New Year, Let’s Thrive
Words & Works of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Advent Candles
Advent Candles
The week after Xmas can be depressing.
All the excitement, anticipation, presents, decorations, parties, sugar, prime rib, sugar, kids coming to visit, more sugar, Xmas Eve service, candles, more sugar. And, then, it’s over.
The presents are opened and put away, decorations are coming down, kids got back in their cars and headed home, and, it’s over.
I love the season. I enjoy the quiet week after. But, emotionally, it’s a let down. And, some of the important things that we did during the height of the season that should have a lasting effect can be lost in the blahs of the week after.
For instance, the advent candles. These may get lost in all the Xmas decorations and traditions. But, I want to revisit them briefly, one more time.
Hope. Tomorrow, or the next day, or next week, or at least eternity will get better no matter what your situ today. Don’t quit. Keep moving, it’s going to get better.
As dark as today may be, there is a light at the end of your tunnel.
Love. A verb. Actions. Based on sacrifice. Loving actions cost something. They may be easy b/c you love the person. But they are hard b/c they are costly.
If no one else in your life has demonstrated true love to you, Jesus has. No one else could make the sac He has for you.
Joy. A deep sense of a positive outlook and genuinely feeling good about life. Happiness is circumstance driven. It can come and go. Joy is regardless of circumstance and can be constant.
Life is hard. Things break. Our bodies, relationships, cars. These events are stressful. Paying for them, repairing them, recovering from them. We can’t candy-coat life’s difficulties. But we can maintain a deep, positive attitude and outlook throughout.
Peace. Peace, not on earth, but among those who experience the grace of God. Peaceful people produce peaceful families and communities. Hurt ppl hurt ppl. Angry ppl anger ppl. Evil ppl start wars in the family and between countries.
When the angel declared, “Peace on earth”, he meant the Prince of peace had come to the earth. Jesus later said,
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
This is not the round room command to sit in the corner. It’s possible no matter what you’re going thru.
The 5th candle is the Christ candle. These other 4 attitudes, attributes are available to us b/c Jesus made Himself available to us. It may be hard for us to relate to a King in a palace. But, it is easy for all of us to relate to a baby in a stable. Few can understand what it means to be rich. We can all understand what it means to be poor. Jesus came as a baby, born to a poor family so that we can all relate and take advantage of what He made possible and available to us.
The whole candle tradition can be an exercise in futility. Maybe even considered a waste of time for those who do not experience what the candles represent.
We don’t get the attitudes and attributes by lighting the candles and just b/c we say we do. We get what the represent when we get Christ.
If we don’t take advantage of His availability, we can’t take advantage of these attitudes availability. Though, many try.
Everybody, on some level want to be hopeful, feel loved, feel joy, and have peace. But many don’t what to do what it takes to have what Jesus offers.
It’s not that it costs us a lot, but at the same time, it costs us everything.
What I mean is, grace is free. A relationship w/ Jesus costs us nothing. All we have to do is believe in Him.
Then, when He comes into our life, He brings the entire basket of fruit and good stuff. As we get to know Him better, then we realized what’s possible. It costs us nothing to get it. It costs us everything to unlock its potential.
Jesus asks us for everything we have. But He offers everything He has.
As deals go, there is no better.
Now, apart from the activity and hubbub of he season, consider what’s possible when you accept Jesus as your Savior.
This morning we are back in our series called, “The Words & Works of Jesus.” This passage this morning is a perfect place to pick up the story after this Xmas season.
Jesus is going to perform a miracle and give a man the ability to hear and speak clearly for the first time in his life.
What we will learn is this, while proving He is everyone’s Savior making it possible to survive forever, Jesus does powerful and practical things for us that help us thrive for now.
Once we have faith, then we’re saved. Our future is secure. But, what about today? Eternal life begins the moment we believe. And we have everything we need to thrive everyday.
We don’t experience everything we get from Him until we surrender everything have to Him.
Surrender and survive forever. Surrender and thrive now.
We’re in Mark 7 this morning. Let me set the context where we were before Xmas.
