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Mark 7: 31-37 "Will You Hear? Will You Speak?"

Mark 7: 31-37 "Will You Hear? Will You Speak?"

Mark 7:31-37

Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Last week we looked at Jesus healing the blind man and the question of do we really want to see and what will we do about what we see? This week is about hearing and speaking.

The event is a simple one, some people bring a deaf mute man to him and asked for healing. There is little interaction, Jesus touching his ears and tongue, then saying “be opened”. Jesus tries to shut them up but they just talk all the more.

Why does Jesus tell them to be quiet? If we look at what they are talking about we get the answer. They are talking about his miracles and not his message. They are all about the sings and wonders and not the transformation of lives and hearts.

Jesus explains it this way in Matthew 13:14-17

The people just did not get it. They didn’t understand.

So this man’s ears and mouth now function but are they hearing and speaking the message of God?

The Drill Sargent “If you hear me why are you doing what your told?”

Two things that let us know if we are truly hearing Jesus.

If we truly hear Jesus it will show in our actions.

Luke 6:46-49

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

James 1:19-27

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

If we truly hear we will speak.

Matthew 28:16-20

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We have been touched by Jesus, he has taken away our guilt shame and sin. Jesus has given us a new life. Will we see it? Will we hear His words, Will we speak?

Matthew 20:29-34 “What Can I Do for You?”

Matthew 20:29-34 “What Can I Do for You?”
Bartimaeus

Do you believe?
Bartimaeus believed Jesus could help them
we need to call out!

What do you really want
Do we really want to have our eyes open? To see things as they truly are?
What about those other things? Are we ready to live without our excuse?
Lord “I’m Blind, I’m an addict, I’m depressed, I’m frightened, I’m old, I’m alone, I’m Irish.
it is time to see yourself as a child of God!

Can you picture yourself sitting in the dust by the road?
You have spent your life sitting there begging for scraps, stopped from living by this thing that has taken over you even as you cling to it.
Call out to Jesus
God hears you (he has stopped and is looking at you)
Listen to His voice, gentle and deep “What can I do for You?”
Right now tell Him

Feel Jesus’ hand reaching out to you touching you.

You are healed, believe it, live it, follow Him.

“What Must I Do” Matthew 19:16-30

“What Must I Do” Matthew 19:16-30

We have seen how Jesus has ministered to the lame, blind, broken people of the world, here we see what Jesus does with a religious person.

“What Good deed must I do”
            His question tells us a lot about what he believes. This man is not secure that obedience to God is enough. Obeying the commandments must not be enough. He wants an inside line, a fast track to heaven.

Jesus answers the man with the strange question “why do you call me good there is only one who is good.” This is a two pronged question. The first is “Do you know who I really am?” Do you know you are talking to the Messiah? The second prong is the statement “There is only one who is good”. This not only brings up the who is God idea but it also confronts this man’s inaccurate idea of his own holiness.

When Jesus mentions the commandments, this man ask which ones?

When we look at the commandments listed by Jesus notice that Jesus leaves out all have to do with our relationship to God. As Jesus adds “love your neighbor as your self” from Lev 19:18 he leaves out “Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind soul and strength section. Again leaving out the part about God.

You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Jesus leaves out the most difficult commandments and just focus on the ones relating to people.

The man’s answer is amazing, Jesus just said “There is only one who is good” meaning only God is righteous, holy, good. Still this man say he has kept these commands all his life, and he really means this.

“What do I still lack” We would all shout out “A little humility would help!” or shout out Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Now Jesus brings up the missing four commandments. “Sell all you have and give it to the poor and then follow me.” This man has replaced God with His wealth.

Which part turns him away? Sell all you have or the follow me, part?

The disciples are astounded at this conversation, surly Jesus should have offered some reasonable way for this man to take to heaven.

So what is Jesus saying to us?

1.     You are not holy, you are a sinful, realize it, accept it, own it.

2.     You can do nothing to earn heaven, you need God to do it for you.

3.     You must leave it all to follow Jesus. To hold on to Jesus you must let go of everything else.

4.     With God all things are possible.

Crumbs from the Table Matthew 15:21-28

Crumbs from the Table Matthew 15:21-28

This passage has some interesting things in it. Some people get caught up in Jesus calling this woman a dog. They go to great lengths to excuse Jesus’ slur by saying the Greek word meant your pet puppy, just for laughs go out on the street and address the woman going by as your pet puppy and see what happens. Jesus did in fact call this woman a dog. He was expressing what the other people were thinking.

