Welcome to the
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Timeless Healing Insights.
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I'm Dr. David DeRose.
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Today, we continue our series
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going through the
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gospel of Mark,
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looking for healing insights.
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In this episode,
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we especially
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look at one of the things
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that is so needful
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in today's world.
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In this world of stress
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and anguish and challenge,
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Jesus especially
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wants to minister Peace.
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As we engage with the world,
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let us look to hear
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God's words of peace
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speaking to our hearts.
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Father in Heaven,
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we thank You so much
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that You are
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not only our loving Father,
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but You are our glorious
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Savior.
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Father, we are so thankful
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that You let light
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shine on Your word.
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And as we've been going
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through the gospel of Mark,
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You've been doing that.
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Please do that again.
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We ask through the power
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of your Holy Spirit.
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In Jesus name, we pray.
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Amen.
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I'll tell you,
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things were grim for Louise,
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she lay dying in her bed,
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but her heart
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still went out to her family
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and she wanted one
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last opportunity
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to come close to her children.
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And so it was as she was
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laying in her room,
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she requested
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that each of the children
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see her individually.
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So first, her eldest
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son came in,
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and as Louise visited with him,
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she shared a secret.
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She said,
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don't tell
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any of your other siblings,
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but you were always
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my favorite child.
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Well, after he left
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the room,
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the next child came in.
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And so with the third,
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on through the list.
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Unbeknownst to all of them,
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Louise had entrusted
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the same secret to each one.
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Because years later,
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I don't know what
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the setting was,
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but somehow it came out
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and one of them divulged
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that their mother had said that
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they were the favorite child.
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And then it dawned on them.
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Louise had told every
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one of her children
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that they were her
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favorite child.
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Now, some of you smile,
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others of you
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look a little more somber
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because you say, well,
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was she being dishonest?
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Here we are in church.
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Some of you mothers
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I see shaking your heads no.
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Each of them
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likely was her favorite
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in a different way.
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And I'd like you to consider
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an interesting commentary
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on a parable
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not recorded in Mark's gospel.
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So we've just spent
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a lot of time
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looking at Mark 4.
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And there Mark
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shares a day in Jesus?fe
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where all He did
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was teach in parables.
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But interestingly,
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Mark is not the gospel writer
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that has the most parables
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for us.
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Matthew and Luke contain
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far more parables
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in their accounts
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of Jesus?nistry
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than Mark does.
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In one of those accounts,
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we read the Parable
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of the talents.
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By the way,
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both Matthew
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and Luke record versions
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of this parable.
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And in that book, Christ
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Object Lessons
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that I pointed you to
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in our last study together,
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this excellent study
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on the parables of Jesus.
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We read these words
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“Christ's followers
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have been redeemed for service.
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Our Lord teaches
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that the true
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object of life is ministry.
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Each has his place
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in the eternal plan of Heaven.
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Each is to work in cooperation
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with Christ
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for the salvation of souls.
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Not more surely is
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the place prepared for us
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in the heavenly mansions
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than is the special place
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designated on Earth
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where we are to work
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for God.” Yes.
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I believe that is so true.
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And today,
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if you are sensing perhaps,
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maybe you're not God's
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favorite child,
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I would ask you to re-examine
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that assessment.
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God has a special place
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on this planet for you.
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Well, in the context of Jesus
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and Mark's gospel,
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we've been seeing that Jesus.
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Well, he had come under fire,
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even though all He seemed
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focused on doing
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was ministering to people,
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healing them, teaching them.
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And as we been
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walking through
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Mark's gospel,
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we realize that Jesus has been
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giving us
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some insights
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into who His favorites
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really are.
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In Mark 3, you might remember.
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Jesus is teaching,
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preaching,
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and the word comes to Him.
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Your mother
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and brothers
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are waiting for You.
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And Jesus responds
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this way in Mark
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3:33 and onward.
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Who are My mother
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and My brothers?
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And looking about
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at those who sat around Him,
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those listening to His word.
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He said,
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Here are My mother
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and My brothers
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for whoever does
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the will of God,
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he is My brother and My sister
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and My mother.
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What point was Jesus making?
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Do you see
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what was it to be
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one of Jesus?vorites?
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You just had to respond.
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You just had to be there.
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Okay.
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They didn't have to
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accomplish anything.
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They just had to be willing
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to be in Jesus?esence
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and to do His will.
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That's what Jesus said.
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But we see more
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as we've gone through
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Mark's gospel,
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those first four chapters.
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We see more about
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these insiders
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who may call them favorites
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and outsiders.
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Jesus uses
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that very terminology.
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In Mark 4,
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He has been
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telling parables.
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We had read,
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if you recall, the first nine
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verses of Mark, Chapter four,
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The Parable of the Sower,
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and Jesus
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then says this the context
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He is alone.
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That's what Mark records.
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The 12
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and the others around Him
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asked Him about the parables.
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So there are some
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that are pressing
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close to Jesus,
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some that want to
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hear His words,
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some that want to engage
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with Jesus.
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And they ask
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Jesus more about this
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parable of the sower.
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And Jesus says simply this.
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“The secret
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of the Kingdom of God
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has been given to you.
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But to those on the outside
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everything is said in parables
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so that what? They may
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be ever seeing
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but never perceiving
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and ever hearing
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but never understanding.
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So the point is,
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Jesus is saying there's a group
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that's inside
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that's close to Him
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and a group that's outside.
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They seem to have a regard
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on a certain level
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for spiritual things,
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but they're not
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pressing close to Jesus.
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And if they're
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not pressing close to Him,
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the very words of Jesus can
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be confusing and misleading.
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Who are Jesus?vorites?
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Well, at the bottom line,
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every one of us is
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Jesus?vorites.
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Everyone who responds
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to the gospel
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invitation,
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everyone who accepts Him
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as their savior
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and who obeys His word,
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come in a special fellowship
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with Jesus.
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And we could
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look at many Bible verses
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that touch on this.
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But this is really what
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we've been seeing.
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If you haven't sensed this,
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this is really undergirding
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Mark's gospel.
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Jesus loved what?
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The whole world.
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So did the Father.
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John 3:16, says as much, right?
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God so loved who?
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The world.
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All humanity.
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And in 2 Peter,
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we read that
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God is not willing that what?
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Any should perish.
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Every one of you is precious
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to God.
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Every one of you
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is among God's favorites.
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We saw this in the Parable
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of the sower, didn't we?
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We brought to light
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this amazing story really.
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We read it.
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We don't think
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about the cultural context.
