The Turn

Intro

When I was young I enjoyed reading comic books. I’d get a new issue in the mail every week and it cost .75 cents an issue. I enjoyed them because I loved super hero’s. My favorite was probably Iron Man. He had a terrible drinking problem. He chased after women. He was arrogant. He was flawed. But he had a suit that allowed him to fly and shoot people with beams of light! Awesome!

So allow me today to begin by reliving my childhood love of super hero’s. Let me invite you to join me in a fictional world I’ve created for a bit.

Story

Let’s begin the journey.

In the year 2021 the president of the United States of America and the Supreme Leader of North Korea initiated a nuclear war. We no longer know who fired their weapons first but within 24 hours the face of the world had been changed forever. Remember, this is a story of fiction.

The year is now 2057. The earth is covered in deserts and strange eco-systems. Most animals and plant life were wiped out. There are no longer nations and countries. Instead there are only tribes and villages. Clean water is the most precious commodity.

The atomic war plunged the world into many arid places with vicious storms of lightning, hail, and rain. Only 5% of the world’s population remains and strength and force have become the law of the land.

Most animals and plant life were wiped out as well.

Suresh and Ah Hong are sitting at the entrance to a cave. They’ve been traveling for months and traveling in this post-apocalyptic world has been most dangerous. It all start six months ago.

They came here because of a legend. They came here because of Noah Price.

Every super hero needs an origin story about how the powers were gained or realized.

It all changed when Noah turned 15. The village was struggling. There were only 30 of them left. His family had no water. And he scouted too far out and entered a heavily irradiated area unawares.

First his skin began to itch. His stomach was cramping, his throat became tight. He knew then that he was going to die. But instead of dying his hands began to warm and tremble. And as he stretched out his hands a long concentrated beam of light shot out! The radiation was gone from his body. Somehow it had been absorbed and converted to energy. He felt healthy again. And…he had superpowers!

Over the next couple of months Noah learns to control his power. He defends his village from raiding gangs. And like any good superhero he develops a suit that includes a lot of tight spandex, leather, and underwear on the outside of his trousers. Plus a mask. To protect his identity of course. And he has a superhero name, “Rad-Man”

He begins to protect villages in surrounding areas. His popularity is growing.

On the day he turns 16 Noah’s secret is discovered by a good looking girl in his home village. She’s so excited! Her plans involve him forever protecting their village, the two of them marrying and living happily ever after.

But Noah says no, it cannot be. Weather patterns are worsening and they may all die within a year. But he’s discovered that there is one place left that may be safe. It will be a long hard journey to get there however. And there is one giant obstacle standing in the way - a nuclear reactor that melted down and has blocked the way with extreme levels of radiation.

Even as Rad-Man the radiation will be more than Noah’s body can contain. He can absorb it all but his body won’t be able to handle amount of energy it will generate. He will die.

She says there must be another way. But there is no other way. They argue. They kiss. They part ways.

Then Noah goes forth to save the village and give a new hope for humanity.

Six months later Suresh and Ah Hong find themselves near the end of a long journey. They have followed the instructions and directions that Rad-Man left behind. Now they are at the entrance to a shallow cave with a deep pit set in the back. They can hear the sound of water running but they are unable to see anything.

Suresh turns to Ah Hong and tells him again “The legend says we must leave everything behind. We must jump in and swim for 10 meters. When we emerge again there is a stairway leading into the promised land.

Ah Hong still was nervous. If he left his few belongings behind and it turned out badly then he would surely die. No weapons. No protection. No water. No food.

Suresh turned to him and said “Noah Price, Rad-Man, was real. He made this way. He left the instructions. We must take the leap of faith.”

Jesus the Hero

In our passage today we read about a real super-hero. Jesus the Christ, Jesus the Anointed One, Jesus the Son of God come to earth to save mankind.

He even showed some of His super powers. Healing the sick. Casting out evil spirits. Raising the dead. Multiplying food. Commanding nature. Forgiveness of sins. Walking on water.

