What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 7

 
  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.

 

 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.

 

What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 6

   As I'm writing this, Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching. As you are reading this, it may be an anniversary, Birthday, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas, or some other day you have to buy a gift for that special someone. Are you struggling on what to get or what card to buy? Let me ask you a question - did you struggle when you first met this person? Are you stressing and worrying about the day approaching? Did you stress and worry when you first fell in love? Probably not. Why? Maybe it was because you were so passionately in love with that person that you couldn't wait to celebrate their day. Expense? How many people go in debt to buy an engagement ring?
   After years of a relationship, sometimes you need to rekindle that passion. It is the same with Christ. Many of us have been in a relationship with Him for years and honoring Him with our lives can become habitual and rote. This is the goal of our rapid paced study through Mark. We are trying to rekindle that passionate love for Christ that we had at the onset. If we go back to the beginning and find out what is so awesome about Jesus that we fell in love with in the first place, this can help us to fall back in love with Jesus again. We have looked at His meekness, that He is our rescuer from religion, that He is our brother, that He is with-in us, that He is unaffected by the world, and this week we will learn about His compassion.

                                       CHAPTER 6

1. Read Mark 6:1-13. This is the second time Jesus goes back to Nazareth. The first time is in Luke 4:16-30. Read this account. How did the Luke account end for Jesus?

       Were the disciples with Him in Luke?         Why is that important in the Mark account (vs.11)?

       What passage does He quote in Luke?                Look it up. Why do you think He stops reading there?

  Read John 3:17. What is a major difference between Christ's first coming and second?

  Name two ways you see Christ's compassion in Mark 6:1-13

  A. _________________________________________________

  B. _________________________________________________


2.  Read Mark 6:27-44. In verses 30-32, why did Jesus take the disciples aside?

    Read Matthew 14:12,13. What insight does this give you on Jesus taking His disciples aside?

   Name 2 areas of our life that Jesus understands and shows compassion;

   C. _________________________________________________

   D. _________________________________________________

  Read verse 34.(and 53-56) So Jesus decides to take his disciples away for some debriefing, physical rest, and mental rest and mourning and from a distance He sees crowds coming so His plans of being alone are gone! Have you ever tried to get alone only to be interrupted?

  Name a time.

  How did you react; like Jesus?

  What was Jesus' secret (besides being God)

   List how this shows the compassion of Christ

   E. ____________________________________________


 Then Jesus feeds the 5000.  Read Matthew 6:25-34. How does the feeding show His compassion?

   F. ________________________________________________

  Although we didn't discuss it when He sent the disciples off as missionaries, how does his instructions on what not to bring relate to the feeding? (Phil. 4:19)

  In response to this miracle in John 6, Jesus calls Himself "The Bread of Life". He also compares Himself to manna that God gave through Moses. Explain what you think He means by "The Bread of Life" now that you have studied this passage in Mark.


3. Read Mark 6:45-52. It was 3AM (approximately) and Jesus saw His disciples 2-3 miles away straining in a storm. How do you think He did that?

       What does that tell you about when you are straining?

       Read Genesis 16:13. What name of God describes this?

    What does this tell you about the compassion of Jesus?

