WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:11.160 Now, I chose Mark chapter six to preach from tonight primarily because, you know, I don't 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:14.519 know that I'll ever get to preach at St. Columbus again. 00:00:14.519 --> 00:00:20.359 And this is, I suppose if there's one thing that I really wanted to say, this would be 00:00:20.359 --> 00:00:22.400 the time to say it. 00:00:22.399 --> 00:00:30.119 And the one thing that I really want to say is that you can put all of your weight on 00:00:30.119 --> 00:00:34.519 Jesus and he'll be there for you. 00:00:34.519 --> 00:00:37.320 He won't let you down. 00:00:37.320 --> 00:00:39.959 And that's really what this text is all about. 00:00:39.959 --> 00:00:47.119 It's about believing in Jesus and actually the robustness, the richness of that phrase, 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:49.640 of that idea. 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:52.520 Now, you know, there's a mosque just down the street. 00:00:52.520 --> 00:00:53.679 I'm sure you know that. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:59.439 And I pass it on the bus and as I'm walking often and they have signs out on their fence 00:00:59.439 --> 00:01:01.200 outside the door. 00:01:01.200 --> 00:01:06.319 And one of the signs that they've, I think recently put up says, did you know Muslims 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:10.439 believe in Jesus too? 00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:19.120 That raises the question, what do we mean as Christians when we say, I believe in Jesus? 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:23.640 I believe that Jesus was a real person. 00:01:23.640 --> 00:01:29.840 I believe that Jesus was a good teacher, that Jesus was wise, that Jesus did miracles. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:33.120 I believe that he rose from the dead. 00:01:33.120 --> 00:01:34.280 What do we mean? 00:01:34.280 --> 00:01:38.800 Muslims believe that Jesus was a prophet and a good teacher and they believe he did mighty 00:01:38.800 --> 00:01:42.000 works and miracles. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:46.960 And as Christians, we have to come to the Bible, God's word, his self-revelation to 00:01:46.959 --> 00:01:53.119 us where he makes himself known to us and we have to take him for who he says he is, 00:01:53.119 --> 00:02:00.479 God Almighty, Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, the savior of sinners. 00:02:00.479 --> 00:02:04.560 Savior of sinners because he died to pay the price for all the evil we've done. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:12.000 He did it on our behalf so that we who put our weight down on him, who believe in him, 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:18.639 could live forever with him, perfect joy, perfect peace when he comes back to redeem 00:02:18.639 --> 00:02:23.759 creation and rule and reign as king forever. 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:28.840 It's faith, but sometimes we take that word faith, it's just so common, isn't it? 00:02:28.840 --> 00:02:31.199 And we kind of use it flippantly. 00:02:31.199 --> 00:02:36.680 We say, I believe in Jesus and we mean something really vague and abstract, kind of like saying, 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:39.520 I go to church. 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:47.840 But what kind of belief in Jesus do we need to be saved from our sins? 00:02:47.840 --> 00:02:50.520 That's what we're really after, isn't it? 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:54.600 Now Mark's little story about Jesus in his hometown teaches us something important about 00:02:54.600 --> 00:03:03.400 faith and it lays out for us two potential responses to this Jesus. 00:03:03.400 --> 00:03:09.480 One response is to close the door, to close the door on him. 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:14.039 Close the door to eternal life and joy. 00:03:14.039 --> 00:03:19.199 And the other response, of course, is to open wide that door and take Jesus as he really 00:03:19.199 --> 00:03:24.639 is, all of his glory and all of his power. 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:29.719 So I'm going to go back through Mark chapter 6 verses 1 to 6 and just kind of make a few 00:03:29.719 --> 00:03:32.879 comments as we go to set the stage. 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:40.240 So Mark 6 starting in verse 1, he went away from there and came to his hometown. 