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[0:00] Good morning.

[0:25] Good morning. Let me welcome you this morning to morning worship here at Calendash Free Church. And really, I'm the one that should be, you should be welcoming me rather, because it's been lovely to be with you and to receive your welcome and your hospitality.

[0:44] And let me thank you for being able to be with you. And it's a real pleasure to share in the gospel and as we come to worship our God this morning. Let's hear the word of God as we begin.

[0:59] We'll read Psalm 100 and then we'll sing this praise together. A call to praise the Lord, a psalm of praise. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

[1:11] Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord, he is God. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves.

[1:22] We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him and bless his name.

[1:37] For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting. And his truth endureth to all generations. We will sing this psalm to God's praise.

[1:50] All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. All people that on earth do dwell, sing to the Lord with cheerful voice.

[2:15] To him serve with mercy, praise for tell. Come ye before him and rejoice.

[2:34] Know that the Lord is God indeed. God indeed.

[3:11] Enter then his gates with grace. Approach with joy his courts unto.

[3:30] Praise, Lord, and bless his name always. For it is seemly so to do.

[3:47] For why the Lord our God is good. His mercy is forever sure.

[4:06] His truth at all times firmly stood. And shall from age to age endure.

[4:24] Amen. let's stand and we'll pray together our God and our Father we come to you this morning with great joy with great confidence in our Saviour the Lord Jesus we come in response to your word to sing to the Lord with cheerful voice to serve you with gladness to come into your gates with thanksgiving and with praise Lord how we thank you for your grace towards us how we thank you for your mercy that when we were lost and when we were in darkness and when we were far from you you sought us and you found us and you brought us and you made us your own

[5:24] Lord we thank you that your steadfast love endures forever that you are the God of great faithfulness from age to age the same you are the same yesterday today and forever Lord we come in the name of our Saviour the Lord Jesus we find our only confidence our only boast in him Lord we come to shelter this morning under his blood where we can be washed clean where we can be presented to you without spot and without wrinkle Lord we come and we ask that you would encourage our hearts that you would show us the great glory and grace and majesty of our Saviour show us all of our privileges that we have as we are united to him and as we do we pray that you would give us endurance and strength to live the Christian life show us our privileges and help us to serve you Lord help us to love you with all of our hearts and all of our souls and all of our minds

[6:31] Lord we are weak we are helpless we need your enabling we ask for the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to come and take your living word and minister it to your people show us our need show us our Saviour and be with us Lord we ask for we pray and ask these things in Jesus strong and mighty name Amen Let me maybe just say another word or two of introduction and thank you for your hospitality and the opportunity to be here my name is Richard Gamble I'm the minister of a church down in Glasgow hopefully I'm understandable to most and that we're not in need of an interpretation or anything like that but it is lovely to be with you I serve as the pastor of Grace Church in Bodwell I was just going to say a word or two to the children

[7:32] I've got some of my own here as well and they'll certainly keep me right and we'll aim to keep things relatively brief and simple this morning because I know that the children are staying with us about a month or two ago just outside Grace Church I think it was about the beginning of May outside Grace Church just on the corner in Bodwell and there's a garden just outside the church and quite often after the services the children would go and play in the garden and one time there was something quite unusual took place in the garden and round about the church there are quite a number of squirrels that all jump around and they do their thing I've not seen any squirrels on Lewis I'm not sure if there are any or not or what people's view are on the squirrels but there was something different about this little squirrel because this squirrel was incredibly tame if anyone wants to see it or any of the boys and girls want to see it

[8:36] I've got a picture of it and even a wee video I can show you it later on because this squirrel had no sense of fear whatsoever it was the tamest little thing that you have ever seen you know if you can picture a squirrel if you were to go near it it would it would jump away off and it would go off into the trees but not this one it would even come and it would come up to the children our children will remember it and it would play with them and it would even eat things out of their hand and that kind of thing it was most unusual I don't know quite it was very young I don't know quite what had happened to it but there was something that this squirrel lacked it didn't know what to expect it didn't know what to expect from the world now if you're coming up against some friendly children that's fine but if it's going to come up up against a less friendly encounter then that little squirrel is not going to fare so well it needed to know what to expect and without knowing that it was in great danger that's what we're going to see from our passage this morning from Mark chapter 6 that we're going to read just shortly together