   G. _____________________________________________



Summary

 Although there are so many qualities to focus on of Jesus in Mark 6, I chose compassion. We see His compassion as He knows His disciples are going to encounter rejection as they go tell about Jesus. He wanted them to see that He experienced it too; He understood and had empathy. As we are rejected today for being "Jesus freaks", we can take comfort in knowing that Jesus hurts for us as our sympathetic High Priest. And when we speak of hurting, it is a deep ache "in His gut". This is literally what the Greek of "compassion" is. Splancnizomai is the greek word used in verse 34 and it is the word from we get Splanchnic artery, mesentery, etc. in the intestinal area. That's why the KJV translates it "bowels of mercy" quite often. So as we are rejected, he aches for us. As we are hurting and ill and diseased and crying out for a touch - he gets a stabbing pain for us.
  Jesus had compassion for His disciples and their physical and emotional well being. He knew they were exhausted from their mission. He knew they had much to tell Him about their successes and failures and even maybe some questions they were asked that they didn't have answers to. He also knew they had to be mourning for John the Baptist as a number of the disciples started out with John and shifted to following Jesus at John's urging. Therefore Jesus took them away for their well being.
    Unfortunately, the much needed rest didn't come because from a distance they saw the crowds coming. Even in chapter 7 we see Jesus going to gentile regions to rest and He can't keep that a secret. Jesus sees the crowds and has compassion for them and heals, teaches, and feeds them. How does He do that? How can we do that when we keep getting interrupted by people when we need space? By looking past the superficial needs and see them as lost, confused, needy eternal souls in need of someone to touch them and point them toward the Good Shepherd. That is easier said than done and even Jesus needed to spend hours in prayer for strength and interceding for His disciples to have strength also.
   Are you worried about your physical needs? Maybe your finances aren't going well and you are worried about mortgage, credit card bills, school bills, etc. Did you know Jesus is aching for you? He told His disciples don't worry about clothing, food, shelter, all their needs. If you are following Jesus, He has you covered. He is Jehovah Jirah - your provider. You might say, "Oh, yeah, where is He"? Did you see in this passage how at approximately at 3AM in the pitch black He saw his disciples straining at the oars 3 miles away? How did He do that? That is the oft missed miracle inside the miracle. He is El Roi - the God who sees. Jesus will come to you when the time is right. Maybe He is waiting for you to come to the end of your strength so you are ready to humble yourself. Maybe He is waiting so everyone around you can see His power and He wants to use your plight to glorify Himself. Of course, it sure is nice to know that the plight you are in is because He was the one that sent you into that "boat".
    Lastly - what causes storms - isn't it when two fronts collide like a high pressure and low pressure collide? Here is how I would illustrate this..

    

 

The Holiness of God has collided with the sinfulness of man and this is the condition we find ourselves in- the storm of life where holiness abuts sinfulness. We see the disciples in the boat where these fronts are colliding. But God, in His compassion  becomes the God - Man through the incarnation and lives His life in the midst of that storm and in his death forms the bridge between two worlds. Or if you want, since He often refers to the sign of Jonah, He is the Jonah, buried in the depths of man's sinfulness to stop the storm of God's wrath. The ultimate bowels of mercy. Jesus came to Earth living in the midst of our sinfulness and alienation from God and lived a perfect life and incurred God's wrath and separation on the cross so we could be forgiven of our sins and live forever in His presence!

 

Who am I God, that You would send Your only Son to die for me? Why do You care about me that You meet my physical and emotional needs. Often people say things like, "Your loved one isn't here but they are looking down on you from Heaven." and I think, no they aren't, they have better things to do up there. And then I think of You and You , in the midst of the glory of Heaven are actually looking down from Heaven on me and aching?? Wow! Who are You anyway? Oh, the magnificence of My Father in Heaven.

What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 5

  If I was a film maker of Christian illustrations, I would film this one. Imagine some cool, hip, fly, and whatever other outdated adjectives I could use of a young person with headphones on walks into a room and all of a sudden you can tell a song comes on that he really likes. He starts boogeying, grooving, breaking down, and whatever archaic verbs I can use for dancing. Then in comes several other teens without headphones and they observe the one dancing. They say to each other," that looks like fun", and they start dancing along imitating the dancer. After a while they shrug their shoulders realizing it is somewhat tiring and difficult imitating the dancer and one by one they exit. When they are all gone the original dancer keeps going strong with joy on his face.
    What's the point? Your joy and energy and exuberance in the Christian "dance" is very much dependent on hearing the music inside of you. And what is that music? It is a passionate love for Jesus. You see if you are imitating and copying and obeying because you are supposed to and it looked good when I signed up, it will become tiresome or as Malachi 1:13 you say of serving the Lord, "What a burden". You might ask, "What is the Bible for, then, isn't it a book that tells us rules to obey? And in lesson 2 you said God didn't send a book on how to swim to a drowning person, He sent His son to dive in and rescue us. Where does the Bible fit in?" There is a profound passage in John 5:39,40 where Jesus confronts the professional law keepers/ obeyers/ Pharisees and says, "You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me,  yet you refuse to come to me to have life." The Bible points to Christ. Lets fall in love with Him together as we go through Mark.

