Welcome to 00:00:23.05\00:00:23.42 Timeless Healing Insights. 00:00:23.69\00:00:24.72 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:00:24.72\00:00:26.59 Today 00:00:26.59\00:00:26.96 we begin a new 00:00:26.96\00:00:28.19 multi-part series 00:00:28.19\00:00:29.69 going through 00:00:29.69\00:00:30.16 the gospel of Mark, 00:00:30.23\00:00:31.49 believed to be the first 00:00:31.49\00:00:33.19 gospel written. 00:00:33.19\00:00:34.73 We're looking at 00:00:34.73\00:00:35.36 healing insights, 00:00:35.36\00:00:36.90 things that can make 00:00:36.90\00:00:37.70 a difference 00:00:37.70\00:00:38.17 for your physical, 00:00:38.17\00:00:39.20 mental, emotional 00:00:39.20\00:00:40.40 and spiritual health. 00:00:40.40\00:00:42.20 I am excited about this series 00:00:42.20\00:00:43.94 because I know that 00:00:43.94\00:00:44.91 God wants to use it 00:00:44.91\00:00:46.11 to make a difference in my life 00:00:46.11\00:00:47.84 as I go 00:00:47.84\00:00:48.64 on this journey with you 00:00:48.64\00:00:50.18 and in your lives 00:00:50.18\00:00:51.45 as you tune in. 00:00:51.45\00:00:52.78 Join us now for part 00:00:52.78\00:00:54.38 one in this multi-part series. 00:00:54.38\00:00:56.75 Father in Heaven, 00:00:58.82\00:01:00.72 thank you for your word 00:01:00.89\00:01:02.89 that you promise 00:01:03.32\00:01:04.19 that it will never return to 00:01:04.19\00:01:05.99 you void. In that confidence 00:01:05.99\00:01:08.43 we open your word 00:01:08.43\00:01:09.43 today. Please, 00:01:09.43\00:01:10.43 you know what each one of us 00:01:10.43\00:01:11.70 in this congregation needs. 00:01:11.70\00:01:13.17 You know what I need. 00:01:13.17\00:01:14.37 And so I ask you 00:01:14.37\00:01:14.97 to guide my mind 00:01:14.97\00:01:15.90 and to guide us collectively 00:01:15.90\00:01:17.57 as we engage 00:01:17.57\00:01:18.31 with the scriptures. 00:01:18.31\00:01:19.71 For we ask it all 00:01:19.71\00:01:20.61 in Jesus name, Amen. 00:01:20.61\00:01:24.48 I find it to be one of 00:01:28.32\00:01:29.38 life's great ironies. 00:01:29.38\00:01:30.99 And you might say, well, 00:01:30.99\00:01:32.22 maybe it's not surprising 00:01:32.22\00:01:34.46 as an author, 00:01:34.46\00:01:36.06 as a physician, as a pastor, 00:01:36.06\00:01:37.86 that I would find this ironic. 00:01:37.86\00:01:39.53 But it's true. 00:01:39.53\00:01:40.70 I find it extremely ironic 00:01:40.70\00:01:42.33 how many millions of dollars 00:01:42.33\00:01:44.47 are spent on books 00:01:44.47\00:01:46.90 designed to help 00:01:46.90\00:01:47.70 people be healthier. 00:01:47.70\00:01:49.50 They might be self-help books. 00:01:49.50\00:01:51.51 They might be books 00:01:51.51\00:01:52.31 that are educating you 00:01:52.31\00:01:53.44 about certain 00:01:53.44\00:01:54.04 disease processes, 00:01:54.04\00:01:55.51 but millions, 00:01:55.51\00:01:56.14 millions 00:01:56.14\00:01:56.78 of dollars are spent on books. 00:01:57.15\00:01:59.18 But the irony is, 00:01:59.18\00:02:01.18 then, the most powerful book, 00:02:01.18\00:02:02.88 I'm convinced 00:02:02.88\00:02:03.55 the most powerful book 00:02:03.55\00:02:05.12 when it comes to giving 00:02:05.12\00:02:06.72 health insights 00:02:06.72\00:02:08.42 and health power, 00:02:08.42\00:02:10.39 is actually none other 00:02:10.39\00:02:12.33 than the Bible. 00:02:12.33\00:02:14.50 The scriptures that we hold in 00:02:14.50\00:02:15.86 our hands have powerful health 00:02:15.86\00:02:18.60 giving insight, 00:02:18.60\00:02:19.47 and not just because it creates 00:02:19.47\00:02:21.60 in us a desire 00:02:22.10\00:02:23.24 to unite 00:02:23.24\00:02:23.94 with a divine healer, 00:02:23.94\00:02:24.97 not only because God 00:02:24.97\00:02:26.11 reveals himself here, 00:02:26.11\00:02:28.14 but the Bible has powerful 00:02:28.14\00:02:30.38 health insights 00:02:31.05\00:02:32.78 and so as we begin a new series 00:02:32.78\00:02:35.55 today, we're 00:02:35.55\00:02:36.52 starting on a series 00:02:36.52\00:02:37.65 that I'm calling 00:02:37.65\00:02:38.35 Healing Insights 00:02:38.35\00:02:39.69 from the Gospel of Mark. 00:02:39.69\00:02:41.19 I want to put it in 00:02:41.19\00:02:42.16 the context of helping us 00:02:42.16\00:02:43.76 see that 00:02:43.76\00:02:44.69 not just the gospel of Mark. 00:02:44.69\00:02:45.99 It?ot something unique 00:02:45.99\00:02:47.36 about Mark's gospel 00:02:47.36\00:02:48.53 when it comes to healing. 00:02:48.53\00:02:49.63 But it is something 00:02:49.63\00:02:50.57 that characterizes 00:02:50.57\00:02:51.57 the whole Bible. 00:02:51.57\00:02:52.73 The whole Bible is a book 00:02:52.73\00:02:54.67 that is designed 00:02:54.67\00:02:55.44 for whole person health. 00:02:55.44\00:02:57.84 I'd like you 00:02:58.74\00:02:59.27 to do something with me 00:02:59.27\00:03:00.38 as we 00:03:00.38\00:03:00.78 put the Bible in that context. 00:03:01.04\00:03:02.78 I'd like you to think with me 00:03:02.78\00:03:04.78 about God's revelation 00:03:04.78\00:03:06.92 in Holy Scripture. 00:03:07.28\00:03:09.42 And what I'd like you to 00:03:09.42\00:03:10.39 think about is simply this. 00:03:10.39\00:03:12.12 Really, 00:03:13.49\00:03:14.52 do we need healing today? 00:03:14.52\00:03:17.09 Do we need the healing 00:03:17.19\00:03:18.39 that the Bible offers? 00:03:18.39\00:03:19.36 Now some of you might say, 00:03:19.36\00:03:19.96 that's a stupid question, 00:03:19.96\00:03:21.70 but I'd like you to 00:03:21.70\00:03:22.50 just think about what 00:03:22.50\00:03:23.63 we're dealing with on planet 00:03:23.63\00:03:25.17 Earth today. 00:03:25.17\00:03:26.17 As a physician, 00:03:26.17\00:03:27.24 one of the things I realize 00:03:27.24\00:03:28.67 people are dealing with 00:03:28.67\00:03:30.34 chronic life 00:03:30.34\00:03:31.84 threatening diseases. 00:03:31.84\00:03:32.94 Many of you here 00:03:32.94\00:03:34.11 might be dealing with 00:03:34.11\00:03:35.21 a health condition 00:03:35.21\00:03:36.71 where you got a diagnosis 00:03:36.71\00:03:38.58 that could have been 00:03:38.58\00:03:38.98 many years ago. 00:03:38.98\00:03:39.98 But the prognosis is 00:03:39.98\00:03:42.12 not all that good 00:03:42.12\00:03:44.12 and you need 00:03:44.12\00:03:45.35 healing power today. 00:03:45.35\00:03:47.06 One of the things 00:03:47.06\00:03:47.69 that the Bible connects us with 00:03:47.76\00:03:48.99 is with the healing 00:03:48.99\00:03:49.89 power of relationships. 00:03:49.89\00:03:51.83 I want you to see that first, 00:03:51.83\00:03:53.43 and I want to draw you 00:03:53.43\00:03:54.86 to the medical research first, 00:03:54.86\00:03:57.10 and then we'll see 00:03:57.20\00:03:57.83 how it interfaces 00:03:57.83\00:03:58.83 with the scripture. 