Tell What Great Things the Lord Has Done — Mark 4-5

0:09 We spent some time listening to Paul, what he has to say near the end of his life about how the church should operate, how it's run, how the Lord is intended for us to live together. Our brother Bob has has cut a path through James, and I don't know if he'll ever finish that. Sounds like it's gonna go on for a long time. But but but but James, the same way, one of the one of the first books written in the New Testament, maybe the first that we have here, compares and contrasts things like joy in trials, testing that produces patience, wisdom that brings faith. These are all hard things to consider, but but you can imagine James saying, boy, this is something I really wanna write down.

0:56 And then the the church fathers who said, but we gotta... Everybody needs to read this one. Let's preserve this, and and and they became part of the canon. And and here it is, a little bit of a advanced notice, we're we're headed in a new direction soon, and that'll be down the the chapters of the book of Mark. Okay?

1:16 And Mark gives us an interesting perspective as well, probably written with the with the ear... Mark's ear towards Peter in in the musings as he was writing this book. But Mark gives us an interesting perspective in the sense that it's relatively short compared to the other synaptic gospels. We'll talk about that later. But the three gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and so we can go through Mark and pull from both Matthew and Luke and and see where they're common and the things that went together to to to build that book.

1:50 So we're going to Mark. Today, we're gonna dip our toe into Mark. Just where I happen to have been studying. I thought it was a time or a message that we could talk together ahead of our fellowship dinner in the potluck, so that's the purpose of going there today. So today, it's potluck.

2:08 We are gonna fellowship, but I'd like to just submit that if we come here every week and learn something, maybe we memorize one bit of scripture, and we... Or we or we take home one little nugget that we never heard quite that way before, and we go home and forget all about it, or go go home and don't apply it to our lives, we done missed the point to to say it in one way. We have to apply it. Right? And so one way to apply it is to get help from the body, to get help amongst us, for us to interact one with another, that that we have a a common bond in the Lord.

2:48 So that's what I wanna try and encourage today is that we we can work together to maybe apply a little bit of what we learned today. Did I say work on Sunday? We're not supposed to do that. No. Work in the sense that let's work together.

3:06 Okay? It's not gonna be hard, but there will be a test at the end, so you better be paying attention. Here's where we're gonna go. Turn with me, if you will, to Mark chapter four near the end, and then we'll read into chapter five verse 20. And if you're looking for parallel passages, remember I told you Mark parallels a lot of the other the passages through Matthew and Luke?

3:29 These are the passages there. So Mark chapter four verse 35, we'll start there. It says, on the same day when evening had come, he, meaning Jesus, said to them, let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat up into the boat so that it was already filling.

4:00 But he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow, and they awoke him and said to him, teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, peace, be still. And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But he said to them, why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?

4:27 And they feared exceedingly and said to one another, who can this be that even the wind and the sea obey him? Chapter five. Then they came to the other side of the sea to the country of the Gadarenes or some verses say, Gadger... Okay. There's a different word for it too.

5:24 I implore you by God that you do not torment me. For he said to him, come out of the man unclean spirit. Then he asked him, what is your name? And he answered saying, my name is Legion, for we are many. And he begged him earnestly that he would not send them out of the country.

5:43 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains, so all the demons begged him saying, send us to the swine that we may enter them. And at once, Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine. There were about 2,000 and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled and they told it in the city and in the country and they went out to see what it was that had happened.

6:16 Then they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been demon possessed and had the legion sitting and clothed and in his right mind and they were afraid. And those who saw it told them how it happened to them... To him who had been demon possessed and about the swine. Then they began to plead with him to depart from their region. And we got into the boat.

6:39 He who had been demon possessed begged him that he might be with him. However, Jesus did not permit him but said to him, go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he has had compassion on you. And he departed and began to proclaim into capital all that Jesus had done for him and all marveled. So let's just set the scene here a little bit. Just to remind you, we've read the story, it's a dramatic story.

7:08 I I see it as all... Even though it bridges a chapter, it's all one process, right, or all one part of the story. So so here we are. It's... It takes place on and around the Sea Of Galilee.

