WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.360 here. And we're glad that you're here, not because we're trying to fill seats, but because we're 00:00:05.360 --> 00:00:10.599 following Jesus together as one community. And as we follow Jesus together, we become convinced 00:00:10.599 --> 00:00:16.420 that there's no one so good. They don't need God's grace and no one so bad that they can't have it. 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:21.480 And that's why we come back week after week to look at what God has to say to us in his word, 00:00:21.539 --> 00:00:26.280 because we believe that God has something to say to everyone. He has something to say to people 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:30.600 who've been Christians for a short amount of time. He has something to say to people who've been 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:35.240 Christians their entire lives. And he has something to say to people who would not consider themselves 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:39.520 Christians, people who have doubts and questions and objections to Christianity. 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:45.780 We're continuing together our study in the Gospel of Mark. And you'll remember that the Gospels tell 00:00:45.780 --> 00:00:51.420 the story of Jesus in his life and his death and his resurrection. And as we study these together, 00:00:51.420 --> 00:00:58.539 we're asking two questions. First, who is Jesus? And how do we respond to him? We just ended last 00:00:58.539 --> 00:01:04.379 week a series of five different conflicts that Jesus had with the religious leaders. We most recently 00:01:04.379 --> 00:01:09.760 looked at following Jesus in the Sabbath, and we looked at the principle that one man has given, 00:01:09.840 --> 00:01:16.460 that the law reflects the heart or the values of the lawgiver. And so the Sabbath reflects God's desire 00:01:16.459 --> 00:01:22.579 to protect life. And it's meant to be a day of life. This morning, we're returning back to the 00:01:22.579 --> 00:01:28.000 theme that we've seen before in the Gospel of Mark, which is Jesus' call on people. And so we're asking 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:36.159 these questions, what is the nature of Jesus' call? What does it look like for us if we're called by Jesus? 00:01:36.979 --> 00:01:43.299 How does that play out for us in our daily lives? And so I invite you to turn with me to the Gospel of 00:01:43.299 --> 00:01:49.519 Mark. We're in chapter 3, starting at verse 7. You can turn on your phone. You can turn with me in your 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:54.719 worship guide. You can turn in your Bible. No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word, 00:01:54.799 --> 00:02:00.000 and God tells us that his word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, which means that God 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:07.239 has not left us to stumble alone in the dark, but instead he's given us his word to show us the way to go. 00:02:07.239 --> 00:02:10.819 And so that's why we read together now, starting at verse 7. 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:55.360 Verse 13. 00:02:55.360 --> 00:03:08.580 Verse 16. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:32.880 Verse 20. 00:03:45.540 --> 00:03:49.380 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word. 00:03:50.380 --> 00:03:55.120 Our Father in heaven, we thank you again that we're your children. 00:03:55.360 --> 00:03:56.680 And we can call you Father. 00:03:57.740 --> 00:04:04.440 And that we know as a good and loving Father, you want to instruct us and show us the way to go. 00:04:05.220 --> 00:04:09.240 And as a good and loving Father, you're someone we can look to and trust in. 00:04:09.340 --> 00:04:12.300 We ask that you would use your Word this morning to do that. 00:04:12.380 --> 00:04:14.920 That we would look to you and that we would trust you. 00:04:14.920 --> 00:04:19.920 We would know your love for us and we would respond to it in love for you. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:25.480 We thank you that we don't have to worry about whether we've earned these things or deserve them. 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:30.340 But instead, we simply ask them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen. 00:04:30.339 --> 00:04:30.519 Amen. 00:04:33.659 --> 00:04:39.199 In the summer of 1997, I guess really near the end of the summer in Labor Day, 00:04:39.699 --> 00:04:43.879 we spent the weekend with my grandmother who lived down in North Carolina. 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:47.959 And that weekend, I learned a new word that I had never heard before. 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:50.839 I learned about the paparazzi. 00:04:50.839 --> 00:04:54.099 And I never heard this word before. 00:04:54.159 --> 00:04:56.119 I don't hear it very often anymore. 00:04:56.500 --> 00:05:04.759 But if you're familiar, you know it refers to photographers whose job it is to capture these pictures of celebrities, 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:06.019 typically against their will. 00:05:06.739 --> 00:05:11.079 Now, if you were around and conscious in 1997, you know exactly where I'm headed. 