The Good of the Many

"For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many" 1 Corinthians

As I sit here thinking about this verse in the context of what Paul is writing, I'm amazed by his humility. Paul is so focused on one thing and one thing only. He wants people to know Christ. Paul is so changed by his conversion and his calling he is unwilling to think any other way. He does everything he can to bring glory to Christ. Everything he works for, he eats, everything is done to the glory of God. Looking at this and being totally honest with myself, I don't see that in me. I try but I know I am selfish on so many levels, it shames me. At this point I can do two things. I can blame the culture around me or I can accept responsibility of my own actions and do something about it.

How do we break the cycle of selfish behavior? The problem with most of us is we have an 'I' problem. I am so focused on myself (I), that I cannot see the obvious. I put myself, my desires, my wants, my comforts, my will ahead of others. I do this with a smile on my face and in the most polite way possible, but it's all about me. So what I have to do is move my focus onto something else. Paul tells to 'fix your eyes on Jesus'. As Christians we only need to look to Christ. Through the Holy Spirit and through prayer we can start to learn to think of others before ourselves. As we look to Christ we take our focus off of our own desires and as we pray for others we put this into practice.

Saying and doing are two different things I know this. So here is what I want you to do. I want you to think about Christ and what he has done on the cross. Think about why he suffered and died. Think about the fact Christ died for you to take away your sin through the shedding of his own blood. Think about the fact he rose again from the grave and through him now, you have eternal life. Now think about someone you know a family member, co-worker, or neighbor and pray for them. Pray God will use you to help them know Christ. Pray that they will have a deeper walk with Christ. Keep praying and when you feel like there isn't anyone else, think about what Christ did again. Do this anytime of the day. Turn off the radio in your car on your commute and do this little exercise.

Here is what you will notice. Your focus on life will move from self to others. God will change you through worship and prayer for others. This is what Paul was always doing, reflecting on the sacrifice of Christ and praying for others. He did this not for himself, but for the good of the many.

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As For Me

"Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:14-15

Joshua is finished; God has used him to conquer Israel. The people have divided up the land and have settled into their lives and homes. Joshua gives one last sermon, one last talk to the people. To keep this land he is saying, to have peace finally make a choice. You can choose to follow the Lord with all your heart or you can choose not to. You can serve God or you can serve the idols in your life. You are going to serve someone, either yourself or God.

Some people believe we don't have choices when it comes to God. You will either follow him or not, you don't choose. But I disagree and here is one of the passage I see in the Bible which state I do have a choice. I can choose to serve God or not. There isn't anything 'irresistible' here, you choose. Why is the choice important, because of depth, depth in love, depth in relationship with God. He gives a choice for the sake of knowing him much deeper than having no choice at all. He understood by giving us this choice we could reject him, but we could also surrender all to him. By choosing to love him we give of ourselves freely, we have the opportunity to grow in him in ways freedom can only allow.

Joshua made a choice, 'But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." Joshua declares whom he will serve. He recites the past in which God saved them from the bondage of slavery, God guided them through the wilderness and delivered the promise land. Joshua had seen all of this with his own eyes. For him it was simple, because he had seen God working from the beginning.

How about your life, take an inventory and write down where God has delivered and guided you, saved you from bondage, from wondering, gave you purpose and direction. From that choose to give him your whole heart, trust him with all you have. He will give you the promise land of peace and contentment. If you never trusted God, start today. If you're still in slavery to something, or someone, pray for delivery and trust in God to lead you. If you're still in the wilderness of life trust God to guide you out. If your home living in peace have contentment with where you are, remembering where God has delivered you from.

As for me and my household, we choose to follow the Lord.

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Sermon: How Will They Hear?

Tuesday night I was awakened with a longing inside. I could feel this God pressing on my heart, an intense feeling. I woke up thinking about the people of the world who don't know Christ. I started to think why do I have so much and the rest of the world so little? I was reading about how rice has reached $1000 a ton and the Asian markets panicked, because governments are buying less rice because of cost and this caused other to buy more thinking there might not be enough to feed their people. The UN declared 2008 the year of the potato, because other staple crops are becoming too expensive, because there isn't enough to feed everyone and the potato can be grown anywhere. So there I was thinking here I am overweight, trying to lose weight and most of the world is facing food storage. A billion people are starving right now.

For me, for the first time in my life I'm afraid. How long will God allow this to continue? How long until God intervenes? Jesus said no one knows when the end will come; it will be a complete surprise. In fact he used the story of Noah as a back drop and how the people where 'eating, drinking and being given into marriage', up until the doors closed. People watched the ark being built in the desert, they watched the animals load up two by two and they just continued like nothing was happening. Then the rain came and it was over.

Jesus said something at the end of that chapter which is Luke 17, "where there is a body the vultures will gather." In the end we will know it was coming, there will be signs. I don't know about you, but I'm concerned. How much more time do we have? Which made me think about Paul and his concern for the Jewish people, which he voices this concern in Romans 10.

