Sermon

Jesus Calls Us to Share His Up-In-Out Life

Christ Church East Bay - Sermons

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  1. We hope that you enjoy this teaching from Christ Church.

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  5. Today's scripture is from Mark 3, 6-35, as printed in your liturgy.

  6. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus.

  7. Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake,

  8. and a large crowd from Galilee followed.

  9. When they heard about all he was doing,

  10. many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea,

  11. and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.

  12. Because of the crowd, he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him

  13. to keep the people from crowding him.

  14. For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

  15. Whenever the impure spirits saw him,

  16. they fell down before him and cried out,

  17. You are the Son of God.

  18. But he gave them strict orders not to tell others about him.

  19. Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted,

  20. and they came to him.

  21. He appointed twelve that might be with him,

  22. and that he might send them out to preach,

  23. and to have authority to drive out demons.

  24. These are the twelve he appointed.

  25. Simon, to whom he gave the name Peter.

  26. James, son of Zebedee and his brother John.

  27. To them he gave the name Boanerges,

  28. which means sons of thunder.

  29. Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas,

  30. James, son of Alphaeus,

  31. Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot,

  32. and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

  33. Then Jesus entered a house,

  34. and again a crowd gathered,

  35. so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.

  36. When his family heard about this,

  37. they went to take charge of him,

  38. for they said,

  39. he's out of his mind.

  40. And the teachers of the law,

  41. who came down from Jerusalem,

  42. said,

  43. he is possessed by Beelzebub,

  44. by the prince of demons.

  45. He is driving out demons.

  46. So Jesus called them over to him,

  47. and began to speak to them in parables.

  48. How can Satan drive out Satan?

  49. If a kingdom is divided against itself,

  50. that kingdom cannot stand.

  51. If a house is divided against itself,

  52. that house cannot stand.

  53. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided,

  54. he cannot stand.

  55. His end has come.

  56. In fact,

  57. no one can enter a strong man's house

  58. without first tying him up.

  59. Then he can plunder the strong man's house.

  60. Truly, I tell you,

  61. people can be forgiven all their sins,

  62. and every slander they utter.

  63. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit

  64. will never be forgiven.

  65. They are guilty of an eternal sin.

  66. He said this because they were saying,

  67. he has an impure spirit.

  68. Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived.

  69. Standing outside,

  70. they sent someone in to call him.

  71. A crowd was sitting around him,

  72. and they told him,

  73. your mother and brothers

  74. are outside looking for you.

  75. Who are my mother and brothers, he asked.

  76. Then he looked at all those seated in a circle

  77. around him and said,

  78. here are my mother and my brothers.

  79. Whoever does God's will is my mother,

  80. my brother and sister and mother.

  81. This is the gospel of the Lord.

  82. Praise to you, O Christ.

  83. Good morning, Christ Church.

  84. We are continuing today in the gospel of Mark,

  85. and there are four gospels.

  86. This is the earliest of the four that was written

  87. in about 65 A.D.,

  88. and you can read it.

  89. It's the shortest of the gospels.

  90. It can be read in about 65 minutes or so

  91. over a cup of coffee.

  92. And I want to encourage you

  93. just to grab a Bible that's close at hand

  94. and to open it.

  95. I know we just had some of it printed for you,

  96. but if you could open to page 812,

  97. that's the first page of this gospel.

  98. And I want to just bring you up to speed

  99. if you're just tuning in today.

  100. What we've seen in this gospel so far

  101. is that Jesus has incredible power and authority.

  102. He has power and authority to teach,

  103. so that in Mark 1, 22,

  104. it says,

  105. the people were amazed

  106. because he taught with authority,

  107. as if he's teaching directly from God.

  108. Jesus also has power and authority

  109. over evil and illness,

  110. so that you see there in Mark 1, 27,

  111. the people are saying

  112. he gives orders to evil spirits

  113. and to impure spirits,

  114. and they obey him.

  115. And Jesus goes out from that place,

  116. and he heals the mother-in-law of Peter,

  117. and he heals the people

  118. in the whole town there of Capernaum.

  119. If you turn over to Mark 4,

  120. you can see that Jesus has power

  121. and authority over nature.

  122. There's this incredible storm,

  123. and Jesus brings that storm

  124. down to total stillness.

  125. And in Mark 4, 41,

  126. the disciples say,

  127. who is this?

  128. Even the wind and the waves obey him.

  129. And then you can see Jesus

  130. in Mark 5,

  131. he has power and authority over death.

  132. This man, Jairus,

  133. he's the ruler of the synagogue.

  134. His daughter has died,

  135. and Jesus has the audacity

  136. to go in Mark 5, verse 41,

    Mark 5:41

  137. and say to this dead girl,

  138. he says to her,

  139. little girl, get up.

