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Who is the Disciple?
17 Plays22 days ago
Series: Discernment of Jesus' Person
Mark 3:7-35
Recommended
Transcript
Rhett Walker Concert Experience
00:00:01
Speaker
How great was that Rhett Walker concert last night? I mean, here's the best part of that.
00:00:10
Speaker
Talented, talented musicians, no doubt, right? Guitar, drums, people out here, all denominations, all authentically worshiping God. It was phenomenal. well I had the distinct privilege of being backstage with them, which many of you did not get that opportunity I sat there as they were right here in our choir room back here and they were in a small circle and they were just spontaneously started playing a little tune on the guitar and it and they each just started contributing some praise to God. And I just sat there and awe these these artists just playing and I thought to myself, I am one of the cool kids now.
00:01:01
Speaker
back here with these people. I was an insider. I felt like an insider. Friends, we all want to feel that way. You have all thought of yourselves at one point as, I want to be a cool kid.
Faith and VIP Status: A Parallel
00:01:15
Speaker
I want to be on the inside. Our whole society is tightly woven with this concept of being an insider. You know how I know that?
00:01:26
Speaker
Well, when we sold tickets last night to that concert, we sold General Mission and what? VIP. Very insider people. Right?
00:01:45
Speaker
The great thing about that ticket, and I don't have to tell you this, is it got you access to a VIP area. that only other VIP people were allowed to be in. But the beauty of that ticket is you had to show it to somebody to get access. You simply couldn't walk up to somebody and tell them, hey, by the way, I'm ah um a VIP, to which they would say, that's great, can I see your ticket? Can I see some proof that you belong?
00:02:21
Speaker
Friends, this is the exact same truth that we see today in the Scriptures, that when you come to follow Jesus, you simply cannot tell people I'm a follower of Jesus. There must be some proof.
Insiders and Outsiders in Mark 3
00:02:44
Speaker
The sad truth is, my friends, there are millions of professing Christians all around the world who think they are indeed an insider, but they're not.
00:02:56
Speaker
It's a wrong assumption because they lack the very proof of what it means to follow Jesus, to be a true disciple, to be a true insider. And I don't want us to fall under that same wrong assumption here this morning, so we're going to be very clear.
00:03:17
Speaker
When we look at the text today, we're gonna ask ourselves, what does it mean to be an insider? What does it mean to be a true disciple? And if we know that answer, how does that change us? How do we live out this truth today? This is where we're at this morning, Mark chapter three. We're gonna look at two groups of people, the outsiders and the insiders.
00:03:43
Speaker
And you might just be surprised this morning at who fits in each one of these groups. We're going to ask ourselves, if we really want to be an insider, what one specific way? I know you're used to three points. There's only one today. What one way can I demonstrate that I'm a true insider, a true disciple for Jesus Christ?
00:04:10
Speaker
We're gonna continue here, Mark chapter three. Hey, if you've been following us for the last several weeks, you'll know our journey up to this point, right? Jesus' popularity is growing. And with that popularity, the opposition is growing as well. That's where we ended last week. You'll remember Jesus was going on this rampage of healing people and casting out demons. And the numbers just kept growing. More and more people wanted something from Jesus And he does something that's counter-cultural. You'll remember last week, he ate with sinners and he invited sinners to become disciples. Both were taboo
Misunderstanding Jesus's Mission
00:04:52
Speaker
for that time. To add insult to injury, he calls himself the son of a man, to which the religious elite knew exactly what that meant. And you could feel the tension just building.
00:05:09
Speaker
Not only did he call himself the son of man, he did it on the Sabbath, right? Just just sprinkle that salt right in that wound. How dare he? And verse six here in chapter three tells us where we left off last week. It says, the Pharisees went away and they met with the supporters of Herod to plot how they would kill Jesus.
00:05:39
Speaker
So the plot, the plan has been put into place. But I like verse seven because verse seven kinda adds a little bit of a pause and kinda refocuses us a little bit. It says, even though there's all these people who are following Jesus for all the wrong reasons, all the wrong motivations, the the Pharisees are trying to kill him, the disciples and the crowds, they're trying to follow him to see what they can get from Jesus.
