Remember To Trust The Power of Jesus

[Sermon 2 in a series - What Jesus Wants You To Remember]

Introduction

Mark 8:11-21

A newlywed couple had settled in to normal life when the wife had to travel out of town for a week for her job. She called home to see how things were going, and her husband abruptly said that her cat, “Mr. Twinkles,” had been run over. Then he said, “Talk you to later, I’m getting another call!” The young lady was heartbroken and mad at the same time because  her husband did not have any sensitivity in delivering bad news. She was so mad that she did not call back the next couple of days. When she did call, she explained to her husband how insensitive he had been in regard to telling her bad news about her cat. He apologized and asked how he should have told her the bad news. She said, “First, you should have said that Mr. Twinkles was out on the roof, and the next time we talked you could have said Mr. Twinkles was up in a tree, and the third time we talked you could have said that Mr. Twinkles fell from the tree and passed away. This would have given me time to prepare for the bad news. “ The husband promised to do better with bad news in the future.” The young couple talked about other things in their lives, and then the wife asked him, “Have you heard from my grandmother, I know she wasn’t feeling good before I left on my trip?” The young man became quiet on the other end of the phone, and the then spoke up, “Your grandmother is on the roof!”

Our text today is about saying the right thing at the right time and then  remembering what is important from it. The story in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8, verses 11-21 is a great reminder to us from Jesus.

Our sermon series is based on What Jesus Wants You To Remember and these verses remind us some important lessons about Jesus. Allow this Scripture today to take Jesus off the pages of history, to remove Him from the stained glass windows in our church, and allow Him to be in flesh and blood right in front of you.

This is one of the greatest passages of scripture revealing to us the personality of Jesus Christ.

This Scripture reminds you of the…

i.  The Purpose of Jesus

He came to seek and save the lost. Jesus did not come to just teach us a better way, nor to feed us when we are hungry, or to heal us when we are sick, but to show us He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man can come to God but through Him.Power of Jesus to help the downcast, the lost, and the hopeless. This Scripture follows Jesus feeding a multitude of people who had been following Him for three days, and Jesus used 7 loaves of bread, fed the multitude and had seven large baskets of leftovers! That is what I call power from the Hand of God! When you read about the ministry of Jesus in the Bible, you read about miracle after miracle in pointing people to the God who loves and redeems.

ii. The Patience of Jesus

The Lord was patient with all types of people. Jesus was patient with His disciples, with the woman at the well, with a man up a tree, with a woman about to be stoned for committing adultery, with a rich person, with tax collectors and with sinners of all kinds.. It seemed that Jesus had patience with everybody until you read this scripture. After the Pharisees approached Jesus demanding a sign from heaven to prove to them that He was the Messiah, Jesus did not have much patience.. Jesus sighed deeply in His Spirit, told His disciples to get back on the boat, and He left the presence of these men. What does it take to cause Jesus to walk away from a person or a group of people? This sermon will give some insight into the ministry of Jesus, and into our ministry as His disciples, and what is important for us to remember about Jesus.

While back on the boat with His disciples,, Jesus asked them if they remembered the miracle of feeding the multitudes. Learn from this…

I. The Joy of the Miracle

If you remember the miracle of your salvation, the miracle that you are still here, and the miracle that God has never given up on you, you can experience the joy of the Lord’s miracles in your life. The Pharisees and Sadducees were so focused questions, doubts, and self-righteousness that they had no appreciation for the miracle of Jesus feeding the thousands with a few loaves of bread. To appreciate God’s miracles in life helps us remember some important things.

• It is always exciting to remember that God knows our needs.
• It is always exciting to see God work in our behalf and in behalf of others.
• It is always exciting to see God do the undoable.
• It is always more exciting to see a multitude blessed than just one.
• It is always exciting to hear people praise God with the the joy of being blessed.
• It should always be exciting when God answers our prayers.

These are memories that should be recalled - always!

II. You Can Identify the Problems of Life

When you remember Jesus in this miracle situation and His teaching from it, you will gain great insight to help you live properly as a Christian.

Jesus said beware of the “leaven of the Pharisees and Herod.” What did that mean? The disciples heard Him, but they couldn’t agree, so they “reasoned” among themselves, which meant they argued. Then Jesus explained that He wasn’t talking about bread, but about “leaven.” Leaven was viewed in Scripture as that which worked in secret to make a negative difference in a person’s life.  The Pharisees had a spiritual leaven that added to Scripture, for they created a false standard which they used to condemn their neighbors. They loved the ritual of religion and hated the purpose of religion. They pointed out sin in others but never confessed their own sin.

Herod, and the Sadducees, were different from the Pharisees. The Pharisees added to God’s Word but the Sadducees took away from the Scripture. They compromised with the world to have temporary positions of importance on earth.

How can we be on our guard so that we do not look for sins in others so we can judge them, or take away from God’s so we can sin without conviction.? We can do the right thing in this regard through the power of God in us through the Holy Spirit. We must continually study the Bible, and be sensitive to the Spirit of God in our lives. If we do this, we can properly, spiritually and biblically identify the real problems in life.

When you remember God’s miracles from the Word and in our lives …

III. You Can Understand the Value of Memory

A little faith is better than no faith at all. Even small faith helps us recall God’s goodness, even when things are not necessarily going our way. Following Jesus can be challenging, but it is always rewarding. With faith to follow Him we can learn the value of remembering what He has taught us.

Think of what we learn from this incident from God’s Word.

Patience is something that all of us need, and all of us need to exercise. We have to wait on God to complete His work. We must not prejudge the situation.  Always remember, you never know more than God. The Pharisees and Sadducees never learned this lesson. Their minds were so fixed that they could not learn the truth.

Memory of God’s blessings and teachings will always produce conditions for us to praise God. If we forget His blessings and teachings, we begin to have a personal pity party. This causes us to question God, like the Pharisees and Sadducees did..

Conclusion 

What frame of mind has your memory produced today? Are you praising God for the divine blessings in your life? If so, so “AMEN!” There you go! We can all Him, if only we fix our minds and memory on what He has done for and promises to do for us.

Are you feeling sorry for yourself because something isn’t going your way? This is something you can change today, because it is up to you to focus on God’s blessings and not your burdens.

Are you experiencing conviction because you haven’t allowed Jesus to be your Lord and you are not living as His disciple? This is something you can change right now.

When Jesus saw the foolishness of the Pharisees and Sadducees, He immediately told the disciples to get in the boat and the Lord joined them and left the others behind.  Don’t be the person that Jesus walks away from, rather be the person that Jesus walks towards – the one Jesus joins on the rocky waters of life.