00:05:11.219 --> 00:05:14.739 That Sunday of Labor Day was when Princess Diana died. 00:05:14.740 --> 00:05:17.960 She was being chased by the paparazzi. 00:05:18.139 --> 00:05:19.199 She was fleeing from them. 00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:24.480 She had almost 30 photographers waiting for her outside of the Ritz Paris Hotel. 00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:29.939 And so what we learned from the news is that she'd been playing this game of cat and mouse with them. 00:05:30.300 --> 00:05:33.319 And she'd found a side exit, a back exit to go out from. 00:05:33.620 --> 00:05:39.019 They had a decoy car to try to pull these photographers away so that she could sneak away. 00:05:39.019 --> 00:05:45.740 But her life was one of where she couldn't go anywhere, even when she was on a yacht thinking that she was in privacy. 00:05:45.859 --> 00:05:49.479 There would be people with telescopes looking in, trying to catch photographs of her. 00:05:50.659 --> 00:05:55.139 And so I think for a while after that, my brothers and I, of course, we processed things. 00:05:55.419 --> 00:05:58.139 I turned eight that summer, right before that happened. 00:05:58.560 --> 00:06:00.359 So we processed things through our stuffed animals. 00:06:00.560 --> 00:06:03.579 And I think for a while, they had trouble with the paparazzi as well. 00:06:04.299 --> 00:06:06.139 They were being chased by photographers. 00:06:06.139 --> 00:06:11.539 But I bring this all up because Jesus here is in a similar situation. 00:06:11.699 --> 00:06:14.919 He is not being chased by people looking for expensive photographs. 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:19.300 He is being chased by people who are looking for priceless healing. 00:06:19.439 --> 00:06:20.879 You'll look with me in verse 10. 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:26.419 We're told he had healed so many that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:30.399 Now, Diana had no privacy, not even in her private yacht. 00:06:30.479 --> 00:06:32.279 We see the same thing for Jesus as well. 00:06:32.279 --> 00:06:36.779 Verse 7, he withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed. 00:06:36.859 --> 00:06:42.759 And we have this long list of locations to let us know they are coming after Jesus from everywhere. 00:06:43.819 --> 00:06:45.819 Diana had a getaway car ready. 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:49.459 Jesus has his getaway boat that's been set up. 00:06:49.899 --> 00:06:55.479 Verse 9, and he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd. 00:06:56.019 --> 00:06:58.500 In other words, things are getting dangerous for Jesus. 00:06:58.500 --> 00:07:04.980 And if you think it's some sort of exaggeration for me to compare him to Princess Diana running away from the paparazzi, 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:07.439 I want you to remember verse 9 and verse 10. 00:07:07.879 --> 00:07:12.279 Verse 9 tells us he needed the boat lest they crush him. 00:07:14.139 --> 00:07:17.220 Jesus here, it seems, is in a life and death situation. 00:07:17.420 --> 00:07:22.139 There is a possibility that he could be trampled by all these people who are coming to him. 00:07:22.139 --> 00:07:29.279 As his fame spreads around the region of Capernaum, they know this is the place where they can come for healing and miracles. 00:07:30.539 --> 00:07:33.899 Everyone, in other words, wants a piece of Jesus. 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:38.500 And so the point is this, that Jesus' fame is growing and growing. 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:41.639 He is becoming greater and greater in this area, 00:07:41.719 --> 00:07:46.199 and so that the pressures of ministry are becoming more and more on him. 00:07:46.259 --> 00:07:48.699 It used to be not as many people knew about Jesus. 00:07:48.699 --> 00:07:53.079 Look back, remember, to the days when it was just people outside his house in Capernaum. 00:07:54.339 --> 00:07:55.899 Maybe we would trade this for that. 00:07:55.959 --> 00:07:57.199 Now, it seemed great at the time. 00:07:57.279 --> 00:07:58.639 Now things are getting so bad. 00:07:58.719 --> 00:08:04.599 Jesus has to have a getaway boat set up so that he can escape before he is trampled. 00:08:05.620 --> 00:08:08.959 And so we see here a glimpse of Jesus' humanity. 00:08:09.219 --> 00:08:12.019 Yes, he is God, and he is still human. 00:08:12.219 --> 00:08:13.899 Jesus is not Superman. 00:08:14.539 --> 00:08:16.060 He still needs to sleep. 00:08:16.060 --> 00:08:19.100 Jesus still needs to eat. 00:08:19.860 --> 00:08:22.220 Jesus can't do ministry all by himself. 00:08:22.360 --> 00:08:26.000 Jesus actually can't be in two places at the same time. 00:08:26.860 --> 00:08:30.959 There is a limit to how much healing that he can actually do. 00:08:31.079 --> 00:08:34.700 And so Jesus, in his humanity, needs help. 00:08:34.740 --> 00:08:38.679 And it's with that context that we come here to verse 13, 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:43.379 where Jesus goes up on a mountain and calls the disciples and names the apostles. 00:08:43.379 --> 00:08:47.840 It's no surprise for us that as Jesus' popularity grows, 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:51.340 as the pressures of ministry become more and more intense, 00:08:51.460 --> 00:08:55.220 that it's at this moment that he surrounds himself with the help that he needs. 