And the disciples are starting to get it!

Who do you say I am?

Jesus asks them “Who do YOU say I am?”

And of course Peter, ever the extrovert, answers. He says “You are the Christ.”

And here in the 8th chapter at the half-way point of the Gospel of Mark our story takes a sharp turn. As we’ve seen in our series, up till now we have seen the powers of Jesus which all point to Him being not just a man but God incarnate. But now Jesus’ secret identity has just been revealed.

BAnd the story changes direction. In verse 31 Jesus “began to teach them that the Son of Man MUST suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again.” And in verse 32 it notes that he said this plainly. No parables or metaphors here.

And Peter who shockingly had just given the right answer recognizing Jesus as the Christ, the Anointed One of God, takes Jesus off to the side and face to face begins to rebuke Him!

And this word rebuke is not a mild word. It’s the same word used when Jesus rebukes demons and commands them to come out.

But Jesus turns His back to Peter and speaking to the rest of the disciples says “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

That’s not who I am

Now let’s not be too hard on Peter. As a Jew there were certain expectations for a Messiah.

According to Jewish thought:

A great political leader descended from the line of David.

An expert in Jewish Law and observant of its commandments.

A charismatic leader inspiring others to follow his example.

A great military leader who will win battles for Israel.

A great judge who makes righteous decisions.

A human being, not a god, demi-god, or any other sort of supernatural being.

As excitement built around Jesus there was still uncertainty. Peter had seen Jesus do so much that he had come to the conclusion that Jesus was indeed the Anointed One of God.

The way of sacrifice

Perhaps never before had the idea of suffering been associated with the promised Messiah.

Old Testament prophecies that talked of a mysterious Servant of the Lord suffering had not been connected with the promised Messiah.

I want you to take note of something. The word MUST. When Jesus taught that the Son of Man MUST suffer, be rejected, and be killed He was not predicting the future but rather saying what was necessary and needful. He MUST suffer and die. For our sakes. For my sake. For your sake.

When Jesus said “Get behind me Satan” He wasn’t calling Peter Satan. He was saying that He rejected man’s plan to be that great military religious ruler as being a lie and temptation from the enemy. If you remember how Jesus had been tempted in the wilderness you’ll recall that Satan did tempt Jesus with being immediately over all the kingdoms of the world.

We all have expectations. You have certain expectations of the Prime Minister. You have expectations of your MP. You have expectations of what your teacher should say and do. Do you have expectations on how involved in your life your parents should be. You have expectations for your friends as well. We all have expectations

However Jesus and the Father are one and Jesus knew and chose to follow the Father’s plan. That plan involved sacrifice even to the point of death.

Who am I?

Human beings do something that no other creature on earth does. They ask who am I? Who am I meant to be?

Each one of us has been told to follow the world’s expectations. Expectations to become more wealthy, more influential, better educated, more powerful. This isn’t just told to us by the media or money-faced popular icons. This also gets told to us by our families. By our friends. And we probably repeat the same expectations to others as well!

If you are in Christ then you are a child of God. That is your identity.

What am I meant to do?

But how do I know if a plan is from God or from the enemy? What am I meant to do with my life?

We too must know the Father’s will.

In John chapter 14 verse 7 Jesus is nearing the time of the cross and He is speaking to His disciples: “If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”

To know the Father we must know Jesus. The Bible, and especially the New Testament and the Gospels tells us what Jesus is like. What He did. What He said.

What does God want you to do? To bring His love to mankind. To help the widow and orphan. The lift up those in despair. To care for the down trodden of society. To proclaim the gospel, the good news.of Jesus Christ as Savior of the world.

This is true and pure religion that is pleasing and acceptable to God.

Have you personally asked the Lord what He wants you to do on this earth? Did He tell you that He wants you to help the shut-in and neglected elderly in Singapore? How can you best do that? Would you be more effective to immediately start volunteering with an organization after NS? Or would you be more effective by getting a business degree? Or do you feel God has only called you to work with the elderly for a time? What else might He ask of you in the future? What would best prepare you for that now?

