Tim Keller gives the following illustration in his message "Inside Out Living". "There was a guy who grew up in an incredibly legalistic church and over and over again he was told 'You need to witness for Jesus. 'It just crushed him because he couldn't witness for Jesus because he desperately needed people's approval but he was afraid of offending people - he was afraid of what they might think. He needed their approval because he didn't have a certainty of God's approval but he didn't have a certainty of God's approval because he wasn't witnessing. His church had told him you better be witnessing - you better be seeing people get saved or you can't get God's approval. So you see the problem - he couldn't witness because he needed their approval, he needed their approval because he didn't have God's approval, he didn't have God's approval because he wasn't witnessing and down and down he spiraled. One day he went into a church of a friend of mine and he began to go through a renewal - he began to understand the gospel. He went in to see the minister and he said 'I have a question. I know I'm supposed to witness for Jesus, but I can't - I'm just scared.' The pastor said to him, ' That's all right Jesus will still love you.' He said, 'What do you mean, Jesus will still love me?' The pastor said,' That is the gospel, Jesus died to forgive every thing you have done wrong. If you don't witness for Jesus He will still love you.' A week later someone came up to the pastor and said,' What did you tell that guy? He is going everywhere talking to people about Jesus.' And the pastor said, 'I told him he didn't have to.' When you witness for Jesus because you have to you are so grumpy, over-bearing, unloving, un-winsome that you might as well just shut up."
This is the goal of our study of Mark - to change our motivation from "I have to" (Lordship living) to I get to (Love of God living) Paul says "The love of God compels me" Are you compelled by the Love of God today, or are you motivated by the do's and don'ts of the Bible. Are you a human doing or a human being? How do we get there? Fall back in love with Jesus. Lets look at What's so awesome about Jesus in Mark 7.
MARK 7
1. Read Mark 7:1-23. Circle every time "tradition" is mentioned. How many did you count?
Define "tradition" using Isa. 29:13.
Traditions were constructed as guardrails to the Law. The Israelites didn't want to break laws and sin so they invented more laws to prevent them from breaking the Laws given by God. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. List a few guardrails that you might have put up in your family or been raised with that if you break them you haven't sinned but they are a warning that there is real danger past them
Look at the first guardrail ever. Compare Gen. 2:17 and 3:3. What is the guardrail?
Lets look at 2 potential problems with guardrails/traditions/rituals
A. They become as important as scripture. List the 4 violations Jesus has already been accused of that aren't even in the Law.
1. Mark 2:18 (compare to Luke 18:12)
2. Mark 2:23
3. Mark 3:1-6
4. Mark 7:1,2
Look at Mark 3:1-5 again. What is the danger of making your additions to the Bible as important as the Bible?
Do we in our churches have written or unwritten rules that are excluding people? Name some if you can.
Name some religious books that have been written that have been elevated to equality with the Bible.
Read Rev. 22:18. What is the grim warning given?
B. They are flawed because they are written by man not God.
Read Mark 7:11-13. Describe the flaw in this passage as it relates to Ex. 20:12.
Read Mark 3:1-5 once again and describe the flaw in this Sabbath Law as it relates to say Prov.3:27
If you would read Numbers 19, you would see a number of cleansing laws that were instituted. These were ceremonial laws which either were to protect the people from disease (Ex.15:26) and/ or point to their ultimate fulfillment in Christ. If you would read Leviticus 11 you would find a list of clean food and unclean food. Once again these are ceremonial laws which either were to protect the people from disease and/ or point to their ultimate fulfillment in Christ. How did the clean laws point to Christ and how did He fulfill them?
2. Read Mark 7:24-30. Jesus has taken his disciples to Gentile country probably in hopes to get away from the thrill-seekers (John 6), to delay His capture (He had to fulfill the Dan. 9 sixtynine weeks prophecy to the day and die during the Passover), and to teach His disciples who were His only plan for reaching the world. But once again news gets out of His arrival.
Why did Jesus call this woman a dog?
Matthew 15 states Jesus said she had great faith. The only other person that gets that distinction is the centurion who says "I'm not worthy for you to enter my house. Just say the word..." (Matt. 8:5-13)
What do they have in common?
3. Read Mark 7:31- 8:10. Still in Gentile country we see Jesus getting Himself into the same crowd "trouble" He got into in Galilee. How do you think the people in the Decapolis (10 cities) heard of Him? (Mark 5:18-20)
Why does he spit on the man's tongue and put fingers in His ears and sigh and look to Heaven and speak Aramaic to heal this man when in actuality He could have healed him from the next town? (no right or wrong answer)
Why does He tell the man not to tell anyone after he has spent his whole life not talking?
