Vol. 10 Jesus-Intervention time!

- Mark 5:21-43

This passage is a sandwiched story. Jesus had just come back from crossing the sea (calming it) to cast out the legion of demons in the caveman.
He returns with His disciples to the other side of the sea and the crowd was still gathered to see Him and hopefully see some miracles.

Jairus asks Jesus to heal his daughter to which he agrees then this happens:  And he went with him.
 And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” 
(Mark 5:24-34 ESV)

- We've seen a few things so far in this book, one of which is - to be a disciple of Jesus you have to be with Him, and also do what He does.

- In this story Jesus was completely overwhelmed with the crowd, they all wanted something from Him and He went to Jairus  (v.22 - Jesus isn't a the god of coincidence, but the God of Purpose)

- Everybody in the crowd has swarmed Jesus and an unclean woman reaches out in faith to touch His rode.
     - For 12 years she had been bleeding. She was unclean, a social outcast, she would ring a bell like a leper so everybody knew she was filth.
    - She had seen every doctor possible and spent all her money trying to get healed. Today was her day though. Jesus was here and as she rushed through the crowd touching every person on her way that had cast her away, looked down on her, gossiped abt her and rejected her; she reached out in a final hope and in Faith touched Jesus - knowing she was leaving that crowd a new person. She was going in with filthy rags and being made new. (v.26)

She was at the end of her rope and needed a Jesus-Intervention; and she got it!

 - She had probably heard about Jesus healing the man with the withered hand earlier, and unlike everybody else who was there for the freak show out of curiosity touching Jesus everywhere they went, she reached out in faith and expectance!

- As soon as she touched Jesus she was made new, she was healed. Her filthy rags were cleansed.

- Jesus says to His disciples "somebody touched me", to which they said "are you serious? everybody's touched You"- but Jesus knew something else had happened. Somebody had not only been healed, they had been saved. Somebody had been infiltrated by the Holy Spirit.

- The woman speaks out and tells Jesus her whole story and the crowd goes quiet. they're probably embarrassed that their outcast has caused a 'bother' to Jesus. After hearing every detail of her story, and caring about every detail of her story Jesus says “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
(Mark 5:34 ESV)

 - she had already been healed by this time but what Jesus meant was continue in your Grace journey, live as if you've been healed!

Moments with Jesus are to be entered in Faith expecting to come out of them changed. We all need Jesus interventions  and then to continue as if they've occurred.

Vol.9 God the Deliverer in suffering

II Cor 1:8-11 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
- Paul was led to write this letter by the persecution he was receiving from the very people who he had dedicated his life to serving, by the churches he had started.
- He endured all that he did for the sake of the gospel.

- Instead of cursing God, he blesses God openly for these trials (v.3), and he counts it a blessing to share in Christ's sufferings.

*God ALWAYS works out what He believes to be best for our lives - Sometimes though; we want to make that decision ourselves.

God intends to bring redemption through whatever situation or hurt life or sin throws our way!

- Suffering is not a respector of persons, but Jesus is the Redeemer of persons.

God created us in His image enough to know what the difference is between right and wrong.
     - We decided to do wrong, and so sin entered the world; and brought with it pain and corruption, taintedness and injustice.
     - We experience the result of that original sin daily, but as believers we have teh hope that God will retore all this to himself and to its original state. God is the only One that can bring good out of evil.

v.8 Exeedingly Burdened - Paul was at the brink of breaking, but he knew God would provide the strength an assurance he needed to press on.

* Paul's Gospel-Patterned suffering could have been seen as failure, but i t was all a part of God's plan for his life and ministry.

- God was using these difficulties and afflictions to teach Paul to rely on Himself.

Suffering Asks us = "On Whom do you rely?
     - What if God is trying to use my suffering to undermind my self reliance so He can show Himself strong on my behalf?
 
God really is all i need because He is the One that raises the dead to be alive in Him.

God can raises our pasts from the dead, our marriages from the dead, careers from the dead, bitterness from the dead - to experience redemption; we first have to die to ourselves and to our sin to have a New Life in Christ.

v.11 - Others can help this journey through their prayers, then those people will rejoice in our deliverance and resurrection - The more people that pray for our afflictions, the more people will rejoice in God's workings.

