jesus’ garment, she technically renders him ceremonially unclean (cf. Lev. 15:19–23), but Jesus is greater than any purity laws, for he makes her clean by his power instead of becoming unclean himself.
-Went to all the physicians
-Spent all that she had
Jesus wanted to know who touched Him.
not that he might blame her for her presumption, but that he might commend and encourage her faith.
-Jesus was the object of her faith.
BKC states “Faith, confident trust, derives its value not from the one who expresses it, but from the object in which it rests.” (Jesus)
Her faith for physical healing at the same time resulted in her faith for salvation.
-The Mockers These people did not realize there own personal darkness or their need for Jesus.
-Are you laughing? Vrs 40
-Do you think Jesus is too busy to help you, your problems are insignificant to Him. Vrs 35
I think any person who reads these accounts has an itching question of “does God work like this now? Or why doesn’t God work like this now?”
Here is what happens if a physical healing does not happen all the time, for some then it negates the fact that it could ever happen. For others it forces them to explain away that God had another plan or purpose. For the skeptic these answers usually don’t cut it.
Some of you may remember Karl Marx’s comments on religion and faith “religion is the opium of the people” For Marx, the problem lies in the obvious fact that an opiate drug fails to fix a physical injury — it merely helps you forget pain and suffering. Marx is saying that faith only makes you forget the suffering but does not do anything about it.
This is what I think we need to take away…Jesus is the God that is capable and His time spent here on earth displayed that. It also gave us a small glimpse at what living in the eternal kingdom of heaven will be like.
-Jesus the healer. He was willing to act on and help those who expressed faith in Him
Jesus knows our greatest needs and wants us to realize them and express faith in Him to take care of them
So what do we do? What are our greatest needs?
- We have a need to have faith for salvation : Realize there is a problem that needs to be taken care of.
We all have a desperate need for Christ. We were all sick with sin and only Jesus can heal us through faith. We were all dead and only Christ can raise us through faith. This life is constantly showing us that there are problems that need to be fixed. (Gospel).
Francis Schaeffer said in The God Who is There. “The true basis for faith is not faith itself but the work which Christ finished on the cross.”
That is why we look to Revelation 21:1-4
Matthew Henry Said: “Most people do not apply themselves to Christ, till they have tried in vain all other helpers, and find them, physicians of no value. And Jesus will be found a sure refuge, even to those who make him their last refuge”
-We have a need to have faith in Jesus’ power: Live with faith in Jesus knowing that we are powerless and He is powerful.
How does that work? Everyday life. What are you trying to do on your own and not having faith in Christ to accomplish it through you. We all have a problem with only going to Jesus when there is nowhere else to go.
We only exercise faith when it is a last resort. Christians should live with faith in Jesus for everything first. That involves a vibrant prayer life. Here is what happens when you pray…you are inviting God the Holy Spirit to work in and through you.
Today being January 1st many people will start to make resolutions because we want to better ourselves. Before we make any resolutions we have to come to the reality that without the help of the Lord we are destined to fail.
God our Father has made all things depend on faith so that whoever has faith will have everything, and whoever does not have faith will have nothing. Martin Luther.
Jesus wants to bring us all to the point in which we rely on Him for everything and in every situation.
The habit of a Christian should be to go to Jesus first because we are really deficient in all areas. We just fool ourselves into thinking we are something when we are not.
-We have a need to persevere in faith: Keep on going. Finish the race Vrs 35-36
Its tough to keep focus living in a sinful world and things do not go the way they should. People laugh and mock and we get discouraged.
But despite this we need to exercise faith daily because we are daily at the point of our greatest need.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Born to Die
1. What are some areas in which you need to put Jesus first?
2. Why do you think it is difficult to do so in those areas?
3. What are some areas in which you have put Jesus first?
4. How does it feel to have put Him first in those areas? Can you see blessings? Do you feel better about those areas?
5. Are there areas of your life in which you do not put Jesus first and are afraid to so you do not pray about them?
Born to Die Myrrh 12.18.11 Sermon
Sometimes gifts trigger memories (Surfboard and Kenny)
Today we are going to look at the gift of Myrrh and what it should bring to memory when we hear this famous Christmas account.
Matthew 2:11 It is evident that these were more then just gifts but they were symbolic and intended to be reminders of Jesus is.
1. Myrrh is a reminder of Jesus’ death
Because myrrh was used in the embalming or anointing of the dead, it came to represent mortality, suffering, and sorrow. The Israelites used perfumed ointments of myrrh in their funeral preparations to postpone the decay and alleviate the odors of the deceased. Although less than one pound was normally used in Israelite funerary preparations, Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds" to prepare Jesus's body for burial (John 19:39). This was to show his respect for Christ. Other people burned myrrh as incense during cremations.
