Use Me: Mary Magdalene

So we are continuing our series called use me beauty in the broken.

And I think we can all agree that our world is really really broken right?

You know, we live in a world with evil. Where rivers, flood, where people experience horrors, and we often shake our head at least I do and I'm guessing you do too, wondering like,

Why Jesus? Why?

And yet we trust as believers we trust that in the midst of the broken god does show up,

Romans 828 and you'll see this on the screen. These are the words of Paul and he says, and we know that in all things.

In in what and just somethings no

All things that god works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose. So, I I want because of everything that's been in the news.

Lately and so much of it is just so heartbreaking. I want to say this, that God does not cause bad things to happen.

We have a loving good god. He does not cause bad things to happen. And please don't believe anybody who says he does.

And I say that knowing that the sin and brokenness of our world can feel overwhelming at times. I know it feels overwhelming for me too. But God will not let evil have the final word.

So we believe as Christians that God can take the worst things and redeem them,

That he can make some kind of good come out of them and sometimes it's hard to imagine how.

Really how can god make anything good come out of the horrible flooding in Texas and New Mexico,

Or the starvation in South Sudan or Gaza or the countless other terrible things that are going on around the globe,

And I'll be honest I don't have the answers.

I don't have all the answers at all. So, don't ask me or you can ask me but I'm going to say, I don't really know.

But I do trust in the deepest part of my soul.

The god does not let anything go to waste. He will not let anything go to waste. He will take what was meant for evil and use it for good.

And somehow someway god's purposes will prevail.

And I think sometimes god's purposes prevail through his people,

He works through us which is kind of crazy, right? He works through us. To bring about good.

He uses us. Us. Like you and me. To achieve his will.

And in this series we are looking at real people in the New Testament. And we're even going to look at some real people. Hear it new hope.

Who god has used to achieve his purposes and often times they're unlikely characters. Last week, pastor Roberto preached about Simon Peter. He was an unlikely character.

Right? He was a humble fisherman. He had all kinds of issues and yet, Jesus chose him and Jesus used him.

So some people were painfully flawed. Others felt very much inadequate. Yet God chose them and they were willing. And so this is the truth.

God wants to work in and through flawed and broken people to create something beautiful something enduring for his kingdom,

God wants to use every single one of us

Every single one of you and all who are worshiping online. All of you is well. He wants to use all of us to help build his kingdom and point other people to Jesus.

Everyone of us has a purpose in god's kingdom. So, the question is, are we willing? Are you willing?

Let's pray.

Oh Lord. There's so much about this world that we don't understand.

And I'd be lying if I try to say I did. But I know that I trust in you.

I trust that you are a good god and you are a loving god and that you will take,

What is wrong you will take what is evil you will take what is horrible and you will use it somehow some way for your purpose,

And I pray lord that you will use us. Your flaw broken people, your church, to achieve your purposes in this world.

To point other people to Jesus to change lives. I just pray lord that we will be willing.

That we will just surrender to whatever it is that you have called us to do. And so god as I give this message, I admit that I am amazingly flawed.

And I'm a sinful person and I don't have the answers but I know you do.

And I pray that it's your words that come out of me lord. I pray that it's your spirit that speaks to each person here.

So that each person walks away with what you want them to know. It's not about me, it's not about any of us, it's all about you, Jesus. It's all about you.

And we pray this in your powerful name.

Hey, man. Hey, man. So, today, we are talking about a real person from the New Testament.

And her name is Mary of Magdala.

So we know her as Mary Magdalene but Magdalyn is not her last name okay it's just the place that she's from she's from this little village in Galilee,

Called Magdala and some of you if you've been to Israel you've been to McDonald and you've seen the church built on the site of her birth and it's a really beautiful place,

So I want to start by showing you an image. So we'll see this is so this is Mary Magdalene in the chosen. And I know this is Hollywood but I do think it gives us,

A picture of her I think it's a pretty accurate,

This could be what Mary Magdalene look like. So I want us to kind of keep that image in our head.

Mary Magdalen was a follower of Jesus but she was more than just a follower of Jesus she was a disciple,

And she wasn't one of the 12 but she was certainly a disciple in her own right.

Now she was a disparaged a bit by some of the early church fathers.

There was a pope I think in the fifth century who who wrote that she was a prostitute that she must have been a prostitute well there's nothing in scripture that says she was a prostitute,

But he felt a little threatened by this woman who was so close to Jesus.

She is consistently consistently listed alongside the disciples as a close friend of Jesus Christ.