To understand this passage we need to remember Jesus knows the thoughts of the people around Him. He knows what the woman will say and do. He knows before the woman even shows up that He will heal her daughter. So why give her a hard time, call her a racial slur type name? Because he is expressing what the Jews are thinking, because he is going to use her faith to send a message.

This woman does not blink. She will settle for nothing less than help for her daughter. She understand even a crumb of what Jesus is offering the Jews will be enough to heal her.

While this woman will settle for a crumb, Jesus has been offering whole loves of bread to Jews and very few are eating. It is no accident that the feeding of the five thousand comes right after this. It’s like God saying; “I can feed thousands with just seven loaves of bread, I am offering you so much spiritual food and not many are eating.”

The centurion

The strangers come while the children thumb their nose at the meal.

You are now the Children of God!

So many “Christians” are not eating, not even crumbs, thumbing their nose at the meal Jesus has provided.

If a crumb will drive out demon’s and a word can heal the paralyzed, what are we missing out on.

Do you want the food Jesus offers? Are you malnourished and settling for less than crumbs?

Matthew 8:5-13
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him,   6“Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”   7And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”   8But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.   9For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, £ ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”   10When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel  have I found such faith.   11I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven,   12while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”   13And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

1.       Matthew 15:21-28

2.       Luke 18:1-8

3.       Luke 15:11-32

4.       Matt 7:7-11

5.       Luke 11:5-13

6.       Matthew 10:1-15

7.       Luke 15:1-10

Matthew 9:1-13 “Forgiven”

Matthew 9:1-13 “Forgiven”

Last week we saw that Jesus touched the untouchable. Today we look at a situation that is one of my favorites. In Luke and Mark we learn that four guys have brought their friend to Jesus, but they can not get their friend into the house. Not to be deterred they cut a hole in the roof and lower their friend into the room.

Can you picture this event? Jesus is sitting and giving a parable when a noise is heard above them. Then little pieces of dirt start falling, Jesus brushing them off His lap. As big chunks of the roof are being removed, Jesus and his guest are being covered with debris. I know what I would be thinking, “who is going to pay for that roof!” now this guy is dangling in front of Jesus. This would be a good time for a lesson on respect for other people’s property.

These four guys brought their friend because they think he has a leg problem, but Jesus knows he has a sin problem.

At this point Jesus could have kicked the sinner out of the house. He could have listed off the man’s sinful deeds, or reminded the man of the Ten Commandments. Jesus could have just ignored the man’s sinfulness and just focused on the fact the man was paralyzed. But Jesus does the one thing no one expects, He pronounces forgiveness.

This does not make sense. We have seen how Jesus preached a high moral standard yet here He is forgiving this man’s sins. Should you not hold them accountable? Make him pay or at least confess. Why would Jesus just forgive this guy? And Jesus does this a lot. Luke 7:36-50 the woman who washed His feet with her hair, John 8:1-11 the woman caught in adultery, John 5:1-17 the lame man by the pool, in every case Jesus pronounced forgiveness.

Jesus makes this understandable when He says He came to save the world not condemn the world. He came to seek and to save that which is lost.

In John Bunyan’s “pilgrims Progress” the hero named Christian, is loaded down with a burden of sin, guilt and rules which weigh him down to the point he can hardly walk, until at the foot of the cross he lays those burdens down.

Jesus forgives because He knows that the burden of past failures keeps people from having success today. Only through forgiving the past can a person find hope for today. Jesus is not as concerned with what you have done as He is with what you are doing and will do.

Now consider what Jesus says in John 20:23 “If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld.”

Jesus has given us the ability and the responsibility to proclaim forgiveness in His name, first to ourselves and then to others.

Do you proclaim God’s forgiveness to yourself? Can you say looking in the mirror, “You are forgiven”. Lay that load of guilt down at the foot of the cross and stand upright for the first time in a long time. You are forgiven.

Repeat after me, “I AM FORGIVEN!”

