Sermon

God's New Family

Christ the King Church Sermons

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  1. Just a second.

  2. If you want, you can open up your Bibles to Mark chapter 3.

    Mark 3 chapter mention

  3. We're going to be looking at Mark chapter 3, verses 31 to 35.

    Mark 3:31–35

  4. It's on page 997 of your pew Bible.

  5. Let me open up my own Bible.

  6. While you're opening up your Bible, have you ever noticed certain families have definitive

  7. characteristics?

  8. Interests?

  9. Rhythms?

  10. Like, some families have similar physical characteristics.

  11. Does anybody know a family with the family unibrow?

  12. Some families share an interest in politics.

  13. And so in one family, you can have people on, like, total opposite sides of the spectrum,

  14. and yet they're all passionate about politics.

  15. Some families share rhythms together.

  16. They gather once a month for a meal, or they're regularly getting together to celebrate birthdays

  17. and holidays.

  18. I don't think anybody would argue that families are not important.

  19. They are important.

  20. Your family, your biological family is where you should be experiencing deep, meaningful love, right?

  21. Accepted, protected, provided.

  22. You're trained.

  23. Sometimes you're corrected.

  24. You're comforted.

  25. Well, this morning we're going to see Jesus do something radical.

  26. He's going to redefine His family from biological ties to theological ties.

  27. And we're going to see that in Mark 3, 31 through 35.

  28. We're going to see a new family gathered around Jesus in His house.

  29. This morning I want you to behold your king with His family, His new family, His theological family around Him.

  30. Let me get you up to speed.

  31. At the beginning of Mark 3, verses 1 through 6, Jesus heals the man with a withered hand on the Sabbath day.

    Mark 3:1–6

  32. Jesus is going to keep poking the Jewish religious establishment because He is the Lord of the Sabbath,

  33. and He will do what He wants on the Sabbath.

  34. And then in Mark 3, 7 through 12, what we start seeing is this massive crowd following Jesus.

  35. And it starts in verse 8, branching.

  36. People are coming from Tyre and Sidon, which means now Gentiles are coming to follow Jesus.

  37. To hear of them, to see what He's doing.

  38. In verses 13 through 21, Jesus appoints His 12 apostles.

  39. But in verse 21, we see that not everybody is enthusiastic about Jesus.

  40. His family thinks that He's out of His mind, and they go to collect Him.

  41. In verses 22 through 36, we have these scribes, the religious professionals,

  42. but they come from Jerusalem, which is kind of like Washington, D.C.,

  43. to send the feds to check out what's going on in your hometown.

  44. And so they send these scribes to see what's going on.

  45. And these scribes from Jerusalem, they accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the prince of demons, by Satan.

  46. And Jesus says, you are blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.

  47. You are attributing to Satan what the Holy Spirit's doing.

  48. That is terribly wrong.

  49. It's unforgivable.

  50. What we do know is that the Holy Spirit gives people new life.

  51. Causes them to be born again.

  52. So what happened is that Jesus, in chapter 3,

  53. Jesus is gathering a following.

  54. And it's becoming kind of more visible.

  55. It's taking on leadership.

  56. But in addition to a following, He's also causing a stirring of opposition.

  57. In fact, some people don't believe who He is.

  58. In Mark 3, 31 through 35, Jesus will need to decide between His theological family and His biological family.

  59. Have you ever been in that position before?

  60. Where you feel like you need to decide between the unbelieving blood relatives in your family

  61. and then the believing non-relatives of your church?

  62. Have you ever felt like you've been in that position?

  63. I have.

  64. Not an easy place to be.

  65. So let me read Mark 3, 31 through 35.

  66. And His mother, Jesus' mother, and His brothers,

  67. He had brothers,

  68. came and standing outside, they sent to Him and called Him.

  69. They were standing outside and calling for Jesus.

  70. And a crowd was sitting around Him.

  71. And they said to Him,

  72. Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you.

  73. And Jesus answered them,

  74. Who are my mother and my brothers?

  75. And looking about at those who sat around Him,

  76. He said,

  77. Here, here are my mother and my brothers.

  78. For whoever does the will of God,

  79. he is my brother and sister and mother.

  80. May God bless the hearing of His word.

  81. I want you to behold three groups of people in this passage.

  82. Group number one, verse 31.

  83. Behold the people standing outside.

  84. Notice who they are.

  85. Verse 31, His mother.

  86. Mary.

  87. This is the woman that miraculously conceived Jesus in her womb by the Holy Spirit.

  88. Mary gave birth to Him.

  89. And raised Him.

  90. She would see Him crucified.

  91. And she would be one of the first eyewitnesses of His resurrection.

  92. That Mary.

  93. And His brothers are there too.

  94. And you might be like,

  95. What?

  96. Jesus had brothers?

  97. He had brothers.

  98. And sisters.

  99. Flip in your Bible in Mark,

  100. to Mark chapter 6,

    Mark 6:3

  101. verse 3,

  102. 2 and 3.