She is named 14 times in scripture. 14, she's listed eight of those time she's listed with other women but her name is always listed first.

And then five times she is named by herself and it's usually in reference to the death or resurrection of Jesus,

So now I want to still look at scripture. And I wanted to try to get a picture of who this woman was.

Who is Mary Magdalene? And what do we have to learn from her? So, we're going to start by going to the book of Luke chapter eight and yes, it will be on the screen but there is something powerful,

About going to the word of god and I don't think these are my glasses,

I think I took Richard's glasses. I cannot see out of them. That's okay. I can look on the screen. I have it right here.

Luke chapter eight.

Verses one through three and you'll find this on page 10 21 to 10 22 in your puke bible in this one right here.

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another. Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of god.

The 12 were with him,

And also some women who have been cured of evil spirits and diseases Mary called Magdalyn from whom seven demons had come out

Joanna the wife of Chusa the manager of Harrah's household Suzanna and many others these women were helping to support them

Out of their own means.

So, what do we learn from this passage? Couple important things and and if you would like, you do have sermon notes with some fill in the blanks and some short answer questions for those who like to

To follow along in that way. The first thing we learn about Mary Magdalene is that Jesus had cured her of her demon possession.

She had seven demons and they were cast out by Jesus. He healed her. So that was pretty important.

The second thing we learn from that passage is is that she traveled with Jesus and his disciples and she helped finance them. She and the other women helped finance them. I think that's pretty significant.

And then the third thing we learn from that scripture is that she was a leader among the women. So, when you see in scripture, a list of people's names and and a name is first. That's usually the leader,

So Mary Magdalene's name is consistently first when they list her among the women. So in three of the gospels.

Matthew, Mark, and John. Mary Magdalene's name is listed specifically as being present at the crucifixion.

And staying until after Jesus dies. Now, in Luke,

They Luke mentions that the women were there and we can assume she was one of those women but in the other synaptic gospels she's actually listed by name.

So let's look at Matthew 27 verses 55 through 56. Now I'll give you a chance to find it in your Bible.

Matthew 27:55–56

Matthew 27 some page 987 in your pew bible,

So Matthew 27 verses 55 through 56.

Matthew 27:55–56

And this is what Matthew writes. Many women were there. So, there being at the cross, at the crucifixion.

Watching from a distance.

They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs among them were Mary Magdalene Mary the mother of James and Joseph,

And the mother of Zabadi's son. So you can see she's listed specifically. And then she was the first to see and talk to Jesus after the resurrection. So if we go to the very next,

Chapter in Matthew chapter 28 same same page 987 the first seven verses we're going to look at.

Matthew 28 · chapter mention

Since after the Sabbath so this is after the crucifixion,

The women have gone they're going to the team to prepare Jesus's body for burial after the Sabbath at the dawn on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb,

And there was a violent earthquake for an angel the lord came down from heaven and going to the gym rolled back the stone and sat on it and his appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow.

The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like deadman. And the angel said to the women do not be afraid. For I know that you are looking for Jesus who's crucified. He is not here. He is risen.

Just as he said come and see the place where he lay then go quickly and tell his disciples,

He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you to Galilee and there you will see him now i have told you I love that how the angel says to these women and I have told you this that's pretty significant,

So, in the book of John and John's gospel, Jesus appears specifically to Mary Magdalene.

And he call and and he calls her by name. So, she is the one who goes to the disciples and she is the first person to witness to the resurrected lord.

So, this woman, she was the last of the cross. She stayed when others didn't and it was hard. It was Gory.

It was horrific. So, she was the last of the cross and then she was the first at the resurrection.

She showed up even when it was hard. So, what about those demons? I do think it's worth spending a little bit of time on this.

So in Luke we read that she had seven demons that Jesus cast out of her so that could have been literal demon possession certainly

Or it could have been other maybe physical or mental illnesses that she was dealing with or could have been in combination of all of those things.

Regardless this was a woman who has who was broken and hurting and for how long we don't know but what we do know is that she was healed by Jesus totally and completely he gave her freedom,

And then she spent the rest of her life following him. It's just I love this. She was she became such a dedicated disciple and over and over again she shows her faithfulness by just showing up and making herself available,

At the cross at the resurrection she did not falter.

So I wanted to talk a little bit about what can we learn from the life of Mary Madeline she was this amazing disciple,

Who had been possessed by demons received healing from Jesus and then.

Followed him with such further and passion and dedication. So, what can we learn from her first? Your past does not dictate your future.