[9:49] Jesus presents those who follow him with a great dose of realism and he prepares us for what to expect from the world if we do not know what to expect and if we are not prepared for that and ready for that then we too much like that little squirrel could be in great danger we need to know what to expect our passage this morning is going to be Mark chapter 6 from verses 1 down to 30 and then in evening worship we're going to consider the second half of that passage Mark chapter 6 as the Lord treats the 5000 this morning it's going to be a call to realism to make sure in the Christian life that we know what to expect and then in the evening as we see the Lord protect and provide for his people as he feeds the 5000 with great echoes of the exodus this morning is a call to realism this evening is a call to rest in the provision of the Lord well if anyone wants to see the picture or even video of the little squirrel

[11:04] I will show you but the important lesson to remember is unlike that little guy we need to know what to expect and that's what our passage from Mark chapter 6 is going to be all about this morning well let's sing again and we'll sing Psalm 67 Lord bless and pity us shine on us with thy face that the earth thy way and nations all may know thy saving grace we'll sing to God's praise Lord bless and pity us shine on us with thy hands that the earth thy way and nations all may know thy saving grace let people praise thee

[12:14] Lord let people holy praise oh let the nations be glad in songs their voices grace Yours be People judge.

[12:46] Honor through nations all. Let people praise Thee.

[12:58] Lord, let them praise Thee. Be both great and small. Their pervert shall yield.

[13:16] Our God shall bless him stand. For God's blessing shall him fear.

[13:31] Unto earth, utmost end. We're going to read our passage from this morning, Mark chapter 6.

[13:46] And down from verse 1 down to verse 30. Let's hear the word of God together. Amen. And Jesus went out from thence, that's from the region of Galilee, and came to his own country.

[14:10] And his disciples follow him. And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things?

[14:25] And what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and of Judah and Simon?

[14:40] And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. But Jesus said unto him, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

[14:59] And he could do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.

[15:10] And he went round about the villages, teaching. And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.

[15:25] And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only, no script, no bread, no money in their purse. But be shod with sandals, and not put on two coats.

[15:37] And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into a house, there abide till ye depart from that place. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when you depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet, for a testimony against them.

[15:57] Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day of judgment than for that city. And they went out and preached that men should repent.

[16:11] And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them. And King Herod heard of him, for his name was spread abroad.

[16:24] And he said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead. And therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him. Others said that it is Elijah, and others said that it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.

[16:41] But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John whom I beheaded. He is risen from the dead. For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife.

[16:59] For he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife. Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him, but she could not.

[17:14] For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man, and a holy, and observed him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

[17:25] And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee.

[17:36] And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod, and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou will, and I will give it thee.

[17:49] And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask?

[18:01] And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste, unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me, by and by, in a charger, the head of John the Baptist.

[18:15] And the king was exceedingly sorry, yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes, which sat with him, he would not reject her.

[18:27] And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought. And he went, and beheaded him in the prison. And he brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel.

[18:40] And the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came, and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

[18:59] And he said to them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. Amen. Amen. This is the word of God.

[19:11] Let's just pause and ask for the Lord's help, as we will consider his word together. Father, for your living word, we give you great thanks.

[19:21] We thank you for its power, for its clarity. We thank you for how it shows us, our saviour. Lord, we pray that you would give us this morning, open ears, and open hearts, and that it would be your voice that we would hear speaking.

[19:38] That you would show us what to expect in the Christian life. Show us the cost, and the realism that is involved in following the Lord Jesus.

[19:54] Hear us, we ask, and help us, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. We're going to sing Psalm 1, and we'll sing to God's praise, that man hath perfect blessedness, who walketh not astray, in counsel of ungodly men, nor stands in sinners' way.

[20:17] nor stand in sinners' way.

[20:47] in sinners' way. nor sit in the scorners' cheer, but placeeth his delight.

[21:08] upon God's love, and meditates on his love day and night.

[21:25] He shall be like a tree that grows near blinded by a river, which in his season yields his fruit, and is defathed never.

