okay you might find it a little comical<\/p>\n
that like who's this guy going up and F<\/p>\n
back and forth back and forth back and<\/p>\n
forth so here we are in the New Year our<\/p>\n
staff is traveling many people some<\/p>\n
wonderful news you know of course Phil<\/p>\n
and Rebecca in Indonesia getting married<\/p>\n
Ando so some our staff traveling so um I<\/p>\n
love I love getting to do<\/p>\n
this but just to explain if you're<\/p>\n
wondering why is this guy up you know<\/p>\n
man this church needs more staff members<\/p>\n
right so uh but if you'd like to<\/p>\n
help if you want to help lead worship<\/p>\n
please come and talk but listen we're so<\/p>\n
glad that you're here if you're visiting<\/p>\n
welcome I understand some of you uh your<\/p>\n
first week in<\/p>\n
Thailand from Kansas I believe right<\/p>\n
coming all the way from Kansas where the<\/p>\n
weather is a little bit different right<\/p>\n
now isn't it a little bit you the<\/p>\n
weather is a little bit different in Rat<\/p>\n
Kansas and I got now now not so we are<\/p>\n
going to be continuing uh a sermon<\/p>\n
series that we began last year okay so<\/p>\n
here we are in the first the first<\/p>\n
Sunday of the new year and we're<\/p>\n
beginning uh continuing with uh a sermon<\/p>\n
series that we began in the gospel of<\/p>\n
Mark the gospel of<\/p>\n
Mark so my name is Tim uh Tim Mills and<\/p>\n
I look forward to speaking with a number<\/p>\n
of you after the service and getting to<\/p>\n
know you but again if this is your first<\/p>\n
Sunday we want to say<\/p>\n
welcome<\/p>\n
so if you want to listen to the sermon<\/p>\n
In tha this<\/p>\n
evening kunata will be translating into<\/p>\n
Thai and I will be preaching in English<\/p>\n
so we're going to continue with this<\/p>\n
series and as we enter into this new<\/p>\n
year I want to kind of set a base for us<\/p>\n
okay because here we are in a new year<\/p>\n
right here we are in a new year and I<\/p>\n
mentioned a few things at Grace City you<\/p>\n
know some things that we really hold to<\/p>\n
and cling to and I want to I want to<\/p>\n
reiterate those I want to speak about<\/p>\n
those<\/p>\n
again here at this community we we<\/p>\n
believe in and we cling to we cling to<\/p>\n
the grace of God in all things in all<\/p>\n
things<\/p>\n
so as we come into this New Year let us<\/p>\n
rest in that let us remember and rest in<\/p>\n
the truth that God God does not<\/p>\n
change the years go<\/p>\n
by right they bring many<\/p>\n
changes but the Eternal God is Sovereign<\/p>\n
over all things and God does not<\/p>\n
change God created all things god holds<\/p>\n
all things together<\/p>\n
through his goodness by his power so<\/p>\n
with this new year<\/p>\n
friends however you're feeling<\/p>\n
today however you're feeling today<\/p>\n
whatever you're going through right now<\/p>\n
in life whatever is on your heart<\/p>\n
perhaps even heavy on your heart the<\/p>\n
invitation for us<\/p>\n
today is to<\/p>\n
rest to rest to to rest in The God Who<\/p>\n
made you created you gave you<\/p>\n
life the god that loves which we've sung<\/p>\n
about we've read<\/p>\n
about the God that loves you with a<\/p>\n
faithful<\/p>\n
love and the god that does not change so<\/p>\n
these things God's love God's presence<\/p>\n
that God made us that doesn't that<\/p>\n
doesn't change so we rest in that we<\/p>\n
cling to that we cling to that so Mark<\/p>\n
the gospel of Mark<\/p>\n
now Mark is one of the four gospels that<\/p>\n
we have in the Bible in the New<\/p>\n
Testament right and you know in the<\/p>\n
gospels what we get in the gospels is is<\/p>\n
like a<\/p>\n
window it's like a window where we get<\/p>\n
to peer into the life and the work of<\/p>\n
Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ and so they give us this window<\/p>\n
they give us this picture if you will<\/p>\n
through which to view the person and<\/p>\n
power of Jesus the character of Jesus<\/p>\n
and a lens almost like glasses right a<\/p>\n
lens through which to view our own lives<\/p>\n
in light of the Gospel so in the gospel<\/p>\n
we see<\/p>\n
Jesus and when we see Jesus we get to<\/p>\n
look at our own<\/p>\n
lives through the lens of of who Jesus<\/p>\n
is what Jesus has done so as we read the<\/p>\n
Bible<\/p>\n
today it allow it to examine your heart<\/p>\n
and your mind<\/p>\n
now you know we talk about reading the<\/p>\n
Bible right have you read your Bible<\/p>\n
what are you reading in your Bible these<\/p>\n
days we talk about that right we talk<\/p>\n
about reading your Bible but here's the<\/p>\n
reality the Bible reads<\/p>\n
us the Bible reads us the word of God<\/p>\n
God reads us what do I mean by that the<\/p>\n
truth that we encounter in the word of<\/p>\n
God has the<\/p>\n
power to examine our hearts it examines<\/p>\n