  103. Jesus is back in His hometown, Nazareth.

  104. And a prophet is not welcome in His hometown.

  105. And so He's in the synagogue,

  106. preaching on a Sabbath.

  107. And the people who heard Him are astonished.

  108. And they're saying,

  109. What did this...

  110. Wait, where did this man get these things?

  111. What is the wisdom given to Him?

  112. How are such mighty works done by His hand?

  113. Is this not the carpenter,

  114. the son of Mary,

  115. and brother of James,

  116. and Joseph,

  117. and Judas,

  118. and Simon,

  119. four brothers,

  120. and are not His sisters?

  121. Here with us.

  122. At least two sisters.

  123. It's plural.

  124. And they took offense at Him.

  125. Yeah, Jesus.

  126. Jesus had brothers and sisters.

  127. Now you may be like,

  128. Whoa!

  129. What does that mean?

  130. Well, they're half brothers and sisters.

  131. So Mary gave birth to Jesus.

  132. And then,

  133. Mary and Joseph had more children.

  134. And if you were raised in the Catholic faith,

  135. what this is pushing against

  136. is the perpetual virginity of Mary.

  137. It's not so.

  138. Not according to the Gospel of Mark.

  139. Jesus had brothers and sisters.

  140. Half brothers and sisters.

  141. Which brings about humanity to Jesus.

  142. It's kind of like,

  143. Whoa!

  144. Could you imagine being raised in a household

  145. with Jesus as your brother?

  146. Like, trying to get on His nerves

  147. would be impossible.

  148. But that's not the point.

  149. Here's the point.

  150. These people standing outside

  151. of Jesus' house,

  152. because this is Jesus' house that He's at,

  153. they're His blood relatives.

  154. And typically,

  155. your blood relatives are in your house with you.

  156. But they're outside.

  157. I mean,

  158. these are the people that He's shared a lot of life with,

  159. a lot of history with,

  160. but they are outside.

  161. That's where they are.

  162. Not inside with Jesus.

  163. Outside,

  164. apart from Jesus.

  165. So who?

  166. Blood relatives.

  167. Where?

  168. Outside.

  169. Notice what they're doing.

  170. They're standing.

  171. You might be like,

  172. Okay,

  173. that's fine.

  174. They're standing.

  175. But what's going on here in this passage

  176. is a contrast.

  177. And this is going to be contrasted to sitting.

  178. The opposite of standing is sitting.

  179. And what we're about to see in a minute

  180. is that sitting is the humble posture of a disciple.

  181. So,

  182. we have blood relatives on the outside

  183. standing apart from Jesus.

  184. And why are they there?

  185. Why has His mother and His brothers come?

  186. Well,

  187. would you look up to chapter 3,

  188. verse 20 and 21.

  189. And Jesus went home to His house in Capernaum.

  190. This is where He healed the paralytic.

  191. And the crowd gathered again

  192. so that they could not even eat.

  193. And when His family heard it,

  194. they went out to seize Him,

  195. for they were saying,

  196. He's out of His mind.

  197. His mother and His brothers aren't there

  198. to follow Him

  199. and to sit at His feet.

  200. His mother and His brothers are there

  201. to bring Him home.

  202. Hey, Jesus.

  203. You've gone a little too far.

  204. It's time to come home.

  205. They're not there

  206. to do God's will.

  207. Now,

  208. you may be thinking,

  209. whoa,

  210. hold on a second.

  211. Mary's there?

  212. Doing that?

  213. How do you explain that?

  214. Well,

  215. it would be the same way

  216. I would explain

  217. John the Baptist

  218. sending some of his disciples

  219. to Jesus

  220. and asking Jesus,

  221. are you the Christ?

  222. I think this is a moment

  223. of wavering

  224. in Mary.

  225. And we can all relate

  226. with that.

  227. So,

  228. who?

  229. Blood relatives of Jesus.

  230. Where?

  231. Outside?

  232. What are they doing?

  233. They're standing.

  234. Why are they there?

  235. They're there to take Jesus away,

  236. not to follow Him.

  237. Does anyone in the room

  238. have non-Christian

  239. family members

  240. who think that you

  241. are out of your mind

  242. because you believe

  243. that Jesus is alive

  244. and you're following Him?

  245. I do.

  246. I have relatives

  247. who think I'm really crazy.

  248. You're in good company.

  249. Your King

  250. knows exactly

  251. how you feel.

  252. He knows the heartache.

  253. So,

  254. behold the people

  255. standing outside.

  256. Jesus'

  257. biological family.

  258. Now,

  259. let's behold the people

  260. sitting inside.

  261. 32.

  262. And a crowd was sitting

  263. around Him

  264. and they said,

  265. your mother and your brothers

  266. are outside seeking you.