[21:57] And all ye doves shall prosper well, the wicked are not so, but like they are unto the chap, which when drives to and fro, and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and whine and wh

[23:00] And not here For why the way Of godly man Unto the darkness Is cold Where lies the way Of wicked man Shall quite Be overthrown Let's turn again then to Mark chapter 6 And the passage that we have read together It's possible I think to be Familiar with the events Of the gospels

[24:00] The general narrative That is given to us By the evangelists So we may be familiar with The Lord Jesus returning to Nazareth We may be familiar with The twelve being sent out And we may be familiar with The final testimony Of John the Baptist We're familiar with The events as it were But I think also what is important To see is that there is not only A narration Of these events But that as Mark the evangelist Is proclaiming A message to us And these three Little episodes In Nazareth And on mission And then in the palace With John Are all linked together They're all linked together Because in them And in the three different locations There is a preacher And there is an audience

[25:02] There is a voice That is speaking And there are ears That are listening Here are two little things Just to show From the passage As we begin to consider it How it is That Mark is showing us That these three things Are linked together One of the ways That he does that Is that he employs A sandwich technique He weaves events together And brackets them together With a common theme The first episode Is Jesus in Nazareth And that he is rejected there And it is that rejection And his moving on That brings about The sending out of the twelve So if you look at verse seven Jesus calls unto him The twelve Really the new Israel The new people of the Lord And he begins to send them forth And the apostles Are sent out

[26:03] On mission We then have that Down to verse thirteen And that is the close Of the second little episode Then we have A change In structure A change in chronology With the final testimony Of John the Baptist It is a flashback It is a different setting It is a different place It is a different Kind of narrative But if you look at verse thirty Which we read And which we finished on We see that Having the apostles Being sent out Before the final testimony Of John the Baptist Verse thirty The apostles Then reappear And it is the second half Of the bracket The apostles gathered themselves Again together Unto Jesus And told him All things Both what they had done And what they had taught I think that is significant In several ways It is significant

[27:04] Because it is showing That these events Are linked together And I think there is A strong echo Of In this The forerunner Of the Lord Jesus The one who Began The gospel of Mark Coming and proclaiming A message of repentance That voice in the wilderness Here is his final testimony And here is what lay On the horizon For him Imprisonment Rejection And ultimately Execution That is what lay ahead For John the Baptist And that is also In some sense And in some measure What lies ahead For the apostles As well Mark Sandwiches that in That final testimony Of John His final call To repentance And his ultimate Rejection Goes hand in hand With the twelve Being sent out

[28:04] But more than that It also Is not only what Is on the horizon For the apostles But it is also What is on the horizon For the Lord Jesus Himself Because the Lord Jesus Would ultimately Face imprisonment He would face Mockery And a trial By Herod And others And he Would face Execution And just as he was Rejected In Nazareth So ultimately He would be rejected As God's king The one come To restore God's World So we see The sandwich Structure We see how The apostles Bracket the final Testimony Of John In the palace That begins To show That these Events are Linked together Not simply Narration But Proclamation Another thing Just to Set the scene To see What is going

[29:05] On here If you Would remember A familiar passage In Mark chapter Four One of the Longest Passages Of direct Teaching By the Lord Jesus And there He teaches About the Sore And the Soils And how He comes And brings The word Of God And that Seed lands On different Kinds of Soil And there's Different kinds Of response Sore That Sore And soil Metaphor Doesn't Simply just Disappear From the Gospel of Mark But it Is front And centre To the Ministry Of the Lord Jesus And the Subsequent Reactions To that Ministry So within Mark chapter Six And the Passage That we've Read We have Three Locations And we Have an Enactment Of the Parable Of the Sore We have A voice In each Occasion In Nazareth And on

[30:05] Mission And in the Palace A voice That is Speaking And there Is hearts And soil And ears That are Listening And just As in The Parable Of the Sore There are Different Responses And so Here In the Passage That we Are Considering This Morning There Is Different Responses To the Message Of the Lord Jesus And therefore It comes Directly To us As well Here There is The Voice That is Speaking And not Simply Just the Voice Of the Man But as We Come To the Written And Living And Authoritative Word Of God It is The voice Of God That we Hear This Morning And Our Ears And Our Hearts What Response Will there Be From it Will it Find Good Soil Will Our Ears Be Open Will Our Hearts Be Open To Receive The Word And Will It Bear Fruit And Will It Bear A Harvest Well We Pray That The Lord Would

