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[0:00] If you would take your Bibles, turn with me to Mark chapter 3. We'll be in Mark. It's in the New Testament, right after the first book, which is Matthew. Several years ago, I was just starting up.

[0:10] My parents just moved back. We lived in Ohio, and then we moved to North Carolina, and then we stayed there for like 18 months, then we moved back to Ohio. And I came back right around like, it was in 8th or 9th grade, I forget which one, but like I was there, and I could start everything new, you know what I mean?

[0:25] You get there, the high school stage, you could figure out who you are type thing, you know what group you're going to be part of. And so I'll never forget, like I had my lunch tray and was going down the hall, and in the school we had these, you know, the chairs, and you would have one group of kids, like the gothic kids sitting over there.

[0:40] You would have the jocks that were sitting over there, the skaters over there. And you had all these different groups. You got the smart people over there. I stayed away from those people. You got the nerds over there, socially awkward people. But I was trying to figure out where I was going to go.

[0:52] You know, which group am I going to be a part of? And you, as you're a teenager, when you go to school, you have that option. You're like, okay, what am I going to do, especially in my turn? I mean, in my experience, I just moved into the area and just moved back.

[1:03] I had to figure out which group I was going to be a part of. Now, in Mark chapter 3, I see three different groups of people, and let's just act like today. Today is your day where you can choose which group you want to be a part of.

[1:13] Today is your opportunity that you could say, I no longer want to be like the great multitude, and I just don't want to use Jesus for stuff. I want to be his disciple. I don't want to be like the Pharisee. I don't want to hate him.

[1:23] I don't want to cause reason to destroy him. I want to be like a disciple. I want to follow after him with everything I have. So today you have that opportunity. I want to present that opportunity to you. I want to show you, in Mark chapter 3, these three different groups of people that I see in the Bible.

[1:38] We're just going to go through it. I'm not going to... Brother Gardner preached a wonderful message out of here. I was listening to it about how Jesus and religion, and how religion is so beating people down. And we talked about how glorious Jesus is, and he is glorious.

[1:50] But I want to talk to you on the personal level. Well, which group are you a part of today? Are you a Pharisee? A person that hates Jesus? You hate Christianity? You can't stand him? You don't want to be underneath his authority?

[2:01] You have your own system set up, and life's going pretty well. Or are you part of the great multitude? You've come here today. It's obviously a sacrifice, right? And you want to be healed. You have a problem. I don't think everyone here has problems.

[2:12] We all need to be healed. But the question is, are you a true disciple? Are you like one of those 12? That when they looked at Jesus, after Jesus just got done looking at a multitude in another passage of Scripture, and he says, hey, if you guys don't love me enough that you're going to hate your mother, brother, father, sister, and your own life also.

[2:25] And they say, we can't handle these words. And they depart. Jesus looks at his disciples and says, are you guys going to leave too? They say, where else are we going to get the words of life? Or when the rich young ruler comes up to Jesus, and he says, Jesus, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

[2:36] And he says, well, you know the law. Do the law. He says, I've done everything since I was young. He says, well, go sell everything that you have and give it to the poor, and then come follow me. And he said, well, I can't do that. I have too much stuff. And he walked away sorrowful.

[2:46] And Peter looked at Jesus, and he said, Jesus, we've given up everything for you. And Jesus looks at him and says, yeah, and you're going to be rewarded 100 times over. The question I want to pose today, the question I want to ask you is as simple as this.

[2:57] What group of people are you in? Who can you recognize with today? The first people that we see is, I just call them, I give them names. I give them nicknames. If you guys don't know this, I like giving people nicknames, okay?

[3:08] Every student that comes into the training center, I give them a nickname. Some of them I tell. Some of them I don't tell. So pretty much everyone else here has a nickname. But I'm not going to say it, okay? But anyways, I'll give these guys the corrupt ones.