  140. And that's what she did.

  141. She got up,

  142. and it says the people

  143. were completely astonished.

  144. And most outrageous of all,

  145. Jesus has power and authority

  146. to forgive sins.

  147. And we saw this last week

  148. with this paralytic man

  149. who's brought to Jesus,

  150. and Jesus says to him,

  151. son, your sins are forgiven.

  152. And the people,

  153. in Mark 2, verse 5,

    Mark 2:5

  154. they say,

  155. who can forgive sins

  156. but God alone?

  157. Jesus is a person

  158. of incredible power

  159. and authority,

  160. and the news about him

  161. is beginning to spread everywhere,

  162. even without TikTok.

  163. News is spreading like wildfire,

  164. in Mark chapter 3,

    Mark 3 chapter mention

  165. Jesus' popularity

  166. and his fame

  167. is basically at a fever pitch, right?

  168. Word about his powerful teachings,

  169. his supernatural healings,

  170. is spread far beyond

  171. the Jewish towns of Galilee,

  172. so that he's drawing crowds

  173. of people who are traveling

  174. to see him,

  175. people from the Gentile regions

  176. east of the Jordan River,

  177. people to the west,

  178. all the way to the Mediterranean Sea

  179. in the north of Israel.

  180. And basically in this moment,

  181. Jesus being overwhelmed

  182. by the crush of the crowd.

  183. All the people are trying

  184. to get near him,

  185. and yet,

  186. as we notice in our reading,

  187. not everybody's on board

  188. with Jesus.

  189. Not everybody's on board

  190. with his mission.

  191. His family,

  192. his biological family,

  193. it says in Mark 3, 21,

  194. they go to take control of him,

  195. to seize him.

  196. Why?

  197. Because he's out of his mind.

  198. The religious types,

  199. the religious leaders,

  200. they go one step further than that.

  201. In the next verse,

  202. in Mark 3, 22,

  203. they say he's possessed by Satan.

  204. So,

  205. popular opinion right now

  206. is that,

  207. you know,

  208. some people are saying,

  209. well,

  210. Jesus is a lunatic,

  211. Jesus is a liar.

  212. Today,

  213. many people will say

  214. Jesus is a legend,

  215. right?

  216. We,

  217. the first Christians

  218. created these stories

  219. about his power and authority,

  220. and we can't really trust

  221. the Gospels

  222. to be historically credible

  223. and reliable,

  224. and so Jesus is dismissed

  225. as a lunatic,

  226. a liar,

  227. a legend,

  228. but Jesus' disciples,

  229. they call him Lord,

  230. Lord.

  231. And,

  232. when you look at

  233. Mark 1,

  234. 17,

  235. Jesus issues this invitation

  236. and this challenge

  237. to Peter,

  238. Andrew,

  239. James,

  240. and John,

  241. and he says to them,

  242. come follow me,

  243. and I'll send you out

  244. to fish for people.

  245. And how do they respond

  246. to this invitation

  247. and this challenge?

  248. It says that they left

  249. their old life behind,

  250. and they started

  251. a new life

  252. with Jesus.

  253. Now,

  254. what does that mean?

  255. I want to kind of outline

  256. what that means today

  257. in this sermon,

  258. and over the next few weeks

  259. begin to unfold

  260. and unpack

  261. and explore it together.

  262. But Jesus had

  263. a three-dimensional life.

  264. I appreciate

  265. one of you pointing out

  266. the amazing triangle

  267. that I drew up here

  268. to demonstrate,

  269. and some of you

  270. roll your eyes

  271. at these triangles.

  272. You know,

  273. Martin Luther King Jr.'s

  274. first sermon

  275. and a sermon

  276. that he preached

  277. throughout his career

  278. was called

  279. The Three-Dimensional Life

  280. is the Complete Life.

  281. Right?

  282. So,

  283. I think I'm on pretty

  284. good grounds here

  285. for this three-dimensional life.

  286. And Jesus,

  287. we're going to talk today

  288. about how he had an up,

  289. he had an in,

  290. and he had an out.

  291. This Jesus-shaped life

  292. is up with the Father,

  293. it's in with his disciples,

  294. and it's out with the crowds.

  295. These are his three great loves,

  296. his three great priorities,

  297. and it's simple enough

  298. for a child

  299. to understand.

  300. Right?

  301. But it's very difficult

  302. to actually do,

  303. as we'll see.

  304. But being a disciple of Jesus,

  305. following him

  306. as your Lord,

  307. means that he's inviting you

  308. and he's challenging you

  309. to share

  310. in the pattern

  311. of his life

  312. and to be conformed

  313. to the shape

  314. of his loves.

  315. And that's what I want

  316. to explore

  317. with you now.

  318. Jesus calls us

  319. to share in this up,

  320. in and out.

