Escape Room

 Open up your Bibles to Genesis 6. In verse 13 we see that God is going to destroy the world, but in verse 18 he tells Noah that he's going to save Noah and his family. At this time the world was very wicked full of debased people doing debased things. They had no regard for godly men like Noah who knew God's word. God did however give Noah the means to escape the world.
 Fast forward to 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. God is telling us Christians that if we remain long enough (until the end of time) He will personally come for His people. Jesus will come down and we'll fly up into the air to meet Him (HOW COOL IS THAT?). We call this the Rapture. Again, at this time we see a debased world, doing debased things and God tells His faithful people (the church) in Thessalonians that He will provide the means for them to escape the world.
 Well right now, saints, I think we live in a wicked world. I think there are debased people doing debased things. I think God has spoken just as He did to Noah and to future saints in 1 Thessalonians. I think he has made a way for us to escape; namely, the church.
 In Hebrews 10:25 God tells us not to give up meeting together, but to encourage each other until the Rapture happens. We are supposed to be encouraging one another every time we meet together: in homegroups, in church, or just when we meet randomly in a gas station, grocery store, or go out to eat with other saints.
 In John 13 we see Jesus washing His disciples feet. Now remember, we need to escape from the world. Our feet are what come in contact with the world every day. It is a symbol/picture of being in the world, however we need to have our feet washed. We need to be cleansed from the world. Jesus modeled that we also need to wash each other's feet. We should have the attitude every time we meet at church and especially at homegroups that we're there to minister to others. That we're there to pray for, to love, and share God with others. Our meetings need to be different than meetings in the world. This isn't done only with Bible studies. This has to be intentional, loving fellowship that actually cleanses people from the world.
 This washing can only happen if people allow it to. Remember Peter? He didn't want to have his feet washed in John 13. There will be people who are averse to opening up. They are averse to telling people how they can be ministered to. They don't want people to see their smelly feet. Our response should always be Jesus' response: deliberate, loving instruction that we model ourselves.
 Guys we need to care about each other. We need to minister to one another. We need to get real with each other and tell others how we're struggling, how we could be held accountable, how we can be encouraged, how we can be prayed for. This doesn't come naturally, it comes supernaturally. It can only happen by the Holy Spirit. That's what we should want  for our homegroups. That's what we need in our homegroups. And, most importantly, it's what God desires for our homegroups.
 Do not forsake the assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near Hebrews 10:25

An Everlasting Testimony

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the quick, and they began gnashing their teeth at him.   But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God;   and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”   But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse.   When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul.   They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”   Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he  fell asleep. Acts 7:54-60

  This is probably a peculiar passage for me to choose when discussing this topic. However, I chose it because I think it applies. See, we know Jesus is our High Priest constantly making intercession and prayers before the Father on our behalf, but here we see something different. Here we see someone faithful to Jesus who just gave a wonderful testimony and Jesus is standing for him. When one of Jesus' own is killed He doesn't just sit back, he doesn't look away, but He stands. Whether to welcome, out of love, or encouragement I don't know, but Jesus is standing to receive one of His own.

We also note Saul, a young man who would go on to become Paul, the Apostle of Jesus Christ. While here, he is persecuting one of Jesus' own, it will become apparent how much Paul will grieve his acts of persecution later in life. However, here we see Stephen's testimony before him. A testimony of who Jesus is and what He has done. Stephen did not testify of himself, but rather his Lord.

 Finally, we see that Stephen went to sleep. He did not die, he went to sleep. Just like Lazarus in the tomb, the little 12-year old girl, and all believers before the rapture (1 Thess 4:13), he fell asleep. In Greek there are two words for death, the final death, thanos, which no believer will ever experience and necros, the decaying of the body which everyone experiences since the fall of man. However, you can be certain that no believer will ever experience thanos. Jesus Christ paid the cost, death has no sting.

  What then shall we say of our dear brother and church leader Clint who went to be with the Lord yesterday afternoon? I say that just like Stephen, Clint's eyes were focused on Jesus. He did not point to himself, but rather to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He did not give a testimony to Jewish rulers, but rather a testimony to his fellow believers that faith without works is dead. We don't elevate him, but rather we elevate who he elevated. At this present moment we cannot know how many young Sauls Clint had an impact upon, but we can be certain whoever they are, they heard about Jesus from him. And lastly, we know that Clint did not die, he did not experience thanos, no but rather he experienced joy everlasting when he met his Savior face-to-face. Clint now knows, even as he himself was known.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us honor our beloved brother by honoring who he chose to honor. Let us serve as he chose to serve. Let us worship who he chose to worship. That will be his legacy, and I pray it will be ours also.

