Sermon Tone Analysis

June 24, 2001

Morning Star MBC

Mark 2:1-12

Dauntless Determination

 

Prayer

Recognize – Pastor, Pulpit, Deacons, Choir, any friends, Congregation

Ice Breaker – Who Pushed Me?

Read Scripture – Mark 2:1-12

Dauntless Determination

 

Today my brothers and sisters the writer of this awesome text… John-Mark the writer of this powerful drama writes with the intent of showing Jesus the Christ as the servant.

And you’ll notice that he always sets out to show Jesus busy.

Mark over and over again uses the word “straightway” because he is more concerned with the works of Jesus rather than the words of Jesus.

Mark is concerned about showing Jesus actively involved with kingdom building and kingdom business.

It is here that Mark say that Jesus has just concluded what can be considered a productive day of healing the sick and the lame as well as casting out devils when Mark says that He runs across a unknown and unnamed man with leprosy.

Jesus is moved with so much compassion that He heals the man but tells him not to tell anybody.

Well, that’s kind of like telling us not to tell anybody.

I have heard it suggested that a secret really is between one person, not two.

And so Jesus says to this fella, “as you go, don’t tell anybody.”

But Mark says in that latter verse of that first chapter that this man went everywhere publishing how good that the Lord has been to him.

And may I suggest this morning that if the Lord has been good to you, you ought to not be able to hold it.

You ought to publish it everywhere.

If He has ever done anything for you…  If He has made a way out of no way, you ought to agree with the song writer that said I wasn’t gonna tell nobody, but I just can’t keep it to myself.

And it is on the heels of this that Jesus makes His way to this city called Capernaum.

And He goes to a house that Mark calls “the house” and other writer call “a house.”

It’s not really important whose house it was, some have suggested that it was Peter’s house; others have suggested that it was a friend’s house; some have gone as far as to suggest that it was Jesus’ house.

But it is not important whose house it was but what is important is what was going on in the house.

The writer say that it was straightway after he had gotten into Capernaum it was some days later that the word got out that Jesus was in town.

Well, wherever Jesus is, the word ought to get out.

You know Rev. Foy I wish the gospel would travel as fast as gossip.

I said when Jesus is in town somebody ought to be talking about what He’s doing.

And so the writer says that it was noised or it was reported.

This suggested that it spread like wildfire that the Master had arrived in Capernaum.

These individuals around the city of Capernaum and around the outskirts of the city after they had heard that Jesus was in town made their way to this abode.

And they crowded it out so much that there was no room in the house.

Oh my brothers and sisters that is how it ought to be when Jesus is in town.

You know we often make excuses for houses that are not full.

I have often heard people say where two or three are gathered – that ain’t even talking about crowded houses.

That suggests that wherever two or three are He’ll be in the midst.

But wherever the Master is and wherever He is operating and wherever miracles are being wrought and wherever lives are being changed and wherever minds are being regulated and wherever peoples’ hearts are being lifted up and wherever joys are being restored, it ought to fill the house.

You’ll notice that what Jesus did in the house was important.

Mark said that Jesus preached unto them.

Now many people followed Jesus for His miracles but there were not many that followed him for his preaching.

As a matter of fact he had to tell the fellas one day “y’all are just following me for bread and I am the bread of life.”

On another occasion He said “all y’all want to see is some signs.”

He even told Thomas one day, He said Thomas, “blessed are those that believe and see not, all you wanna do is see.”

But the Master understood that preaching and the Word of God being brought forth…  that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

It was His preaching.

The writer said with a full house, Jesus preached.

May I suggest that you ought to not waste a crowd, help here somebody!

Some preaching ought to be done when you can get a crowd together.

The Master, He fills up this house and the writer says that He preached the Word unto them.

In this crowd there were first of all the curious.

And every crowd is made up of those who are just curious.

On Sunday morning, our congregations are made up of curious.

But not only was the crowd made up of curious it was made up of converts, people who had actually been changed by the Master and the preaching of the gospel.

Not only were there the curious and not only were there converts but there were also critics.

And there are some critics in every crowd.

Oh I wish that I could tell you this morning that there are not some critics here but there are some critics in the crowd.

In every crowd somebody’s there to just make light of what’s going on.

Somebody will leave here this afternoon and say “yeah them kids sang but they sang too long.”

Crowds are made up of critics!

Some will say “yeah that preacher, he did alright but I’ve heard better!”

There is always some critics in the crowd!

Some will say, “yeah they started on time but they got out too late.”

There is always some critics in the crowd.

You’ll notice that in the 2nd chapter of the book of Mark the winds of criticism are blowing against Jesus.

In verses 1-12, they criticize His claim.

In verses 13-22 they criticize His conduct.

In verses 23-28 they criticize His companions.

I said in versee 1-12 they criticize His claim, they said “who in the world are you, who are you to forgive sins?”

In verses 13-22 they criticize His conduct, “you know He’s eating with those publicans and those sinners.”

In verses 23-28 they criticize His companions because they plucked corn on the Sabbath.

Jesus said the Sabbath was not made for man, man was made for the Sabbath not the Sabbath for man.

And Satan has used criticism and he is still using criticism to immobilize the church and the community.

You know criticism will keep people miserable.

It keeps them fighting.

You know criticism will keep the church operating at a snail-like pace when it ought to be up and running.

Criticism is used by Satan to destroy choirs and usher boards, you know criticism will do that?

Criticism has rocked havoc in families, has caused churches to split up!  Criticism will tear a choir up, will cause deacons to fight each other, will cause mothers to become mean, ushers to become ornery, trustees to become tricky.

I am talking about criticism now and everyone of us at one time or another has been criticized and we’ve got to learn how to handle criticism.

Criticism will destroy, it’ll distort the words, the works, and the will of God.

It destroys relationships!  Criticism destroys fellowships!

Criticism destroys friendships!

The Scribes and the Pharisees, they were there but they were there with their critical eye.

These spiritual heavyweights with their investigative team had been sent from all over the place.

While everybody else was standing, Mark says they were sitting.

They were waiting for the Master to make one wrong statement.

They were waiting for Him to teach one wrong doctrine.

They were wishing that He would speak against the government so that they could charge Him for blasphemy or being an insurrectionist.

Well my brother preachers you’d be surprised at just how many people on Sunday morning are just sitting, just waiting for you to quote one Scripture wrong.

Just waiting for you to turn 1 Corinthians 12:2 around  to 1 Corinthians 2:13.

They are just waiting for you to say something wrong or appear to be wrong and they won’t come to you they’ll get out in the crowd and say “that preacher didn’t know what he was talking about.

You ought to get a tape; you see there he didn’t even know what that Scripture was.”

That is because there are a lot of critical people in the church!

These Pharisee.

These Scribes.

These Heavyweights.

Matthew said they were lawyers.

They are sitting around to see what this new fella is teaching in town when all of a sudden we get word that they brought somebody that was sick of the palsy.

Now the writer says that when Jesus saw their faith… and that is where I want to drop anchor.