  321. He calls us

  322. to share this up,

  323. in and out.

  324. And the first dimension

  325. of his life

  326. is this up

  327. with his Father.

  328. And if you look

  329. at Mark 1,

    Mark 1:10

  330. verse 10,

  331. this is at Jesus' baptism,

  332. and it says,

  333. just as Jesus was coming

  334. up out of the water,

  335. he saw heaven

  336. being torn open

  337. and the Spirit

  338. descending on him

  339. like a dove,

  340. and a voice came

  341. from heaven,

  342. you are my Son

  343. whom I love,

  344. with you I am well pleased.

  345. The most important thing

  346. about any of us

  347. here in this room

  348. is who God the Father

  349. says that we are.

  350. Doesn't matter

  351. where you came from,

  352. where you went to school,

  353. what you've accomplished,

  354. the most important thing

  355. about you

  356. is who God the Father

  357. says that you are.

  358. And what does the Father

  359. say about Jesus?

  360. God the Father

  361. affirms his basic

  362. covenant identity

  363. and says,

  364. you are my beloved,

  365. well-pleasing Son.

  366. And ever since Jesus

  367. was a child,

  368. he lived into that identity,

  369. and he developed

  370. this up relationship

  371. with his Father.

  372. And his great task now,

  373. from his baptism onwards,

  374. in his life,

  375. and in his service

  376. to others,

  377. will be to continue

  378. in his true identity,

  379. and to operate

  380. first and foremost

  381. out of his relationship

  382. with his Father.

  383. And as you probably know,

  384. immediately after Jesus' baptism,

  385. he goes out

  386. into the wilderness

  387. and he's tempted

  388. by the voice

  389. of this accuser

  390. who's saying to him

  391. over and over,

  392. are you really

  393. the Son of God?

  394. Are you really

  395. who the Father

  396. says you are?

  397. And he'll continue

  398. to be attacked

  399. over and over,

  400. not just in the wilderness,

  401. but throughout his life,

  402. he's attacked

  403. by this voice

  404. that's trying

  405. to pull him away

  406. and question his identity

  407. at every turn.

  408. And to get him

  409. to move out

  410. of that relationship

  411. with his Father

  412. and to in some way

  413. live apart from

  414. and live without God

  415. and God's purposes

  416. for him.

  417. And that same voice

  418. is the voice

  419. in my life

  420. and in your life

  421. as well,

  422. trying to do

  423. the very same things

  424. to get us busy,

  425. to get us distracted,

  426. to get us stressed out

  427. and hurried

  428. so that we begin

  429. to put other priorities

  430. before our greatest priority,

  431. which is our creator God,

  432. so that we are lured

  433. into other identities

  434. and other relationships

  435. as if those are more important

  436. than God.

  437. God.

  438. But Jesus holds fast

  439. to his identity

  440. as the Son

  441. and his relationship

  442. with the Father.

  443. He says,

  444. his great message,

  445. if you look at Mark

    Mark 1:15

  446. chapter 1 verse 15,

  447. the thing he said

  448. in town after town,

  449. place after place,

  450. was that the kingdom

  451. of God

  452. has come near.

  453. The kingdom of God

  454. has come near.

  455. And when he says that,

  456. Jesus is saying,

  457. the kingdom of God

  458. is my priority.

  459. That's what I'm about.

  460. The rule and the reign

  461. of my Father

  462. who's the King,

  463. that is why I've come.

  464. And we're told

  465. in Mark chapter 1 verse 35

    Mark 1:35

  466. that it says,

  467. very early in the morning,

  468. while it was still dark,

  469. Jesus got up

  470. and he left the house

  471. and he went off

  472. to a solitary place

  473. where he prayed.

  474. And Pastor Andrew

  475. said two weeks ago,

  476. this is just Jesus

  477. keeping first things first.

  478. He's nurturing

  479. his union

  480. and communion

  481. with his Father,

  482. just enjoying

  483. and delighting

  484. in the loving presence

  485. of his Father.

  486. And when you think

  487. about Jesus

  488. and his power

  489. and his authority,

  490. where do you think

  491. that came from?

  492. Like how was Jesus

  493. empowered

  494. to teach the truth

  495. and to cast out evil

  496. and to heal illness

  497. and to calm the storm

  498. and to raise the dead

  499. and to forgive sins?

  500. What power source,

  501. what power outlet

  502. was Jesus plugged into?

  503. Well, he tells us

  504. in the Gospel of Mark,

  505. he says this in,

  506. sorry,

  507. the Gospel of John

    John 5:19

  508. chapter 5 verse 19,

  509. Jesus says,

  510. the Son is not able

  511. to do anything

  512. on his own

  513. but only what he sees

  514. his Father doing

  515. and whatever the Father does,

  516. the Son does likewise.