Mark 1:21-28

Last week, Jesus called his Disciples for the first time, this week they're going to see him in action, confronting a demoniac in the synogogue. Synogogues were not commanded in the Old Testament, they were initiated after the return from captivity from Babylon with a people group known as the Sophrim, or scribes, started by Ezra. Their point was to make certain that people wouldn't fall into the sin that lead to their exile. They started off correctly, but fell into the trap of creating things that God did not command. Through a process called PilPol, they took a majority vote on creating new laws, and even made these new laws equal, in their view, to the Word of God. They justified it by saying that Moses gave them a Written Law, but this was an Oral Law that was also passed down, which, of course, wasn't true.
 They are also in Capernaum, which will become Jesus' base of operations from this point forward. He will often return to Capernaum before setting out for another location. While in the synagogue at Capernaum Jesus encounters the demoniac who asks Jesus what business He has being here. The demoniac was upset because Jesus was teaching in the synagogue. Everyone was impressed with Jesus because He spoke with authroity, something not done by other Rabbis in that day. Rabbis had a common practice of quoting other Rabbis to make their points and arguements. Jesus, however, did not do this. He quoted only from God's Word and exposited according to only His own counsel. This, obviously, would have been unheard of .
The unclean spirit, however, proceeded to tell everyone who Jesus was! Jesus did not want this to happen. Rather, He chose to work within established religious means, that God had ordained. He also did not wish to accept the testimony of a demon for His ministry. They were not exactly the most reliable of witnesses and even though what demons spoke of Jesus was true, Jesus did not accept their testimony. Instead He bid it to be quiet and to leave the possessed man.
 Obviously this created quite a stir in the locals who saw this, but more importantly for the Disciples with Jesus. The common people went and told all of Galilee about Jesus, which will have ramifacations in Galilee from now on.
 The amazing thing about this passage is just how much authority Jesus has. He has entered God's house where He was most at home and taught about the Word. He did not teach as man did, but taught as someone who had more intimate knowledge. Let us consider what teachings we're relying on. Are we regarding teachers or men as higher than what God says? Do we add things to the Word of God that aren't in there so that we feel more Holy? This week, brethren, as we read God's Word let's take it at face value and not read into it anything else. Let's not judge others for things God does not Judge in His Word. Instead, let us become gracious and full of wisdom so that we might have an intimate knowledge of God and His Word, as Jesus did, and now allows us to do.




















 

Mark 1:14-20

​Today we get to see Jesus choosing some of His disciples! This is amazing as this is the first act we see since He was tested in the wilderness by Satan. Our passage will be Mark 1:14-20. Let us consider the implications of those He chooses and how we can become better disciples of Jesus based upon those implications. 

​First off Jesus comes to Galilee AFTER John had been arrested. We know that John was arrested by Herod the tetrarch for calling out Herod’s sin. We also know that Herod was the ruler over the region of Galilee, the very region that Jesus is returning to. It is very pertinent then that we see how Jesus is preaching the same message that John left off with (v. 15). Jesus is saying the kingdom of God is at hand. How is it at hand? Where is the kingdom? Why it is with Jesus, of course, as He is the rightful king! Yet aside from angels, His kingdom doesn’t appear to be full of many citizens… yet. 

​Jesus chooses His first four disciples, in Mark’s Gospel narrative, who are fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. We know from John’s Gospel account that this isn’t the first time that Jesus called Peter and Andrew, but here is where they really follow Jesus. Jesus calls them though, by saying He’ll make them fishers of men, and immediately they follow Jesus. I’ll talk more about this later, but it is interesting that Jesus promises them this if they follow Him, and it’s that promise that Mark records which causes them to follow Him. 

​A little further Jesus encounters James and John, sons of Zebedee, whom He also calls. They leave their father in the boat with their hired servants and follow Jesus. They literally leave their inheritance behind! Zebedee was a fisherman by trade also, and his livelihood was in that fishing boat, but James and John account it worth more to follow Jesus than to gain their worldly inheritance. What an example! What would it be like if we were to consider any of our inheritances as nothing to simply follow Jesus!

