"Faith is Required!"

"Faith is Required!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #33)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

September 11, 2011 ~ Patriot Day!

The Word of God from Mark 6:1-6 (NAU), ¹ Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. ² When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? ³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." ⁵ And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶ And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching. [Prayer]

FAITH REQUIRES YOU TO SEE PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY THAN THE WORLD SEES!

Mark 6:1-4 tells the story of how Jesus was received in his hometown of Nazareth even after word had gone ahead of Him of what had happened in His ministry throughout Galilee, "Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown [Nazareth]; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, 'Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?' And they took offense [skandalizō] at Him."

Because they looked at Jesus through the eyes of the world, they took offense at Him. The Greek word is skandalizō (the word we get scandal) is best translated, "to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another my fall or stumble". With verse 3 in mind, listen to it this way, the Nazarenes (not the church denomination, but the people of Nazareth) evaluated Jesus based upon externals ("Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?") and incidentals ("Are not His sisters here with us?") causing their perception of Jesus to became a stumbling block to knowing who Jesus really was…that's the scandal. Friends, you cannot know Jesus as the Son of God and Savior of the World if you look at him with worldly eyes!

They despised Jesus because He was a working man like them, because they thought they knew Him, when they never knew Him at all. They could not see passed their own past with Jesus to see ahead to their future with Jesus.

We must beware of the temptation to evaluate people by externals and incidentals! You will miss people for who they are in God if you judge them by their past or by what you think you know about them! By what standard do you evaluate others and yourself?

What is even more scandalous is that the Nazarenes had everything they needed to see Jesus through the eyes of faith. Jesus came to town as a Rabbi with His disciples following Him (v. 1). He taught in the synagogue with great wisdom and clearly His reputation of performing miracles had gone before Him (v. 2). Verses 1-2 give us the evidence that the Nazarenes had all that was necessary to see Jesus through the lens of faith, but they choose to see Him as the world sees—to rely upon externals and incidentals.

We must not be like the Nazarenes and see as the world sees. We must see Jesus, not through externals and incidentals, but through the fruit of His life—His testimony and ministry—His death and resurrection!

When John the Baptist was put in jail and became unsure of Jesus' identity, he sent his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the Messiah. Listen to how Jesus Christ responds to John's disciples. Matthew 11:4-6 states, "Jesus answered and said to them, 'Go and report to John what you hear and see: the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who does not take offense [skandalizō] at Me.'"

Friends, we are not to look at people the way the world does by evaluating them according to externals (color of skin or family heritage) and incidentals (job or appearance), but rather we are taught by Jesus' example to evaluate people by the fruit of their life (Luke 6:44)!

The world will not return you this favor, so plan on being judged by the world according to the world's standards. Jesus teaches in the Gospel of John 15:18-19, "If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."

Jesus was judged and rejected by worldly men from within the religious and political establishments. Let me give you a word of insight and potential warning, just because you are religious person doesn't mean you look at people with eyes of faith. Many Christians have never been taught to look at people any other way than how the world has taught us (externals and incidentals!), but today God is confronting us with this truth (evaluate the fruit of a person's life; the content of their character!)! If God is working on you today, don't get defensive about it; confess and repent! That is the only way to true freedom in Christ. You have been chosen by God to be His child and this leaves you with a choice that will determine the fruitfulness of your life: Will you live for the approval of the world or for the approval of God?

God's Word in Colossians 3:23-24 requires of us, "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve." Truly, we live for an audience of ONE! Easier believed than lived!

With this perspective, you will be able to persevere through whatever you are going through at school, in the work place, at home. And it is clear from Jesus' example in our Scripture lesson that FAITH REQUIRES YOU TO PERSEVERE IN THE FACE OF UNBELIEF!

Listen to the end of the story from Mark 6:5-6, "And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered [marveled] at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching."

Mark is pointing out a stark contrast between the miracles and healings of Mark 5:21-43 (Jairus' 12 year old daughter resuscitated and the unclean woman's healing of 12 year infirmity) and the lack of healings in this sections. In Mark 5:34 we read, "And He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.'" Contrasted by Mark 6:5, "He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them." There were a few sick people who were desperate enough to push away from the overall disdain and contempt for Jesus in Nazareth and they were healed. Jesus saw their faith and healed them, but other than these, no other miracles were performed.