  267. So,

  268. here's another group of people

  269. in this passage

  270. and it's in contrast

  271. to the people,

  272. the biological family

  273. of Jesus.

  274. Who are they?

  275. Well,

  276. it's a crowd.

  277. It's unnamed.

  278. It's unnumbered.

  279. But they're in Jesus' house.

  280. They're inside

  281. with Jesus.

  282. Jesus.

  283. Now,

  284. I kind of want to know

  285. who these people are.

  286. But I think

  287. it's safe to say

  288. we do some hypothesizing.

  289. Jesus has just

  290. appointed His 12 apostles.

  291. So,

  292. I think it's pretty safe

  293. to say that the 12 apostles

  294. are in the house

  295. with Him.

  296. And if you actually

  297. look back

  298. at Mark chapter 3,

    Mark 3 chapter mention

  299. starting in

  300. verses

  301. 16 through 19,

  302. you have the naming

  303. of the 12 apostles.

  304. There are two names.

  305. I just want to draw

  306. your attention to.

  307. First,

  308. is the name

  309. in verse 18,

  310. Matthew.

  311. Do you know who Matthew was?

  312. A.K.A. Levi?

  313. Chapter 2, verse 14,

  314. Jesus calls him

  315. to follow Him.

  316. Do you know what He did

  317. for a living?

  318. He was a tax collector.

  319. You might think,

  320. well, that's kind of like IRS.

  321. It's worse.

  322. What He did was this.

  323. Matthew was Jewish

  324. and he was hired

  325. by the Roman occupiers

  326. to collect a tax

  327. from His fellow Jews

  328. in order to pay

  329. the Romans.

  330. And He would make

  331. He would make

  332. a lot of jingle

  333. off that.

  334. And so,

  335. He would have been

  336. perceived

  337. by His fellow Jews

  338. as a traitor.

  339. Here's what makes

  340. this interesting.

  341. It's the last name

  342. in verse 18.

  343. Simon the Zealot.

  344. Do you know

  345. what Zealots did?

  346. Zealots passionately

  347. hated the Roman occupiers.

  348. So do you know

  349. what this means?

  350. In Jesus' 12 apostles,

  351. we have a guy

  352. that's seen

  353. as a Jewish traitor

  354. and we have a guy

  355. who hated Roman occupiers.

  356. How about that?

  357. Having dinner

  358. with those guys together.

  359. Two ends

  360. of the political spectrum.

  361. This was a diverse crowd.

  362. Who else?

  363. I'm guessing

  364. there were women,

  365. Mary Magdalene,

  366. Salome,

  367. maybe people from

  368. Tyre and Sidon,

  369. some Gentiles there.

  370. We had country folk there.

  371. We had city folk there.

  372. It's a diverse crowd.

  373. I think this is

  374. the sample congregation

  375. of Daniel chapter 7

    Daniel 7:13

  376. verses 13 and 14

  377. where the Ancient of Days

  378. gives the Son of Man

  379. an everlasting

  380. and indestructible kingdom

  381. of people

  382. from every nation,

  383. every tongue.

  384. I think this is

  385. a sample of that.

  386. It's an unusual

  387. assembly of people

  388. and you can believe it.

  389. They had a variety

  390. of different backgrounds

  391. and you can bet

  392. a variety of different baggage.

  393. Did you notice

  394. where they are?

  395. Not outside

  396. apart from Jesus.

  397. They are inside

  398. with Jesus.

  399. At one point

  400. they would have been

  401. outside from Jesus

  402. but now they're

  403. inside with Jesus.

  404. Did you notice

  405. what they're doing?

  406. They're sitting.

  407. They're sitting

  408. around Jesus.

  409. They are interacting

  410. with Jesus.

  411. Hey Jesus,

  412. do you know your mom

  413. and your brothers

  414. are outside?

  415. There's relationship

  416. there.

  417. There's this contrast

  418. between the outside people

  419. and the inside people.

  420. Why are they there?

  421. Why is this crowd

  422. sitting at Jesus' feet?

  423. It's the same reason

  424. Mary in Luke 10.37

  425. sat at Jesus' feet.

  426. She chose the better way.

  427. She was learning

  428. from Jesus.

  429. I mean,

  430. he was the greatest

  431. teacher,

  432. rabbi ever.

  433. So they're sitting

  434. at his feet

  435. which is this

  436. humble posture

  437. of a disciple,

  438. a learner.

  439. He's the rabbi.

  440. They're the learners.

  441. They're saying

  442. give us more.

  443. Teach us.

  444. So behold the crowd.

  445. Unrelated to Jesus

  446. but inside his house

  447. sitting around him

  448. and at his feet

  449. learning from him.

  450. So do you all

  451. see the contrast?

  452. Verse 31,

  453. Jesus' blood family

  454. outside.

  455. Verse 32,

  456. this crowd

  457. sitting inside

  458. at his feet.