This gift is a foreshowing of what is to come. Jesus’ death
John 10:14-18 Jesus lays His life down -GOSPEL-
What should our Response be to Christ’s Death?
Non-believer –should believe
Believer- Die to self – Luke 9:23-24 We are called to lay our lives down… the Christian life is about dying to self daily.
How does this work out? The simple answer is… we think of Jesus first in every area of life. QUESTIONS
- Is Jesus first in my relationships with others? Am I at odds with anyone? Dating…am I remaining pure?
- Is Jesus first in the way I use my time? Do I spend time serving? Helping others? Do I spend time in the Bible?
- Is Jesus first in the use of my finances and the resources God has blessed me with? Do I give? Do I use what I have for the benefit of others?
- Is Jesus first in my work place or school?
As a believer it is no longer my life but it should be Christ living through me. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, the life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me ”
T* You might say that is painful to die to self
2. Myrrh is a reminder that Jesus eases the pain.
Until the invention of morphine and other modern painkillers, myrrh was a common painkiller. In ancient times it was often mixed with wine to make the drink more potent. As was the custom among the Jews, Christ was offered "wine mingled with myrrh" to ease the pains of the cross. (Mk 15:23).
It can be difficult to die to self and live for the Lord.
-People will hassle you for not joining in with their sinful ways. -People will mock you for living a different way then they do. -You may face resistance when you are doing what is right.
Mark 15:23 Jesus refused to drink it. I would say He did this to display His reliance on the Father and Holy Spirit to get Him through this terrible experience. He didn’t rely on a painkiller.
When we feel that it is too difficult to live a Christ centered life of dying to self we need think about the how the Father is in control how the Holy Spirit is with us to guide and comfort
and that Jesus said to Paul 2 Cor 12:9 “my grace is sufficient, my power is made perfect in weakness” Jesus says to all in Matthew 11:28-30 “come to me” “my yoke is easy my burden is light” Jesus is also know as the “Great physician” who can ease our pain.
T* You might say…I can’t die to self, I need help. And I would say you are right you need to beckon the Lord daily for help
3. Myrrh is a reminder to pray. When burned as incense, myrrh is a symbol of prayers rising to heaven.
James 5:16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (Who is righteous? Believers)
When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart. ~John Bunyan Where is your heart?
Many times we don’t go to the Lord in prayer because we really don’t want these things to change, we really don’t want to “die to self” We don’t care. Our heart is hard or cold and we become more concerned with living for ourselves.
CS Lewis in Mere Christianity shares this illustration in his chapter about “Counting the Cost” He talks about not wanting to tell his mom about having a toothache because if he lets the dentist in his mouth he will do work on other teeth and find other problems and want to correct those as well.
It is the same way with the Lord when we start to daily go to Him in prayer He is going to start to troubleshoot in areas that we did not want Him to go to. He will say “ok I took care of this area… now I am going to work on that area with you”
Lewis was saying we don’t go to the Lord because we are afraid of how He will work and what He will put to death in our lives.
Part of dying to self is being open to God’s will
Jesus was prayed before He went to the cross, He prayed because was open to the Will of the Father to lay down His life.
We need to be praying in order to be prepared for daily self death.
Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~Søren Kierkegaard
When we hear or read the account of the Magi giving the gift of Myrrh we should remember that Jesus was born to die for us and we were born to die for Him daily and in that daily death we will truly live.
1.
2. Why do you think it is difficult to do so in those areas?
3. What are some areas in which you have put Jesus first?
4. How does it feel to have put Him first in those areas? Can you see blessings? Do you feel better about those areas?
5. Are there areas of your life in which you do not put Jesus first and are afraid to so you do not pray about them?
Born to Die Myrrh 12.18.11 Sermon
Sometimes gifts trigger memories (Surfboard and Kenny)
Today we are going to look at the gift of Myrrh and what it should bring to memory when we hear this famous Christmas account.
Matthew 2:11 It is evident that these were more then just gifts but they were symbolic and intended to be reminders of Jesus is.
1. Myrrh is a reminder of Jesus’ death
Because myrrh was used in the embalming or anointing of the dead, it came to represent mortality, suffering, and sorrow. The Israelites used perfumed ointments of myrrh in their funeral preparations to postpone the decay and alleviate the odors of the deceased. Although less than one pound was normally used in Israelite funerary preparations, Nicodemus brought "a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds" to prepare Jesus's body for burial (John 19:39). This was to show his respect for Christ. Other people burned myrrh as incense during cremations.