                                             MARK 5

Mark 5 contains 3 miracles, one where Jesus demonstrates power over demons, one where He shows power over disease, and lastly defeats death. Each of these have 3 things in common - there is desperation, detractors, and a disciple is formed. Lets look at these in light of those 3 factors and find out What's so awesome about Jesus?

1. Read Mark 5:1-20.

  A. Describe the desperation of the demoniac - i.e. How had he reached the end of his rope/chain?

     What did he do to put an end to his desperation? (vs.6)

      The greek word for this is proskuneo. Google this word and tell what it means.

       Look up John 10:10. What is Satan's plan for us?
                                        How is that seen in this man and the pigs?


   B. Who were the detractors?

       Why did they tell Jesus to leave?

       How did Jesus respond?


   C. Who became a disciple?

       How can you tell?

      What does this tell you in response to the great commission in Matthew 28:19,20 and Acts 1:8?

       What do you think the demon possessed man said when he went out to preach? (see John 9:25)

       Do you think he was effective? (See Acts 4:13,14 and Rev.12:11)


2. Read Mark 5:21-43 In this account  there is a miracle within a miracle. Let's take the healing of the woman with the bleeding disorder first
    A. Describe her desperation

         Read Leviticus 15:25. Describe the spiritual and social ramifications to this disease in the ancient Jewish population.

          How might that explain her "touch and run"?

          What put an end to her disease?


    B. Who were the detractors possibly?

        Why might they have wanted to rush Jesus along?


    C. Who became a disciple?

         The greek word for her healing is sozo. Google this and find how it differs from healed.

         What did she do similarly to the demoniac and Jairus?


  3.A. Describe the desperation of Jairus

         Read John 9:22. What do we know about the consequences of believing in Jesus?

          What implications would that have had on him and his family?


      B. Who were the detractors?

          How did Jesus respond to them?


       C. Who became a disciple of Christ?



Summary
 
     Here is the common denominator in these three healings - people have reached the end of their human efforts and found that they can't rescue themselves. They go to Jesus, publically fall on their faces before Him, not fearing the consequences and beg Him for mercy. Jesus responds by delivering them from Satan, giving them a new/whole life, and delivering them from death. Hmmm. What's that sound like? Sounds like salvation to me. Sounds like Jesus rescuing us (see Chapter 2) from religion (self efforts) which lead to despair, spiritual bankruptcy, and death, and leading us into eternal life.
   Our word for this week is unaffected. Lets look at all the things Jesus was unaffected by and thus so should we follow His example.

  1. Rejection/mockery. - The greek of what the mourners were doing to Jesus was literally mocked Him to scorn. They laughed at Jesus. "What an idiot, He doesn't know the difference between dead and asleep. HaHa". Who were the idiots? Did Jesus rebuke them? No, He just shared the life of God with people who believed. The Gaderenes asked Him to leave. Their life was going well without Him. They lacked desperation. They were living in the pig pen and didn't care - they were comfortable. What did Jesus do? He left. But He did send a missionary. The disciples were examples of "friendly fire". Sometimes well-meaning Christians can discourage us from what God has called us to do.
    Probably, the number one reason we don't witness is because of fear of rejection/mockery. Realize that the servant isn't greater than the master. If they rejected Him they will reject you. Just shake it off and try somewhere else. Eventually you will find receptive soil.
   2. Numbers - We are so impressed by how big something is. Jesus had such a big following He was in danger of being crushed. He left that to reach one person. If you go on a short-term mission trip and lead one person to the Lord you will get a courtesy applause in Church. If you lead 300 you will get a standing ovation. Jesus was unaffected by numbers. In fact He soon whittles those numbers down in John 6.
   3. Socioeconomic status - In this he went to a pagan foreigner, a diseased ostracized welfare recipient, and a rich powerful person and treated them all the same. In fact for the most part Tim Keller says, "You put Jesus in a crowd and He gravitates to the most messed up people and the people who have messed up the most." Are we that way. We need to be unaffected by wealth, power, beauty, smell, and in effect what people can do for us.
  4. Pressure of time - If Jesus was a doctor, He committed malpractice. He triaged sick people and healed the chronic disease and let the acute illness die. But unlike us, to Jesus/God healing an illness or restoring life were of equal acuity. How often are we so pressured by time that we miss divine appointments along the way. We are going from point A to point B where ministry is supposed to happen forgetting that God has ministry plans for us along the way.

