February 4th 2018.

February 4th 2018

Prelude for Worship Handbells

Welcome Daniel Palmer

Text “Welcome” to

I Stand Amazed In the Presence

I stand amazed in the presence Of Jesus the Nazarene
And wonder how He could love me A sinner condemned unclean

How marvelous how wonderful And my song shall ever be
Is my Savior's love for me

For me it was in the garden He prayed not My will but Thine
He had no tears For His own griefs But sweat drops of blood for mine

He took my sins and my sorrows He made them His very own
He bore the burden to Calvary And suffered and died alone

When with the ransomed in glory His face I at last shall see
'Twill be my joy through the ages To sing of His love for me

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found He is my light my strength my song
This cornerstone this solid ground Firm through the fiercest Drought and storm

What heights of love What depths of peace
When fears are stilled When strivings cease My comforter my all in all Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone Who took on flesh Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness Scorned by the ones He came to save

‘Til on that cross as Jesus died The wrath of God was satisfied
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine Bought with the precious Blood of Christ

On Christ the solid Rock I stand All other ground is sinking sand

No guilt in life no fear in death This is the pow’r of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny

No pow’r of hell no scheme of man Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘Til He returns or calls me home Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand

Let’s pray now that their church will grow and that many will come to faith in Jesus Christ, becoming growing disciples for Him.

Offering

Man of Sorrows Sanctuary Choir

Mark 3:20–35 And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21 When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”

Mark 3:20–35 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?

Mark 3:20–35 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!

Mark 3:20–35 27 But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

Mark 3:20–35 28 “Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Mark 3:20–35 31 Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.”

Mark 3:20–35 33 Answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

The Crowd, the Close, the Critics, and the Community of the King
Last week, we saw that Jesus called the Apostles and He still calls us, His church, to be the community of Christ’s people who are made to be with Him and to be sent by Him – to be His insiders.

Sermon in a Sentence To be in Christ’s family, 1) we must understand that many who get close to the things of Jesus are still not in His family, 2) we must not allow our intellect, traditions or positions of authority to blind us to God’s work through Christ (22–30), and 3) we must sit with Jesus and do God’s will (31–35).

1. We must understand many who get close to the things of Jesus are still not in His family (20–22).

“The crowd is…an obstacle rather than an asset to Jesus’ mission.” (Edwards, 118).

The power for living out what Jesus desires for His church is found in our union with Christ and one another.

The close are people who have been with Jesus long enough to have their reputation on the line for their affiliation with Him.

The Creator of the human mind stands accused of being out of His mind.

So, there is the crowd that tries to consume Jesus without communing with Him. There are those who are close to Jesus as long as His truth is comfortable. And then there are the scribes or the professional critics who show us that:

2. We must not allow our intellect, traditions or positions of authority blind us to God’s work through Christ (22–30).

Mark is careful to note the scribes “came down from Jerusalem” (22). Their physical movement is a reflection of their inward disposition.

“The evidence demands a decision from the beholder as to its source and significance” (119).

The scribes do not deny the evidence; instead they say His power comes from Beelzeboul rather than God.

Jesus shows us that “If what the scribes say is true, Satan is clearly working at cross purposes with himself, which will only hasten his fall” (121).

The scribes do not accept the good work of Jesus as God’s work, and that puts them on very dangerous footing.

Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil (Isa. 5:20).

The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8).

Outsiders are trying to bind Jesus, but Jesus has come to bind Satan and bring the oppressed into the Kingdom of God.

“Truly, I say to you” (28). These words signify that what Jesus is about to say is serious. It is a bit like when your parents call you by your first and middle names.

Whoever should blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin (29).

“The sin against the Holy Spirit is…a specific misjudgment that Jesus is motivated by evil rather than by good, that He is empowered by the devil rather than by God.”

“The expulsion of demons was a sign of the intrusion of the Kingdom of God. Yet the [scribes’] accusations against Jesus amount to a denial of the power and greatness of the Spirit of God. By assigning the action of God to a demonic origin, the scribes betray

a perversion of spirit which, in defiance of the truth, chooses to call light darkness…. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit denotes the conscious and deliberate rejection of the saving power and grace of God released through Jesus…. Repetition and a fixed attitude of mind…brought the scribes to the brink of unforgiveable blasphemy.”

Anyone who is worried about having committed the sin against the Holy Spirit has not yet committed it, for anxiety of having done so is evidence of the potential for repentance. There is no record in Scripture of anyone asking forgiveness of God and being denied it!” (Edwards, 124).

Trusting Jesus is never ultimately about evidence but the condition of our hearts.

A spiritual battle is never won merely with evidence.

The authority of Jesus is our issue, and we must not come down and stand in judgment of Jesus, rather:

3. We must sit with Jesus and do God’s will (31–35).

If the crowd, the close, and the critics, are not insiders, then who gets in on the victory Christ secures by binding Satan and bringing people into the Kingdom of God?

“Jesus’ family assumes it has rights Jesus is obliged to honor” (Edwards, 124).

“Who are My mother and My brothers?” (33).

Even Jesus’ family must enter the Kingdom on the King’s terms. Belonging to the community of King Jesus is not based on our biology or anything else we possess but on submission to King Jesus and doing God’s will.

“There are only two kinds of people: those who sit on the inside at Jesus’ feet and those who stand on the outside with false assumptions.” (Edwards, 124).

“Anyone can be an insider who sits at Jesus’ feet and does the will of His Father” (Edwards, 125).

And, the will of the Father is that we would commune with Jesus and one another…that we would sit at His feet and behold the wondrous mystery that He came to die for us and make us His own and that we would daily live as those who are being sent into the world no matter the cost because the know the joy of feasting together with our King.

We Remember the Lord’s Supper

I’m So Glad I’m a Part of the Family of God

I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by his blood,
I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God, I’ve been washed in the fountain, cleansed by his blood, Joint heirs with Jesus as we travel this sod, For I’m part of the family, the family of God.

“brother and sister” ’round here, It’s because we’re a family
You will notice we say “brother and sister” ’round here, It’s because we’re a family and these are so near, When one has a heartache we all share the tears, And rejoice in each victory in this family so dear.

From the door of an orphanage to the house of the King,
No longer an outcast a new song I sing! From rags unto riches, from the weak to the strong, I’m not worthy to be here, but Praise God! I belong!

Postlude for Worship Martha Short

February 4th 2018

Prelude Handbells