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:45.240 He was in a town on the Sea of Galilee and he raised a girl back from the dead. 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:47.719 That's what there is. 00:03:47.719 --> 00:03:52.519 So he's just come from doing a mighty work. 00:03:52.519 --> 00:03:54.199 And now he's gone to Nazareth. 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:55.199 This is where he was brought up. 00:03:55.199 --> 00:03:56.439 Jesus was a little boy here. 00:03:56.439 --> 00:03:59.359 He was a teenager here. 00:03:59.359 --> 00:04:01.879 Sorry, you can just leave that up there. 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:04.039 I'm going to keep going through it. 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.799 So he came to his hometown and his disciples followed him. 00:04:07.799 --> 00:04:10.599 And on the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue. 00:04:10.599 --> 00:04:13.319 Okay, so he's not only in his hometown. 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:16.759 He's with the people who would have grown up with him and helped raise him. 00:04:16.759 --> 00:04:19.120 But he's also in the synagogue. 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:24.639 He's in the center of worship and he's there on a Sabbath this holy day. 00:04:24.639 --> 00:04:31.159 So he's with the most religious people who are most familiar with him. 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:35.760 Jesus was probably speaking to the people that taught him in Sunday school class and 00:04:35.760 --> 00:04:40.720 you know, were his leaders at free church camp. 00:04:40.720 --> 00:04:47.560 And many who heard him, his Sunday school teachers, etc., they were astonished saying, 00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:51.280 where did this man get these things? 00:04:51.280 --> 00:04:53.720 What is the wisdom given to him? 00:04:53.720 --> 00:04:56.640 How are such mighty works done by his hands? 00:04:56.640 --> 00:04:59.680 Isn't this the carpenter? 00:04:59.680 --> 00:05:03.959 Is this the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 00:05:03.959 --> 00:05:06.959 Aren't his sisters here with us? 00:05:06.959 --> 00:05:09.400 They took offense at him. 00:05:09.400 --> 00:05:14.720 That word there is stumbling block. 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:20.920 And Jesus said to them, the prophet's not without honor, except in his hometown, among 00:05:20.920 --> 00:05:25.920 his relatives and in his own household. 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:30.600 In other words, familiarity breeds contempt. 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:32.720 Now comes the really crazy part. 00:05:32.720 --> 00:05:37.640 And he could do no mighty works there. 00:05:37.640 --> 00:05:41.920 Except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:44.200 And he marveled. 00:05:44.200 --> 00:05:49.879 That's a word for sad wonder, astonishment. 00:05:49.879 --> 00:05:54.439 He marveled because of their unbelief. 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:56.560 And he went about among the village's teaching. 00:05:56.560 --> 00:06:02.279 If they wouldn't have him, the very place where God was supposed to be listened to and 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:08.839 worshiped, if they wouldn't have him, he'd go somewhere else. 00:06:08.839 --> 00:06:10.839 That's sobering. 00:06:10.839 --> 00:06:15.199 So let's look at this text together and we'll look at Mark 3 at the end of the message as 00:06:15.199 --> 00:06:16.199 well. 00:06:16.199 --> 00:06:23.040 Three sections, the danger of astonishing Jesus, the fertile soil of belief, and the surprising 00:06:23.040 --> 00:06:25.840 family of Jesus. 00:06:25.840 --> 00:06:28.680 So number one, the danger of astonishing Jesus. 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:34.760 Now, obviously the answer is in the text, but what makes Jesus marvel is a really fascinating 00:06:34.760 --> 00:06:36.960 question. 00:06:36.960 --> 00:06:40.520 Because, well, here's what it doesn't say. 00:06:40.520 --> 00:06:46.000 I'm often helped in reading the Bible by thinking about what's not there as much as what's there. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:53.000 Notice it, Mark doesn't say that Jesus marveled at their sin. 00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:56.079 I mean, we all like to keep up a nice facade, right? 