       A. ------------------------------------------>    B.
                               MINISTRY

  Can we start thinking that those interruptions in our day are possibly ministry potentials. The disciples were eager to get to Jairus' house probably because he was going to be an important part of their ascension to power and bringing the kingdom to Earth. They didn't realize Jesus' plans were totally different from theirs.
   5. Lastly Jesus was unaffected by the immensity of the problems as I had previously alluded to. Do you shy away from getting involved in someone's life because they are "too far gone"? Or do you think someone couldn't possibly be saved? Or your problem is too big for Jesus? Jesus says it's no big deal

     Lord I am amazed that you were a man like me yet were unaffected by wealth, adoration, power, flattery, time, fear, numbers, anxiety... How?? I know that is available to me. Help me as I try to attain that through Your power which lives inside me.
  




   

     

What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 4

                         “In that day,” declares the Lord,
                         “you will call me ‘my husband’;
                    you will no longer call me ‘my master,
                                   Hosea 2:16

     Are you going through life, as a Christian, operating on the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Congratulations; God has revealed to your heart such passages as :                

  In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:33
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  Matt.16:24
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matt. 7:22,23
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, Col.2:6
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Rom. 10:9

If you want more there are whole books written on Lordship salvation - one that comes to mind is The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur. I must say I am in agreement with this theology. However, there is a higher calling than Lordship! It is marriage to Christ as illustrated in this passage in Hosea. For those of you women reading this who were uncomfortable with being "sons" of God (which btw probably has to do with receiving inheritance and rights in those days) now get to watch us men squirm as the "brides" of Christ. When we are in love with Jesus our motivations for actions change. When I fell in love with Karen I didn't say, "I guess I better call her today." I willingly spent hours on the phone. I didn't say, "I better tell someone about her today." I was showing her picture to everyone that would oblige me. When we fall in love with Jesus we don't say, "I have to read my Bible today" - it's "I get to". It's not "I better tell someone about Him today" - It's "I get to witness today." Etc.

This is the thrust of our journey through Mark - falling back in love with Jesus, examining What is so awesome about Jesus? Maybe, hopefully by doing this we will see what is so winsome about Christ and becoming his passionate bride (ouch)


                                 CHAPTER 4

<sup>1. Read Mark 3:7-14 and 4:1-2
     List 4 reasons why people may have been in attendance

    A. Mark 3:10 ___________________________________

     B. John 6:30 ___________________________________

     C. Matt. 22:15 ____________________________________

      D. John 8:30,31 ____________________________________

 How do you think groups A & B would have felt about Him starting to teach?

 How would group C have felt and why?

  How would group D have felt and why?

2. Read Mark 4:3-8, 14-20. What are the 4 types of soil and what do they represent?

    E. ______________________________

    F. _____________________________

    G. _____________________________

    H. _____________________________

      Notice the 4 groups (A-D) could be placed with some accuracy among the different soils. The rocky and thorny could really be grouped together as people who believed the message but decided it was too costly and therefore didn't continue on. The last soil became disciples and I feel like the passage tells us 7 marks of good soil
      1. Read Matt.14:20-22 and 15:39. What was the typical pattern after a day of miracles and teaching?

           Read Matt. 8:18-22 which chronologically fits with Mark 4. What was required for being a disciple?

           Putting those 2 together read Mark 4:10,24-25,34-36. Who got the interpretation?

          What does that tell us about the good soil?

     2. Read Mark 4:20. Good soil produces fruit. What is fruit? (Gal. 5:22,23)


      3. Mark 4:21-23 and Matt. 10:32,33. Good soil  ______________.

      4. Mark 4:26-29. Good soil  ________________.

      5. Mark 4:30-32. Birds land on the Jesus tree. Read Matt.25:34-40. What should good soil be known for?

      6. Mark 4:37-40, Isa. 8:12. As good soil we should respond to trials differently than the world does. Why is that?

      If you are familiar with the apostle Paul in the storm, how was his response different from the disciples in Mark 4?

       If you were having difficulty answering #4, maybe this is a hint.

      7. Mark 4:41. What was the difference in response of the disciples to the storm (40) and Jesus (41). How does good soil approach God?