  517. He goes on

  518. in that same Gospel

  519. in John chapter 12 verse 50,

    John 12:50

  520. he says,

  521. the things that I speak,

  522. I speak just as the Father

  523. has told me.

  524. Jesus is saying,

  525. everything I do,

  526. everything I say

  527. is flowing out of my up

  528. relationship with my Father.

  529. And notice at the end

  530. of our passage

  531. that we just read,

  532. what matters most to Jesus

  533. in verse 35?

  534. If you look at it with me,

  535. Jesus says to them,

  536. he says,

  537. whoever does God's will

  538. is my brother

  539. and sister

  540. and mother.

  541. The Father's will.

  542. Where do we learn

  543. about God,

  544. the Father's will?

  545. Well,

  546. we study

  547. what's written

  548. in the Father's word.

  549. And how do we get

  550. the power

  551. to live out

  552. the Father's will

  553. which is revealed

  554. in the Father's word?

  555. Well,

  556. Jesus would spend time

  557. in the Father's presence

  558. and he would pray

  559. and he would say,

  560. Father,

  561. fill me with your word.

  562. Fill me with your love.

  563. Fill me with your power.

  564. And for Jesus,

  565. that was like

  566. spiritual breathing.

  567. He would just inhale

  568. the Father's word

  569. so that he could exhale

  570. the Father's will.

  571. He was like this sponge

  572. that would go

  573. and just soak

  574. in the Father's love

  575. so that when he went out

  576. with the people,

  577. he could just be squeezed

  578. and the Father's love

  579. would come out of him.

  580. And friends,

  581. this is how Jesus

  582. wants his disciples

  583. to live as well.

  584. And this is really

  585. just a preview

  586. of coming attractions.

  587. Next Sunday,

  588. we're going to talk about

  589. how we can adopt

  590. Jesus' predictable patterns

  591. and his healthy habits

  592. and his life-giving rhythms

  593. of how he stayed connected to

  594. and in union with

  595. his Father in heaven.

  596. But this is the most

  597. important thing for him.

  598. Up with the Father.

  599. We tracking?

  600. Okay.

  601. Jesus calls us

  602. to share in his up.

  603. But he also calls us

  604. to share in his in.

  605. This Jesus-shaped life

  606. is three-dimensional.

  607. The first dimension

  608. is up with his Father.

  609. The second dimension

  610. is his in

  611. with his disciples.

  612. And what did this look like?

  613. Well, again,

  614. you go back to his calling

  615. of Peter, Andrew, James, and John

  616. in Mark 1, 17.

  617. He says to them,

  618. follow me

  619. and I will send you out

  620. to fish for people.

  621. When a rabbi

  622. in the first century

  623. would call disciples

  624. to follow him,

  625. discipleship in the first century

  626. was this committed

  627. covenantal relationship

  628. in which the rabbi

  629. would invite his disciples

  630. to share in every aspect

  631. of his life

  632. so that they would become

  633. like the rabbi.

  634. And so Jesus is,

  635. from these crowds,

  636. he's gathering

  637. a smaller group

  638. of disciples

  639. who will live

  640. in the kind of relationship

  641. with him

  642. that they'll not only

  643. be taught

  644. to know what Jesus knew,

  645. but they'll also

  646. be trained

  647. to do what Jesus did

  648. and ultimately

  649. to become like Jesus.

  650. And that's what you see

  651. in Mark chapter 1,

    Mark 1 chapter mention

  652. chapter 2,

  653. chapter 3.

  654. Jesus is there

  655. in this little town

  656. on the north shore

  657. of the Sea of Galilee

  658. called Capernaum.

  659. It's his adopted home base.

  660. After he got basically

  661. kicked out of his own hometown.

  662. And he's there

  663. gathering men and women

  664. in both the synagogue

  665. and in the home

  666. of Peter and Andrew.

  667. And what they're doing

  668. there in that home

  669. is that they're sharing

  670. life together

  671. in this large house

  672. full of disciples

  673. not unlike this group

  674. here today.

  675. And in that place,

  676. in that house,

  677. they would listen

  678. to Jesus teach.

  679. They would observe

  680. his way of life.

  681. They would eat meals

  682. with him.

  683. They would experience

  684. his power

  685. and his authority.

  686. They would welcome

  687. outsiders.

  688. If you remember

  689. last week,

  690. the friends who came

  691. and unroofed the roof

  692. to get their buddy

  693. down to Jesus.

  694. And as broken people

  695. were being brought

  696. to Jesus,

  697. they were being healed.

  698. They were being liberated.

  699. They were being forgiven.

  700. And Jesus was using

  701. this extended family

  702. as the base

  703. of his mission.

