← ArchiveMarkSunday, November 4, 2018DateNovember 4, 2018Speaker—TextMark 3Passages in this sermonMark 30:59Mark 57:01Romans 113:23James 425:04Luke 1336:11TranscriptMachine transcribed. Click any line to jump there.0:00Thank you so much for joining us. Okay, how are y'all doing?0:30Exit this section. I don't know where that came from, but you guys win. You've had an extra hour of sleep. Some of you didn't, but you made it to Life Group for the first time all year. So congratulations for you who woke up an hour early. My name is Josh, lead pastor here. Some of you are new. I've met at least three or four new families this morning. And if you're new with us, we are in the third week of a new series in the Gospel of Mark. So if you have your Bibles, go ahead and turn to Mark chapter 3, a series we're calling Quotation Marks.0:59That's normally what we do at Bethel. We want to preach through the Word of God. We believe in the entire counsel of the Word of God. So this year alone, you've heard sermons in Leviticus and Habakkuk and Mark. So praise God for His truth that impacts us in our life. Mark 3, 22 today. Mark 3, 22. So again, we have brochures or booklets if you would like to grab one.1:29We ran out last week. We made some more so that you can follow along, take notes if you would like to. Have you ever had an incident or a situation in your life where you've come away thinking, I will never forget this? Maybe it was catastrophic. Maybe it was a big moment. I remember the moment in my life where I moved to New Orleans. So why do you remember that? I moved to New Orleans in August of 2005.1:59For some of you, that doesn't make a significant history in your lives. But for me, two weeks later, Hurricane Katrina hits. And I'll never forget that. I'll never forget that time in my life. It is unforgettable. For some of you, it might be a celebration. Maybe your wedding or maybe the firstborn child in your life or an event that you can celebrate.2:21Am I the only one? Can anyone have a moment where you say, I will never forget this? Okay, some of you are awake. God bless you for that. Now, let's go even further, though. For some of us, we've had moments where people have injured us or said things to us or situations where we come away thinking this or even verbalizing it sometimes where we will say,2:49I can never forgive that. One of the greatest hindrances, people worshiping in churches in our area. I'll say, hey, well, you need to worship. I'm a Christ follower. I just don't go to church. Well, that's odd, first of all, biblically. That's another sermon. But I often hear this. I can never forgive what people in the church have said or done.3:17That's heartbreaking. But there's something in the word of God that Jesus says. If you do this thing, you will never be forgiven. So, well, God loves everyone. Of course, he forgives everything. There's something in the word of God that Jesus himself says, if you do this, it is an eternal sin never to be forgiven. I don't know about you, but if Jesus said that, I want to know because I don't want to do that.3:46If Jesus says you can be forgiven all of your sins except this one, please let me know. Let's read the word of God together. Mark chapter 3. And we'll start with his family first. Verse 21. And I'm reading from the Christian Standard Bible.4:13Mark 3, 21. When his family heard this, they set out to restrain him because they said, he, Jesus, he is out of his mind. What, you know, what is family for right there? The scribes who had gone down from Jerusalem said, he is possessed by Beelzebub. And he drives out demons by the ruler of the demons.4:41And so Jesus summoned them and he spoke to them in parables. Saying, how can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished.5:06But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house. Verse 28. Truly, I tell you, people will be forgiven all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never, it's a long time, never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.5:35Who is saying this, by the way? The Son of God. Jesus himself says, whoever speaks blasphemies against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin. Because they are saying, he has an unclean spirit.6:02Let's pray, Father. Father, how can we, as finite people, understand infinite truths other than your Holy Spirit revealing and opening our hearts and our minds? Lord, that's exactly what we ask you to do right now. That you would open our minds, you would open our hearts to receive this good news, to live it out.6:27That we would never utter blasphemies against the Holy Spirit. Lord, help us understand your word that is living and active. That we would live and we would be active for the kingdom. