"Timing is Everything!" (Mark 3:7-12)

"Timing is Everything!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #18)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

May 29, 2011 ~ Happy Memorial Day!

Do you know that God is always on time? In fact, God is never early and God is never late. It doesn't always feel that way to us in our human experience, but this is the reality of our faith. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, what dictates how you live your life: your feelings or your faith? Your interpretation of current events or the reality of God's sovereign rule over all events in history? The God we serve is always right on schedule according to His plan for the purpose of bringing maximum glory to Himself and the greatest benefit to His beloved children.

Do you believe this? Our ability to be disciples of Jesus Christ depends on our faith in the God who made us, who knows us by name to include the number of hairs on our head, and who sent His Son Jesus Christ in the fulfillment of time to save us from our sins so that we can be in a forever relationship with God and His creation. Do you believe that God is always on time according to His purposes He has preordained so that He should receive maximum glory and we, His children, should gain the greatest benefit?

This is a truth about God that I believe the Spirit of God is calling us to trust in, not just today, but every day. Learning and growing in our trust for God is the antidote to an anxious, burdened, self-reliant, untrusting life.

The Word of God from Mark 3:7-12 (NAU), "Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, ⁸ and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. ⁹ And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; ¹⁰ for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him. ¹¹ Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, 'You are the Son of God!' ¹² And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was." [Prayer]

With the fulfillment of God's purposes in our lives, timing is everything! We must learn to not only discern the purposes of God in and for our lives (what we must do!), but then just as importantly, His timing for all that we are called to do (when we should do it!).

The Bible declares this truth, "THERE IS A TIME FOR EVERYTHING!" We find this in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

Knowing there is a time for everything, we must seek God's face in prayer and through the Bible, to know when we must do what God is calling us to do. Timing is everything!

As men and women called to be maturing disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are called to live out 1 John 2:6, "Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did." We are called to walk in the footsteps of the Master! Let's learn from Jesus. First, THERE IS A TIME TO ENGAGE AND A TIME TO WITHDRAW!

Mark 3:7-8 states, "Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him."

Jesus Christ withdrew from Capernaum for a purpose! Why and why now? We have studied, in depth, the five controversy narratives that proceeded this time of withdrawal. Each and every time Jesus uncompromisingly and unflinchingly engaged the Pharisees:

1. In Mark 2:10, Jesus declared to them, "The Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins".

2. In Mark 2:17, Jesus declared, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

3. In Mark 2:22, Jesus confronted, "No one puts new wine into old wineskins".

4. In Mark 2:28, Jesus trumpeted, "So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

5. Finally, in Mark 3:4, Jesus asked this probing question, "Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?"

What was the result of this time of engagement? We see in Mark 3:6, "The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him."

The narrative account from the Gospel of Mark teaches us that Jesus withdrew after five controversies with the religious leaders. The why of this withdrawal is not given on the surface level, but we can discern the answer to 'why?' when we know the whole story. Jesus withdrew because He knew that more must be done before the final confrontation. Jesus Christ knew that He must give His life as a ransom for many; He knew He was sent as the final atoning sacrifice-the Passover Lamb-who would be handed over to the Romans by the religious leaders in order to be hung upon the Cross. Jesus knew that this was God's will for Him but He knew just as importantly that it was not time yet. He did not rush head long into another controversy in Capernaum with the Pharisees because more work had to be accomplished prior to the final confrontation with evil at the Cross. He did not flee out of fear, but He changed venues on purpose! Jesus knew that God's will for His life was to prepare the men His Father gave Him to carry forward the Mission of God. Jesus stayed resolutely focused on Jerusalem and the Cross, but He also attended to the work of discipleship. Do you know the work God has called you to do? God has not just called you to faith in Jesus Christ so that you can go to Heaven as the primary purpose of your life; your life purpose is to not simply cross the finish line, but to fulfill the purpose for which God has called you—to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of Heaven while still on earth; to be a witness of God's redeeming love through Jesus Christ; to be salt and light to a tasteless and darkening world! As Paul stated in Acts 20:24, "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God's grace." How do you allow God's purposes for your life to decide what you do and when you do it?

Both 'what' and 'when' are important! Imagine if Jesus only did half of His mission and rushed head long to the Cross before the task of discipling the Twelve was done. Then there would have been no trained group of men to proclaim the message and witness to the life of Christ. The plan of God would have been compromised because of a sinful eagerness to do God's will according to His own time line. Praise God that Jesus did not sin, nor did He ever by commission or omission! Jesus completed all the works that the Father had for Him—not just the mission of the Cross, but the critical mission of discipleship.

So when Jesus withdrew in this story, it teaches us that we must know God's Word well enough to know God's plan for our whole lives and not just part of it. We then must be sensitive to God's promptings and follow Him because God is never early and God is never late! We must not get ahead of Him because we are excited about doing something, nor should we waiver or procrastinate and be late. We must wait on God and once we know it is God's time we must act!

The second thing we learn is, THERE IS A TIME TO MEET PEOPLE'S EXPECTATIONS AND A TIME TO PROTECT YOUR BOUNDARIES!

Remember verse 8 talked about the huge crowd of people from all over the surrounding area who followed Jesus when He withdrew. They followed Him because they heard of all the wonders He was doing in healing people and casting out demons. Here was a man who had authority to forgive sins, who was Lord of the Sabbath, who could heal and cast out demons. Even though the religious leaders wanted to kill him, the people wanted to touch Him and be near Him thinking they too may be healed. Mark 3:9-10 records, "And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him."

A boat was prepared because of the crowd, implying that Jesus wanted a way to separate Himself from the needs of the people who heard that Jesus would help.