[31:05] Grant That To Be The Case! Three Little Headings And Boys And Girls Anyone Who's Listening Boys and Girls If you Can Tell Me Come And Tell Me The Three Little Headings At the End Of The Service See if you Can Manage To Do That All Quite Simple And We'll Aim to be Very Short Very Short Very Brief So Here's The First One The First One Is Make Sure That You Know What To Expect Make Sure You Know What To Expect If You Are Following The Lord Jesus That's A Good And Necessary Call To Realism We Need To Hear That Today Don't We That It Is Difficult And We Will Be Met With Opposition And Will Be Met With Rejection That's What Happens In These Three Snapshots In Mark Chapter Six Let's Look At The First One And The Rejection Of The Lord Jesus He Comes From Galilee Where He Has Conducted

[32:06] Very Fruitful Ministry He Has Stilled The Power Of Hell In The Demon Possessed Man He Has Reversed The Effects Of The Fall In Jairus Daughter And From There He Comes To His Own Country He Comes To His Own Town Where He Grew Up Where He Was Known Where He Had Worked And Where His Family Were Isn't It Quite Remarkable You Could Have Been Reading The Bible For Some Time And If You Were Asked The Names Of The Brothers Of The Lord Jesus Then Here They Are His Brothers Are Here His Sisters He Was Known And As He Comes And He Comes And As His Custom He Began To Teach The Sower Went Out To Sow And He Teaches In The Synagogue And Many Hearing Him Were Astonished And These Questions

[33:06] That Flow Out From Verse Two Onwards These Are Not Questions Of Gentle! Inquiry! These Are Questions Of Scorn Of Ridicule And Rejection The Soil Here Is Hard He Could Do No Mighty Work Fair Not Because The Lord Was Limited In Any Sense But Because It Was Inappropriate To Do So People Did Not Want To Hear He Was Rejected Where Does This Man Get These Things We Know This Man And Look At The Sobering Reaction Of Verse Three That They Were Offended They Were Offended At Him They Were Scandalized By What The Lord Jesus Had To Say And It's That Reaction That Then Brings Out What

[34:07] Jesus Says That A Prophet Is Not Without Honor But In His Own Country And Among His Own! Kin And In His Own House And He Marvelled Because Of Their Unbelief How Sobering How Devastating That The Living Son Of God Would Come And Be Incarnate Among His Own People He Came To His Own And His Own People Did Not Receive Them What We Also See Is We Have Three Voices And We Have Three Voices That Are Prepared To Leave You Notice That Jesus Leaves Nazareth And That Voice Of Truth That Spoke It Leaves And Went Round About The Villages Teaching Let's Look At The Second Literal Episode As The Apostles Are Sent Out On Mission He Calls Together The Twelve He Gives Them Power And

[35:07] Authority And He Entrusts Them To God's Sovereignty And To His Provision And To Rest On That And Not On Their Own Efforts No Staff And So On But The Main Thing That He Prepares Them For The Main Thing That He Prepares Them For Is For Rejection For Discouragement For Difficulty For Opposition They Are Sent Out On The Basis Of Finding Hospitality And That Hospitality Goes Hand In Hand With The Message That They Are There To Preach See They Go Out To Proclaim Repentance Just As John Had Done Just As The Lord Jesus Had Done As The Essence Of His Message Mark 1 And Verse 15 Repent Ye And Believe In The Gospel The Time Is At Hand And So It Is That The Apostles Are Sent Out With That

[36:08] Same Message And Look How The Lord Prepares Them Make Sure That You Know What To Expect Verse 11 Whosoever Shall Not Receive You Nor Hear You If People Don't Want To Hear It If People Will Not Just As Jesus Has Done Verse 11 When You Depart When You Depart Shake Off The Dust Under Your Feet For A Testimony Against Them Rejection In Nazareth Prepared For Rejection On Mission And Then We Have John The Third Episode John In The Palace And John Came I Think It's Verse 4 It's Just The Opening Verses Of The Gospel Of Mark That He Was That Voice In The Wilderness The Elijah Figure That Was Promised At The End Of The Old Testament Close Of The Prophecy Of Malachi