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:57.079 Keeping up appearances. 00:06:57.079 --> 00:07:01.959 We all have this inner self that we'd rather not let other people catch a glimpse of. 00:07:01.959 --> 00:07:05.879 And we think, well, if you saw me for who I really am, you probably wouldn't like me 00:07:05.879 --> 00:07:07.160 so much. 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:08.560 I might lose face. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:12.279 I might not be welcome here or there. 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:17.639 But Jesus knows what we're really like way deep down. 00:07:17.639 --> 00:07:21.480 He knows our sins, our weaknesses, our failures. 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:26.920 That thing that you hate the most about yourself or that thing that you're absolutely the most 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:35.080 ashamed of, that does not astonish Jesus. 00:07:35.080 --> 00:07:41.000 Jesus doesn't encounter our sin and marvel. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:45.920 And Mark does not say that Jesus marveled at their powerlessness. 00:07:45.920 --> 00:07:47.640 We like to be self-sufficient. 00:07:47.640 --> 00:07:49.480 We like to help ourselves. 00:07:49.480 --> 00:07:51.640 And we admire people who can help themselves, right? 00:07:51.640 --> 00:07:54.040 People who climb to the top from humble beginnings. 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:56.200 We think that's a good story. 00:07:56.200 --> 00:08:01.560 But when it comes to righteousness and sin, when it comes to following God, to obeying 00:08:01.560 --> 00:08:07.400 God, we are powerless in and of ourselves. 00:08:07.400 --> 00:08:13.240 We've all sinned in word, thought, and deed by what we've done, even by what we've left 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:15.759 undone. 00:08:15.759 --> 00:08:22.759 And our best efforts at undoing that damage is like Lady Macbeth scrubbing at that blood 00:08:22.759 --> 00:08:23.759 stain. 00:08:23.759 --> 00:08:27.000 It won't come out. 00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:33.240 But Jesus does not look at us and marvel at our inability to help ourselves. 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:36.960 Our powerlessness doesn't astonish Jesus. 00:08:36.960 --> 00:08:41.960 I mean, you know, in Mark 5, right before this, he raised a girl to life from death. 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:46.240 And what is more powerless than death? 00:08:46.240 --> 00:08:47.680 He's not shocked by our weakness. 00:08:47.680 --> 00:08:54.879 In fact, he's tenderly moved by it. 00:08:54.879 --> 00:09:02.920 Your weakness is what motivates Jesus' tender love and mercy. 00:09:02.920 --> 00:09:05.240 Jesus strong and kind. 00:09:05.240 --> 00:09:06.960 So what does astonish Jesus? 00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:08.160 What's in the text? 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:13.319 We marvel because of their unbelief. 00:09:13.319 --> 00:09:14.319 Unbelief. 00:09:14.319 --> 00:09:16.759 They said, where do you get these things? 00:09:16.759 --> 00:09:17.759 Where do you get this wisdom? 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:22.120 How do you do these mighty works? 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:24.279 Did they believe in Jesus? 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:28.319 Well, they believe that he exists, right? 00:09:28.319 --> 00:09:32.559 And I mean, what a low bar we've set for faith, right, that we just want people to acknowledge 00:09:32.559 --> 00:09:35.759 that Jesus was a historical person. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:37.480 That's not faith. 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:40.879 They believe that he exists, and Jesus marveled at their unbelief. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:42.840 They believe that Jesus had wisdom, right? 00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:46.600 They knew he had something important to teach them about God. 00:09:46.600 --> 00:09:49.560 They said, what is the wisdom given to him? 00:09:49.560 --> 00:09:51.080 So they said, yeah, Jesus is a good teacher. 00:09:51.080 --> 00:09:54.320 He's spiritually wise. 00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:57.720 They believed that Jesus performed miracles. 