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. The joy and the downfall of preaching through books of the Bible are that sometimes you come to passages like this.6:53As a pastor and you say, it would be really easy just to turn to Mark chapter 5 today. But that's not what the Lord wants. This is in his word for a reason. And so I have three thoughts for you. And then I'll make application. The first is a question of authority. So today's message is simply this. Where is your faith?7:23Where is your faith? And you're thinking, well, he's talking about houses and demons. But Jesus is asking, where is your faith? So that's the first question. The second is then we're going to hear a story about authority. And thirdly, we're going to simply have a crisis of faith. So the question of authority, a story, parable about authority, and then a crisis of faith. So let's look at the word of God here. Immediately after the family pronounces that Jesus is what?7:53He's out of his mind. Now, you thought your family was dysfunctional. Can you imagine the family of the Messiah saying they're trying to restrain him and they've lost their mind? And then on the heels of that in verse 21, who do we have in verse 22 coming on the scene? You know, our friends here, the scribes. Now, we know this about the geography of these people.8:22They don't live where Jesus lives in Galilee. What do we have in the word of God? The scribes who have come down from Jerusalem. You see, now, scribes were learned men that were rightly interpreting the New Testament or the Torah in the New Testament. So these were valuable men to have around. They would read the word of God and apply it to situations. Now, they're sent in procession or delegation from Jerusalem to Galilee.8:51Now, there's several important thoughts about these men here, the scribes. One, they come from Jerusalem, which is what? It's the place of the temple. And it's the seat of power and authority. So they've really come to investigate Jesus. And not just observe, but to pronounce their authority on the situation.9:17Really, they're coming and saying, we're going to tell you if this is real or not. You see, we play the same game, though, don't we? We want to tell God when he has authority and when he doesn't. We're no different than the scribes. But they're coming to investigate Christ firsthand. But they have not come to observe. And this is what we see about these scribes in our lives.9:44No one comes to Jesus empty-handed. No one comes to Jesus empty-handed. These scribes did not come and say, blank slate. We're just going to sit, we're going to listen, and then we're going to determine if this is good or bad. Why have they come? They've come with an agenda. They've come with their life has already shaped their thinking about what is good and what is not.10:11Their life has already shaped what they believe about God and how he works in the world. And you're no different. Maybe you're here in a church for the first time. I've met some first-time guests here today. But let's just assume that they're in the church for the first time ever. Even if that's you, you do not come to Jesus empty-handed. You have been shaped by situations and by your worldview, by your parents, by the church, maybe good or maybe bad.10:38None of us come to Christ empty-handed. So if you think, well, I'm a blank slate, blank canvas, no, you're not. No, you're not. We're all scribes by nature. We want to tell God when he has authority in our life. And so I'd simply ask, why are you here today? Now, you might think you know the answer to that question. You might think, well, I have perfect attendance and I'm not going to miss it.11:10That's why I'm here today. God bless you. Thank you for that. Then maybe you're here saying some of you are elbowing your spouse and you're, I'm here because this person drugged me. I would say praise God for your spouse that you get to hear the good news. So whatever you think the reason is why you're here. No, you might not know. But when we encounter Christ, something radical changes in our lives. When we encounter Christ, he changes who we are.11:38Now, let's listen to what they're saying. They're pronouncing authority and they, in the CSB, and CSB doesn't necessarily have the best translation here. They've come down from Jerusalem and they said. Actually, it's in perfect tense. They are constantly saying these things. They were saying, they are saying, and they're continuing to say. What are they saying here? They said this.12:08He is possessed. That's what church people do, right? If we don't understand it, demonic. I don't know what's going on, but Beelzebub. That, right? I mean, this has been going on for thousands of years. What are they trying to do? They're trying to destroy the ministry of Christ and discredit him and distance the people from listening to the one place where they can find forgiveness. This is the scribe's intent.12:38So what can we learn from them? What is our warning from the scribes? I want to make two points here. The first is this. Some in our lives, in our world, argue that if God would just prove his existence to me, then I would believe. If I have scientific evidence that God exists, then I would believe.13:04So let me make two points based on the scribes' observations. One, they have seen clearly the power of God and it does not change them. So Romans even says, it's Romans 1, everything that you need to know about God is clearly made manifest through creation. Romans even says, the invisible attributes are made visible to you.13:33So if you've come here today and you say, well, if God proves himself to me, I will believe he has. He did. Okay, check that box. Second point we see in the scribes. God will never force belief upon anyone. He will never force belief. So if you say, well, if God will prove himself and then whence he proves myself, then I have no other option than to believe.14:01What have these scribes seen in verse 22? They have seen the power of God demonstrated in Jesus Christ. And what do they say? He is possessed. Not even undisputed proof forces belief. This is what the Bible says about belief.14:33We confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, but you believe where? I've always found that really odd. Why doesn't