00:08:55.379 --> 00:08:59.000 We see here in Mark the beginning of a new section to the book, 00:08:59.220 --> 00:09:05.059 a section where he has these 12 apostles who are with him in this part of the gospel. 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:09.159 In other words, as Jesus' needs increase and increases, 00:09:09.159 --> 00:09:12.839 as the pressure grows, as his fame becomes greater and greater, 00:09:12.919 --> 00:09:15.379 it's at this moment that Jesus chooses his disciples. 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:18.819 He brings men around him who can help. 00:09:19.959 --> 00:09:23.219 He surrounds himself with the help that he needs. 00:09:24.099 --> 00:09:25.919 And so that's why we see in verse 13, 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:30.339 he calls to him those he desired, and they came to him. 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:35.440 And he seems here to finally be able to escape. 00:09:36.860 --> 00:09:38.120 And remember, our question is, 00:09:38.200 --> 00:09:40.940 what does it look like to be called by Jesus? 00:09:41.300 --> 00:09:44.780 And we see our first answer here in verse 13. 00:09:45.280 --> 00:09:48.740 Now, I'm going to tell you something that I've already told you in the gospel of Mark. 00:09:49.480 --> 00:09:52.879 I apologize, but I am in no way sorry. 00:09:53.780 --> 00:09:53.920 Okay? 00:09:54.460 --> 00:09:56.519 Bible gives us repetition for a reason, 00:09:56.519 --> 00:09:59.659 which is to drive these things into our hearts over and over, 00:09:59.720 --> 00:10:02.620 that we would learn not to hear something once, but multiple times. 00:10:02.679 --> 00:10:04.079 And so we've seen this before, 00:10:04.220 --> 00:10:06.159 but verse 13 reminds us, 00:10:06.279 --> 00:10:09.980 which is that Jesus is the one in control and in charge. 00:10:11.439 --> 00:10:14.659 Jesus is the one who comes to call people to him. 00:10:14.960 --> 00:10:18.720 In other words, you, if you're a Christian, did not choose Jesus. 00:10:19.980 --> 00:10:21.079 Jesus chose you. 00:10:21.080 --> 00:10:25.020 You, if you're a Christian, did not call Jesus. 00:10:25.639 --> 00:10:26.759 Jesus called you. 00:10:27.800 --> 00:10:30.660 You, if you're a Christian, didn't see Jesus. 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:32.379 Jesus saw you. 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:38.980 And I say this as repetition because we've already seen this pattern over and over in chapter one and chapter two. 00:10:39.259 --> 00:10:40.820 Remember chapter one, verse 16, 00:10:40.900 --> 00:10:43.639 he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon. 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:46.860 Verse 19, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother. 00:10:47.220 --> 00:10:48.879 Verse 17, he says, follow me. 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:51.059 Verse 20, he says, he called them. 00:10:51.759 --> 00:10:53.340 Then we move on to chapter two. 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:56.460 Chapter two, verse 14, he saw Levi. 00:10:57.220 --> 00:10:59.939 And then he calls Levi and says, follow me. 00:11:01.299 --> 00:11:04.559 Jesus is always the one who does the calling. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:08.960 Mark is not going to let us escape from this reality of discipleship, 00:11:09.080 --> 00:11:13.100 that no matter how and when and where we heard about Jesus, 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:16.559 whether you heard about Jesus as you were watching a YouTube video, 00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:19.839 whether you heard about him as your mother or your father taught you, 00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:23.659 as you heard about him maybe when you went to a college fellowship for the first time. 00:11:23.739 --> 00:11:28.479 No matter how or when or where it was, ultimately it was Jesus's idea. 00:11:30.159 --> 00:11:33.399 Jesus is the one who saw you and called you. 00:11:34.219 --> 00:11:36.239 Remember Luke chapter 19, verse 10, 00:11:36.359 --> 00:11:40.179 for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. 00:11:40.179 --> 00:11:45.819 Simon, Andrew, James, John, Levi, they were not seeking Jesus out. 00:11:45.959 --> 00:11:47.659 Jesus was seeking them out. 00:11:48.959 --> 00:11:51.719 As I told you before, you did not see Jesus. 00:11:51.979 --> 00:11:53.319 Jesus saw you. 00:11:53.699 --> 00:11:56.379 That is how needy you are. 00:11:57.779 --> 00:11:59.559 Mark chapter 10, verse 15, 00:11:59.559 --> 00:12:11.559 Now, I don't know all of your stories. 00:12:12.659 --> 00:12:16.899 I don't know how every single one of you came to know about Jesus. 00:12:18.139 --> 00:12:19.859 I do know this one thing. 00:12:20.779 --> 00:12:27.319 If you're a Christian, Jesus saw you long before you ever saw him. 00:12:27.320 --> 00:12:34.520 Jesus saw you long before you ever saw him. 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:38.060 What does it look like to be a disciple? 00:12:38.200 --> 00:12:40.700 What does it look like to have Jesus call you? 00:12:41.680 --> 00:12:45.260 It looks like someone who could not find Jesus on their own. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:52.820 It looks like someone who needed Jesus to come and pick them and choose them and call them. 00:12:52.820 --> 00:12:59.160 Verse 30, he went up on the mountain and called to him those whom he desired, and they came to him. 00:13:01.800 --> 00:13:05.680 Now, we've been looking at this larger group of disciples here. 00:13:06.500 --> 00:13:10.140 Verse 7, we saw a great crowd that followed Jesus. 00:13:10.860 --> 00:13:14.300 Verse 13, it sounds like he's just calling a large group of people. 00:13:14.299 --> 00:13:19.500 We get to narrow in on this passage, though, because we see not this just the general call. 00:13:19.579 --> 00:13:23.979 We also see a particular call in verse 14 when Jesus calls these apostles. 00:13:24.959 --> 00:13:29.099 These apostles give us a greater clarity about what Jesus' call looks like. 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:34.639 This is a narrower group that Jesus chooses to be with him and to work most closely with him. 00:13:34.859 --> 00:13:36.759 And so that's why in verse 14 it says, 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:41.799 He appointed the twelve so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach. 00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:47.699 Now, I've said this recently, but this morning is our morning of repetitions. 00:13:48.839 --> 00:13:53.579 If you've had any sort of power for any length of time, 00:13:54.079 --> 00:13:59.019 you know the difference between someone who is interested in you for you 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:03.419 and someone who's interested in you for what they can get from you. 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:09.519 The person who's interested in you for you, your presence is enough for them. 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:12.139 You're enough for them. 00:14:13.659 --> 00:14:16.919 They want to be with you, whether you can give them something or not. 00:14:19.259 --> 00:14:22.500 The person who's only interested in what they can get from you 00:14:22.500 --> 00:14:27.240 is very friendly and loves to shake your hand when they need something. 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:33.919 They seem far away when they don't need something anymore. 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:42.259 As we look at Jesus here, we cannot miss the purpose that we're given in verse 14. 00:14:42.399 --> 00:14:47.399 Verse 14 tells us why Jesus called these apostles. 00:14:49.099 --> 00:14:51.559 And the first reason is this, 00:14:52.459 --> 00:14:54.740 so that they might be with him. 00:14:54.740 --> 00:15:06.720 In other words, Jesus does not call them primarily so that they can do things for him. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:13.299 He doesn't call them primarily because they've impressed him with their ability or their competence. 00:15:14.680 --> 00:15:16.919 Jesus doesn't call them because of their wealth. 00:15:16.919 --> 00:15:23.699 Jesus doesn't call them because he thinks they're going to be great organizational leaders. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:28.199 In fact, we barely hear about some of these names throughout the Gospels. 00:15:29.659 --> 00:15:31.159 No, Jesus saw them first. 00:15:31.259 --> 00:15:33.240 He calls them to be with him. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:35.379 In other words, brothers and sisters, 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.439 you are not instrumental to Jesus, 00:15:39.240 --> 00:15:43.679 which is a way of saying that when Jesus and you come together, 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:45.799 you are not a means to an end. 00:15:46.919 --> 00:15:51.439 You are not a means to an end. 00:15:51.559 --> 00:15:54.559 Jesus is interested in you for you. 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:00.620 He calls the disciples first and foremost to be with him. 00:16:01.419 --> 00:16:04.219 He does the same for us. 00:16:05.839 --> 00:16:08.019 And if you still don't believe me, remember this. 00:16:08.539 --> 00:16:10.679 Jesus calls them in chapter 3. 00:16:11.759 --> 00:16:13.159 Now, he doesn't just call them to be with him. 00:16:13.159 --> 00:16:15.059 He does call them to preach and cast out demons. 00:16:15.059 --> 00:16:18.879 He does not send them to do that until chapter 6. 00:16:20.519 --> 00:16:22.359 Jesus calls them in chapter 3. 00:16:22.919 --> 00:16:25.199 He doesn't send them out until chapter 6. 00:16:28.199 --> 00:16:29.239 Remember the story. 00:16:29.979 --> 00:16:31.079 Jesus needs help here. 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:33.079 He's surrounded by the crowds. 00:16:33.419 --> 00:16:34.819 They are pressing in on him. 00:16:35.039 --> 00:16:38.319 It's so bad that he needs an escape boat. 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:39.540 The needs are great. 00:16:39.900 --> 00:16:42.240 And Jesus never forgets his priorities. 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:45.280 Jesus doesn't forget the proper order of things. 00:16:45.680 --> 00:16:50.660 He doesn't forget that it's his people and their presence with him that comes first. 00:16:50.860 --> 00:16:55.620 Oh, and by the way, it's not just the religious leaders who are coming at him with opposition anymore. 