00:09:57.720 --> 00:10:00.720 Maybe they heard about that girl that he raised from the dead or about the woman who'd been 00:10:00.720 --> 00:10:07.080 healed from years of bleeding by just touching his robe or any of the other incredible works 00:10:07.080 --> 00:10:08.639 he'd done. 00:10:08.639 --> 00:10:12.720 And they didn't say, you know, I doubt those stories are even true. 00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:16.879 They had no problem actually saying, he's does mighty works. 00:10:16.879 --> 00:10:23.080 And still, Jesus was filled with sad wonder at their unbelief. 00:10:23.080 --> 00:10:27.320 And in the end, he went away. 00:10:27.320 --> 00:10:31.640 He left the synagogue, went out to other villages to teach about the inbreaking of the kingdom 00:10:31.640 --> 00:10:35.360 of heaven. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:42.960 There is great danger in this kind of unbelief in Jesus because he might just give us what 00:10:42.960 --> 00:10:46.200 we're asking for. 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:56.000 Now, when I hear this kind of message, I tend to think, yeah, there are some, I know some 00:10:56.000 --> 00:10:59.120 people with that kind of unbelief who, you know, they say they believe in Jesus, but 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:01.480 they don't clearly believe in the real Jesus. 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:03.480 And I wish this person could hear that message. 00:11:03.480 --> 00:11:07.960 Let me just ask you what I had to ask myself earlier this week. 00:11:07.960 --> 00:11:13.759 Would you ask the question of yourself, say, am I astonishing Jesus with my unbelief? 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:23.920 Do I have a little corner of my heart that's holding out and saying no thank you to Jesus? 00:11:23.920 --> 00:11:28.080 After all, these people who are saying no thank you, who are filled with unbelief, they're 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:30.800 not strangers, right? 00:11:30.800 --> 00:11:33.399 These aren't like Roman invaders. 00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.840 They're churchgoers who know about Jesus. 00:11:36.840 --> 00:11:38.439 They're religious. 00:11:38.439 --> 00:11:39.480 They grew up with him. 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:41.480 They're familiar. 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:46.919 Yet, even among us, you know, if we've been raised in church all our lives, there's this 00:11:46.919 --> 00:11:51.079 danger, maybe especially among us. 00:11:51.079 --> 00:11:56.600 There's a danger of astonishing Jesus. 00:11:56.600 --> 00:12:00.360 So that takes us to point number two, the fertile soil of belief. 00:12:00.360 --> 00:12:01.360 That was unbelief. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:03.960 Let's talk about belief. 00:12:03.960 --> 00:12:08.399 Some years back, two well-known preachers in the States, John Piper and Arcee Sproul, 00:12:08.399 --> 00:12:10.560 they were speaking at a conference. 00:12:10.560 --> 00:12:15.879 And Arcee Sproul spoke first, and he was speaking about the nature of faith, and he used this 00:12:15.879 --> 00:12:17.680 kind of well-known illustration. 00:12:17.680 --> 00:12:19.240 Some of you may have heard it. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:23.720 He said something like, you know, faith is like sitting down on a chair. 00:12:23.720 --> 00:12:25.920 You can't just look at the chair and say, I think that'll hold me up. 00:12:25.920 --> 00:12:29.720 You have to sit down and put your weight in it. 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:33.639 Perhaps that chair will hold you up. 00:12:33.639 --> 00:12:38.560 John Piper was the next speaker, and he came up and said, Arcee Sproul was right. 00:12:38.560 --> 00:12:42.040 Faith is like sitting on a chair, but he missed out on something. 00:12:42.040 --> 00:12:46.080 You have to love the chair. 00:12:46.080 --> 00:12:50.399 And later at a luncheon for the conference speakers, you know, all the speakers are eating 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:53.399 together and chatting about their talks. 00:12:53.399 --> 00:13:00.120 Paul leaned over to Piper with a smile and said, John, I love the chair. 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:02.039 Sounds a bit silly, but it's true. 00:13:02.039 --> 00:13:07.919 The kind of unbelief that Mark is talking about is people saying, oh, that chair? 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:09.399 Sure, it's a chair. 