"It's not about Success!" (Mark 1:35-39)

"It’s not about Success!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #9)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

March 13, 2011

Let’s read together from Mark 1:35-39 (NAU) for a message entitled “It’s not about Success”. The Word of God, "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. ³⁶ Simon and his companions searched for Him; ³⁷ they found Him, and said to Him, "Everyone is looking for You." ³⁸ He said to them, "Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for." ³⁹ And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons."

In the same way that this Scripture passage is a continuation from last week’s, so is this message. We continue to look at what it means to be a responsive person. First, A RESPONSIVE PERSON REMAINS CONNECTED TO GOD!

[show map] Mark 1:21-38 captures what is essentially a 24-hr period of time in Capernaum. Mark 1:39 summarizes a significant period of time as Jesus went into the synagogues throughout all Galilee. Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, described Galilee, “as a land of great villages” which were agricultural villages. He wrote, “The cities lie very thick and the very many villages that are here are everywhere so full of people, because of the richness of their soil, that the very least of them contained more than 15,000 inhabitants.” Mark 1:39 probably took months to accomplish and in this verse we see a great expansion of the will of God through Jesus Christ, but He first had to make the decision to leave Capernaum and the crowds who wanted more from Him.

Over the last 24 hours, Jesus has preached in the synagogue in Capernaum where He amazed the Jewish people with His authoritative teaching and His authority to cast out demons. He then went to eat and rest at Simon’s house where He healed Simon’s mother-in-law. And once the Sabbath was over (marked by the sun setting), Capernaum brought to Jesus all who were ill and those who were demon-possessed and Jesus healed many and cast out demons, demonstrating not only His availability and responsiveness to the people, but His authority over demons and sickness.

We don’t know when, but we assume sometime late into the night after what would have been like a city-wide revival filled with exorcisms and healings, Jesus and His disciples would go back to the house and get some sleep. That is where our Scripture lesson today picks it up. From Mark 1:35, "In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there." Can you imagine how tired Jesus must have been after healing so many people and casting out demons; after such a long and monumental day?

Why did Jesus get up in the early morning hours and seek a secluded place?

First, Jesus needed rest! Jesus of Nazareth was fully human. He was tired and needed rest just like any of us. I believe that Jesus would have been exhausted from the events of the previous 24 hours, but even more so He would have been conscious of the insistent cry of human need. He needed time of refreshment and restoration.

How do you find rest and restoration in the midst of the demands of your life? [pause] Jesus invites us to find rest in the Gospel of Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

In the same way that Jesus of Nazareth needed rest in the midst of ministry, so do we! Each of us needs times of rest and restoration and Jesus promises to meet this human need for refreshment and re-creation.

Second, Jesus sought direction from God the Father! This is a critical juncture in His earthly ministry. We are at the beginning of His proclamation of the Kingdom of God and already the depth of human brokenness and need, along with the deadly grip of demonic activity, were rampant in this city. Jesus went early in the morning to His Father to get direction. There was so much human pain and need in Capernaum, just like the human pain and need is overwhelming here in our own communities!

Jesus could have spent His entire earthly life reacting to need after need, but He would not have been intentional in fulfilling the mission He was sent to accomplish which was to demonstrate and proclaim the Kingdom of God. Jesus went to the Father so He could remain steadfast!

How do you seek day to day direction for your life in order to know what God would have you do in the midst of human need and demonic activity?

The answer is: focus through prayer. We cannot be so busy in our reactivity to the need around us that we do not spend time focused on God and asking Him what He has willed to do through us. A responsive life is a life connected to God! Listen to John 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

How is your vine time (your time with Jesus)? Is your focus on relationship with Jesus Christ or on bearing fruit (your productivity)?

Second, A RESPONSIVE PERSON DISCERNS GOD’S WILL FOR THEIR LIFE!

Jesus did not do everything that was asked of Him nor did He meet every physical need in the time and place He ministered, but He finished all the work the Father willed for Him to do (John 17:4). Mark 1:36-38 records, "Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, 'Everyone is looking for You.' He said to them, 'Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.'"