Jesus knew the Father’s plan for His time on earth. And so He recognized and rejected the world’s plan. We too must know the Father’s plan for us.

Deny and Follow

I’m not sure Jesus was especially interested in who the people thought he was.  But he was very interested in what the apostles thought.  As we will hear in next week’s Gospel, Jesus’ next words to the apostles would reveal his impending suffering and death.  His time on earth was limited, so Jesus had to know that the faith of the apostles was strong enough that they would be able to transmit the Gospel when he was no longer there.

What happened next? Jesus then called the crowd to join Him and the disciples for what He was about to say next. He told them “If you intend to come after me then you must forget, ignore, and lose sight of your own interests, take on the suffering and rejection that I took on and be identified with me and as my disciple by continuously, day by day, following me closely.

This is a very different message from “Just try to live a good moral life”. There’s sacrifice involved. Being passive isn’t really an option. It’s very intentional and deliberate. And it’s a daily choice not a one off event.

In our super hero story Suresh and Ah Hong made a long hard journey. Just because Noah had made a way for them didn’t mean they didn’t have to do anything. And eventually they came to a point of no return. They had to make a choice. Leave everything behind and take the leap of faith or turn around and make the best of the world they were trying to leave behind, the world they already knew so well.

Ahead was the unknown. Behind the familiar. Did they have good reason to make the leap of faith? Was the legend true? Had they come across evidence to give good reason to make that leap of faith?

And what about us? What about you? Is everything written about Jesus true? Was this super hero real? Do we have good reason to believe that He really did come to earth, that He really did perform miracles, that He really is God and that he really did call us to deny ourselves and follow Him?

Do we have good reason to make that leap of faith? To swim against the stream, to go into the unknown? To leave the familiarity of the world’s plans and expectations? To choose a different set of values? To work towards something that many would consider foolish?

Are you ready to take the leap of faith? To follow daily and continuously? Am I?

Will Jesus be your super hero? Will you truly make Him Lord of your Life?

You can make a difference

Who is going to help the man in the wheelchair you see begging every day at the MRT? Who will care for the young girl working as a sex worker, addicting to drugs, controlled by her pimp? What hope does the foreign worker have who splits his money between sending back to his family in and gambling and drinking away the rest here to try to dampen the loneliness and emptiness he experiences every day in a foreign land? What does the shut-in elderly have to look forward in the remaining 5 or 10 years of her life? Will your classmate make it who is pressured by her parents till she spends every waking moment on school work and exam prep with never a moment for friends, rest, or fun?

If you’re following the world’s values then you’ll want to avoid most of these people. Spending time with them won’t advance your career. You want to network with the up and coming influential people. Surround yourself only with winners. Leave the rest behind. Leave them to their misery.

Heartbeat I leave you today with two questions:

Continue on this path! Live your life faithfully! Remember what is of lasting value. Don’t be fooled by counterfeit messages telling you that happiness and success lies in a more expensive phone, the latest game, the executive condo, the expensive car, the designer clothes. Don’t believe the lies.

Love people, Use Things

Who do you say He is?

I want to close today’s message with a simple challenge:

Follow Jesus.

Love People.

Use things.

Don’t do the opposite.

Jesus has promised that if you would spend your earthly life for Him that He will give you an eternal spiritual life in the Kingdom of God, eternal satisfaction and completeness.

What is your purpose in life?

I’m going to close by showing you a video then I’ll pray for you.

Let’s pray.

?OR?

Close with a video

…Jesus I want to thank you for these youth, these young men and women. Many of them proclaim you King not just with their words but with their actions as well. I pray that you would use them to make a difference in the world today. I pray that you would use them to bless Singapore and the nations around us. Be glorified in their lives oh Lord. Amen.

opening video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SY0_qNywK1M (who do you say I am?)

Closing video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffzB_HK9sNU&list=RDffzB_HK9sNU&t=75 (seven way king)