us it challenges us it encourages us it<\/p>\n
guides us it guides our hearts our minds<\/p>\n
in the truth of God so before we even<\/p>\n
get in to the Bible we're going to pray<\/p>\n
for that we're going to ask that God<\/p>\n
through his Spirit would do that very<\/p>\n
thing would soften our hearts would open<\/p>\n
us to the reading of his word and allow<\/p>\n
the Bible the word of God to read our<\/p>\n
hearts so let me pray for us let's<\/p>\n
pray holy God we we come before you<\/p>\n
today as a people that live in a<\/p>\n
wonderful and yet fractured and broken<\/p>\n
world you know this world Our Lives God<\/p>\n
are filled with great joy and beauty and<\/p>\n
yet they're also punctuated with<\/p>\n
darkness and<\/p>\n
pain and<\/p>\n
suffering help us help us to know you<\/p>\n
help us to<\/p>\n
believe that you know us better than we<\/p>\n
know<\/p>\n
ourselves help us to<\/p>\n
remember help us to remember that you<\/p>\n
Lord Jesus entered<\/p>\n
into our<\/p>\n
suffering and the heights of joy and the<\/p>\n
depths of Despair that we<\/p>\n
experience they're not unknown to<\/p>\n
you even at this very moment right now<\/p>\n
you know the thoughts occupying our<\/p>\n
minds the emotions ruling our hearts<\/p>\n
Lord God<\/p>\n
please meet us in this very place at<\/p>\n
this time right<\/p>\n
now and encourage our hearts through<\/p>\n
your Eternal and good word we pray and<\/p>\n
ask this in your Holy Name Lord Jesus<\/p>\n
amen so I'm going to give you a preview<\/p>\n
you know when you before you watch a<\/p>\n
movie you get sometimes you watch the<\/p>\n
trailer you watch the preview I'm going<\/p>\n
to give you a quick preview of what<\/p>\n
we're going to<\/p>\n
read then we're going to read all of<\/p>\n
Mark 7 then we're going to talk about it<\/p>\n
we're going to talk about it<\/p>\n
so here's what we're going to look at<\/p>\n
today the seventh chapter of the Gospel<\/p>\n
of Mark gives us a window it gives us a<\/p>\n
firsthand account of three<\/p>\n
interactions that Jesus had with others<\/p>\n
three interactions so today we have<\/p>\n
these three vignettes these three<\/p>\n
Windows these three<\/p>\n
stories the first is with a group of<\/p>\n
Pharisees and<\/p>\n
scribes these were Jew Jewish religious<\/p>\n
leaders and officials and they come to<\/p>\n
Jesus with questions so we'll get to see<\/p>\n
what are their questions we'll find out<\/p>\n
the second interaction is with a syrop<\/p>\n
phenician woman and she's<\/p>\n
described as a gentile what is a gentile<\/p>\n
you may know or you may not know a<\/p>\n
gentile is a person at that time and<\/p>\n
today too that is not Jewish not of the<\/p>\n
Jewish line and not Jewish<\/p>\n
so this woman is a gentile outside of<\/p>\n
the Jewish<\/p>\n
people but she comes to Jesus and she<\/p>\n
comes to Jesus in a state of<\/p>\n
desperation why what is she what is she<\/p>\n
at her at her end about well find<\/p>\n
out and the third encounter is with a<\/p>\n
man now this man the Bible Mark 7<\/p>\n
describes as being deaf he he could not<\/p>\n
hear he did not have the sense of<\/p>\n
hearing he was also mute which means<\/p>\n
that he could not communicate he could<\/p>\n
not speak so he was deaf and he was<\/p>\n
mute and so these three groups of<\/p>\n
people encountered<\/p>\n
Jesus and we get to peer into this these<\/p>\n
historic interactions these<\/p>\n
happened these events happened they were<\/p>\n
recorded and we get to look into them<\/p>\n
and we get to understand and we get to<\/p>\n
see the authority<\/p>\n
the power and the mercy of God at work<\/p>\n
in the person and work of Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ I'm going to be reading and I'll<\/p>\n
read through the gospel in its entirety<\/p>\n
it's a lot chapter 7 it's long but I'll<\/p>\n
read it quickly and we'll go back<\/p>\n
through it and and perhaps this week<\/p>\n
maybe this week you can read it again<\/p>\n
maybe tonight before you go to bed read<\/p>\n
through Mark 7 again and say God we got<\/p>\n
to look look at this today in church<\/p>\n
what are you teaching me about this what<\/p>\n
are you showing me and maybe this week<\/p>\n
you read it<\/p>\n
again all right that wasn't in my notes<\/p>\n
that's why I'm I told chaa i' stick on<\/p>\n
my notes<\/p>\n
this is The Gospel According to Mark<\/p>\n
chapter<\/p>\n
7 now when the Pharisees gathered to him<\/p>\n
with some of the scribes who had come<\/p>\n
from Jerusalem they saw that some of his<\/p>\n
disciples ate with hands that were<\/p>\n
defiled that is unwashed for the<\/p>\n
Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat<\/p>\n
unless they wash their hands properly<\/p>\n
holding to the tradition of the<\/p>\n
elders and when they came from the<\/p>\n
market<\/p>\n
place they do not eat unless they wash<\/p>\n