  704. And now in Mark chapter 3,

    Mark 3 chapter mention

  705. it's come time

  706. for him to choose

  707. a team who can lead

  708. this larger band

  709. of disciples.

  710. And I want you to look

  711. with me at verse 13.

  712. It says,

  713. Jesus went up

  714. on a mountainside

  715. and he called to them

  716. those he wanted

  717. and they came to him

  718. and he appointed 12

  719. that they might be with him

  720. and that he might send them

  721. out to preach

  722. and to have authority

  723. to drive out demons.

  724. These are the 12

  725. he appointed,

  726. Simon to whom

  727. he gave the name Peter,

  728. James son of Zebedee

  729. and his brother John

  730. to whom he gave

  731. the name Boanerges

  732. which means

  733. the sons of thunder.

  734. All the rest

  735. of the disciples,

  736. you all need

  737. to keep your day jobs.

  738. But these 12

  739. are going to travel

  740. with me now full time.

  741. And the first three

  742. of those 12

  743. are Jesus' inner circle

  744. to whom he gives nicknames.

  745. Simon he names Petros

  746. or Peter

  747. which means Rocky

  748. or Rockman

  749. or just The Rock.

  750. James and John

  751. he gives them the name

  752. sons of thunder

  753. or thunder boys.

  754. Mary Magdalene

  755. he had female disciples.

  756. Mary Magdalene

  757. Magdala is probably

  758. where she's from

  759. but Magdalene means tower.

  760. I like to think of Mary

  761. as this towering woman

  762. of faith.

  763. She's the lead female disciple.

  764. There are other

  765. female disciples

  766. Salome,

  767. Joanna,

  768. Susanna,

  769. Mary,

  770. we learn in Luke 8

  771. they were Jesus'

  772. financial supporters

  773. and all four gospels

  774. tell us that

  775. these women

  776. were the eyewitnesses

  777. to Jesus' crucifixion

  778. and resurrection

  779. because all the guys

  780. abandoned Jesus

  781. in the end

  782. so thanks ladies

  783. for saving the movement.

  784. Two weeks from now

  785. in Mark chapter 6

    Mark 6 chapter mention

  786. we're going to see

  787. how Jesus trained

  788. and then he sent out

  789. these 12

  790. on mission

  791. to go and do

  792. what he did

  793. to serve people

  794. in word and deed

  795. to teach them,

  796. to touch them,

  797. to bring the truth

  798. of God

  799. and the power of God

  800. to people's lives

  801. and then Jesus

  802. later on

  803. after he sent the 12

  804. he'll send this whole

  805. house full of 72

  806. followers

  807. to do the same

  808. to go out

  809. and operate

  810. in his power

  811. and his authority

  812. to do the things

  813. that he did

  814. and Jesus invested

  815. three years

  816. of his life

  817. trying to help

  818. this circle of people

  819. learn what it means

  820. to have this up

  821. in and out life

  822. and I want you

  823. to notice

  824. that he's not

  825. gathering his disciples

  826. just to hang out

  827. as a social club

  828. because they have

  829. nothing better to do

  830. right?