[3:20] These are the Pharisees. And at the beginning of Mark, we see Jesus. And Jesus is entering into the Pharisees' territory, a synagogue. Look what he says in verse 1. Mark chapter 3, verse 1.

[3:30] It says, And he entered again into the synagogue. And there was a man with a withered hand. Now, a synagogue, I'm not going to go into too much detail because I know Brother Gardner already talked about this. But a synagogue, I just want to lay down the basis. A synagogue was just like a gathering place in the community.

[3:42] What would happen is more than 10 or more people would come together and they would build this building so their families could come and they could hear God's word. It wasn't a temple. It wasn't anything like a temple. It was just basically a community building, a place where people could come and they could hear God's word.

[3:56] They could worship. They could pray. And when visiting people would come in to their city, they would have a place to stay. It's kind of like a church building almost. We don't do any sacrifices here, praise God. We leave that for Jerusalem another time, whenever God does that.

[4:08] But we don't have to worry about the sacrifice. Jesus already had it. But this is not a temple in the Jewish community. This was just a place where people would come together and they would hear God's word and they would worship. And the Bible says that Jesus entered in there.

[4:19] And while he entered there, look what happened. Look who notices who Jesus was when he entered in there. And they watched him, verse 2, and they watched him whether he would heal on the Sabbath day.

[4:30] These are the corrupt ones. These are the Pharisees. Jesus shows up to this synagogue. And while he's attending, this group of corrupt men are sitting there in the synagogue. They're probably talking to each other what's happening and all the ruckus about this man called Jesus and what all he's doing throughout all the known area of Israel and Judah and what he's doing around the countryside.

[4:47] And when they see Jesus walk in, they've heard how he's healed men. They've cast out demons. How Jesus has shown himself like no other person has ever shown himself. And they remember the time when Jesus said that outrageous statement in which we've already went over, Son, thy sins be forgiven of thee.

[5:00] How he's been eating with publicans and sinners and how Jesus was considered to be doing awful things. But these men were now watching Jesus and they were waiting and they were looking for an opportunity for Jesus to slip up.

[5:12] Look what verse 2 says. And they watched him whether he would heal on the Sabbath day. Why? Why did they watch him? That they might accuse him. These corrupt men wanted to bring charges against Christ.

[5:24] They had their own agenda. And they had an agenda. It was just simple. Let's get rid of Jesus Christ. Now Jesus goes on. He's just going through the story. Jesus goes on. He asks a simple question. He says, Is it lawful for me to do good or evil on the Sabbath day?

[5:36] Is it okay for me to save life or take life? You guys already know this. Brother Gunner's already went over it. That was two weeks ago. Brother Gunner went over the Pharisee system based on Christ. But today I want you to see what the reaction to these corrupt men, the reaction to what Jesus Christ said.

[5:50] When Jesus said, Hey, is it lawful? Is it okay for me to do this stuff? What did they do? They held their peace. They didn't answer. They kept their mouths shut. They wouldn't answer. Their hearts, the Bible says, were hardened.

[6:01] Now I want you to think about that. They had hard hearts. What does that mean? We say, you know, words or statements, and sometimes I don't even think we know what they mean. You know what I mean? You ever watch Princess Bride? You say, You keep using that word, and I don't think you know what it means.

[6:12] You know what I mean? And we say words like hard heart. You're like, Do you even know what that means? Do you understand what that means? You see, when Jesus says that their hearts were hardened, get this, Biblically it means that they had no understanding who Jesus Christ was.

[6:25] They had no understanding who Jesus Christ was because they were darkened. They were so far removed. They were so alienated from the life of God, Jesus Christ. They were so removed from Jesus.

[6:36] And it was due to their ignorance. Because of their blind heart. The God of this world blinded their heart. Satan blinded their heart. So these men wouldn't trust Christ.

[6:46] God in the flesh. The person that was standing before them doing all these miracles. And the reason why they hated him so much was because they know that Jesus came. And if Jesus came, he was going to destroy their system. Destroy their livelihood.