00:16:55.720 --> 00:16:58.480 It's not just the crowds who are coming to trample him. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:05.039 We find out at the very end, verses 20 and 21, even his family doesn't understand his mission. 00:17:07.120 --> 00:17:16.259 In the midst of those pressures, Jesus does not come first for his apostles to do anything for him. 00:17:16.259 --> 00:17:25.359 In the midst of those pressures, Jesus does not give in to the temptation that he can instantly and quickly begin handing ministry away. 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:32.339 Because these men, those who are with him, are not a means to an end. 00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:35.559 The same is true for us. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:41.720 It has been said many times, Jesus calls us to work with him, not for him. 00:17:41.720 --> 00:17:46.920 Jesus calls us to work with him, not for him. 00:17:47.940 --> 00:17:51.120 You are not an employee at Jesus Incorporated. 00:17:53.279 --> 00:18:04.980 No, you are a son or a daughter of God that Jesus has called to be with him in relationship and community before and more than anything else. 00:18:06.579 --> 00:18:11.200 Jesus always calls us to be with him before he sends us out. 00:18:11.720 --> 00:18:19.200 Jesus always calls us to be with him before he ever sends us out. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:22.940 The indicatives come before the imperatives. 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:25.880 God's grace comes before obedience. 00:18:26.420 --> 00:18:30.700 A relationship with Jesus comes before anything else. 00:18:32.600 --> 00:18:36.000 And Jesus is simply copying the pattern that he's learned from his father. 00:18:36.000 --> 00:18:37.799 Remember Mark chapter 1. 00:18:38.180 --> 00:18:40.079 Jesus had to hear his father's words. 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:42.439 This is my beloved son with whom I'm well pleased. 00:18:42.679 --> 00:18:45.139 Before he ever went out and did any ministry. 00:18:46.539 --> 00:18:51.000 Not only was that true, but we saw him retreating in prayer, returning to his father, 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:56.740 knowing that he had to minister out of and because of a secure attachment with his heavenly father. 00:18:57.460 --> 00:19:02.799 That it was in the relationship and out of the relationship that anything else happened. 00:19:02.799 --> 00:19:10.339 The same is also true for us first and before anything else is our relationship with Jesus. 00:19:11.639 --> 00:19:17.779 First and before anything else, Jesus calls us to be with him. 00:19:17.779 --> 00:19:27.539 Now the disciples here had sort of a unique, non-repeatable experience. 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:32.339 So as we're talking about this and Jesus' call for the disciples to be with him, 00:19:32.399 --> 00:19:34.799 there are certain things about us that are not true of this. 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:36.279 So you're not one of the 12 apostles. 00:19:37.819 --> 00:19:39.660 Jesus has not called you to cast out demons. 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:42.740 I just hate to break it to you, okay? 00:19:44.019 --> 00:19:47.019 There are, however, things that we have in common. 00:19:47.200 --> 00:19:50.320 Jesus is still with us. 00:19:50.880 --> 00:19:52.660 He's just with us in a different way. 00:19:53.900 --> 00:19:55.759 Jesus is limited in his humanity, right? 00:19:55.840 --> 00:19:57.840 That's part of the reason the crowds are pressing in on him. 00:19:58.140 --> 00:20:03.040 And in his humanity, he is limited in the range and the scope of his presence. 00:20:04.080 --> 00:20:06.779 There are only so many people who can be with Jesus. 00:20:06.779 --> 00:20:09.339 Jesus has all these things to do in his earthly ministry, 00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:11.399 and he only has 12 people who are close to him, right? 00:20:11.899 --> 00:20:16.200 So we come again to that mysterious sort of confusing statement in the Gospel of John. 00:20:16.299 --> 00:20:18.740 Jesus says in John 16, verse 7, 00:20:19.440 --> 00:20:33.039 Now in what sense could it be any good for Jesus to leave earth? 00:20:33.039 --> 00:20:38.119 In other words, wouldn't it be better if Jesus was here still with us on this earth? 00:20:38.200 --> 00:20:39.799 Wouldn't we trade that for the Holy Spirit? 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.220 Because wouldn't it be great to actually be with Jesus, to walk with him and talk with him, 00:20:44.279 --> 00:20:47.440 be able to see him, and to ask him whatever questions that we wanted? 00:20:49.500 --> 00:20:51.599 No, it would not, and here's why. 00:20:52.599 --> 00:20:55.960 Jesus would still be a man who could not be in more than one place at one time. 00:20:55.960 --> 00:21:01.940 Jesus probably would not visit Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church on his schedule, okay? 00:21:02.460 --> 00:21:04.740 Thousands, hundreds of thousands of churches in the world. 00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:07.519 Jesus would be extremely limited in what he'd be able to do. 00:21:07.759 --> 00:21:09.940 He's extremely limited in his earthly ministry. 