​We started by talking about the kingdom of God, as Jesus did in v. 15. Jesus is choosing, as the first disciples in His kingdom, four fishermen in Galilee. These aren’t priests, respected Pharisees or lawyers, these aren’t even culturally learned men used to debating in the Greek fashion. These are simple fishermen. Why then does Jesus choose these men? Simple: to make them fishers of men. There are a lot of similarities between fishing and evangelizing. You need the right bait. You need to go where the fish are and when they’re biting. You need to have patience when things aren’t going well, but you also need to be prepared with the nets when they are. You need to be prepared for good and bad weather, and you need to find a place for those fish immediately after they are caught. 

​So brothers and sisters, how would we measure up? If Jesus were just starting His kingdom anew, would we meet the criteria to help grow the kingdom? Are we growing the kingdom at all today? Are we willing to give up worldly inheritances for Jesus? Are we subject to ourselves, or to the King? May we keep in mind that the Bible isn’t our story, and evangelism isn’t about us. As we study the Bible and pray may our hearts always be set upon Jesus, and may we want, above all, His Will to be done. Amen.

Mark 1:9-13

​This week we’ll be making a comparison between Moses and Jesus. Our passage is Mark 1:9-13 and I hope we’ll be able to see they have many things in common. While I can’t say for certain that this comparison is what Mark was intending in these verses or in his Gospel account, I can say for certain that Jesus is supposed to be compared to Moses (Deut 18). 

​First of all we see in those days, meaning that in the days in which John the Baptist was preaching and baptizing people from all over Judea, Jesus came down from Nazareth in Galilee to be baptized. Now Galilee is in the northern portions of what we know as Israel. Galilee would not be under the same jurisdiction as Pilate, but rather under the jurisdiction of Herod the tetrarch. Jesus is leaving that region to come visit His cousin, John. Jesus was there baptized in the Jordan River. 

​Immediately the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and came upon Jesus. This shows a parallel between the first baptism, by water, and the second baptism of the Holy Spirit. This should ring some bells as to what we covered last week (v. 8 John baptizes with water, Jesus with the Holy Spirit). This shows the two-fold baptism of Jesus, the first being into death, the second into life (Romans 6). Now a voice came out of Heaven and told Jesus that He was God’s beloved Son, in Whom God is well pleased. First off, this should be a key passage promoting the Tri-Unity of God, what with the Father speaking, the Holy Spirit descending, and Jesus receiving. Next it shows that God is pleased in Jesus. We don’t know that Jesus did anything in Mark’s Gospel other than being baptized at this point so it can only allude to things Jesus has done previously, things not recorded, things in Jesus’ character, or things to come. Either way God is well-pleased!

​Immediately the Spirit impels (from the root to throw) Him into the wilderness where He is tested for forty days by Satan and being ministered to by angels. Wow! What a turnaround! This is the first act we see Jesus doing after His baptism and it is something the Spirit impels Him to do. Forty is often times a prescribed time of testing for God. This is especially true for Moses. Moses was on Mount Sinai for forty days receiving the commands of God. He spent forty years wandering in the wilderness with the lost sheep of Israel so the new generation could be ready to enter the Promised Land. Well here too, Jesus is being tested for forty days, and His testing is so severe that Satan himself was doing the tempting. Now we know from other Gospel accounts (Matthew and Luke) that Jesus resisted Satan’s misuse of scripture. Jesus passes His test, just as Moses passed his test. 

​There are many other parallels between Moses and Jesus, they both cut a covenant between God and men, they both intercede on Israel’s behalf, they both are aptly named, they both lead their people out of Egypt (literal and figurative), they both speak face-to-face with God, they both are lead by the Holy Spirit, they both are prophets, and they both are chosen by God to lead His people. 

Jesus is a prophet like Moses. This is an amazing thing to realize, because it is our goal to be more like Jesus every day and become sanctified by His Word and Spirit. However, Moses isn’t compared to Jesus in the sense we don’t say ‘Moses was a prophet like Jesus’, nay, but rather ‘Jesus was a prophet like Moses’! That’s amazing! What a compliment to have the very Son of God compared to you! Dear brothers and sisters let us strive every day to be more like Jesus, not in the hopes that He would be compared to us, no, that is not something we should hope for, but as believers and followers of Him, let us strive through our testing to be compared to Him. That is the highest compliment we could ever hope to receive. 