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But in the days of Jesus, no
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sower would go out
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and just start filling in
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the seed everywhere.
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Right?
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I mean, seed was expensive.
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You were trying to get the best
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return on your investment
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so you wouldn't
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throw seed on the pathway.
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You wouldn't
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throw seed in the stony places.
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But why does
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Jesus illustrate it that way?
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Because the heavenly Sower
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is sowing
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into every type of soil.
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The harvest doesn't rest
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with the sower.
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It rests
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with those who are receiving
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the word.
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So the Sower that sowes
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the word is Jesus,
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God, the Father
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giving His word to everyone.
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But it's up to us
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whether we will receive it
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or not.
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And we looked at the elements
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that will keep the harvest
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from occurring.
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What is it?
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It's not the sower?roblem.
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It's the soil.
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It's not fully doing
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the will of God.
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It's not fully letting God have
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His word
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have it?ull
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place in our lives.
00:09:31.17\00:09:32.60
Look at the list.
00:09:32.60\00:09:33.64
If we were to summarize
00:09:33.64\00:09:35.07
something
00:09:35.07\00:09:35.44
that we already touched on
00:09:35.70\00:09:36.64
in a previous study
00:09:36.64\00:09:37.97
Mark 4:17-19,
00:09:37.97\00:09:39.94
what is it
00:09:39.94\00:09:40.68
that gets in the way of us
00:09:40.68\00:09:42.84
bearing fruit for the master?
00:09:42.84\00:09:44.98
It's the cares of the world.
00:09:44.98\00:09:46.82
It's the deceitfulness
00:09:46.82\00:09:48.18
of riches.
00:09:48.18\00:09:49.22
It's desire for other things.
00:09:49.22\00:09:51.32
And it's discouragement,
00:09:51.52\00:09:53.09
lack of faith
00:09:53.09\00:09:54.22
in the face of challenges,
00:09:54.22\00:09:55.89
tribulation and persecution.
00:09:55.89\00:09:58.03
So this is Jesus?lustration,
00:09:58.03\00:10:00.06
and He's trying to help us see
00:10:00.06\00:10:02.03
these dimensions.
00:10:02.03\00:10:03.60
Those who respond, those
00:10:03.60\00:10:05.63
who choose to be a part of
00:10:05.63\00:10:06.60
God's inside group
00:10:06.60\00:10:08.37
are the ones who, what?
00:10:08.37\00:10:10.41
Actually bear fruit.
00:10:11.07\00:10:13.01
That's where the harvest comes.
00:10:13.01\00:10:15.24
And so this is intertwined
00:10:15.24\00:10:16.81
in Mark's gospel.
00:10:16.81\00:10:18.18
And so I hope you're
00:10:18.18\00:10:18.91
seeing this, that
00:10:18.91\00:10:19.81
from the beginning
00:10:19.81\00:10:20.58
of his gospel,
00:10:20.58\00:10:21.28
we're seeing this picture
00:10:21.28\00:10:22.72
of social connectedness
00:10:22.72\00:10:24.45
of a God who does what?
00:10:24.45\00:10:26.59
A God who ministers to all
00:10:26.59\00:10:28.76
but a God who requires us
00:10:28.76\00:10:30.29
to respond.
00:10:30.29\00:10:31.59
And this theme carries
00:10:31.59\00:10:33.70
throughout the gospel of Mark.
00:10:33.70\00:10:35.20
Did you notice in Mark
00:10:36.90\00:10:38.07
4:20 when Jesus
00:10:38.07\00:10:39.73
is explaining the parable,
00:10:39.73\00:10:41.74
He says, Those
00:10:42.00\00:10:42.80
who hear the word
00:10:42.80\00:10:44.01
and accept it, they bear fruit.
00:10:44.01\00:10:46.57
Now notice the magnitude
00:10:46.71\00:10:49.71
of productivity that arises.
00:10:49.91\00:10:52.31
It's not just 30 fold for all.
00:10:52.61\00:10:55.08
Some get 60 fold,
00:10:55.08\00:10:56.28
some 100 fold.
00:10:56.28\00:10:58.25
Here's the question
00:10:58.25\00:10:59.09
now for you.
00:10:59.09\00:11:00.12
In the gospel of Mark,
00:11:00.12\00:11:01.62
is there any other place
00:11:01.62\00:11:03.39
that talks about
00:11:03.39\00:11:04.19
100 fold
00:11:04.19\00:11:05.46
return on an investment?
00:11:05.46\00:11:07.66
We will get there ultimately.
00:11:08.46\00:11:09.96
But right now,
00:11:09.96\00:11:10.47
I want you to see this
00:11:10.47\00:11:11.83
because I'm
00:11:11.83\00:11:12.23
trying to help you see the
00:11:12.47\00:11:13.50
the context
00:11:13.50\00:11:14.44
of the gospel of Mark.
00:11:14.44\00:11:15.30
I know some of you were saying,
00:11:15.30\00:11:16.07
wait, wait, wait,
00:11:16.07\00:11:16.71
we're already in chapter four.
00:11:16.71\00:11:18.41
And this is seeming
00:11:18.41\00:11:19.27
like a slower process
00:11:19.27\00:11:20.61
than it could be.
00:11:20.61\00:11:21.18
I mean, Mark is
00:11:21.18\00:11:22.04
16 chapters
00:11:22.04\00:11:23.24
and we're barely through
00:11:23.24\00:11:24.65
about a quarter
00:11:24.65\00:11:25.41
of Mark's gospel.
00:11:25.41\00:11:26.28
And some of you are looking
00:11:26.28\00:11:27.75
and you're saying, well,
00:11:27.75\00:11:28.62
this might be a study
00:11:28.62\00:11:29.68
that goes on
00:11:29.68\00:11:30.22
for a number of years
00:11:30.22\00:11:31.32
at this rate.
00:11:31.32\00:11:32.65
But I want you to really see
00:11:32.79\00:11:34.72
that Mark's gospel
00:11:34.72\00:11:35.79
did not occur in a vacuum.
00:11:35.79\00:11:37.49
Do you remember historically,
00:11:37.49\00:11:39.46
Mark's gospel is the first
00:11:39.46\00:11:42.50
gospel written.
00:11:42.73\00:11:43.77
Turn in your Bible
00:11:44.97\00:11:45.60
just for a minute,
00:11:45.60\00:11:46.17
I want you to remember this.
00:11:46.27\00:11:47.57
Go to the
00:11:47.57\00:11:48.00
last words
00:11:48.00\00:11:50.17
of the Old Testament.