[37:08] I Will Send You Elijah Before The Great Day Of The Lord And So here John Comes! And So Then With His Final Testimony As He Is Imprisoned I Think It's Verse 4 Of Mark Chapter 1 John Is Introduced Verse 9 He Is Imprisoned And Then Here Is A Little Flashback To His Final Testimony And John Just As He Began With A Message Of Repentance He Continues With That Message Of Repentance Calling Herod To Repentance Over His Relationship And His Marriage To His Brother's Wife And How Does It Go For John Well Herod Is A Mixed Character Isn't He And There Is Certainly Some Positive

[38:08] Elements To Him That He He He He Knows That He Is A Just And Holy Man And So On But Ultimately His Indecision Is Met With Ruthless Decisiveness And The Voice Of John Just As Jesus Voice Left Just As The Apostles Voice Would Leave So John's Voice Not Voluntarily But John's Voice Would Also Leave Herod As His Voice Was Literally!

[38:42] This is a Passage All about Preachers And Responses To The Word Of God And We Need To Know Today If We Are Following The Lord Jesus We Need To Know What To Expect We Follow A Rejected Saviour That's The First One Remember That One Boys And Girls Make Sure That You Know What To Expect Well Secondly Proclaiming The Truth Keep Proclaiming The Truth That's What Happens With Jesus That's What Happens On Mission And That's What Happens With Herod And John Also Note That Jesus Comes And He Began To Teach The Sower Comes To Sow And When He Leaves Nazareth He Went Round About The Villages Teaching And

[39:43] Sometimes We Have An Extended Discourse Of The Lord But The Real Summary Of It Is Found In Mark 1 15 Where Jesus Comes Proclaiming The Kingdom Of God And Saying That The Time Has Come To Repent Jesus Was A Preacher And He Was A Preacher Of Repentance We Must Keep Proclaiming The Truth So It Is Then That Those Whom Jesus Sends Out By His Authority And With Power Over Unclean Spirits But The Main Thing That They Are Sent Out To Do Is That They Are Sent Out Verse 12 They Went Out And Much Like Jesus They Preached That Men Should Repent Jesus Was A Preacher The Apostles Were Preachers And So Then John As Well And Just As John Began With A Message Of Repentance So Now Here Also!

[40:40] Finishes His Ministry He Runs And Completes His Race Preaching That Same Message Of Repentance Takes Courage To Do So Takes Strength And Endurance To Do So It Would Be It Would Be Very Tempting Wouldn't It And I Wonder You Could Imagine Some Counselors Coming To John In His Prison Cell And Coming To Him And Saying John Maybe You Just Need To Tread Carefully Here I Know The Way That Herod Listens To You And I Know The Respect That He Has For You So Just John Don't Do Anything Rash Just Tread Carefully I'm Not Saying Change Your Message But Just

[41:40] Be Wise Now There Is A Great Need To Be Wise Isn't There And There's A Need To Be Gracious And To Be Soft And To Be Gentle But That Does Not Equate To Weakness And That Does Not Equate To Changing The Message John Even Imprisoned And Even Under Threat Of Execution As That Opportunity John Did Not Change From Preaching Repentance Specifically And Calling Harry To Repentance Over His Relationship We Must Keep Proclaiming The Truth And I Think Within That We Have Both The Task And The Content That Is Set Before Us In The Mission And Ministry Of The Church The Task Of The Church Must Be One Of Proclamation It's One Of Teaching

[42:40] The Whole Council Of God So That Our Hearts Are Gripped By The Gospel And So That Our Lives Are Changed And So We Therefore Live To God's Glory And To God's Praise Jesus Came As A Teacher Bringing Insight To Our Ignorance Bringing Light To Our Darkness Bringing Truth To Our Hearts So Also The Apostles And So John And If Teaching And Proclamation Is The Central Task Of The Church We Also Therefore Follow in The Pattern Of Jesus And Of The Apostles And Of John Preaching Repentance And Turning And Turning And Turning And Holding Out The Lord Jesus As A Savior Who Is Tender And Who Loves To Welcome Sinners He Was Called The Friend Of Sinners He Received And Eats With Sinners

[43:40] Praise God And He Still Does So Today If We Feel The Weight Of Our Sin If We Are Burdened By It He Calls Us To Come To Him And To Find Rest To Our Souls And He Welcomes Us What A Wonderful Message It's Not A Message That's Stern Or A Steer But It's A Message That's Full Of Joy And Life And Forgiveness As We Hold Out A Savior That Welcomes And Receives And Is Able To Forgive!