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Mark 1:2-8, John and Us

​Today we’re going to look at John the Baptist in Mark’s Gospel account! This is exciting as John is a very interesting character in the Gospel accounts. His ministry, as we will hopefully see, is similar to our ministry. As we consider what he was in relation to Jesus, let us also consider our places, relative to our Savior. 

​Starting in verse 2 of chapter 1, we get to prophesies about John. This alone should key us into the fact that John is a very important figure. Now the Hebrew Bible is similar to our Old Testament with some slight differences. It is called the Tanakh, which is a acronym for its composition: the Torah, which are the five books of Moses, the Nevi’im which is the prophets, and finally the Ketuvim, which is the writings. Within these lie some differences with our Old Testament such as Daniel being one of the writings, not within the prophets and Joshua, Judges, Kings, and Samuel being found within the prophets. This is all to say that when Mark refers to Isaiah in verse 2, he is quoting from the Nevi’im as a whole, as we can see from verse 2 being a quote from Malachi and verse 3 being a quote from Isaiah (3:1 and 40:3, respectively). Malachi also foretold that John would have the spirit of Elijah (4:5). 

​From these prophesies we see John’s mission, to prepare the way for Jesus and to make His paths straight. And so, in verse 4, we see John appearing in the wilderness preaching baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is interesting on many accounts. First, John is in the wilderness preaching this, not Jerusalem or the Temple or a synagogue or anywhere else we might normally expect. Second he’s telling them to repent. Now we know from Luke’s Gospel account that John as a Nazarite from birth. This interestingly puts a parallel between John and another famous Nazarite, Samuel. They both were Nazarites, they both preached repentance, and they both attempted to turn Israel back to God and eventually to their King (David and his descendant and Lord, Jesus). 

​Next in verse 5 we see all the country of Judea going and people of Jerusalem, to be baptized in the Jordan River (an Old Testament symbol for the baptism of the Israelites in Joshua). These people came confessing their sins and were so baptized. Now we know that baptism is a symbol of death and dying to self (Romans 6), and so these people were agreeing to die to themselves and repent (turn back to God). 

​Verse 6 tells us of the character and nature of John. He wore simple clothes of camel’s hair and a leather belt and ate locusts and honey. This is a very simplistic life. It shows first that he was not attached to the things of this world. Also it shows his dependence upon God. Surviving in the wilderness is no small task and locust and wild honey cannot be grown or produced (otherwise it wouldn’t be wild!). John was fully dependant on God to carry out God’s mission for John. 

​And he was preaching, in verses 7-8, that Jesus would come and be greater than John. So much so that John would be unable to even loose the thongs of His sandals. (What humility on John’s part, in spite of the many people coming to hear his message and to be baptized!) This coming person would baptize with the Holy Spirit, unlike John’s baptism of water. This shows not only that the Spirit is about to bring life in contrast to the water’s death, but also the magnificence of the person to come! By agreeing to this baptism the people were, in effect, agreeing to die to themselves and to follow whomever John pointed out as the one who would baptize with the Spirit. This is quite a confession! 

​It is amazing to consider the work that John performed and his unique ministry in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His was to be no small role and the prophecies of him reflect that. Yet our ministry is very similar to his. He was called to point people to Christ, we are called to point people to Christ. He baptized people who agreed to follow the one who would baptize them with the Holy Spirit, we the church, baptize people with water who have agreed to follow He Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. John had the people repent and confess their sins so they might be forgiven, as we do with new disciples today! Finally, John foretold the coming of the Messiah, and so we to are to foretell of the Second Coming of the Messiah of Israel. 

​Brothers and Sisters let us consider our role in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, albeit a minor one. We have such a privilege to share this Good News with others. We are to subsist purely on God for all of our needs. We need to point people to Christ in a similar way with as much humility as John. Remember, we too are not worthy to loose the thongs of His sandals. May we carry out our mission with reverence and humility and not lose sight of Jesus, who is coming again to rule and reign. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Mark, Introduction

​We have decided to cover Mark’s account of the Gospel of Jesus Christ next! This is exciting as it is the first book study we’ve covered since this Lifegroup’s inception. It is only fitting that the first book we study as a fellowship of Christians is the life and ministry of Jesus the Messiah. In order to fully understand Mark’s Gospel, we should first of all cover who Mark was and why he chose to write the things in his account of the Gospel he did. Obviously, the Holy Spirit is the true author and Jesus is the Word incarnate, but there are things we can glean from studying the human author as well. 