and there are many other Traditions that<\/p>\n
they observe such as washing the cups<\/p>\n
and pots and copper vessels and dining<\/p>\n
couches and the Pharisees and the<\/p>\n
scribes they asked him they asked Jesus<\/p>\n
why do your disciples not walk according<\/p>\n
to the tradition of the elders but they<\/p>\n
eat with defiled<\/p>\n
hands and he Jesus said to them well did<\/p>\n
Isaiah prophesy of you<\/p>\n
Hypocrites as it is written this people<\/p>\n
honors me with their lips but their<\/p>\n
heart is far from me in vain do they<\/p>\n
worship me teaching as doctrines the<\/p>\n
Commandments of<\/p>\n
men you leave the Commandment of God and<\/p>\n
hold to their TR to the tradition of<\/p>\n
men and he Jesus said to them you have a<\/p>\n
fine way of rejecting the Commandment of<\/p>\n
God in order to establish your<\/p>\n
tradition for Moses said honor your<\/p>\n
father and your mother and whoever<\/p>\n
reviles father or mother must surely die<\/p>\n
but you said if a man tells his father<\/p>\n
or his mother whatever you would have<\/p>\n
gained from me is Corbin that is given<\/p>\n
to God then you no longer permit him to<\/p>\n
do anything for his father or mother<\/p>\n
thus making void the word of God by your<\/p>\n
tradition that you have handed down and<\/p>\n
many such things you<\/p>\n
do and he called the people to him again<\/p>\n
and he said to them hear me all of you<\/p>\n
and understand there's nothing outside a<\/p>\n
person that is by going into him can<\/p>\n
defile him but the things that come out<\/p>\n
of of a person are what defile him and<\/p>\n
when he had entered the house and left<\/p>\n
the people his disciples asked him about<\/p>\n
about the<\/p>\n
parable and he said to<\/p>\n
them then are you also without<\/p>\n
understanding don't you see that<\/p>\n
whatever goes into a person from outside<\/p>\n
cannot defile him since it enters not<\/p>\n
his heart but his stomach and is<\/p>\n
expelled thus he declared all foods<\/p>\n
clean and he said to them what comes out<\/p>\n
of a person is what defiles them for<\/p>\n
from within out of the heart of man<\/p>\n
comes evil thoughts<\/p>\n
sexual immorality theft murder adultery<\/p>\n
coveting wickedness deceit sensuality<\/p>\n
Envy slander Pride foolishness and all<\/p>\n
these evil things come from within and<\/p>\n
they defile a<\/p>\n
person and he from there<\/p>\n
arose and went away to the region of Ty<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
sidon and he entered a house and he did<\/p>\n
not want anyone to know yet he could not<\/p>\n
be hidden but immediately a woman whose<\/p>\n
little daughter had an unclean Spirit<\/p>\n
heard of him and came and fell down at<\/p>\n
his feet now the woman was a gentile a<\/p>\n
syrop phenician by birth and she begged<\/p>\n
him to cast The Demon out of her<\/p>\n
daughter and he said to her let the<\/p>\n
children be fed first for it is not<\/p>\n
right to take the children's bread and<\/p>\n
throw it to the<\/p>\n
dogs but she answered Himes Lord yet<\/p>\n
even the dogs under the table eat the<\/p>\n
children's<\/p>\n
crumbs and he said to her for this<\/p>\n
statement you may go your way the demon<\/p>\n
has left your<\/p>\n
daughter and she went home and she found<\/p>\n
the child lying in bed and the demon<\/p>\n
gone then he returned from the region of<\/p>\n
of tire and went through sidon to the<\/p>\n
Sea of Galilee in the region of the<\/p>\n
decapolis and they brought to him a man<\/p>\n
who was deaf and had a speech<\/p>\n
impediment and They begged him to lay<\/p>\n
his hand on<\/p>\n
him and taking him aside from the crowd<\/p>\n
privately he put his fingers into his<\/p>\n
ears and after spitting he touched his<\/p>\n
tongue and looking up to heaven he<\/p>\n
sighed and said to him at<\/p>\n
which is that is open be<\/p>\n
opened and his ears were<\/p>\n
opened his tongue was released and he<\/p>\n
spoke<\/p>\n
plainly and Jesus charged them to tell<\/p>\n
no<\/p>\n
one but the more he charged them the<\/p>\n
more zealously they proclaimed it and<\/p>\n
they were astonished beyond measure<\/p>\n
saying he has done all things well he<\/p>\n
even makes the deaf he and the mute<\/p>\n
speak this is the word of<\/p>\n
God in this first<\/p>\n
interaction with the Pharisees you know<\/p>\n
they they come to<\/p>\n
Jesus and they have these questions for<\/p>\n
him right they ask him why aren't your<\/p>\n
disciples observing Jewish custom why<\/p>\n
aren't they observing and following<\/p>\n
ceremonial clean<\/p>\n
why aren't they doing what they should<\/p>\n
do and Jesus uses this conversation to<\/p>\n
make a<\/p>\n
distinction between that which God<\/p>\n
commands and what men actually add to<\/p>\n
God's commands in verses 6 through<\/p>\n
8 we see this Jesus actually<\/p>\n
quotes an ancient Scroll of Isaiah so<\/p>\n