Simon and his companions woke up and already the crowds were gathering looking for Jesus; wanting more from Him. A miracle worker had come to town and they wanted more from Him. So, the disciples (acting more like rock star agents) went looking for Jesus the Rock Star. Here’s my own translation of what the disciples said to Jesus when they found Him, “What are you doing out here away from the people when you should be in the midst of the multitudes who are clamoring for more of you? You are a success; get back in there and keep it up!”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, we must be very careful about the word success in discerning the will of God. Many a godly person has departed from doing the will of God because they got wrapped up in being a rock star.

Jesus Christ, who is the Rock (not the Rock Star), must have gazed upon His chosen disciples with such compassion and mercy when He answered their plea in a way that shocks and horrifies church growth experts even to this day. Jesus did not let the clamoring for more or the complaining of the people distract Him from discerning and doing the will of God in His life.

Hit the fast forward button in Jesus’ ministry and you see Jesus having to deal with Simon, now called Peter, again who is still making the same mistake—Simon Peter is not properly discerning the will of God and therefore is living a reactive life in the flesh, rather than a responsive life led by the Spirit. From the Gospel of Matthew 16:23-26, "Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.’ Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?'"

From this passage, we have two major questions that present themselves to us if we are going to be people who are responsive, rather than reactive. First, Can you discern the difference between when God calls you to do something, rather than when people want you to do it or you just think it’s a good idea? Second, What is your price tag to do something other than the will of God in your life?

Let’s take a moment together and learn how we are to discern the will of God together because we (you or I) are not going to be able to live the responsive life until we are honest about what it takes to follow Jesus and do as He did— He lived a responsive life by knowing God’s will. From Romans 12:1-2, "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

There are three steps directly taken from this passage that results in the promise of Romans 12:2b which states, "Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Step #1: Be a "living sacrifice". We must stop crawling off the altar and the only way to do this is to die to our own definitions of self and success. We must die to self! What prevents you from dying to self?

Step #2: Stop being "conformed to the patterns of this world". We must eliminate the competing distractions from our lives. What worldly influences prevent you from knowing and doing the will of God in your life?

Step #3: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Experience God through study, meditation, and memorization of God’s Word; seek intimacy and direction from God through prayer; be an active member of the church family (God speaks through His Spirit-filled children); and pay attention to how God is shaping the circumstances of your life (God’s providence). How are you experiencing God in your day to day life?

With so much need and so many people demanding of our time, what should we do about it once we do know what God’s will is for the remaining days of our lives?

That moves us to our final teaching point, A RESPONSIVE PERSON DEDICATES THEIR REMAINING DAYS TO NOTHING MORE AND NOTHING LESS THAN LIVING THE WILL OF GOD!

Mark 1:39 states, "And He went into their synagogues throughout all Galilee, preaching and casting out the demons."

We are now experiencing "Jesus [going throughout] Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel'" (Mark 1:14-15).

Jesus began in the one synagogue in Capernaum (Mark 1:21) and after one day, he departs to expand the ministry of preaching the gospel of God in word and deed to the synagogues throughout Galilee (Mark 1:39).

Jesus leaves from the place of prayer and with His disciples following He does not return to the clamoring crowds, but rather He sets His face toward the scorn of the Cross and everywhere He went He preached the Gospel of God. Jesus was not seduced by the success offered Him by the amazed people or gathering crowds. He stayed on mission! He did not turn His back or disregard the need of the people, rather He resolutely set out to do that which His Father willed for Him to do--to usher in the Kingdom of God and to bring His Father's will to earth as it is in heaven. As Jesus taught us how to pray (therefore, how to live!) in the Gospel of Matthew 6:9b-10, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

Have you dedicated yourself to bringing God's good, pleasing, and perfect will to earth?

How are you responding to situations and circumstances in your life, and in our world, to bring God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will to earth?