7:21 So, you know, I just happen to think about this. You know, we live next to the Sea Of Lake Erie. Right? Or we call it Lake Erie. It's like a sea to many, but the Sea Of Galilee was eight miles wide, 13 miles long.

7:32 That's a big lake. Okay? Lake Erie is actually 57 miles wide and 300 or 210 miles long. However, somebody measured that. I didn't measure it but that's what they say on the internet.

7:44 So, it must be true, right? So, Jesus said, let's go to the other side. So, they all jump in a boat. It's at night, and they they start to sail across the sea. Okay?

8:00 I'm understanding it. They're going to the opposite side. It's the opposite side of Galilee, and this is where they're headed. It didn't tell them where they were going, but that's where they were going because that's where Jesus wanted to go. The storm whips up.

8:12 There's wind. There's waves. Now I know this has been pointed out many times, but remember, these guys fish the lake. They know that lake like the back of their hand, probably. They know where the fish are, they know where the wind is, they know where the wind comes from, they know how to get from one side to the other, so this is a night sail for them.

8:31 No big deal. Right? Well, it's a big deal when the wind starts... This must have been awful. Can you imagine the guys that are always out there day and night fishing it?

8:41 All of a sudden, they're scared. They're thinking, we gonna make it. That might have been something they had realized before. Okay? If you've ever been out of boat, I've been on a boat in Lake Erie where the waves were...

8:55 I I I don't know how big they were. Big rollers. It is scary out there. Okay? They've probably been there before, but they probably weren't there when there was somebody sleeping in the back.

9:09 You know, look, we need some help here. All hands on deck, have we ever heard that? Let's go. You too. Get up.

9:17 Don't you care? And and the lord's like, look, I need some sleep. Don't you guys understand? There's more to this plan than what you understand. Okay?

9:32 Haven't you seen enough? Don't you have faith yet? So it kinda, you know, gives them a little talking to there. But all of a sudden, things calm down, the lights comes up, and off they go, and they're gonna land on the shore. And where do they pick to land?

10:09 They probably had a dock of some some way. There was a way that everybody got on and off. This isn't where they landed. They land over here in the wilderness. Right?

10:18 We know it's a Gentile area, right, because they're swine feeding. They're... They have a swine... A herd of swine there, pigs. Right?

10:25 And they are not part of Jewish culture. So this is a part of the the area of Israel where it's not Jewish settlement, and this is where he decides to land. I want to talk a little bit not about the whole story but I think we've set the scene. I want to talk about the characters in the story and their responses, okay? The disciples response to Jesus, the swine herders, and the town folk.

10:52 That's what I'm gonna call them, the town folk, what their response to Jesus is, the demon possessed man before and after, so to speak. Jesus and how he approaches them as well or the others, and then a little bit about the demons. For now, this is a topic for another time. I'm not gonna spend a lot of time here. We could probably spend a lot of time talking about demons and and that type of thing, but let's just summarize it and say they're real, they're spirits, they were opposed to Jesus.

11:22 Okay? They knew Jesus, and they also were subject to Jesus. Okay? They also knew future happenings. They'd been taught something about what was gonna happen and what the Lord was gonna do in the future, and they're like, this isn't the time yet, is it?

11:41 So they're part of the story. I'm not... Again, I'm not gonna spend time here, a lot of it, but that's what I wanna tell you about right now. So who... Which one of these characters do you identify with?

11:57 Consider that as we go through here today. Okay? Which one do you identify with today? Okay. Let's talk about the disciples and for for sake of argument, more than likely included more, but the the 12 apostles.

12:12 A select few here, right, they were set aside for special teaching, they're caring for Jesus, they're experienced, they cry out for help, you could see it, you know, we get all this. They're carrying Jesus away. Notice as we go forward that not one of them stayed with the man. We'll talk about that a little bit more. What was their response?

12:36 Okay. They feared exceedingly when they saw what the Lord was capable of doing on the sea. If you're a fisherman and you want calm water, it's easier to fish when the water's flat. Right? Wouldn't wouldn't somebody think, wait a minute, we could use this.

12:55 No. No. They feared because they they they they realized that something else... If if he could do this, this must mean something to me. If he can do that, then that changes the way I think about life as it is today.