God just say you believe with your mind, you engage your mind? He's not saying that you take your mind out of the equation and you don't believe with your mind, but you believe with your heart. Because even if you have the entire proof of God's existence laid out before you, you still have a heart issue. That's what the scribes tell us. They have a question of authority.15:02You see, evidence demands a decision from the beholder as to its source and its significance. The scribes have seen everything that they need to see and they don't believe. And I have to believe in my heart that some of you are there. You've grown up in church and you've seen everything you need to see about God and yet you do not believe. You say, well, if God just proves it to my mind, no, you have a heart condition. But praise God by faith.15:33He saves you. Does God have authority or not? That is the question. And this is what they say. They say he is possessed by Beelzebub. That's just a fun word to say. Right? So Baal was a Canaanite god of storms. And Zebeul, we're not exactly sure, but it's something like a house. So this is what they're saying. We don't know what this Messiah guy is, but he's obviously not of God.16:02He's from the house of Beel. And so this is what Jesus does. They're challenging his authority. They don't believe. They say, Jesus, you only have authority in our life if we tell you, you have authority. We're the scribes. And Jesus says, okay, let me tell you about a house and about demons. Sit down. So listen to the house. Listen to the story about authority.16:29So look at verse 23. So Jesus summons them. Now, this is what happens with church people, with scribes. The scribes are saying, or in verse 22, who are they saying this to? Yeah, just kind of everyone, right? They're on Facebook. Some's on Facebook. Some are tweeting. Some are actually on Facebook writing the message, and some people are sharing the message.16:55Because the scribes who share the message say, it's not on me. I just liked it. I don't know how that happens. Just a word of warning. If you like something on Facebook, you're the author, right? It's a reflection of you and the God that you worship. If you like something, if you tweet something, if you take it on Instagram. And Jesus says, you know what? I'm not doing this. Jesus says, you're talking about God, but let me speak directly to you.17:22See, that's church culture in its essence, isn't it? That's the core of church culture. We talk about Jesus, right? He's possessed. We don't really know. We know about God. We're near Jesus, the Messiah. And Jesus says, no, I'm not talking about you. I'm going to talk directly to you. Jesus, in verse 23, he summons them. Listen, some of you today need to quit talking about Jesus and talk to him directly. You need to quit talking about Jesus.17:54You need to quit talking about the pearly gates and singing hymns or even contemporary songs. You need to talk directly to Christ because you need a change of heart. And a change of life. And talking about God won't do that, but talking to him will. Talking to Christ will. So how does Jesus respond? He summons them and he speaks to them in what? In parables. Over and over again in Mark.18:22Anytime this word parable is used, it's almost with a controversial statement with the scribes. I can just see the scribes, when Jesus is speaking to them in parables, they're like, oh, great. Here we go again. Not another parable. And I can see, I can see, you know, Muhammad elbowing his friends, Jesus saying, why did you, why did you call him Beelzebub? Not another parable. Because every time Jesus speaks in parables in Mark, he's addressing a controversy.18:48And this is what Jesus says, how can Satan drive out Satan? So here's the story. Jesus skips and they're talking about demons and in Second Temple Judaism, they had this, this elaborate hierarchy of demons. If there were demons and there were commander of demons and there were soldier demons and they're saying Jesus was a commander of the demons. And Jesus says, you know what, guys, I'll do you a favor.19:17Let's skip right to the big dog. You call me Beelzebub. Let's talk about Satan. That's exactly what Jesus is doing here. And he says, listen, how can Satan drive out Satan? Jesus is saying, you guys have lost your mind, but let's just assume that you're lucid for one moment. Let's assume I am Beelzebub. Why would Beelzebub drive out Satan? And again, I can just see the scribe saying, I told you not to call him Beelzebub.19:45But look what Jesus says. The kingdom is divided. That kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided, that house cannot stand. If Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.20:13Why would Jesus tell this story? Now, it's a hypothetical. How do I know it's hypothetical? Because he says if. If, verse 24. But there are a lot of eternal principles that apply to our lives today from this. Look at the story of what Jesus says. First, in verse 24. If a kingdom is divided. Now, if you are in Christ, I want you, I want this to be the most edifying sermon you've ever heard for the next 10 minutes.20:42Just what Jesus is saying. You ready? Satan's house is under attack. Satan's house is under attack. But it's not under attack from the inside. That's what the scribes are saying. Well, Beelzebub is attacking Beelzebub. Jesus says, no, no, no, no, no, no. Satan's house is not under attack from the inside.21:12It's attack from the outside. And for those who know Jesus Christ, that