[6:57] So that he would leave them alone. They wouldn't mess up their life. They wanted to accuse him, get rid of him. So he, Get Jesus out of my life, and I'll be okay. I don't have to worry about it. They wanted no part with the Messiah. Well, you know what happened.

[7:08] Jesus goes on and he heals the man, right? The man with the withered hand. And this hatred that these corrupt, corrupt men had. It only escalated. It only escalated. It went from, Hey, we're looking for a way to bring charges against him.

[7:20] To, Hey, we're going to try to kill him. We're going to destroy him now. These were the corrupt men. These corrupt men. Look at verses 2. And they watched him. Whether he would heal on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse. Now jump to verse 6.

[7:30] He says, Now the Pharisees went forth, right after the man's hand was healed, and straightway took counsel. They were plotting. They were, this is premeditated murder right here. They plotted with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus.

[7:43] And they did it straightway. They did it immediately. There was no hesitation. This had become a consuming desire in their heart. We have to destroy Jesus was their thought. And they partnered with the most unlikely group, the Herodians.

[7:55] The Pharisees and the Herodians, they were like polar opposite groups of people. The Herodians wanted Rome to rule over them. And the Pharisees wanted the Messiah. They wanted the Jewish rule to be over them. But they found common ground with their hatred.

[8:06] So much for Jesus, that they said, Hey, we can partner together, and we can destroy Jesus. These corrupt men had some kind of hatred for Jesus Christ. Now you know, when I think of these corrupt men, I think that there's no way that these type of people exist today.

[8:18] But the truth is that there's still men and women today that are ardent haters of Jesus Christ and His people. Maybe you're here today, and maybe you're one of those. You want Jesus, get this, you want Jesus and His authority out of your life.

[8:28] You don't want to have any part of them. Maybe you're here today because only your parents forced you to do. Maybe you're an ardent hater of Jesus and His disciples. You definitely don't love them. You could be a teenager, you could be an adult, or maybe further along in life.

[8:41] It doesn't matter where you are in life today. But can you relate to these corrupt men? And if you can, I want to tell you something. Notice verse 5. Notice Christ's response to these corrupt men. And when He looked, round about on them with anger.

[8:52] Why are you angry, Jesus? Because He was grieved. He was sad. He was hurting. Because your hard heart. If you're here today, and you have no desire to have any part with Jesus, and you're only here, like I said, maybe your parents made you, maybe a friend invited you.

[9:04] I don't know what, I don't know your story. I can't, I can't, there's possibly, know anybody, anybody and everyone's story here. But maybe you're here today, and you're like, I don't want to have any part of them. I hate Jesus. I hate what happened in my life. A whole bunch of bad stuff's happened in my life.

[9:16] I just don't want to have any part of this Christianity. Maybe you're here today, and you're like that. Can I tell you, He loves you. And He cares about you. And that hard heart that you're carrying around right now, He is grieved over it.

[9:26] He is grieved over their heart. Christ was grieved because of their heartness. There was another man with the same attitude, the same desire, the same hatred. You know, he hated Jesus and His followers. He hated Him so much that He devoted His entire life to persecute all the followers of Christ, even to their deaths.

[9:40] But one day, when this man was on a mission to destroy those people, those followers of Christ, when he was on a mission, guess what happened? Jesus came down to him because Jesus loves everybody. And He sought after them, and He fell down on the ground, and He said, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

[9:56] Why are you persecuting me, Saul? Why are you hating me so much? Why do you hate me? And He got saved that day because a God in heaven loves Him. Maybe you're here today, and I don't know what's going on in your life, but maybe there's some pent-up of hatred and anger and disgust over Jesus Christ, and you're like, I don't want to have any part of Him.

[10:11] I don't want to have any part of His followers. And you're like one of these corrupt men. Can I say today, if you're one of those haters, He loves you so much, and He wants a relationship with you, and you'll never understand what true love is, and you'll never realize the love that you can have until you have that relationship with Him.

