A Season of Bringing

Spiritual Seasons in Our Walk with Christ: A Season of Bringing

Mark 6:53-56

I. Seasons -

A. Definition

1. There are defined periods of time when our lives of faith are characterized by a single general feature that lasts the duration of that time.

2. Winter - subzero temps and snow on the ground

B. Spiritual Seasons in Our Walk with Christ (Mark 6)

1. Season of Going - is a divine provision to join God in His mission to fill the earth with the knowledge of His glory, empowered by His Spirit and trusting in His presence,

2. Season of Grieving - A season of grieving doesn’t need to be a season of defeat; it may be just easily a season that motivates a deeper, more active, more vital experience of Christ Himself.

3. Seasons of Resting - God calls us to a season of rest as He calls us to lay down our self-sufficiency, our “self-shepherding,” and entrust ourselves to Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, the Divine Shepherd.

4. Seasons of Serving - Good shepherding requires we shepherd our own souls as well as those of others.

5. Seasons of Understanding -

a. God sometimes intends for us to understand more than we think we understand.

b. God sometimes intentionally makes His work hard to understand so that we will not settle for a glimmer and miss the glory!

6. Seasons of Bringing - There will be seasons in the life of all true disciples when what you know about Jesus will compel you to bring others to Jesus.

II. Seasons of Bringing (Mark 6:53-56)

A. The crowds’ response to Jesus: run and bring

1. They ran

2. They brought

3. They implored

4. They received

B. They recognized

1. Single factor

a. Everything that happens in this passage occurs as a result of a single factor: they recognized Jesus.

b. Every act of mercy, every intercession, every frantic effort, every expressed hope and fulfilled dream occurred because people recognized Jesus!

2. What did they recognize about Jesus?

a. They recognized Him as famous, not infamous

(1) People can be well known for two reasons: the good they do or the bad they do

(a) Infamous

i) Repeat sex offender

ii) Cult leader: Seth Jeffreys

(b) Famous

i) Artist

ii) Doctor

(2) They recognize Jesus for the good He did

b. They recognized his authority

(1) He taught with authority

(a) As a primary rather than secondary authority

(b) Fearless, not concerned with getting it wrong before God or misleading the people of God

(2) He exercised authority over

(a) Illness

(b) Nature

(c) Evil

c. They recognized His genuine sympathy and compassion toward the needy and poor.

(1) He acted in their lives as one who understood the joys and sorrows of their lives,

(2) as one of them, and yet as one more than them but completely for them.

3. Their’s is a pragmatic, not spiritual, recognition

a. They did not yet recognize Christ for who He was as Savior and Lord and God, but it was enough that they recognized he was for them so they came to Him.

(1) While Jesus expects his disciples to understand who He is, He does not require such understanding in order to obtain mercy.

(2) Mercy responds to faith regardless of the level of understanding.

b. We may not know all that can be known theologically about the Person and Purpose of Jesus Christ, but by all means, act upon what you know!

(1) Don’t let ignorance hold you back.

(a) “This man we do not know”

(2) Don’t let fear keep you away. -

(a) Some people fear that Jesus will ask too much of them

(b) “he went away sad”

(3) Don’t let prejudice hinder you.

(a) Syro-Phoenician woman

(b) Knew that Jesus was merciful and kind

(c) Acted on what she knew

c. Act in faith on what you know of Jesus and He, in love, will lead you into more.

4. When they recognized Jesus they acted on what they knew.

III. Disciple, in the season of bringing, let us act on what we know

A. Jesus

1. Savior

a. More than merely providing a model for successful human interactions

b. Jesus came to save the world

(1) John 3:17 (ESV) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

(a) A world needs a Savior when the world is in danger of destruction

(b) Sin, the denial of God’s creation purpose in favor of self-detemination, condemns every human being to God’s justice

(2) God sent His Son into the world that

(a) Christ might fulfill all of God’s creation purposes on behalf of all human beings

(b) Christ, innocent of sin, might offer Himself to God as an atoning sacrifice that satisfies God’s justice on behalf of all human beings

(c) Any human being who accepts Christ as their Savior and puts their faith in Him will be rescued from the right and just consequences of sin: death and eternal punishment.

c. Disciples,

(1) you know the people of this world are in danger of death and eternal punishment on account of sin

(2) you know Jesus is the Savior through whom alone we may receive forgiveness and eternal life.

(3) Let us act on what we know, and like the people of old, engage in this season and bring people to Jesus.

2. Shepherd

a. John 10:11 (ESV) I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

b. The Good Shepherd

(1) Sacrifices for the sheep

(2) Loves the sheep

(3) Heals the sheep

(4) Guides the sheep

(5) Lives and acts continually for the benefit of the sheep.

c. Disciples,

(1) you know the care and compassion and mercy and love of the Good Shepherd.

(2) you know that Jesus said there were other sheep to gather

(3) Let us act on what we know, and like the people of that day who recognized Jesus, let us engage in this season and bring people to Jesus.

3. Sender of the Spirit

a. Acts 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

b. Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless.”

(1) He said, “I will as the Father and He will send you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the spirit of truth . . .”

(2) He said that “Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

c. Disciples,

(1) You know that Christ sends the Spirit and the Spirit lives within those who believe

(2) You know the indwelling Spirit of Christ transforms the life of a believer, from the inside out, into the likeness of Jesus.

(3) Let us act on what we know, and like the people who recognized Jesus when He stepped off the boat, let us engage in this season and bring to Jesus others who long for an empowered and God-honoring life.

B. In order to follow this model of service, three spiritual conditions are needed:

1. Conditions

a. Faith (in Jesus, who He is and what He does)

b. Hope (that the promises of God remain as certain as the moment He revealed them in the boundaries of time. The same yesterday, today, and forever)

c. Love (compassion committed to action)

2. Fruit of the Spirit

a. Each of these is a fruit of the Spirit, a work of God in the heart of redeemed men and women that daily makes them more like Jesus.

b. This is not fruit to be left to rot hanging on the tree, but to be put into use in our relationship with Jesus and our role in the world.

c. Bringing forth the fruit of the Spirit, which produces in us a greater likeness to Christ, ought also to usher in a season of bringing others to Jesus as we come to know Him better and become more like Him.

d. Let us act on what we know and bring people to Jesus!

IV. Seasons

A. The Lesson from the Mango Tree

1. Mango trees each have their own season.

a. There is a season for apples and a season for peaches and a season for raspberries and blueberries, but each individual mango tree has its own season.

b. It bears fruit in its own time.

2. When God brings forth a season in your life, that is your moment to step up in faith and shine for His glory.

B. Today is the Season

1. Today is the day of salvation; now is the appointed time.

a. Today is the day for you to act on what you know.

b. Today is the day to step out in faith and accept the grace of God

c. Today is the day for forgiveness and new life and a fresh start.

2. Today, disciples, is the day for you to act on what you know.

a. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.”

b. Today there are people all around us ready and waiting for someone to bring them to Jesus

c. You don’t have to have all the answers, know all the theology, be an expert in every subtle argument of biblical interpretation.

(1) You just have to act on what you know and bring people to the Jesus you know.

(2) And He will do the rest.