00:13:09.399 --> 00:13:11.319 You can sit on it. 00:13:11.319 --> 00:13:20.159 But real faith sits in the chair, loves the chair, put all your weight down. 00:13:20.159 --> 00:13:23.919 That metaphor really pushes it, the balance of reality, doesn't it? 00:13:23.919 --> 00:13:25.159 You know what I mean. 00:13:25.159 --> 00:13:28.439 You put our weight down on Jesus. 00:13:28.439 --> 00:13:34.439 Preaching to those hardened with unbelief like this is like sowing seed on shallow, rocky 00:13:34.439 --> 00:13:36.039 soil. 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:38.559 Jesus told that parable elsewhere in Mark. 00:13:38.559 --> 00:13:42.879 But faith, real belief in the real Jesus, is the fertile soil in which the garden of 00:13:42.879 --> 00:13:49.240 the gospel can take root and just flourish and grow. 00:13:49.240 --> 00:13:53.039 So what's the difference between the sign on the mosque, we believe in Jesus too, and 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:55.680 biblical faith? 00:13:55.680 --> 00:13:59.519 What's the difference between believing in Jesus' wisdom and power like the people in 00:13:59.519 --> 00:14:04.680 his hometown and saving faith? 00:14:04.680 --> 00:14:08.399 Faith doesn't just believe that Jesus is. 00:14:08.399 --> 00:14:12.919 Faith believes that Jesus is for you. 00:14:12.919 --> 00:14:14.879 Faith doesn't just do the right religious things. 00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:23.159 Faith follows Jesus, the object of our faith, actively. 00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:26.559 Faith doesn't just acknowledge that Jesus has wisdom. 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:32.279 Faith cries, I have nowhere else to go. 00:14:32.279 --> 00:14:36.840 No other source of wisdom in life. 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:39.159 Faith doesn't just say to Jesus, you are powerful. 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:45.719 Faith says, I'm powerless and I need you. 00:14:45.719 --> 00:14:48.639 Faith doesn't just know about Jesus. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:52.120 Faith wants Jesus. 00:14:52.120 --> 00:14:58.639 Do you know about Jesus or do you want Jesus? 00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:02.319 Unbelief treats Jesus like a news commentator on the BBC or something. 00:15:02.319 --> 00:15:06.120 You might be watching the news and someone's giving their opinion and you think, yes, that's 00:15:06.120 --> 00:15:07.519 exactly right. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:08.519 Precisely. 00:15:08.519 --> 00:15:14.159 Or you think, no, I don't know if he's quite got the right information there. 00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:17.519 Belief treats Jesus not like that, but like a prophet. 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:23.399 A prophet who says, we can go to him and say, show me God's holiness and show me my sin 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:32.559 and help me turn from sin to God and live. 00:15:32.559 --> 00:15:40.199 Are we open to those sort of prophetic, fresh encounters with Jesus? 00:15:40.199 --> 00:15:45.159 That's not just something for new converts when they decide to come to Jesus for the 00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:46.159 first time. 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:50.519 That's something for all of us, no matter how many days, months, years, decades we've 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:51.679 been following Jesus. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:57.599 Are we open to the prophetic ministry of Jesus? 00:15:57.599 --> 00:16:02.439 Jesus that can wound and heal with a word. 00:16:02.440 --> 00:16:04.440 Belief wants Jesus to meet our status quo. 00:16:04.440 --> 00:16:05.760 It's a bless our life. 00:16:05.760 --> 00:16:09.280 No feathers ruffled, please. 00:16:09.280 --> 00:16:12.200 But faith says, Lord, I'm bleeding. 00:16:12.200 --> 00:16:13.200 I'm dying. 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:14.200 I need help. 00:16:14.200 --> 00:16:15.200 I need life. 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:23.200 Where else could I go but to Jesus, the author of life? 00:16:23.200 --> 00:16:25.800 Biblical faith is not just Jesus aware. 00:16:25.800 --> 00:16:30.200 It's Jesus oriented. 00:16:30.200 --> 00:16:36.160 And ultimately, unbelief says to Jesus, yeah, I know who you are, but I'm not really interested. 