00:11:50.17\00:11:52.07
That's the book of Malachi
00:11:52.07\00:11:53.27
if you were wondering.
00:11:53.27\00:11:54.94
Malachi 4.
00:11:55.01\00:11:57.35
Malachi 4.
00:11:57.35\00:11:59.28
And as Malachi is closing
00:11:59.28\00:12:01.48
the last two verses
00:12:01.48\00:12:02.82
of the old Testament,
00:12:02.82\00:12:04.55
verse five,
00:12:04.55\00:12:05.52
chapter four of Malachi,
00:12:05.52\00:12:06.92
Behold,
00:12:06.92\00:12:08.22
I will send you
00:12:08.22\00:12:09.66
Elijah the Prophet.
00:12:09.66\00:12:12.33
And when the New
00:12:12.33\00:12:13.33
Testament starts
00:12:13.33\00:12:14.46
with the story of Jesus,
00:12:14.46\00:12:15.60
the first
00:12:15.60\00:12:16.10
gospel written
00:12:16.10\00:12:17.00
is the Gospel of Mark.
00:12:17.00\00:12:19.17
And when Mark
00:12:19.17\00:12:19.80
begins his gospel,
00:12:19.80\00:12:20.97
he only begins it
00:12:20.97\00:12:22.84
exactly where the Old Testament
00:12:22.84\00:12:25.37
leaves off.
00:12:25.41\00:12:26.47
There's no story of
00:12:26.47\00:12:27.51
Jesus?rth.
00:12:27.51\00:12:28.74
There's
00:12:28.74\00:12:29.01
no story of the miracles
00:12:29.34\00:12:30.48
surrounding it.
00:12:30.48\00:12:31.25
All those are important.
00:12:31.25\00:12:32.78
And the Holy Spirit
00:12:32.78\00:12:33.48
would move on Matthew
00:12:33.48\00:12:34.48
and Luke
00:12:34.48\00:12:34.85
to record those details.
00:12:35.08\00:12:36.48
But in Mark,
00:12:36.48\00:12:37.32
as the Gospel opens up
00:12:37.32\00:12:38.75
Mark 1,
00:12:38.75\00:12:39.72
how does Mark begin his story?
00:12:39.72\00:12:42.32
This is review, yes,
00:12:42.59\00:12:44.16
but he begins his story
00:12:44.16\00:12:45.46
with what?
00:12:45.46\00:12:46.59
Verse two as it is written.
00:12:46.59\00:12:48.40
Behold, I send my messenger
00:12:48.40\00:12:50.57
before your face
00:12:50.57\00:12:51.87
and as we read through
00:12:51.87\00:12:53.00
Mark's gospel
00:12:53.00\00:12:53.80
and through the other gospels,
00:12:53.80\00:12:54.90
it becomes clear
00:12:54.90\00:12:56.44
that the Elijah,
00:12:56.44\00:12:57.81
who was promised
00:12:57.81\00:12:58.54
to come at the close
00:12:58.54\00:13:00.54
of the Old Testament,
00:13:00.54\00:13:01.81
is the very one
00:13:01.81\00:13:03.28
with whom
00:13:03.28\00:13:03.81
Mark begins his gospel.
00:13:03.81\00:13:05.61
So I'm trying to help
00:13:05.61\00:13:06.38
you see that
00:13:06.38\00:13:07.08
as we begin Mark's gospel,
00:13:07.08\00:13:09.02
even though
00:13:09.02\00:13:09.35
we're four chapters into it,
00:13:09.68\00:13:10.89
there is this rich context
00:13:10.89\00:13:12.89
that his hearers,
00:13:12.89\00:13:14.09
Jesus?arers
00:13:14.09\00:13:15.09
from their Hebrew
00:13:15.09\00:13:15.79
backgrounds were hearing.
00:13:15.79\00:13:17.59
They weren't
00:13:17.59\00:13:17.96
just hearing it in a vacuum.
00:13:18.26\00:13:19.16
It wasn't like,
00:13:19.16\00:13:19.63
Oh, let's read
00:13:19.63\00:13:20.13
a book about Jesus,
00:13:20.13\00:13:21.06
who is this guy anyway?
00:13:21.06\00:13:22.63
They were listening
00:13:22.63\00:13:24.33
in the context
00:13:24.33\00:13:25.17
of the Old Testament.
00:13:25.17\00:13:26.47
So when Jesus speaks
00:13:26.47\00:13:27.57
about this bountiful harvest,
00:13:27.57\00:13:29.57
what was He
00:13:29.57\00:13:30.34
drawing their minds to?
00:13:30.34\00:13:31.91
Well,
00:13:31.91\00:13:32.04
if you don't
00:13:32.31\00:13:32.44
pick it up in Mark 4
00:13:32.84\00:13:34.21
Jesus brings
00:13:34.21\00:13:35.41
it again to us in Mark 10.
00:13:35.41\00:13:36.31
In Mark 10,
00:13:36.31\00:13:38.21
the disciples are struggling.
00:13:38.21\00:13:41.12
They have done
00:13:41.25\00:13:43.05
what Jesus had asked
00:13:43.05\00:13:44.99
them to do.
00:13:44.99\00:13:46.02
They had followed Him.
00:13:46.02\00:13:47.19
They were hinging
00:13:47.19\00:13:48.89
everything in their lives
00:13:48.89\00:13:50.26
on His word.
00:13:50.26\00:13:51.96
And Jesus puts it
00:13:51.96\00:13:52.93
this way, “Assuredly,
00:13:52.93\00:13:54.46
I say to you,
00:13:54.46\00:13:55.16
there is no one
00:13:55.16\00:13:56.20
who has left house
00:13:56.20\00:13:57.70
or brothers or sister
00:13:57.70\00:13:59.73
or fathers or mother
00:13:59.73\00:14:01.44
or wife or children
00:14:01.44\00:14:02.64
or lands for My sake
00:14:02.64\00:14:04.31
and the gospel?
00:14:04.31\00:14:05.71
who shall not receive
00:14:05.71\00:14:06.88
what? A hundred fold now
00:14:06.88\00:14:10.28
in this time-houses
00:14:10.65\00:14:12.05
and brothers and sisters
00:14:12.05\00:14:13.42
and mothers
00:14:13.42\00:14:14.05
and children and lands
00:14:14.05\00:14:15.55
with persecutions-and
00:14:15.55\00:14:17.42
in the age
00:14:17.42\00:14:17.92
to come eternal life.