Why does He feed the people?
Summary
This week was a hard one to come up with a word. I thought of Audacity. To call the Pharisees hypocrites, to declare all food clean when their whole life was bound up in their eating habits (even the disciples thought He couldn't be saying that as they said "explain that parable"), He called a woman a dog, and spit on a man's tongue gave him speech and then told him not to talk, and what preceded this was in John 6 when He intentionally alienated Himself from the crowds by telling them they had to eat His flesh and drink His blood.
Audacity is defined as shameless boldness or daring with confident disregard for personal safety or conventional thought. I am impressed by this because we are so into having the world like us. Jesus actually says in Luke 6:22-26
Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
I see this so much in the church today as one of our core values for reaching the lost. We accept evolutionary thought so as not to exclude the scholarly. We deny all gender differences in the church to look non oppressive. We accept liberal views of scripture to not look like a fundamentalist. I could go on and on but if you want more look at this blog ... http://www.thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-trend-in-christianity.html
I admire Jesus' audacity and especially the ability to know when and how to use it without sinning. We are told to speak the truth in love and I think Audacity is too dangerous of a word for myself to play with so, although I admire it in Jesus, I'm not sure it is something I want to pray for.
So I was thinking about Hebrews 4:12 which says "the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing... The word for this week is piercing. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to look through all the superficial and see the heart like He does? To hear the Pharisees questions and know their motivation. To see past religious habits and see the heart of the problem. To address people's heart problems rather than to just tell them they need to get back in church. Jesus looked through the skin and saw the heart. He looked past infirmities and saw needs for spiritual healing. He looked past hungry crowds and saw the need for the Bread of Life. He looked past tired and harried crowds and saw sheep without the Good Shepherd.
What does He see when He looks at you? Is it the same thing He sees when He looks through you? Here is a self test.
1. Are you desperate for Him like the mute and gentile woman? Or is He just one of many parts that make up your life? Are you like the disciples in John 6 who said "we have left everything to follow you - to Whom else shall we go?
2. Are you totally unworthy feeling or do you feel like you somehow deserve Jesus? Can He call you a dog? Can He spit on you and probe you? Do you hold the right of final refusal to His demands?
3. Are you feeling more righteous than other people around you? Chances are you have forgotten that the same stuff, the same fire of hell, is in your heart as those around you. They may just have had gasoline poured on it throughout their lives.
4. Are you , out of gratitude proclaiming to everyone around you the miracle Jesus has performed in your life? If someone said, "don't speak of it" would you be able to hold it in?
Search my heart, O God and know my every thought.
Help me to understand what inside me needs fixing.
Pierce me through your word so my pride is destroyed
And You Become everything to me.
Thus will I proclaim your greatness all my days.
So I was thinking about Hebrews 4:12 which says "the Word of God is sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing... The word for this week is piercing. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to look through all the superficial and see the heart like He does? To hear the Pharisees questions and know their motivation. To see past religious habits and see the heart of the problem. To address people's heart problems rather than to just tell them they need to get back in church. Jesus looked through the skin and saw the heart. He looked past infirmities and saw needs for spiritual healing. He looked past hungry crowds and saw the need for the Bread of Life. He looked past tired and harried crowds and saw sheep without the Good Shepherd.
What does He see when He looks at you? Is it the same thing He sees when He looks through you? Here is a self test.
1. Are you desperate for Him like the mute and gentile woman? Or is He just one of many parts that make up your life? Are you like the disciples in John 6 who said "we have left everything to follow you - to Whom else shall we go?
2. Are you totally unworthy feeling or do you feel like you somehow deserve Jesus? Can He call you a dog? Can He spit on you and probe you? Do you hold the right of final refusal to His demands?
3. Are you feeling more righteous than other people around you? Chances are you have forgotten that the same stuff, the same fire of hell, is in your heart as those around you. They may just have had gasoline poured on it throughout their lives.
4. Are you , out of gratitude proclaiming to everyone around you the miracle Jesus has performed in your life? If someone said, "don't speak of it" would you be able to hold it in?
Search my heart, O God and know my every thought.
Help me to understand what inside me needs fixing.
Pierce me through your word so my pride is destroyed
And You Become everything to me.
Thus will I proclaim your greatness all my days.
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