Summary

       The word seed appears 12 times in this passage. The sower sowed seed. What is that seed? The gospel / the Word of God. Who is the good news (gospel)? Jesus. Who is the Word? Jesus. Jesus is the seed that was sown into the world and although started very small, now fills the world. The fact is though, if you wanted to get to Jesus you had to come into His presence face to face. He was limited in time and space when He came to Earth. Picture this; Jesus comes to your church this Sunday. How exciting! After he preaches you rush up to meet Him, talk to Him, have Him bless your kids, etc. Unfortunately 100 people beat you in line. By 5:00 the word is out to all the other churches and people are all cutting in line to see Him. You get the picture ... frustrating. That's why Jesus says in John 12:24, "Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains a single seed. But if it dies it produces many seeds." When Jesus died, rose again, and ascended into Heaven, He sent to Earth the Holy Spirit. Suddenly that seed that you had to wait in line to see is available to all believers from the USA to outer Mongolia on a 24/7/365 basis. No waiting - instant access.
      This leads me to the word for the week - WITH. Jesus picked 12 to be with Him. The degree to which the crowd wanted to be with Him was the degree to which His truths were revealed and who He is was revealed. He was with them in the boat and everyone with Him in the boat or other boats got a bigger view of who He is. The ones who said "I want to sleep at home" or "what about my family" didn't get the interpretation of what He said. The degree to which we leave behind everything either actually or mentally to follow Jesus is the degree to which we get Him and the degree to which that Seed grows in our lives. I believe it determines if you are going to produce 30, 60, or 100 fold. In other words if you give a tenth of your income vs. 70%, which one is going to bear more fruit. If you give an hour of your Saturday vs. 8 hours to serve the needy, who do you think is going to bear more fruit or for that measure get a bigger view of Jesus? The disciples were afraid of the storm but they became terrified of Jesus. That is called developing a fear of God and forming proper worship in our lives.
      If I could upgrade the word a little I would change it to WITH - IN. The disciples had to be with Him as He was a single seed. Now that He has sent the Holy Spirit He is in us. The Seed has sent multiple Seed into the world to be planted in all believers who then produce fruit which is technically the manifestation of Christ in us. We start becoming Jesus to unbelievers to the degree we abide in the vine.
     So what is so awesome about Jesus? How about that the one who could stop not only a hurricane but all the ripple effect of the water just by saying, "Be Quiet!", is with you and in you. He has come into your boat and He isn't going to leave. Do you feel special? You should. Do you feel unworthy? You ought to. Do you love Him for it? That is what we are aiming for. I certainly hope so.
     Lord I love You for being here with me. As I was praying for help with an endeavor I almost felt like You were saying, "Oh, now you are coming to me. I've been here all week and you just come to Me when you need something." Forgive me for taking your presence so lightly and not passionately talking to You all day long. Why You came to be inside me is beyond me but I am eternally grateful!</sup>

      
     

What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 3

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. ² I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. ³ You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

⁴ Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. ⁵ Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."  Rev. 2:1-5

      Are you doing Christianity without a passionate love for Jesus? It's tough; it's a whole lot of work. Besides that - it isn't pleasing to you or God. What if you came home from work one day and said to your spouse, "I've lost my love for you but I will still do all the marriage things and life will go on as usual." Now imagine saying that to Jesus. Do you think your spouse or Jesus would be pleased? Also, how long do you think you would commit to that marriage before you start looking for a passionate alternative. In this study on Mark we are looking for characteristics of Jesus that make Him winsome. What is it that you fell in love with initially that you need to be reminded of. We looked at His meekness in chapter 1 and in chapter 2 we were reminded that He is our rescuer. He dove in to the Human Race to rescue us from then fruitless efforts of religion. I mentioned that in the movie clip Jimmy Stewart dove in to rescue Clarence but unlike Jesus, he didn't give his life. Check out this clip where Tom Hanks gives his life to save Matt Damon in Saving Private Ryan.

                     
This is a beautiful clip except for one huge problem if you are relating it to Christianity. Let's look at Chapter 3 and hopefully see the problem and what true rescuing is...