00:03:58.83\00:04:00.37 Some years ago, an amazing 00:04:00.37\00:04:01.64 study came out 00:04:01.64\00:04:02.44 from a huge data set. 00:04:02.44\00:04:03.57 I think 00:04:03.57\00:04:03.87 all of you have heard of it. 00:04:04.24\00:04:04.84 If you know anything about 00:04:04.84\00:04:06.54 epidemiology, 00:04:06.54\00:04:07.74 that's the science of things 00:04:07.74\00:04:09.58 that happen to people groups. 00:04:09.58\00:04:11.05 That's the 00:04:11.05\00:04:11.68 the kind of entry level science 00:04:11.75\00:04:13.88 as we gather connections 00:04:13.88\00:04:15.52 about people 00:04:15.52\00:04:16.69 and their lifestyles and things 00:04:16.69\00:04:18.49 that happen to them 00:04:18.49\00:04:19.42 and disease processes. 00:04:19.42\00:04:20.92 But one of those great data 00:04:20.92\00:04:22.46 sets comes 00:04:22.46\00:04:22.99 from Harvard University 00:04:22.99\00:04:24.43 and the Health Professionals 00:04:24.43\00:04:25.83 Data sets, 00:04:25.83\00:04:26.76 the Nurses health study 00:04:26.76\00:04:28.23 and with sometimes 00:04:28.23\00:04:29.06 called the Physicians 00:04:29.06\00:04:30.27 Health Study. 00:04:30.27\00:04:31.10 This is data that was published 00:04:31.10\00:04:32.33 some years ago 00:04:32.33\00:04:33.00 from the Nurses Health Study. 00:04:33.00\00:04:34.47 They've been following 00:04:34.47\00:04:35.20 tens of thousands of nurses 00:04:35.20\00:04:37.24 for decades. 00:04:37.24\00:04:38.91 And at this point in the study 00:04:38.91\00:04:40.61 back in 1992 through 2002, 00:04:40.61\00:04:43.68 they identified 00:04:44.31\00:04:45.18 nearly 3000 women 00:04:45.18\00:04:47.22 that had been diagnosed 00:04:47.22\00:04:48.35 with breast cancer. 00:04:48.35\00:04:50.72 These women 00:04:50.72\00:04:51.42 ran the whole gamut 00:04:52.82\00:04:54.16 of breast 00:04:54.16\00:04:54.69 cancer stages from early breast 00:04:54.86\00:04:56.42 cancer, stage one 00:04:56.42\00:04:57.79 to advanced 00:04:57.79\00:04:58.73 metastatic breast 00:04:58.73\00:05:00.10 cancer, stage 00:05:00.10\00:05:00.86 four, breast cancer 00:05:00.86\00:05:01.70 that it spread 00:05:01.70\00:05:02.20 throughout their bodies. 00:05:02.30\00:05:03.93 And they did 00:05:03.93\00:05:05.03 something interesting 00:05:05.03\00:05:06.00 in this research. 00:05:06.00\00:05:06.77 They didn't 00:05:06.77\00:05:07.50 just take note of the fact 00:05:07.50\00:05:09.20 that they had this diagnosis, 00:05:09.20\00:05:10.91 but they also measured 00:05:10.91\00:05:12.37 their levels of social support. 00:05:12.37\00:05:14.68 How connected 00:05:14.94\00:05:15.91 were they with other people? 00:05:15.91\00:05:17.78 And what they found over 00:05:17.78\00:05:18.88 this ten year 00:05:18.88\00:05:19.55 period was striking. 00:05:19.55\00:05:22.08 They found that those women 00:05:22.08\00:05:24.25 who were the most connected 00:05:24.99\00:05:26.52 compared to those 00:05:26.52\00:05:27.39 who were socially isolated. 00:05:27.39\00:05:29.72 Those women 00:05:29.72\00:05:30.33 who are most connected 00:05:30.33\00:05:31.29 had less than half 00:05:31.29\00:05:32.53 the likelihood of dying 00:05:32.53\00:05:33.90 from breast cancer 00:05:33.90\00:05:34.96 over the course of the study. 00:05:34.96\00:05:37.37 What was even more remarkable 00:05:37.57\00:05:39.13 to me as a physician is 00:05:39.13\00:05:40.30 I looked at that data. 00:05:40.30\00:05:41.30 It wasn't 00:05:41.30\00:05:41.90 just about breast cancer. 00:05:41.90\00:05:43.94 If you looked at all 00:05:43.94\00:05:44.91 causes of mortality, 00:05:44.91\00:05:46.41 what they found was striking 00:05:46.41\00:05:48.44 those women 00:05:48.44\00:05:49.21 who were socially isolated. 00:05:49.21\00:05:51.41 66% increased risk of dying 00:05:51.41\00:05:55.98 from any cause. 00:05:56.38\00:05:58.62 Social support is powerful. 00:05:59.09\00:06:01.29 And you might say, well, 00:06:01.59\00:06:02.19 we all kind of know that. 00:06:02.19\00:06:03.32 But what is it about 00:06:03.32\00:06:04.49 social connectedness that 00:06:04.49\00:06:06.56 gives us these benefits? 00:06:06.90\00:06:08.23 Well, if you were to read 00:06:09.30\00:06:10.20 the research 00:06:10.20\00:06:10.80 literature, you'll find that 00:06:10.87\00:06:12.40 social connectedness 00:06:12.40\00:06:13.80 and social support 00:06:13.80\00:06:14.84 can be broken down 00:06:14.84\00:06:15.87 into all kinds 00:06:15.87\00:06:16.64 of different ways, 00:06:16.64\00:06:17.31 depending on the researchers. 00:06:17.31\00:06:18.74 They've looked at it 00:06:18.74\00:06:19.41 in different ways, 00:06:19.41\00:06:20.11 but it's, 00:06:20.11\00:06:20.78 there's various facets 00:06:20.91\00:06:22.88 of social support. 00:06:22.88\00:06:24.31 One is emotional support 00:06:24.31\00:06:26.08 that might be 00:06:26.08\00:06:27.32 the one that you immediately 00:06:27.32\00:06:28.32 think of. 00:06:28.32\00:06:29.08 But there's also what 00:06:29.08\00:06:30.02 they call instrumental support 00:06:30.02\00:06:32.05 that can come in the form 00:06:32.05\00:06:33.19 of tangible support 00:06:33.19\00:06:34.69 or informational support. 00:06:34.69\00:06:36.39 You say, Oh, 00:06:36.39\00:06:36.93 why are you giving us 00:06:36.93\00:06:37.56 all these terms? 00:06:37.56\00:06:38.13 Let's just stop 00:06:38.13\00:06:39.09 and break down the terminology. 00:06:39.09\00:06:40.86 And I want to 00:06:40.86\00:06:41.73 help you see why 00:06:41.73\00:06:42.70 this is so important 00:06:42.70\00:06:43.50 and then will connect it 00:06:43.50\00:06:44.47 with the scriptures. 00:06:44.47\00:06:46.00 First of all, 00:06:46.00\00:06:46.60 emotional support. 00:06:46.60\00:06:47.44 I think we all know 00:06:47.44\00:06:48.14 what this is. 00:06:48.14\00:06:48.97 This is 00:06:48.97\00:06:49.30 that person that comes up 00:06:49.60\00:06:50.41 alongside of you, right? 00:06:50.41\00:06:51.74 They may give you a hug 00:06:51.74\00:06:52.81 when you're down 00:06:52.81\00:06:53.34 and they say, cheer up. Right. 00:06:53.48\00:06:55.44 You can relate to this 00:06:55.44\00:06:57.28 emotional support, but it's not 00:06:57.28\00:07:00.22 that that is the only form 00:07:01.12\00:07:03.15 of social support 00:07:03.15\00:07:04.25 that's needed 00:07:04.25\00:07:05.12 and that can help us. 00:07:05.12\00:07:08.69 Some of the tangible 00:07:08.69\00:07:09.89 forms of support 00:07:09.89\00:07:10.79 that we can get 00:07:10.79\00:07:11.83 include something 00:07:11.83\00:07:12.76 called informational support. 