Friends, are you ready to experience God's miracles and healings in your life? Then regardless of what the culture is saying around you (whether at school or at work or even in your own home), Faith is required for a miracle to happen in your life. Have your created an atmosphere of faith in your life?

We must cultivate an atmosphere of expectant faith in our lives if we are to experience the miracles and healings of the abundant life in our midst. As an example, we do this in our everyday lives in the same way we should be creating an atmosphere of expectant faith when we gather together for Sunday service:

· It is impossible to receive God's Word in a wrong atmosphere. We will either create an atmosphere of expectancy for God to speak to us or we will create an atmosphere of cold critique and indifference.

· It is impossible to worship in a wrong atmosphere. We will either create an atmosphere of expectancy for God to move amongst us in truth and Spirit or we will create an atmosphere of emotional self-centered preference and dead human-centered performance.

· It is impossible to have fellowship with one another in a wrong atmosphere. If you come to love, then you will find love. If you come to share life and be open, then you fill find friends and accountability. If you come with open arms, there is a very good chance you will not leave without at least one hug.

Have you created an atmosphere of faith in your life? Not just on Sundays, but you must persevere in creating the right atmosphere of faith in your everyday lives!

I want to conclude with a subtle and easily overlooked emphasis found in Mark 6:6 which states, "And He wondered [marveled] at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching." When Jesus was confronted by such an atmosphere of unbelief, He did not stop, He did not give up the Mission, He did not cultivate an atmosphere of fear because of their reaction; He did not let the culture's unbelief determine His faith. He persevered in the face of unbelief and He carried on the mission—He kept on teaching! And so must we—we must carry on the ministry of reconciliation. We must continue to witness of God's love in our lives, especially in the face of unbelief!

We see this example in Jesus and then in His earliest disciples. Acts 5:40-42 narrates, "After calling the apostles in, they flogged them and ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and then released them. So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ." PERSEVERANCE!

In an unbelieving world that demands of God evidence of His love, but is blind to the sign given for all to see (Matthew 12:38-41), I pray that the perseverance of your faith will witness to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ no matter the obstacles. Will you persevere?

Prayer leading into Response Time

"Faith in the Midst of Desperate Circumstances!"

"Faith in the Midst of Circumstances!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #32)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

September 4, 2011 ~ Happy Labor Day!

Mark 5:35-43 (NAU), ³⁵ While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?" ³⁶ But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid any longer, only believe." ³⁷ And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. ³⁹ And entering in, He said to them, "Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep." ⁴⁰ They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child's father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was. ⁴¹ Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, "Talitha kum!" (which translated means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"). ⁴² Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. ⁴³ And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat. [Prayer]

Last week we watched the beginning of a great drama unfold and today we see it concluded. In this story, Jairus, the synagogue official, had no place to turn but to Jesus of Nazareth—his 12 year old daughter was literally on her death bed when he raced to Jesus (Mark 5:22-24). He had to reach out to Jesus with a desperate faith because he had no other hope. In the midst of Jesus' responding to his life or death need, a woman who had suffered for 12 years (Mark 5:25-34), also reached out to touch Jesus in the midst of her suffering and isolation (for she had been dead to all she loved for 12 years). They both had exhausted every other option; they were in desperate circumstances and desperate times call for desperate measures—they both reached out in faith to Jesus as their last and only hope!

Let's learn from this human drama and apply the lessons to our lives. First, DISCIPLES OF JESUS CHRIST ARE CALLED TO BELIEVE IN THE MIDST OF CIRCUMSTANCES!

Isaiah 55:8-9 declares a foundational truth of our faith in a holy and sovereign God, "'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' declares the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.'"

Even when the evidence of our circumstances and the weight of our emotions point us away from God, our faith should be our compass that points to true north no matter the circumstance; and true north is Jesus Christ! Friends, we can easily be misled if we allow our circumstances to determine how we live our lives; we need to live by our faith in the One who is greater than our circumstances! [1 John 4:4…Greater…!]

Mark 5:35-36 narrates what happens next, "While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, 'Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?' But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, 'Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.'" Do you see the contrast between verse 35 and 36? The servants were making a decision based on their circumstances, whereas Jesus is calling them to believe (a call to lean not on your own understanding, but to lean on faith!) in the midst of desperate circumstances. Upon discovering his daughter's death, Jesus called Jairus to believe. We will see how Jairus responds, but it leads me to wonder about how well I respond to this same call in my life: "Do not be afraid any longer, only believe." How do you respond to circumstances—with fear or faith?