13:14 Who can this be is what they said. In some ways, they rebuked the Lord. Right? Come on. Let's go.

13:19 We need help. And he he returned the favor. They they eventually accepted this new friend, right, of Jesus, and they probably helped him out. Did you did you notice that he was... In Matthew, I think it's Matthew or Luke, it says, he was naked.

13:46 He's clothed and he's sitting at the feast of Jesus. Well, who do you think closed them? I think it was the apostles. Right? Or these disciples that were with them.

13:56 They said, you know what, Lord, we've learned about this, you know. Hold on. Let me help him out. Let's let's help this guy out. You know what?

14:04 I got an extra cloak. You got some shoes, your your sandals, whatever it was, and and he was clothed. I I gotta believe he was cleaned up. They kinda washed him off a little bit, and he was a he was a different guy with the help of others here. But they were still about following Jesus.

14:20 In a sense, Jesus was telling the apostles, no. Not yet. You haven't seen everything yet, but you need to see this and take it with you. Okay. Let's talk a little bit about the herders and the town folk.

14:38 Okay? Now these herders were there as innocent bystanders in a sense. Right? I gotta believe that they were in some way well equated with this demon possessed man. I mean, they're they're herding their their swine through and getting...

14:51 Helping them feed, maybe feeding them, keeping them in a... It's in a wilderness area. It's not where a lot of people are at. If you've ever raised pigs, you want the pig someplace else, not where you're at. It's it's a it's a smelly, nasty business.

15:05 Right? But they had a job to do, and they kept them out there. But guess who was running around in about the same area? It's this guy that's nuts. Right?

15:15 He's having a bad way of life, and and it's like it's like, you know, you're seeing the bear in the wilderness. Right? You know he's out there. You don't really want to be there, but you kinda like, okay. I'll live with you being there.

15:28 You live... Let's just keep our distance. Right? But they they had to have known who's there. This all goes down, and they're like, didn't expect that to happen today.

15:42 But now we got a big problem here, folks. I've been taking care of 2,000 pigs, that's probably a big impact on the society at that time. 2,000 pigs was feeding or, you know, that's a that's an operation. Right? They're they're they're raising baby pigs, they're they're you know feeding, they're slaughtering, they're feeding much of the region probably with this flock.

16:08 So even if they didn't own them, they were disappointed that they didn't have them anymore because it was their livelihood. It could've... It was a huge impact on that society. Okay? So they run to the town folk, maybe that's where the owners will be, and they come running back out and they're genuinely looking for an answer.

16:27 What happened? Wait a minute, you're you're kidding me. I gotta go see this for myself. Right? And and it's interesting that they don't demand payment or arrest Jesus or something like that.

16:39 They're like, no. I think you gotta go. So initially, they're curious. What's going on? Maybe it's an interruption to a boring day.

16:49 And then they're confused. Wow. What a good thing for that guy. What a bad thing for us. Is this good or is this bad?

16:57 Right? What happened? I don't understand. I gotta figure it out. And then and then they come like the like the disciples smack into that wall of woah.

17:09 If this is true, what I've thought up to this point has all changed. My life is different knowing this than it was before knowing this. And what do they choose? What do they choose? They choose to say, no.

17:33 Won't have you to rule over my life. Please leave. I don't care what you've done here. I don't care the impact you've done. Nothing else.

17:43 I don't care who you are. Please go. Do I do that to the lord sometimes? Oh, no. No.

17:55 No. I know all you've done. I know all you've done in my life. I know you've done. You know what?

18:00 Not now. Please. No. Or maybe some of us have gotten to that point where we've never really accepted the lord but we've seen what he's done. We've heard tell.

18:13 We've heard these scriptures. We get to this point and there are still people in this world that say, nope. Don't want no part of that. That's a rough place to be. It's a scary thought.

18:39 Again, I'm not gonna go into the diagnosis. There's others better suited to that, but he was naked, living alone. Right? He's outcast from society. He's in the wilderness.

18:51 He's cutting himself. You get the impression, he... You know, this is a destructive behavior. Right? Exceedingly fierce, they said he was.

