RHCC Worship 12/29/19

Good morning.

Good to be here today when they're called and said that he needed someone to fill in for him. So he could take a much-needed and much-deserved vacation. I thought I didn't have a second thought I thought it was certainly I like I will do that bear. It does so much for me personally and for the ministry of show me that there was just no way that I was going to say now. So I'm glad to be with you today. Ironically my family. We always go to Branson after Christmas for a few days. And so we were down there on Friday and and Silver Dollar City 20 some thousand people. Guess who we ran into there was Barrett. That's right parotid Meghan and and their family and so I was just passin we were getting ready to leave and they were just coming in in like hey, so he felt bad that we were ending our vacation short, but then we were planning on being back anyway, so How we we got our vacation in it's good to be with you bear instead to update you guys just briefly on the ministry of show me. So things are going well. We ended last fiscal year with a deficit as some of you may have seen that in our and our ain't no report. I however the good news is it doesn't report the does not include the nearly half million dollars we race for a capital campaign and and we aren't in debt because we've had surpluses in previous years so far this fiscal year or operating budget has been falling behind because we did open another house last year it cost about $5,000 a month to operate one of our homes last fiscal year. We had a surplus of $61,000 which is just over $5,000 a month. So I thought ye we are ready to move on. But things slow down a little bit earlier this year our fiscal year starts in in July, so things weren't continuing at that pace. So we have fallen a little bit behind but still not in that but we do need to figure out some ways to get our monthly income up to that level so that we can continue to operate this new home as well as the two new homes that are under construction which one of them should be done about Midsummer so will be in prayer for that. We have every confidence in the world that God through his people is going to provide and praise God he's given us a surplus so that we can continue on despite the shortfall. But again, we have every confidence that he's going to kick right back in and I will be doing just fine. We do have an end-of-the-year matching challenged man. If you probably receive that notice so donations given at the end of the Are going to be matched to a certain amount. So last I checked we have not utilized all of those funds yet. So so you still have time to get in on that and have your have your gift doubled so appreciate those who take advantage of that opportunity. I December is traditionally a really good month for so we're anticipating great things going to end the year the calendar year well and I get off to a good start in January.

Also, if you would join us in prayer for our new staff members with a new house going under construction now, we are starting to look at potential new staff member. So we're looking for a dynamic couple who is ready to jump in to the ministry of show me and be a part of house parenting an incredibly challenging yet rewarding thing to do very worthwhile in your kingdom efforts reaching into these kids lives. Just like Jesus did meeting them at their most vulnerable time and and that opens up opens them up to not only Healthy Future but also to an understanding of the God who loves them and cares about them that we have many opportunities to minister to these children because we have met them at their vulnerable state and and so please pray prayerfully consider what I might be calling you to or somebody, you know, too because we we like to get to know our staff we want to make sure that there are good fit for the team and we have a great team. In fact, the last time I was looking for house parents are newest house parents have been there just over six years. So we don't have a lot of turnover. Once they join the team. They tend to stay for quite a while. So so if you would pray that God would lead just the right people that to that. All right. Now I'm going to shift gears on this real quick. Can I get that jolt? I couldn't figure out a really good segue to get into a sermon. So we'll just take that. Joltin and move right on shall we?