should be incredibly encouraging. Because if you look at the world, you say, well, it's getting so bad. I mean, there are murders every time I turn on the news. And there's hatred. There's, you know, from the right of the political spectrum, there's hatred towards the left. And they're reflecting that back. And I'm like, Lord, I just don't care about any of it. And it's like, this is horrible. And Jesus says, yeah, but you don't understand.21:42It's under attack. The kingdom of darkness is under attack. Listen carefully to this. The kingdom of Satan is crumbling. And Satan will fight you with everything he has. Because if you are in Christ, you are a threat. Let me say that again. Some of you, you're still processing that, right?22:10Satan's kingdom is under threat. It's crumbling. Why? Because Jesus is a victory. And if Jesus, Satan knows us, by the way. I'm not telling him anything he doesn't know. He doesn't want you to know it. So if you are in Christ, you are a threat to Satan. Because you are a constant reminder that his kingdom is under attack.22:36So listen, there are no passive observers in the spiritual war. You're either in the house of Satan or you're attacking the house of Satan. And some of you this week, it's opening your minds because you're thinking, it's been a horrible week. And I haven't done anything to deserve this. If you've confessed Christ as Lord, you've done a lot to deserve that. Because you're a threat. You're a threat to the house of Satan.23:07And God wants you to know that. One of the commentators, R.T. France, said it this way. There is no suggestion that the outcome of the war will ever be in doubt. But the victory in principle must be implemented in reality through real conflict. The victory is implemented through real conflict. And he said, well, I don't like the thought of that. Some of you thought by coming to Christ that everything was going to be ponies and roses from here on out.23:37It's a battle. It's a fight. But you're not fighting alone. You're fighting in the power of the Holy Spirit. And it's not a fair fight. Right? I mean, we don't fight the world and say, well, I'm struggling. I'm losing. No, you've already won. It's not a fair fight. That's the power of Jesus Christ. But do not be deceived.24:07You're in a war. And you are a threat. And the conflict is real. But he's prepared you. And he's given us a victory. I love that. Praise God for the victory. Not only is Christ victorious, but look what he says about the house. Verse 27. No one can enter a strong man's house. Now, let's stop there. What does Jesus call Satan?24:35What is right here? Jesus is giving them a parable. And he says, no one can enter a strong man's house. What does Jesus call Satan? Strong. Now, let me just say this as a word of warning. Some of us are playing with temptation. And we've forgotten that Satan is strong. You cannot fight him. You cannot resist him by yourself. That's why in James 4, 7, what we've already read and prayed through, what does it say?25:04Submit to God. Submit to God. Submit to God. Some of us are focused on fleeing from Satan. Submit to God. Resist the devil. And what? He will flee. That will not happen unless you submit to God. But Satan is strong. And if we are fighting, if we're living the Christian life in our strength, you are going to lose.25:30Because you are not as strong as Satan. You're not even as strong as Beelzebub. Or one of his little minions. But listen to what Jesus says about the strong man. Verse 27. No one can enter a strong man's house. Not even you. And plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house.26:00If Satan is strong, what is Jesus? Stronger. I love that. I can believe the scribe here like... Because here's what Jesus is saying. You call me Beelzebub, I'm going to one-up you. Let's talk about Satan. And you know how strong Satan is? Jesus is greater. Jesus is greater. So I don't know where your struggles are. If you're struggling, fighting spiritual battles right now,26:29just know that as strong as Satan might be in your life, Jesus is much more infinitely strong. He's much more infinitely strong in our lives. One commentator says it this way. God's kingship renders Satan ultimately powerless to oppose God's will or harm his people. Right?26:59Right? God's kingship ultimately renders Satan powerless to oppose his will or harm his people. We say, well, Satan can do us a lot of harm. But even if he kills us, he's already tried that. It doesn't work. He loses. The last time Satan killed someone, thinking he could rid the world of the light of God, he didn't realize that by killing,27:29by bruising the heel of the Son of Man, that Son of Man would crush his head. That as strong as Satan is, Christ is infinitely stronger. I don't know about you, that gives me hope. That God is already tied up. Satan, he binds him in Second Temple Judaism, again, in the Testament of Leviticus, or Levi, sorry, the Testament of Levi. I know some of you are probably gonna read that tonight27:58before you go to bed. So if you wanna read the Testament of Levi, it's an apocryphal book. Chapter 18, verse 12. It says this, And Beliar shall be bound by the Messianic high priest, and he shall grant to his children authority to trample on the wicked spirits. These scribes would have known this. And Jesus is saying, you know the authority you say I don't have?28:27You don't realize I've given even my children, the ones I've adopted into the kingdom, the authority to bind these little Beelzebub's