00:16:36.160 --> 00:16:38.280 So please don't come and mess up my life. 00:16:38.280 --> 00:16:43.840 I've got a good thing going here. 00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:48.879 Maybe this text is a wake up call. 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:51.520 Why are we surprised when we turn Jesus away at the door? 00:16:51.520 --> 00:16:53.160 We've all done it. 00:16:53.160 --> 00:16:54.160 We turn Jesus away. 00:16:54.160 --> 00:16:57.200 We say, no, thank you, not today. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:07.279 And then we find out that he's doing no mighty works in our lives, in our homes, in our churches. 00:17:07.279 --> 00:17:13.640 You know, if you read the Gospels, all four Gospels, these marvelous accounts of Jesus' 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:21.039 life, the norm everywhere Jesus goes, the norm is that when he encounters faith, it's 00:17:21.039 --> 00:17:28.440 like heaven cracks open and the kingdom of heaven begins in breaking into our reality. 00:17:28.440 --> 00:17:30.279 Mighty works happen. 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:40.440 People turn from death to life because Jesus is there and they want him. 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:44.480 And he doesn't look for the really, really strong in faith, right? 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:49.799 It's not like, oh, if I had a better faith, Jesus would do mighty works in my heart, the 00:17:49.799 --> 00:17:54.720 nearest faith, just the nearest. 00:17:54.720 --> 00:17:57.960 And Jesus says, let's go. 00:17:57.960 --> 00:18:00.440 We just go to God and hang on. 00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:02.720 That's all he wants. 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:04.519 The Westminster Confession of Faith says this. 00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:10.159 He says, the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon 00:18:10.159 --> 00:18:15.559 Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life by virtue of the covenant 00:18:15.559 --> 00:18:17.559 of grace. 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:25.919 Being, receiving, and resting upon Christ, Christ alone. 00:18:25.919 --> 00:18:26.919 That's it. 00:18:26.919 --> 00:18:29.039 It's faith. 00:18:29.039 --> 00:18:35.440 If you want to see the mighty works of God, you can't just know about Jesus. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:40.759 You have to want him. 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:41.759 Do you want him? 00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:44.519 Do you accept him? 00:18:44.519 --> 00:18:45.919 Receive him? 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:52.960 Do you rest on him alone? 00:18:52.960 --> 00:18:55.240 Point number three, the surprising family of Jesus. 00:18:55.240 --> 00:19:02.400 Let's look back at Mark chapter three for a moment, verse 32 through 35. 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:07.160 So remember, Jesus is sitting maybe in a house and there's a crowd of people around him and 00:19:07.160 --> 00:19:10.400 then some people come up and say, hey, your mother and your brother are outside and they're 00:19:10.400 --> 00:19:11.880 looking for you. 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:16.160 33, and he answered them, who are my mother and my brothers? 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:19.440 That's a weird question. 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:25.800 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, here are my mother and my brothers. 00:19:25.800 --> 00:19:30.840 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. 00:19:30.840 --> 00:19:34.680 So in Mark 6, what we had just looked at, Jesus goes back to his hometown, right, and 00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:39.840 even hints that his own family doesn't accept him, right? 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:42.679 God doesn't have honor with his relatives and in his household. 00:19:42.679 --> 00:19:50.319 And here, just a few chapters earlier, Jesus explains who his real family is. 00:19:50.319 --> 00:19:59.359 Verse 34, chapter three, looking at those who sat around him. 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:01.759 Jesus's blood relatives were outside. 00:20:01.759 --> 00:20:06.359 But this crowd of people getting right up close to Jesus, those are the people that 00:20:06.359 --> 00:20:07.959 wanted to hear him. 