My boys are asking me you're going to make this short aren't your dad. I'm like, you know, I'll do what I have to do. But you know I and I reminded them, you know, how lot of creatures have three point sermons or four point sermons. Maybe even a terribly lengthy 5 point sermon. Well today we're going to cover 16 I'm not kidding. Our text today is going to be the entire Book of Mark. We're going to skip through this book kind of like a rock going across the pond and and touch on each chapter on just briefly and the reason I'm doing this is because this is something that I did many years ago. I was wanting to know the Father's Heart. I I did not grow up in church. I did not have a Godly father to follow in his footsteps to teach me or leave me and I came to the point that I wanted to know the Father's Heart because I was seeing so much that reflected my Earthly father and I projected that into what my heavenly father must be like and that's not the truth. That's not the case. And even though I strive to be a Godly father to my children and I know I sometimes fail and I don't want them necessarily to look at me as the example. I want them to look higher and look to God as example to their father is so in my journey to find the Father's Heart. I came across of the scripture and this start opening my eyes and I John chapter 14 where Jesus said I am the way. The truth and the life and nobody comes to the father except through me and then he says if you really knew me you would know my father as well. And that really a chewed on that for a while, but if I really do Jesus then I would know the father. So my father's heart is revealed in Jesus. And so that's that's where I'm going with this. So we're going to briefly just touch on each chapter here because I started going to the gospels and I've chosen Mark today because it is the shortest one. So how you're welcome for that. But I started going through the gospels. I started Matthew and I'm like I am going to find my father's heart chapter by chapter in in through as he reveals that through Jesus. I'm so I did that. I was fascinated. I'm a journal or I always like to journal and I honestly this is this is something you know, sometimes you think I got to get up and do my morning devotions and yada yada, this is something I really look forward to what am I going to find today? Get out of bed read a chapter and and and let God show me his heart through that chapter. So every chapter in each of the four gospels if there's something at least one thing easy to find that reveals Our Father's Heart and I'll show you that in the in the Book of Mark the gospels was a little more challenging Psalms came alive to me in a whole different way in this tent so much. I'm challenging you Eva Go beyond this if you're looking for a serious study that's going to make a huge impact on your faith in your understanding of who God is I'll go through the gospels just read a chapter and ask God to show you where your heart in this. What can I learn from that so that's what we're going to do today. So, let's jump in here Mark chapter 1 Mark chapter 1 verse 17. Jesus says come follow me. My Father's Heart leads me he doesn't say do as I say and not as I do like some Earthly fathers do he says follow me because I am the example do as I do. I will lead you and that's that's the first thing we find in Mark chapter 1 see how quick this is going to go. My father's heart leads me and chapter 2. We see a scene here where Jesus heals a paralytic man and And he says I'll get up your sensor. He kills him but he says get up your sins are forgiven because my father's heart meets my deepest name. He knows that I have physical means and he's concerned about those two, but my deepest need is my relief that's in my sinful self. And that's the knee that he meets my deepest need for forgiveness of my sins in chapter 3 chapter 3 verse 3534 disciples came and said that your mother and brothers are outside in Jesus said who are my mother and my father my brothers and he said here amongst me are my mother and my brothers whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother see my Father's Heart Makes Me part of a family a larger family. Not just my biological relations, but this huge spiritual family. He makes me a part of that and he wants me to be a part of that because he knows within family. My deepest needs are going to be met in that big spiritual family and chapter 4 Jesus calms the storm. You guys are familiar with the story Jesus actually asleep in a boat as this storm is Raging around him and probably like you I imagine they're made the disciples and all their frantic worrying. They go to Jesus and they wake him up have to wake him up and they say don't you care if we drown? How many times have we sharply asked Jesus a question like that? Do you even care about me? It's essentially what we're saying and in Jesus says, of course I do he gets up. He calms the storm around the disciples in the boat, because Jesus my father's heart wants to show me his power wants to show me that he has altimate power over everything everything that concerns me those things that are out of my control. Jesus has the ultimate power and the ultimate Authority in chapter 5. Jesus heals quite a few people. He heals a demon-possessed man. He love you brought a dead girl back to life and he healed a sex woman. And in this we see that Jesus does care about my suffering. He knows that in this world there is going to be suffering and he cares he's willing to reach into that. He usually has a purpose within that and if we read all of those healings that Jesus did we would see Did he had a purpose and his purpose is not only for my benefit but more importantly it's for his glory so that people look to Jesus people look to God and say he's able he cares and he responds my Jesus. My father does care about my suffering. in chapter 6 in chapter 6 Jesus feeds 5000 people and the interesting thing about this story is that the disciples came to him? Okay. Jesus is preaching his sermon when a little long people started hearing their tummies rumbling and the disciples were concerned. Probably because they know they know that typically when people get hungry they get angry, right that's called hangry. So this crowd is going to turn on us if they are too hungry. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, hey, look we have this little problem hate in the wrecks. The sermon things are going so well, but the people are hungry in Jesus turns to them and says you feed them.