Here what he had to say, "for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" (Romans 10:13-15)

Questions Questions
First Paul makes the point that all people who call upon the Lord will be saved. In this chapter he is thinking about the Jewish people, but makes the point 'everyone' can be saved, anyone can call upon the Lord.

Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord can be saved, but then he follows up with some serious questions. How, then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent?

Paul is concerned the people who can know God will never have a chance because no one has told them. Paul is concerned that there is no one who can share. Paul is concerned for his people. I am concerned, I am concerned for the people of the world, I am concerned for the people of this community, I am concerned for my family. How will they know Christ, who is going to tell them? Who is sending out people, where is the sense of urgency, why are we sitting here! People need to hear about Christ! They need to know Jesus!

What if they don't hear? What if no one tells them? First of all they miss out on knowing a loving God. They will never experience the forgiveness of sin; they will face a God, who by His very nature is perfect and holy. Sin cannot be in his presence, sin cannot co-exist with God. The people who don't know Christ will be lost to their sin and they face being expelled from God's kingdom.

For it is through Christ we have the forgiveness of sin. The Bible say, "Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11)

Jesus, "I am the way the truth and the light, no one come to the father but through me."

There is no other way into heaven but through Christ, it is through the shedding of Christ blood do we have forgiveness of our sins. It is through Christ we can stand before a righteous God. When we stand before God he will see only the righteousness of Christ. Paul says in this same chapter, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (Romans 10:9-10)

But how will they know Christ if they haven't heard? We have a job to do, we need to share Christ. I'm so burden by this, what are we going to do? Our job as a church is to bring the 'good news' of Christ to the world. We are to train people to share Christ; we are to send people out into the world. We are to go into our communities, and our families. To preach this message, the message of Jesus.

Feet

Paul finishes the line of questions by saying, ""How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" How beautiful is the one who bring this message to you, how beautiful is the one who is willing to share. How beautiful is the church who equips its people to go and share. How beautiful are the feet that carries the person who has this message and wants to share it.

We all can do this; we all can share Christ with others. We as a church are to equip and send out people. Last Sunday before the "After the Chase" concert. Sonia Burnell was here. She is a missionary, who is always looking for someone to go with her overseas. Every time we meet she always ask me if we have anyone who wants to go on a mission trip. I looked around and saw Joshua and mentioned Joshua might. I called him over and introduced them and Sonia asked Josh if he would be willing to go on a trip. Josh started to state all the reason why he couldn't go. Sonia looked at him and said, "if you can think of something more important than, reaching 50 people for Christ, you tell me and I try and help you get'. Josh stood there and just looked at her, unable to respond.

By Tuesday, Josh tells me he wants to go on a mission trip and he has recruited JJ his good friend to go with him. So Joshua and JJ have volunteered to go to the Czech this October for two weeks. So we as a church will have the opportunity to send and support two of our own on a mission trip.

As excited about sending out our own to a foreign country, we have people right here who don't know Christ. You and I can bring the message to them, blessed are the feet of those who bring the good news, we have the good news. We have the message of Jesus. I can't help but to think of the people in the video at the beginning"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!", who were hurting and so unsure in this world. People who need to know Jesus, people who are hurting, people without hope. We have the message of hope, we have the good news…Go and share it.

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Persistent Prayer

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you." Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. Luke 18:35-42 TNIV

I love the scriptures because of stories like this one. You can feel the situation; you can see the story unfold before your very eyes. Here you have a blind man who is begging and he realizes Jesus is passing by and yells out to Jesus. The people around him tell him to be quiet, which makes him yell all the more until Jesus answers him. In life how many times have we wanted to do something and the people around us silence us. We are afraid because of what others will say about us. This becomes especially true in church. We are afraid of upsetting the balance or looking silly. How many times has God passed us by because we were afraid to act? God moves in the lives of the people of the church. No one is more important than the other; the spirits leading come from all directions. But the blind man isn't going to let this opportunity pass him by…the tell him to be quiet, he yells louder.

By crying out to Jesus, he receives his sight. By his 'persistence' he was heard. Here is what I really gather from this story. We yell God hears us, but waits. He wait to see what it means to you, he waits to if you're serious. He waits…. Sitting and waiting isn't something a majority of us are use to, in 'our way world'. Nathan Strong of After the Chase wrote this song called 'We Wait'. After seeing them Sunday, this song has grabbed me on several levels, look at the lyrics:

God of the broken
God of the suffering
God of the people who cry out for help and wait
God of the empty
God of the lonely
God of the hungry we cry out to You and wait and need

And we wait, and we wait
And we wait to hear Your voice
To feel Your touch, to know Your love
To know You're here with us

God of the dreamless God of the desperate
God of the worn out we cry out to You
God of the fearful
God of the weary
God of the tortured we cry out to You and wait and need

Where are You – I don't know
Where are You – Where You are
Where are You – But I need to see
Where are You – Your face tonight
We are broken – I am so
We are suffering – Broken suffering
We are worn out – Worn out
We are weary – Where are You
We are fearful – I need You
We are hungry – I need Your touch
We are desperate – I need Your
We are empty - Love
Where are You
Where are You
Where are You
Where are You – I need You now

The blind man was there, he had sat there long enough to want a change. He was worn out and hurting. He needed Jesus more than anyone who was walking with him at the very moment and no one was going to drown him out. So where are you? Have you reached the point where you need Christ and no one will silence you in your persistence? God longs for you to reach that point, to truly mean your prayer. To truly want him with all of your heart, not part of it, but all of it.