00:06:07
Speaker
We're left asking ourselves, does anybody really know what it means to follow Jesus? His very crew, his very inner group should know who he is. But they don't initially.
00:06:27
Speaker
The enemies tried to kill him, but verse seven says, look with me. Jesus went out to the lake with his disciples and a large crowd followed him and they came from all over from Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem, Adamia from the east of the Jordan ribbon, even from as far north as Tyre and Sidon. The news about his miracles had spread far and wide and vast numbers of people came to see him. So much so, verse nine says, he had to take himself and put himself into a boat so they would not
00:07:00
Speaker
I love this word, crush him. The crowds were so large and so pressing on Jesus for what they could get from him, can I just touch him so that I can be healed? So as the crowds were that enormous and that pressing that he had to step back.
00:07:21
Speaker
Does this crowd really know who Jesus is and what he stands for and what it means to follow him?
00:07:30
Speaker
We'll put a pin in that, come back to that. The one group that I think should definitely be on the inside with the VIP ticket would be Jesus' own family, don't you? Look with me here. Jump down to verse 20. Verse 20 starts this way. It says, one time Jesus entered a house and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples, they couldn't even find time to eat.
00:07:59
Speaker
And when his family heard what was happening, they went outside to try and take him away saying, pay attention, he is out of his mind. The very people who should know Jesus and be on the inside, a true disciple of Jesus, you would think would be his what? His family.
00:08:26
Speaker
But the Scripture really says here they are on the outside. So Jesus and His disciples are on the inside, but they're saying the family is on the outside. The very group that should know Him and should be for Him and understand His mission, they're on the outside. They thought they were on the inside, but they're on the outside. It's this picture that the authors purposely painting for us here. It's one that as we listen to and the first century believers would have been listening to this, they would have said, surely his family is on his side. Surely they get him. But it's interesting, they're on the outside and then it says that they think he is what?
Pharisees as Outsiders
00:09:13
Speaker
Out of his mind. Do you see how the author is still painting this picture? Who's on the outside? Should be
00:09:22
Speaker
these other characters that we'll see you here in a few minutes, but definitely not his family.
00:09:30
Speaker
When we look further down, the family's behavior is seen further. Verse 31, look with me here. 31 says, then Jesus' mother and brothers, you can just put a parenthesis around that. They're meaning the entire family. Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside.
00:09:49
Speaker
and they were looking inside to which they sent word saying, tell Jesus to come out here and talk with us. right They sent out and they called. They sent, which is this Greek word, apostelo.
00:10:11
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and they called him, this is Kaleo. These two words together are the exact meaning in which Jesus calls out and sends the disciples. And here his family, who is still on the outside, is calling and sending for him.
00:10:31
Speaker
Who are the outsiders here? Ironically, it's his family. an unlikely pairing, wouldn't you say? An unlikely candidate for somebody who's an outsider. Now, who do we really think is the outsider here? Well, it's the Pharisees because we already know they're plotting to kill him. Look with me here, verse 22. Verse 22 reads this. It says, but the teachers of the religious law who had arrived from Jerusalem said,
00:11:07
Speaker
Jesus is possessed by Satan, the prince of demons. That's where he gets his power to cast out demons. And then 23 through 28, Jesus responds. we'll we'll We'll hold on to that. But look, verse 30 says, he told them this is because they were saying he's possessed by an evil spirit. It's no surprise, y'all, that the Pharisees who were plotting to kill him are outsiders here.
00:11:35
Speaker
But what the first century listener, when they hear this, would have said, these are the religious people who are from Jerusalem, the very hot seat of Jewish belief.
Challenging Nominal Faith
00:11:48
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These are the very people who should have understood who Jesus was. These are the very people who understood Old Testament law and the prophecies of the one who was to come, but they're not getting it either. They are outsiders.
00:12:05
Speaker
And I thought to myself this week, what are some ways that you and I might wrongly think we're insiders but we're really outsiders? Right, because if I took a poll right now, who was an outsider, nobody would raise their hand. But some of you might very well be that today. How do I know this? Well, you may attend church only on Christmas and Easter.