00:07:12.76\00:07:15.06 You might go in 00:07:15.70\00:07:16.26 to see your health 00:07:16.26\00:07:17.33 care provider 00:07:17.33\00:07:18.43 and they might give 00:07:18.43\00:07:19.13 you information 00:07:19.13\00:07:20.10 about a diagnosis. 00:07:20.10\00:07:21.54 Maybe you're new in a community 00:07:21.54\00:07:22.90 and I've met some of you. 00:07:22.90\00:07:23.77 You've recently relocated 00:07:23.77\00:07:25.27 or you're back 00:07:25.27\00:07:26.04 here, you've been traveling 00:07:26.04\00:07:27.04 or you're here 00:07:27.04\00:07:27.44 for a little while, 00:07:27.58\00:07:28.44 and you say, Well, 00:07:28.44\00:07:29.28 where's the best place to get 00:07:29.28\00:07:31.61 whole wheat pasta? 00:07:31.61\00:07:33.52 And you talk with 00:07:33.52\00:07:34.32 somebody, right? 00:07:34.32\00:07:35.52 So you get 00:07:35.52\00:07:35.98 informational support. 00:07:36.05\00:07:37.62 Now, here's what's interesting. 00:07:38.72\00:07:40.99 There's another 00:07:40.99\00:07:41.79 form of support. 00:07:41.79\00:07:43.56 And that support is 00:07:43.56\00:07:44.79 sometimes simply called 00:07:44.79\00:07:46.09 tangible support. 00:07:46.09\00:07:47.86 And it has to do with really 00:07:47.86\00:07:49.76 some practical things 00:07:49.76\00:07:50.90 that we do in this church. 00:07:50.90\00:07:51.90 I'm thankful that we have 00:07:51.90\00:07:52.57 a community services ministry 00:07:52.57\00:07:54.60 and what do we do there? 00:07:54.60\00:07:56.17 We give people special help. 00:07:56.17\00:07:58.44 Maybe they're needing food. 00:07:58.54\00:08:00.04 Maybe they're needing clothing. 00:08:00.04\00:08:01.88 Are you following along? 00:08:01.88\00:08:03.75 Now, here's 00:08:03.75\00:08:04.61 what's so interesting. 00:08:04.61\00:08:05.51 As we look 00:08:05.51\00:08:05.88 at these different domains 00:08:06.15\00:08:07.05 of social connectedness, 00:08:07.05\00:08:08.35 you can be getting help 00:08:08.35\00:08:09.72 in one area 00:08:09.72\00:08:10.69 from a given person, 00:08:10.69\00:08:11.89 but they may not be giving 00:08:11.89\00:08:13.36 you support in another area. 00:08:13.36\00:08:15.16 Let's look at a Bible example. 00:08:15.16\00:08:16.86 This comes to us 00:08:16.86\00:08:17.63 from the Gospel of Luke. 00:08:17.63\00:08:19.49 Remember, 00:08:19.49\00:08:20.10 we're going to be focused, 00:08:20.10\00:08:21.03 especially in this 00:08:21.03\00:08:21.83 series on Mark's gospel, 00:08:21.83\00:08:23.37 But I'm trying to make a point 00:08:23.37\00:08:24.47 that the whole Bible 00:08:24.47\00:08:25.87 is full of health 00:08:25.87\00:08:27.07 giving insights, 00:08:27.07\00:08:28.77 and especially 00:08:28.77\00:08:30.07 as it relates 00:08:30.07\00:08:30.64 to social connectedness. 00:08:30.64\00:08:32.07 Jesus told this story. 00:08:32.07\00:08:33.71 He said, There's a guy 00:08:33.71\00:08:35.91 and he has a visitor, 00:08:35.91\00:08:37.21 comes to his house 00:08:37.21\00:08:38.41 middle of the night, 00:08:38.41\00:08:39.18 it's midnight. 00:08:39.18\00:08:40.68 And what does he do? 00:08:40.68\00:08:41.88 He's got no food. 00:08:41.88\00:08:44.25 He goes to his neighbor 00:08:44.25\00:08:46.39 and he says, Would you lend me 00:08:46.39\00:08:48.72 three loaves? 00:08:48.72\00:08:50.16 A friend of mine has come to me 00:08:50.16\00:08:51.89 on his journey 00:08:51.89\00:08:52.66 and I have nothing to set 00:08:52.66\00:08:53.96 before him. 00:08:53.96\00:08:54.83 Now, some of you are saying, 00:08:54.83\00:08:55.53 Well, what? 00:08:55.53\00:08:55.86 I mean, midnight. Come on. 00:08:56.16\00:08:57.03 You shouldn't 00:08:57.03\00:08:57.40 be eating that late anyway. 00:08:57.70\00:08:59.43 Well, 00:08:59.43\00:08:59.73 let me just tell you something. 00:09:00.20\00:09:01.74 What I understand 00:09:01.74\00:09:02.70 about Middle 00:09:02.70\00:09:03.30 Eastern culture is 00:09:03.30\00:09:04.54 that is protocol even today. 00:09:04.54\00:09:07.01 By the way, it's true 00:09:07.18\00:09:07.91 in many countries. 00:09:07.91\00:09:09.28 My wife and I, 00:09:09.28\00:09:09.98 as we've traveled, 00:09:09.98\00:09:10.91 we have been in 00:09:10.91\00:09:11.61 more than one place 00:09:11.61\00:09:12.91 where we have landed 00:09:12.91\00:09:14.95 after traveling for many hours 00:09:14.95\00:09:17.42 or maybe driving 00:09:17.42\00:09:18.32 for many hours, 00:09:18.32\00:09:18.89 and we come to some town 00:09:18.89\00:09:20.32 or village. 00:09:20.32\00:09:21.16 It may be after midnight 00:09:21.16\00:09:23.39 and you think 00:09:23.39\00:09:23.89 everybody's asleep? 00:09:23.89\00:09:25.69 No, everybody's awake. 00:09:25.69\00:09:27.73 And they're not only awake, 00:09:27.96\00:09:29.26 they've got a full course 00:09:29.26\00:09:30.37 meal there 00:09:30.37\00:09:30.90 waiting for you to eat at 12:30 00:09:31.07\00:09:32.53 or 1:00 in the morning. 00:09:32.53\00:09:33.97 What am I thinking about? 00:09:33.97\00:09:35.97 Yeah, going to sleep. 00:09:35.97\00:09:36.94 That's all I'm thinking about. 00:09:36.94\00:09:38.24 But they want to show 00:09:38.24\00:09:39.31 their hospitality. 00:09:39.31\00:09:40.44 That is the culture there. 00:09:40.44\00:09:41.98 Okay. 00:09:41.98\00:09:43.04 And so I get this sense 00:09:43.04\00:09:45.05 that there was this 00:09:45.35\00:09:46.01 cultural obligation 00:09:46.01\00:09:48.15 for this gentleman, 00:09:48.15\00:09:49.05 but maybe it was something 00:09:49.05\00:09:50.15 even more pressing than that. 00:09:50.15\00:09:51.75 Maybe the person 00:09:51.75\00:09:52.52 was hypoglycemic, I don't know. 00:09:52.52\00:09:54.12 But whatever it was. 00:09:54.12\00:09:55.52 This fellow was doing what? 00:09:55.52\00:09:58.73 Knocking on the 00:10:00.30\00:10:01.23 door of his neighbor. 00:10:01.23\00:10:02.33 Now, I'm told something else 00:10:02.33\00:10:03.53 about many of those homes 00:10:03.53\00:10:05.73 in the Middle East 00:10:05.73\00:10:07.20 in Jesus day, 00:10:07.20\00:10:08.97 people would all live 00:10:08.97\00:10:10.34 in a common room. 00:10:10.34\00:10:11.94 They'd be all sleeping 00:10:11.94\00:10:12.87 together. 00:10:12.87\00:10:13.58 Okay, let's 00:10:13.58\00:10:14.84 just read on how 00:10:14.84\00:10:15.68 Jesus described it. 00:10:15.68\00:10:17.28 What did he say? 00:10:17.28\00:10:18.61 I cannot rise and give you why? 00:10:18.61\00:10:21.78 The door?hut. 00:10:22.15\00:10:23.55 The children are with me 00:10:23.55\00:10:24.85 in bed. 00:10:24.85\00:10:26.22 Everybody's sleeping 00:10:26.22\00:10:27.92 and I'm sure he's whispering. 00:10:27.92\00:10:29.82 And what is the friend saying? 