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Longing

How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.(Psalms 84:1-2)

This morning reading as Joshua establishing himself, Jesus healing the leapers and only one came back to thank him and he was a foreigner. Jesus also talked about the kingdom of God, and how we will long to see him again. But until then people will carry on in their lives, eating and drinking and being given to marriage. He said it would be like the days of Noah, no one knew what was going on until the doors closed. When the doors closed on the ark is was too late for everyone else outside. Jesus said it will happen quickly and suddenly, and no one knows when. But at the end of his talk Luke 17:31, Jesus said, "where there is a dead body, vultures gather." What is he saying? I started thinking again about Noah, here he is building a big boat in the desert, and it had to be a sight to see. People could watch and laugh at this crazy old man as he and his family built this monstrosity. I mean he claimed to hear and talk to God himself. The animals all gathered two by two, and walked into the ark and the people had to see that also and it didn't convince them. The signs where all there and the people didn't listen.

Here we are in a world that is rapidly changing; I mean I have an uneasy feeling about the future of our country and the world at large. Here I sit in my home on a lap top, warm and overweight, while a majority of the world is starving or fighting just to make it. How long will the suffering of the billions continue until God makes a move? He puts in our hearts a longing for his dwelling place; he longs to put an end to the suffering of the masses. How long will he watch and listen, before like a father hearing his child cry for help, jumps to assist.

Many in the world are crying out for God to intervene, and we long to be in the dwelling place of the Lord. But when God does intervene, when God does invade our world, it will be finished. There will be no more chances, as C.S. Lewis says, "you can't stand up when your legs have stopped working". Lewis also said "when God does invade you will either experience absolute joy or absolute horror depending whose side you're on." There will be no more choice, no more freedom to choose. Are we seeing the vultures gather? I don't know but things are looking different, times are changing and I truly fear for the future. I have three boys and I wonder about the life they will have to live.

My soul longs for the day to enter the courts of the Lord, for the day when God himself wipes away the tears from our eyes. But until then I have to tell others about Christ, we have to share him with a world that is truly suffering. We the church hold the key, he is more wonderful than anything of this world. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Bright Morning Star, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, he is Jesus. He is the key to all the issues we face; he is our only true hope.

My heart and flesh cry out for the living God!

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Forgiveness

"If a brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.
Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying 'I repent,' you must forgive them."

Jesus has a ways with words. I read this verse and I have to stop dead in my tracks and think about what he is saying, because the first part of this verse is easy, "If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them." I got that down as a human being, I can tell someone else where they messed up. But the rest of this verse causes a lump in my throat and if I watch my right foot, it almost does a little stomp and twist thing. I mean really I don't mind forgiving someone once, but every time? Isn't there a saying that goes something like, "sting me once shame on you, sting me twice shame on me'. Jesus is saying here sting me and repent, I am to forgive that person. Now I know someone is reading this and saying, "Jesus is saying the person has to truly mean it or the deal is off". I would ask this person, "how do you know the person truly means it and how would you determine it?" I don't think we can unless we have a lie detector lying around.

But there is one word here that really hits me; it's the word 'must'. "You must forgive them", what if you don't want to forgive them or maybe they have done something so terrible they don't deserve to be forgiven? Is Jesus saying I have to forgive them? I have a sister whom I love but we have had a broken relationship our whole lives. For reasons unknown she has chosen to punish our entire family by her absence. I have to say she has hurt me on levels that no one has. I find myself mad at the way she treats our mother, refusing to let her see her two grandkids. I have had my mother wake me up crying in the phone, lamenting her loss. This raises in me a real need to protect my mother, but there is nothing I can do. Despite this I am to forgive her. Jesus says I must forgive her and I have to pray I would. I pray for her and her family and I know someday I will face her again. I like to think in my heart I have already forgiven her, she is my sister. But in reality I will not know until she is standing in front of me again.

Here is what I do know from experience. Not to forgive is cancerous; it rots you from the inside out. You cannot harbor bitterness and love in your heart; you must choose which one you want to keep. The one you choose to keep will determine your relationships with everyone around you. Most of all you cannot have bitterness and God in the same place. So when Jesus says you must forgive, you must if you want him in your life. You must if you want to love; you must if you want to live. I know people who have bitterness in their heart, long ago someone wronged them and they have never forgiven. It reflects in their action towards others, it shows itself when they don't get their way. They walk around and are never truly satisfied with anything.

So read this verse again and let it sink in deep and if you have someone you need to forgive, forgive them. You will be amazed at the result.

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Sermon What are you Afraid of?