  831. In verse 20 and 21

  832. they're back at the house

  833. of Peter and Andrew

  834. and Jesus' biological family

  835. comes to seize him

  836. because they say

  837. he's out of his mind

  838. he's gone off the deep end

  839. he's lost his grip

  840. with reality

  841. and if you choose

  842. to follow Jesus

  843. as your Lord

  844. your family

  845. and your friends

  846. might say the same thing

  847. about you

  848. you flipped

  849. you're insane

  850. well in verse 32

  851. a crowd was sitting

  852. around him

  853. and they told him

  854. your mother and brothers

  855. are outside

  856. looking for you

  857. and Jesus asks

  858. this provocative question

  859. he says

  860. well who are my mother

  861. and my brothers

  862. and then he looked

  863. at those who were seated

  864. around him

  865. in a circle

  866. and he said

  867. here are my mother

  868. and my brothers

  869. whoever does God's will

  870. is my brother

  871. and sister

  872. and mother

  873. Jesus is radically

  874. redefining family

  875. in this moment

  876. and he says to them

  877. my true extended

  878. spiritual family

  879. are the people

  880. that I've chosen

  881. to be right here

  882. inside with me

  883. people that I've circled

  884. around me

  885. and have come

  886. to center their lives

  887. on me

  888. people who've come

  889. to me

  890. to learn

  891. God's word

  892. and God's will

  893. from me

  894. and they're not

  895. just here

  896. to learn

  897. God's word

  898. and God's will

  899. but they're here

  900. to do it

  901. they want to put it

  902. into practice

  903. they want to obey it

  904. they want to put it

  905. into action

  906. and Jesus is saying

  907. if that's you

  908. then you're my

  909. little sister

  910. if that's you

  911. then you're my

  912. little brother

  913. and I'm your big brother

  914. and we're here

  915. in the family

  916. of God together

  917. and here's what I want

  918. for my disciples

  919. all of my disciples

  920. I want you to love

  921. one another

  922. just as I love you

  923. this is what he says

  924. throughout the gospel

  925. he says

  926. the way that I'm

  927. giving you my time

  928. the way that I'm

  929. serving you

  930. encouraging you

  931. teaching you

  932. praying for you

  933. forgiving you

  934. washing your feet

  935. and the way that I'll

  936. lay down my life

  937. for you

  938. that's exactly

  939. what I want

  940. for you to do

  941. with this family

  942. circled around me

  943. and at the resurrection

  944. Jesus will take that up

  945. just even another notch

  946. because he'll say

  947. I not only want you

  948. to love my family

  949. of disciples

  950. I want you to go out

  951. and make more disciples

  952. and bring them

  953. into this family

  954. in Matthew 28

  955. he says

  956. I want all of you

  957. not just the leaders

  958. not just Peter

  959. James and John

  960. not just the 12

  961. I want all of you

  962. to go out

  963. and make your own disciples

  964. after the model

  965. that I've given to you

  966. and friends

  967. I think this is how

  968. the obscure

  969. marginal

  970. Jesus movement

  971. turned the Roman Empire

  972. upside down

  973. within the course

  974. of about

  975. three centuries

  976. they somehow

  977. became the dominant force

  978. in the Roman Empire

  979. because

  980. over the course

  981. of 300 years

  982. disciples

  983. followed Jesus' example

  984. by training

  985. smaller groups

  986. of people

  987. and here's

  988. some of the elements

  989. of what that involved

  990. they would enter

  991. into personal relationships

  992. and they would take

  993. spiritual responsibility

  994. for others

  995. they would invest

  996. time and energy

  997. into them

  998. through life-on-life

  999. mentoring

  1000. they would invite

  1001. and challenge people

  1002. to come and be

  1003. with Jesus

  1004. as we see in verse 13

  1005. to come and center

  1006. their lives around him

  1007. to learn from him

  1008. and listen to him

  1009. as we see in verse 34

  1010. they would invite them

  1011. to say

  1012. let's practice

  1013. the word and will

  1014. of the Father

  1015. together in our lives

  1016. verse 35

  1017. and they were

  1018. basically teaching

  1019. people to obey

  1020. everything that Jesus

  1021. commanded

  1022. and helping them

  1023. to practice

  1024. this up

  1025. in and out

  1026. Jesus-shaped

  1027. life

  1028. and in so doing

  1029. they were fostering

  1030. and facilitating

  1031. the replication

  1032. of Jesus' DNA

  1033. in other people

  1034. who were then

  1035. empowered to tap

  1036. into the spiritual

  1037. authority of Jesus

  1038. so that they could

  1039. thereby go out

  1040. from their gatherings

  1041. together

  1042. and they could do

  1043. what Jesus did

  1044. and say what

  1045. Jesus said

  1046. in the power

  1047. of the Holy Spirit

  1048. discipleship was

  1049. about developing

  1050. a life worth

  1051. imitating

  1052. and then turning

  1053. around and saying

  1054. to other people

  1055. come follow me

  1056. as I follow Christ

  1057. come imitate me

  1058. as I imitate

  1059. Christ

  1060. and as they made