This gift is a foreshowing of what is to come. Jesus’ death
John 10:14-18 Jesus lays His life down -GOSPEL-
What should our Response be to Christ’s Death?
Non-believer –should believe
Believer- Die to self – Luke 9:23-24 We are called to lay our lives down… the Christian life is about dying to self daily.
How does this work out? The simple answer is… we think of Jesus first in every area of life. QUESTIONS
- Is Jesus first in my relationships with others? Am I at odds with anyone? Dating…am I remaining pure?
- Is Jesus first in the way I use my time? Do I spend time serving? Helping others? Do I spend time in the Bible?
- Is Jesus first in the use of my finances and the resources God has blessed me with? Do I give? Do I use what I have for the benefit of others?
- Is Jesus first in my work place or school?
As a believer it is no longer my life but it should be Christ living through me. Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me, the life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me ”
T* You might say that is painful to die to self
2. Myrrh is a reminder that Jesus eases the pain.
Until the invention of morphine and other modern painkillers, myrrh was a common painkiller. In ancient times it was often mixed with wine to make the drink more potent. As was the custom among the Jews, Christ was offered "wine mingled with myrrh" to ease the pains of the cross. (Mk 15:23).
It can be difficult to die to self and live for the Lord.
-People will hassle you for not joining in with their sinful ways. -People will mock you for living a different way then they do. -You may face resistance when you are doing what is right.
Mark 15:23 Jesus refused to drink it. I would say He did this to display His reliance on the Father and Holy Spirit to get Him through this terrible experience. He didn’t rely on a painkiller.
When we feel that it is too difficult to live a Christ centered life of dying to self we need think about the how the Father is in control how the Holy Spirit is with us to guide and comfort
and that Jesus said to Paul 2 Cor 12:9 “my grace is sufficient, my power is made perfect in weakness” Jesus says to all in Matthew 11:28-30 “come to me” “my yoke is easy my burden is light” Jesus is also know as the “Great physician” who can ease our pain.
T* You might say…I can’t die to self, I need help. And I would say you are right you need to beckon the Lord daily for help
3. Myrrh is a reminder to pray. When burned as incense, myrrh is a symbol of prayers rising to heaven.
James 5:16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (Who is righteous? Believers)
When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart. ~John Bunyan Where is your heart?
Many times we don’t go to the Lord in prayer because we really don’t want these things to change, we really don’t want to “die to self” We don’t care. Our heart is hard or cold and we become more concerned with living for ourselves.
CS Lewis in Mere Christianity shares this illustration in his chapter about “Counting the Cost” He talks about not wanting to tell his mom about having a toothache because if he lets the dentist in his mouth he will do work on other teeth and find other problems and want to correct those as well.
It is the same way with the Lord when we start to daily go to Him in prayer He is going to start to troubleshoot in areas that we did not want Him to go to. He will say “ok I took care of this area… now I am going to work on that area with you”
Lewis was saying we don’t go to the Lord because we are afraid of how He will work and what He will put to death in our lives.
Part of dying to self is being open to God’s will
Jesus was prayed before He went to the cross, He prayed because was open to the Will of the Father to lay down His life.
We need to be praying in order to be prepared for daily self death.
Prayer does not change God, but it changes him who prays. ~Søren Kierkegaard
When we hear or read the account of the Magi giving the gift of Myrrh we should remember that Jesus was born to die for us and we were born to die for Him daily and in that daily death we will truly live.
1.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
12.4.11 Community Group Questions
From Pastor Steve's Message
1. Have you recently had the opportunity to point someone to Jesus? How did it go?
2. What is something you commonly worship/place on the throne of your heart? What are some ways your group can think of to keep Jesus there?
3. How does it make you feel to know that because of Jesus' resurrection - we will one day be resurrected to heaven and we are Justified?
4. Does the picture of Jesus in Revelation 19:11-16 change the way you think about Jesus? Does it help you to do anything in your relationship with him?
1. Have you recently had the opportunity to point someone to Jesus? How did it go?
2. What is something you commonly worship/place on the throne of your heart? What are some ways your group can think of to keep Jesus there?
3. How does it make you feel to know that because of Jesus' resurrection - we will one day be resurrected to heaven and we are Justified?
4. Does the picture of Jesus in Revelation 19:11-16 change the way you think about Jesus? Does it help you to do anything in your relationship with him?
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