Vol.8 The Real You - Your life in God's Mission

Last Sunday we had Jason Malone speak at church as the final sermon in our Real You Series. Nuff Said! (here are my sermon notes, obviously mostly in point formation)

http://media.southsidefellowship.org/audio/sermons/20110925.mp3
Ephesians 2  And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

- The Big idea of the Bible is that God is on a mission of Redemption - Through His church.
- The Decentrilization of the church is God's brilliant design.
- In Ephesians Paul gives us a look at what a non-believer's life looks like, thhen what a transformed life looks like.

THERE IS A MONUMENTAL CHANGE IN OUR LIVES WHEN WE MEET JESUS

- v.1-3 You cannot be rescued, if you do not what from.
- v.4 - BUT GOD - God steps in and begins our rescue Himself.
     - Before God steps in we were lost, but He brings us to light.
- If we find ourselves worried and oppressed abt other things apart from God's mission, We are living below our position as His rescued missionaries.
- God's LOVE defines us - not those things we worry about.

God's Gospel offers us:
* New life when you were dead
New Freedom when you were in Bondage
and a New Passion when you were condemned*

v.8 Grace is God doing good to us when we deserve the opposite.
 "Grace is costly for the giver, shocking for the observer, and traumatic to the receiver" - Tim Keller

- We are trophies of God's Grace into this sinful world
- God uses us and our situations to display His grace to those around us.
- Each and every one of our grace-stories is different, to the glory of God and His mission.

* Pursue God Yourself - Make Him a priority
* Live in a Biblical Community with other Christ followers - for the sake of those who don't know Christ
* Discover and engage in your Spiritual Gifts continually
* Invite people into your Grace-Story

Vol. 7 - Glorious Day by Casting Crowns

I was listening to this song this morning, i hope it moves you as much as it did me.

One day when Heaven was filled with His praises
One day when sin was as black as could be
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin
Dwelt among men, my example is He
Word became flesh and the light shined among us
His glory revealed

Living, He loved me
Dying, He saved me
Buried, He carried my sins far away
Rising, He justified freely forever
One day He’s coming
Oh glorious day, oh glorious day

One day they led Him up Calvary’s mountain
One day they nailed Him to die on a tree
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected
Bearing our sins, my Redeemer is He
Hands that healed nations, stretched out on a tree
And took the nails for me

One day the grave could conceal Him no longer
One day the stone rolled away from the door
Then He arose, over death He had conquered
Now He’s ascended, my Lord evermore
Death could not hold Him, the grave could not keep Him
From rising again

One day the trumpet will sound for His coming
One day the skies with His glories will shine
Wonderful day, my Beloved One, bringing
My Savior, Jesus, is mine

Oh, glorious day

Vol 6 Cross to the other side...

I decided i wanted to share some of my thoughts and notes from our Young Professionals bible Study group last night. We've been studying the book of Mark, and discussing what Kingdom Living looks like.

Mark 4: On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Jesus had at this point called out His disciples - very publically, healed a few people and proclained that the Kingdom of God was finally here. Using parables He taught them eternal truths. They followed Him, they were curious. They kinda knew He was different, but surely weren't sure why.

So, like obeying Him to follow, when Jesus said "lets cross over" to the other side in this boat - They were like 'sure thing'. He was their leader, so far things were going fine for them so why not?

Well as the story goes Jesus falls asleep down below deck and Hid fishmen friends, the strong zealot, the powerful tax collector etc are left to battle some rising wings.

They row and row. They probably started throwing things overboard and screaming ran down stairs saying to Jesus - Don't you care we're Perishing? (WOW)

I guess i never thought abt this until We discussed it last night. What they were saying was "You called us to leave our net, and we did. You publically declared us to be your followers, all twelve of us and so we've been following you for a while now. So today you're like "lets go over there" and just like that when things get tough you bail"?

They weren't questioning whether or not Jesus could calm the storm - Cause by their reaction they obviously hadn't even considered that  possibility. They weren't questioning His sleeping habits. They were questioning Whether or not He cared.

It's interesting that at times of worry although i know God is able, although i know He is loving and faithful and merciful - sometimes i find myself screaming for a little sign; a sign that He cares.

Jesus get's up and calms the sea(easily), turn and says "Why the little faith?" (Why didn't you believe?)

I've definately been through enough inn my life to know not to ask that question anymore. I hope next time there's a storm instead of screaming at Jesus "Don't You care that i'm perishing?" I say "So um, time to get out and walk across?" :)

Pastor Brian Onken said this last night during bible study as a side note; 'If you are not used to hearing the voice of Jesus when the sea is calm, you're not going to hear Him over the raging sea'!