[44:15] That We Stand On And That Is The Truth That We Must Keep Proclaiming Two Points So Far Make Sure You Know What To Expect Second One Keep Proclaiming The Truth Last One The Last One Is Just As We Must Keep Proclaiming The Truth Then Individually And Personally We Must Keep Responding To The Truth Keep Responding To The Truth And As We Look At These Three Snapshots!

[44:54] In Nazareth And Mission And Then With The Palace As Well We've Had The Preacher And We've Looked A Little Bit At The Reaction We've Had The Voice That Sows But We're Going To Consider The Soil And The Response And Then On Mission And In Herod's Heart And Also In Our Own Hearts As Well In Our Garden Out The Back The Boys Had A Big Set Of Football Goals And They Sat There For Quite Some Time And They Would Play On Them And I'm Sure You're Familiar Of What Happens That If They Play There So Long Then There's One Little!

[45:41] Patch Where The Grass All Gets Worn Away And It Becomes Hard And It's Trodden Down And So On Well What Happened Was The Football Goals Get Moved Out There's A Big Bit Of Grass Just Near Our House And They Went Out Onto This Bit Of Grass And So That Grass Wasn't Quite Played On As Much!

[46:02] And Just It Was About Two Months Ago Or So I See If I Can Regrow The Grass See If I Can Reinvigorate It But It Wouldn't Have Done Any Good Just To Sprinkle Down Some Grass Seed On It Because It Was So Hard It Was Just An Enactment Of What Jesus Teaches Us In Mark Chapter 4 What Was Necessary That There Was Work Done On That Soil And You To Turn It Over And To Try And Improve After Shot It Looks Pretty Barren Pretty Hard Beforehand And Then Afterwards The Grass Has Grown Quite Successfully Well What Is The Soil Like In Nazareth What Is The Soil Like On Mission What Is The Soil Like In Herod's Heart And What Is The Soil Like

[47:02] In Our Own Hearts As Well Let's Look Briefly Nazareth Jesus Comes To Where He Is Known Where He Grew Up Where He Worked And Labored Where His Family Were And The Soil Is Hard Isn't It It's Trodden Down The Seed That Falls Upon It It Doesn't Penetrate It's Taken Away And The People Were Offended Jesus Could Do No Mighty Work There And He Left It's Quite Possible To Be Offended At Jesus It's Possible For Us To Manufacture Reasons Why We Can Reject Him Why We Can Turn From Him Why We Don't Need To Listen Friends This Morning Let's Pray Let's Pray That The Lord Would Soften Our Hearts And Open Our Ears To Receive His Word That That Word Might

[48:03] Go Deep Down Into Us That The Lord Would Plant His Truth Within Our Lives And It Would Grow And Yield A Fruitful Harvest Don't Be Offended At Jesus Don't Manufacture Reasons Within Your Life Why We Can Ignore His Voice Of Truth Hard Soil In Nazareth What About On Mission I Think It's The Same Isn't It And The Apostles Are Prepared For Rejection Verse 11 Very Striking Whoever Shall Not Receive You And Whoever Shall Not Receive Your Message Of Repentance And If They Don't Want To Listen Then Jesus Prepares The Disciples To Shake Off The Dust Shake Off That Hard Soil That Is Under Your Feet As A Testimony Against Them How Sobering

[49:03] How Tragic That This Word Of Life Comes To People The Power Of The Gospel Comes And People Don't Want To Listen Hard Soil Again Pray That That Is Not True For Us Today What About Herod I Think Herod Is Different Somehow Perhaps The Stony Soil Perhaps Soil Where There Is An Initial Response!

[49:39] But Then There Are Thorns That Come And Choke The Word And Strangle It To Death You See That There Is A Positive Response! Now He Is Imprisoned Herod Is Introduced As A Man With A Troubled Mind The Mission Of The Apostles Comes To Herod's Ears Verse 14 When Herod Heard Of It His Name Was Spread Abroad And There's Various Figures Notably Elijah Verse 15 John Is The Archetypal Elijah Figure Promised At The End Of The Old Testament!

