Mar 3:6-12 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. 7 Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a great crowd followed, from Galilee and Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and from beyond the Jordan and from around Tyre and Sidon. When the great crowd heard all that he was doing, they came to him. 9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him. 11 And whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God." 12 And he strictly ordered them not to make him known.
I. Unwanted Antagonism (7)
• Last week, we talked about anger.
• Anger comes on like a storm, but will subside over time.
• It will either be released, or sour into bitterness, kind of like from a flash fire to a slow burn.
• Today we look at Jesus response to the anger of others.
• If someone is in the throws of anger, how should you respond?
• Pro 22:24 Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, 25 lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
• Here is my translation. “When somebody is white hot with anger, get away from them.”
• Look what Jesus did when the anger of men was white hot against Him.
• The Pharisees were outsmarted by Jesus in the Synagogue.
• They left Church murderous. They were even so mad, they conspired with their enemies.
• They made plans to kill Jesus, violating their own major laws because someone (Jesus) violated a minor rule.
• Look at verse 7, how Jesus responds.
• 7 “Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the sea”
• When someone is blinded by anger, they will run over you.
• When someone is enraged, they cannot think beyond themselves.
• Get away from them and give them some time.
• Some of us have this obsession to deal with every issue right here and right now.
• Sometimes we just need to give someone time to cool down.
• This, I believe, is what Jesus did.
• Sometimes, we need to get away so we can cool down a bit before we do or say something stupid.
• Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war, Edwin Stanton, was angered by an army officer who accused him of favoritism. Stanton complained to Lincoln, who suggested that Stanton write the officer a sharp letter. Stanton did, and showed the strongly worded missive to the president. "What are you going to do with it?" Lincoln inquired. Surprised, Stanton replied, "Send it." Lincoln shook his head. "You don't want to send that letter," he said. "Put it in the stove. That's what I do when I have written a letter while I am angry. It's a good letter and you had a good time writing it and feel better. Now burn it, and write another."
II. Unwanted Audience (8-10)
• Despite the fact that Jesus tried to get away, people came from every where.
• Verses 7 and 8 tells us they came from Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, Tyre and Sidon.
• If you took a Bible map and pinned these locations, you would see that they came from every direction, North, East, South and West.
• Mark calls it a “great crowd”, which indicates to me it was beyond what they were expecting or prepared for.
• We know that because Jesus prepared an escape route. (9-10)
• “And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him, 10 for he had healed many, so that all who had diseases pressed around him to touch him.”
• Jesus, trying to get away from the adversaries, found himself with a crowd-control problem.
• Do you catch the irony of that statement?
• The one who created the universe, the one who sustained all things by His words and power, was planning an escape route because of crowd control.
• The beings He created perfect, who fell into sin, needed Him in such a demanding way, that they thronged upon Him just to simply touch Him.
• Oh, I would that this was our problem today.
• I pray that our Church would display the power and love of Jesus, our Head, that people would throng to this place.
• I pray that your life, as well as mine, would reflect the life of Jesus so much, people would be coming here from every direction.
• Not just from Callahan County, but from Taylor, Shackleford, Jones, Eastland, even Brown and Coleman counties.
• When we have crowd control problems, we are going to have to make decisions that are difficult.
• People don’t like difficult decisions, because people don’t do change very well.
• Jesus told the disciples, “Get us a get-away boat in case this crowd gets to oppressive.”
• I am certain He had disciples who thought, “Well, that is not how Christian ministry is done. What kind of Messiah runs from the Pharisees? What kind of Savior escapes from the needy people on a boat?”
• Mark doesn’t record their reactions.
• But we can learn this lesson:
• We need to make plans for God to reach others.
• We need to prepare for more children.
• We need to plan for an influx of youth.
• We need to prepare for families, ministering at every level.
• We need a boat for everybody. There are no unwanted People here.
III. Unwanted Affirmations. (11-12)
• God chose to reveal His plan through Jesus a little at a time.
• Why? Because mankind was not able to handle all of God in one dose.
• Jesus spoon fed the crowds the truths of God, a little at a time.
• He spoon fed His disciples as fast as they could learn.
• It took Jesus three years to get His disciples prepared to pick up their crosses and follow Him.
• But in this, Jesus would not be rushed.
• We may at first wonder why Jesus quieted the demoniacs and possessed people who proclaimed truth.
• Because they were trying to throw Jesus out of God’s timing.
• What we are presenting here is a commitment to God’s plan, and His plan only.
• The reminder to us is that Jesus must be “Lord of all” or “He is not Lord at all” in our lives.
• Yes, Jesus must be Lord of our bodies. Sexuality. Diets. Morals. Activities. Relationships. Worship. Decisions. Employment. Time off. Dreams. Hobbies. Church.
• Jesus will not play second fiddle to anyone or anything.
• Placing Jesus second, or placing anything above Him, is paramount to rejecting Him.
• Jesus has a plan. Jesus has a way. Jesus has a life. Jesus has a truth.
• Jesus is Lord. This must be our confession. Choice. Practice. Commitment. Way of living.
• There is no other way.
• It may sound good, religious, traditional, even may have been correct in another situation, another time.
• But if Jesus is not leading that way now, it becomes idolatry.
• Jesus has called people to look up and march to His orders.
• He did not ask us to copy His life. He asks us to allow Him to live His life through our bodies.
• In the Old Testament, the believers were asked to “Commit your way unto the Lord,” (Proverbs 37:5),
• but in the New Testament, with life of Christ in us, the power of Christ being our life, we are told to “Live by the Spirit and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16)
• Gal 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
• It is not an issue of reasoning. Logic. Preference.
• It is an issue of being sensitive to God’s call and being submissive to His will.
• We will either do that or we will be giving unwanted affirmations.
• Rom 14:11 “for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."
• Several years ago, there was a closely contested race for president.
• One of the senators after the election was asked point-blank three times if the one declared the winner was his president.
• Each time, he refused to say that one fairly elected in the American system was his president.
• Several years later, this one was on the ticket for vice president.
• At that time, he trusted the American system of elections.
• Let me tell you something. Jesus will someday be proclaimed the winner of the Battle of the Ages.
• None of the losers will refuse to say He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but they will not be happy about it.
• Some of us will be rejoicing, but even the losers will profess that Jesus is Lord.
• Jesus is my Lord. Can you say that? SAY IT!
• Will you be on the side confessing and rejoicing?
• Or will you be on the side confessing and crying? (Selah)
• Yet, there are areas in my life, and in your life, where we try to remain lord.
• Someday, we will give those up, even as victors in life, either jerked from us in discipline, or we already had handed them over in victory.
• Either way, we will testify that Jesus is Lord of ALL.
• There may be something in your life that you believe is holding you back in growing as a Christian.
• It may have been abuse. It may have been your involvement in a terrible sin.
• It may have been something someone has done to you, or you have done to someone else.
• Every time God is working in your life, your mind goes to that and you just seem to stop.
• Renounce it today. Jesus is Lord. Confess it today. Jesus is My Lord.
• Claim the victory that Jesus purchased for you and stop letting Satan’s lies hold you back.
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