Your past does not dictate your future. The enemy goes to great links to imprison god's children. I don't know if you knew that.

It's not at all unusual. It wasn't unusual then. It's not unusual today. For us to be held captive by both literal and figurative demons in our lives.

And think about the time and the place that this took that this story took place it was,

First century Palestine women held very little social status and no power.

And here we have Mary Magdalene her life would have been a hopeless existence.

Dealing with multiple demons unnoticed and rejected by society. You know, there's something about having someone being possessed by demons, the other people just don't want to be around you.

But Jesus noticed her.

Jesus noticed Mary and cured her of her evil spirits and her sicknesses and then he lovingly invites her into his family.

He welcomes her into his family.

And so no matter what our past has held no matter what demons or burdens or trauma that we have experienced god can free us of that.

Mary's life for feels it there is no human frailty,

That is too great for Jesus to transform. So, I don't know what you've experienced in your life. But please know that Jesus can.

Free you from that. But this is a truth. True healing only. Comes from Jesus.

True healing only comes from Jesus so many of you know that before I was calling a ministry I was a clinical social worker

And I work for a variety of different secular organizations and I my my specialty area was women and children who experienced violence.

So the trauma was significant. And I can remember kind of the helplessness of not being able to share the gospel of Jesus with them.

And so when you can't really offer Jesus to someone for healing all you're doing is putting little band aids on problems. You're teaching coping mechanisms.

You're giving them some tools for their toolbox and that's not bad.

But it's not enduring. And it's not true healing. True healing only comes from the person of Jesus Christ and we see that in the life of Mary Magdalene.

The coolest thing I think here is like how god can take our broken mess and use it he doesn't let anything go to waste.

He will take our depression or anxiety our trauma are bitterness our anger our broken dreams our demons he can take that he can heal it and then he will use it for his glory

And we don't know how he's going to use it for his glory. Sometimes we never really find out.

But he does. We trust that he does and no matter your past, god wants to invite you into his family which is the church.

Jesus is family is the church is it's the family of faith. And he wants to use you for his work in this world. So your past does not dictate your future. Amen? Amen.

The second thing I think we learn from Mary Magdalene is that Jesus loves all of us just as we are.

Jesus loves all of us just as we are every single one of us. Mary Magdalene is living proof of that but this is the caveat. This is so important.

He loves each of us too much to leave us the way we are. Yes, he loves us and he meets us in that place. But he doesn't want us to stay in this current broken state.

Jesus notices us in our darkest days he sees this is the miracle he he's beyond our math he sees our potential but he also sees our deepest needs,

And he wants to help us. He wants to heal us of our brokenness. He wants us to see Kim.

The transformative love that Mary Magdalene experience changed her from the inside out.

And the transformative love that Jesus shows to each of us can change us from the inside out. Whether you know it or not, that's the holy spirit.

When we say yes to the holy spirit and the power of the the the spirit of the living god comes and makes indues us.

That begins to transform us from the inside out. Now, we have to partner with the spirit. It's not like we'd say yes to Jesus and just whoosh.

Everything is perfect. Wouldn't that be nice? That's not the way the world works. We partner with the holy spirit to begin to experience that transformation.

I want you to think about Mary Magdalene. After her healing, she couldn't do enough for Jesus.

He had loved her with the purest and most powerful kind of love she had ever known or experienced. And I want you to know that Jesus loves you with that same pure powerful love.

But he's still doesn't want you to stay as you are he doesn't he wants you to go deeper in your faith he wants to challenge you so that you are a better reflection of him each of us.

Okay the last thing I think that we can learn from Mary Magdalene. And and this seems so simple. And yet it's not simple.

Just show up. Just show up. You know, sometimes we just have to show up.

And make ourselves available. You know, Mary just kept showing up. She traveled with Jesus and the other disciples. She never left his side at the cross. Can you imagine how hard that was?

Watching him up there dying bleeding, suffering, she did not leave.

And then she was the first at the tomb and the first person who the resurrected lord appeared to.

She just kept showing up. She just kept making herself available and she was used by Jesus in a powerful way. She was the first witness to the resurrection.

Now we don't have any indication that Mary Magdalene had like special skills or giftedness. No.

What we know is that she showed up. Even when times were tough.

And she allowed god to use her. Sometimes, we just have to keep showing up.

So, here's a question. Is your life tough right now?

Keep showing up. And allow God to use you. Are you discouraged about the state of the world?