00:10:29.82\00:10:31.26 But I need it. 00:10:31.26\00:10:32.46 I need it. 00:10:32.46\00:10:32.96 I've got to have it. 00:10:32.96\00:10:34.00 Please. Please. 00:10:34.00\00:10:36.03 You get the picture, right? 00:10:36.03\00:10:37.50 And so this 00:10:37.50\00:10:38.57 drama is playing out. 00:10:38.57\00:10:40.14 And Jesus says, 00:10:40.14\00:10:42.00 though 00:10:42.00\00:10:42.27 he will not rise and give him 00:10:42.70\00:10:43.94 because he is his friend, yet 00:10:43.94\00:10:46.24 because of his persistence, 00:10:46.24\00:10:48.58 he will rise and give him. 00:10:48.78\00:10:50.85 How many loves you need? Three. 00:10:50.85\00:10:52.05 Take four. 00:10:52.05\00:10:52.58 Take five. 00:10:52.58\00:10:53.28 Okay. 00:10:53.28\00:10:53.55 You get the picture right? 00:10:53.92\00:10:55.22 Now. let me ask you a question. 00:10:55.22\00:10:56.52 We're talking about 00:10:56.52\00:10:57.22 different forms 00:10:57.22\00:10:57.99 of support, social support. 00:10:57.99\00:11:00.42 Did the fellow 00:11:00.42\00:11:01.82 who walked away with the bread, 00:11:01.82\00:11:03.59 did he get tangible support? 00:11:03.59\00:11:05.56 He did. 00:11:06.56\00:11:07.03 Right? 00:11:07.03\00:11:07.36 He walked away with food. 00:11:07.66\00:11:09.30 But did he get 00:11:09.30\00:11:10.37 emotional support? 00:11:10.37\00:11:13.40 I don't know about that. Okay. 00:11:13.74\00:11:16.27 I don't know how much 00:11:16.30\00:11:16.97 emotional support he got. Okay. 00:11:16.97\00:11:19.37 Here it is. Just take it. 00:11:19.37\00:11:20.11 Just get out of here. Okay. 00:11:20.11\00:11:21.84 So someone can help you. 00:11:21.84\00:11:24.01 They can give you 00:11:24.01\00:11:24.58 a social support. 00:11:24.58\00:11:25.41 Maybe we talked 00:11:25.41\00:11:26.45 about informational support. 00:11:26.45\00:11:27.75 You may feel 00:11:27.75\00:11:28.32 your doctor 00:11:28.32\00:11:28.85 gave you some good information, 00:11:29.02\00:11:30.82 but he or 00:11:30.82\00:11:31.19 she gave you 00:11:31.19\00:11:31.72 no emotional support. 00:11:31.72\00:11:33.22 I've heard that 00:11:33.22\00:11:33.76 before from patients. 00:11:33.76\00:11:35.56 They usually don't tell me 00:11:35.56\00:11:37.29 that I didn't give them 00:11:37.29\00:11:38.09 emotional support. 00:11:38.09\00:11:39.03 They might tell another doctor 00:11:39.03\00:11:40.16 that I didn't, 00:11:40.16\00:11:40.93 but they usually talk 00:11:40.93\00:11:41.70 about some other health care 00:11:41.70\00:11:43.23 provider that gave them 00:11:43.23\00:11:44.20 no emotional support. 00:11:44.20\00:11:45.30 Can you relate? 00:11:45.30\00:11:46.17 But he may have given them 00:11:46.17\00:11:47.80 some very good health 00:11:47.80\00:11:49.17 information, may 00:11:49.17\00:11:49.84 have saved their life. 00:11:49.84\00:11:52.67 Yes, there's all 00:11:53.11\00:11:53.88 of these different 00:11:53.88\00:11:54.58 domains of social support. 00:11:54.58\00:11:57.08 I would like to suggest to you 00:11:57.08\00:11:58.51 the Bible connects us 00:11:58.51\00:11:59.75 with all of them. 00:11:59.75\00:12:01.65 Some of them direct 00:12:01.65\00:12:02.85 through the words of Scripture, 00:12:02.85\00:12:03.92 but other through 00:12:03.92\00:12:04.95 God, connecting us 00:12:04.95\00:12:06.52 with a community of believers. 00:12:06.52\00:12:08.69 Now, let's just look 00:12:08.69\00:12:09.46 at some of these dimensions 00:12:09.46\00:12:10.49 and how powerful they are, lest 00:12:10.49\00:12:11.96 we think that it's 00:12:11.96\00:12:12.66 only emotional support 00:12:12.66\00:12:14.20 that matters. 00:12:14.20\00:12:15.26 Some years ago 00:12:15.26\00:12:15.93 they were doing a 00:12:15.93\00:12:16.43 study of individuals 00:12:16.43\00:12:18.23 who had had recent heart 00:12:18.23\00:12:20.27 bypass surgery. 00:12:20.27\00:12:22.04 Over a thousand 00:12:22.04\00:12:22.87 individuals were identified 00:12:22.87\00:12:24.54 and they followed them 00:12:24.54\00:12:25.67 over some six months. 00:12:25.67\00:12:27.84 They were interested 00:12:28.61\00:12:29.88 in one specific question, 00:12:29.88\00:12:31.68 and that was 00:12:31.68\00:12:32.45 if you were getting 00:12:32.45\00:12:34.15 practical, tangible 00:12:34.15\00:12:36.25 social support, 00:12:36.25\00:12:37.32 did it make any difference? 00:12:37.32\00:12:39.12 Were you getting 00:12:39.12\00:12:39.55 instrumental support 00:12:39.65\00:12:40.59 in that way? 00:12:40.59\00:12:41.02 Where were people helping 00:12:41.22\00:12:42.19 you take care of your needs 00:12:42.19\00:12:43.46 as you were recovering 00:12:43.46\00:12:44.19 from surgery? 00:12:44.19\00:12:44.99 And did it make any difference? 00:12:44.99\00:12:46.63 Here's 00:12:46.63\00:12:46.86 what the researchers found. 00:12:47.30\00:12:48.30 They found that 00:12:48.30\00:12:48.93 those who got more 00:12:48.93\00:12:51.07 instrumental support, 00:12:51.07\00:12:52.43 more of that tangible, 00:12:52.43\00:12:53.57 practical support, 00:12:53.57\00:12:54.84 they had better mental health. 00:12:54.84\00:12:57.44 And it was especially important 00:12:57.74\00:12:59.77 for those whose mental health 00:12:59.77\00:13:01.08 wasn't the greatest 00:13:01.08\00:13:02.18 to begin with. 00:13:02.18\00:13:03.28 No surprise, right? 00:13:03.28\00:13:04.45 The Bible is a book that 00:13:06.31\00:13:08.25 doesn't limit itself 00:13:08.25\00:13:10.32 to just giving you rules 00:13:10.32\00:13:11.75 about how to live. 00:13:11.75\00:13:12.55 By the way, 00:13:12.55\00:13:13.32 there's plenty of spiritual 00:13:13.32\00:13:14.39 books out there, 00:13:14.39\00:13:15.52 and some of them have 00:13:15.52\00:13:16.22 all kinds of rules 00:13:16.22\00:13:17.49 and principles for living. 00:13:17.49\00:13:19.06 Have you heard about things 00:13:19.06\00:13:19.89 like maybe 00:13:19.89\00:13:20.36 you've even read them? 00:13:20.43\00:13:21.96 But what is the Bible? 00:13:21.96\00:13:23.00 What's so unique 00:13:23.00\00:13:23.73 about the Bible? 00:13:23.73\00:13:24.63 The Bible is a relational book. 00:13:24.63\00:13:26.77 It tells about how God 00:13:26.77\00:13:28.17 is interacting with people 00:13:28.17\00:13:30.07 and how he 00:13:30.07\00:13:30.24 how he wants to 00:13:30.51\00:13:31.21 interact with you. 00:13:31.21\00:13:33.81 So 00:13:33.81\00:13:34.58 think about it this way. 00:13:35.14\00:13:36.71 If you go to the very beginning 00:13:36.71\00:13:38.35 of the Bible, we find a creator 00:13:38.35\00:13:41.42 who connects personally 00:13:41.52\00:13:43.92 with his creation. 00:13:43.99\00:13:45.29 Think about it this way. 00:13:45.29\00:13:47.72 Genesis chapter one, God Speaks 00:13:47.72\00:13:51.23 and what happens? 