he's he's looking at the scriptures he's<\/p>\n
looking at an ancient scroll now this is<\/p>\n
a text that all of these religious<\/p>\n
leaders would know quite<\/p>\n
well and it it's a text that they would<\/p>\n
be attempting to live by this would be<\/p>\n
something they would be guiding their<\/p>\n
lives and their living<\/p>\n
by and so Jesus talks about it and he<\/p>\n
actually challenges them through it and<\/p>\n
he's quite provocative in doing so this<\/p>\n
is pretty rough okay he<\/p>\n
says well did Isaiah prophesy about you<\/p>\n
so he's saying the book of Isaiah when<\/p>\n
it talks about this is talking about you<\/p>\n
you Hypocrites he<\/p>\n
says this people honors me with their<\/p>\n
lips but their heart is far from me in<\/p>\n
vain do they worship me teaching as<\/p>\n
doctrines the Commandments of men of<\/p>\n
men he says you leave the Commandment of<\/p>\n
God and you hold to the tradition of<\/p>\n
men this is really hard okay this is<\/p>\n
quite<\/p>\n
serious you are the Hypocrites that<\/p>\n
Isaiah wrote about wow Jesus is saying<\/p>\n
you're going through the<\/p>\n
motions you're acting all Pious and<\/p>\n
honoring<\/p>\n
God but in reality you're following the<\/p>\n
teachings of men not of God now this is<\/p>\n
a crushing<\/p>\n
accusation to be leveling against this<\/p>\n
group of Pharisees now the pH<\/p>\n
es they were a group that had been given<\/p>\n
and trusted with the enormous<\/p>\n
responsibility to teach and<\/p>\n
lead the people to teach and lead the<\/p>\n
Jewish<\/p>\n
people so here we have an account where<\/p>\n
they're coming to<\/p>\n
Jesus and they're following right they<\/p>\n
think they're following the<\/p>\n
teaching but they're actually adding<\/p>\n
these additional commands they're adding<\/p>\n
beyond what God has given and<\/p>\n
Jesus exposes this to<\/p>\n
them<\/p>\n
ouch he's so critical of the Pharisees<\/p>\n
here because their focus was on<\/p>\n
ceremonial cleanness and hygiene and it<\/p>\n
had become so warped right their desire<\/p>\n
to live for God had become so warped<\/p>\n
that it was being used as an<\/p>\n
excuse for ignoring the law and not<\/p>\n
actually worshiping God now verse<\/p>\n
n really points this<\/p>\n
out he kind of hammers it<\/p>\n
home he says you have a fine<\/p>\n
way of neglecting rejecting the<\/p>\n
Commandment of God in order to establish<\/p>\n
your tradition so Jesus is kind of like<\/p>\n
hey look wow you're really good at this<\/p>\n
aren't you wow he's really really being<\/p>\n
so firm with them now<\/p>\n
now Jesus doesn't just level this<\/p>\n
accusation against the<\/p>\n
Pharisees and just kind of keep it you<\/p>\n
know non-specific no he goes further and<\/p>\n
he basically says let me let me explain<\/p>\n
how you do this let me show you let me<\/p>\n
give you an example<\/p>\n
okay he<\/p>\n
says in verse 11 he talks about this he<\/p>\n
actually gives them uh this specific<\/p>\n
word Corbin okay that's a strange word<\/p>\n
to us perhaps with modern<\/p>\n
ears but when something is called Corbin<\/p>\n
what it actually meant was it was<\/p>\n
something that was designated to be<\/p>\n
offered to God at the temple okay so we<\/p>\n
could think of it as offering all right<\/p>\n
so what the Pharisees were<\/p>\n
doing was they were encouraging and they<\/p>\n
were allowing a practice of worshippers<\/p>\n
at the Temple of actually saying this<\/p>\n
financial resource this money I'm going<\/p>\n
to give it to God this is Corbin this is<\/p>\n
an offering<\/p>\n
okay but what was happening was they<\/p>\n
were not they were not following through<\/p>\n
on<\/p>\n
that but they were using that uh in<\/p>\n
reality uh this this customary tradition<\/p>\n
to neglect the Commandment that God had<\/p>\n
given to care for their parents to honor<\/p>\n
their<\/p>\n
parents so this is interesting critique<\/p>\n
it's a little hard to understand but<\/p>\n
follow okay if you can so Jesus is<\/p>\n
saying look you're using this idea this<\/p>\n
man-made practice of Corbin to not<\/p>\n
follow the Commandment of<\/p>\n
God okay to not follow the Commandment<\/p>\n
of God and he explains it you know in in<\/p>\n
this verse in these verses here what<\/p>\n
you're saying is Corbin what you're<\/p>\n
marking is offered to God then you don't<\/p>\n
use it to honor your parents and you're<\/p>\n
not honoring God with it you're not<\/p>\n
giving it so Jesus is basically giving<\/p>\n
them an airtight example and just being<\/p>\n
honest with them and exposing<\/p>\n
them now this is not an easy passage to<\/p>\n
dwell on this part right because the<\/p>\n
lesson here is that we do the same<\/p>\n
thing like we do the same thing<\/p>\n
right we're capable of the same<\/p>\n
thing at the root of sin<\/p>\n
is a rejection of God's good way in<\/p>\n