00:21:10.660 --> 00:21:12.660 Geographically, he does not travel very far. 00:21:12.860 --> 00:21:15.579 He only has 12 apostles that he works with closely. 00:21:15.579 --> 00:21:21.899 We today, in other words, have more, in a sense, than the apostles could ever dream about. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:25.379 We have the full canon of Scripture. 00:21:25.559 --> 00:21:29.039 We have all four Gospels giving us, in summary, Jesus' teachings, 00:21:29.159 --> 00:21:31.179 which they did not have access to in that moment. 00:21:31.439 --> 00:21:34.460 We have more now than anyone in Mark chapter 3 did. 00:21:35.220 --> 00:21:38.259 We know more than anyone in Mark chapter 3 knew. 00:21:39.099 --> 00:21:44.099 Jesus has sent his Spirit, which can be present with each and every Christian at all times. 00:21:44.099 --> 00:21:48.059 We're not waiting to see and know whether or not we can have access to Jesus. 00:21:48.219 --> 00:21:49.379 Think about what's happening here. 00:21:49.639 --> 00:21:53.319 This is just in one geographical area, and yet there's too many people. 00:21:55.439 --> 00:21:59.079 Odds that you're going to be able to get to the front of the crowd to see Jesus are low. 00:22:00.359 --> 00:22:02.759 Odds that in the millions of Christians around the world, 00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:06.959 you're going to be one of the 12 that's able to walk with him are extremely low. 00:22:07.980 --> 00:22:13.819 No, Jesus is correct when he tells us that it is better that he can go back to heaven 00:22:13.819 --> 00:22:16.579 and he would send the Spirit to be with us. 00:22:17.980 --> 00:22:24.679 In other words, you, brothers and sisters, are in a better position than the apostles in Mark chapter 3. 00:22:26.139 --> 00:22:29.399 Jesus is still with us today. 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:33.159 He is not with us in the exact same way he was with the apostles. 00:22:33.159 --> 00:22:38.839 He is not here physically with us because he is seated at the right hand of God the Father in the heavenly places. 00:22:39.500 --> 00:22:42.720 And he is still with us right now today. 00:22:43.099 --> 00:22:46.500 Jesus is with us through his words in Scripture that he's given us, 00:22:46.759 --> 00:22:49.119 even these words this morning from Mark chapter 3. 00:22:49.500 --> 00:22:54.480 Jesus is with us by his Spirit as the Spirit renews us and changes our lives and our hearts 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:59.720 that we would be able to love what is good more and more and hate what is evil more and more. 00:22:59.720 --> 00:23:04.539 Jesus is with us physically in what we call the body of Christ for a reason 00:23:04.539 --> 00:23:07.700 because as we're here in the church with one another, 00:23:07.819 --> 00:23:11.160 we experience each other as Jesus' hands and feet. 00:23:11.539 --> 00:23:18.100 Jesus is with us as he gives us the full teaching that the apostles could only dream about. 00:23:19.100 --> 00:23:22.980 We also have Jesus with us. 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:27.559 Part of the reason we come here to worship, to be with one another, 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:32.839 is not that we would have some religious experience or enter some type of community center, 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:36.700 but because we believe that Jesus is here with us by his Spirit, 00:23:36.960 --> 00:23:41.299 leading us in worship as we come to speak to him and hear from him. 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:45.059 When I give the call to worship at the beginning of the service, 00:23:45.279 --> 00:23:47.900 it is ultimately not me speaking to you, 00:23:47.900 --> 00:23:54.640 but Jesus calling his people to come together into his presence that we would know him more. 00:23:55.620 --> 00:24:03.280 In other words, Jesus still calls his followers today, first and foremost, to be with him. 00:24:04.320 --> 00:24:07.800 That is true of you right now. 00:24:09.560 --> 00:24:12.540 Jesus is with his people. 00:24:12.539 --> 00:24:18.259 We are actually following Jesus together as one community. 00:24:19.259 --> 00:24:21.460 That's what we're doing right now. 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:25.460 We are actually with Jesus. 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.039 And so who is Jesus? 00:24:30.740 --> 00:24:34.519 Jesus is the one who sees us and calls us. 00:24:35.519 --> 00:24:42.159 Jesus is the one who chooses us first and foremost before anything else, 00:24:42.539 --> 00:24:43.899 to be with him. 00:24:46.899 --> 00:24:50.039 How do we respond to him? 00:24:51.480 --> 00:24:55.899 We say, yes, we choose to be with him as well. 00:24:55.980 --> 00:25:00.720 We follow him as individuals, as we study God's words to us, 00:25:01.220 --> 00:25:04.480 as we have community with him through prayer. 00:25:05.599 --> 00:25:08.639 We are with him together as one community, 00:25:08.639 --> 00:25:11.879 as we do those same things corporately as a group. 00:25:11.880 --> 00:25:16.520 We are with him as you all gather as smaller groups throughout the week 00:25:16.520 --> 00:25:18.860 to hear Jesus' words together. 