[10:26] Are you part of the corrupt ones? Or maybe you're here today, and you realize this is the second group. Maybe you're one of the multitudes. When Jesus realized that these guys were going to destroy Him, the Bible says that He realized that these corrupt men were going to destroy Him, He flees to the sea.

[10:38] He leaves. He withdraws Himself, and He takes His disciples, and He goes to the sea. He leaves the corrupt men behind, and He finds another group. This group we'll call the multitude. The Bible calls them the great multitude. We're talking about numbers that are exceeding 10,000 people.

[10:51] Twice in Mark, the Bible says, great multitude. To describe this bunch. This great amount of people literally came, get this, from all over Israel. They came from everywhere. Look in verse 7 through 8.

[11:02] Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea, and a great multitude came from, a multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea. You're like, we hear these words, and we don't really realize where they're at.

[11:12] Judea. Judea, the southern part of Israel. Judea, the south Galilee, and Samaria. These people, from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from, I'm not even going to try to say this word, the Eye City, and from beyond Jordan, from Tyre, and Sidon, and the great multitude.

[11:26] When they heard what great things He did, they came unto Him. So these great multitudes, they come from Galilee. That's just right around the sea where Jesus was at. Others came from Judea, an area south of Galilee.

[11:36] We're talking about 40 and 50 miles walking distance. Some people came from Jerusalem, the Bible says. That's another 40, 50 miles walking distance. Others come from that Eye City, which is even farther. It's even further south in Jerusalem.

[11:48] It's right next to the Dead Sea. We're talking about over 100 miles away, these people are coming. They traveled beyond the Jordan River. That was east of where Jesus was. They came from cities like, Gentile cities like Tyre and Sidon, which would be like 40 and 50 miles away.

[12:02] Thousands of them, all over Israel. Do you understand what the Bible is showing? Thousands of them, all from these small towns, great towns, small towns, everywhere. They're coming to see Jesus because they hear of all these great things. They're traveling long ways.

[12:13] These people came all out because they heard what Jesus did. Verse 8, they said, and the great multitude, when they heard what great things he did, they came unto him. They heard about those great things and they traveled miles to see Jesus.

[12:25] This was like never before. Now I want you to compare the corrupt men, the Pharisees, to the group that we just, the group that we spoke about before. Compare those guys to the multitude, the great number of people.

[12:36] The Pharisees were the corrupt ones. They wanted Jesus to leave. They were looking for ways to begin to accuse him. And when they, when they led, when they had what they wanted, when they found out Jesus healing that withered man, they wanted to destroy him.

[12:47] But now these people, this other group, they're traveling everywhere just to come and see him just because they want something from him. We're talking about days. They're walking. Do you guys realize the ramifications of this? We're talking about farmers taking a week's trip.

[13:00] I have a garden, okay? I had a garden, okay? Now it's like a weed infestation. But anyways, we went out to China. That's one week. And I came back and like I wasn't able to, you know, you have to weed gardens. You know what I'm saying?

[13:10] You have to weed that stuff. You have to make sure those things are pulled out. I come back from China. Man, the weeds just take over. You know what I'm saying? I went to Peru. Man, the weeds even got worse. And finally I just like, I gotta give up. I'm not doing this thing anymore. So I just got this huge weed pile out there.

[13:21] We're talking, because I did that because I was, you know, gone for a week or gone for a couple days. That's the summer. That's been the life of my story. It's just been gone, it seems like, all the time. These guys, get this, these guys, when they heard what great things Jesus Christ did, they left everything and they traveled hundreds, if not fifties of miles.

[13:39] We're talking either two days to a week. This is 2,000 years ago. We're talking about people that were probably more like farmers and fishermen, people that were day laborers. They gave up their money, their time. Why? Because they heard about this guy named Jesus and they came from everywhere.

