Father, your word leads us to talk about some very uncomfortable truths.
And Father, you know how we have a great habit as human beings to ignore truths that are uncomfortable,
to try to do some spin on them.
And Father, you know how unpopular this text is for the average Canadian and even the average Canadian Christian.
And you know, Father, how many Christians in Canada today struggle with some of these ideas and concepts
and even use it as an excuse to walk away from the faith.
Father, you know the state of our hearts.
And we know that every word that you caused to be written in your word written was written for our health,
for our salvation, for our healing, for our strengthening, for our good.
And so, Father, we ask that the Holy Spirit would fall with might and power and deep conviction upon us
and upon all who are entering into worship through the video, through YouTube Live.
We ask for the Holy Spirit would fall with might and power and deep conviction
and that your word would do its work in our hearts.
And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
Some of you know that over the years I've had lots of conversations in coffee shops.
Over the last 22 months I haven't had very many conversations in coffee shops, even recently.
They're not really fully open. They're sort of open.
Actually, mainly the few conversations I've had lately have almost all been with Muslims, actually,
which is a very interesting development when they see me reading the Bible
and they start into a bit of a conversation with me.
But there's one fellow. I'm going to call him Bob.
And if you're watching for a first time or you're a guest here for the first time,
one of the things I try to do when I talk is if I'm using an example of a male,
I just always try to use the word Bob so I don't slip and say the person's real name.
And it's either usually Sue or Sally if it's a woman.
So if you're here and your name is Bob, if I stopped using Bob when the person's real name was Bob,
then you'd figure out that his real name was Bob, right?
So it just has to always be Bob.
So if you're a visitor, you're watching, your name is Bob.
In fact, yeah, I'm not talking about you in this case, for sure.
But ever, I'm not.
But I've had one fellow that I think I had a failure in conversations with him.
At the end of the day, only God knows.
But I really, I spent months talking to this fellow, always misreading him in a very serious way.
The person that he always sat with in the coffee shop was a very, very, very public atheist.
And they always seemed to have very, very friendly conversations.
And as I got to know this fellow Bob, I discovered that he was raised in an atheist household,
that he got a PhD in one of the STEM fields, you know, science, technology, engineering, or medicine.
He had a PhD in one of those STEM fields.
He was raised in an atheist house.
He had had a very, very high-profile job in the STEM field for 30-some-odd years.
So I just kept talking to him, assuming that he was an atheist.
And I actually, I kept missing what he was saying.
And it must have really, it's like, maybe it's part of God's grace that even though I kept being clueless with him,
that he kept talking to me.
And I'd been talking to him for months before it finally dawned on me
that with no help from Christians at all,
he had come to the point where he completely and utterly rejected naturalistic evolution.
And he believed that spiritual beings existed.
And I had completely and utterly missed it.
All these times we were talking, we were two ships passing in the night.
I just, I just didn't listen.
I guess I was just so overwhelmed by his background.
And I'd never really come across somebody who all by themselves,
completely and utterly separate from any interaction with Christians,
had rejected naturalistic evolution completely
and actually accepted that spiritual, that minds existed, spirits existed, angels,
all those things, they all existed.
Then we started to have very, very different conversations
just before COVID hit and then he eventually moved to a different city.
Actually, if you're watching, I, for some odd reason,
I'd love to have a conversation with you again if you'd do me the honor and the pleasure.
I mention all of this because the text that you, we just heard,
and we're going to look at again in a moment,
it makes very clear reference to Satan and to demons.
And in Canada, basically there's two camps in Canada nowadays
when it comes to things like this.
There are a lot of people who completely and utterly reject anything like that
as just being against reason, against science, against common sense.
It's just kooky.
Okay?
And then the other camp, which might even now be the majority in Canada,
is that they accept that these things exist.
It's like a non-issue.
Of course spiritual beings exist.
Of course spells work.
Of course crystals work.
Of course there's a spiritual dimension to life.
So I just want to say that, you know, over the weeks when we look at Mark's gospel,
and we're going to go through all of it,
we're going to take a break actually after this sermon
to do more Christmas and Advent things
and return to it in the second Sunday in January.
We'll return to the series.
But today I'm not going to do anything to try to convince those
who don't think that demons exist.
I will at some point in time,
because it's going to come up again in other texts, I will.
But for now, those of you who are watching, who are skeptical,
just give us, just pretend it's, just listen to us as you would
an anthropologist trying to figure out, like, weird people groups.