  1061. new disciples

  1062. with the DNA

  1063. of Jesus

  1064. they could then

  1065. turn around

  1066. and multiply

  1067. more disciples

  1068. to replicate

  1069. even more

  1070. of the DNA

  1071. of Jesus

  1072. in others

  1073. and this is what

  1074. I think explains

  1075. the spiritual potency

  1076. and the exponential

  1077. growth of the early church

  1078. that converted

  1079. half the Roman Empire

  1080. in a matter of 300 years

  1081. now I know

  1082. what I'm saying

  1083. sounds crazy

  1084. right

  1085. because everything

  1086. I'm saying right now

  1087. cuts against the grain

  1088. of our western

  1089. do-it-yourself

  1090. individualism

  1091. right

  1092. or I'll just

  1093. kind of google

  1094. this discipleship thing

  1095. and figure it out

  1096. and it also

  1097. flies in the face

  1098. of our Bay Area

  1099. culture of professionalism

  1100. and expertise

  1101. which says

  1102. unless I have a PhD

  1103. in disciple making

  1104. I can't do

  1105. what Jesus did

  1106. but here's my question

  1107. to some of you

  1108. is

  1109. is there a more

  1110. experienced

  1111. or mature person

  1112. in your life

  1113. who knows

  1114. how to build

  1115. this Jesus shaped life

  1116. that God has designed

  1117. for us

  1118. who could show you

  1119. how to do it

  1120. and might you

  1121. somehow get connected

  1122. up with them

  1123. and if you happen

  1124. to be that more

  1125. experienced

  1126. and more mature person

  1127. my question for you

  1128. is

  1129. who are you taking

  1130. spiritual responsibility

  1131. for here at Christ Church

  1132. who are you

  1133. personally investing in

  1134. how are you replicating

  1135. the DNA of Jesus

  1136. into the lives of others

  1137. to make disciples

  1138. Jesus calls us

  1139. when he calls us

  1140. to follow him as Lord

  1141. to share in his up

  1142. with the Father

  1143. but also to share

  1144. in his in

  1145. with disciples

  1146. and finally

  1147. he calls us

  1148. to share

  1149. in his out

  1150. with the crowds

  1151. I'll do this quickly

  1152. Jesus came

  1153. to do the will

  1154. of the Father

  1155. and the will

  1156. of the Father

  1157. is that

  1158. the kingdom of God

  1159. would come on the earth

  1160. as it is in heaven

  1161. that the kingdom of God

  1162. would break through

  1163. in the lives

  1164. of every person

  1165. that is made

  1166. in God's image

  1167. which is everybody

  1168. and Jesus

  1169. has this fascinating

  1170. conversation

  1171. in verse 23

  1172. it says

  1173. so Jesus

  1174. called them

  1175. over to him

  1176. and began

  1177. to speak

  1178. to them

  1179. in parables

  1180. how can Satan

  1181. drive out Satan

  1182. remember Jesus

  1183. is healing

  1184. broken people

  1185. the very first act

  1186. of his ministry

  1187. in the gospel of Mark

  1188. is to cast out

  1189. a demon

  1190. and this doesn't

  1191. set well

  1192. with the leaders

  1193. of the synagogue

  1194. they're deeply

  1195. threatened

  1196. by Jesus' wisdom

  1197. and his authority

  1198. and his power

  1199. and they say

  1200. he's not just mad

  1201. they say

  1202. Jesus is downright

  1203. dangerous

  1204. he's possessed

  1205. by Satan

  1206. he's in the grip

  1207. of demonic forces

  1208. and he's actually

  1209. being used

  1210. as an agent

  1211. of dark powers

  1212. and how does

  1213. Jesus respond

  1214. to this accusation

  1215. well he says

  1216. well you know

  1217. to attribute

  1218. to demons

  1219. the very power

  1220. I use

  1221. to cast out demons

  1222. is a contradiction

  1223. in terms

  1224. he says

  1225. that's like a king

  1226. waging war

  1227. against himself

  1228. it's civil war

  1229. it's suicide

  1230. it's crazy

  1231. and what Jesus

  1232. says next

  1233. is going to be

  1234. the most uncomfortable

  1235. thing you've heard

  1236. yet today

  1237. but it's also

  1238. the most exciting thing

  1239. and here's what he says

  1240. in verse 27

  1241. no one can

  1242. enter a strong man's

  1243. house without

  1244. first tying him up

  1245. then he can plunder

  1246. the strong man's

  1247. house

  1248. Jesus

  1249. likens the world

  1250. to this kingdom

  1251. that's dominated

  1252. by a strong man

  1253. this dark war lord

  1254. this evil prince

  1255. with his unholy spirits

  1256. and this evil prince

  1257. has a castle

  1258. Jesus says

  1259. and in that castle

  1260. he has a prison

  1261. with a dungeon

  1262. where he puts people

  1263. like us

  1264. in bondage

  1265. so that we're oppressed

  1266. and so that we're

  1267. dominated by the will

  1268. of another

  1269. who's seeking

  1270. to steal from us

  1271. and to kill us

  1272. and destroy us

  1273. Jesus believes that

  1274. Jesus says

  1275. Satan is real

  1276. and he says

  1277. Satan is in fact

  1278. very strong

  1279. how else can you

  1280. explain our world

  1281. that's in bondage

  1282. to sin

  1283. and evil forces

  1284. and disease

  1285. and injustice

  1286. and poverty

  1287. and hunger

  1288. and brokenness

  1289. and alienation

  1290. and fear

  1291. and anger

  1292. and violence

  1293. and death

  1294. how do you explain it?