[13:54] But why were they following Jesus? Well, they wanted something from him. They wanted something. Why such craziness, why such all that stuff? They heard the great things. Verse 10, they heard the great things because they heard the great things.

[14:05] They came to Jesus for his works. Jesus was a celebrity at that time. Those that had ventured out to see him saw many miraculous works. The blind were given sight, the crippled were walking, the deaf heard, the sick were healed, the lepers were cleansed.

[14:18] Look in verse 10, it says in Mark 3, 10. For he had healed many insomuch that they pressed upon him to touch him as many had plagues.

[14:28] He healed many because they had a whole bunch of problems. The more that Christ healed, the more the multitudes wanted to see him. They pressed on him. They were throwing themselves at him. The Beatles had nothing on this phenomenon. Really, that's what Mark's trying to say.

[14:39] They came from everywhere to see Jesus. All around Israel, even to the cities that weren't even Jewish, Gentile cities, they came to see Christ. It was so bad that Jesus really didn't do the ministries, the big ministries in cities.

[14:51] You know why? Because the crowds would have been too big. That's why I stayed at Little Fisherman's Villages, because he was just a hit. He was a celebrity. But I want to tell you something about these people. Most of these people who comprise of these swarming crowds were eager to experience Jesus' miracles.

[15:04] They thought that they were attracted. Though they were attracted by the powerful works, they were simultaneously offended by his piercing words. When John talks about it, he says, are you going to eat my flesh and drink my blood? They were offended. They walk away. When Jesus looks back and he says some harsh words, he says, hey, you want to follow me?

[15:17] Take up your cross. Die to yourself. Follow me every day. They walk away. When Jesus tells them to give up everything they have, they get offended and they turn away. You see, these great multitudes were excited to see what Jesus could do for them and it stopped there.

[15:31] Nothing like that had ever happened before in their life. We're talking about some crazy stuff. I mean, we have an eclipse, right? And people are driving and having traffic jams because they want to see an eclipse. How about hearing a guy that's healing people?

[15:43] How about hearing a guy that's taking blind people and now they can see? How about taking guys that were complete, demon-possessed, and now they were whole? That would have been incredible to see, wouldn't it not? And that's what the multitudes wanted.

[15:55] They wanted that sensation. They wanted that celebrity. They wanted what Jesus could give for them. They had many plagues and they wanted healed. You know, Jesus says something about that. In Matthew 7, 21 through 23, he says this, Not everyone says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of God, but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven.

[16:12] The multitudes loved Jesus for what he could do for them. They followed him as long as he was promising them good things and everything was going well. And there were many people today that love what Jesus can do for them.

[16:23] But when things get going, when trials happen, when tough stuff starts happening, they leave. Remember the words of what Jesus said. He said, Enter ye at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction.

[16:37] And many there which go in thereat, but straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. And few, get this, and few be that find it. The multitudes loved what Jesus could do for them.

[16:48] They loved the thought of having a great life now. They loved this idea of, man, I have a good family, I can get my health taken care of, I can have all this stuff happen because this guy's crazy. I mean, he's doing miracles.

[17:00] The Pharisees, they hated him. These ones seemingly loved him, but that's not real love. Remember back, going back to that one thought that I have, which group are you in? Finally, the third one is this. In all this chaos from the multitude, Jesus begins to focus his main ministry.

[17:12] Not so much care for all the masses, or the great multitude, but rather his focusing, he begins to change it to the time with the twelve. And this verse right here in Mark 3, 14, for those that you don't know, if there's like, outside of 2 Timothy 2, 2, there's a life verse, ministry model, would be this verse from our church, that Jesus ordained the twelve that they should be with him, that he should send them forth to preach, and heal sickness, and all that stuff.

[17:33] That's a ministry model. We could do a series on this, but today I want to talk to you guys about the different groups of people I see in this passage. And I want you to ask yourself, which group am I in? The multitudes thronged him, they surrounded him, they begged for him, they begged for help.