  459. Who will Jesus choose?

  460. His family's there,

  461. biological families.

  462. Hey, Jesus,

  463. come with us.

  464. Who's he going to choose?

  465. The third group of people

  466. I want you to see,

  467. well,

  468. it's not a group.

  469. It's your king.

  470. Behold your king.

  471. In verses 30 through 35,

  472. who will he decide

  473. between his biological family

  474. or this crowd

  475. sitting around him?

  476. Let's not forget

  477. who this is.

  478. In chapter 1,

  479. we learn that

  480. Jesus is the son of God.

  481. That God the Father

  482. himself said so.

  483. Remember at the baptism

  484. of Jesus,

  485. the heavens open up,

  486. the spirit descends,

  487. and then there's this voice.

  488. This is my beloved son

  489. with whom I'm well pleased.

  490. That's God the Father,

  491. the ancient of days,

  492. saying of Jesus,

  493. you're my son

  494. and I delight in you.

  495. What that means

  496. is that Jesus,

  497. the son of God,

  498. is totally God

  499. and totally man.

  500. That's who is

  501. in the house here.

  502. but it's not just

  503. the son of God.

  504. Chapter 2,

  505. we learn that he's

  506. the son of man.

  507. A king

  508. with whom the ancient of days,

  509. God the Father,

  510. would give an eternal

  511. and indestructible kingdom

  512. made up of peoples

  513. and nations

  514. and languages.

  515. A diverse crowd,

  516. if you will.

  517. It's this Jesus,

  518. the son of God

  519. and the son of man

  520. who has been put

  521. into a position

  522. of having to decide

  523. between those outside

  524. and those inside.

  525. And so what do you think

  526. he's going to do?

  527. He's going to teach.

  528. Jesus, remember,

  529. is a rabbi.

  530. He's a teacher.

  531. And he sees

  532. the teaching moment

  533. and takes it.

  534. And so what we're

  535. about to see him do

  536. is classic rabbinical

  537. teaching technique.

  538. He's going to ask

  539. a question

  540. then answer it.

  541. So the question

  542. is in verse 33.

  543. Remember what's happened.

  544. His blood,

  545. his biological family

  546. is outside.

  547. Hey, where's Jesus?

  548. His crowd on the inside

  549. and around him

  550. saying,

  551. Jesus, hey,

  552. your mother

  553. and your brothers,

  554. they're outside.

  555. They want you to come.

  556. And then to which

  557. Jesus says,

  558. to the people inside,

  559. who are my mother

  560. and my brothers?

  561. Now, if you were there,

  562. you would know,

  563. you would know instinctively

  564. that Jesus is getting

  565. at something bigger

  566. than genetics.

  567. You would know that.

  568. What Jesus is doing

  569. is challenging

  570. the common idea

  571. about family.

  572. The common idea

  573. of being bound

  574. by biological blood

  575. and birth.

  576. He's challenging that.

  577. Anybody hear the expression

  578. blood is thicker than water?

  579. That means family first.

  580. We put an emphasis

  581. on who our birth parents are.

  582. And what Jesus is doing

  583. is he's raising

  584. the possibility

  585. of a different kind of family

  586. with different kinds of bonds

  587. that prioritize it

  588. over a biological family.

  589. That's what Jesus is doing.

  590. So there's the question.

  591. Who are my mothers

  592. and my brothers?

  593. And then in verse 34

  594. and 35,

  595. he gives an answer.

  596. But I think that there's

  597. this like dramatic moment.

  598. In verse 34.

  599. So he asks the question,

  600. who are my mother

  601. and my brothers?

  602. And he says,

  603. and looking about

  604. at those who sat around him,

  605. this is what I think

  606. he's doing right there.

  607. I think he's making eye contact

  608. with everyone

  609. in the house.

  610. Who are my mother

  611. and my brothers?

  612. Pause.

  613. Looking into the eyes

  614. of everybody around him.

  615. And then he says,

  616. with hand motions,

  617. here,

  618. here are my mother,

  619. my brothers,

  620. while making eye contact

  621. with everyone in the house.

  622. Here is my family.

  623. Here are my people.

  624. What he's doing here is,

  625. he's saying,

  626. we're united by a different blood,

  627. a different birth,

  628. for a different purpose.

  629. The different blood,

  630. of course,

  631. is not biological.

  632. It's the blood of Jesus.

  633. A different birth,

  634. of course,

  635. is the birth of the Spirit of God.

  636. Born again.

  637. And the purpose is,

  638. verse 35,

  639. for whoever does the will of God,

  640. he is my brother

  641. and sister and mother.

  642. He's just redefined

  643. who his family is.

  644. Radical.

  645. Not those folks outside.

  646. Not the lady that gave me birth.

  647. Not my brothers.

  648. Y'all.

  649. Blood-bought.

  650. Spirit-born.

  651. Doers of God the Father's will.

  652. You're my family.

  653. The definitive family trait

  654. of the family of God.