                                   MARK 3
Credit to Tim Keller for a lot of the thoughts below

1. Read Mark 3:20-30. (We will go back next week and catch the verses we missed). Read the following C.S.Lewis quote from Mere Christianity commonly called "the trilemma"


 "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be GOD.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of GOD: or else a madman or something worse."
C. S. Lewis adds: "You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him LORD and GOD. But let us not come up with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

       What are the 3 "L's" as seen in the trilemma and Mark 3?

     1. ______________     (Mark 3:20,21)

     2. ______________     (Mark 3:22,30 and John 8:44)

     3. ______________     (Mark 2:28, 3:27)

 Some people add a 4th "L" to the trilemma (which I guess would make it a quadlemma) which is Legend. In other words Jesus never made these claims, they sprung up much later as people turned Him into a legend. There are several problems with this;
     A. The passages are brutally honest. If you were trying to create a legend would you include that His family thought He was nuts and others thought He was possessed? Would they include all the blundering of the disciples?
     B. The passages were written in the lifetime of the eyewitnesses - if they weren't true they would have never even gotten an audience. If I wrote a book on how Elvis isn't really dead it might garner a following 100 years from now when the coroner, family, pall bearers, etc. are all dead but not now while the eyewitnesses are still alive.
     C. The details - Look ahead at chapter 4:36-38. Not only do we once again see the non-heroic disciples but we see details that suggest reporting rather than fiction. We see he was in the stern, on a cushion, accompanied by other boats, and He came as He was. (I guess He didn't change clothes). Once again C.S. Lewis states

     " I have been reading poems, romances, vision literature, legends, and myths all my life.  I know what they are like.  I know none of them are like this.  Of this text, there are only two possible views.  either this is reportage...or else, someone unknown writer...without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern novelistic, realistic narrative...The reader who doesn't see this has simply not learned how to read."

    In other words ancient fiction doesn't include details like this. this form of writing didn't come into being for another thousand years.


2. Read Mark 3:31-35.  We talked about the fact that Christianity is about a relationship rather than a religion. What kind of relationship is it?

      Read Eph. 1:5. What is the legal process by which we become His children?

      Read John 1:12. How do we obtain this?

      Read Romans 8:14-17.(2Cor. 1:22) What do we receive as down payment that we are children of God?

        What emotion should be absent?

        What kind of access do we have to God?

         What is our future?(Gal.4:7 , 1John 3:2  Rev.21:7)

      Read Hebrews 1:14 and John 15:15 What 2 things aren't our future?

      Read Phil. 2:15. How should children behave and why? (1John 2:28, 3:10, 5:2)

      Read Heb. 12:7. How will God "help" you act this way?

     Read 1John 3:1. What kind of treatment should children expect from the world?



Summary.

       Even though it wasn't that pertinent to the character trait - or What's so awesome about Jesus?, I would be remiss to pass up the quadlemma as it is seen here clearer than any other place in scripture. These are not Legends and Jesus is either a Lunatic, a Liar, or Lord but don't call him a prophet or good teacher as we saw religions do in last week's study.
      The word for this week is Brother. As adopted children of God, Christ becomes our brother in all aspects except DNA (we don't become "gods") But we do share in His inheritance and status. We no longer need to be afraid of God anymore than we should be afraid of a perfect earthly father. We can come boldly into His presence just as the only person that could interrupt a CEO in an important business meeting would be their child. Can you imagine the joy of the Father when His Son entered Heaven after accomplishing redemption through His sinless death and resurrection. Believe it or not, our Father in Heaven is going to be that excited on our arrival!
        Picture a construction crew working on a house and you are observing the action knowing that one member of the team is the owner's son who will someday inherit the business. What would distinguish him? Well, the obvious first thing is he probably looks like his dad. Do you think he is a slacker? Probably not. He may work harder and longer because he has ownership and wants his dad to be proud of him if he comes by. How would he take criticism? Probably better than the hired help - they would probably point to others and offer excuses for fear they might not get a raise or even worse lose their job. The son (I'm being chauvinistic with this example - sorry) would want to learn what he is doing wrong because his name will soon be associated with these houses and he wants more jobs. What about attitude? The workers are working for a paycheck and out of fear of the boss. The son is not going to be fired and is working with joy knowing his future is secure and he is loved by the father.
       This is what is wrong with the Saving Private Ryan clip. Private Ryan has been saved but the Captain's last words to him are "earn this". Salvation without acceptance. Salvation without sonship. This leads to a life of striving to earn worth which as seen in the aged private made him depressed unhappy and feeling inadequate and unworthy with constant need for reassurance. This was the problem with the Galatians. They lost the joy of sonship and acceptance. I fear so many Christians are working to be accepted by God rather than remembering they are accepted and working in the joy and freedom of that knowledge.
       God could have saved us to go to Heaven and serve Him and the Angels. That would have been gracious and readily accepted by myself - but He didn't
       God could have saved us to go to Heaven and become Angels. How glorious! But He didn't
       God couldn't have saved us to be His children - but He did!!!!
       UNFATHOMABLE!!