00:13:51.83\00:13:52.69 Let there be light. And what? 00:13:52.69\00:13:54.50 There's light. 00:13:54.50\00:13:55.56 Could God have spoken and 00:13:55.56\00:13:57.07 created man and woman? 00:13:57.07\00:13:58.73 But he didn't. 00:13:59.77\00:14:01.27 In Genesis 2:7, it says, 00:14:01.27\00:14:03.54 God forms man 00:14:03.84\00:14:05.84 out of the dust of the ground, 00:14:05.84\00:14:07.54 and he breathed 00:14:07.54\00:14:08.51 into his nostrils 00:14:08.51\00:14:09.41 the breath of life 00:14:09.41\00:14:10.45 and man became a living being. 00:14:10.45\00:14:12.48 Do you catch the picture? 00:14:12.48\00:14:13.85 So what's going on here? 00:14:13.85\00:14:15.52 So God is actually physically, 00:14:15.52\00:14:18.42 socially, 00:14:18.62\00:14:19.65 connecting with humanity. 00:14:19.65\00:14:21.72 And it's not just that 00:14:21.72\00:14:23.06 as you read the next chapter, 00:14:23.06\00:14:24.59 you see, 00:14:24.59\00:14:25.03 even after Adam and Eve sinned, 00:14:25.29\00:14:27.03 what do they do? 00:14:27.03\00:14:28.13 It says they heard 00:14:28.13\00:14:29.36 the sound of the Lord 00:14:29.36\00:14:30.60 God walking in the garden 00:14:30.60\00:14:32.77 in the cool of the day, 00:14:32.77\00:14:34.54 and Adam 00:14:34.54\00:14:35.07 and Eve hid themselves. 00:14:35.07\00:14:37.47 Now, what's going on here? 00:14:37.47\00:14:39.07 Do you hide yourself 00:14:39.07\00:14:40.01 from a spirit? 00:14:40.01\00:14:41.48 No. 00:14:41.48\00:14:41.88 God was physically present 00:14:42.11\00:14:43.55 with them. 00:14:43.55\00:14:44.15 He was connecting with them 00:14:44.21\00:14:45.65 socially in Eden and Adam 00:14:45.65\00:14:47.92 and Eve hide when they sin. 00:14:47.92\00:14:50.22 So here's what 00:14:50.85\00:14:51.49 I want you to see from 00:14:51.49\00:14:52.39 the very beginning. 00:14:52.39\00:14:53.36 In creation, 00:14:53.36\00:14:54.32 God is a God 00:14:54.32\00:14:54.99 who connects 00:14:54.99\00:14:55.72 socially with people. 00:14:55.72\00:14:56.83 He connects socially 00:14:56.83\00:14:57.76 with his children. 00:14:57.76\00:14:58.53 But it doesn't stop there. 00:14:58.53\00:14:59.89 When the Bible comes 00:14:59.89\00:15:00.93 to its high point, 00:15:00.93\00:15:02.33 really, everything in the Bible 00:15:02.33\00:15:03.60 is focused on the cross. 00:15:03.60\00:15:04.90 If you think about it, right? 00:15:04.90\00:15:06.47 It's either 00:15:06.47\00:15:07.30 things leading up to 00:15:07.30\00:15:08.90 Jesus ministry 00:15:08.90\00:15:10.01 and his sacrificial death 00:15:10.01\00:15:11.57 for us, 00:15:11.57\00:15:12.34 or it's what follows that. 00:15:12.34\00:15:14.48 That's the dividing line 00:15:14.48\00:15:15.71 between the New 00:15:15.71\00:15:16.34 and the Old Testament, right? 00:15:16.41\00:15:18.01 The Ministry of Jesus. 00:15:18.01\00:15:20.15 But if you look at 00:15:20.15\00:15:20.88 Jesus as our Redeemer, 00:15:20.88\00:15:22.15 he didn't just come down 00:15:22.15\00:15:24.12 for a few days to die 00:15:24.12\00:15:26.96 on the cross. What did he do? 00:15:26.96\00:15:29.29 He lived 00:15:29.29\00:15:30.56 and He worked among humanity 00:15:30.56\00:15:33.03 for 33 years. 00:15:33.16\00:15:34.56 And as you read 00:15:34.56\00:15:35.20 through the gospel 00:15:35.20\00:15:35.93 accounts, as we'll see 00:15:35.93\00:15:36.73 as we go through the 00:15:36.73\00:15:37.57 the gospel of Mark, 00:15:37.57\00:15:39.23 you see that Jesus spent time 00:15:39.23\00:15:41.94 socializing at weddings. 00:15:41.94\00:15:44.61 He ate in people's homes, 00:15:44.61\00:15:46.78 He taught in their synagogues, 00:15:46.78\00:15:49.71 He taught in the open fields, 00:15:49.81\00:15:51.65 and He healed the sick. 00:15:51.65\00:15:53.42 Jesus was socially connecting. 00:15:53.42\00:15:56.28 He was socially supporting. 00:15:56.38\00:15:58.29 He was giving 00:15:58.29\00:15:59.02 informational support 00:15:59.02\00:16:00.62 and teaching. 00:16:00.62\00:16:01.42 He was giving what 00:16:01.42\00:16:02.46 tangible support and healing. 00:16:02.46\00:16:04.39 He was giving emotional support 00:16:04.39\00:16:06.46 and coming close to people. 00:16:06.46\00:16:07.76 Now, if you're to put 00:16:08.93\00:16:10.70 these in 00:16:10.70\00:16:11.00 some kind of hierarchy, 00:16:11.27\00:16:12.13 some researchers, depending 00:16:12.13\00:16:13.34 on what they're looking at, 00:16:13.34\00:16:14.80 they will tell you 00:16:14.80\00:16:15.44 that emotional support 00:16:15.44\00:16:16.40 is the most important. 00:16:16.40\00:16:17.24 At least that's the one 00:16:17.24\00:16:19.34 that the researchers 00:16:19.44\00:16:20.51 of the Nurses Health 00:16:20.51\00:16:21.28 Study looked at 00:16:21.28\00:16:22.01 when they were talking about 00:16:22.01\00:16:24.41 these nurses 00:16:24.41\00:16:25.75 that did so much better 00:16:25.75\00:16:27.68 as far as their survival. 00:16:27.68\00:16:30.29 They put it this way 00:16:30.29\00:16:31.42 that emotional support 00:16:31.42\00:16:32.65 was more important 00:16:32.65\00:16:33.86 than instrumental support. 00:16:33.86\00:16:35.72 Why? 00:16:35.72\00:16:36.83 As you read their research 00:16:37.73\00:16:39.66 and others, 00:16:39.66\00:16:40.20 they'll tell you things 00:16:40.20\00:16:41.26 like social emotional support 00:16:41.26\00:16:43.50 actually interacts 00:16:43.50\00:16:45.57 with some complex systems 00:16:45.57\00:16:47.14 in your body. 00:16:47.14\00:16:48.20 If you read the 00:16:48.20\00:16:48.84 medical literature, 00:16:48.84\00:16:49.80 they talk about relationships 00:16:49.80\00:16:51.41 between the hypothalamus, 00:16:51.41\00:16:53.01 a region in the brain, 00:16:53.01\00:16:54.41 your pituitary gland, 00:16:54.41\00:16:56.34 a gland at the base 00:16:56.34\00:16:57.35 of your brain, 00:16:57.35\00:16:58.05 your adrenal glands 00:16:58.05\00:16:59.45 that lie alongside 00:16:59.45\00:17:00.95 your kidneys. 00:17:00.95\00:17:02.78 These glands 00:17:02.78\00:17:03.75 are all involved in what? 00:17:03.75\00:17:05.79 They're involved 00:17:05.79\00:17:06.99 in the stress axis. 00:17:06.99\00:17:09.59 And if you have 00:17:10.19\00:17:11.06 social contacts, 00:17:11.06\00:17:12.69 if you have people 00:17:12.69\00:17:13.40 supporting you, 00:17:13.40\00:17:14.00 if you have emotional support, 00:17:14.00\00:17:15.20 what happens? 00:17:15.20\00:17:16.26 When you go through stresses, 00:17:16.26\00:17:17.77 the researchers are saying, 00:17:17.77\00:17:19.07 they don't hit you so hard 00:17:19.07\00:17:21.20 and they don't hit you so hard. 00:17:21.20\00:17:22.60 What happens? 