In Mark 4:35-41, Jesus has just finished preaching to the people, it was late in the day when him and the disciples got into the boat on the Sea of Galilee, which to us is really a large lake. The Sea of Galilee is 680 feet below sea level and surrounded by hills. As the wind comes over the hills is picks up speed and power as it hits the lake. This causes unexpected and violent storms, these storms were also famous for their sudden appearances.

So this group of boats begins their journey across the lake when a furious squall suddenly appears. The waves beat against the boat; the waves start to fill boat with water. In the mist of the storm with the disciples truly fearing for their lives, Jesus is in the back of the boat asleep on a cushion. In the middle of the storm the disciples had wake Jesus up…because he was asleep.

Jesus wakes up and immediately turns to the waves and yells, “Quiet! Be Still!” The wind dies down and the water become calm right before their eyes. Jesus turns to his disciples and says, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

The disciples are terrified and ask each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

Life Happens Fast

We cannot control the future; we never know what is going to happen next. Life comes at us at time faster than we can take it in. Someone is diagnosed with cancer, the phone rings and you’re notified of a death in the family. One ring and your life changed forever. The big event always seem to come one after another, ‘when it rains, it pours’ is the saying we often us.

But what about the small things, a sick child, an overdue bill, you’re tired and life doesn’t want to stop. Your job is demanding, you’re boss is relentless and your spouse wants your attention, the dog needs a bath, the van has a strange noise coming from the engine…I could go on and on but it doesn’t stop.

At time in our lives we can feel like the disciples in the boat. Storms suddenly appear and we are fearful. Our first reaction is denial, why is this happening to me. What did I do wrong? This followed turning towards God, but with the wrong attitude. We blame God or we wonder aloud, “Lord do you care or are you just asleep?”

Ever feel like God was asleep? I mean here are the disciples about to drown and Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat. He is comfortable laying there on his cushion. How many of has been in this position wondering, Lord, don’t you care if we drown?”

Jesus in the Mist of the Storm
All of this makes me look at Jesus a little closer. He is in the boat and the water has to be getting him wet, the boat has to be rocking back and forth. Either he is so exhausted that he could not do anything else, or he is just totally at peace with the situation. He didn’t get excited, he wasn’t afraid, he wasn’t wringing his hands, he was a sleep.

I know in my own life when I am worried about something the first thing to go is the ability to sleep peacefully. I’ll be up early trying to figure out what I am going to do. And if I’m afraid for my life, I’m really going to be awake, not Jesus, he is asleep.

So if Jesus wasn’t afraid, if Jesus wasn’t worried, if Jesus was at peace and asleep in the storm. I can’t help but to think about the question Jesus asked his disciples, “What are you afraid of? Do you still have no faith?” Jesus wasn’t going to let the disciples drown; he wasn’t going to let the boat sink. He let the boat take a little water, but Jesus wasn’t going to let the boat sink.

In our own lives storms are going to come. It might even look as if we are going to drown. But Jesus isn’t going to let you drown in your situation. You might face the impossible, but in the end Jesus is going to be faithful. We need to put our trust in his hands and not our own.

Jesus Clam the Storm

Looking at the story, when the disciples were so afraid, Jesus woke up and calmed the wind and sea. Until everything was completely clam. In the middle of the storm, Jesus brought peace. By trusting Christ he will give us the peace. The demonstration of controlling the weather is followed in chapter 5, by Jesus healing a demon possessed man and healing a woman who suffered an illness, to finely raising a little girl from the dead. Jesus is showing us he has complete control over every aspect of our lives; there is nothing he can’t control. He even has power over life and death.

So the question becomes “what are you afraid of?” “Do you still have no faith?” Do you put your faith in yourself first when bad thing happen, when the storm takes you by surprise…or do you trust Christ. Storms are going to happen or for most of us storms have happened. By putting our faith in Christ, he alone can give us peace and clam us no matter the situation.

Let me close with an illustration
When Dick Peterson's wife, Elizabeth, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he knew many challenges awaited his family. What he didn't know was just how many lessons he would learn along the way about love and service in the name of Christ. He writes:
The intruder invaded Elizabeth's body, and by extension, mine. Her disease became my disease and made demands on our relationship we were ill-prepared to manage. As she moved from cane to walker to electric scooter and finally to a powered wheelchair, then lost use of her right hand, I had to adjust my life to fit her needs.

Uninvited and unwelcome, this disease now forces us into a kind of sick reality game, leaving no choice but to follow the rules even as they change and become more restrictive …
Every family divvies up chores, fairly or not so fairly. The MS dictates ours, but we do have the choice to let it tear us apart or use it to strengthen our marriage as we face the adversity together. This reaches deeper than deciding who does what. It reaches to feelings, emotions, and attitudes about what we do, what's done to us, and who we are to ourselves and each other …
We both pray for healing. With our families and our church, we agonize before God for a return to the day when Elizabeth can offer an open handshake instead of a permanently clenched fist, or take a flight of stairs without thought.