  655. Is to do our Father's will.

  656. To do the will of God.

  657. That's the definitive trait

  658. of who we are.

  659. We're blood-bought.

  660. Born of the Spirit.

  661. And our aim is to do the will

  662. of God our Father.

  663. Jesus is saying,

  664. those in my family,

  665. obey my Father.

  666. Because Jesus' Father

  667. is our Father.

  668. Behold your King.

  669. He has just spoken

  670. a definitive word

  671. on what characterizes

  672. his family.

  673. Obedience to the will

  674. of the Father.

  675. Now, I started this sermon

  676. by talking about

  677. different families

  678. sharing different

  679. kind of characteristics.

  680. You know,

  681. the unibrow

  682. and politics.

  683. Some families

  684. are foodie families.

  685. Other families

  686. are musician families.

  687. Some families

  688. are packer families.

  689. Some families

  690. are bear families.

  691. According to Jesus,

  692. the definitive,

  693. non-negotiable

  694. characteristic

  695. of His family

  696. is doing the will

  697. of our Heavenly Father.

  698. Does this sound familiar?

  699. Our Father who art in Heaven.

  700. Hallowed be your name.

  701. Your kingdom come.

  702. Your will be done.

  703. On earth,

  704. in our lives,

  705. as it is in Heaven.

  706. You see,

  707. Jesus has already

  708. decided

  709. who His people are.

  710. Not those outside,

  711. standing.

  712. Those inside,

  713. sitting around Him.

  714. Now, could you imagine

  715. if you were there

  716. and you heard

  717. Jesus say this

  718. and He made eye contact

  719. with you?

  720. You heard Him say that?

  721. Here are my mother

  722. and my brothers

  723. and He's looking at you.

  724. That's exactly the point.

  725. You mean,

  726. you're more committed to me

  727. than your own mom

  728. and brothers?

  729. That's exactly the point.

  730. This is the new family of God.

  731. So this morning, Christian,

  732. as a blood-bought,

  733. spirit-born,

  734. doer of God's Word,

  735. you need to hear

  736. what Jesus is saying to you.

  737. Here are my mother

  738. and my brothers

  739. and my sisters.

  740. You all.

  741. By His grace,

  742. you are part

  743. of His kingdom.

  744. You are part

  745. of His family.

  746. You're beloved.

  747. You're a member.

  748. You have a new father.

  749. God the Father

  750. who loves you dearly.

  751. And you have a new family,

  752. the church.

  753. So now let's bring this to bear.

  754. Just as our King

  755. prioritized

  756. His new family

  757. over His old family,

  758. so must we.

  759. We must prioritize

  760. our church,

  761. our new family in Christ,

  762. blood-bought,

  763. spirit-born,

  764. doers of the Father's will.

  765. Just as He prioritized us,

  766. we prioritize us.

  767. We have

  768. been united

  769. by His blood.

  770. We've been united

  771. by the Spirit's birth.

  772. We've been united

  773. now in a purpose

  774. to do the will

  775. of God our Father.

  776. So the question

  777. now becomes, right,

  778. what does that look like?

  779. How do you go about

  780. prioritizing

  781. the new family of God?

  782. Let me try to apply this

  783. in a couple different ways.

  784. The first way

  785. is to think differently

  786. about one another.

  787. The classic thing

  788. that we do

  789. is when we see each other,

  790. we focus on our

  791. external appearance.

  792. We need to think

  793. biblically about one another.

  794. We need to see each other

  795. fully for who we are

  796. in light of God's Word.

  797. Now let me ask you a question.

  798. Do you think Jesus,

  799. do you think He thought

  800. less of His mother

  801. and His brothers

  802. standing outside?

  803. I don't think so.

  804. He just knew

  805. they weren't inside.

  806. I don't think He thought

  807. less of them,

  808. but He definitely

  809. thought differently

  810. of those inside

  811. sitting around Him.

  812. So this morning,

  813. I want you to hear this.

  814. I'm not calling you

  815. based on God's Word.

  816. I'm not calling you

  817. to think less

  818. of your non-Christian parents,

  819. to think less

  820. of your non-Christian siblings,

  821. to think less

  822. of your non-Christian children.

  823. That's not how we apply this.

  824. To be honest with you,

  825. if you have

  826. non-Christian parents,

  827. there's heartache there.

  828. If you have

  829. non-Christian siblings,

  830. there's heartache there.

  831. If you have

  832. non-Christian children,

  833. there's heartache there.

  834. You spend a lot of time

  835. praying for your

  836. non-Christian children.

  837. It's one of the biggest

  838. burdens you carry.

  839. So we're not to think

  840. less of the non-Christians

  841. of our lives,

  842. or love them less.

  843. That's not the application

  844. of this.

  845. What we do need to do

  846. is prioritize

  847. the family of faith more.