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:10.480 Those are the people that wanted to be near him. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:16.240 And Jesus looked them in the eye and said, you are my family. 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:21.480 The ones who get near to Jesus. 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:28.160 He goes on, verse 35, whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. 00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:29.200 So extrapolate from that. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:31.400 What is the will of God? 00:20:31.400 --> 00:20:33.720 It's getting near to Jesus. 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:36.000 That's what God wants from you. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:43.640 This morning we looked from 1 Thessalonians 4 and Paul says the will of God, your sanctification, 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:46.440 that's the same thing. 00:20:46.440 --> 00:20:51.079 Growing in holiness is getting near to Jesus. 00:20:51.079 --> 00:20:52.599 That's what it's all about. 00:20:52.599 --> 00:21:01.920 Being receptive and responsive to Jesus, wanting Jesus, it's the will of God. 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.920 It's faith. 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:09.960 So we want the mighty works of God in our lives, in our homes. 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:11.680 We want to see sick healed. 00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:15.660 We want to see sins forgiven, sinners saved and baptized. 00:21:15.660 --> 00:21:17.360 We want to see the dead raised to life. 00:21:17.360 --> 00:21:19.880 We want to see repentance. 00:21:19.880 --> 00:21:25.440 We want the mighty works of God, but do we want Jesus? 00:21:25.440 --> 00:21:31.200 Do we want the prophetic ministry of Jesus? 00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:35.160 The Jesus who can wound and heal with a stroke. 00:21:35.160 --> 00:21:41.279 The Jesus whose teaching in Mark 1.15 was summed up as repent and believe for the kingdom 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:44.720 of God is at hand. 00:21:44.720 --> 00:21:48.559 I mean we want a Jesus whose ministry says believe, but not a Jesus whose ministry says 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:52.120 repent and believe, let's be honest. 00:21:52.120 --> 00:21:56.039 But if we won't accept the Jesus who calls us to repentance, then we can't accept the 00:21:56.039 --> 00:22:00.240 mighty works of God. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:09.079 If we'll receive the real Jesus, we need to hear his gentle and firm words together. 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:15.799 Maybe he's whispering one thing to you tonight. 00:22:15.799 --> 00:22:22.599 Won't you turn from the sins and the secrets and have the real Jesus in all his power and 00:22:22.599 --> 00:22:23.599 glory? 00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:24.599 Will you open that door? 00:22:24.599 --> 00:22:27.279 I'm not talking about becoming a Christian for the first time. 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:35.680 I'm talking about taking the next step with Jesus. 00:22:35.680 --> 00:22:36.960 Unbelief is Jesus. 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:39.480 And Jesus is telling him, no thank you. 00:22:39.480 --> 00:22:41.399 We're not interested. 00:22:41.399 --> 00:22:45.960 And who is the most at danger of that kind of unbelief? 00:22:45.960 --> 00:22:48.619 I am. 00:22:48.619 --> 00:22:50.119 We are. 00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:52.599 Seriously. 00:22:52.599 --> 00:22:54.559 It's the church. 00:22:54.559 --> 00:22:56.920 We're most at risk for that kind of unbelief. 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:58.840 We've walked with Jesus a long time. 00:22:58.840 --> 00:23:03.039 We come to a certain point, familiarity breeds contempt, and we say, actually, I'm good. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:09.960 Please don't mess up what I've got going on. 00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:17.200 Did you notice, though, in conclusion, did you notice that Jesus does some mighty works? 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:23.360 Mark says he could do no mighty works, but he did some mighty works. 00:23:23.360 --> 00:23:24.360 Jesus healed. 00:23:24.360 --> 00:23:25.360 Right? 