But if we only grieve the loss, we miss the gain. Even as the MS steals abilities from Elizabeth's life, a healing grows almost undetected inside. When we talk about this, Elizabeth wonders aloud, "Did it really take this to teach me that my soul is more important to God than my body?"
And I ask, "Is this what Jesus meant when he taught his disciples to serve? When he washed their feet, did he look 2,000 years into the future and see me washing my wife's clothes and helping her onto her shower seat to bathe? Did it really take this to teach me compassion?" …
God's healing can be sneaky. We pray that Elizabeth will resume her old life; he wants her to assume a new life. We long for change on the outside; he desires change on the inside. We pray for what we want; he answers with what he knows we need …

[God] has made me question whom it is I love. When I pray for healing, is it for Elizabeth? Or is it because her healing would make life so much easier for me? I challenge, "Aren't you the God who heals? I love her and I want her well." But in the back of my mind I know I also want her healed for me.

The exposure shames me. God commands me to love God with all that's within me, with all my heart, soul, and mind, and to love my neighbor—my wife—as I would myself.
Loving what I want for myself isn't even on the list. God has given me an impossible command, but he has given me the power to obey it.

The intruder still resides in our home, still presents us with new challenges each day, and still teaches us forceful lessons on submission, dependence, service, and a love that endures all things and never fails—even when I fail.

Strange as it may seem, that intruder is beginning to look more and more like a guest.
Only Jesus in the middle of the storm can work a miracle only Jesus can give us peace when we face difficult times. Only Jesus has the power to take tragedy and turn it into good. But we can only experience Him if we know him.

What are you afraid of? Do you still have no faith?

Sermons: Testimonies Mark 5

Think about your life for a moment…think about a significant event that has taken place in your life, think about a time when your life changed, forever. How would you describe this event to someone else? What does it mean to you? How about your encounter with Christ? Did the event change your life forever?

I have been talking about sharing Christ, ‘to make Christ known” for almost a month now. I have shared with you from scripture the importance of and the responsibility to share our faith with others. This morning I want to give you a tool, and important tool in accomplishing our task of ‘making Christ known”.

It’s called a testimony, here is the definition: Evidence that a witness gives to a court of law. It may take the form of a written or oral statement detailing what the witness has seen or knows about a case.

Our testimony about what Jesus has done in our lives is the most important tool because it is the evidence or the proof of our claim. Testimonies are important, testimonies can change lives. Testimonies are the greatest tool we have in sharing our faith.

We are in Chapter 5 of Mark. I’m not going to read the whole chapter, but you can follow along with me as we look at three separate encounters with Jesus. Three lives that where touched and changed forever. (Pray)

First Encounter-Demon Possessed Man

Jesus crosses the lake and is greeted by a demon possessed man. This man was roaming the hillside free even though at one time the people had tried to control him:

This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. (Mark 5:3-4)

No one was strong enough to subdue him, he was uncontrollable. He was on a path of destruction, no one could help him. He was lost in the demons who where controlling him. Jesus sees him and says, "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" (Mark 5:8) But the spirit doesn’t respond immediately, so Jesus asks him, "What is your name?" "My name is Legion," he replied, "for we are many." (Mark 5:9)

The name Legion means "thousands," it is a word that means a large group of soldiers. The ‘demons’ beg Jesus not to send them ‘away’ or to destroy them, but to instead send them into a herd of pigs that are nearby. The demons leave the man and enter the pigs (2000+) and they rush down the hill and drown in the lake.

Now people tending to the pigs run to the nearby town and tell the people what has happened and they come out to see what has happened…

When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. (Mark 5:15)

Watch what happens next…

the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. (Mark 5:17)

So Jesus starts to depart and the demon possessed man begged to stay with Jesus, but: Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
(Mark 5:19-20)

The Suffering Women and the Little Girl

So Jesus crosses the lake again and land where a large crowd has gathered and one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, "My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live." (Mark 5:22-23)

So Jesus starts to walk towards Jairus’ house. As he is moving through the crowd a suffering women who had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." (Mark 5:26-28)

As soon as touched Jesus she was healed and Jesus knew someone of ‘faith’ had touched him, remember he is in a crowd, he is being touched, but this was different. So he asks the crowd, “Who touched me”…

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." (Mark 5:33-34)

While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher anymore?" But Jesus “Ignoring what they said, tells the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." (Mark 5:35-36)

As Jesus approaches the house, there is a large crowd, most likely the crowd includes outside or even professional mourners, not just family.

He went in and said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." (Mark 5:39)

But they laughed at him. After he put them all out, he took the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. (Mark 5:40)

Jesus goes to the little girl lying in the bed and says “little girl get up!” which of course she does. Jesus tells the parents, He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:43)

So there you have three different stories, let look at them a little closer and see how they apply to us.

First Encounter

When sharing Christ with others they are going to respond…in some way.

When the demons saw Jesus they screamed at Jesus, "Why are you interfering with me?" It was a shriek of fear, and rebellion against God. No one today would like to admit to being demon possessed, but many in our society, like the demon, are screaming at God, the church, and Christian values, "Why are you interfering with me? Get out of my life!"

Some people are going to reject Jesus but remember when people reject Jesus Christ and his authority; they put themselves on the side of the demons and are heading in the same direction. Every person must ask: Will I choose self-will life which is leading to destruction, or will I choose Christ's loving leadership over my life, giving me forgiveness, healing from sin, cleansing, and true freedom? The answer has eternal implications.