  1295. this is how Jesus

  1296. explains it

  1297. he says

  1298. Satan is real

  1299. and he is strong

  1300. but then

  1301. he has the audacity

  1302. to say

  1303. but I am stronger

  1304. Jesus says

  1305. make no mistake

  1306. there are two rival kingdoms

  1307. in conflict

  1308. and Satan's kingdom

  1309. is in fact

  1310. under attack

  1311. but it's not from the inside

  1312. no Satan has

  1313. an external enemy

  1314. and Satan's downfall

  1315. is going to be

  1316. his conquest

  1317. by this stronger power

  1318. who has in fact

  1319. already entered

  1320. his dark realm

  1321. and who is

  1322. in this very moment

  1323. storming the castle

  1324. and confronting

  1325. his forces

  1326. and declaring

  1327. war

  1328. and mounting

  1329. a full scale

  1330. spiritual assault

  1331. on his kingdom

  1332. that's what Jesus

  1333. out

  1334. is all about

  1335. he says

  1336. I've come

  1337. to begin

  1338. my campaign

  1339. of binding up

  1340. the strong man

  1341. and you can see

  1342. that in verse 11

  1343. it says

  1344. whenever the evil

  1345. spirits saw

  1346. Jesus

  1347. they fell down

  1348. before him

  1349. and they cried out

  1350. you are the son

  1351. of God

  1352. they instinctively

  1353. pay homage

  1354. to Jesus

  1355. as this superior

  1356. authority

  1357. they know

  1358. that they're in

  1359. the presence

  1360. of a power

  1361. that's greater

  1362. than they are

  1363. and Jesus

  1364. continually

  1365. is putting

  1366. the strong man

  1367. in bondage

  1368. he's subduing him

  1369. so that he can

  1370. come in

  1371. and plunder

  1372. his kingdom

  1373. and his castle

  1374. and his goods

  1375. so that he can

  1376. steal back people

  1377. from his prison

  1378. and he can release

  1379. people from his power

  1380. and he can set

  1381. captives free

  1382. Jesus is saying

  1383. in this moment

  1384. I am a person

  1385. of irresistible

  1386. strength

  1387. and power

  1388. and I've come

  1389. to confront

  1390. and to dethrone

  1391. Satan

  1392. I've come

  1393. to conquer him

  1394. I've come

  1395. to be victorious

  1396. but it's not

  1397. until the end

  1398. of the gospel

  1399. where Jesus

  1400. fully binds

  1401. the strong man

  1402. not by raw power

  1403. and domination

  1404. but how does he

  1405. bind the strong man

  1406. through his

  1407. humiliation

  1408. through his weakness

  1409. through his

  1410. sacrificial self

  1411. giving on the cross

  1412. the key verse

  1413. in the gospel

  1414. of Mark

  1415. Jesus says

  1416. the son of man

  1417. has not come

  1418. to be served

  1419. but to serve

  1420. and to give his life

  1421. as a ransom

  1422. for many

  1423. and it was on

  1424. that cross

  1425. where Jesus

  1426. gives his life

  1427. to ransom

  1428. the many

  1429. from their bondage

  1430. to Satan

  1431. and from that

  1432. moment on

  1433. from Good Friday

  1434. on

  1435. Satan

  1436. is real

  1437. and he's strong

  1438. but he's bound

  1439. and his possessions

  1440. as a result

  1441. of what Jesus

  1442. did on the cross

  1443. his possessions

  1444. are left vulnerable

  1445. to this stronger one

  1446. who's come

  1447. to confront him

  1448. and to plunder him

  1449. now we're going

  1450. to say more

  1451. about this

  1452. in two weeks

  1453. so you've got

  1454. to come back

  1455. but the amazing

  1456. thing is that

  1457. Jesus wants

  1458. you and me

  1459. to share

  1460. in his out

  1461. with the crowds

  1462. he wants

  1463. you and me

  1464. to take part

  1465. in his overthrow

  1466. and the complete

  1467. collapse

  1468. of the kingdom

  1469. of Satan

  1470. the plundering

  1471. of his house

  1472. and his kingdom

  1473. so that the kingdom

  1474. of God

  1475. can erupt

  1476. and the rule

  1477. and reign

  1478. of our father

  1479. can break through

  1480. into the lives

  1481. of people around us

  1482. and that's very

  1483. very good news

  1484. because the father's

  1485. rule is a gracious

  1486. rule

  1487. and his reign

  1488. is a liberating

  1489. reign

  1490. and Jesus'

  1491. basic call to us

  1492. is come follow me

  1493. and I'm going

  1494. to send you out

  1495. to fish

  1496. for people

  1497. I'm going to send

  1498. you out

  1499. to be part

  1500. of my plundering

  1501. of the strong

  1502. man's house

  1503. if that's something

  1504. you want

  1505. we're going to be

  1506. learning about that

  1507. and if it's not

  1508. well don't come back

  1509. for a little bit

  1510. okay

  1511. come back at Easter

  1512. Jesus calls us

  1513. to share in his up

  1514. and his in

  1515. and his out

  1516. and may he give us

  1517. the power

  1518. and authority

  1519. to do that

  1520. in the name of the

  1521. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

  1522. Amen

  1523. Amen

  1524. Amen

  1525. Amen

  1526. Amen

  1527. Amen

  1528. Amen

  1529. Amen