exchange for following our own<\/p>\n
way for following our own way so sin is<\/p>\n
simply a determined<\/p>\n
deviation away from God and a turning to<\/p>\n
follow our own<\/p>\n
way or as Jesus puts it the Commandments<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
men so we would do well to ask God God<\/p>\n
to help us examine our<\/p>\n
hearts and our<\/p>\n
actions and our<\/p>\n
lives before<\/p>\n
him are there any Traditions are there<\/p>\n
any manmade Customs that we are adhering<\/p>\n
to are there ways that we are following<\/p>\n
the Commandments of men and not God<\/p>\n
himself are we like the Pharisees and<\/p>\n
missing the true essence of worship unto<\/p>\n
God the call to follow Jesus is a costly<\/p>\n
one to follow Jesus means to honor him<\/p>\n
as Lord Of Our<\/p>\n
Lives to know his way and to obey his<\/p>\n
commands but the good news is that when<\/p>\n
we turn to Jesus Jesus is present to<\/p>\n
help us and to guide us and he gives us<\/p>\n
he gives us the desire and the strength<\/p>\n
to follow<\/p>\n
him<\/p>\n
and at times when we sin before<\/p>\n
God and we're convicted of our<\/p>\n
sin we can<\/p>\n
Rejoice that God is at work in<\/p>\n
us through the holy spirit to guide us<\/p>\n
back to<\/p>\n
him repentance is exactly that turning<\/p>\n
away from our own sin our own way our<\/p>\n
own desire to be our own God and turning<\/p>\n
to God the one true<\/p>\n
God you know there's a there's a passage<\/p>\n
in Isaiah the same book that Jesus was<\/p>\n
just referring to another passage that<\/p>\n
reads<\/p>\n
this he gives power to the<\/p>\n
faint and to him who has no might he<\/p>\n
increases<\/p>\n
strength even youths right young people<\/p>\n
who should be strong even youths shall<\/p>\n
faint and be<\/p>\n
weary and young men shall fall EX<\/p>\n
exhausted but those who wait for the<\/p>\n
Lord shall renew their strength they<\/p>\n
shall Mount up on wings with wings like<\/p>\n
eagles they shall run and not be weary<\/p>\n
they shall walk and not be<\/p>\n
faint so when we're ready to confess our<\/p>\n
sin to God Jesus is there to strengthen<\/p>\n
us to give us the desire to walk in his<\/p>\n
way now in the rest of this interaction<\/p>\n
that Jesus had with<\/p>\n
the Pharisees and the scribes and other<\/p>\n
people that were gathered there<\/p>\n
listening he talks about this<\/p>\n
further our capacity and desire for sin<\/p>\n
friends is the issue<\/p>\n
here it's about our hearts it's about<\/p>\n
our hearts it's a matter of the<\/p>\n
heart the Pharisees were focused on<\/p>\n
practice and tradition and observing the<\/p>\n
Commandments of men men and they were<\/p>\n
good at it we're good at it but they<\/p>\n
were missing the main thing they were<\/p>\n
missing the only<\/p>\n
thing they were missing it it's about<\/p>\n
our hearts before<\/p>\n
God so Jesus kind of unpacked that right<\/p>\n
here and here too he says it's what<\/p>\n
comes out of a person that defiles him<\/p>\n
it's a matter of the<\/p>\n
heart one of the most challenging things<\/p>\n
about another passage in the Bible<\/p>\n
called The Sermon on the<\/p>\n
Mount when Jesus is before a large group<\/p>\n
of people and he he just is going<\/p>\n
through and and just expounding on all<\/p>\n
this truth there's a there's a couple<\/p>\n
parts in it that are really<\/p>\n
challenging and we're going to look at<\/p>\n
them it's detailed in the gospel of<\/p>\n
Matthew in chapter<\/p>\n
5 one of the most challenging things<\/p>\n
about the sermon on the the mount is<\/p>\n
Jesus actually amplifies the meaning of<\/p>\n
God's commandment now he doesn't change<\/p>\n
them but he shows us what is really<\/p>\n
meant by the<\/p>\n
Commandments he really shows us and he<\/p>\n
does this to reveal the same principle<\/p>\n
that we're just talking about here about<\/p>\n
a matter of the heart that it's really<\/p>\n
about our hearts and not about an<\/p>\n
outward appearance not about our actions<\/p>\n
although those are<\/p>\n
important but God is looking at our<\/p>\n
hearts in Matthew Chapter 5 we read<\/p>\n
this you have heard this is Jesus<\/p>\n
talking and teaching among a large group<\/p>\n
of people he said you have heard that it<\/p>\n
was said to those of old so looking back<\/p>\n
at the old uh Testament and the old law<\/p>\n
that was given to the people you have<\/p>\n
heard that it was said of old you shall<\/p>\n
not<\/p>\n
murder and whoever murders will be<\/p>\n
liable to<\/p>\n
judgment now we might think okay I'm<\/p>\n
good hav't killed<\/p>\n
anybody but I say to you Jesus says this<\/p>\n
I say to you that everyone who is angry<\/p>\n
with his brother will be liable to<\/p>\n
judgment whoever insults his brother<\/p>\n
will be liable to the counsel and<\/p>\n
whoever says you fool will be liable to<\/p>\n
the hell of<\/p>\n