19:00 Scary to be around. Okay? He was so strong they could bind him with all of the technology in their capability at that time. Like a superhero, you can't box him in. I try and work that in because superhero is a big thing today.

19:16 Right? But but anyway, he's super strong. You know, we... There's there's medical reasons for this, again, I'm not gonna go into that, but somebody has to be wondering why is he like this? If nobody else's mom and his dad are going, the poor guy, I feel awful.

19:38 But we can think about the man born blind that we talk about in John nine. Why was he born blind? The disciple said, so the Lord in this day could be glorified. That's why he was born blind. Maybe that's why this guy is in such bad shape.

19:53 I think we read on, you'll say, you'll agree with me. That's why he was here. That's why he was there. That's why you're having a rough time today. That's why I've been having a rough time.

20:04 Sometimes, it's so that we can bring glory to the lord. We don't know his plans. But afterwards, he's sitting at Jesus' feet learning much the same as like Mary did. That was the better thing to learn. So when he saw Jesus for the first time, what did he do?

20:26 He it says that he saw him from afar, almost like the father in the prodigals, the story of the prodigal. He says he ran to worship him. He fell down to before him. He met Jesus at the shore immediately. So as Jesus got out of the boat, he was there to meet him.

20:45 Okay? And I gotta believe, you know, there was a hill here, right, that the the pigs ran down the hill. I I gotta believe he was up on that hill looking out. Maybe he saw the storm. Maybe he saw the boats foundering.

20:57 I don't know. Maybe he just saw him coming his way and he's thinking, I'm going down there. I don't know when at what moment he says, who? Look who's on the boat. I don't know.

21:09 But when he got there, he knew. If he didn't know, the demons knew to get collectively, there was a realization of who was actually here, what he was capable of, and he begged him, do not torment me. I've had it hard enough. Now, I don't need you piling on here. Of all people, of all the son of God is here.

21:36 Don't don't don't do it. So afterwards, much different person, right? He's sitting at the feet as we talked about, he's learning from Jesus, maybe the disciples are ministering to him, he's a different man, right? And and he doesn't fear, but I could I could see him saying, well, I don't wanna stay here. You got what I need.

22:00 I wanna go with you. See, there's a difference here. Some people said, no, please leave. He said, I wanna go with you. No.

22:07 I don't wanna stay. I wanna get in the boat. I want to go where you're going. We could understand that, right? And I don't know but maybe the disciples were saying, yeah, come on, man.

22:18 You gotta pay me back for that cloak anyhow but I don't know. That was a joke. I'm sorry. But here's the answer. In a word, no.

22:35 Please, you gotta take me. No. I really wanna go. I don't wanna stay here. No.

23:00 Jesus commissioned him, gave him something to do, and he gave him the tools with which to do it. We all believe that kind of stuff. Right? That makes sense. What did he give him?

23:12 He left them with the current edition of the Bible. Right? He he he sent an apostle with him. Do we read about that? Gave him a whole bunch of money because he had to have something to live on.

23:25 Gave him a new job, went and got a college degree. How many of those things do people think we need to be able to witness to others? What did the Lord say? How many of these up here were left? Not one.

23:41 Right? What did he leave him with? Well, he left him with the clothes on his back. Literally. The clothes on his back.

23:51 We don't have any belief that he had anything else to his name. He was destitute living on his own in the wilderness and he gave him, they gave him some clothes and he left him with a story. And what did Jesus say? Go tell the story. Two things.

24:12 Go tell the story. What are they? What great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had compassion on you. Are you prepared to tell that story? We think it's so hard.

24:27 Five spiritual laws, or is there four, or you know what? How many how many roads down Romans we gotta go? Or... You know, all this kind of stuff. But can you tell this story?

24:39 This is the most important one. To people around you, this is what the lord has done for me and how he had compassion on me. The Lord went all the way across five miles or so through the storm to find how many guys. It's a trick question. Two.

25:06 There's one. Right? Matthew says there was two. I don't know. He goes to find this one guy, Mark tells us.

25:15 And then they tell him, could you leave and where does he go? No. No. No. There's lots of other folks around here.