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:22.800 He is with you by his Holy Spirit, 00:25:23.200 --> 00:25:25.840 calling to mind the things that he has taught. 00:25:26.280 --> 00:25:28.020 He's with you by his Holy Spirit, 00:25:28.180 --> 00:25:31.340 changing your heart so that you would love what is good more and more, 00:25:31.420 --> 00:25:34.040 that you would love God and you would love others. 00:25:34.680 --> 00:25:38.000 We respond to him by coming together each and every Sunday 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:40.259 that we could be part of the body of Christ, 00:25:40.400 --> 00:25:42.059 listening to and hearing God's word, 00:25:42.240 --> 00:25:43.380 praising him with our voices, 00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:46.220 knowing that he's using that by his presence 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:49.140 to make us look more and more like Jesus. 00:25:50.660 --> 00:25:53.720 That is how we respond to him. 00:25:54.339 --> 00:25:56.859 We see that he calls us to be with him, 00:25:56.980 --> 00:25:58.500 and so we show up. 00:25:58.500 --> 00:26:02.460 We are with him as well. 00:26:04.759 --> 00:26:08.900 Hebrews 2, verse 11, teaching us about Jesus, says this, 00:26:08.900 --> 00:26:14.460 For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. 00:26:15.279 --> 00:26:18.539 That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers. 00:26:19.859 --> 00:26:23.539 That is why he's not ashamed to call them brothers. 00:26:24.180 --> 00:26:25.839 Brothers here is an inclusive term, 00:26:25.920 --> 00:26:27.380 meaning it's including everyone in the church, 00:26:27.380 --> 00:26:28.960 men and women. 00:26:29.940 --> 00:26:31.820 We are Jesus' siblings. 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:36.960 We are not with him in the sense that we live down the street 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:41.160 and we knock on Jesus' door sometimes to see if he'll come out to play. 00:26:43.360 --> 00:26:47.720 We are with him in the sense that we're his brothers and sisters. 00:26:48.300 --> 00:26:51.780 He has made us members of his family. 00:26:52.860 --> 00:26:56.820 And as we know, he's made us members of his family through adoption. 00:26:56.819 --> 00:27:02.419 He has brought us in, and he has paid that price by his death on the cross. 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:07.359 That when Jesus died, taking the penalty for sin that we deserved, 00:27:07.899 --> 00:27:10.740 when he lived the perfect life that we should have lived, 00:27:10.779 --> 00:27:14.720 when he rose again from the dead and destroyed death forever, 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:20.620 he paid the price for us to be his brothers and sisters. 00:27:20.619 --> 00:27:24.599 That he would be with us not just now. 00:27:25.199 --> 00:27:27.739 He would be with us forever. 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:38.120 This past summer, I bought a new bike, and it's a type of bike that I haven't had before. 00:27:38.180 --> 00:27:39.019 It's called a gravel bike. 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:41.380 And if you're wondering what that is, you're in good company. 00:27:41.559 --> 00:27:43.039 I didn't know what it was until this year. 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:47.740 But a gravel bike's basically in between a road bike and a mountain bike. 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:50.440 So it can do more than a road bike can do. 00:27:50.519 --> 00:27:53.059 It can go off pavement, which road bikes should never be doing. 00:27:53.140 --> 00:27:53.779 It can go on gravel. 00:27:53.880 --> 00:27:54.960 That's why it's called a gravel bike. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:27:58.440 It can't do as much as a mountain bike can, so it doesn't have the suspension. 00:27:59.059 --> 00:28:03.819 So basically, think of it as a road bike, but just with much thicker, better tires. 00:28:04.900 --> 00:28:07.819 And some of the components are stronger to take a beating on the trails. 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:10.160 So I bought this because my friend told me, 00:28:10.480 --> 00:28:12.000 if you buy this, I'll go gravel biking with you. 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:13.259 So I said, that sounds like a good deal. 00:28:13.920 --> 00:28:14.680 I'll be with you. 00:28:15.940 --> 00:28:19.880 Now, as you can imagine, with a gravel bike, it gets a lot dirtier than a road bike 00:28:19.880 --> 00:28:21.119 because you're riding it on gravel. 00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:22.539 There's all kinds of dirt being kicked up. 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:25.000 And so it's important, like it would be with every bike, 00:28:25.039 --> 00:28:27.259 that you need to wash it on a regular basis. 00:28:28.299 --> 00:28:31.180 So I hang mine up on, I put the bike rack on my car, 00:28:31.220 --> 00:28:35.140 and I put the bike on that so it's out in my driveway so I can spray it down. 00:28:35.859 --> 00:28:39.299 And when I do this, there are some neighborhood kids 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:42.259 who decide that this is my call, my cry for help. 00:28:44.220 --> 00:28:46.559 Clearly, I'm not competent to wash the bike on my own. 00:28:47.220 --> 00:28:50.599 And so it's essential that those who are toddlers 00:28:50.599 --> 00:28:53.740 and in early elementary school should come and help with the washing of the bike. 00:28:55.960 --> 00:28:57.759 Which, you know, we've got to roll with it, right? 