00:14:17.99\00:14:19.35
But many who are first
00:14:19.35\00:14:20.82
will be last
00:14:20.82\00:14:21.89
and the last first”.
00:14:21.89\00:14:23.49
What's going on here?
00:14:23.49\00:14:24.99
Jesus is putting the gospel
00:14:24.99\00:14:27.10
in this social context,
00:14:27.10\00:14:28.23
this healing social context,
00:14:28.23\00:14:30.40
and we've talked
00:14:30.40\00:14:31.00
about how social
00:14:31.00\00:14:32.33
connectedness is so healing.
00:14:32.33\00:14:34.30
And what we see as Mark's
00:14:34.30\00:14:35.67
gospel is playing out
00:14:35.67\00:14:36.94
it?nfolding.
00:14:36.94\00:14:38.34
Even the blessings
00:14:38.34\00:14:39.87
of the gospel
00:14:39.87\00:14:41.18
are not just an individual
00:14:41.18\00:14:42.81
blessing with God,
00:14:42.81\00:14:44.11
but it's in community.
00:14:44.11\00:14:46.21
So if we were to look
00:14:46.21\00:14:46.95
at the benefits
00:14:46.95\00:14:47.82
of being an insider,
00:14:47.82\00:14:48.98
being a favorite,
00:14:48.98\00:14:50.05
accepting this call
00:14:50.05\00:14:51.32
that God gives
00:14:51.32\00:14:52.12
every one of us
00:14:52.12\00:14:52.85
to be a favorite.
00:14:52.85\00:14:53.86
Let's look at how Mark 4 ends.
00:14:53.86\00:14:57.09
At least the
00:14:57.33\00:14:58.03
section on the parables.
00:14:58.03\00:15:00.40
It says “With
00:15:00.40\00:15:00.93
many similar parables
00:15:00.93\00:15:02.60
Jesus spoke the word to them,
00:15:02.60\00:15:04.83
as much
00:15:05.03\00:15:06.17
as they could understand.
00:15:06.17\00:15:07.94
He did not say anything to them
00:15:07.94\00:15:09.74
without using a parable.
00:15:09.74\00:15:11.84
But when he was alone
00:15:11.84\00:15:13.54
with His own disciples,
00:15:13.54\00:15:15.48
He explained everything”.
00:15:15.48\00:15:17.71
Now think about the
00:15:18.71\00:15:19.38
significance of this.
00:15:19.38\00:15:20.88
Who all was
00:15:20.88\00:15:21.85
listening to Jesus?rds?
00:15:21.85\00:15:23.85
Who was there in that
00:15:23.85\00:15:24.82
that group,
00:15:24.82\00:15:25.92
that large group
00:15:25.92\00:15:26.99
by the Sea of Galilee.
00:15:26.99\00:15:28.46
So large
00:15:28.46\00:15:29.12
that Jesus had to get in a boat
00:15:29.12\00:15:31.29
and pull away from the shore
00:15:31.29\00:15:33.36
and speak
00:15:33.36\00:15:33.96
in that natural amphitheater.
00:15:34.03\00:15:36.13
Who all was there?
00:15:36.97\00:15:39.13
There were many
00:15:39.20\00:15:39.73
religious leaders there.
00:15:39.80\00:15:41.14
We see
00:15:41.14\00:15:41.54
that as we go
00:15:41.54\00:15:42.27
through the gospel.
00:15:42.27\00:15:44.34
Who is getting the inside
00:15:44.74\00:15:46.91
track, though?
00:15:46.91\00:15:48.28
It's not those
00:15:48.28\00:15:49.41
who you would think
00:15:49.41\00:15:50.75
Jesus would take special pains
00:15:50.75\00:15:52.55
to educate.
00:15:52.55\00:15:53.68
It's those
00:15:53.68\00:15:55.05
who make a priority
00:15:55.05\00:15:56.72
of leaning on His Word.
00:15:56.72\00:15:59.19
Those who are putting
00:15:59.39\00:16:00.19
Jesus first.
00:16:00.19\00:16:01.89
So there's benefits
00:16:01.89\00:16:03.53
of being an insider
00:16:03.53\00:16:05.23
pressing close to Jesus.
00:16:05.23\00:16:06.63
But there's also dangers.
00:16:06.63\00:16:08.96
Ever thought about this?
00:16:09.53\00:16:10.97
There's problems
00:16:10.97\00:16:11.87
with knowing that
00:16:11.87\00:16:12.57
you're special.
00:16:12.57\00:16:14.40
You see,
00:16:14.40\00:16:14.80
you can be overly confident.
00:16:15.07\00:16:17.34
You can start
00:16:17.71\00:16:18.31
relying on yourself
00:16:18.31\00:16:19.74
instead of relying on God.
00:16:19.74\00:16:21.44
You can depreciate the value
00:16:21.44\00:16:23.31
of other people
00:16:23.31\00:16:25.08
and it can actually
00:16:25.08\00:16:25.88
undermine community.
00:16:25.88\00:16:28.15
You ever thought about this?
00:16:28.15\00:16:30.82
Let me illustrate it for you.
00:16:32.15\00:16:33.42
This is what's
00:16:33.42\00:16:34.02
been playing out,
00:16:34.02\00:16:34.66
Mark one through four.
00:16:34.66\00:16:35.56
If you haven't picked up on it,
00:16:35.56\00:16:37.46
there is a special people
00:16:37.46\00:16:39.46
that Jesus came for, right?
00:16:39.46\00:16:41.66
The Bible speaks about them
00:16:41.66\00:16:42.80
from the beginning, well,
00:16:42.80\00:16:44.77
close to the beginning,
00:16:44.77\00:16:46.03
at least.
00:16:46.03\00:16:46.30
Starting in Genesis
00:16:46.57\00:16:47.47
12, we read about a people
00:16:47.47\00:16:49.64
that are God's chosen people.
00:16:49.64\00:16:51.11
They're the seed of Abraham.
00:16:51.11\00:16:52.87
We would refer to them today
00:16:52.87\00:16:54.41
as the the
00:16:54.41\00:16:55.44
the Jewish people,
00:16:55.44\00:16:56.64
the Hebrew nation,
00:16:56.64\00:16:57.75
however
00:16:57.75\00:16:58.05
you want to refer to it.
00:16:58.35\00:16:59.61
But the leaders,
00:16:59.61\00:17:01.05
the representative leaders
00:17:01.05\00:17:03.15
of that body rejected Jesus.