We’re taking things a little out of order. This miracle happened after he fed the 5000+ Jews, after Peter walked on the water demonstrating what’s possible when you’re willing to step out of your comfort zone like a boat on the water, and after he cast a demon out of the daughter of a not-Jewish women when she exhibited great faith in Jesus by saying, even ppl who are not Jewish can be saved w/ as little as a crumb of the Bread of Life.
It does not take a lot of Jesus to save you. Just like it doesn’t take a lot of faith if it’s placed in the right One.
After the passage this morning, Jesus goes on to feed 4000+ Non-Jewish ppl.
One main point here is Jesus is transitioning his ministry from a strictly Jewish one, to one that welcomes everyone and demonstrates he will save anyone who believes.
Now, in the midst of this transition is this miracle. It’s described in Mark 7:31-37.
First, Mark wrote about where they were and who it involved.
Where & Who
Where & Who
Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.
Jesus left the area where he cast the demon out of the girl and headed south. He was still east of the Jordan River, in non-Jewish territory.
He arrived in the region of Decapolis. Decapolis is a Greek word meaning, 10 cities. While most of the area was more Roman, as they had conquered Greece a century earlier. These 10 cities maintained a strong Greek culture and influence.
10 municipalities. How big is that?
By comparison, PHX is made up of 24 separate and distinct, individually run municipalities that cover more than 500 sq. miles and is the 4th largest metro area in the country by population.
Scottsdale, Glendale, Tempe, Mesa, Anthem, Chandler, Gilbert, Surprise, Peoria, Goodyear, Buckeye, etc. You get the idea.
Each of the 10 cities in the Decapolis had their own personality, leadership, and space they occupied. Together, they were strongly Greek in culture. There would have been a small Jewish population. But, w/ Israel next door, few Jews would have settled in this area.
At one time it was all Israel. But, you’d have to go back to when Joshua conquered the land as they came out of Egypt and before Babylon exiled them from the land to a time when east of the Jordan was Jewish. Ever since Babylon and Persia ruled the land Israel had no territory east of the Jordan River.
Even in this non-Jewish area, Jesus attracted multitudes. This is exactly what He tried to avoid later in this passage. More on this in a minute. But, word was out. They did not care where He was from, they knew what He could do. And they came to hear from Him and see what might happen.
A group of friends had another friend who was deaf and could not speak clearly. His two issues may have been related, but the word Mark used to describe is speaking issue means he stuttered. So, most likely, even if he could hear clearly, he would not have been able to speak clearly.
And, it has happened forever, they brought the man and his situ to Jesus then tried to tell Jesus how to fix the problem.
We love to do that. Somehow we think it’s up to us to figure how to solve our problems. It’s up to our intelligence and imagination to tell Jesus what the situ calls for.
He’s God. Who are we to tell God what needs to be done and how He can do it?
That multiple choice prayer. Here’s my problem. You could solve by doing A, B, C, or D. I’d prefer A or B. But, C or D will do.
Turn around Jesus has something else entirely in mind for you. And it may not include either of your 4 options. Aren’t glad that Jesus is not limited by your ability to think up how to solve your problem?
Present the issue and let Him handle it.
Fortunately, in His grace and mercy, He did not hold it against these ppl or avoid doing what He could to help the man even w/ their arrogance.
Good news, Jesus doesn’t hold our pride against us, either.
Here’s what He did and how He chose to do it.
What & How
What & How
After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly.
He took him aside, privately. Either, Jesus understood the communication difficulties w/ this man and the crowd around would be distracting. And, or, He wanted this to be done privately b/c already the crowds were growing to the extent it limited Jesus’ ability to connect w/ and personally touch everyone He reached out to.
Either way, He took the man aside to do what He was going to do.
He dealt w/ His ears first. There probably was a relationship between his hearing problem and his speaking problem.
We’ve got to hear it before we can say it.
That’s true whether we are learning to speak or learning the truth about what we say.
How many times do young parents repeat the words, “mama” and “dada” to their infant before the child is able to repeat it back.
And, it’s amazing how few times a child has to hear a cuss word before they can repeat it and how many times they have to hear good words before they will repeat them.