00:23:25.359 --> 00:23:28.000 He healed. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:34.879 Except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 00:23:34.879 --> 00:23:37.199 Word literally means the powerless, the sick people. 00:23:37.199 --> 00:23:38.839 They're the powerless people. 00:23:38.839 --> 00:23:39.839 You're sick. 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:42.039 Okay, make yourself better. 00:23:42.039 --> 00:23:43.919 Sick people are powerless people, right? 00:23:43.919 --> 00:23:49.079 The sick people are the ones who know, I can't help myself. 00:23:49.079 --> 00:23:51.279 I can't do this on my own. 00:23:51.279 --> 00:23:52.879 Sick people, really sick people. 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:57.480 They've tried everything. 00:23:57.480 --> 00:24:02.400 I've known some people with some very dire diseases that would scoff at certain types 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:07.560 of medicine or maybe kind of homeopathic medicine, and the minute things get really dire, they're 00:24:07.560 --> 00:24:11.560 willing to try anything. 00:24:11.560 --> 00:24:13.080 Sick people are willing to try anything. 00:24:13.080 --> 00:24:16.160 They're desperate, and they go to Jesus and say, I need you. 00:24:16.160 --> 00:24:17.280 I need Jesus. 00:24:17.280 --> 00:24:18.480 That's it. 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:26.039 So if you're like that, if you know that you're powerless, that you can't fix yourself, there 00:24:26.039 --> 00:24:34.920 is tremendous hope, radiant hope for you. 00:24:34.920 --> 00:24:39.819 Of course, being weak, being powerless won't save you in and of itself, but being powerless 00:24:39.819 --> 00:24:46.759 and wanting Jesus, that's saving faith. 00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:50.200 I don't care if you've never called yourself a Christian or if you've called yourself a 00:24:50.200 --> 00:24:57.960 Christian for a decade or 50 years or 100 years, will you continue or will you for the 00:24:57.960 --> 00:25:00.440 first time, except Jesus? 00:25:00.440 --> 00:25:02.680 Will you receive Jesus? 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:08.879 Will you rest on Jesus alone? 00:25:08.879 --> 00:25:12.000 And if you're here and you're new to Christianity, if you're watching online and you're new to 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:18.319 Christianity, let me encourage you please read the four Gospels, get them on audiobook. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:23.839 It's a great way to be read too, and you can read them rather quickly in that way. 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:24.839 Take the Gospel and Mark. 00:25:24.839 --> 00:25:25.839 It's not that long. 00:25:25.839 --> 00:25:29.440 Take it in a single chunk. 00:25:29.440 --> 00:25:34.759 And notice, in his whole ministry, Jesus never turned away. 00:25:34.759 --> 00:25:41.319 The sick and the powerless, the weak, the sinful. 00:25:41.319 --> 00:25:45.480 He never is astonished by our sinfulness. 00:25:45.480 --> 00:25:51.240 He's never shocked by our secrets, by the skeletons in our closets, by the little corners 00:25:51.240 --> 00:25:55.480 in our heart full of cobwebs that we don't want to let anyone into. 00:25:55.480 --> 00:26:03.480 In fact, it's those places of deepest need that compel his mercy and his love and his 00:26:03.480 --> 00:26:06.480 power. 00:26:06.480 --> 00:26:12.640 How could we turn away from a person like that? 00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:19.120 Let me close with what we started with, words from Matthew 11. 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:30.400 Jesus said, Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:39.320 Take my yoke upon you, learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will 00:26:39.320 --> 00:26:45.960 find rest for your souls. 00:26:45.960 --> 00:26:48.800 Let me pray. 00:26:48.800 --> 00:26:59.880 Jesus, we are glad to find rest in your arms. 00:26:59.880 --> 00:27:06.840 We are glad to just stop trying to make it on our own by ourselves, stop trying to look 00:27:06.840 --> 00:27:12.840 impressive, even to impress ourselves, and just to lean back on you, to put all our weight 00:27:12.840 --> 00:27:17.920 on you, or you've never let anyone down who's trusted you. 00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:19.920 You are strong. 00:27:19.920 --> 00:27:23.480 I praise you for that. 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:31.480 Amen.