This story highlights the supernatural struggle between Jesus and Satan. The demons' goal was to control people; Jesus' goal was to give people freedom from sin and Satan's control.

Remember the reaction of the town’s people? After such a wonderful miracle of saving a man's life, why did the people want Jesus to leave? I’m sure they were afraid of the supernatural power, Jesus displayed. But they may have also feared that Jesus would continue destroying their pigs—their livelihood. They would rather give up Jesus than lose their source of income and security. This is the same today; many people we share Christ with are going to think they are going to lose their source of income or security, what are people going to think about them?

This man had been demon possessed but became a living example of Jesus' power. He wanted to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him to go home and share his story with his friends. If you have experienced Jesus' power in your life, are you, like this man, enthusiastically sharing the good news with those around you? Just as we would tell others about a doctor who cured a physical disease, we should tell about Christ who cures us of our sin.

The Suffering Women

This woman had a seemingly incurable condition causing her to bleed constantly. This would have made her ritually unclean and would have excluded her from most social contact. She desperately wanted Jesus to heal her.

It was virtually impossible to get close to Jesus, but one woman fought her way desperately through the crowd
in order to touch him. As soon as she did, she was healed. What a difference between the crowds who are curious about Jesus and the few who reach out and touch him! Today, many people are vaguely familiar with Jesus, but nothing in their lives is changed or bettered by this passing acquaintance. It is only faith that releases God's healing power.

When we share our testimony we need to encourage people to reach out to Christ in faith. Show them how our touch with Christ changed our life forever and He can change their lives also

The Little Girl

Jairus's crisis made him feel confused, afraid, and without hope. Jesus' words to Jairus in the midst of crisis speak to us as well: "Don't be afraid. Just have faith." In Jesus, there is both hope and promise. The next time you feel hopeless and afraid, look at your problem from Jesus' point of view. Then don't be afraid; just have faith. Share this confidence with others in crisis, share the peace you have in Christ.

Remember the mourners laughed at Jesus when he said, "The child isn't dead; she's only asleep." The girl was dead, but Jesus used the image of sleep to indicate that her condition was temporary and that she would be restored.

Jesus tolerated the crowd's abuse in order to teach an important lesson about maintaining hope and trust in him. Today, most of the world laughs at Christ's claims. When you are belittled for expressing faith in Jesus and hope for eternal life, remember that unbelievers don't see from God's perspective. It is natural for them to react that way, they don’t understand. We need to help them understand.

What does this mean for me?

We have looked at three different people whose lives were changed forever by Christ. Jesus not only demonstrated great power in these three stories, he also showed tremendous compassion. Jesus' power over nature, evil spirits, and death was motivated by compassion—for a demon-possessed man who lived among tombs, a diseased woman, and the family of a dead girl. The rabbis of the day considered such people unclean. Polite society avoided them. But Jesus reached out and helped.

Why is sharing our testimony so important? How are people going to know Christ is we don’t share him? How is Christ going to show them compassion and change them, if we don’t first share Christ with them? There are people all around us who are struggling with sin’s destruction, illnesses and life changing events. Jesus is the one person to help them, but they will not know him if we don’t share him. Your testimony about what Christ has done in your life how we can do that.

Sermon: Trusted with Much

Trusted With Much

We are in the Gospel of Mark, looking this morning at three parables Jesus was sharing with the crowds. He just finished the parable of the seed and he is further explaining the Kingdom of God and the responsibilities of those entrusted with the gospel or the truth revealed.

We start in Mark 4:21-34

The first parable we talked about not to long ago, is presenting the gospel as a lamp. Jesus asks the question do you hide the lamp under a bowl or under your bed…where it is of no use. Would you turn on a lamp to hide its light? Of course not, you put it on a stand so that it’s light shine for all to see. You put it high enough to drive the darkness away. You read by it, you use it to guide your foot steps. Without the light we would be groping around and running into all kind of problems.

The second parable shows a man sowing seeds. He scatters the seed the best he can. He is unsure what will happen, but he hopes for the very best. He walks the field spreading the seed, throwing it on the soil. He patiently waits for the harvest to grow. He doesn’t know how the seed grows. He just knows they’ll grow. He can’t make them grow, the seeds sprout, form roots and grow leaves all on their own. The plants produce fruit and the man then harvest the crop.

The third parable is about a muster seed the smallest of the seed, it is planted in the ground and it grows and grows. Until its so large birds can nest in it’s branches. Again the farmer doesn’t control how big the seed grows. He plants the seed and it does all the rest.

So how does this relate to us, how are we to apply this to our lives…Firstly “We have been “Trusted” with the Gospel”

As Christian’s we have been entrusted with the Gospel. The gospel is given to us to be shared with others. We are never to keep it to ourselves; it is meant to be shared. The light of the gospel is to shine into a very dark world and we are the ones to carry it.