But for the rest of you Canadians who accept that such things exist,
just to let you know that there's, in a sense, there's two camps in Canada,
but biblical Christianity, real Christianity,
is on the side of the conversation that believes that minds exist
and spirits exist, spiritual beings exist.
We disagree with most Canadians,
because most Canadians who are in this camp
think that this world is either inherently good or neutral,
and we Christians disagree with that.
The Bible tells that that is a wrong way to understand it.
But here is a text where you see that Jesus obviously believes
in the existence of Satan and demons
and Christians who trust him as their Savior and Lord
should also believe the same as well.
Now, I just mention that because it's in the context
of talking about Satan and demons
that these two very, very, very unpopular Canadian ideas,
one of them is more of a Christian issue,
and the other aspect is just a Christian and secular issue,
is that it's in this context that Jesus is going to talk about
an unforgivable sin.
At least that's how it's often put.
And as part of the way he talks about that
and deals with some of these issues,
he also, in a sense, he never uses the word hell,
but he creates part of the, in a sense,
the theological and spiritual superstructure
and theology within which hell would be understood.
So let's look at the text.
Mark chapter 3, verses 20 to 35.
We're preaching through the gospel of Mark.
And by the way, if you're here or if you're watching
and you're either a skeptic or a scoffer or a seeker,
we don't hide things about the Christian life.
That's one of the reasons why we preach through books of the Bible.
And if you go through all of Mark's gospel,
we're going to have to talk about sexuality.
We're going to talk about identity.
We're going to have to talk about money.
We're going to talk about hell.
All sorts of things because we go through from verse to verse
and so nothing's hidden.
Here's how the text goes.
Verse 20.
Then Jesus went home.
By the way, this would be his,
the last couple of years of his life,
he had a home.
Not probably that he owned,
but that he stayed with in the Capernaum area.
That's sort of where his home base was for ministry during his public ministry.
So verse 20.
Then he went home and the crowd gathered again
so that they could not even eat.
That is the Jesus and his disciples and the people who lived in the home.
And when his family,
and in the original language,
it implies not just family,
but people who were close to him.
So when his family,
in a sense,
and many of his friends heard it,
that that's where he was,
they went out to seize him,
for they were saying,
he is out of his mind.
And actually, literally,
the word literally is the one that's used to get the word berserk.
He's berserk.
Completely crazy.
Raving.
Mad.
Now,
just a little bit of an aside.
I'm not going to say much about this
in terms of the sermon.
I just don't have time.
It would be a whole interesting sermon in and of itself.
But the thing to note here is that people at this time understood the difference between mental illness and demon possession.
They didn't just say automatically that if somebody seemed to be exhibiting weird,
you know,
hearing voices or all those other mood swings,
the things that we would identify as mental illness.
They didn't just assume it was demonic.
They had two categories.
And in fact,
you'll see that very clearly in the text,
because here in this first text,
they use what we would now call a psychological category,
that he's mentally ill.
And we're going to see that in the very next few verses,
they use a demonic category.
So,
it's not,
we can be really guilty of chronological snobbery
and just think that because we know how to set,
get a TikTok account,
that somehow we're smarter than people who didn't have flush toilets.
It's not the case.
You read all writers,
they were very smart,
very perceptive.
And in this day,
they had this distinction,
which we've lost.
And then now the text goes in a very,
very bit of a different direction,
although it helps us to see that they do understand the distinction between mental illness and demonic oppression or possession.
Verse 22,
and the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying,
he is possessed by Beelzebul.
And by the prince of demons,
he casts out the demons.
And just sort of pause here for a second.
I haven't really talked about it very much,
but when you see the word scribes here,
especially scribes from Jerusalem,
this would really be like,
a scribe was sort of a cross between somebody with a PhD,
somebody who was a lawyer,
somebody who was a public intellectual,
somebody who was a judge,
and someone who was a community leader.
So it would be as if,
almost as if,
not quite,
but almost as if Mayor Watson was also a lawyer,
and also had a doctorate,
and also had,
like,
was a public intellectual.
And they're all rolled into one.
And when it says that they come from Jerusalem,
what this means is the elite have come.
So in our case,
it would be that somebody with a PhD from Cambridge,
or Oxford,
or Harvard,
you know,
who writes for elite journals,
and elite media,
and is also a lawyer and a judge,
that's who's come.
