God's Plan, Our Priority

Mark 3:7-19

If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the gospel of Mark chapter three. The gospel of Mark chapter three and in a moment we are going to read verses 7-19 of the gospel of Mark chapter three.

 Is God’s plan for your life a priority to you?  Are you living in the will of God, and striving to become who God wants you to be?

 I want to talk to you this morning about discipleship. I want you to understand that God has a plan for your life.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

That tells us there is something that God wants to accomplish in each of our lives. There is something God has planned for every believer. Something He has established before the foundation of the world.

The problem is, there are a lot of things in this world that are competing with God’s plan for our life. And sometimes we allow those things to become our priority and take precedence over God.

Sometimes it is sin, and we are driven by lust or greed and those things just take us further and further away from God.

 Sometimes it is apathy. We are just Christians going through the motions and God really isn’t important to us. We really don’t care about spiritual matters. And His plan for us just lies dormant and incomplete within us.

Sometimes it is distractions from the world, and we are focused on a career, or family, or a hobby. None of those things are bad, but God wants to be the priority of our life.

 You were created for a purpose. And God’s plan for your life is that you would fulfill that purpose, by living in this world and bringing glory and honor to Christ.

 In our passage this morning Mark shows us a picture of Jesus making God’s plan His priority.

Jesus is a great example for us. He doesn’t allow conflict or distractions from the world prevent Him from pursuing what God wants Him to do. And as followers of Jesus Christ, we are supposed to do the same.

That is what we are going to see in this passage. A disciple makes God’s plan, his priority.

Mark 3:7–19 KJV

But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues. And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God. And he straitly charged them that they should not make him known. And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils: And Simon he surnamed Peter; And James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and he surnamed them Boanerges, which is, The sons of thunder: And Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Canaanite, And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed him: and they went into an house.

(Pray)

Father, I thank you for this Word. I pray that as your Word is spoken and preached that eyes would see, ears would hear, and hearts would be changed.

Oh Father, grant us the privilege of understanding Your Word. In Jesus name Amen!

In our passage this morning Mark shows us that Jesus was focused on God’s plan for Him in the world. God’s mission for Jesus was His priority.

It is important we understand today, this is God’s desire for your life and mine.

His desire is that we would live in this world and focus on what He wants us to do, and who He wants us to become.

That His plan for our life would become our priority.  In this passage Jesus makes the plan of God His priority, and He does it in 4 ways!!

I. The Separation Vs. 7

Jesus separated Himself from the conflict that was growing between himself and the Jewish leaders, because it wasn’t God’s time to confront them.

Notice verse 7. It says, “Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples.”

If you remember from the previous passage, verse 6 tells us the Pharisees were plotting with the Herodians to destroy Jesus. Why? because He was challenging their authority.

Jesus wasn’t following their rules. He healed a man in the synagogue with a withered hand on the Sabbath, and He claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath, making Himself equal to God.

Well, that made the Pharisees and the Herodians very angry. So, they came together to figure out how to kill Jesus!!

Now, this was ultimately God’s plan for His life and for the world. We know that, on this side of the cross. We know God would use the Jewish leaders and the Romans to crucify Christ for the sin of the world.

But the time for the cross, had not yet come. The ministry of Jesus in the world wasn’t complete. He was just beginning and there were several important things He had to accomplish first.

So, Jesus withdraws, He retreats. So that He can prepare for the next move of His ministry.

Jesus could have forced the hand of the Jewish leaders at that point. The Jewish leaders would have loved to of killed Jesus right then and there.

But Jesus knew God’s plan has not yet been fulfilled, so He withdraws. He separates Himself from the conflict.

The lesson in this for us is that sometimes you have to separate yourself from conflict. There is a time to confront and there is a time to retreat.

There are times you can be a good witness to someone and there is a time you can’t. Especially if you are going to live in a way that brings glory and honor to God.

Many Christians are being forced today to separate themselves from family and friends because of differing political views and the culture we live in.

There are so many things that are taking place in the world that are contrary to our faith. But as Christians we want to make sure we respond like Christ no matter what the circumstance are.

So, sometimes the best thing to do is just to separate from the conflict, and live at peace with people.

Remember we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers of darkness in high places.

So, we see there is a time to confront and there is a time to separate yourself from the conflict, and that is what we see Jesus doing here.

This is a principle we see throughout the scriptures. For example, In the book of Exodus. Moses believed he would one day deliver God’s people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.

So, he took matters into his own hands. He killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave. But it wasn’t God’s time yet, so Moses had to flee to Midian.  

Where he lived for forty -years in the wilderness as a shepherd, until God sent him back to Egypt to deliver His people.

In 1 Samuel, David was anointed to be King of Israel when he was just a boy. But after he killed Goliath, he became very popular with the people.

