October 9, 2016
Ministry:
Read John 18:4. We have been thinking this morning of the Lord’s suffering for us and all that He went through, all the sins He bore for us. He knew all that He was going to go through and yet He went forth. He did it all, knowing that suffering. Read Hebrews 12:2. He endured the cross, because of the joy that was set before Him. And this morning, He joys that we are here to worship Him.
Hymn 86 - Hark! The Saviour’s voice from heaven
Prayer
Last time we saw the Lord call Peter, Andrew, James, and John to be fishers of men. That was on the lake with four names: Galilee, Genesaret, Tiberias, and Kinnereth. It’s not a big lake, only 13 miles long, and 8 miles wide; and today we’ll have another story from beside it.
Mark 7:31-37
Jesus was back at the Lake of Galilee, and there were some other people there who brought a man that was deaf and couldn’t speak very well. Imagine not being able to hear anything; it’d be very silent and very upsetting. Recently, I had a hearing test, and they showed me a chart that told how well I could hear. It turns out, I can’t hear things that are high-pitched, like cicadas. This man, however, couldn’t hear at all. To him the world was silent, and he couldn’t speak well either.
The friends of this man did the best thing that they could do: Jesus was in their midst and could heal, so they brought their friend to Him. There are people today that can hear things, but they are deaf to the Lord. Their ears work fine, but they don’t listen when you talk about Jesus. You see, there’s a difference between hearing and listening. We may be able to hear, but if we don’t pay attention and do what we’re told, then we’re not listening. That’s the problem with people; maybe they’ve heard John 3:16, but they haven’t listened to it and gotten involved. This deaf man is a picture of someone who hasn’t listened to the gospel. He wasn’t able to speak to tell the Lord he was a sinner in need of salvation. He needed to get healed, just as we need to get saved.
When they brought this man to Jesus, Jesus didn’t say, “Don’t bother me!” No, He had come to Earth in order to help people. He took this man aside, so things were just between themselves. If we don’t know the Lord as Saviour, we need to get alone with God and let Him touch our hearts. Jesus touched this man: He put His fingers in his ears, spat, and then touched his tongue. It doesn’t seem like it would help a deaf man to plug his ears, but Jesus had a healing touch. He then looked up to heaven, sighed, and said, “Be opened.” The One who could calm the storm with His word could also heal with just a word. The man was made whole immediately, and words could come in his ears and go out his mouth. We need to be open and honest with the Lord.
Jesus solved this man’s problems. I’m sure he thanked the Lord for healing him, said, “Wow! Listen to those bird! I’ve seen them, but never heard them before!”, and was able to speak understandably. Jesus didn’t want to be a spectacle, so He told these people not to tell anyone about what had happened. However, they were so excited they couldn’t stop talking and rejoicing. Those that are saved sometimes feel the same way.
These people were astonished beyond measure; they were just blown away by what had happened. Jesus had done all things well, and we can truly say that if we’re saved.
Colossians 2:9-15
We see the Godhead in Jesus. The invisible God is now visible through Jesus. Jesus became what the Godhead was not, to bring the Godhead to us for our enjoyment. This is a precious truth that only Christianity has. God has been manifested in His fullness to us, and we are now complete in Him and manifested to God.
Christ was the Head in the mystery. But here we find that He is also the Head of principality and power. He is the Head of all; He orders it. He has power and authority. Ephesians 1:18-22a emphasizes God’s power. Now, there are some bad principalities and powers, used by Satan, that tried to keep Jesus from rising. But He made a show of them openly.
The Jew’s circumcision was under the law. To us it is the mortification of the flesh. “In Whom” is Christ. Circumcision is not what we do as a ceremony. We are buried with Him in baptism. But in baptism you get a glimmer of resurrection. We are risen with Him. Circumcision is like death, baptism is like burial, and then there is resurrection. We were dead in sin. When the Lord died on Calvary He dealt with everything that held Gentiles, but it also got rid of the Jew’s ordinances. We are brought together into the mystery. We are quickened together, and are alive with Him. The handwriting of the ordinances was the law which was what we couldn’t do.
Hymn 92 - Have you any room for Jesus
Prayer