00:17:03.15\00:17:05.05
When Mark's
00:17:05.05\00:17:06.12
gospel comes to its culmination
00:17:06.12\00:17:08.02
and all the gospels
00:17:08.02\00:17:09.02
come to the culmination
00:17:09.02\00:17:10.06
and Jesus is crucified.
00:17:10.06\00:17:11.99
We hear these words
00:17:11.99\00:17:13.26
coming from the Jewish leaders.
00:17:13.26\00:17:14.76
We have no king but Caesar.
00:17:14.76\00:17:16.97
The Bible says
00:17:17.77\00:17:18.47
Jesus came to His own
00:17:18.47\00:17:20.54
and His own received Him not.
00:17:20.54\00:17:22.10
So the ones who He
00:17:23.27\00:17:24.71
called to be His insiders,
00:17:24.71\00:17:25.94
why did they miss out?
00:17:25.94\00:17:26.94
What was their problem?
00:17:26.94\00:17:28.58
What was it?
00:17:28.58\00:17:31.75
Well,
00:17:31.75\00:17:32.55
they knew they had a
00:17:32.58\00:17:33.75
special status, Right?
00:17:33.75\00:17:36.05
But it actually set the stage
00:17:36.05\00:17:37.69
for them to forget God
00:17:37.69\00:17:39.15
instead of depending on God.
00:17:39.15\00:17:40.99
They trusted in their
00:17:40.99\00:17:41.96
privileged position
00:17:41.96\00:17:42.99
and their own
00:17:42.99\00:17:43.32
preconceived ideas.
00:17:43.53\00:17:45.86
But that privileged position
00:17:45.86\00:17:47.66
was given not to elevate them
00:17:47.66\00:17:49.63
independent of everyone else,
00:17:49.63\00:17:51.27
but to make them a blessing
00:17:51.27\00:17:52.73
to all nations.
00:17:52.73\00:17:54.10
From the very call of Abraham
00:17:54.10\00:17:56.30
in Genesis 12,
00:17:56.30\00:17:57.47
I will bless you
00:17:57.47\00:17:58.74
and make you what?
00:17:58.74\00:18:00.58
A blessing.
00:18:01.11\00:18:02.38
I will bless you
00:18:02.38\00:18:03.61
and make you a blessing.
00:18:03.61\00:18:05.35
So here's
00:18:05.35\00:18:05.71
the good news for you.
00:18:05.88\00:18:06.45
If you think, well, boy,
00:18:06.45\00:18:08.15
you try
00:18:08.15\00:18:08.52
to tell me that I'm a favorite,
00:18:08.85\00:18:09.72
but it sounds
00:18:09.72\00:18:10.19
like you're saying
00:18:10.19\00:18:10.75
God already had a chosen
00:18:10.75\00:18:12.22
people.
00:18:12.22\00:18:13.25
God chooses people
00:18:13.32\00:18:15.92
to work through them
00:18:16.09\00:18:17.26
to make them a blessing.
00:18:17.26\00:18:18.66
And the Bible is clear
00:18:18.66\00:18:20.43
that now all believers,
00:18:20.43\00:18:22.06
all who come to Jesus,
00:18:22.06\00:18:23.73
all who accept
00:18:23.73\00:18:24.87
His gift of salvation,
00:18:24.87\00:18:26.94
become a chosen generation,
00:18:26.94\00:18:29.50
a royal priesthood,
00:18:29.50\00:18:30.61
a holy nation,
00:18:30.61\00:18:31.81
His own special people.
00:18:31.81\00:18:33.84
And if you don't get it
00:18:34.14\00:18:35.08
there in Peter's words.
00:18:35.08\00:18:37.35
Paul put it this way
00:18:37.35\00:18:38.41
In Galatians 3.
00:18:38.41\00:18:39.78
“So in Christ Jesus,
00:18:39.78\00:18:41.42
all of you,
00:18:41.42\00:18:42.58
all believers are children
00:18:42.58\00:18:44.09
of God
00:18:44.09\00:18:44.42
through faith,
00:18:44.49\00:18:45.25
for all of you
00:18:45.25\00:18:46.39
who were baptized into Christ
00:18:46.39\00:18:48.59
have clothed yourself
00:18:48.59\00:18:49.92
with Christ.
00:18:49.92\00:18:51.36
There is neither Jew
00:18:51.36\00:18:52.26
nor Gentile,
00:18:52.26\00:18:52.89
neither slave nor free, nor
00:18:52.89\00:18:54.36
is there a male
00:18:54.36\00:18:55.20
nor female, for
00:18:55.20\00:18:56.53
you are all one
00:18:56.53\00:18:57.63
in Christ Jesus.
00:18:57.63\00:18:58.80
If you belong to Christ,
00:18:58.80\00:19:00.80
then you are Abraham's
00:19:00.80\00:19:02.27
seed, and heirs
00:19:02.27\00:19:03.84
according to the promise”.
00:19:03.84\00:19:05.37
So that chosen nation
00:19:05.37\00:19:06.81
now extends to everyone.
00:19:06.81\00:19:08.01
You're all
00:19:08.01\00:19:08.98
in Paul's language
00:19:09.18\00:19:10.18
in Romans 11.
00:19:10.18\00:19:11.18
Romans 9-11.
00:19:12.15\00:19:13.72
He basically
00:19:13.72\00:19:14.35
says you're grafted in.
00:19:14.35\00:19:15.95
You become part
00:19:15.95\00:19:17.22
of the line of the tree.
00:19:17.22\00:19:18.92
The family tree of Abraham.
00:19:18.92\00:19:21.32
So God wants us
00:19:22.09\00:19:23.63
to have confidence
00:19:23.63\00:19:25.36
in His
00:19:25.36\00:19:26.93
individual personal guidance.
00:19:26.93\00:19:28.30
There's no question about it.
00:19:28.30\00:19:29.30
God wants you to know
00:19:29.30\00:19:30.27
that you're His favorite.
00:19:30.27\00:19:31.13
He has a personal relationship
00:19:31.13\00:19:32.60
with you.
00:19:32.60\00:19:33.20
All kinds of Bible verses
00:19:33.20\00:19:34.74
tell this.
00:19:34.74\00:19:35.60
And if you're struggling today
00:19:35.60\00:19:37.47
and if you're
00:19:37.47\00:19:37.84
looking for guidance,
00:19:38.04\00:19:38.71
let me just remind
00:19:38.71\00:19:39.61
you, God is anxious
00:19:39.61\00:19:41.01
to guide you personally.
00:19:41.01\00:19:42.84
And you may have quoted
00:19:42.84\00:19:43.71
this promise this week.