I was in Chicago this week and Chris told me not to give cash to the homeless people. I knew this already from working with homeless people in San Jose, CA, but I did not know the reason in this context. In Chicago, there is a homeless network where if you give money to one, then for the rest of the time you are there you will have many homeless people approaching you. Word travels quickly when there is someone who not only is willing to help, but also has the means to help.

The crowds pressed around Jesus in order to touch Him. In other words, they were no longer waiting for Jesus to go to them and extend His hand of healing; they were rushing toward Him to touch Him, to get from Him what they expected He could give—healing and restoration.

Jesus had to create a boundary in order to protect Himself, not because He wasn't willing to help, but because it was God's will for Jesus Christ to focus on the reason why He came. Jesus did not come to meet every human need presented to Him or to meet every human expectation of what they thought the Messiah should do for them. Rather, Jesus came to fulfill the mission of God—from beginning to end!

We saw this commitment to mission once before already in Mark 1:35-38 after Jesus spent the night healing many who came to Him in Capernaum outside Simon Peter's house. This is the second time that Jesus withdraws from the clamoring crowds of Capernaum in order to stay on mission. Jesus did not come to meet the expectations of people! Jesus came to do the will of God in His life!

I, you, we, are not called by God to meet all the expectations of people placed upon us because we are Christians, or because we go to an evangelical church with a mission, or because we are in positions of leadership in the church. Friends, we must (it is imperative!) to know the difference between people's expectations and the will of God. There were immense and unrelenting expectations placed on Jesus every direction He turned, but He protected His boundaries not out of selfish motives, not because He wasn't willing to be bothered by people, not because He wasn't willing to even die for people, but because He knew to not boundary Himself would prevent His ability to do that which God called Him to do. Jesus had to get to the finish line and on the way to Jerusalem He had to accomplish the work the Father gave Him to do! And to be trampled by the people or burned out by the people's expectations was not going to fulfill the will of God.

And the same is very true for me as your pastor and you as a faithful ambassador of the Kingdom of God here on earth. The expectations placed upon women and men who engage in Christian ministry are immense and seemingly unrelenting. We may "feel like" we are doing more for the Kingdom of God by not having healthy personal boundaries, but we are really preventing ourselves from doing that which God has called us to do!

Jesus did not strive to meet the expectations of the people He encountered; do you feel like you must? People will always be attracted to and inclined to seek after those who are not only willing to help, but have the means to help.

Are you compelled to help out of guilt or fear of what people will say about you, or Christians, or the Church if you don't? Have you made healthy boundary choices in your life? (some examples are a 6:1 work life where the 1 is truly a day of rest from all work; a daily quiet time that includes times of Bible study, prayer seeking the face of God, and meditation on God's promises; fellowship with other believers on weekly basis; healthy nutrition and care of your body; financial discipline and stewardship; proper dating and marital relationship boundaries.) What masters you: people's expectations or God's purposes?

A report in August 2010 stated, "1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict or moral failure." Why? Is it possible for that many a good servant of God is burning out, making immoral or unethical decisions, or simply unable to do it anymore because they are being mastered by people's expectations rather than being mastered by God's will and perfect timing for their lives?

This is critical and we must learn how to do ministry as Jesus Christ did ministry: boundaries are necessary for the very purpose of doing the will of God all the way to the finish line! Live the life of faith in such a way as to finish the race.

The third lesson to learn, THERE IS A TIME TO COMPROMISE AND A TIME TO CONFRONT!

Mark 3:11-12 finishes our lesson, "Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, 'You are the Son of God!' And He earnestly warned them [epitimaō] not to tell who He was."

Compromise is necessary when it comes to our personal preferences; that is the name of the game in human relationships, but when it comes to our relationship with God there can be no compromise! There is no room for evil or the influence of evil in our lives or in our churches, but the harsh reality of each of our lives and every church congregation is that evil through worldly philosophies, personal preferences and selfish ambitions, and demonic strongholds of generational sin and disobedience has worked its way into every arena. The world has brought compromise to the Church rather than the Church bringing confrontation to the world!

Jesus confronts evil because the Evil One always has one objective—to steal, kill, or destroy—and one desire in the created realm—to thwart the purposes of God. This evil spirit knew who Jesus was and was attempting to disrupt the purposes of God by naming Jesus by His rightful title. Jesus knew no good would come from dealing with or even listening to a demon so He rebuked him. No matter how good or close to the truth the message sounds or how alluring the invitation may be; evil and sin must be directly confronted and rebuked every time! We cannot tolerate even the slightest evil or sin in our lives or in the life of our faith community. To compromise when we should confront is to destroy our fellowship and miss out on God's abundant life of joy, power, and authority as the Spirit-filled Church of Jesus Christ.

The Greek word Mark uses when Jesus Christ orients His attention to this evil spirit is epitimaō which means to rebuke, to reprove, to censure severely. It carries the weight of exorcism as in rebuking the evil out of something; it is even used when Jesus rebukes and calms a storm. We see this word used again in Mark 8:33, "But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked [epitimaō] Peter. 'Get behind me, Satan!' he said. 'You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.'" Jesus deeply loves his friend Peter (a chosen leader of the church), but He confronts the evil attempting to use Peter to thwart the plan of God. For the Church to accomplish its mission in the world, for a Christian to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of God in the world, then evil and sin must be confronted in love; we must be willing to submit ourselves to the commands of God's Word.

Do you know God's Word well enough to know when to compromise over a personal preference and when to confront over a Bible command? Whose purposes are you pursuing?

I encourage you today that if you are following your own purposes or if you are caught up in another person's expectations of you, that you bring those to the Cross and rid yourselves of these unholy yokes of slavery. There is freedom, peace, and contentment found in surrender and obedience to the love of God.

Do you trust God and His timing in your life?