you're worried about. Who has authority? Only one, and his name is Jesus Christ. His name is Jesus Christ. And so where do we end today? So they ask a question of authority. They talk about Jesus, you are Beelzebub, you're of the house of Baal.28:57And Jesus says, I'll tell you about a house, Satan, and I am greater than that. And then he says in verse 28, look at what Jesus says. He says, Amen. Truly, I tell you, you're talking about God, but let me speak to your heart. I tell you, I tell you people will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit29:27never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin because they were saying he has an unclean spirit. See, basically the scribes have come up with the most incredibly insulting thing that they could find. They said, what can we call Jesus? To divide his ministry and to distance himself from anyone that might be healed or listen to the life-saving message of grace.29:54We'll call him Beelzebub. And Jesus says, I'm going to one-up your Beelzebub, I'm going to add a Satan and then I'm going to tell you the good news. And in that moment, in that moment for these scribes, there now comes a crisis of faith because they've come to the situation to investigate and pronounce if he had authority or not. And Jesus says, I do. What are you going to do about it?30:24And church, that's exactly the decision you have to make this morning. God has authority. Jesus has authority. What are you going to do about it? What are you going to do about it? A crisis of faith is this. It's the moment you seriously question whether what you believe is true or not. Can you imagine these scribes?30:54They had a decision to make. We think he really is Satanic. Is he or not? And what does Christ say? People will be given all sins and whatever blasphemies they might utter. You see, the scribes were notorious at decrying the sinfulness31:22of their culture. I know that would never happen today. But the scribes would basically say, Lord, this world has gotten really bad. Don't you notice, God, the sinfulness of people? And this is what Jesus does. If we're not careful, one of the things that keeps you and I from coming to Jesus Christ, we want to talk about the sins of the world. And with that,31:51if we can talk about murderers and caravans and robberies, we should talk about all these other sins, people gossiping and churches that are hypocritical. We hope that God will just lose our sins in the shuffle. And Jesus looks right through that. And what does he speak to? He speaks to their specific sin. Look at verse 28. He said, people will be forgiven all sins,32:21but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, you have a decision to make. You have sin. And this is an accusation they never would have fathomed would have been put on them. Blaspheme, blasphemy in the Old Testament context was an immediate capital punishment. And Jesus is saying, if you have blasphemed, if I am truly God32:50and you have blasphemed God, you deserve death. But look what he says in verse 27. How many sins will be forgiven? All. All sins will be forgiven. Jesus is saying to them, I'm not worried about the culture right now. Let's talk about your prideful rebellion and your sinful arrogance. And here's the warning, church.33:20Listen to me when I say this. The people who are most in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit are not the pagans. are not the drug dealers. Are not the murderers. They're the scribes. They're the Southern Baptists. They're the churched. He says, well, I can't believe you said that. Who is Jesus speaking to? He's speaking to the scribes.33:49What did they know? They were learned men who had the word of God. If that is you, you are in more danger of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit than anyone else in the world. If that doesn't come down upon you with heaviness, I don't know what will. Because if that's true, what does Jesus say about that one sin? It is eternal and when will it be forgiven?34:19Never. What is the sin then? Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit denotes conscious and deliberate rejection of the saving power and grace of God released through Jesus Christ. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.34:47Let me read that again. Denotes conscious and deliberate rejection of the saving power and grace of God released through Jesus. His word and his actions. Some of you thought it just meant you can't say cuss words with the name God in it. That's not what Jesus is saying. You see, this sin is any act, any thought,35:17any thought, any arrogance or any pride that keeps you from repenting. That's the eternal sin. So for the scribes, what is that? If they do not stop and think about it, if they really believe that Jesus is Beelzebub, they will never have forgiveness. Why? Because they will never come to repentance. Through the saving power of God's grace through the Messiah. That's why Jesus says35:46that he is the way. That he is the truth. That he is the life. There's no other way. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The only unforgivable sin is you rejecting, whether it's by action, thought, pride, arrogance of saying, you know what? I can't repent of this. Because scripture is very clear. Luke 13, 3. I tell you, unless you repent,36:15you all will perish. without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sins. Jesus is not talking about a cuss word. It could be that. But Jesus is saying, if you refuse to repent, forgiveness will not be found unless you repent. Call me Beelzebub all you want, but you have a decision to make. Is Jesus the Messiah36:45or is he not? Does he have authority in your life? If you have said Jesus is Lord, you are saying he has complete and utter authority in my life. We have a decision to make, don't we? But here's the good news. Look what Jesus says. Look who he's speaking. He's speaking to the scribes and he says, I tell you, verse 28, people will be forgiven37:15all sins and whatever blasphemies they utter. Even scribes, even Southern Baptists still have a chance. Did you pick up on that? Jesus is telling them, guys, if you wake up right now, if you recognize that I have authority, all authority is given to me in heaven and upon earth, then all sins will be forgiven. But if you deny that Jesus is the Son of God, if you refuse37:45out of your arrogance and your church culture pride to find and offer repentance, you will not be forgiven because you have rejected forgiveness. I want to share a story as we close. A story that if you're on the hayride, we shared that with you for Fall Fest. Andrew Jackson, anyone know what president he was? You can cheat. Seventh president38:15Seventh president had a dilemma. You see, a man named George Wilson robbed a train. He was a clerk at this point, robbed a train, killed a mail clerk and stole some money. Federal train. And so he was sentenced because of his crimes to death. And capital punishment was not necessarily something that was looked upon as a good thing even in Andrew Jackson's day. And so the public sentiment began to rose up and they asked president38:44for a pardon, knowing that the president can pardon anyone he wants for a federal crime and that man or woman or turkey has absolute forgiveness. Absolute. And so the president actually offers George Wilson a pardon. And unbeknownst to the president in that moment, this criminal rejected the pardon. He said, I do not accept39:14your pardon. So the pardon had to go to the Supreme Court because this had never happened before. So the Supreme Court, the chief, Justice John Marshall handed down an official court decision trying to figure out can you actually reject a federal presidential absolute pardon. Listen to the decision. A pardon is a parchment whose only value39:43must be determined by the receiver of the pardon. it has no value apart from that which the receiver gives to it. George Wilson has refused to accept the pardon. We cannot conceive why he would do so, but he has. Therefore, George Wilson must die. You see,40:15You see, as punishment for his sins, Mr. Wilson chose to perish. You see, a pardon is only a pardon if you receive it. Scribes in the audience, I want you to listen to me. If you have grown up in church, you are the most likely of all people to reject the forgiveness of Jesus Christ because you think40:43you have it together. It's easy to decry the sinfulness of the world and forget that you and I have blasphemed Jesus Christ himself. Read verse 27 and 28 again. Jesus says this, I tell you, people will be forgiven of all sins. One commentator41:13One commentator says it this way, Erwin Lutzer, famous pastor of Moody Bible Church in Chicago. He says, there is more grace in God's heart than there is sin in your past. I don't know what's keeping you from accepting the pardon that Jesus has offered you. Maybe it's a question of authority. Maybe you know by submitting your life to Jesus Christ today that you have41:43to willingly embrace that Jesus has complete authority in your life. And let me tell you, that is true. But let me also say it's worth it. It's worth it. Maybe you're here and you feel like you're already saved. but if you really unravel the threads of your heart, you will find that you feel like you're saved42:12because you're a good person. You're not. You're a blasphemer. My sin is willing eternal rebellion against God. And without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sins. I want you to know that Jesus is offering you forgiveness right now. the pardon is already offered. Maybe you're here and what's keeping you from finding forgiveness is shame. Maybe you feel42:43like you don't understand what I've already done. Surely God can't forgive this. He can. He can if you will accept the free gift of eternal life. Maybe for you it's the church culture. Maybe you feel like I don't want my friend or my spouse sitting next to me to realize43:13to realize that I wasn't saved. Listen, one person's opinion of you is not worth going to hell. It's not. Even if it's my opinion. Who cares what you think about me? We need to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. The scribes had a decision to make. A crisis of faith. Will you believe? Will you follow? Or will43:44Or will you not? What choice will you make today? If you're a Christ follower and you've come in here beaten up and bruised from the world, let me just say this. As strong as Satan might be, he doesn't even hold the shoestrings of the Messiah. His kingdom is crumbling and as they say where I grew up in Mississippi, he's mad as a hornet and he's mad at the people who say that they're Christ followers.44:13Christ followers. But that's okay because we've won. And Lord, if you take me home today, we have received the reward of the upward call in Christ Jesus. Saints be encouraged. Sinners find repentance today. Let's pray.← Previous in MarkSunday, October 28, 2018Next in Mark →Sunday, November 11, 2018More sermons on Mark →