00:19:43.71\00:19:45.28
James 1:5 promises.
00:19:45.28\00:19:47.98
If any of you lack wisdom,
00:19:47.98\00:19:49.32
what should we do?
00:19:49.32\00:19:50.85
Ask of God
00:19:50.85\00:19:52.02
and God will
00:19:52.02\00:19:52.99
give liberally, right?
00:19:52.99\00:19:56.02
That's right.
00:19:56.02\00:19:56.89
That's right.
00:19:56.89\00:19:58.29
But we have
00:19:58.49\00:19:59.86
to ask in faith, right?
00:19:59.86\00:20:00.96
In John
00:20:02.26\00:20:02.80
7 Jesus said
00:20:02.80\00:20:04.23
something very similar.
00:20:04.23\00:20:06.77
He said, Anyone
00:20:06.77\00:20:08.07
who chooses to do
00:20:08.07\00:20:08.97
the will of God
00:20:08.97\00:20:10.04
will know of the doctrine.
00:20:10.04\00:20:11.84
Will God
00:20:11.84\00:20:12.27
make things clear to you
00:20:12.44\00:20:13.41
what He wants you
00:20:13.41\00:20:14.11
to do in your life?
00:20:14.11\00:20:15.58
It's yes.
00:20:15.58\00:20:16.98
And Jesus said,
00:20:16.98\00:20:17.78
My sheep hear My voice.
00:20:17.78\00:20:19.55
Jesus wants you to see Him
00:20:19.55\00:20:21.15
today
00:20:21.15\00:20:22.12
as the good Shepherd
00:20:22.12\00:20:23.22
for you individually,
00:20:23.22\00:20:25.22
willing to guide you.
00:20:25.22\00:20:26.42
You've got a difficult
00:20:26.42\00:20:27.39
decision.
00:20:27.39\00:20:27.86
He's willing to show you
00:20:27.99\00:20:28.66
the answer.
00:20:28.66\00:20:29.69
You're struggling spiritually,
00:20:29.69\00:20:31.19
financially, relationally.
00:20:31.19\00:20:33.29
He wants to guide you.
00:20:33.36\00:20:35.56
But having said all that,
00:20:35.80\00:20:38.37
having said
00:20:38.37\00:20:38.93
all that, God also wants you
00:20:39.03\00:20:41.34
to value
00:20:41.34\00:20:42.54
the counsel of your brethren.
00:20:42.54\00:20:45.27
They say,
00:20:45.27\00:20:45.77
wait a minute,
00:20:45.77\00:20:46.11
how does this all work?
00:20:46.34\00:20:47.14
God wants to guide
00:20:47.14\00:20:47.94
you individually,
00:20:47.94\00:20:49.54
but He wants you
00:20:49.54\00:20:50.31
to be connected with others?
00:20:50.31\00:20:51.38
This is one of the tensions
00:20:51.38\00:20:52.58
in the Christian life.
00:20:52.58\00:20:54.55
And if you haven't
00:20:54.55\00:20:55.68
been seeing it
00:20:55.68\00:20:57.12
in Mark's gospel,
00:20:57.12\00:20:58.25
I'm telling you, it's
00:20:58.25\00:20:59.42
it's implicit
00:20:59.42\00:21:00.76
in the stories
00:21:00.76\00:21:01.56
that we've been reading.
00:21:01.56\00:21:02.29
And we'll see how it becomes
00:21:02.29\00:21:03.39
even more explicit,
00:21:03.39\00:21:05.13
if you will,
00:21:05.13\00:21:06.19
in Mark 4 as it concludes.
00:21:06.26\00:21:08.26
Proverbs
00:21:09.40\00:21:10.27
makes this point
00:21:10.27\00:21:11.27
very eloquently.
00:21:11.27\00:21:13.30
It says it in a number
00:21:13.30\00:21:14.54
of different ways,
00:21:14.54\00:21:15.70
in a multitude of counselors,
00:21:15.70\00:21:17.61
there's what?
00:21:17.61\00:21:18.81
There's safety, there's wisdom,
00:21:18.91\00:21:21.31
you're established.
00:21:21.44\00:21:23.35
So God's desire
00:21:23.35\00:21:24.98
to guide you
00:21:24.98\00:21:25.48
individually doesn't
00:21:25.48\00:21:27.38
negate His desire
00:21:27.38\00:21:28.98
to bring you into community
00:21:28.98\00:21:30.85
and guide His people
00:21:30.85\00:21:32.42
collectively.
00:21:32.42\00:21:33.66
What I'm trying to help you
00:21:33.66\00:21:34.62
see is
00:21:34.62\00:21:34.92
this dynamic is undergirding
00:21:35.29\00:21:37.06
all the first
00:21:37.06\00:21:37.96
four chapters of Mark's gospel,
00:21:37.96\00:21:40.16
all the first four chapters.
00:21:40.16\00:21:41.90
It's confronting us
00:21:41.90\00:21:42.90
with similar truths,
00:21:42.90\00:21:43.77
and we see it in that
00:21:43.77\00:21:44.60
parable of the sower
00:21:44.60\00:21:45.83
sowing the word everywhere.
00:21:45.83\00:21:47.24
Every individual, every soil
00:21:47.24\00:21:49.40
receives the seed.
00:21:50.21\00:21:51.91
But He doesn't stop
00:21:51.91\00:21:53.88
with the parable of the sower.
00:21:53.88\00:21:56.18
Mark 4:26-29.
00:21:57.51\00:22:00.32
“The Kingdom of God is as
00:22:00.52\00:22:02.72
if a man should
00:22:02.72\00:22:04.09
scatter seed on the ground
00:22:04.09\00:22:06.32
and should sleep by night
00:22:06.32\00:22:07.69
and rise by day,
00:22:07.69\00:22:09.29
and the seed should sprout
00:22:09.29\00:22:10.86
and grow,
00:22:10.86\00:22:11.99
he himself does not know how.
00:22:11.99\00:22:14.46
For the earth yields
00:22:14.83\00:22:15.63
crops by itself:
00:22:15.63\00:22:17.30
first the blade, then the head,
00:22:17.30\00:22:19.10
after that
00:22:19.10\00:22:19.60
the full grain in the head.
00:22:19.77\00:22:20.97
But when the grain
00:22:20.97\00:22:21.87
ripens, immediately
00:22:21.87\00:22:23.20
he puts in the sickle,
00:22:23.20\00:22:24.54
because the harvest has come”.