​Our first introduction of Mark (as many scholars believe) is in Mark’s own Gospel narrative! In chapter 14 of Mark’s Gospel account, we come upon Jesus’ arrest and betrayal within the Garden of Gethsemane. 

 

And they all left Him and fled. A young man was following Him, wearing nothing but a linen sheet over his naked body; and they seized him. But he pulled free of the linen sheet and escaped naked. Mark 14:50-52

 

​First we see Jesus’ disciples leaving Him en masse. However one person stayed behind: a nearly-naked youth. Literary critics believe this is Mark’s way of showing himself. In a similar fashion, John, in his Gospel account, refers to himself as ‘the beloved disciple’ or ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved’. This was, as scholars tell us, a way for authors to show themselves within their text. 

​If this is Mark, however, what does this tell us about him? First it shows his faithfulness to follow Jesus even after His own disciples had left Him. It also speaks to Mark’s boldness as there was a massive cohort of individuals there to arrest Jesus, yet Mark persisted in following. It also shows peculiarly that Mark was underdressed, as it were. This may be an allusion to not yet having the Garments of Salvation, which Isaiah spoke of, but it certainly tells us that this youth made a brash and probably instantaneous decision to follow Jesus into the garden, and especially so to follow Him after He was arrested! 

​We also encounter Mark, also called John, in Acts 15:37-41, where Barnabas and Paul have a disagreement over Mark. Paul argues that Mark is unfaithful having deserted them in Pamphylia and does not wish to take Mark with them. Barnabas, however, being an encourager by nature, and someone who in the past encouraged Paul when Paul’s ministry first began, wishes to take Mark with them and encourage Mark along the way. The disagreement was so harsh (v. 39) that they had to separate and go their separate ways. While neither Barnabas or Paul was wrong in what they believed, per se, we (given the glorious benefit of hindsight and the completed Word of God) know that Mark went on to write one of the Gospel accounts of Jesus. 

​Also even Paul saw Mark’s usefulness later in life, as in his final epistle, written to Timothy, he writes and asks that Timothy should pick up Mark and bring him with Timothy because he is useful to Paul (2 Timothy 4:11). Mark, it appears has come quite a long way from being a naked youth, to a deserter, to someone useful to Paul. This takes us to the Gospel according to Mark. 

​First it should be known that Mark is writing his Gospel account primarily to Romans. Whereas Matthew wrote to Jews, Luke to Gentiles, and John to the church as a whole, Mark is writing to people whose culture and heritage was particularly Roman. This means that Mark places a lot of emphasis on things that would appeal to Romans. These include a sense of immediacy (he uses the word ‘immediately’ frequently), the sense of Jesus having a purpose or mission and carrying out that mission as a perfect soldier/servant, and finally it shows Jesus’ obedience to His Father. These things in particular would appeal to Romans whose chief exemplar of model citizenship would be a Roman soldier. 

​With this in view, let’s look at Mark’s introduction:

 

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Mark 1:1

 

​This simple introduction to Mark’s Gospel account actually says a lot. First off, he begins with the word beginning. This same word is found to begin both the book of Genesis and John’s Gospel. This is to show that this is a new beginning. A new start for humanity, found through Christ. Next he calls Jesus the Christ, which means ‘anointed one’ in Greek (or Messiah in Hebrew). This signifies that Jesus was anointed for His ministry. Christ has come to mean savior to many people, and they’re not entirely wrong to think that as Jesus was anointed to save, but it means anointed one. Finally Mark refers to Jesus as the Son of God. This denotes not only Jesus’ submission to God the Father (remember Romans seek obedience), but also His prophesied role (Proverbs 30:4 for instance) (and His mission).

​This is quite a thing to study and I simply cannot wait to get into Mark’s Gospel account. Let us take Mark’s example. Though he started out a brash youth without much fortitude, he ended up being useful to Paul and also God and went on to pen a Gospel of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit. What an amazing journey! Consider dear friends, the same God who was at work in Mark’s life is in work in you. Though you may at times fail or desert your post, Jesus came to forgive you of your sins, so that you might carry on His righteousness and tell the world about the God News of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of Israel. Amen!