00:28:58.159 --> 00:29:00.119 So they're there. 00:29:00.339 --> 00:29:01.879 They're there to help out with the whole process. 00:29:01.980 --> 00:29:04.619 So I have to find things, you know, that kind of fit with their skill set. 00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:07.700 So I've decided they're excellent at hose spraying. 00:29:07.700 --> 00:29:09.660 So I let them point the hose and spray it at the bike. 00:29:10.319 --> 00:29:13.000 It gets a little bit more complicated when it gets to cleaning the chain. 00:29:13.380 --> 00:29:15.420 So I have a lot more supervision in that situation. 00:29:15.640 --> 00:29:17.660 There's less that they can get involved in. 00:29:18.420 --> 00:29:20.380 It gets kind of interesting when we get to drying the bike 00:29:20.380 --> 00:29:24.240 because they want to use the paper towels to dry the treads on the tires, 00:29:25.120 --> 00:29:26.279 which is unnecessary. 00:29:27.460 --> 00:29:28.600 You just need to dry the frame. 00:29:30.180 --> 00:29:30.940 But they're there. 00:29:31.080 --> 00:29:32.140 They're there to help out, right? 00:29:32.140 --> 00:29:37.580 Do I need these kids to come help me? 00:29:40.240 --> 00:29:40.580 No. 00:29:40.740 --> 00:29:43.600 I can actually do it a lot more quicker and more efficiently myself. 00:29:45.520 --> 00:29:46.460 But here we are, right? 00:29:48.120 --> 00:29:49.820 Do I want something out of them? 00:29:50.759 --> 00:29:51.860 Are they instrumental to me? 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:52.980 Are they a means to an end? 00:29:54.480 --> 00:29:54.820 No. 00:29:54.819 --> 00:29:58.419 It would actually be a lot easier if they'd go home. 00:30:02.000 --> 00:30:05.659 But they're there because they want in on the action. 00:30:05.819 --> 00:30:08.000 They want to be with me. 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:10.939 And so I make room for them. 00:30:11.000 --> 00:30:11.859 It's exciting, right? 00:30:11.919 --> 00:30:14.159 Here's someone who's an adult, and he's washing a bike. 00:30:14.439 --> 00:30:15.779 In fact, one of these kids was talking to me 00:30:15.779 --> 00:30:17.720 about how we could go biking together in the neighborhood, 00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:20.519 and I had to break it to him. 00:30:20.579 --> 00:30:21.799 That's just not the cards for us. 00:30:23.220 --> 00:30:24.420 So I think he understood. 00:30:24.620 --> 00:30:26.420 It took him, you know, it's a sad day. 00:30:28.220 --> 00:30:30.600 But I accommodate the process to them, right? 00:30:30.940 --> 00:30:32.519 I let them join in. 00:30:32.819 --> 00:30:34.019 There's one who's a toddler. 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:36.519 He can't do anything, but he is allowed to spray the hose. 00:30:36.620 --> 00:30:38.779 Whether it hits the bike or not, that's another question. 00:30:40.819 --> 00:30:44.279 But they get to be with me in the process. 00:30:44.279 --> 00:30:47.879 They are with me, learning and growing. 00:30:48.460 --> 00:30:50.319 They are with me, excited to know 00:30:50.319 --> 00:30:53.379 that they get to be a part of cleaning the bike. 00:30:54.460 --> 00:30:57.039 Brothers and sisters, the same is true for us. 00:30:57.180 --> 00:31:01.019 Jesus calls us not because he needs anything from us. 00:31:02.220 --> 00:31:06.059 Jesus calls us not because we are a means to an end. 00:31:06.839 --> 00:31:09.920 Jesus calls us to be with him. 00:31:09.920 --> 00:31:14.400 And we join him in the process. 00:31:15.800 --> 00:31:18.820 We're like toddlers who only know how to spray a hose 00:31:18.820 --> 00:31:21.980 and think sometimes it's important to dry the tires. 00:31:23.220 --> 00:31:25.000 And Jesus invites us to join him. 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:28.320 Jesus has called us. 00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:30.400 We run to be with him. 00:31:31.019 --> 00:31:31.480 Let's pray. 00:31:31.480 --> 00:31:37.720 Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word, 00:31:37.819 --> 00:31:40.019 which humbles us and encourages us. 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:43.720 We thank you that you don't need us 00:31:43.720 --> 00:31:46.180 and you also use us. 00:31:47.039 --> 00:31:51.160 We thank you that we're not cogs in the system of the kingdom. 00:31:51.640 --> 00:31:55.059 We're not employees of Kingdom Incorporated, 00:31:55.160 --> 00:31:57.000 but instead we are your sons and your daughters. 00:31:57.120 --> 00:31:58.980 We ask that you would drive that deep into our hearts, 00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:00.920 that we would know that first and foremost, 00:32:00.920 --> 00:32:04.600 that nothing we do comes out of anything except your grace. 00:32:05.420 --> 00:32:08.039 We thank you that that's the reason that we can pray to you 00:32:08.039 --> 00:32:10.940 with confidence that you hear us and that you're with us. 00:32:11.180 --> 00:32:12.880 And so we ask these things in Jesus' name. 00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:13.759 Amen.