Like,
this is a top-notch guy,
has come from the center
of the Jewish intellectual,
spiritual,
and cultural world.
So a scribe is at the pinnacle of the intellectual,
the cultural,
the,
you know,
the biblical,
and even in many ways,
often because of their consultancy role,
at the very height of politics,
all blended in a way that doesn't exist anymore.
And so they've come down from Jerusalem,
and they say that Jesus is possessed.
So the interesting thing,
by the way,
is that what this means is,
they accept,
they realize,
they can't deny that Jesus has been doing miracles.
His fame,
if you look,
you read the other part of the gospel before this,
the way the gospel writers work,
is they record a couple of significant incidents,
that involve a miracle,
or a healing,
or an exorcism,
but they also regularly tell you,
that he did this all the time.
And if you go back,
there's been a couple of summary statements earlier,
that basically just say,
you know,
Jesus is doing this all the time,
all the time,
all the time.
We're just recording a couple of them.
And in fact,
in the text that we looked at,
either last week or the week before,
it just said that one of the reasons,
that's one of the reasons why Jesus's fame,
without social media,
had spread so far,
even into areas that were majority pagan,
and mixed pagan Jewish areas,
and the Jewish homeland,
and the center of the Jewish homeland,
the fact that he was doing these things,
had become very well known.
So the scribes,
these cultural elite,
they come,
and they accept,
that he's been doing exorcisms,
and miracles,
and healing,
but they saw this,
as evidence of something,
very opposite,
of what Jesus was interpreting it as.
In fact,
they say,
that the fact that he's able to do this,
is because of Satan,
which we'll see in a moment,
Beelzebul,
Satan,
sort of a common name.
So the,
if you think of the,
demonic world,
C.S. Lewis wouldn't say,
that it was a hierarchy,
if you read the screw tape letters,
and if you haven't read,
the screw tape letters,
read the screw tape letters,
at the bottom of the lower archy,
or the height of the hierarchy,
but a demon,
that has more power,
and influence,
than other demons,
and that Jesus is possessed,
by this very,
very high level,
demon,
or from God's perspective,
a low level,
demon,
and that's why Jesus,
is able to do this.
So how does Jesus respond?
Well here's how he does it.
Look at verses,
I'm going to read all of 23 to 30,
and then we're going to circle back,
and sort of unpack it.
So they make this claim,
against Jesus in public.
So verse 23,
Jesus called to them,
and to him,
he called them to him,
and said to them in parables.
Now he's answering this question,
in public.
How can Satan,
verse 23,
he called them to him,
and said to them in parables,
how can Satan cast out Satan?
If a kingdom is divided,
against itself,
that kingdom cannot stand.
And if a house is divided,
against itself,
that house,
will not be able to stand.
And if Satan,
has risen up against himself,
and is divided,
he cannot stand,
but is coming to an end.
But no one,
right,
so now that is in a sense,
he's given a bit of set of some arguments,
about why it can't be Satan.
Now he's going to challenge them,
to understand how they should be,
interpreting it in a different way.
But,
no one can enter a strong man's house,
and plunder his goods,
unless he first binds the strong man.
Then indeed,
he may plunder his house.
And now it takes this,
sort of very deeper turn,
about the significance,
of being closed to this truth.
Truly,
and by the way,
those of you who remember,
the King James Version,
that would be verily.
This,
we could almost translate it as,
Amen.
And it means,
whenever you see this,
it's used about,
I think,
ten times or something in Mark.
It means that God,
Jesus is making a very solemn statement.
Amen.
Rather than us say,
at the end of a prayer,
Amen.
Catches your attention.
I say to you,
all sins will be forgiven,
the children of man,
and whatever blasphemies they utter,
literally in the Greek it says,
whatever blasphemies they blaspheme,
but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit,
never has forgiveness,
but is guilty of an eternal sin,
for they were saying,
he has an unclean spirit.
So,
whoa,
that's heavy.
What's going on?
Well,
here's a couple of things.
Part of what Jesus is saying is,
here's how your argument works.
Okay?
When you're trying to interpret what I'm doing,
we'll use the example of Martin Luther King,
Jr.,
and his great action in the 60s
to begin to break down segregation,
to really begin to challenge at a very,
very deep level.
It was a cultural turning point,
the United States,
the great work of Martin Luther King,
Jr.
and if somebody said to you,
Martin Luther King,
Jr.,
in all his works,
he was actually working for the Klan,
the Ku Klux Klan.