   Lord I am blown away by the fact that I am a coheir with You and I've become your brother. What is this man that You would be mindful of me? What mercy. What grace. Help me to represent you well and to start showing your likeness to a world of spiritual orphans as I offer them a home and family which just happens to belong to the King of the Universe.
    

What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 2

I talked with someone at the gym this week about working out. I told him I just swam a mile and was exhausted because I was shooting for a time to beat and fortunately I barely did. He shared with me that he likes to jog and he found that when he was running to beat a time he would finish totally spent. He found that if he would just jog for the shear pleasure of it, he would get much less tired and usually get a good time. This is the focus of our "jog" through Mark. Is your Christian life burdensome, tiresome, exhausting? Maybe what you need to do is refocus on your love for Christ and let the walk take care of itself. What is so lovely about Jesus? What is so awesome about Christ? Lets look through Mark 2 as Jesus takes on the Pharisees i.e. religion.

                                                      MARK 2

1. Read Mark 2:1-12. What were the 2 criticisms against Jesus by the Pharisees in this passage?

        1. _____________________________

        2. _____________________________

     Read 1 John 5:10-13. John is writing against false teachers/religions in this book. If you were struggling to answer the above (or having difficulty seeing where I was going with this which is more likely) see if this passage in 1 John helps.


2. Read Mark 2:13-17. What problem do the Pharisees have with Jesus in this passage?

        What does Jesus say that the criteria is for coming into His presence?

        What attitude can religion lead to?


3. Read Mark 2:18-22. What problem do the Pharisees have with Jesus now?

   Read Matt. 6:16-18. What had the Pharisees already violated?

        Contrast the facial expressions listed in the Matthew passage with the facial expressions of the wedding illustration attendees.

       What does that tell you about another difference between religion (man's efforts to reach God) and a relationship with Jesus (Christianity)? See also Matt. 11:28-30.


4. Read Mark 2:23- 3:6. In Mark 2 we see Jesus coming to abolish religion. He is not trying to abolish the Law though. Read Matt 5:17-20. What was Jesus going to do with the law?

       According to verse 20, what is the fatal flaw with religion?


       Read this blog on the Sabbath.  http://www.thoughtsfromtherightbrain.blogspot.com/2013/11/what-is-christian-to-do-with-4th.html

   List some ways that Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath.




Summary
        All religions have this in common - there is us and there is god and we are separated from it, us, him. Now who that god is and what separates us from it is completely different. All religions deal with what mankind must do to come in contact with that deity even if that deity is within us. Christianity is different in that instead of us trying to reach God, God came down and reached us. He sent His son Jesus to live a perfect life without sin and die the death we should have died ("the wages of sin is death" - Rom. 6:23) and all we have to do is by faith, without works (Eph.2:8,9) receive (John 1:12) this free gift. (John 3:16)
    The problem that religions have with this was seen in the first 12 verses. Religions don't believe Jesus is God for one thing. They believe he was a prophet, a good teacher, a god like us, Michael the Archangel in pre-existent state, Lucifer's brother, etc. And secondly, they don't believe He can bring us to God. We must do the 3 fold way of works, knowledge, and devotion. We must follow the 8 fold path of enlightenment. We must follow the 5 or 6 Pillars of faith. We must get baptized, go on missions, etc.
    Not only did the Pharisees deny that Jesus was God and could bridge the gap between man and God, but they believed only the good people get in not tax collectors and sinners. Jesus said that the first criteria for getting to Heaven is that we are bad. This eradicates judgmentalism, elitism, racism, nationalism, which taken to extremes led to religious wars which we see around us today. No wonder people hate religion. Jesus hated it too!
    The religious life is a life of burdensome work. The Pharisees were starving, grimacing, wearing uncomfortable outfits while Jesus' disciples were living a life of joy, celebration, hope, excitement because they weren't working to find God - they already found Him. Are we living in light of the fact that God is already pleased with us if by faith we have received Him. Are we celebrating the fact that He is in Heaven preparing a place for us and the worst thing that could happen to us on Earth is we could die and go to be with the King of Kings forever? We work because we are accepted not to be accepted which is a huge difference!
      Watch the following video