  848. That's the application.

  849. And it begins

  850. with thinking differently

  851. about one another.

  852. And I've already

  853. given you some categories

  854. to be thinking

  855. about each other.

  856. Just imagine this.

  857. Let's say you walk

  858. into the sanctuary

  859. and you bump into

  860. a brother in the Lord

  861. and three things

  862. come through your head.

  863. Oh, blood-bought,

  864. spirit-born,

  865. doer of the will of God.

  866. Whoa, hey!

  867. That'd be cool.

  868. You bump into a sister

  869. at festival.

  870. The categories that

  871. come through your mind

  872. is, man, she is my

  873. blood-bought sister,

  874. spirit-born sister,

  875. and she too is doing

  876. the will of our Father.

  877. You know what's

  878. going to happen?

  879. We will esteem

  880. each other more highly.

  881. We will consider

  882. others better

  883. than ourselves.

  884. We will hold

  885. each other

  886. in higher regard

  887. because we're

  888. seeing each other

  889. as God sees

  890. one another.

  891. We share

  892. the greatest thing

  893. in common.

  894. Any image

  895. bearer

  896. can.

  897. We have been

  898. united by the

  899. triune God

  900. and brought

  901. into His family.

  902. Blood-bought,

  903. spirit-born,

  904. doers of the will

  905. of our Father.

  906. So the first

  907. application is

  908. let's not

  909. focus on

  910. externals

  911. as much

  912. as remembering

  913. who our

  914. brothers and

  915. sisters are

  916. in Christ.

  917. Another way

  918. to prioritize

  919. one anothering

  920. the family

  921. of God,

  922. God,

  923. well,

  924. the picture

  925. is right here

  926. in the passage.

  927. We gather

  928. together.

  929. We come

  930. together.

  931. We see it

  932. right there

  933. in verse 32.

  934. And a crowd

  935. was sitting

  936. around Him.

  937. A diverse

  938. crowd

  939. united together

  940. around Jesus.

  941. Every Sunday

  942. at 10 a.m.,

  943. we're living

  944. out Mark 3.32.

  945. A crowd

  946. gathered around

  947. Jesus.

  948. That's this.

  949. That's who we are.

  950. That's what we're

  951. doing.

  952. It's happening

  953. almost 2,000

  954. years later

  955. when this was

  956. written.

  957. In a very

  958. different place.

  959. But it's

  960. happening.

  961. A crowd

  962. of diverse

  963. people

  964. gathered

  965. together

  966. around Jesus.

  967. Brothers and

  968. sisters,

  969. we gather

  970. together

  971. on a Sunday

  972. morning

  973. because of

  974. Jesus.

  975. Because of

  976. His blood.

  977. Because we've

  978. been born of

  979. the Spirit

  980. to do

  981. God's will.

  982. We gather

  983. to behold

  984. Jesus.

  985. We gather

  986. in order

  987. to live

  988. for Jesus.

  989. The reason

  990. for our

  991. gathering

  992. is Jesus.

  993. Together

  994. following Jesus.

  995. That's who we are.

  996. That's what we do.

  997. And in 3.32,

  998. we see God's

  999. new family

  1000. gather together

  1001. around Jesus

  1002. too.

  1003. That becomes

  1004. something that

  1005. we can now

  1006. say, okay,

  1007. that's what God

  1008. wants for us.

  1009. This is His

  1010. will for us.

  1011. Good things

  1012. happen when

  1013. God's family

  1014. gets together.

  1015. God things

  1016. happen when

  1017. God's family

  1018. gets together.

  1019. So,

  1020. here's how I

  1021. want you to

  1022. think about

  1023. our Sunday

  1024. morning

  1025. gatherings.

  1026. Think of

  1027. them as

  1028. a family

  1029. reunion

  1030. once a

  1031. week.

  1032. Sunday

  1033. at 10 a.m.

  1034. A family

  1035. reunion of

  1036. brothers and

  1037. sisters in

  1038. Christ coming

  1039. together around

  1040. Jesus to hear

  1041. Him speak,

  1042. to worship

  1043. Him, to sit

  1044. at His feet,

  1045. to wait for

  1046. what comes

  1047. next.

  1048. You know

  1049. what the

  1050. question becomes?

  1051. The question

  1052. becomes this.

  1053. how many

  1054. Sundays is

  1055. enough?

  1056. How many

  1057. Sundays is

  1058. enough to

  1059. gather together?

  1060. I mean, is

  1061. one Sunday a

  1062. month enough?

  1063. Is two

  1064. Sundays enough

  1065. for us to

  1066. gather?

  1067. Would that be

  1068. God's will for

  1069. us?

  1070. I think the

  1071. real question

  1072. is this.

  1073. How important

  1074. is it for

  1075. God's family

  1076. to gather?

  1077. That's the

  1078. question.

  1079. And what we

  1080. see throughout

  1081. the Bible

  1082. is it's

  1083. extremely

  1084. important.