You know those things,
and I don't want to put an image,
because it would just,
it would,
it would defile our room
to put up an image
of the Ku Klux Klan.
Those evil men robed in white
with the white hoods,
cowards,
covering their faces,
the burning crosses.
So imagine somebody said,
you know Martin Luther King,
he was actually working
for the Ku Klux Klan,
and you'd go,
what?
What?
They'd say,
yeah, yeah, yeah,
all that stuff,
the demonstrations with the cops,
and, you know,
the bus boycotts,
and breaking down segregation,
and opening places up,
they were actually working for the Klan,
and you'd go,
what?
Like,
how could you possibly look
at Martin Luther King
and say that he was working
for the Klan?
But actually,
it would even be worse
if it went the other way.
If somebody said,
yeah, yeah,
Martin Luther King,
I've just been doing a lot
of reading about him,
I've really been doing
lots and lots of research
about him,
and do you know
that Martin Luther King
ran the Ku Klux Klan?
And you'd go,
you'd laugh,
like I just did,
you'd giggle.
And then they said,
no, no, no, no,
I've been studying it.
Like,
I've been looking
at archival footage,
and I've been reading
interviews,
and Martin Luther King
ran the Ku Klux Klan.
Now,
you'd start to realize,
what?
Like,
okay,
how do you have
a conversation
with somebody like this?
Like,
how can anybody
in their right mind
possibly think
that Martin Luther King
organized the people
in the white hoods
to go around
and lynch
black people?
And, like,
wouldn't that be a,
like,
wouldn't it almost
make you want to gag
and vomit
that it's such a
perversion
of the truth
and such a slander
against a very,
very,
very great man?
Like,
and you might try
to say to them,
no,
like,
Martin Luther King
did things
to stop black people
from being African Americans
from being lynched.
Yeah,
yeah,
no,
it was all part
of a Ku Klux Klan.
No,
no,
like,
you,
and that's what
Jesus is saying
here is going on
with these scribes
and the scribes.
He's saying,
like,
one moment,
like,
if you know mentally ill people,
imagine,
you know,
some of the,
those of you who are downtown a fair bit
and you see these regular mentally ill people,
there's this really,
like,
I see so many sad cases
of mentally ill people
on the streets of Ottawa
that are off their meds
and,
and you just see them gaunt,
raving,
waving their arms
as they wander down the street
with the sores all over their body,
huddled in,
in little corners,
talking to non-existent people
and if somebody healed them
that all of a sudden
they were in their right mind,
how could you possibly think
that that was the devil doing it?
Like,
how could you,
if you saw somebody on the street
and their arm
was all bent
and when you saw them,
you know,
their sleeves came up
and there was basically no flesh on it
and they'd lost all control
of their fingers
and then,
like,
a day later,
you saw that their arm
was straight,
there was muscle on the arm
and their fingers were moving
and you said the devil do that,
you say,
what?
That's not the sort of thing
the devil does.
You see,
what the,
what,
what Jesus is pointing out here,
like,
look,
look again at verses,
28,
see,
look again at verse 27,
but no one can enter
a strong man's house
and plunder his goods
unless he first finds
the strong man,
then indeed he may plunder his house.
Jesus is saying
that if you actually look
at the evidence,
what you see
is the strong man of death
is being,
is being bound.
That's why people
are being healed.
You are seeing
the strong man
of mental illness
being bound
and that's why people
are being put
in their right mind.
You see the strong man
of demonic possession
being bound
by someone
stronger still
and that stronger one
is obviously of God
because it brings life,
it brings clarity
of mind,
it brings healing,
it brings
a putting away
of death
and you're going to see
other nature miracles
later on
as it goes on
and that what you're seeing
is not
demonic,
but what you see
is that it's possible
to close yourself
to the truth,
so close yourself
to the truth
that no truth
can penetrate
your mind.
Some of you
have probably heard
the old joke,
there's a doctor
dealing with a patient
and then one day
he comes
because he's troubling
all of his family,
it's a psychiatrist,
and because he believes
he's dead
and so,
like how do you tell
a live person
that they're not dead
and so then
they have conversations
about it,
they try medication
and all of that
type of stuff
and every time
he comes up
with something
about well you do this
and dead men do this,
he always has
some type of explanation
as to why it really
just proves
that he's dead,
not alive.