00:17:22.60\00:17:23.61 It helps 00:17:23.61\00:17:24.37 your immune system work better. 00:17:24.37\00:17:27.71 1989 I actually remember 00:17:28.11\00:17:30.51 when this study came out, 00:17:30.51\00:17:31.88 David Spiegel and his 00:17:33.45\00:17:34.65 colleagues at Stanford 00:17:34.65\00:17:36.65 had embarked on 00:17:36.65\00:17:37.55 something that back then 00:17:37.55\00:17:38.65 was thought to be a fairly 00:17:38.65\00:17:40.12 risky study. 00:17:40.12\00:17:41.69 I don't know how they got it 00:17:41.69\00:17:42.82 through their 00:17:42.82\00:17:43.16 institutional review board, 00:17:43.49\00:17:44.79 but here was the dialog 00:17:44.79\00:17:46.19 in the medical community 00:17:46.19\00:17:47.30 at the time. 00:17:47.30\00:17:48.10 They were saying, 00:17:48.10\00:17:48.63 Should you get people 00:17:48.63\00:17:49.96 who are dying 00:17:49.96\00:17:51.57 with cancer 00:17:51.57\00:17:52.73 in the same room together? 00:17:52.73\00:17:55.04 Would this be a good idea? 00:17:55.04\00:17:56.84 And a lot of people said, 00:17:56.84\00:17:58.14 I don't know about this. 00:17:58.14\00:17:59.64 I mean, these people are, 00:17:59.64\00:18:00.61 you know, on death's door. 00:18:00.61\00:18:01.91 Well, 00:18:01.91\00:18:02.51 you know, one day 00:18:02.51\00:18:03.11 you're going to come back 00:18:03.11\00:18:03.75 to this support group 00:18:03.75\00:18:04.71 and you're going to say, 00:18:04.71\00:18:05.21 well, where is Janice? 00:18:05.21\00:18:06.21 And they can say, well, 00:18:06.21\00:18:06.92 she died last week 00:18:06.92\00:18:08.38 and the next week, 00:18:08.38\00:18:09.05 you know, it's going to be the. 00:18:09.05\00:18:10.39 Yeah. 00:18:10.39\00:18:11.05 There was a lot of misgivings 00:18:11.05\00:18:12.39 about this. 00:18:12.39\00:18:13.52 Would it make a difference 00:18:13.52\00:18:14.79 to have people 00:18:14.79\00:18:15.39 going through this serious 00:18:15.39\00:18:17.59 cancer journey 00:18:17.89\00:18:19.03 with end stage cancers 00:18:19.03\00:18:20.93 and having them come together? 00:18:20.93\00:18:23.23 It was amazing 00:18:23.23\00:18:24.30 because what they found 00:18:24.30\00:18:25.67 is that the women who were 00:18:25.67\00:18:26.87 put in those groups 00:18:26.87\00:18:28.40 randomly assigned 00:18:28.40\00:18:29.44 to the emotional supportive 00:18:29.44\00:18:31.37 -roup therapy, 00:18:31.37\00:18:33.24 it doubled their lifespan. 00:18:33.24\00:18:35.51 Now, remember, 00:18:35.88\00:18:36.34 these were very sick people. 00:18:36.54\00:18:37.68 They didn't 00:18:37.68\00:18:37.98 have a long lifespan, 00:18:38.25\00:18:39.68 doubled it from about a year 00:18:39.68\00:18:40.85 and a half to three years. 00:18:40.85\00:18:42.58 But this was remarkable. 00:18:42.58\00:18:44.35 Was remarkable. 00:18:44.35\00:18:45.32 What were they doing? 00:18:45.32\00:18:46.79 They were rendering 00:18:46.79\00:18:47.72 emotional support 00:18:47.72\00:18:49.36 to one another. 00:18:49.36\00:18:52.03 Yes, powerful stuff. 00:18:52.63\00:18:54.83 And it helped most. 00:18:54.83\00:18:56.30 The ones who you think 00:18:56.30\00:18:57.47 would be the most destabilized 00:18:57.47\00:18:59.23 by being in that group, 00:18:59.23\00:19:00.50 those who are 00:19:00.50\00:19:01.00 already distressed. 00:19:01.00\00:19:02.07 Social support is a key 00:19:04.27\00:19:05.87 element in Mark's gospel. 00:19:05.87\00:19:07.31 But we're going to see 00:19:07.31\00:19:07.84 that's not the only health 00:19:07.94\00:19:09.31 giving insight that we gain 00:19:09.31\00:19:11.21 from this series, 00:19:11.21\00:19:12.35 on healing Insights 00:19:12.35\00:19:14.18 from the Gospel of Mark. 00:19:14.18\00:19:15.68 But I do want you to see 00:19:15.68\00:19:17.59 this very important point 00:19:17.59\00:19:19.25 because, well, 00:19:19.25\00:19:21.09 I just got to say it to you 00:19:21.09\00:19:22.12 this way. 00:19:22.12\00:19:22.46 It's unprecedented 00:19:22.62\00:19:23.93 in my experience. 00:19:23.93\00:19:25.16 Absolutely unprecedented. 00:19:25.16\00:19:27.23 Have you ever 00:19:27.23\00:19:27.56 thought about this? 00:19:27.76\00:19:29.30 There's 00:19:29.30\00:19:30.00 there's this whole genre 00:19:30.20\00:19:31.87 of literature 00:19:31.87\00:19:32.77 called authorized biographies. 00:19:32.77\00:19:35.07 Are you familiar with this? 00:19:35.10\00:19:36.84 You know, 00:19:36.84\00:19:37.07 some famous person 00:19:37.34\00:19:38.11 says, well, hey, 00:19:38.11\00:19:38.54 listen, everybody's 00:19:38.64\00:19:39.24 saying all this stuff about me. 00:19:39.34\00:19:40.38 I want to make sure 00:19:40.38\00:19:42.01 I have an authorized biography. 00:19:42.01\00:19:43.88 I'm going to hire this writer 00:19:43.88\00:19:45.78 and I'm going to, 00:19:45.78\00:19:46.65 you know, help supervise them 00:19:46.65\00:19:48.32 so that this biography has 00:19:48.32\00:19:50.35 you know, it's 00:19:50.42\00:19:50.72 going to be the truth about me. 00:19:51.12\00:19:52.32 You?heard this haven?ou? 00:19:52.32\00:19:54.06 Authorized biographies. 00:19:54.06\00:19:55.69 It may be 00:19:55.69\00:19:56.32 the person involved themselves 00:19:56.32\00:19:57.83 who who 00:19:57.83\00:19:59.39 commissions 00:19:59.39\00:20:00.43 the biography to be written, 00:20:00.43\00:20:01.93 or it may be the heirs 00:20:01.93\00:20:03.60 of someone. 00:20:03.60\00:20:04.10 Maybe after someone's 00:20:04.17\00:20:04.97 passed away, they say, Oh, 00:20:04.97\00:20:05.87 we want mom to be remembered 00:20:05.87\00:20:07.24 as she was. 00:20:07.24\00:20:07.74 We don't want all these, 00:20:07.84\00:20:08.74 you know, these gossip 00:20:08.74\00:20:09.60 columnist columnists 00:20:09.60\00:20:10.81 writing about her. 00:20:10.81\00:20:11.74 Now, I know most of you 00:20:11.74\00:20:12.67 don't worry about that 00:20:12.67\00:20:14.31 at this point in my life. 00:20:14.31\00:20:15.54 I'm not worried about it 00:20:15.54\00:20:16.28 either. Okay. 00:20:16.28\00:20:17.18 But some high profile people, 00:20:17.18\00:20:18.88 they are very concerned 00:20:18.88\00:20:19.91 about this. 00:20:19.91\00:20:20.78 Who is a higher profile 00:20:20.78\00:20:22.22 person than Jesus 00:20:22.22\00:20:23.28 in earth?istory? 00:20:23.28\00:20:24.09 Now, here is what's 00:20:25.65\00:20:26.42 amazing to me. 00:20:26.42\00:20:27.72 Think about this. 00:20:27.72\00:20:28.82 I have never heard of this. 00:20:28.82\00:20:30.49 An authorized biography 00:20:30.49\00:20:32.59 being written by four authors 00:20:32.76\00:20:35.73 and written independently. 