fire now this is serious Jesus is saying<\/p>\n
it's the heart the anger in your heart<\/p>\n
is the root of actually taking the life<\/p>\n
of another you have that in you I have<\/p>\n
that in<\/p>\n
me Jesus goes on you have heard it was<\/p>\n
said You shall not commit adultery you<\/p>\n
might think oh okay I'm doing okay<\/p>\n
there but Jesus says to you that<\/p>\n
everyone who looks at a woman with<\/p>\n
lustful intent has already committed<\/p>\n
adultery with her in his heart do you<\/p>\n
see that it's a matter of the heart a<\/p>\n
matter of the<\/p>\n
heart<\/p>\n
when Jesus<\/p>\n
explains it all in this way we<\/p>\n
realize that's<\/p>\n
me that's<\/p>\n
me I'm a sinner before a holy<\/p>\n
God the good news of the Gospel is<\/p>\n
that when we realize that when we<\/p>\n
understand that and we confess our sin<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
God we experience God's Great Grace we<\/p>\n
experience God's Great Grace we are<\/p>\n
forgiven because of what Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
has done for<\/p>\n
us in Romans we read this such a short<\/p>\n
verse but it has<\/p>\n
profound meaning profound<\/p>\n
meaning God shows his love for us and<\/p>\n
that while we were still sinners Christ<\/p>\n
died for us Christ died for<\/p>\n
us this is the this is the the whole<\/p>\n
basis of the Gospel the good<\/p>\n
news that while we were broken when we<\/p>\n
were Sinners when we weren't living as<\/p>\n
God desired us when we come to that<\/p>\n
understanding and we run to God we're<\/p>\n
met with love and mercy and Grace and<\/p>\n
forgiveness<\/p>\n
the next story that we read is about<\/p>\n
this woman the syap phenician<\/p>\n
woman Mark gives us some details about<\/p>\n
this interaction she comes to Jesus out<\/p>\n
desperation she's<\/p>\n
desperate we don't know what else she<\/p>\n
has tried or what she has sought out or<\/p>\n
what she has done but she comes to him<\/p>\n
desperate<\/p>\n
desperate her daughter has an unclean<\/p>\n
Spirit the text<\/p>\n
reads this woman is clearly<\/p>\n
distraught her daughter is<\/p>\n
suffering now we have to understand this<\/p>\n
further because to a modern reader it<\/p>\n
seems like Jesus his response to her is<\/p>\n
it's cryptic we don't understand it and<\/p>\n
it kind of seems<\/p>\n
cold what's going on<\/p>\n
now there's a lot to unpack here but<\/p>\n
Jesus when he<\/p>\n
came his ministry the work that he was<\/p>\n
doing it was at the outset it was<\/p>\n
focused on the people the go the people<\/p>\n
that God had called the Jewish people<\/p>\n
and his statement is talking about<\/p>\n
that he's underscoring that he now he<\/p>\n
uses an analogy of of a table and table<\/p>\n
Fellowship in reference to God's un<\/p>\n
folding Plan of Salvation coming through<\/p>\n
the Jewish people Jesus himself being a<\/p>\n
Jew and then the Jews coming to believe<\/p>\n
and then taking the gospel the good news<\/p>\n
unto the Gentiles but we're seeing this<\/p>\n
at an early stage and so Jesus is saying<\/p>\n
look I'm focused on the Jewish<\/p>\n
people he speaks of this in the<\/p>\n
gospel John see if I put that in here<\/p>\n
yeah Jesus is speaking with another<\/p>\n
person another woman in this account but<\/p>\n
he talks about that he said you worship<\/p>\n
what we do not know we worship what we<\/p>\n
do know for salvation is from the Jews<\/p>\n
he was talking about mode of worship but<\/p>\n
he's highlighting this right that he<\/p>\n
came to minister to the Jews the Jewish<\/p>\n
people God was going to move through<\/p>\n
them and we would see that later we'll<\/p>\n
see that later in the New Testament<\/p>\n
but right now in this interaction he<\/p>\n
mentions that and talks about that so<\/p>\n
it'll be later right in the in the<\/p>\n
unfolding Plan of Salvation that we see<\/p>\n
it expand Jewish converts coming to<\/p>\n
faith in God in this way through the<\/p>\n
Messiah they would carry it on to the<\/p>\n
Gentiles unto all the<\/p>\n
world but what stands out in this<\/p>\n
interaction is the woman's<\/p>\n
awareness of her utmost need of Jesus's<\/p>\n
help<\/p>\n
she she knows it she's desperate he's<\/p>\n
the only one that can help<\/p>\n
her the only one that can help her<\/p>\n
daughter so she comes to him and out of<\/p>\n
desperation she pleads his<\/p>\n
Mercy she avails herself to Jesus's<\/p>\n
power and<\/p>\n
mercy and he does heal her<\/p>\n
daughter now her answer to<\/p>\n
him it is showing faith<\/p>\n
she acknowledges the Salvation that is<\/p>\n
to come at that point she's saying yes<\/p>\n
but even even if there's the table<\/p>\n
fellowship and we're not at that table<\/p>\n
right now we are a people that will even<\/p>\n
come to to eat what you have and her<\/p>\n
answer to Jesus<\/p>\n
demonstrates demonstrates that she's<\/p>\n