Backpacking

Do you know someone loaded with sin and guilt? Will you pronounce forgiveness upon them? Will you help them set the burden of guilt shame and sin down at the feet of Jesus. Are you willing to say, “my friend you are forgiven”? what a burden you could lift from someone. You are not approving of their actions, but you are freeing them to act differently.

Repeat after me. “Friend You Are Forgiven.” Turn to the person on next to you and say, “Friend You Are Forgiven.” Make sure no one is left out. Get up and move over to them if you have to.  

Hear those words “YOU ARE FORGIVEN”, let them wash over you like a wave carrying your guilt, shame, past failures, and all your burden away.

This is what Jesus has done for you and what He calls us to do for others.

This is what Jesus would do. This is who He is.

My Friend Your Sins are Forgiven, Rise Up and Walk”

 

Matthew 9:1-8
And getting into a boat he crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

Luke 7:36-50
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

 

John 8:1-11
Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

John 5:1-17
After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. Now that day was the Sabbath. So the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” But he answered them, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up your bed, and walk.’” They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” Now the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, as there was a crowd in the place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, “See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.”

Rom 3:21-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

1 John 1:8 – 2.2 we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Matthew 8:1-4 “Touching the Leper”

 

Matthew 8:1-4
When he came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.

And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.”

And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

 

The sermons for the past few months have centered on what Jesus called His followers to be. We have found He set the bar quite high for our lives. This new sermon series will look at how Jesus dealt with actual people. We will look at how Jesus ministered to Lepers, Nicodemus, a woman at the well, paralytics, the blind, children, and many more. We will see how Jesus related to the religious leaders and governmental leaders of His day. These interactions between Jesus and people reveal some surprising things

 

Jesus is coming down from the mountain with crowds surrounding Him, when a man with leprosy. The leper runs up to Jesus and kneels before Him requesting to be healed. Lepers are supposed to keep their distance from other people. You can even close your eyes and picture the crowd backing away as the leper runs up to Jesus.

 

What would Jesus do?

2 Kings 5:1-14
And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean.”

But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, “Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.
What would Jesus do?

 

Most devout Jews would be backing away from this unclean and even contagious man. But Jesus does the strangest thing, He touches the man.

 

HE TOUCHES THE MAN

 

Jesus didn’t need to touch this diseased leper to heal him. Jesus could have done it from long distance if He wanted to. But Jesus touched him, a person who many would back away from, and even more would look away as they passed him. But Jesus reaches out and touches him.

Jesus is taking a big risk in touching this man. What will His followers think, what will they do? Will the crowds turn away from Him because of this radical thing He does?

 

So many people in our world long to be touched, a hand on their shoulder, a hug, even hold hands with another person. They feel alone, outcast, forgotten, isolated, even unclean. Today with all the concern over abuse and lawsuits people are afraid to touch anyone. As a result, people feel more and more isolated and alone.

 

Remember the kid in school who sat all alone eating their lunch. That kid longed to have someone come and sit with them. He needed someone to tell him he was not unwanted. Could you imagine what it would mean if he received a touch by someone other than the bully who is trying to knock their lunch out of his hand.

 

Touch is so powerful studies show that if your doctor places their hand on you in a caring way you have a 50% better chance of being healed even if they do nothing else.

 

 

Mark6:56
And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

 

Mark 8:22 – 25
And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.   And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”   And he looked up and said, “I see men, but they look like trees, walking.”   Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

 

Mark 10:13
And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them,

 

Luke 6:17-19
And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon,   who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured.   And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.

 

And this healing power is passed on to the church

James 5:13-18
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

 

Perhaps you can identify with the kid in the lunch room, or the leper kneeling in front of Jesus. Jesus is not put off by you. Your sickness, disability, social status, addiction, sin, nor anything else causes Jesus to back away from you when you come and kneel before Him.

 

What is your sickness? What thing makes you a leper?  What makes people back away or would if they knew about it? If it could happen, what would you have Jesus heal?

A broken heart? Broken relationship? Your mind, your body, your family, your past? Your addiction, your compulsion to sin? Lock it in your mind, got it? See it?

Jesus is here today with us, Jesus is not only willing to heal and forgive you, Jesus will touch you. Feel His hand on your forehead, his fingers brush your hair as He moves His hand to the side of your face. Go ahead reach up and take His hand. Feel Jesus surround your hand with his.

Jesus has touched you and today you are healed.