That made King Saul jealous and he tried to kill David. So, David had to flee to avoid the conflict until God’s plan was ready for him to become king.

We see this many times throughout the gospels. Jesus would heal someone of sickness and disease and He would say, “don’t tell anyone what I have done.” Because His time had not yet been fulfilled.

The same thing is true in your life and mine. There is a time to confront and there is a time to retreat and wait for God. Many times it is so we can maintain our witness to the world.

I’ll give you an example, (Larry Roberts was a man I worked with for 30 years. When I met Larry I was a bi-vocational Pastor, and he told me he didn’t want to hear a word I had to say.

So, for the next 30 years Larry and I never spoke. Then one day I came back to the shop and Larry was standing at the door waiting for me. His girl friend died and now he wanted to hear about Jesus.

I would love to tell you that Larry gave his life to Christ, he didn’t. But, the point is, if I would have forced the issue at any point during those 30 years, I would have never been able to tell Larry about Jesus.

Jesus made God’s plan His priority and we have to do the same. There is a time to confront and there is a time to wait for God.

II. The Crowds Vs. 7-12

Jesus made God’s plan His priority by not becoming distracted by the crowds of people who were coming to Him.

I want you to notice in vs. 7-8, where these crowds are coming from.

We are told they came from Galilee, which is in the north. They came from Judea and Jerusalem, that is in the middle of the country.

We are told they come from Idumea, which is Edom in the mountains. They came from Jordan in the East and the came from Tyre and Sidon to the West.

The point is, Mark wants us to know these crowds were coming from the four corners of the world, they were coming to Him from everywhere.

 Notice why these crowds were coming though, look at Vs. 8. It says, “they heard all that He was doing.”

It is important for us to understand that people are not going to come to Jesus unless they hear about what He is doing.

 So, Let me ask you this, Is the power of God still at work in the world? Is God doing something in your life, and in the life of the church?

Unless people hear about what He is doing they will not come. Unless we go and tell people about Jesus, they will not come and see.

ILL. At Faith Baptist Church, we made outreach to the community of Monroe a priority. We through block parties and rented bouncy houses. We through 4th of July parties and set off fireworks. We spent a ton of money and energy and never saw any fruit for the Kingdom of God!!

All of the fruit I have ever saw for the Kingdom of God has come from personal relationships; witnessing one on one, inviting people to church and telling them about Jesus!!

 The people in this story were coming to Jesus because they heard what He was doing, and they were coming to Him from everywhere.

And this is really a very dangerous situation for Jesus to be in. If the Romans heard what was going on, they might think He was creating an uprising. He could be accused of an insurrection, and that could derail the plan of God.

You see, Jesus knows these crowds are not seeking Him because of their spiritual needs but for their physical needs. So, He does not become distracted by them.

Notice Vs. 9, He has more work to do. So, He has the disciples prepare a boat for Him to make an escape if He needs to.

However, He doesn’t do that, instead He continues to heal the people, and cast out demons, but He does it with caution.

Notice Vs. 12, “And He straitly charged them that they should not make Him know.”

This is what is known as the Messianic secret. Jesus warns the demons not to tell anyone He is the Son of God.

 But why? Why is it important that the crowds do not understand His true identity? I mean He has already told the Pharisees that He is the Son of Man the fulfillment of Dan. 7:13, Why keep it a secret from the crowds?

Really, for two reasons,

1. if the crowds understand who Jesus really is they might actually revolt against the Romans.

They may take Him and try to make Him a King, and remember Jesus said that ‘My Kingdom is not of this world, if My Kingdom were of this world then My people would fight.”  

So, Jesus knows that a revolt against the Romans would be devastating to the people and the plan of God.

 2. Jesus does not want to be associated with demons. Notice in Mark 3: 22 the scribes come from Jerusalem and they accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Satan.

So, Jesus is really heading off their accusations. He is beating them to the punch. He is refusing to be associated with the demons.

The point is; Jesus was becoming the hero of the people, but He doesn’t allow the crowds to distract Him. He did not come seeking the approval of men but the mission of God. He did not come to wear a crown but to bear a cross.

The lesson in this for us is, as disciples of Christ there are going to be people we are popular with and people we are not. There will be people who love us and people who hate us.

But we are to keep our eyes fixed on Christ and His priority for our life. We are to be concerned about pleasing the one person that matters most the Lord Jesus Christ.

 So, Jesus makes God’s plan His priority by not becoming distracted by the crowds.  

III. The Prayer

Jesus gives us an example of making God’s plan His priority through prayer.

Notice Vs. 13 “And He went up on the mountain.”

Marks gospel is so fast paced that sometimes we miss out on the details of what is taking place in the story.

However, Luke gives us more information about what is happening here. Luke 6:12, “ Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.”