The ‘how’ is interesting, isn’t it. He could have just said the word. But the man would not have heard the word nor understood the word. No language skills whatsoever.
Jesus did something he could understand. He unstopped his ears by sticking his fingers in his ears and then pulling them out.
The man needed to get something from Jesus to be able to hear again.
Then, Jesus spat, presumably on his finger, though he could have spat on the ground, then He put is finger on the man’s tongue. Kind of gross. It also kind of happens every time we kiss.
There was nothing magical nor powerful about Jesus’ saliva. But it represented what Jesus would do for the man and for us if we let Him.
Then, Jesus looked up to heaven, heavy sigh. Calmed himself. Calmed the man. Was it the weight of the demonic battle going on? Was He tired and spent in His humanity? Hard to say.
But then Jesus said 1 word. “Ephphatha”. In English, it means ‘be opened’.
The man had no idea what Jesus said. Jesus could have said go jump in the lake and the man would have remained standing there.
And immediately the man began to speak plainly and clearly.
Think about that. How many times did Jesus heal someone physically and the healing was immediate and complete. They did not need to go to physical therapy or speech therapy to retrain their brain. The muscles and that part of the brain would have atrophied, the bones weakened, the joints stiff and un-lubricated.
And, in this case, this man had never heard a word. He had never been taught to speak. Subjects, verbs, predicates, objects, nouns, adverbs, adjectives. None of it.
But, immediately he could speak the language and communicate clearly. Not only could he hear what the ppl were saying, he could understand what they meant as they said it, and he could determine his response and do it appropriately.
His brain that had not developed, suddenly was capable of receiving words and sentences then putting words together in a way everyone could understand. Dialogue. Communication.
There are ppl here who’ve been talking all their lives but have yet to communicate anything.
This man started up right away.
Once the crowd surrendered to how Jesus wanted to do this. And once the man surrendered to Jesus whatever He could do, then Jesus unlocked what was in his brain all along but failed to develop and perform.
It was all there from birth. It just didn’t work.
He did more than they imagined, and did it how He wanted to do it, b/c there was more to be communicated.
When we surrender what we think we know, what we think we hear to Jesus; then He will give us understanding we didn’t have before.
When we surrender our words to Jesus, then He will give us His words to use to communicate w/ ppl.
Jesus will say later, recorded in Acts 1:8, He wants us to be His witnesses. He wants us to tell our own story about His work in our life. We need help understanding it and then communicating it.
If you have surrendered your life Him, then He has already done this for you. Hearing His truth is now possible and available to you.
Nobody has to listen to Him. He does not force it on it. But, if we want to, we can. It takes some work, study. It takes time. But He has unstopped our ears to hear what we need to hear.
We already hear what we want to hear. But now it’s possible to hear what we need to hear.
Then, how do we say what needs t/b said.
Not just if we’re teaching a bible study or preaching a sermon. But, when a friend needs to hear the right thing from you. Your adult child needs to hear the right thing from you.
First, we all have to hear it from Jesus and He helps us w/ that. Then, we need to synthesize it, organize it in a way for the person or ppl we’re talking to.
Jesus said it us in a way we could get it. Now, we’ve got to say it in a way someone else can get it. And He helps w/ that, too.
He said to be his witness later. But this time, Jesus commanded the man to keep it on the down low. How ironic. How difficult it must have been. And they man couldn’t do it.
What Now?
What Now?
Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
So, what’s the first thing you want to do w/ that Xmas present you had always wanted and now received? You want to go out and use it, immediately!
If you get a new bike, you want to go out and ride it. If you get a new gaming system, you want to hook it up to the TV and start playing.
I got a new TX Rangers’ tee shirt and D-backs sweatshirt. I wore them both for the next 2 days.
When I gave Sara that Blackstone flattop grill a couple of years ago. She wanted to use it. It’s winter. It’s cold. So, I had to go buy a deck heater, too. So now, she can used all the time.
This guy gets his hearing and ability to speak. You know he wants to use it and tell everybody about what happened. But Jesus commanded him not to.