00:22:24.54\00:22:26.04
Now, remember,
00:22:26.04\00:22:26.54
parables aren't always
00:22:26.54\00:22:27.94
just totally straightforward.
00:22:27.94\00:22:29.18
There's often
00:22:29.18\00:22:29.71
some kind of edge to it
00:22:29.71\00:22:30.85
that gets you thinking.
00:22:30.85\00:22:31.98
And so here's
00:22:31.98\00:22:32.58
the first question for you.
00:22:32.65\00:22:34.35
Does the Earth yield
00:22:34.35\00:22:36.18
crops by itself?
00:22:36.18\00:22:37.52
Now, as you're
00:22:38.79\00:22:39.25
thinking about that,
00:22:39.32\00:22:40.06
some of you are giving me
00:22:40.06\00:22:40.89
some responses
00:22:40.89\00:22:41.72
non-verbally
00:22:41.72\00:22:42.36
by nodding your heads
00:22:42.36\00:22:43.29
or shaking your heads
00:22:43.29\00:22:45.09
and I
00:22:45.09\00:22:45.33
will tell you a true story.
00:22:45.76\00:22:46.93
Years ago, when a student
00:22:46.93\00:22:49.20
at a university
00:22:49.93\00:22:50.87
that was extremely wise,
00:22:50.87\00:22:52.70
I would say
00:22:52.70\00:22:53.13
they were extremely wise
00:22:53.30\00:22:53.94
because they wanted us,
00:22:53.94\00:22:55.27
even those of us like me,
00:22:55.27\00:22:56.84
who was a pre-medical student,
00:22:56.84\00:22:58.41
to have some practical skills.
00:22:58.41\00:23:00.34
So one of the practical classes
00:23:00.34\00:23:02.04
that I taught, taught, taught?
00:23:02.04\00:23:04.11
No, I took
00:23:04.11\00:23:05.28
one of the practical classes
00:23:05.28\00:23:06.61
I took was vegetable gardening.
00:23:06.61\00:23:09.18
Yeah, some of you are laughing,
00:23:10.35\00:23:11.59
I hear you. Okay? Yes, that's.
00:23:11.59\00:23:13.76
You're already
00:23:14.09\00:23:15.06
worried about this.
00:23:15.06\00:23:16.39
Well,
00:23:16.39\00:23:17.06
I thought I did
00:23:17.06\00:23:17.79
an admirable job.
00:23:17.79\00:23:18.69
I probably got an A
00:23:18.69\00:23:19.59
in the class.
00:23:19.59\00:23:20.23
I don't remember,
00:23:20.23\00:23:20.86
but that's my
00:23:20.86\00:23:21.63
created memory right now.
00:23:21.63\00:23:23.40
And I thought
00:23:23.40\00:23:24.97
my garden looked pretty good
00:23:24.97\00:23:26.23
when I left
00:23:26.23\00:23:27.34
at the end
00:23:27.34\00:23:28.80
of the spring semester.
00:23:28.80\00:23:30.67
Now, all of you
00:23:30.67\00:23:31.34
know,
00:23:31.34\00:23:32.04
there's not all that much
00:23:32.04\00:23:33.51
you often can harvest
00:23:33.51\00:23:34.48
in the spring.
00:23:34.48\00:23:35.08
Because I was attending school
00:23:35.14\00:23:36.41
actually north
00:23:36.41\00:23:37.28
of where we are right now.
00:23:37.28\00:23:38.65
So I was in the
00:23:38.65\00:23:39.01
state of Michigan and so
00:23:39.25\00:23:41.32
I did get a little bit of
00:23:44.12\00:23:45.52
return on my investment.
00:23:45.52\00:23:46.86
But some weeks later
00:23:46.86\00:23:49.06
I happened to be
00:23:49.06\00:23:49.72
back on the campus
00:23:49.72\00:23:50.86
and I decided just
00:23:50.86\00:23:51.73
to swing by my garden and see
00:23:51.73\00:23:54.56
if the Earth was yielding
00:23:55.83\00:23:57.03
crops by itself
00:23:57.03\00:23:58.17
after I had planted them.
00:23:58.17\00:24:00.57
I will tell you
00:24:00.90\00:24:01.50
it was yielding by itself,
00:24:01.50\00:24:04.77
but most of what it was
00:24:04.77\00:24:05.97
yielding was weeds.
00:24:05.97\00:24:07.74
Okay?
00:24:07.74\00:24:08.64
I saw
00:24:08.64\00:24:09.04
there were some other creatures
00:24:09.34\00:24:10.28
that seemed
00:24:10.28\00:24:10.71
to have helped themselves
00:24:10.91\00:24:11.78
to some of the more
00:24:11.78\00:24:12.91
edible things,
00:24:12.91\00:24:14.25
but it did not look
00:24:14.25\00:24:16.38
like much of a garden.
00:24:16.38\00:24:18.75
What is Jesus
00:24:18.75\00:24:19.75
then trying to communicate
00:24:19.75\00:24:20.92
here?
00:24:20.92\00:24:21.09
Why is His focus
00:24:21.39\00:24:22.32
not on the nurturing
00:24:22.32\00:24:24.46
that a farmer would do
00:24:24.73\00:24:26.09
after he sowed the seed,
00:24:26.09\00:24:27.66
but what the seed
00:24:27.66\00:24:28.90
naturally accomplishes?
00:24:28.90\00:24:30.97
Because I believe He
00:24:32.10\00:24:33.44
wants us to realize
00:24:33.44\00:24:35.24
that we can trust
00:24:35.24\00:24:36.40
God to complete the work
00:24:36.40\00:24:38.97
that He begins in us.
00:24:38.97\00:24:40.24
It's not about us.
00:24:40.24\00:24:41.91
If you allow God's seed
00:24:41.91\00:24:43.85
to have
00:24:43.85\00:24:44.58
its place in your heart,
00:24:44.58\00:24:46.28
it will.
00:24:46.28\00:24:47.78
It will
00:24:47.78\00:24:48.82
accomplish God's purpose.
00:24:48.82\00:24:53.69
Total dependance on God.
00:24:53.69\00:24:56.09
Even when God leads
00:24:56.09\00:24:57.26
you individually, though
00:24:57.26\00:24:58.76
He often affirms
00:24:58.76\00:24:59.96
the call in a social context.
00:24:59.96\00:25:02.46
Why I tell you that is because
00:25:02.86\00:25:05.53
if you look at Mark's gospel,
00:25:05.53\00:25:07.30
we've been seeing this.