  1085. This is

  1086. gathering around

  1087. our King,

  1088. our Lord,

  1089. together.

  1090. Let me try

  1091. to spell

  1092. this out

  1093. for you.

  1094. I actually

  1095. did this

  1096. at a wedding

  1097. recently

  1098. and thought,

  1099. man, I want

  1100. to do that

  1101. on a Sunday

  1102. morning.

  1103. If you meet

  1104. once a month,

  1105. gather with

  1106. God's family

  1107. once a month,

  1108. if you prioritize

  1109. it at once a

  1110. month,

  1111. do you know

  1112. how many

  1113. times a year

  1114. you gather

  1115. with God's

  1116. people?

  1117. Twelve.

  1118. Do you know

  1119. how many times

  1120. you gather

  1121. with God's

  1122. people over

  1123. 50 years?

  1124. 600.

  1125. Now that

  1126. might sound

  1127. like a lot,

  1128. but over

  1129. 50 years,

  1130. there's a lot

  1131. more things

  1132. that are going

  1133. to be formative

  1134. in your life

  1135. than the

  1136. gathering with

  1137. your church.

  1138. How about

  1139. two times a

  1140. month?

  1141. 24 times a

  1142. year?

  1143. Over 50

  1144. years,

  1145. that's 1,200

  1146. gatherings over

  1147. that span.

  1148. Better than

  1149. 600.

  1150. But how

  1151. about if

  1152. you're aiming

  1153. at every

  1154. Sunday?

  1155. Let's just

  1156. say 50

  1157. Sundays a

  1158. year.

  1159. Over 50

  1160. years,

  1161. that's 2,500

  1162. gatherings with

  1163. your family

  1164. of faith.

  1165. Now let me

  1166. ask you this

  1167. question.

  1168. what will

  1169. be more

  1170. formative?

  1171. What will

  1172. be more

  1173. spiritual

  1174. healthy for

  1175. you,

  1176. for your

  1177. biological

  1178. family,

  1179. and for

  1180. your

  1181. theologically

  1182. family?

  1183. What would

  1184. be healthier

  1185. over that

  1186. span?

  1187. Of course,

  1188. the more

  1189. frequent the

  1190. better.

  1191. Good things

  1192. happen.

  1193. God things

  1194. happen when

  1195. God's people

  1196. get together.

  1197. So here's

  1198. what I'm

  1199. going to

  1200. urge you.

  1201. Don't

  1202. settle for

  1203. minimal.

  1204. Aim at

  1205. maximum.

  1206. Let's aim

  1207. high, not

  1208. settle for

  1209. low.

  1210. Let's seek

  1211. to gather

  1212. together because

  1213. we have been

  1214. united by the

  1215. greatest thing

  1216. possible, the

  1217. triune God.

  1218. We're blood

  1219. bought, spirit

  1220. born, seeking

  1221. to do God's

  1222. will together.

  1223. Let's aim for

  1224. every Sunday

  1225. because we're

  1226. a family.

  1227. want to be

  1228. together.

  1229. There's a

  1230. classic mistake

  1231. that Christians

  1232. make.

  1233. It's thinking

  1234. that church is

  1235. for me.

  1236. I go to

  1237. church for

  1238. me.

  1239. And yes,

  1240. in one level

  1241. you do.

  1242. But do you

  1243. also know that

  1244. you go to

  1245. church for

  1246. your family?

  1247. For us?

  1248. Here's some

  1249. obstacles.

  1250. Children's

  1251. sports have

  1252. encroached

  1253. upon Sunday

  1254. morning.

  1255. We all

  1256. know it.

  1257. Parents,

  1258. it's an

  1259. opportunity to

  1260. train your

  1261. kids.

  1262. To help

  1263. them understand

  1264. priorities and

  1265. important things.

  1266. What's more

  1267. important?

  1268. Getting to

  1269. your kids

  1270. games or

  1271. getting to

  1272. church?

  1273. What will

  1274. form them

  1275. over time?

  1276. It's not

  1277. if you're

  1278. forming your

  1279. kids, it's

  1280. how you're

  1281. forming your

  1282. kids.

  1283. Maybe you

  1284. have a work

  1285. issue.

  1286. You can't

  1287. get to our

  1288. Sunday morning

  1289. gathering regularly

  1290. because of a

  1291. work commitment.

  1292. Well, maybe you

  1293. need to ask your

  1294. manager, hey, can I

  1295. take Sundays

  1296. off so I can

  1297. be at church

  1298. with my

  1299. family of

  1300. faith?

  1301. And if it's

  1302. like, no, maybe

  1303. you should be

  1304. saying, maybe I

  1305. should be looking

  1306. for another

  1307. job.

  1308. It's that

  1309. important.