[17:45] Jesus helped them, and he decided to retire on this mountain. He went up to this mountain, and it was there that he called a few with him. Verse 13, And he goeth up on a mountain, and he calleth unto him whom he would.

[17:55] And they came unto him, this group of men, that is known as the disciples, and the disciples came to him when Jesus called them. This is probably one of the strongest character traits that the disciples have going for them.

[18:06] One of the best things that they have, they obey their master, they obey Jesus, they obey the Lord. Well in the scripture, it says something very interesting in verse 14, he says he ordains 12 that they should be with him, that he might send them forth to preach.

[18:19] Jesus ordained 12, he appointed, he made 12 men, he chose 12 men, he chose these 12 to be with him, and I want you to think about this, what did it entail for these 12 men? It meant this, these 12 men left their jobs, they left their places of employment, they left their family business, so they could be with Jesus.

[18:37] I want you to think about in previous chapters where Brother Garth pastors preached on these previous chapters, chapters 1 and 2, I want you to think about how God called, how Jesus called these 12. In Mark chapter 1 verses 16, the story goes like this, it's the story of Peter and Andrew.

[18:48] As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, Mark 1 verse 16, he saw Simon and Andrew and they were casting their net into the sea for they were fishermen and Jesus said unto me, come after me and I'll make you fishers of men.

[18:59] Verse 18, and immediately they forsook their nets and they followed him. These men gave up their jobs immediately just so they could follow Christ. Look at Mark chapter 1 verses 19 through 20, and when they had gone a little further, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother and these who were also in the ship mending their nets and straightway called them and they left, get this, their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants and went after him.

[19:24] These men gave up their family business, leave their father high and dry just to be with Jesus. Mark 2 verse 14, the Bible says this, and they passed about and as he passed by he saw Levi.

[19:35] Remember that Levi's luau that we had, Matthew's banquet, sometimes what we call it, the son of Alphaeus, he was sitting at the receipt of customs and he said unto me, follow me, Jesus says, follow me, and he arose and he followed him.

[19:47] These 12 men, get this, left everything for Jesus just so they could be with him. I want you to see their own confession. In Matthew chapter 19 verse 27, this is what Peter says to Jesus.

[19:58] And Peter answered in Matthew 19 verse 27, Peter answered and said unto them, behold, we have forsaken all. We've given up everything for you, Jesus. We're not holding back anything. We've given up everything to follow you. You understand what he said?

[20:10] Do you see it? We've given up our dreams. We've given up our jobs. We've given up our families. For you, Jesus. Get this, the cost of discipleship is great. Christianity today has made it nothing more than a consumer-based type religion where you come to Jesus and you have your own requirements and you have your own demands and you have, I want what you're going to get for me.

[20:29] What am I going to get out of it? Am I going to feel good? When the disciples looked at Jesus, they said, we've given up everything for you. We followed you. Which group are we in? All these men gave up what we consider all so they could follow Jesus Christ.

[20:43] This isn't just negative, guys, that they gave up. That's not the point. They gave up everything, get this, to be with Jesus. They gave up everything so they could be with Jesus and so that Jesus could change them.

[20:54] He ordained the 12 to be with him. This training was not a curriculum. It wasn't a book. Rather, it was spending life with these men so they could learn his life. They saw how he ministered. They saw how he taught.

[21:05] They saw how he cared for others because they were with him. His disciples had a total life makeover. That's what it was. So much so that in Acts chapter 4 when the high council, the high priest are looking at him, these guys that are in Jerusalem, they're leaders, they're looking at Peter and John and they're saying, man, you guys are ignorant, you guys are unlearned, you guys are stupid.

[21:23] We know you guys are a bunch of rednecks, but we realize you guys have been with Jesus. You guys have been with Jesus. You guys have taken on his character. You guys talk like he talks. He changed everything about these guys.

[21:34] They gave up everything so he could change them by the time they spent with Christ. And all this served a purpose. Christ wanted them to be with him so they could learn and so that he could send them forth to preach.