00:25:07.30\00:25:09.37
He calls
00:25:09.37\00:25:10.64
in chapter one, James and John.
00:25:11.07\00:25:14.24
Peter and Andrew.
00:25:14.24\00:25:15.01
He calls them first,
00:25:15.01\00:25:16.11
individually, often
00:25:16.11\00:25:17.55
in a social context,
00:25:17.55\00:25:18.61
brothers working together.
00:25:18.61\00:25:20.35
But then He calls them
00:25:20.35\00:25:22.08
to be part
00:25:22.08\00:25:23.62
of the 12 disciples
00:25:23.62\00:25:25.55
That's in Mark 3.
00:25:25.55\00:25:27.89
What's really interesting about
00:25:27.89\00:25:29.26
this is the way
00:25:29.26\00:25:30.66
Mark tells the story.
00:25:30.66\00:25:32.03
It raises the question
00:25:32.03\00:25:34.30
whether or not at least
00:25:34.30\00:25:35.66
half of the disciples
00:25:35.66\00:25:38.30
were related,
00:25:38.47\00:25:39.77
not only in Chapter
00:25:39.77\00:25:41.17
1 do we learn that Mark
00:25:41.17\00:25:42.74
informs us
00:25:44.64\00:25:45.84
that Peter
00:25:45.84\00:25:47.18
and Andrew were brothers.
00:25:47.18\00:25:48.84
James and John were brothers.
00:25:48.84\00:25:51.41
But as Mark continues
00:25:51.41\00:25:52.95
his gospel,
00:25:52.95\00:25:54.02
he identifies Levi
00:25:54.02\00:25:55.95
as the son of Alpheus, Levi
00:25:55.95\00:25:57.75
or Matthew.
00:25:57.75\00:25:58.69
And then he also
00:25:58.69\00:25:59.82
identifies James
00:25:59.82\00:26:01.32
another of the disciples.
00:26:01.32\00:26:02.56
This is sometimes called
00:26:02.56\00:26:03.63
James the lesser
00:26:03.63\00:26:05.49
as the Son of Alpheus.
00:26:05.49\00:26:07.50
Were they brothers?
00:26:07.50\00:26:08.66
Even if they weren't, Mark's
00:26:08.66\00:26:11.07
narrative raises the question.
00:26:11.07\00:26:13.40
I want you to catch this.
00:26:14.20\00:26:16.14
Jesus has a special place
00:26:16.14\00:26:18.31
for you.
00:26:18.31\00:26:19.17
He wants to guide
00:26:19.17\00:26:20.21
you individualy,
00:26:20.21\00:26:22.18
but He's calling you
00:26:22.18\00:26:23.91
in a very individualistic world
00:26:23.91\00:26:26.38
into community.
00:26:26.55\00:26:27.95
We're glad you're here
00:26:27.95\00:26:29.28
listening to this
00:26:29.28\00:26:30.19
live presentation.
00:26:30.19\00:26:31.19
We're glad
00:26:31.19\00:26:31.52
that many others are joining us
00:26:31.89\00:26:33.42
virtually.
00:26:33.42\00:26:34.62
We invite you
00:26:34.62\00:26:35.89
if you're not in a congregation
00:26:35.89\00:26:38.16
to join us.
00:26:38.16\00:26:38.73
If you're in Fort Wayne,
00:26:38.73\00:26:40.20
come here
00:26:40.20\00:26:40.56
and join us at the Fort Wayne
00:26:40.90\00:26:41.60
First Seventh-Day
00:26:41.60\00:26:42.33
Adventist church.
00:26:42.33\00:26:44.10
If you're
00:26:44.10\00:26:45.17
far away,
00:26:45.43\00:26:46.60
find a Bible believing
00:26:46.60\00:26:48.90
home, faith, community
00:26:48.90\00:26:50.64
that you can fellowship with.
00:26:50.64\00:26:52.71
I am so thankful that God
00:26:55.04\00:26:56.75
is the one who speaks peace
00:26:56.75\00:26:59.08
to troubled hearts.
00:26:59.08\00:27:00.65
If you're struggling today, God
00:27:00.65\00:27:02.25
is ministering
00:27:02.25\00:27:02.98
that peace to you,
00:27:02.98\00:27:04.09
and if you feel like He's
00:27:04.09\00:27:05.15
giving you that peace,
00:27:05.15\00:27:06.15
I encourage you
00:27:06.15\00:27:06.86
to pass it along.
00:27:06.86\00:27:07.96
Share it along.
00:27:07.96\00:27:09.49
By the way, as we're
00:27:09.76\00:27:10.89
speaking about ways
00:27:10.89\00:27:11.83
that we can encourage
00:27:11.83\00:27:12.73
one another,
00:27:12.73\00:27:13.33
we are encouraged
00:27:13.33\00:27:14.20
by your prayers.
00:27:14.20\00:27:15.60
Feel free to
00:27:15.60\00:27:17.20
interact with us,
00:27:17.20\00:27:18.33
to share
00:27:18.33\00:27:19.13
what's happening in your life.
00:27:19.13\00:27:20.37
You can do that
00:27:20.37\00:27:20.94
by going to our website,
00:27:20.94\00:27:22.64
TimelessHealingInsights.org.
00:27:22.64\00:27:25.61
We also value your
00:27:25.87\00:27:27.84
financial support.
00:27:27.84\00:27:29.14
This is a viewer
00:27:29.14\00:27:30.28
supported ministry.
00:27:30.28\00:27:31.68
It is you
00:27:31.68\00:27:32.21
that keeps us on the air
00:27:32.28\00:27:33.45
and keeps us in production.
00:27:33.45\00:27:34.92
So thank you so much
00:27:34.92\00:27:36.32
for your faithful commitments.
00:27:36.32\00:27:37.92
Let's pray together.
00:27:37.92\00:27:39.42
Father in Heaven,
00:27:39.42\00:27:40.62
Thank you
00:27:40.62\00:27:41.02
for bringing peace
00:27:41.12\00:27:41.96
to our hearts
00:27:41.96\00:27:42.59
so that we can minister
00:27:42.59\00:27:43.76
that peace to others.
00:27:43.76\00:27:45.93
May we be such agents
00:27:46.09\00:27:47.73
in this world of turmoil,
00:27:47.73\00:27:49.50
trouble and conflict.
00:27:49.50\00:27:51.13
May people see Jesus in us.
00:27:51.13\00:27:53.20
We pray in His name.
00:27:53.20\00:27:55.04
Amen.
00:27:55.04\00:27:56.47