How serious is this? What is there to be lost if we fail in our mission? People’s lives, people are walking around in our communities lost. Lost in loneliness, lost in debt, lost in work, lost in self, lost in sin…there is no escape for the prisoners, they are lost. They try to find comfort in material ‘stuff’, big screen T.V., cars, recreation vehicles; they pursue the American dream, only to find emptiness. We have the answer, we hold the key. It’s Jesus Christ, Jesus who set us free from the bondage of our own selves, frees us from the burden of sin, “When the son set’s you free, you are free in deed.”

Not only that but we will be held accountable for this incredible responsibility. In verses 23-25 Jesus says this…

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear." "Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." (Mark 4:23-25 NIV)

Jesus opens with a warning, if you can hear this take heed! Consider carefully what you are hearing, weight it, it is important you understand!

He continues by telling us if we do share, what we share will come back as a greater blessing. How many of you have ever taught someone? Isn’t it true many times the teacher learns more by studying the lesson and learning from the students themselves? It’s the same way with sharing the gospel, you will greatly blessed…

Many times when I have the opportunity to lead someone to Christ, I’m just as excited as the person receiving. But on the flip side of this, if I fail to share the gospel, what has been given to me, will be taken from me. This is what happens to us if we continually refuse to share Christ. This can happen to us personally and it can happen to us as a church.

As a church we have been charged with the responsibility to save lives, if we ever get out of ‘saving lives’, we will become the ‘club’ and the tragedy will be the deaths of many, who will simply drown in their world around them, they will die in their sin. Many churches slowly die because they have lost their way and have become comfortable. We cannot do that, we have to be about sharing the gospel!

The second parable shows a man sowing the seed he has no idea how the seeds grow, especially in Jesus day. The picture here shows we have two parts to play in the planting of the God’s kingdom. The first is to plant the seed, we are to spread the good news, we are to scatter the seeds of the kingdom, we do not grow the kingdom…think about that for a moment. We do not grow the kingdom God does that part. How a person responds to the gospel is between God and the individual, but we are to share our faith.

The second job we have in this parable is to harvest the crop. We are to receive what God has given to us; we are to prepare the grain for use. We are to receive new believers; we are to disciple them and prepare each person to reach their full potential in the Lord. For the purpose of spreading more seed!

The power of the gospel, to change people’s lives, it changed my life, its changed many of your lives.

Lastly it starts small and grows large.

We can look at the world around us and see the task at hand is daunting! It looks impossible, we cannot even begin to make a dent in the sea of the lost. We cannot impact our community, it’s to big, we are too small. What difference can I make! I am but one person. These thoughts can impact the way we think, it can impact our church. We have to remember small things can make a difference; a little faith goes a long way. If we believe in God is who he says he is, nothing is impossible. God loves to give out God sized task to the small, because he alone receives the glory, he alone is worthy of praise.

Stuck in a dead-end job and strapped for money, Kyle MacDonald came up with an improbable plan: starting with one red paperclip, he would trade on the Internet until he exchanged it for a house. First, he traded the red paperclip for a fish-shaped pen. Next, he traded the pen for a doorknob. He traded the doorknob for a Coleman stove. He traded the Coleman stove for an electric generator. He traded the electric generator for a Budweiser sign and a keg of beer, which he then traded for a snowmobile. Exactly one year and 14 trades later, MacDonald finally reached his goal: he exchanged a part in a Hollywood movie for a home in Saskatchewan, Canada.

The true story of Kyle MacDonald is told in his book One Red Paperclip. Now the book is being made into a movie. Fame, fortune, a book, a movie deal, and a home—it all began with one red paperclip.

Sounds incredible, doesn't it? But I believe our Christian faith is like that red paperclip. Jesus said that if we have faith the size of a mustard seed, we will be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20). A mustard seed is very small—far smaller than a paperclip. And yet, Jesus says if we have that much faith, "Nothing will be impossible for you."

So as the opening video asks a simple question. Are we going to be a club or a saving station? As a church are we going to take on the responsibility of sharing the gospel with our community? Is saving lives going to be our focus? Or are we going to be a club, where our buildings are more important than reaching our community. Where we no longer gather to reach the lost, but gather for our own comfort. We have to be about reaching the lost, our church has to become intentional in everything we do to reach those who are without the hope of Christ. Whatever it takes has to be our attitude.

What will you do with what you have been entrusted with? Will you keep this precious gift to yourself, or will you share it with others. Will you hide it under your bed, or put it out there for the world to see. Will you become a rescue boat, risking your life for the lives of others, or will you simply stay on the shore in the comfort of your own club.

We have to share Christ, we have no other choice.

Sermon:Light of the Lamp

Light of the lamp

Mark 4:21”He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?”

The video we just watch is from the perspective of John, the writer of the Gospel of John, three letters and the book of Revelations. He was the last apostle, and the only one to die of old age. He was an eyewitness of Christ, he was chosen by Christ, walked with Christ, lived with Christ. He was the disciple whom Jesus loved; he was the only apostle to witness the crucifixion, when the other apostles had gone into hiding. He and his brothers where call the “Son’s of thunder” for their called of fire down on a town who had rejected Jesus.