Anyway,
finally one day
the fellow comes in
and he happens
to mention
he'd just been
watching a movie
and murder
and he noticed
that one of the things
which is very telling
is that dead men
don't bleed
and the psychiatrist
goes ah,
maybe this will work.
He's come to the conclusion
that dead men
don't bleed.
So he said
you understand
that dead men
don't bleed,
right?
And the guy says
absolutely
so you can put out
your hand
he cuts him
and he cuts him
here on the arm
and blood comes out
and the man goes
whoa,
doctor,
thank you so much.
You've shown to me
that dead men
do bleed.
Sorry,
it wasn't very funny.
Sorry,
anyway,
it's so possible
to be closed
to the truth
that you just,
and you know
we see this in life
if you think about it
for a second.
How many people,
maybe it's been
some of you
in the room here
that have had
a problem
with a teacher
or a boss
or a coach
or a parent
and for some reason
the teacher
just turns against you.
They put you
in a certain category,
a bad category
and then it doesn't matter
what you do.
If you do an act
of kindness,
it's manipulation.
If you accept responsibility,
you know,
they come up
with some other bad,
well of course
you accept responsibility,
of course you did
that bad thing,
we already knew
you did bad things
and no matter
what you did,
it always gets twisted
by the person
in a bad direction
and we see that
it's in movies,
it's what happens
with bullies,
it's what can happen
with parents,
people will talk about
that,
you know,
just something
that Louise and I
were watching
the other night
and it was this kid
talking about
how his dad
tried to kill him
when he was 12,
how his dad
was an evil man
and nothing he did
could ever convince
the dad
that the kid
had any worth,
that he was any good,
everything would be
twisted in an evil way
and what Jesus
is warning us about
is that there is
a way for us
as human beings
to be like that
with God,
to be like that
with God.
Now why does this matter?
Obviously it can matter
to a kid
to have a parent
like that
that nothing you do
will ever show
that parent
that there's something
good about you
or that you've moved
in a good direction,
that their mind
is completely
and utterly
closed against you.
But why does it matter?
Look at verses 28 to 30.
Truly,
remember,
amen,
I say to you,
all sins will be forgiven
the children of man
and whatever blasphemies
they utter,
but whoever blasphemes
against the Holy Spirit
never has forgiveness
but is guilty
of an eternal sin
for they were saying
he has
an unclean spirit.
Now we get troubled
with the last part
but not realize
how amazing
the first part is.
What the Bible
is saying here
is that there's
a watershed,
a potential watershed
in a person's life.
Many of you know
if you come here
I really love
the analogy
of the watershed.
If you're driving
along the Trans-Canada
at some point in time,
I think it's between
North Bay and Sudbury,
there's a sign
on the side of the road
from here on in
that all the water
you see is flowing
to the Arctic.
Before this point
it's all flowing south
but from here on in
it's a watershed.
Everything is flowing
in the direction
it's flowing north.
It's flowing towards
Hudson's Bay
or the Arctic.
And what Jesus
is saying here
is that there's
a watershed moment
will come in your life
and on one side
of that watershed
is eternal forgiveness.
The flow of your life,
the flow of the waters
of your life
are immersed
in eternal forgiveness
that you've been forgiven
and you flow
towards a forgiveness
that will go on
into all eternity.
and on the other side
of that watershed
sorry for you folks here
I'll try to reverse it
later on.
You're not bad guys
okay on this side
but the other side
of the watershed
is that
you will never
have forgiveness.
The sin that is
in your life
is a sin
that not only
has begun
in this side
of the grave
but continues.
That direction
the flow
will continue
into all eternity.
And you see
what Jesus
is doing here
is he's preparing us
to understand
what's going to happen
to him
at the end
of the gospel.
That his death
is not just
a mere death
but his death
is that
which creates
a watershed.
That you can come
to a point
in time
in your life
where you receive
what Jesus
has done for you
by his death
upon the cross
and that when you
receive it
what you've received
is eternal forgiveness
and the crossing
over of a watershed
that the flow
of your life
is now
in forgiveness
to forgiveness
for every single
thing that has
ever been done
or you ever
will do.
he's not saying
that if you
happen to let slip
a stupid thing
about the Holy Spirit
you're going to go
to hell forever.