This is not an isolated story in the Scriptures. Time and time again, God responds in a counter-intuitive way because God's ways are higher than our ways. Turn to the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead found in the Gospel of John 11:1-46 [set up story]. John 11:11-15 states the motive clause of why Jesus waited the 2 days allowing Lazarus to die before arriving, "This He said, and after that He said to them, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.' The disciples then said to Him, 'Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.' Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. So Jesus then said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.'"

God has a plan and according to His plan He is always on time! God does not promise to be on time according to your wishes and plans, but He will always be on time in His plan and His plan is intended to bring about His maximum glory even if it means circumstances that don't make sense to us! Do you trust that God desires to use circumstances to bring Himself maximum glory? Will you respond in faith? We must return to this simple truth that has profound implications on our lives when we apply it. The Bible declares in 2 Corinthians 5:7, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

It starts with a call to believe in the midst of circumstances. We are to walk by faith, not by sight. This is our responsibility—to trust! God does not kick back aloof to your circumstances. As we learned last week, Jesus sees you reaching out to Him in faith and He loves you enough to personally get involved. He is not sitting on the front porch drinking sweet tea watching you squirm [We believe in a God who sees you, loves you, and is personally involved!]. JESUS CHRIST ENTERS THE COMMOTION OF YOUR LIFE BRINGING HOPE TO DESPERATE SITUATIONS!

The story continues in Mark 5:39-40a, "They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He [Jesus] saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. And entering in, He said to them, 'Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.' They began laughing at Him."

Mark paints an utterly hopeless situation. There is commotion filled with loud weeping and wailing as the professional mourners were giving it their all for such a prominent man of the community. This was an oppressive situation that Jairus returns to and there is no reason he should not be utterly crushed by the weight of his situation and the expectations placed on him. Then Jesus spoke: 'Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.' Can you imagine the hope that must have shot through Jairus' heart? Would Jairus laugh with the crowd or would he cling to the only thing he had left—his faith in Jesus Christ? Jesus Christ will show you the truth of your situation and it will not always match either the way you feel about it or how others view it. Whose perspective do you put your hope in?

1 Thessalonians 4:13 emphasizes that disciples of Jesus Christ are to have a completely different perspective, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope." The key ingredient of our perspective is hope!

Faith in Jesus Christ does not protect you from hardship and the realities of life in a fallen world. We each will go through situations and experience circumstances that will test the deepest fiber of our faith—death and despair are a part of the human experience. This is why we must make it a part of our spiritual disciplines to meditate upon the Cross of Jesus Christ and allow God to change our perspective of these circumstances—from temporary to eternal!

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 proclaims, "For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

How has Jesus entered into the commotion of your life and brought hope in the midst of death and despair? [Communion Intro] Reflect on God's forgiveness for you at the Cross and His free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ.

**COMMUNION** Instructions, Invitations, Prayer

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 teaches how we must now respond to our time of communion together, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

We are blessed to be a blessing! This leads us to our last point and our response time: JESUS CHRIST CALLS YOU TO BRING FAITH TO OTHERS IN THE MIDST OF CIRCUMSTANCES!

Mark 5:40b-42 brings this story to a conclusion, "But putting them all out, He took along the child's father and mother and His own companions [Peter and James and John the brother of James], and entered the room where the child was. Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, 'Talitha kum!' (which translated means, 'Little girl, I say to you, get up!'). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded."

Jesus entered the commotion of this family's worst nightmare, He reached out and embraced the suffering and despair caused by death, and then He spoke into that desperate situation the everlasting Word of Life. Jesus Christ brought faith in the midst of circumstances and He is now calling us to be His hands and feet in the midst of human suffering around us. Jesus is calling you today as a response to this time of communion together to dedicate yourself as a disciple of Jesus Christ to bring your faith to others in the midst of their circumstances. Listen to Jesus' promise from the Gospel of John 14:12, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

God purposes to use you, directed and empowered by the Holy Spirit, as His hands and feet in the midst of circumstances. Are you willing to enter the commotion of people's lives? Will you reach out to offer your hand? Will you speak the Word of life to them?

Dedication of our hands and feet…