 I love how both accounts, Mark and Luke, tell us that Jesus went up on “the mountain.”

That is important because that tells us, He had a specific place to pray. He had a specific place He would go to meet with the Father.

Whenever He had an important decision to make, He had to go to that special place to get God’s council.

Let me ask you this, what are the pressing issues in your life? Who are the family members that are not saved? Who are the loved ones in your life that are not well?

How much time do you spend praying for them? What are the major decisions in your life that you should be seeking God’s council about, and are you?

  Jesus could see the hand -writing on the wall. He could see the plan of God set in motion. A plan that would ultimately lead Him to the cross for the salvation of the world.

He has to make sure His message is understood. He has to make sure that the Word gets out. This is a big decision. He is going to choose a group of men to carry out His mission. It is going to be a select group He can teach, He can test, and He can empower with the message of the Kingdom of God.

  So, He goes up on the mountain and He prays. He is there all night long. Luke tells us that He does not call the ones He has chosen until the morning.

These speaks volumes to the importance of prayer. Not only for Jesus but also, for our lives. If Jesus needed to pray before making a decision, how much more we need to seek the council of God in our lives?

 I want to encourage you today to pray and not to give up because you do not feel like you are getting an answer from God.

God’s answers to our prayers are not always in our timing and what we expect them to be.

So, be patient, God hears you. Jeremiah 29:12-13 says, “Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.”

So, God promises us that when we call on Him, He hears us, but it is important that we do not give up.

      Into The Day

“I got up early one morning

And rushed right into the day;

I had so much to accomplish

I didn’t have time to pray.

Troubles just tumbled about me

And heavier came each task.

Why doesn’t God help me, I wondered,

He answered, “You didn’t ask.”

I tried to come into God’s presence,

I used all my keys at the lock.

God gently and lovingly chided,

“Why child, you didn’t knock.”

I wanted to see joy and beauty,

But the day toiled on grey and bleak,

I called on the Lord for the reason—

He said “You didn’t seek.”

I woke up early this morning

And paused before entering the day.

I had so much to accomplish

That I had to take time to pray.”

Someone once said, we can do a lot of things in this world besides pray, but we can not do anything in this world well until we have prayed.

Jesus made prayer a priority. It was a part of God’s plan for Him and as a disciple of Jesus Christ it is a part of God’s plan for you.

So, in this passage we have seen Jesus make God’s plan a priority in 3 ways.

By separating Himself from the conflict. There is a time to confront and there is a time to wait for God.

2. By not becoming distracted by the crowds.

3. By making prayer a priority.

IV. The Appointment. Vs. 14-19.  Here we see Jesus choosing His disciples and delegating His authority to preach, heal and cast out demons to twelve men.

By the standards of the world Jesus could not have choose a more motley crew. I mean this is the best He could do.

He chose Fishermen, tax collectors, political radicals, and someone He knew was going to sell Him out.

 When I first read this, I cannot help but say, “I thought you prayed about this Jesus.”

It is an amazing fact the Bible teaches us here. He did not choose the elite. He did not choose the special, popular, brilliant people of the world. But, He chose ordinary everyday people like you and me to carry on His work in the world.

 Vs. 14 says, that He chose twelve. He had multitudes of disciples that were following Him. He could have choose anyone. But He chose twelve that would become Apostles.

Maybe He chose twelve as a New Testament equivalent to the twelve tribes of Israel, that were the leaders of the nation in the Old Testament.

There are definitely parallels to the Old Testament here. One thing we know for sure is, it was a sign of new leadership and a new covenant with the people.

Ten times throughout the gospel of Mark they are referred to as the twelve. These men lived with Jesus, learned from Jesus and went out to serve under His authority.

We might not be called Apostles today, but we are God’s chosen people. And we still live and learn from Jesus, He is the Word of God, and we are led by the Holy Spirit to go out and serve under His authority.

Conclusion

Jesus never got distracted from His mission. He did not allow God’s plan to get lost in the conflict with the Pharisees.

He did not allow Himself to get sidetracked by His popularity with the people. He knew He needed to go to the Father in prayer before making decisions.

He always kept His focus on bringing glory to God and fulfilling God’s plan for Him in the world.

  As followers of Jesus, He is our example. He teaches us how to live, so we can fulfill God’s purpose for our life.

If Jesus needed to withdraw, there are times we need to withdraw. If Jesus did not allow the crowds to influence Him, then we can not allow them to influence us.

If Jesus needed to pray, how much more do we need to pray. And if Jesus can use ordinary men to carry out His work in the world, He can use us.

     As a disciple of Jesus I want to encourage you today, make God’s plan for your life your priority.

(Pray)

Father, I thank You for Your Word. I pray O God Your Word would inspire us to live for You.

To grow in our relationship with You and to make Your mission in this world our priority.

In Jesus Name Amen!!