placing her trust in him she's coming to<\/p>\n
him out of utmost desperation and he<\/p>\n
honors<\/p>\n
that he honors that this woman<\/p>\n
knew that Jesus was the only one that<\/p>\n
could help her she came to him in that<\/p>\n
she placed all her trust in his mercy<\/p>\n
Power in the very same way and this is<\/p>\n
what we find in this part in the very<\/p>\n
same way Jesus welcomes the<\/p>\n
desperate the weary soul that sees him<\/p>\n
is the only one that can<\/p>\n
help have you ever been in that place<\/p>\n
those of you who cling to Jesus you know<\/p>\n
yeah you've been there there is no one<\/p>\n
else but some of you may feel that today<\/p>\n
that there is no other place for you to<\/p>\n
go even as we talk about our sin our<\/p>\n
Brokenness who can help me what can help<\/p>\n
me the Bible says that Jesus is the only<\/p>\n
way he is the one that has mercy and<\/p>\n
love for us so have you been in that<\/p>\n
place do you find yourself in that place<\/p>\n
today it's been<\/p>\n
said that we don't really realize that<\/p>\n
Jesus is all we need<\/p>\n
until until he's all we<\/p>\n
have he's all we have so for this woman<\/p>\n
she came to<\/p>\n
that all that could help her was Jesus<\/p>\n
and she came to him with that<\/p>\n
desperation bringing<\/p>\n
nothing she came to receive everything<\/p>\n
from him so one of the realities of the<\/p>\n
Gospel is that Jesus demonstrates his<\/p>\n
mercy and power<\/p>\n
again and again and again as we seek<\/p>\n
him again and again and again if you<\/p>\n
sense your need for<\/p>\n
salvation for renewal for New Life In<\/p>\n
Jesus today run to him run to him any<\/p>\n
Christian here would love to talk to you<\/p>\n
about that I would love to talk to you<\/p>\n
about that let's talk you probably have<\/p>\n
good questions you probably want to know<\/p>\n
you probably come to Jesus like these<\/p>\n
people did with questions come come to<\/p>\n
him with those questions run to him and<\/p>\n
find<\/p>\n
forgiveness find New Life in him and<\/p>\n
then<\/p>\n
Christian Christian be reminded right<\/p>\n
now of of Jesus's work and power at work<\/p>\n
in you be reminded we forget why do we<\/p>\n
forget we're just good at that we're<\/p>\n
just good at forgetting we need to be<\/p>\n
reminded that he saved us and he's<\/p>\n
refining us through his<\/p>\n
sanctification of our soul so be<\/p>\n
encouraged that he is present and that<\/p>\n
he is at work in you he is at work in<\/p>\n
you so the last story we come to Jesus<\/p>\n
healing a man healing a<\/p>\n
man you know this man is unable to hear<\/p>\n
and different<\/p>\n
passages talk about his his speech in<\/p>\n
different ways some passages or some<\/p>\n
Bible translations say that he could not<\/p>\n
speak some of them said that he was his<\/p>\n
speech was impeded so he wasn't able to<\/p>\n
communicate clearly probably sometimes<\/p>\n
when people not do not have the sense of<\/p>\n
hearing it's difficult for them to speak<\/p>\n
because they have not heard regular<\/p>\n
speech patterns it's difficult so we<\/p>\n
don't know to what<\/p>\n
degree but to some level he's unable to<\/p>\n
communicate to<\/p>\n
Jesus he's unable to hear<\/p>\n
Jesus but there were those that brought<\/p>\n
this man to Jesus some gathered around<\/p>\n
here maybe family Maybe friends<\/p>\n
acquaintances but it says They begged<\/p>\n
him They begged Jesus help<\/p>\n
him they had concern for him they had<\/p>\n
compassion for him and they sought out<\/p>\n
Jesus for<\/p>\n
help and Jesus heals him he heals him<\/p>\n
and Jesus demonstrates his Mercy he<\/p>\n
demonstrates his power in this act of<\/p>\n
healing now there's some interesting<\/p>\n
things about how Jesus heals him<\/p>\n
that might seem a little strange and you<\/p>\n
can read further about that what uh<\/p>\n
theologians and and commentators think<\/p>\n
about what Jesus may have been trying to<\/p>\n
explain through how he actually<\/p>\n
physically healed this man we won't get<\/p>\n
into that<\/p>\n
now but we I do want us to focus on this<\/p>\n
through these acts of healing of this<\/p>\n
young girl and of this<\/p>\n
man Jesus was demonstrating and showing<\/p>\n
that the time of salvation<\/p>\n
is<\/p>\n
here it's come now he's showing this<\/p>\n
back all those years ago Jesus is<\/p>\n
beginning to unpack beginning to<\/p>\n
show and<\/p>\n
say I've<\/p>\n
come I'm<\/p>\n
here the one you've been waiting on I'm<\/p>\n
here the promised one who will heal us<\/p>\n
and bear our<\/p>\n
iniquities I'm here<\/p>\n
here I'm here and he's going to<\/p>\n
demonstrate it through his teaching he's<\/p>\n
going to demonstrate it through his<\/p>\n
power<\/p>\n
healing physical<\/p>\n
healing so it's starting to break in you<\/p>\n
see<\/p>\n
it starting to break into the<\/p>\n