His brother was the first apostle to be killed and John would be the last to die. The son’s of Zebedee, would be the bookends of the ministry of the Lord’s disciples. John says in the video, it’s his story of what he witnessed as a disciple of Christ. It is what he saw with his own eyes that he testified too. He was an eyewitness to Christ.
Last week we looked at the ‘parable’ of the seed. We saw how people respond to the gospel when it is presented to them. The first way was to dismiss it out of hand, the seed upon the path. The second way, was to receive it with joy, but then wither at the sign of being questioned or having to make life changes, because they didn’t have the roots to support their new found faith. The third was they grew, but the desires of life keep them from producing fruit. Lastly, was the good soil and the person produces fruit for the kingdom.

Tucked in the middle of this fourth chapter is one verse, where Jesus is about to explain the meaning of the parable of the seed to the disciples. It a simple but powerful illustration for the disciples to see the importance and the significance of sharing their new found faith.

It reads in Mark 4:21”He said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?”
Remember in Jesus’ time there wasn’t electricity. When it grew dark, you would have to light oil burning lamps to light your house. These lamps where designed to be carried and as you moved from room to room you carried your lamp to light your way. When you entered a room to stay, you would place the lamp in a place to maximize the light, perhaps a shelf or a stand designed for the lamp. We do the same thing today; we place lamps on special tables to light a room or specific location.

Jesus is asking the disciples, he is asking us today…do you hide your light or do you put in a place for all to see. As Christians we have been given the light of Christ. As Christians we are to share that light with all people. We are to shine, to spread the ‘good news’ of Christ. We are entrusted with this responsibility; we are commanded to share with others what we have seen and experienced. It no coincidence that Jesus used the picture of us spreading the ‘seeds” of the kingdom, it is meant to be received and grow. Just as the light pushes back the darkness, we are meant to shine.

Eyewitness

We are all an eyewitness to Christ. As John we all have seen the work of Christ. Even the people who don’t believe have seen the effects of Christ on the world. No one in history has had a greater impact on our lives, than Christ. But this morning think about the changed lives, people changed forever. Testimonies of being freed from drugs, lives changed forever. There are millions and millions of people who where never the same after meeting Christ. Today he is still in the business of changing lives. If you’re a follower of Christ you have a testimony of what Christ has done in your life. You are a different person because of Christ.

As an eyewitness we are to share that testimony with others. It is our story of Christ, it is truth. John said in the video, he was willing to swear his life on what he saw and experienced. In fact John would spend years in prison for his faith. I often wonder would we still be willing to do the same today. Jesus was a real person, he walk the earth and died for you and me. He lived the life I could never live…he was sinless and was crucified for my sins, for your sins. He died that I might have life through him, a new life an eternal life. It was the resurrection that changed the disciples; it was Jesus defeating death and sin that would spur the disciples on to share their faith without fear. We are to do the same today, we are to be an eyewitness to Christ. So a question might become, “If we don’t share the gospel what is at stake?”

At Stake?

If John and apostles hadn’t shared their faith in Christ, we wouldn’t be here today. We would have been lost and without forgiveness of our sins. Our lives would have been forever codenamed and we would be forever lost. I saw a saying the other day that said many of us (Christians) are looking forward to the second coming of Christ, but many in the world have never seen the first coming!

There are billions of people in the world today who have never seen or heard of Jesus Christ. There are millions who are born each year, who will grow up and will never hear the gospel. While we are comfortable and secure, they will grow and die never knowing what it means to have the peace of Christ, never knowing what it was like to live in forgiveness; they will die in their sin.

Closer to home for the first time in our history, there is a generation that could grow in America who has rejected the gospel. We are losing our kids and grandkids. There is an urgent need for us to reach the people under 30 years old. They are turning away at unprecedented levels. This should greatly alarm us, we have to reach them.

What can we do?

We can start by showing people love. This generation coming up has been lied too so many times they have become very skeptical. They don’t want another sales pitch; they want to see you and me practice what we preach, without expecting anything in return.

One of the biggest ‘turn offs’ for the younger generations are Christians themselves, because they say one thing and live another. We need to reach out in love first. Show people love by simply loving them. Don’t ask for anything in return, if their hungry feed them, if their thirsty give them a drink. Build a relationship with them; spend time getting to know about them and pray for the opportunity to share Him--Jesus. Show people love and share Him. We all have a testimony and when given the opportunity we share what Jesus has done in our lives. It’s that simple, it is how the gospel has been spread from the beginning.

Christ built a relationship with the disciples; they knew him and loved him first, before they put their faith in him for eternity. We can do the same today with those around us, we have to, because there is too much at stake. Jesus says to put our light on a stand, for all to see. We are the shine for those who are lost in darkness. We are to shine, for those who cannot see. We have to lift or light up high, because there are so many who need the love of Christ.

Closed with the video "You're Losing Us"

(video: Kids asking to 'disciples in training, not disciples in waiting' also letting us know we are losing them and will we make a difference in their lives?, very emotional, hard hitting point)

-ps