The guy might explode. He’s got a message, a powerful message that’s screaming to get out and Jesus said plug it up.
He didn’t. Jesus knew he wouldn’t. Jesus healed him anyway.
Why? Why would Jesus tell him not to.
The crowds had already swelled to a multitude. And this crowd is the one Jesus fed next. We know there were 4000 men plus women and children.
Imagine being in a basketball arena that seats 14 or 15 thousand ppl. Jesus and the discs are standing on the floor at mid-court. If you’re in the back row, there’s no way you could hear what Jesus might be saying. Nor, is there any way you could fight thru the crowd to be touched by Jesus and know Him personally in that crowd.
That’s why Jesus came. He came to preach. He had a message that, if believed and accepted, it would est a personal relationship w/ the person and save them.
He did not come to be just a miracle-worker. He came to be the Messiah, Savior of all ppl.
So, he told the man not to tell anybody else. The crowds were already so big the restricted what Jesus could do.
Here’s the deal. Just b/c you can doesn’t mean you should.
You may know something you shouldn’t repeat.
It may be okay for you to have a glass of wine or a beer. But in some situs you shouldn’t.
Jesus has unstopped your ears to hear his advice. One of the roles the HS plays in our life is that of counselor, advisor. He is working overtime in all situs. Listen to what He says.
Then, just say what okay t/b said. Don’t gossip. If it’s not your story to tell, don’t tell it.
Notice, too, there is no mention of anyone having faith in Jesus other than his ability to touch the man and heal him. Was anybody saved here? Probably. Probably the man was. But, we don’t know. That’s not the point.
This new org, had started out like another Jewish sect. But it was then, and is now, so much more. Anybody can come to Jesus. And everybody who does and surrenders their life to Him will get His.
Somehow, eventually, word had to get out so that everyone would know they can believe and receive what Jesus offers, too. Here we are, today, b/c that word was heard and spoken enough that we got it, too.
Salvation will happen when we leave this earth. But eternal life begins the moment we believe.
Not only will Jesus provide what we need to get us to heaven, He will provide what we need to thrive here.
God did something powerful and practical for this man that helped in in every aspect of his life. He could now go out and get a job. He could be trained. He could communicate w/ his wife and tell her how much he loved her. And, he could sacrifice some of his hard-earned salary to buy her a special Xmas present that she would have been unable to describe to him until now.
He could tell his kids he loved them.
He could sing praises to God.
When Jesus saves you for heaven, he includes attitudes and attributes that serve you here, too. He is a resource to assist you in learning the right things and saying the right things when you tell your story about what He has done for you.
Applications
Applications
Hearing more
Hearing more
Some ppl say they need to understand more about Jesus before they will believe in Him. Everyone knows enough about Jesus to be saved.
Once you’re saved, then the HS goes to work teaching more and a deeper understanding of Jesus.
Some things will not be understood before faith. They cannot be understood before faith. But the will be after.
It takes some work, study, and time. For those of us who have faith, the HS is at work right now teaching you more that you need to know.
Don’t just hear, listen. Pay attention. God’s got good and important stuff for you to get that you will need soon.
Can you? Should you?
Can you? Should you?
Just b/c you can doesn’t mean you should.
Show some wisdom, self-control, and maturity. Rein in your tongue and your actions when it is appropriate to do so.
These are fruits of the Spirit, you have them, you can use them affectively. Try a little harder.
Let Jesus
Let Jesus
Don’t try to tell Jesus what to do or how to do it. He’s God. He doesn’t need the help.
If you are trying, then you may be too focused on your solution when God has a better one that He is waiting for you to see and experience.
Be glad that Jesus is not limited by your intelligence or imagination.
Just present your issue to Him and let Him decide what is best to do and how to do it.
While proving He is everyone’s Savior making it possible to survive forever, Jesus does powerful and practical things for us that help us thrive for now.
Once we have faith, then we’re saved. Our future is secure. But, what about today? Eternal life begins the moment we believe. And we have everything we need to thrive everyday.
We don’t experience everything we get from Him until we surrender everything have to Him.
Surrender and survive forever. Surrender and thrive now.