[50:12] But John But Herod Doesn't Need To Listen To The Opinion Polls Herod Knows In His Opinion Exactly Who It Is And Herod's Troubled Mind Plays On Him As He Said It Is John Whom I Beheaded He Is Risen From The Dead And Look At The Positives Within Herod He listens To John Verse 20 Herod Feared John He Knew That He Was A Just Man And A Holy Man He Had Ears To Hear He Observed The Things That He Said And These Were Difficult Things To Hear Costly Repentance Real Change In Specific Situations And Herod Heard Him And

[51:13] He Did So Gladly But He Was Marked By Indecision He Wavered He Knew The Truth He Knew There Was A Response Within His Heart But He Didn't Act On It And If The First Part Of This Passage Is Marked By Indecision And Hesitancy Then The Second Aspect As We Just Skim Over It And There's Much More That Could Be Said On It Is Marked By Ruthless Decision And The Weeds That Were In Herod's Life And The Thorns That Were Growing Along Side That Word Come And Take The Opportunity To Cancel That Voice And To Strangle That Word To Death Verse 21 When A Convenient Day Was Come Here

[52:14] Yours waited her time she knows that Herod will be weak in this situation and she arranges the circumstances Herod blurts forth a promise to the girl and she goes forth very telling isn't it that she goes to her mother as if she's been told if he offers you something you come straight to me and I'll tell you what to ask for and she came straightway with haste unto the king and said

[53:18] I will that you give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist here is the moment for Herod here is his indecision caught up with him here are the thorns that have grown in his heart and in his life coming to choke that word and strangle it and John's voice would literally be cut off now John the offer that Herod makes is laced with hyperbole it's an exaggerated offer of course he's not going to give away half his kingdom it is a way of speaking and even here even here he could have said I don't need to do that but there were other things that competed with Herod's mind and in Herod's mind because of his oath and because of the company that he kept and because of what other people thought and because of his pride he would not reject her and so the executioner is sent and John's voice is literally cut off how will we respond this morning are our hearts hard and stony to the voice of God the word of God as it comes to us is there an initial stirring within us and within our lives or are there things growing up alongside what a warning this is to us to repent and to cut off things in our lives that could come and could strangle that word weeds grow they might grow slowly but they grow surely and if we do not act on them and root them out if we allow them to grow up alongside our lives then hear the tragedy of Herod those weeds came and strangled that word to death so we must not only keep proclaiming the truth but we keep responding to the truth as it is proclaimed with hearts that are soft and open to hear the word of God ready to repent ready to be corrected ready to be called and ready for fresh trust and renewed trust in the Lord Jesus there's the first half of Mark chapter 6 a call to realism a call to make sure that we know what to expect in following the Lord Jesus this evening in evening worship we'll consider the second half and we'll see again not only the narration of the events but the proclamation that Mark gives us and

[56:19] Mark calls us to come to find rest in Jesus and to come to a feast that satisfies we had three points the boys and girls can remember them the first one was make sure that you know what to expect the costly road it is to follow Jesus we must keep proclaiming the truth three preachers and three preachers of repentance and that is the pattern that we follow today and we must keep responding to the truth not with hearts that are hard not with hearts that have thorns growing within them but hearts and ears that are soft ready to open and to receive and respond to the word of God let's stand and we'll pray and ask the Lord to bless his word to us Lord would you open our ears would you soften our hearts would you plant your word deeply within us would you help us to weed out the things in our life that would be a hindrance to pursuing godliness a hindrance to pursuing the Lord Jesus and growing in the grace and knowledge of him

[57:47] Lord hear us we ask and help us in our weakness strengthen us we pray and lead us to fresh repentance and trust in Jesus in his name we pray Amen we'll sing our closing psalm which is psalm 130 which leads us to that repentance that we have spoken of Lord from the depths to thee I cry my voice Lord do thou hear unto my supplications voice give an attentive ear we'll sing to God's praise for from the depths to thee I cried my voice Lord do thou hear unto my supplications voice give an attentive fear

[59:02] Lord who shall stand with thou O Lord choose mark iniquity but yet with thee forgiveness is that fear thou mayest be I wait for God my soul doth wait my hope is in his word more than they that for morning watch my soul waits for the

[60:10] Lord I say more than they glad to watch!

[60:21] the morning light to see! let Israel hope hope hope in the Lord for with him mercies be!

[60:49] I hope to be!! God's redemption is ever found within and from all his equities years years years years years years!

[61:22] years! years! years! years! I! I Amen.