I am,

So what is god calling us to do? Keep showing up. And allow him to use us for his work in this world. Not sure what the next season of your life holds.

Just keep showing up allowing God to use you not sure what you think of God right now maybe you're mad at God maybe you're frustrated

Maybe you're shaking your fist. That's okay. Just keep showing up and staying in the conversation. Is your faith journey feeling really dry? Okay, just keep showing up and god won't honor that.

Make yourself available and see what god does in your life because he will show up i promise you,

If you show up he will show up he did for Mary Magdalene and he will for us. Mary Magdalene was broken and Jesus made her whole.

God used her in a powerful way just because she made herself available.

She wasn't anything special. She wasn't different from us really at all.

God wants to use you.

God wants to use every single one of us in this room. God wants to use all of you who are worshiping with us online. I haven't forgotten about you.

The question is are you willing? Are you willing?

So I mentioned earlier in the message that we're looking at real people from the New Testament and how they showed up in God's lives.

And how they made themselves available for god to use them. And we're also going to look at real people from new hope.

And hear how god has worked in their lives and every week you're going to hear a different story about how god has shown up in your brothers and sisters in Christ right here in New Hope,

And I think it is so important that you hear the gospel proclaimed by other people besides myself and pastor Roberto.

Because sometimes it's going to be something that someone else shares where you're like wow.

I get that. I can relate to that. So, today, I want to invite Wage Schmidt up.

And I don't know how many of you know Wade but he's join new hope maybe a about a year ago,

Congratulate the.

And he has been an awesome servant. God got a hold of him.

And he said yes. And I want you to hear his story.

Because it is amazingly powerful. Can I pray over you? Real quick. Lord, I thank you for my brother wait. And I thank you for his willingness to share. How you have worked in his life? And I pray lord that you just fill him with your peace.

So that you will be the one speaking through him. God I thank you for his life and I thank you for his witness. And the name of Jesus amen.

Most of you all know that I'm pretty new to Faith. Only a few of you know how it came to me.

In June 2 1004 my dad underwent surgery to remove a brain aneurysm he never really recovered. He can no longer make new memories and his long term was also fading.

In 2005 out of conversation within where I realized he was never coming back. Aside from beginning to mourn, a very deep anger began to develop in me.

A number of decisions were made and situations a roast surrounding my dad as well as things my own life that I couldn't reconcile or control everyone of which added that anger,

It wouldn't be revealed to me until I received my third divine gift but this underlying anger had become part of my identity. Never outward but always there,

On December 17 of 2023 my dad finally passed god became the new fuel for that anger,

Not for taking it but for letting him live like he did for so long. I, the rational atheist was not lost on the irony of being mad at something I never believed it.

They became the thing that I thought about when I wasn't thinking about anything. In the coming months, my mom had sent me some. My dad's belongings. Among them was his Bible.

1 day at mid March last year my rage decide to finally come out and i had it out with God.

Violently clutching this Bible I cursed and i cried myself to exhaustion,

When there was nothing left of me i found myself overcome with something I should never truly felt before forgiveness,

For all the things I couldn't reconcile. Every situation, every person, even myself. That was my first gift. My own personal miracle.

A soften tart. I rationalize that experience and I told myself that must have been a really good cry.

About a month later, on April 14, my goddaughter, Hannah, who is on her own journey, asked me to support her during her baptism. As I listen to those testimonies and witness those baptisms, something came over me

It was piercing and it was heavy and it left me only half in control. Tearing up for the newly baptized and not yet understanding why i was thoroughly,

So thoroughly unnerved at something that felt so completely foreign yet inexplicably familiar.

My second gift the invitation of the holy spirit that experience I wasn't expecting that to be quite that moving,

Finally around a week or so later I was at work preparing one of our rock crushers what I remember is the bot has the sweat on my body going ice cold and I felt the voice of God,

There were no actual words but it felt like a very convicting no more.

In that moment the veil of normal was lifted for it and for a time I was permitted to experience the creator's work as he animated the world around me,

Discovery that divinity is all around us all the time.

But more importantly in that moment the holy spirit laid out from my mind's eye the weave of my life and experience the significance of my first two gifts and events stretching far further back all leading to that moment,

My third gift did the epiphany that God is real and he is my creator,

It was the single most beautiful and terrifying moment of my life and i could rationalize no more,

As that sense of childlike wonder settled into my new normal would I began to feel was an irresistible poll to service and the community I had some help with that too,

A tiny crack in a hardened heart is all the holy spirit needs to go to work,

Thanks.