                            
The word for this week is RESCUER . Jesus, like George Bailey, saw us drowning in our sins. We were struggling in religion to save ourselves but like Matthew says, even the scribes and Pharisees who were professional law keepers couldn't save themselves - what hope did we have? Jesus "dove in" to this planet and saved us. He didn't throw in a manual on how to swim - He swam for us. But unlike George - He died saving us! Does that not make you love Him???

    Lord, thank You for saving me from a hopeless, wasted life of trying to reach You. Thank You for reaching down to me and saving me at the cost of Your son Jesus. Unbelievable!!!
   

What's So Awesome About Jesus? A Chapter by Chapter Study Through Mark - Chapter 1

   Genesis 29:20 - "So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her."

     This is going to be a narrowed or zoomed-in study of the Gospel of Mark focusing on the attributes of Christ seen in Mark. The hope is that when we are done, like Jacob, we would fall in love with the beauty of Jesus and our Christian life would not be tedious but rapturous.
     Why Mark? Mainly because Mark is a book of action written for a Roman audience who basically said, "Don't tell me what he said, tell me what he did? Each chapter I will come up with a character trait of Christ that in my mind summarizes the chapter. Obviously, you may come up with a totally different word and theme which is one of the supernatural qualities of the Bible - how it is alive and speaks to us all differently. So if you are ready, here we go. I will give some questions to answer and then give a summary at the end.

                                             MARK 1

1. Read Mark 1:1-8, John 15:26, John 16:7. What was the difference between John's baptism and Jesus' baptism?

       In a sense, according to these verses, what does Jesus have authority over?

2. Read Mark 1:9-11, Matt. 3:13-15, Mark 1:44. What were 2 things that Jesus willingly put his authority under their authority?     _________________________
               
                              _________________________

3. Read Mark 1:12. Who did Jesus submit to?

4. Read Mark 1:13 and Matt. 4:10,11. Name 2 things in these passages that Jesus had authority over?

                            ________________________

                           _________________________

5. Read Mark 1:16-20. Read Luke 5 1-11. What may have precipitated the complete following of Peter, James, and John?

     What does Jesus have authority over in these passages?

6. Read Mark 1:21,22. It's been said that Jesus never gave an opinion. Why not?

     What does that show He has authority over?

7. Read Mark 1:23-28 What does Jesus have authority over?

8. Read Mark 1:29-34, 40-41. What does Jesus have authority over?

9. Read Mark 1:35-38, Phil. 2:5,6. Who did Jesus willingly submit His authority to?

10. Read Mark 1:43-45, Num.5:2. Where was a leper to live?                             Why?

      Where was Jesus now forced to live?                                   Why?

     In effect who did Jesus put Himself under?


Summary

     The word for this week is meekness. What is meekness? Meekness is yieldedness, it is power under control. It differs from weakness in that a weak person has to submit- they have no choice; they have no say or power. It differs from humility in that humility is considering others better than oneself. Can God consider us better than Himself? I'm not convinced. Jesus certainly considered the Father and the Spirit better then Himself but us???? I'm not convinced. I will have to study that one. Be that as it may, in Mark 1 we see the meekness of Jesus. He has authority over the sending of the Holy Spirit yet submits to Him. He has authority over the Law yet submits to it. He has authority over disease yet exchanges places with the leper. I find this, personally, a beautiful quality of Christ. We all have certain realms of authority probably more as we age. To be a servant leader and place others over us is a near impossible thing to do with this sin nature inside of us. And then to submit to others and still demand and command the respect Christ did is a testimony to His greatness and makes Him a winsome character to be admired, respected and loved.
     Lord, fill me with your Spirit that I might become meek like You!