00:12:34
Speaker
Silence, I love it. You may attend church thinking this is something I need to check off to do. It's an obligation. My spouse is coming, so I should probably come too. Instead of coming to church out of a desire to worship the Almighty. Friends, it's very easy for us to think we're on the inside.
00:13:03
Speaker
because it's super easy for us to go tell people, hey, I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. Hey, I'm a Christian. And I really, just between you and me you and me, nobody else that's watching the video right now, I really struggle with this term Christian because it's so distorted these days. I just assume some of the people that call themselves Christians stop calling themselves Christians.
00:13:32
Speaker
You are a Christ follower.
True Discipleship Defined
00:13:34
Speaker
And how do I know that? Well, it's because you don't tell me, it's that you show me. You show me your VIP card. It's not necessarily by the words that come out of your mouth, but by the actions that we'll see here. All right, those are the outsiders. How about the insiders? Who's really considered an insider here in our text today? Look with me here, verse, let's start in verse 32. Verse 32 says this,
00:14:00
Speaker
This is in response to Jesus' mothers and brothers who are standing on the outside, and they're they're basically shouting into Jesus, saying, hey, have them come out. And it says, verse 32, there was a crowd sitting around Jesus. don't mix Don't miss that. And someone said, your mothers and your brothers are outside asking for you. To which Jesus replied, you gotta love this. Who is my mother and my brothers?
00:14:29
Speaker
And then he looked at those who were around him and he said, look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God's will is my, you can just say family right there. They are the insider.
00:14:49
Speaker
Now, you gotta love the picture that the author is painting here, right? This is a group of insiders who are sitting around Jesus, no doubt in a circle, in a close-knit, intimate relationship with him. And in essence, all of a sudden somebody says, hey, Jesus, guess who's outside?
00:15:13
Speaker
The other insiders, your family. But it's not the other insiders. And the author makes you notice that because he says, they're outside. And you would think Jesus would say, oh, yeah, my that's why that's my mom, that's my brothers. have Yeah, come on in. But he answers that profoundly.
00:15:40
Speaker
And he says, who is my real family? Who is my true disciple? Who is really on the inside? Who is the follower of Jesus Christ? Is the one who does what? The will of God. Not the one who stands outside the VIP area and says, hey, I'm a VIP person. there there's a There's a proof that has to happen here.
00:16:09
Speaker
It's the person who does the will of God.
00:16:15
Speaker
Notice it doesn't say the true disciples are the ones who call themselves as true disciples. Big difference, right? Big difference from somebody who tells you they're a Christ follower and you don't see any fruit of that in their lives. I like this, ah Warren Wearsby uses this term when I looked this past week, he said,
00:16:38
Speaker
I love discipleship as a term. I love insidership even better. Is that not great? Insidership. You know how many times I've met people throughout my ministry walk who said, I really just wish somebody would disciple me. I need discipleship. And I said, oh, well I'm so glad you asked. Do you have a Bible? Are you reading it? Do you have a church family? Are you living it?
00:17:08
Speaker
Welcome to discipleship. I just saved you a 13-week course in most churches right there. Now, sure, there are methods that you can go about, but the core of what happens here is pictured exactly by what the author is showing us. There is a group of closely knit people who are in the presence of Jesus, surrounded by him, who are with him. This are the people who it says are sent out to do the will of God. What is the will of God? Big question, million dollar question. Well, in the context here, it tells us, look back, verse 14. It says, then he appointed 12 of them from amongst this group of disciples, and he calls them apostles, and they were to accompany him, and he would what? Send them out to preach.
00:18:05
Speaker
He would apostello them. He would send them. He would launch them so that they could go Caruso. They could go preach. They could go proclaim. They could go make a bold proclamation of who Christ is.
00:18:21
Speaker
Friends, he's saying that insider group is not just those 12 people because it tells us right here at the end of verse 35, it says at the beginning of verse 35, anyone who does this, who does the will of God, anyone who goes out and proclaims the good news, who proclaims Christ and Him crucified, those are the true disciple. Those are the insider.