00:20:36.23\00:20:38.53 I mean, who would do this? 00:20:39.43\00:20:41.77 But Jesus inspires 00:20:41.77\00:20:44.14 through the Holy Spirit 00:20:44.14\00:20:45.31 four men 00:20:45.31\00:20:46.61 to write the story of Jesus. 00:20:46.61\00:20:49.04 It's amazing. 00:20:49.34\00:20:50.11 Why did he do it that way? 00:20:50.11\00:20:51.61 Have you ever 00:20:51.61\00:20:51.91 thought about this? 00:20:52.15\00:20:52.81 Why not just have one? 00:20:52.81\00:20:54.25 Why don't you ask? 00:20:54.25\00:20:54.85 Do you want to read the story 00:20:54.95\00:20:55.95 of Jesus? 00:20:55.95\00:20:56.42 Here it is. 00:20:56.42\00:20:56.89 It's the harmony here. 00:20:56.95\00:20:57.79 They're all harmonized. 00:20:57.79\00:20:58.72 They're put into one book. 00:20:58.72\00:20:59.79 Now, I know some of 00:20:59.79\00:21:00.46 you may have thought 00:21:00.46\00:21:00.96 that would be better 00:21:00.96\00:21:01.69 and easier. 00:21:01.69\00:21:02.26 I think there was a time 00:21:02.26\00:21:03.12 in my life 00:21:03.12\00:21:03.86 where I thought 00:21:03.86\00:21:04.39 that would be better. 00:21:04.39\00:21:05.33 But that's not the 00:21:05.33\00:21:05.93 way God did it. 00:21:05.93\00:21:06.70 If we understand who 00:21:08.13\00:21:09.26 these four 00:21:09.26\00:21:09.76 gospel writers 00:21:09.76\00:21:10.60 are, we're going to spend 00:21:10.60\00:21:11.40 most of our attention 00:21:11.40\00:21:12.40 with Mark. 00:21:12.40\00:21:13.10 But I want you to catch 00:21:13.10\00:21:14.47 what God is doing 00:21:14.47\00:21:16.20 in all the lives 00:21:16.20\00:21:17.27 of these four gospel writers. 00:21:17.27\00:21:18.91 Let's first look at Matthew. 00:21:18.91\00:21:20.61 Just who was Matthew? 00:21:20.61\00:21:22.88 Who was he? 00:21:23.38\00:21:24.71 Some of you know, you say, yes, 00:21:24.71\00:21:26.05 he was a tax collector. 00:21:26.05\00:21:27.45 Matthew introduces 00:21:27.45\00:21:28.85 himself this way in Matthew 00:21:28.85\00:21:30.52 chapter nine, verse nine. 00:21:30.52\00:21:32.09 He says, Jesus saw him, 00:21:32.09\00:21:34.26 a man named Matthew, 00:21:34.26\00:21:35.76 sitting at the tax 00:21:35.76\00:21:36.86 collectors booth. 00:21:36.86\00:21:38.03 Follow me, said Jesus. 00:21:38.03\00:21:39.96 And Matthew 00:21:39.96\00:21:40.66 got up and followed him. 00:21:40.66\00:21:44.17 Now what were tax collectors 00:21:45.33\00:21:46.90 like in Jesus day? 00:21:46.90\00:21:50.01 Well, what are tax collectors 00:21:50.17\00:21:52.41 like today? 00:21:52.41\00:21:53.38 How many of you, 00:21:53.38\00:21:54.11 if you got a call 00:21:54.11\00:21:55.21 and you know 00:21:55.21\00:21:56.01 your phone is vibrating, 00:21:56.01\00:21:57.98 you're really not supposed to 00:21:57.98\00:21:58.68 look at it in church. 00:21:58.68\00:21:59.61 That's supposed to say 00:21:59.61\00:22:00.35 as a pastor 00:22:00.35\00:22:01.52 and you look 00:22:01.52\00:22:02.15 and it says 00:22:02.15\00:22:03.02 Internal Revenue Service. 00:22:03.02\00:22:05.25 Okay, 00:22:05.52\00:22:05.79 how many of you are thinking, 00:22:06.22\00:22:06.72 well, this is my good day, 00:22:06.86\00:22:07.82 I probably have a refund, 00:22:07.82\00:22:09.42 right? 00:22:09.42\00:22:10.26 No, that's not 00:22:10.29\00:22:10.89 what comes to mind. 00:22:10.89\00:22:11.66 Let me just say for the record, 00:22:11.66\00:22:12.89 I have known some Godly 00:22:12.89\00:22:14.93 IRS agents, Christians, 00:22:14.93\00:22:17.37 wonderful people. 00:22:17.37\00:22:19.20 So 00:22:19.20\00:22:19.97 but for some reason, 00:22:20.27\00:22:21.64 even with that experience, 00:22:21.64\00:22:23.54 I don't know. 00:22:23.54\00:22:24.44 When you say IRS, it's not like 00:22:24.44\00:22:26.21 I just think, 00:22:26.21\00:22:27.24 you know, warm fuzzies. 00:22:27.24\00:22:28.48 Okay. 00:22:28.48\00:22:28.98 I'm just letting you 00:22:28.98\00:22:29.58 know, I'm just telling you 00:22:29.58\00:22:30.68 this is 00:22:32.11\00:22:32.68 nothing 00:22:32.68\00:22:33.78 compared to what it was like 00:22:33.78\00:22:35.05 in Jesus day, 00:22:35.05\00:22:36.48 because the publicans, 00:22:36.48\00:22:38.05 the tax collectors of that day, 00:22:38.05\00:22:40.16 they worked 00:22:40.16\00:22:41.06 for a hated, dominating power. 00:22:41.06\00:22:45.13 The Romans weren't 00:22:45.76\00:22:47.13 in that part of the world 00:22:47.13\00:22:48.10 because they were invited. 00:22:48.10\00:22:49.63 Okay? 00:22:49.63\00:22:50.70 They were this 00:22:50.70\00:22:51.17 conquering power. 00:22:51.17\00:22:52.27 And when they came in, 00:22:52.27\00:22:53.67 they also brought 00:22:53.67\00:22:54.47 along with them 00:22:54.47\00:22:55.80 well needs for 00:22:55.80\00:22:57.21 supporting the government. 00:22:57.21\00:22:58.87 And so you've got these 00:22:58.87\00:22:59.84 tax collectors 00:22:59.84\00:23:00.81 working for the hated Romans. 00:23:00.81\00:23:02.51 And by the way, 00:23:02.51\00:23:03.18 history tells us 00:23:03.18\00:23:04.31 one of the ways 00:23:04.31\00:23:05.11 they made a better 00:23:05.11\00:23:06.11 living for themselves 00:23:06.11\00:23:07.65 is by collecting 00:23:07.65\00:23:08.72 more than the Romans 00:23:08.72\00:23:09.68 were asking for. Okay? 00:23:09.68\00:23:11.82 How endearing 00:23:11.82\00:23:13.22 would that be to you 00:23:13.22\00:23:14.12 when you saw your local 00:23:14.12\00:23:15.56 neighborhood tax collector? 00:23:15.56\00:23:19.03 Okay, Traitors, 00:23:19.76\00:23:24.23 I don't know what term 00:23:24.23\00:23:25.07 you want to use. 00:23:25.07\00:23:26.07 Extortioners 00:23:29.00\00:23:30.71 was not a good look, 00:23:32.51\00:23:34.34 but what did Jesus do? 00:23:34.38\00:23:35.48 Jesus reached down to this perso 00:23:35.48\00:23:37.78 who was a social outcast 00:23:37.78\00:23:39.05 and said, 00:23:39.05\00:23:39.31 I've got a place for you, 00:23:39.68\00:23:40.68 not only in my kingdom, 00:23:40.68\00:23:41.82 but I want you to write 00:23:41.82\00:23:43.22 one of my authorized 00:23:43.22\00:23:44.69 biographies. 00:23:44.69\00:23:45.49 If you don't catch 00:23:45.49\00:23:46.05 the sense of this, 00:23:46.05\00:23:46.96 just keep reading. 00:23:46.96\00:23:48.06 In Matthew nine, 00:23:48.06\00:23:49.42 Matthew 00:23:49.42\00:23:49.92 has them all over to his house. 00:23:50.13\00:23:51.23 A number of his colleagues. 00:23:51.23\00:23:52.56 Jesus comes. 00:23:52.56\00:23:53.70 We're talking about Jesus 00:23:53.70\00:23:54.66 being socially connected. 00:23:54.66\00:23:56.13 And what's the response 00:23:56.13\00:23:57.43 of the religious leaders? 