Why didn't the world of the disciples supposed to do? With being told that they are to feed them and they even said to him what that would take eight months of a man salary. Should we go spend that much Jesus said how many loads do you have? And he said go and see they said they had Five Loaves and two fish. A fraction that that's not even a man's lunch. Let alone 5000 people's lunch. So Jesus directs them to sit down he feeds them all and then they will do what they gather up more than they started with. See the shows me that Jesus wants me to be a part of his miracles. Jesus could have very easily taken control of the situation made fish jump out of a local ocean turns the Rocks into into Brad. He could have just snapped and taking care of the situation. But sometimes Jesus wants my father's heart wants me to be a part of his miracles. He wants to use me to do the miraculous. You know, I see this at show me Christian Youth home all the time. I see miraculous things happening in the young lives the kids show me and I I realize I relate to this first because there are so many times where where you know, I see the needs are great. We have over two hundred phone calls a year for kids that need placement. We're only able to take 10 to 15 each year because we don't have a lot of turnover. We have physical needs of the kids names. We have a staff means we have we have very emotional needs that we have to take care of. And Jesus tells me day after day get out of bed. It's time for you to go feed them time for you to go take care of these these needs and I get to witness a miracle day after day because I'm not doing it on my own I very much so God shows up because he wants me to be a part of the miraculous things that he is doing. in Chapter 7 Jesus said these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain their teachings are but rules top by men that shows me that Jesus doesn't really care much about my religion. My Father's Heart Wants Me Not My Religion He doesn't want me to regurgitate what I know when I've learned. He doesn't want me to just knuckle down and hang on tight to to doing what I am supposed to do because that's what I heard in church. He doesn't care about my religious duties. He doesn't care about my religious obligations what I feel or obligations, he can spot me and he wants me not my religion just me. In chapter 8 another feeding this time just 4,000 cut back a little bit. But this shows me again. I could the other feed does that for one thing he does care about my physical needs. He cares about me making my a my appointments and my car payments my house payments. He cares that I have food to feed my family. He cares about my physical needs. That's not just a second. Thought for him. It is it is important that that our physical needs are met.

in chapter 9

in chapter 9 the disciples arguing and they say who is the greatest. Well Jesus, of course doesn't take kindly to this he brings little child among them and he says here in verse 36. He took the child among them had to stand in the midst of them. He put his arms around him and said whoever welcomes one of these little child in my name welcomes me and whoever welcomes me just not welcome me, but the one who sent me. You see Jesus values the vulnerable. This is this is the dear to my heart. Not only because it involves a child but it involves my perspective of who is important who is the greatest Jesus Springs a little child into the midst and says, this is the greatest and Weber honors this person. Whoever receives this person in my name receives me, those are vulnerable we look at Jesus specifically said to take care of them all normal. He specifically mentioned widows and orphans. Those are very vulnerable still even in our society today without resources without the support that they need and so he values the vulnerable. It chapter 10, we see another situation with little children come to him a little children crowding around him. I see this kind of like the Santa Claus seen that some of you may have taken your kids to the mall to see Santa and you see the kids just pushing and shoving can't wait to get to this great man in and Jesus the disciples the the self-proclaimed bouncers of the bunch says get back you guys are not important enough to see Jesus essentially. That's what they're saying. Jesus is too busy for you. Jesus has more important things than to deal with little kids and and Jesus was indignant it said which is a very strong word here using the indignity said let the children come to me don't hinder them the kingdom of God belongs to such as these and this tells me that Jesus wants me to welcome everybody into his kingdom My Father's Heart is Open to everybody. This is the saying here. How dare you prevent anybody from coming to me? Sometimes I think it's not worth explaining the gospel to this person or how they'll never respond or intimidating. He has too many tattoos. I don't think I'm going to go visit with him. But Jesus is saying all along who are you to say who should and shouldn't come to me? Let them come to me. Let them make the decision to come to me. He wants everybody to come to him. in Chapter 11 chapter 11 Jesus clears the temple He shows very clearly here anger. Have we ever seen Anger from Jesus in any other sense? He shows his anger in this is where my father's heart shows me that he reserves his anger. See a lot of a lot of our Earthly fathers let their anger flare don't they? That causes fear among children fear and insecurities and doubts to grow. My father's doesn't go around using his anger. Right and left just all willy-nilly my father has a purpose for his anger. And in this particular situation. Jesus was angry because it's not because it offended him personally. Jesus have been offended personally, and he didn't react in anger. this offends God This is a serious offense against God and that's when a father's anger should show when it's when it's would anger his father the Father in heaven. In chapter 12, we see a widow a widow that brings her offering which wasn't much in comparison to whoever to everybody else coming into the temple with their offering and this tells me that my father that wants me not my money.