00:18:51
Speaker
To which you're no doubt, I know it, you're saying this right now from the pews. That's fantastic, pastor. That's your job, right? And it is my job, not as your pastor, but as a Christ follower.
00:19:08
Speaker
My position as pastor up here has no no real bearing on me going out and doing this, the will of God. As a Christ follower, you and I are on the same playing field here. I'm simply proclaiming it from the pulpit. You and I, as Christ followers, are proclaiming it through our lives and how we live
Sharing the Gospel Actively
00:19:26
Speaker
that out. So how do we live that out today? That's where we're gonna land today. How do we demonstrate one specific way to be an insider?
00:19:37
Speaker
If you're taking notes, this is the time to take it. And I know you're thinking to yourself, he said one point and one point only, but there's three bullet points up there. It's all it's all together. Repeat after me. One person, one message, many methods. One more time. One person, one message, many methods. What am I asking of you this week?
00:20:05
Speaker
What am I challenging you with this week? If you want to be known as an outsider, say amen. Nobody said amen. How about an insider? Can I hear an amen? This is how you do it this week. One person, it can be anybody. It can be a family member that is wayward, that has gone off the reservation.
00:20:31
Speaker
It could be a spouse who's not attending church with you. It could be your neighbor that you don't know, but you should go knock on their door. One person and one person only. I'm asking you to approach that person this week. Here's how it's gonna work. You're gonna think real quick of that person, and you're gonna write that person's name down starting now.
00:20:55
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Think about it. A neighbor, a relative, someone you work with,
00:21:01
Speaker
Somebody that you know for a fact needs to hear the gospel message. And if you're here with your spouse and you write down their name, that doesn't count.
00:21:15
Speaker
Because I thought to myself this week as I prepared, what's something tangible? What something can they take away? What's something that I can take away this week and actually get accomplished?
00:21:28
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right So I thought one person, I'm not sending you downtown Cameron to evangelize. But if you go there late afternoon, there might just be one person down there and that person's the person you can evangelize. There's one person this week and there's one message. What is that message?
00:21:45
Speaker
It's the gospel message to which all the people that came Wednesday nights for evangelism are so happy that they did right now because they know the gospel message is simply a 10 word message. Christ died for our sins and rose from the grave. I'll say it slower. Christ died for our sins and rose from the grave. 10, 10 words.
00:22:13
Speaker
is a shorthand, cliff note version. When you sit down with this person that you wrote down and you have that opportunity this week and and it may not just come about, you're gonna have to go out and call this person or meet this person. You're gonna give them this 10 word message if you're not familiar with giving the gospel message, which let me put you at ease. I sat in the seminary class And the professor said to a bunch of people who had been in church for a very long time and who were very learned, and he said, can somebody give me the gospel message?
00:22:47
Speaker
um
00:22:52
Speaker
No one could give that message. So when I eventually heard Dr. Larry Morris give this 10 word short compact, I thought, oh man, I'm gonna keep that for life. Boy, is that easy to remember. Boy, can can that launch me into a conversation with somebody this week to to describe exactly what Jesus did, who he was, how he's fixed this problem of sin for us, and how it changes our lives radically from this point forward. One person, one message, many methods. What do I mean by many methods? Well, there are many different ways you can convey that singular message. I want you to hear me very closely. It's not many messages. There's one gospel message.
00:23:37
Speaker
Christ died for our sins and rose from the grave. How you convey that is gonna be up to you. Maybe it's over coffee with somebody, that person you wrote down this week. Maybe you call them, hey, let's do coffee this week. Maybe you're at work and you have this person and you see them you know at lunch or at the water cooler or whatever you young kids do at work these days.
00:24:02
Speaker
What are you gonna do? How are you gonna convey it? How are you gonna let them know how much you love them in the dire situation that they're in? Because that's friends, that's what the insider does. The insider says, Lord, give me this opportunity this week with the person that I wrote down, give me this opportunity, give me the courage, give me the boldness to speak up and proclaim the good news so that they might receive and become what? An insider and no longer be an outsider.
00:24:40
Speaker
We all want to be insiders, no doubt. But it it doesn't just work by us telling somebody. We have to have proof. Amen? May we be a people that remain close to Jesus and do his will this week.