00:23:57.43\00:23:58.50 What do the Pharisees say? 00:23:58.50\00:24:00.27 Why does your teacher eat 00:24:00.27\00:24:01.94 with tax collectors 00:24:01.94\00:24:03.14 and sinners? 00:24:03.14\00:24:04.84 You got it in the same breath. 00:24:04.84\00:24:06.31 Tax collectors and sinners. 00:24:06.31\00:24:08.41 What is so remarkable 00:24:08.64\00:24:10.31 is Matthew's 00:24:10.31\00:24:11.68 background influences 00:24:11.68\00:24:13.08 how he tells Jesus story. 00:24:13.08\00:24:15.35 And so as our Bible was 00:24:15.35\00:24:17.49 put together, 00:24:17.49\00:24:18.09 Matthew's gospel was put first. 00:24:18.19\00:24:20.12 By the way, historians 00:24:20.12\00:24:21.29 tell us 00:24:21.29\00:24:21.69 it is likely Mark's gospel 00:24:21.92\00:24:23.36 that was actually 00:24:23.36\00:24:23.86 the first one written. 00:24:23.86\00:24:25.63 But Matthew's gospel is first. 00:24:25.63\00:24:26.93 And when you open 00:24:26.93\00:24:27.60 Matthew's gospel, 00:24:27.60\00:24:28.20 go ahead and do it with me. 00:24:28.20\00:24:29.56 Open to Matthew Chapter one. 00:24:29.56\00:24:31.93 I want you to see 00:24:31.93\00:24:33.17 how Matthew was impressed 00:24:33.17\00:24:35.47 that there's a God 00:24:35.47\00:24:36.20 who reaches down to people 00:24:36.20\00:24:38.27 who are not valued socially. 00:24:38.51\00:24:41.24 And as he's writing his gospel, 00:24:41.48\00:24:43.28 he is inspired 00:24:43.28\00:24:44.68 as he begins 00:24:44.68\00:24:46.01 to start 00:24:46.01\00:24:46.68 telling Jesus genealogy 00:24:46.68\00:24:48.92 and he does something 00:24:49.15\00:24:50.55 totally remarkable, totally 00:24:50.55\00:24:52.52 again, unprecedented. 00:24:52.52\00:24:53.96 Hebrew genealogies, genealogies 00:24:54.96\00:24:57.33 in antiquity, 00:24:57.33\00:24:58.16 they didn't include women, 00:24:58.16\00:25:01.23 but Matthew includes 00:25:01.23\00:25:02.36 four women, 00:25:02.36\00:25:03.30 and they are not 00:25:03.30\00:25:03.87 women of outstanding pedigrees. 00:25:04.00\00:25:07.07 They are women like Tamar. 00:25:07.07\00:25:09.07 Some of you know 00:25:09.07\00:25:09.57 the story of Tamar, 00:25:09.57\00:25:11.21 she ends up in an 00:25:11.21\00:25:12.07 adulterous relationship 00:25:12.07\00:25:13.74 with her father in law. 00:25:13.74\00:25:15.64 They end up having twins. 00:25:15.64\00:25:16.98 One of them is named Perez. 00:25:16.98\00:25:18.81 You read about her, by the way, 00:25:18.81\00:25:20.32 in Matthew 1:3, 00:25:20.32\00:25:23.12 that son Perez becomes 00:25:24.42\00:25:26.65 the progenitor, 00:25:27.02\00:25:28.79 the great, great, great 00:25:28.79\00:25:29.69 whatever grandfather of David, 00:25:29.69\00:25:31.86 who of course, is the 00:25:32.36\00:25:34.86 progenitor of Jesus himself. 00:25:34.86\00:25:37.23 You keep reading. 00:25:37.67\00:25:38.97 You go through 00:25:38.97\00:25:39.60 Matthew chapter one 00:25:39.60\00:25:40.67 and you come down to verse 00:25:40.67\00:25:42.74 four and five. 00:25:42.74\00:25:44.21 And in verse five we read about 00:25:44.21\00:25:47.24 Rahab. Who was Rahab? 00:25:47.31\00:25:48.31 She was a prostitute. 00:25:48.31\00:25:50.01 She was a Canaanite 00:25:50.01\00:25:51.91 a gentile from a tribe 00:25:51.91\00:25:53.55 that was wicked. 00:25:53.55\00:25:55.02 Okay, but what happened? 00:25:55.02\00:25:57.12 She connected 00:25:57.12\00:25:58.39 with the God of heaven. 00:25:58.39\00:25:59.39 She reverenced 00:25:59.39\00:26:00.49 the God of heaven, 00:26:00.49\00:26:01.49 and God rescued her 00:26:01.49\00:26:03.49 from a social state that most 00:26:03.83\00:26:06.06 Jews would have 00:26:06.90\00:26:07.30 said was terrible. 00:26:07.40\00:26:08.36 Keep reading. 00:26:10.17\00:26:11.43 As you read through 00:26:11.43\00:26:12.17 Matthew one, 00:26:12.17\00:26:13.37 you'll see 00:26:13.37\00:26:13.80 in the very next 00:26:13.80\00:26:15.07 words in verse 00:26:15.07\00:26:16.84 five that you read about Ruth. 00:26:16.84\00:26:18.74 Ruth was a Moabitess 00:26:18.74\00:26:20.31 the, Moabites 00:26:20.31\00:26:22.01 from a nation conceived in 00:26:22.91\00:26:25.01 drunken incest, 00:26:25.01\00:26:26.82 perennial enemies 00:26:26.82\00:26:28.25 of God's people 00:26:28.25\00:26:29.58 cursed as a people. 00:26:29.58\00:26:31.72 But Ruth 00:26:32.15\00:26:33.79 related to God loved God 00:26:33.79\00:26:35.99 and was rescued, was redeemed. 00:26:36.36\00:26:39.06 And then what can I say 00:26:39.53\00:26:40.63 about Bathsheba? 00:26:40.63\00:26:41.83 You know this story 00:26:41.83\00:26:42.76 all too well. 00:26:42.76\00:26:43.80 That adulterous relationship 00:26:43.80\00:26:45.33 that David had with her, 00:26:45.33\00:26:46.67 the murder of her husband, 00:26:46.67\00:26:48.30 Uriah, orchestrated by David. 00:26:48.30\00:26:50.61 You'd want to 00:26:50.61\00:26:51.31 purge all these names 00:26:51.31\00:26:52.67 you?think from the 00:26:52.67\00:26:54.68 genealogy. 00:26:54.81\00:26:56.31 But Matthew puts them 00:26:56.31\00:26:57.68 in talking about a God 00:26:57.68\00:26:59.95 who rescues 00:26:59.95\00:27:01.88 who rescues us 00:27:01.88\00:27:03.62 from our backgrounds. 00:27:03.62\00:27:05.42 God loves you 00:27:05.42\00:27:06.79 right where you're at. 00:27:06.79\00:27:08.42 It doesn't matter 00:27:08.42\00:27:09.39 where you grew up, 00:27:09.39\00:27:10.66 what you've done in the past. 00:27:10.66\00:27:12.39 He wants to bring 00:27:12.39\00:27:13.33 you into his family 00:27:13.33\00:27:14.50 to socially connect you 00:27:14.50\00:27:16.87 with the God of Heaven. 00:27:17.30\00:27:18.60 We are in for an exciting 00:27:24.11\00:27:25.44 journey. 00:27:25.74\00:27:26.57 God is connecting us with Him 00:27:26.57\00:27:28.24 and with one 00:27:28.24\00:27:28.68 another as we go 00:27:28.68\00:27:29.54 through the Gospel of Mark. 00:27:29.54\00:27:31.11 If you want to connect with us, 00:27:31.11\00:27:32.28 you can do it on our web site. 00:27:32.28\00:27:36.25 WWW.TimelessHealingInsights.org. 00:27:36.25\00:27:39.15 Share it with your friends. 00:27:39.29\00:27:40.86 Discuss things together. 00:27:40.86\00:27:42.62 Maybe have a study group 00:27:42.62\00:27:43.86 using the free handouts 00:27:43.86\00:27:45.49 that we have there. 00:27:45.49\00:27:46.49 Let me pray for you, Father. 00:27:46.49\00:27:48.53 Continue to bless us 00:27:48.53\00:27:50.17 as we go on this journey 00:27:50.17\00:27:51.40 of healing 00:27:51.40\00:27:52.03 through the gospel of Mark. 00:27:52.03\00:27:53.50 Thank you 00:27:53.50\00:27:54.00 that we can trust in 00:27:54.00\00:27:55.04 your guidance. 00:27:55.04\00:27:56.10 In Jesus name, Amen. 00:27:56.10\00:27:58.24