You see
blasphemy
is
like
couldn't you
blasphemy
is slander
blasphemy
is believing
lies
blasphemy
is believing
not just
lies about a person
but terrible
offensive lies
just as if I was
to try to argue
to you
that Martin Luther
King ran
the Ku Klux Klan
I mean
just imagine
if I tweeted
that without
any context
I'd break
Twitter
I would break
Twitter
and I should
by the way
it would be
an evil thing
and so the reason
that Jesus
mentions the Holy
Spirit
is to under
because it
partly
it's not here
in the text
it's part of
the bigger
picture of the
Bible
that all of
the Trinity
is involved
in a person
becoming a
Christian
in redemption
the Father
sends the Son
the Son
dies as the Lamb
of God
who takes away
the sin of the world
and the Holy Spirit
is God
who brings you
to a saving
faith and knowledge
of Jesus
all of the Holy
all of the Trinity
is involved
in your salvation
and mine
it was the Holy Spirit
that led you
to Jesus
it was the Holy Spirit
that led you
to accept him
as your Savior
and your Lord
it is not
your doing
it is nothing
that you can
pat yourself
on the back
for
it is not
because you
are so clever
so winsome
so cute
so charming
it's the work
of the Holy Spirit
and so to deny
the work
of the Holy Spirit
and to say
that the work
of the Holy Spirit
in miracles
in the person
of Jesus
and to be so
completely
and utterly
close to the truth
you are being
towards God
exactly like
that parent
or coach
who completely
and utterly
sees the child
as an evil child
a bad child
and no amount
of action
and no amount
of truth
will break through
the hardness
of their heart
and the Bible
says that even
if you are a
Kanata soccer mom
and you're really
really pleasant
or you live
in Rockcliffe
or you live
in a rich section
of Manitik
or out in West Carleton
or you're a hockey star
or you're a PhD
from Harvard
or a D Phil
from Oxford
or you are the head
of the Globe and Mail
or whatever it is
if there is in fact
a possibility
for you
to be completely
and utterly
so close to God
that nothing
can penetrate that
see the other thing
about this
is that sin
is not puny
sin
is not puny
God is infinite
you are finite
when you
as a finite being
do something
that separates you
from the infinite God
you have created
an infinite distance
between you
and God
and so only
an infinite
sacrifice
can cover
the infinite distance
that you have created
between yourself
and God
only the infinite
can cross the distance
between the infinite
and the finite
and so this is
pointing very powerfully
towards who Jesus is
and what he accomplishes
for you on the cross
it is the infinite God
closing the infinite distance
between you
and God
and an infinite distance
which
I mean you can't
add to infinity
it's just infinity
but your whole life
is just part of
an infinite separation
from God
and God
in the first God
the son of God
closes that infinite distance
that no finite being
could ever cross
and he dies
a death
that covers
that infinite distance
and offers you
a fellowship
and a walk
with that infinite
eternal God
and when you accept
Christ as your savior
and know him
as your savior
and know him
as your Lord
that eternal life
of forgiveness
begins
and carries on
into eternity
I think it was C.S. Lewis
but it might have been
somebody else
who said
you see
if you're so completely
and utterly
closed to God
if you become
at a subtle level
like these scribes
who see these evidences
of the strong man
of God breaking
into our world
and they either just
you just dismiss them
as just being
so much nonsense
you don't care about them
you don't give a hoot for them
you don't get mad about it
you just deny it
you just close your mind
to it
you just say
yeah whatever
I'm empathetic
but whatever it is
it closes you
to these things
and if that state
of your soul
continues into all eternity
then even if
in eternity
in the new heaven
and the new earth
you experience
the love of God
in a way
that that love of God
could not be denied
or could not be avoided
but you actually began
to experience
without any veil
the powerful goodness
and love of God
you would experience it
not as release
but as torment
you would experience
the warmth
of the love of God
not as a warmth
which heals your bones
but as a fire
that burns
your bones
that it is possible
for a human being
to so become
close to God
and resent
the presence
and the demands
of God
that even his mercies
will be experienced
as torment
so some of you
might say
George
I mean that's all
very sobering
I mean I guess
what you're saying
is that the hell
is an uncomfortable
truth
and according to you
it's a truth
and so you shouldn't
close your eyes to it
but think about it
but George
are you saying
that you sort of
somehow
are more open
to God
than I am
that you're more open
to truth about God
than I am
I mean frankly George
your poop smells
just as bad as mine
and you're no better