world and Jesus is is demonstrating<\/p>\n
that so in the healing of This Woman's<\/p>\n
daughter the healing of this man Jesus<\/p>\n
clearly showing that God's<\/p>\n
restoration of all<\/p>\n
things all<\/p>\n
things through the Messiah through the<\/p>\n
promised<\/p>\n
one it's breaking into the world and<\/p>\n
it's<\/p>\n
here and friends that breaking in it's<\/p>\n
here now you know we just celebrated<\/p>\n
Advent<\/p>\n
so Advent we we just celebrated the<\/p>\n
season of Advent every year leading up<\/p>\n
to Christmas a time where we remember<\/p>\n
Jesus has<\/p>\n
come and that he will come<\/p>\n
again that's what's Happening Here Jesus<\/p>\n
has come he's breaking into the world<\/p>\n
breaking in so in closing let us let us<\/p>\n
consider what we've read today or we<\/p>\n
might say what has read us let us<\/p>\n
consider in Jesus's interaction with the<\/p>\n
SC the scribes and the Pharisees are<\/p>\n
there ways that we are following the<\/p>\n
Commandments of men and not God himself<\/p>\n
are<\/p>\n
there are we like the Pharisees are we<\/p>\n
missing the true Essence and worship of<\/p>\n
God well let's ask God to reveal that to<\/p>\n
us and if and if he does then we can<\/p>\n
turn from that and we can follow and we<\/p>\n
can worship Him in truth you see that<\/p>\n
that's beautiful right and in regard to<\/p>\n
the the sarap phenician woman you know<\/p>\n
and her trust and her Reliance and faith<\/p>\n
in Jesus is that part of your life story<\/p>\n
as well like do you rest in the person<\/p>\n
and work of Jesus Christ as your savior<\/p>\n
as your salvation as the only one and<\/p>\n
you've come to him like that have you<\/p>\n
been at that place of desperation and<\/p>\n
helplessness like that woman so many<\/p>\n
years<\/p>\n
ago if so<\/p>\n
Jesus is ready to welcome you to<\/p>\n
himself he's ready he says come come to<\/p>\n
me and then he's ready to help give you<\/p>\n
the desire to follow him he's help he's<\/p>\n
ready to change your desires from things<\/p>\n
that are not of God to things that are<\/p>\n
of God it's an incredible renewal that<\/p>\n
Jesus does in<\/p>\n
US believe in<\/p>\n
believe in him place your trust in<\/p>\n
him as we come into this new year<\/p>\n
there's a lot of suffering right oh my<\/p>\n
goodness there's a lot of suffering and<\/p>\n
hardship in the world right<\/p>\n
now in your lives I think if we had time<\/p>\n
to share we'd probably<\/p>\n
weep of things that are going on with<\/p>\n
each of<\/p>\n
us and in the world too right read the<\/p>\n
news it breaks your<\/p>\n
heart and it<\/p>\n
should<\/p>\n
and so yeah here we are the year has<\/p>\n
changed we've flipped our<\/p>\n
calendars but the reality is the state<\/p>\n
of the world has not changed if anything<\/p>\n
it's gotten harder in the last week<\/p>\n
huh the darkness is<\/p>\n
great but you know in the Gospel of<\/p>\n
John we're implored to know and to<\/p>\n
remember that Jesus the light of the<\/p>\n
world has come the light of the world<\/p>\n
has come and it says this the light<\/p>\n
shines in the<\/p>\n
darkness and the Darkness has not<\/p>\n
overcome it friends if the darkness has<\/p>\n
not overcome it yet it will not it will<\/p>\n
not Jesus is here he has<\/p>\n
come go to him rest in Him worship Him<\/p>\n
allow him to lead you he will is<\/p>\n
faithful to allow him to give you that<\/p>\n
desire to follow him and to walk in his<\/p>\n
way let's<\/p>\n
pray holy God we thank<\/p>\n
you for these gospel accounts of your<\/p>\n
mercy and your<\/p>\n
power holy spirit of<\/p>\n
God we ask that you would reveal to our<\/p>\n
hearts any way in which we exchange true<\/p>\n
worship for false observance and<\/p>\n
adherence to man-made Traditions<\/p>\n
Customs basically help us what you know<\/p>\n
help us know and discern what is<\/p>\n
Honorable to<\/p>\n
you help us God help us to worship you<\/p>\n
in spirit and in<\/p>\n
truth Lord we pray that you would remind<\/p>\n
us of your presence that you are here<\/p>\n
with<\/p>\n
us remind us of your power as we enter<\/p>\n
into this new<\/p>\n
year<\/p>\n
we are<\/p>\n
grateful that in a world where<\/p>\n
everything is subject to change and<\/p>\n
everything does change you do not<\/p>\n
change help us Look to You Lord Jesus<\/p>\n
again and again as you lead us in this<\/p>\n
life we ask and pray all of this in your<\/p>\n
holy<\/p>\n
name<\/p>\n
amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20240109","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=UthcVH5wohQ","video_id":"UthcVH5wohQ","video_duration":"47:02","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=490"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":491,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490\/revisions\/491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}