It is right to give to the church to give to Ministries. I would never say that it's not right to do that. But our heart has to be in the right place and we he once ultimately he wants me. He doesn't need my money. But he knows that that's one way to get me more and more committed to him and to trust in him. So he wants me not my money in chapter 13. Chapter 13 Jesus talks about the signs of the end of the age. He says the times are coming. It's going to be tough. You're going to have to endure some incredible persecutions some pain some sorrow, some deep hurts simply because you're following me. A my father. My father's heart shows me hear that he wants to prepare me for the future. And that's important in our Earthly Father's Heart to write to prepare your children for the future the future just because we know Jesus does not mean that future is going to be all puppies and rainbows. In fact, if we follow our father, we know that there are going to be hard times. We in our country right now or enjoying much relief from persecution that many other Christians around the world have not known and have never known but my father's heart still wants to prepare me for the future and it's wise for us to do the same for our children. in chapter 14 at the Lord's Supper

Jesus has started telling his disciples. They will all deny him. They're all going to deny him that very night. Now the disciples don't really understand this the disciples were thinking there's no way there's no way I'm going to deny but what does he do? Even before that even to the person I Judas Iscariot who betrays him personally. What did Jesus do he wash their feet? He showed them an incredible Act of love just before moments before they were all going to deny him and walk away. This tells me that my father's heart leads with love. But lands on truth. And I think it's wise that we do that to we lead with love when we're sharing the gospel with others when we are serving others. When we're approaching those difficult conversations that we just simply have to have we lead with love we can ignore the truth. But we lead with love and land on truth.

In chapter 15, we see that Jesus goes through an incredibly painful time being personally mopped being flogged being spit on being hit ultimately being crucified. Did Jesus do anything to deserve that? Did he do anything at all to deserve the treatment that he experienced hear nothing? nothing So Jesus would have been right to say. I don't deserve this I'm walking away. And that would have left all of us. Without relief of our sin, right? But Jesus wanted the relationship with us and my father's heart but Jesus through this because it's more important for him to have a relationship then for him to be right. I see a lot of fathers in our Earth today slip on this one they get so caught up. I'm being right that they destroy a relationship with their children. Because they're so determined to be right sometimes and trust me right from our Father's Heart. Valuing a relationship is more important than just being right. Anniversary 16c. We made it. We make it all the way to 16. In verse 16 at the very after he was crucified he's resurrected and he's telling his disciples go to all the nations tell them teach them baptize them and he says surely I am with you to the very end of the age. My father trusts me and empowers me to do the work that he's left me to do. There's some incredible work out there. And this is an incredible Commandment that he's given us. His final commandment is to go out and teach and share among all the nations everybody that starts in our backyard that goes throughout our city that goes around the world. But he's empowered us to do that and he trusts us to do that. He trusts us to trust him in this great effort that he started. He doesn't just tell us to do it and leave us alone. He's giving us his power his full power within us in the form of the Holy Spirit to do any and everything that is necessary in this world.

I hope in this really quick jump and skim Across The Book of Mark that you've seen our father's heart today. That you've seen in some different and special way that our father's heart has some incredible things waiting for us. And there's more I challenge you especially as you're making some resolutions for this new year that you're not only focus on maybe your physical bodies, which most people do. The focus on your spiritual condition as well and that you are moving forward in your relationship with God. I challenge you even to look in the other gospels and elsewhere in scripture to truly find your Father's Heart. It's going to make a difference in your 20 20. Let's print. other bus Baltimore Pulaski

Hey, man.

Have a great week and God bless you.