than me
so I just
I even resent
the fact
that you would
think that
that's the problem
with Christians
they think that
and the other thing
George
you just listen
to what you're saying
I mean what you're saying
just defies
all the logic
of morality
and culture
and religion
and spirituality
and the good things
and things like
stoicism
like if you really
believe that
then why on earth
wouldn't you just
go ahead
and do whatever
you want
knowing you're
going to be forgiven
like George
what you've just said
is both
personally
very offensive
and is morally
ridiculous
and those would be
good reactions
by the way
and I'd have to say
well
I'm going to be
honest with you
yeah there's times
I think I'm a lot
better than other
people
but that's me
at my worst
not my best
there's
there's times
I do somehow
think I've just
figured these things
out and why don't
other people do it
but that's me
at my worst
not my best
that's me
forgetting the Bible
not being based
on the Bible
in a very
interesting way
Jesus sort of
addresses some of
these issues
in the very next
part or Mark
has Jesus
address this issue
in the very very
next bit that
comes
just part of it
one of the things
he doesn't
I'll talk about
that at the end
look at what
happens in
verses 31 to 35
and his mother
and brother
and his brothers
came and standing
outside they sent
to him and called
him and a crowd
was sitting around
him so they're
sitting around him
to listen to him
and they said to
him your mother
and your brothers
are outside
seeking you
and the implication
is that they're
sort of making
demands on Jesus
you're not just
saying oh where's
Jesus oh you've
seen Jesus
no no no
get Jesus here
okay we're outside
we're his mom
these are his
brothers
get Jesus
and tell him
to get his butt
out of that place
and come here
that's that's
what's going on
get his butt
out of there
come here
I'm his mom
these are his
brothers
tell him to come
and Jesus
answered them
that's the people
who passed it on
and he says
who are my mother
and my brothers
verse 34
and looking about
at those who
sat around him
he said
here are my
mother and my
brothers
verse 35
for whoever
does the will
of God
he is my
brother
she is my
or he is my
brother
she is my
sister
and my
mother
whoever does
the will
of God
now there's
a couple of
things here
which are going
on in this
text
the first thing
is here
that
you see
here's the
great thing
about this
Ted Lasso
if you've
watched that
one of the
things he
talks about
is that
sports players
have to be
like goldfish
because goldfish
only remember
things for
10 seconds
and you know
that's probably
good advice
if you're in
sports to get
over things
but the
problem is
that human
beings
especially
Christians
but human
beings
we're like
goldfish
we very
very quickly
forget
and the
thing
that we
very
quickly
forget
is that
we forget
that what
had just
happened
what just
happened
well Jesus
just said
there is a
way
for you
to be
eternally
forgiven
the implication
is is that
the infinite
God has done
something that
a finite
human being
cannot do
to cross
the infinite
distance
between
God
and you
and he
has done
something
you cannot
possibly do
for yourself
he has died
for you
it is his
death that
covers everything
that you've
ever possibly
done
this is an
unbelievable
not unbelievable
hopefully you
believe it
this is a
a truth
of a profound
thing that
God has done
for you
and you
cannot do
for yourself
and then we
come here
and say
the will of
God
oh the will
of God
means I
have to be
good to
be right
with God
what
why are we
all goldfish
what does
the will of
God mean
listen to
Jesus and
do what he
says
believe that
he is the
Savior
in the Lord
and you
cannot save
yourself
what does
it mean
it means
that listen
I did
not become
a Christian
because I
am so
clever and
I could
follow all
the evidence
so well
God did
something for
me in the
person of
the Holy
Spirit that
I could
not do
for myself
the Bible
says that
when we
appear before
the judgment
seat of
God
no one
will have
an excuse
no one
will be
able to
say that
God
didn't do
things in
their life
in such a
way that
they did
not have
moments of
freedom and
clarity where
they could
not have
responded to
the gospel
that's what
Romans 1
through 3
is talking
about amongst
other things
and all I can
tell you is
if you're
watching this
if you're
honest with
yourself
before I
became a
Christian
I wasn't
honest about
this until
after I
became a
Christian
but before
I became
a Christian
I didn't
want it
to be
true
I didn't
want Jesus
to be the
Savior and
the Lord
I didn't
want him
to be the
Lord of
my life
do you
know how
geeky
nerdy
awkward
and just
unlikable
Christians are
and you
want me to
become one
of them
no way
the Christian
life comes
when there
is that
pressure of
the Holy
Spirit
Romans 3
Revelation 3
talks about
Jesus knocking
at the door