25:20 Look at them all. He says, okay. I'll go. He didn't say, I'm gonna stay here until you believe. I'm gonna force you to believe in me.

25:34 I'm gonna stomp my foot. Nothing. Okay. See you around. Come on, guys.

25:42 Let's go. Who did he send this guy to? Who did he want him to witness to? They're the same people that tried to bind him. The same people that didn't want anything to do with him.

25:58 The same people that chased him off into the hills. The same people that knew his reputation, knew what he'd been through, knew all of that. And yet, can you see why he didn't wanna stay? Oh, man. I wanna go with you.

26:17 Do you feel like that? Oh, lord. Why don't you just take us to heaven? Well, he told him, didn't he? He told him, no, you're not going with me because I've got a more important reason for you to stay here.

26:35 It's not our plans. If it was up to me, I'd love just hanging out with all y'all. And you know what? It might be that all y'all would love to hang out with... Well, maybe not with me, but with some of the rest of you around here.

26:49 But the point is, they're out there. Go out there to the people that are trying to bind us and don't want any part of it. Tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had compassion on you. That's what the Lord would have. Okay.

27:07 I'm gonna flip through this quickly. You know, here's Jesus. He he had a a plan here. He calmed the sea, provided a solution, commissioned the man. Let's think about how he treated each one of these people.

27:20 And the demon possessed man, he had compassion on him because he had a solution and then he gave him direction. Okay? What's most important about this is the contrast to the way the others treated him. Let's bind him up. Let's put him away.

27:39 Let's not keep him close. Jesus had compassion on him. Right? The disciples, he's still teaching them. They got a body of work that he wants to put in front of them, and this is not the end of it.

27:52 Okay? The herders and town folks, he was obedient to their request. Think about that. Okay. That's alright.

28:01 See you later. He was gracious. He didn't force them to believe, but he left a guy to witness to him, didn't he? And they... It says that they marveled at his story.

28:13 The demons he confronted said, no. I'm in charge here, not you. Get out. He saw each one for who they were and what purpose he had for them. If we can learn anything from this slide, it's to see people for who they are and what the Lord would have for them to do.

28:42 Oh, that we could do that. That's so easy to see. He's gonna hurt me or he's gonna hurt somebody else or I don't wanna touch that. I I think of so many moms and dads, brothers and sisters who have who have taken those around them in many in in recent years, think of those that that have dealt with the people that we would have put into homes years ago and now have have learned that they have tremendous powers, right? Asperger's and and other these things, people took compassion on them and worked with them and came to a point where they can teach them, where they can show them, where they can they can be contributing members of society that wasn't possible years ago.

29:33 What a gift that is to do that and to see past the exterior. So I won't beat that horse anymore. So here's your assignment. I'm ending early, not as early as I wanted to, but a little bit early. This is a group project.

30:03 Maybe a fifth because I know some of you ladies or maybe even gentlemen are gonna say, I gotta go out and work on a crock pot. Okay? That's okay. If you gotta do that, you can still do the assignment. Okay?

30:15 This is the body working together. Alright? I want to... I ask you to testify and encourage one another. Alright?

30:24 Get in a circle. Everybody's part of it. It's not one in charge. I haven't designated anybody out there. If you feel the need to facilitate, that's great.

30:35 Try to talk less and listen more, but all of us can work together so that you can process this a little bit. Okay, so that we can apply what we've learned a little bit. Here's some suggested questions for you to answer. I don't know what to talk about. If I get in a group I'll freeze up.

30:55 Well just look up here, it's okay, we got it all figured out for you. It doesn't have to be only these questions. But which character in the story do you identify with and why? Where are at today? How do you feel?

31:11 Which one do you identify with? The the the the man in the difficult spot, the demon possessed man as it were, the herders and town folks, maybe the disciples. Hopefully, not the demons. What has Jesus asked you to do? Okay?

31:29 And when did he last say no? Because because I'm gonna bet that if he's only saying yes, maybe we aren't listening too careful. He might be saying no to something. Alright. When did you last say no?

31:46 This is probably more likely in my case. When is the last time you said yes to what you thought Jesus was asking you to do? Okay? And then finally, and if you have time, what skills or gifts has he given you to use amongst this body?