[21:45] That is a true disciple. A true disciple is not just a person that comes wanting for something from Christ. Jesus, I have all. Jesus, I have all this need in my life, this sickness, this problem that you need to fix.

[21:55] Jesus, I need you. No, no, no, no, no. But the attitude of a true disciple is this. Jesus, I will give up everything to follow you. I want you to work inside me to make me what I ought to be.

[22:05] And then I want you to use me wherever and whatever it costs. That's a true disciple. And this is exactly what the disciples did. They forsook all their jobs, their families, and their dreams to follow Christ. They spent time with him so he can make him and to be the men and women.

[22:19] Well, there was no women in the 12, but the men that they needed to be so that they could be used around the world. This is a true disciple. You too can follow this. You can make your sole purpose like this, to fulfill whatever God wants.

[22:33] But this means that you will have to give up. It costs so you can follow. It means that we must change so we can be more like him. And it means that we must be willing to be sent forth to preach wherever he calls us to go.

[22:44] The first century church, actually where we get the word Christian from, you know, too many people call themselves Christians, but if you were to look at the word, where the word Christian came from, you would see that they were called disciples before they were called Christians.

[22:55] Did you know that? In Acts 11, 26, he says this, and at the end of the verse, it says, and the disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. You know, many people today would classify themselves as Christians.

[23:08] I wonder, would you classify yourself as a disciple? What group are you in? I was reading a book and I'm going to close with this. I was reading a book and I forget what the book was about. I got a couple of them. He was talking about sacrifice.

[23:18] He was talking about our devotion. And he says, the people that sacrifice the most, the people that are devoted to the most are the people that have a great awareness of what God is. When you guys hear messages like what you heard two weeks ago with Brother Gardner out of Mark chapter 3, how there is religion and how there is Jesus, when you see how sweet and wonderful he is, that should only consume you to be more devoted to him.

[23:39] That should consume you to be more conscientious about what he wants to do and what he wants done. Today, I ask one question as you guys go out throughout this week, as we've gone through and as we finish with Mark 3, 1 through 19.

[23:51] What group are you in? Are you a Pharisee? Do you hate Jesus? Are you a multitude? Do you only care about what he can do for you? Or are you the disciple that says, Jesus, I'm willing to give up everything. I'm willing to follow you and I'm willing you to change me whatever I need to be so you can use me.

[24:04] Heavenly Father, thank you for this day. Thank you for your passage. Thank you for your word. Lord, it cuts deep sometimes. Lord God, it might not be a great message to preach on Sunday morning, but it was the next passage and I felt like you wanted to preach, Lord.

[24:14] I love you. I want my devotion, my surrender to you, Lord, to be like that of the disciples, Lord. I want to follow you with everything I have. I want you to make me to the man that I need to be. I want you to use me wherever you want. I want you to send me forth wherever you want, Lord.

[24:26] Lord, I love you. I want to use you. I want to be a disciple. Put me in that group. Help me to be like them. In Jesus' name. As the piano plays, there's an altar open. I don't know if the Lord spoke to you, but I really want you to think about this.

[24:38] What group are you in? What group are you in? Are you holding back anything? This isn't just a message we teach teenagers and kids. It's a message we tell everybody.

[24:49] What group are you in? What are you trying to latch on today? What are you not willing to get rid of? Are you a disciple? Are you acting more like a multitude person?

[25:01] Today, you can either talk with God here at this altar or in your seat. If you're here today and you've never trusted in Jesus Christ, we have men in the back. You might be here and you might consider yourself as one of those Pharisees and you say, I really hate Jesus, but I've seen how much He loves me, how He's grieved for me.

[25:18] If you're one of those people, if you would stand up, we have men in the back that would love to show you how you can get saved, how you can be part of this discipleship, this disciple of Jesus. For the rest of you, you sit there and you make, you do whatever you need to do with the Lord.

[25:31]  Amen. Amen.