of your
heart
and the
Christian
life comes
when you
lay down
your sword
and shield
and you
stop running
and you've
been running
like this
to try to
shut out
Jesus'
voice
and you've
been running
with your
eyes closed
and the
Holy Spirit
just puts
that pressure
and you
finally say
I surrender
and you
stop
you take
your fingers
out of your
ears
you open
your eyes
and you
turn
and you
let him
come with
all his
love
and you
let him
take you
for himself
and what
does it
mean to
be completely
forgiven of
everything you've
done in your
life if you
take that
to mean
that you
can do
whatever you
want then
you're like
the mom
and the
brothers outside
demanding
Jesus come
out and
talk to
us because
we're who
we are
that's not
what it
means
it's only
in the
perspective of
forgiveness
that you can
begin to have
moral clarity
about the
world and
about yourself
that you can
begin to
have humility
that you
can be
convicted
of a
sin
of pride
or prejudice
or racism
or greed
or gluttony
or lust
or something
and before
that we
always wanted
to put up
our good
fronts that
we're this
type of
person
and so we
try to figure
out a way
to spin
that
to deny
it
to make
it look
like we
didn't
do it
you know
we used
to joke
in my
house
that sometimes
when one of
the kids
you'd hear
this loud
crash
and what
was the
thing they
say
first they
say nothing
happened
second
they'd say
it wasn't
me
and then
the third
thing they'd
say it
wasn't my
fault
that was
the litany
right
nothing
happened
how come
somebody's
screaming
wasn't
me
how come
they're
screaming
your name
not my
fault
right
and you
go through
and it's
only if you
know you're
completely
forgiven
that you
can actually
stop and
say yeah
that was
me
that was
me
Lord help
me to
see the
moral world
as it
really is
help me
to confront
the selfishness
and the
greed
in my
life
it's only
in that
perspective
in that
place
that you
can actually
begin to
have true
moral improvement
at the very
very deep
level of the
heart
as the
gospel
becomes real
to you
invite you
to stand
if you
are here
and you've
never given
your life
to christ
and you
feel that
pressure
in your
heart
all i can
say is
just as i
used in
that example
that's the
holy spirit
knocking
that's god
giving you an
opportunity to
no longer be
closed off to
him
for god so
loved the
world that he
gave his only
begotten son to
the end who all
that all who
believe in him
will not perish
but have
eternal life
have everlasting
life
that's god
calling
and all i can
say to you is
just turn and
face him and
say jesus be my
savior
do that miracle
of conversion
in me
and for those
of us who
gather
we gather as
goldfish who've
been redeemed
and the reason
why church is so
important is that
we can say the
creed
we can gather
around the word
of god and be
reminded of the
gospel and of
eternal forgiveness
and how we
forget it
ten seconds
after we can
recommit around
the lord's table
that we are the
lords that he is
our savior that we
do not deserve
salvation but he
has given it
freely and fully
we are his he
will never let us
go it is worth
following him and
it doesn't matter
if legislation
says that this is
all a pile of
baloney which
just happened this
week
it's the truth
let's bow our
heads in prayer
father we ask
that the holy
spirit would come
with might and
power and deep
conviction we
thank and praise
you that you do
not weigh our
merits but pardon
our offenses we
thank and praise
you father that
in jesus that
infinite distance
between us and
you was closed
that we are now
in your arms that
we are your
children by adoption
and grace that
christ is our
hope of glory that
you will never
forget us that
you will never
abandon us that
you will never
leave us alone that
you will never
mock us or deride
us that all you
want to do father
is have your word
come deep within
us so that we
might be formed by
the gospel might be
formed by grace that
we might be formed
by forgiveness that
that grace and
forgiveness might
humble us and
create within us a
longing and yearning
to bring you glory
to live a life that
honors you and is
good for this city is
good for this nation is
good for this world
that you will give
us a heart for the
broken and the lost
rather than contempt
father we thank you
for the gospel that
we can recommit around
who jesus is and what
he did for us on the
cross and father grant
us a heart to share the
gospel to bear witness
to jesus he is the hope
of glory and there is
no other we ask all
these things in the name
of jesus and all god's
people said amen
but today is enduring
nothingяз Slim
our value wedding
we'll be able to
receive victory
and be held
to fight with
baby
and if we recognize
and we see
again
we align
tovordan
she's
biblical
to respect
to the
people
who
and
stand
to choose
and
B
rock
видно
to
руж
the
husband
reveal
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