  1310. Maybe you're

  1311. kind of like,

  1312. well, I'll

  1313. tell you what,

  1314. I've got a

  1315. house full of

  1316. kids and trying

  1317. to get them in

  1318. the minivan and

  1319. they get to the

  1320. church building and

  1321. then get them

  1322. into places and

  1323. then they get

  1324. off their

  1325. schedule, they

  1326. miss their

  1327. naps, it is

  1328. so inconvenient.

  1329. It is.

  1330. The question

  1331. is, is it

  1332. worth it to

  1333. gather together

  1334. as a family

  1335. of faith?

  1336. Yes, it is.

  1337. And form them

  1338. over time.

  1339. How about just

  1340. a classic

  1341. selfishness?

  1342. Sunday morning

  1343. is me time.

  1344. It's my

  1345. opportunity to

  1346. sleep in.

  1347. I only get

  1348. one morning a

  1349. week to sleep

  1350. in.

  1351. Sunday morning

  1352. is it.

  1353. It's the one

  1354. time I can

  1355. catch up on

  1356. doing some

  1357. things around

  1358. the house.

  1359. How about you

  1360. move me time

  1361. to we time?

  1362. We the

  1363. church.

  1364. Your family's

  1365. gathering.

  1366. Come gather

  1367. with us.

  1368. If you would

  1369. open up your

  1370. Bible to

  1371. Hebrews chapter

    Hebrews 10:24

  1372. 10 verse 24

  1373. and 25.

  1374. It's on page

  1375. 1194 of your

  1376. pew Bible.

  1377. We read

  1378. this.

  1379. And let us

  1380. consider how

  1381. to stir up

  1382. one another

  1383. to love

  1384. and good

  1385. works.

  1386. Well, how

  1387. do you do

  1388. that?

  1389. Well, we're

  1390. told how not

  1391. to do that.

  1392. What gets

  1393. in the way

  1394. of that?

  1395. 25.

  1396. Not neglecting

  1397. to meet

  1398. together as

  1399. the habit

  1400. of son.

  1401. You see,

  1402. not gathering

  1403. frequently gets

  1404. in the way of

  1405. stirring one

  1406. another up to

  1407. love and good

  1408. deeds.

  1409. But encouraging

  1410. one another

  1411. by gathering

  1412. together.

  1413. together.

  1414. And all

  1415. the more

  1416. as you see

  1417. the day

  1418. drawing near.

  1419. We

  1420. prioritize

  1421. one another

  1422. as God's

  1423. family by

  1424. gathering

  1425. together as

  1426. often as

  1427. we can.

  1428. Good things

  1429. happen when

  1430. God's people

  1431. come together.

  1432. Good things

  1433. happen.

  1434. He forms

  1435. us.

  1436. Maybe you

  1437. are not in

  1438. God's family

  1439. yet.

  1440. But

  1441. the first

  1442. thing you

  1443. need to do

  1444. is come

  1445. to Jesus.

  1446. Repent

  1447. and believe

  1448. the gospel.

  1449. Claim

  1450. him as

  1451. your Lord

  1452. and Savior.

  1453. And then

  1454. you get

  1455. to be

  1456. welcomed

  1457. into the

  1458. family of

  1459. the blood

  1460. bought.

  1461. The family

  1462. of the

  1463. spirit born.

  1464. The family

  1465. of those

  1466. doing the

  1467. Father's

  1468. will.

  1469. Who love

  1470. to gather

  1471. together as

  1472. often as

  1473. we can.

  1474. In

  1475. conclusion,

  1476. Mark 3,

  1477. 31-35.

  1478. we

  1479. behold our

  1480. king.

  1481. And he

  1482. is standing

  1483. in the

  1484. middle of

  1485. his new

  1486. family.

  1487. Jesus has

  1488. radically,

  1489. radically

  1490. redefined his

  1491. family.

  1492. He doesn't

  1493. think of his

  1494. family primarily

  1495. as a

  1496. biological

  1497. family.

  1498. He's thinking

  1499. more about

  1500. this group

  1501. as his

  1502. theological

  1503. family.

  1504. United

  1505. by his

  1506. blood.

  1507. United by

  1508. the birthing

  1509. of the spirit.

  1510. United by

  1511. doing God's

  1512. will.

  1513. Here

  1514. are my

  1515. mother

  1516. and

  1517. brothers

  1518. and

  1519. sisters.

  1520. Amen.

  1521. Lord Jesus,

  1522. would you

  1523. do a

  1524. work in

  1525. us where

  1526. your will

  1527. be done.

  1528. Would you

  1529. add to our

  1530. number like

  1531. minded brothers

  1532. and sisters

  1533. who want

  1534. to gather

  1535. and who

  1536. want to

  1537. live for

  1538. you.

  1539. Father,

  1540. hallowed be

  1541. your name,

  1542. your kingdom

  1543. come,

  1544. your will

  1545. be done

  1546. on earth

  1547. as it is

  1548. in heaven.

  1549. Amen.

  1550. Amen.