THE MARK OF A DISCIPLE- CONTENTMENT

In Verses 1-7 we see warnings against teaching the traditions of men.

I have recently heard of a pastor who preached that preachers shouldn’t have beards. I would grow mine back out just to make him mad except i will not allow one mans idiocy to dictate my life.

This is an example of what I meant last week when I said that I hold to the sufficiency of Scripture. God did not forget some important details that He remembered later on and revealed to you. Hiss word is complete and sufficient.

You will know that someone is doing this if they reasoning is, “I don’t know why, it just doesn’t feel right,” or “I just don’t like it.”

Thats fine and both you and i have a right to our opinion. However, don’t misrepresent your opinion as Bible doctrine.

Tradition says church looks like three songs, a special, and a sermon. The Bible says church looks like songs, the teaching/preaching of God’s word, and believers praising God.

Tradition says you must look like me. Scripture says you should dress modestly.

In verses 8-13 we see that the traditions of men were replacing the law of God. The Jews were literally looking for loop holes around God’s law.

Here we see that the young men would take their possessions that were do to their parents and would say that they had already given it to the Lord. Their reason was so that their parents wouldn’t be able to take it away.

The sin of these young men was two fold. First, they were making oaths that they should not be making. (Jesus teaches that we shouldn’t make oaths.) James 5:12

James 5:12 NKJV

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

Verses 14-17 deals with what defiles a man.

According to scripture it is not what goes into a man that defiles him but rather what comes out of him.

The Bible also says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. That is to say what is hidden will find a way of being revealed. You are not going to be defiled by eating with unwashed hands, or by eating a sausage biscuit. However, we can defile ourself if we allow perverse things to be spoken. Things that speak against God and his law, things that are immoral, things that hinder the Gospel.

Verse 21 gives a list of things that can defile a person.

THE SYRIAN PHOENICIA WOMAN

In verse 24020 we see the healing of the Syrophoenician woman’s daughter.

The fact that the Bible says she was Greek is a reference to her language and possible culture. However it is unlikely that she was born in Greece.

This day comes to Jesus and we see a unique response that is somewhat uncharacteristic of Jesus.

Here Jesus says that the children must be fed first and that it wouldn’t be right to take the kids bread and throw it to the dogs.

There is a pastor who recently preached that Jesus was being racist and that He needed to repent of this comment. However, Jesus is and was without sin. There has never been a thought that he needed to repent of. He is the sinless son of God.

One explanation is that he used the diminutive form of this word which can translated as puppy.

Secondly, dog was a common term used by the jews and Jesus was referencing this common terminology. Yet he diminished it by calling her a puppy or a house pet as opposed to a street animal.

This phrase acted as a parable to show the the ministry of Jesus (to the Jews first) but also as a way to test her faith.

Her response was that she acknowledge that she recognized the precedent set for the Jews but also believed that this dod not exclude her from the gospel.

In verse 28 she uses he term Lord. This is unique for a Gentile to refer to Christ as Lord. She recognized that He was the master.

The moral of this story is that Jesus will heal any who places their faith in Him.

I would like to draw out sermon from the last story found in Mark seven.

In this story we see the healing of the deaf mute.

What stands out to me is the fact that in verse 37 the crowd made this statement.

HE HAS DONE ALL THINGS WELL.

Today we celebrate palm Sunday. This is the day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey.

This day was the highlight of his ministry in the eyes of his disciples. He had finally went to Jerusalem and they knew that he would soon rise to power and victory. However, unbeknown to them, his victory would not be what they had anticipated.

Yet on this palm Sunday they sang His praises.

John 12:13 ESV

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

He has done all things well brings to mind the saying of God the father in Genesis 1.31

Genesis 1:31 KJV 1900

And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

How does this story apply to us.

I. Christ will change our outlook.

This man speech was changed and his ears were opened.

An encounter with Christ will change the way you speak.

He went from a bumbling speaker to one who could testify of the goodness of God. When you have experienced the touch of God upon your life you will be able to tell others. When Christ impacts our life it will change the way the way we look at the world and it will change out priorities.

When you come to Christ you will find that he changes the way you speak. Now this doesn’t mean that you wont have fun anymore. If you were on our trip this week you know that we had a good time. These boys can goof off in ways that I didn’t know was possible without someone getting offended. There is liberty in Christ. However, there will be a change from ungodly things to things that honor Christ. I was encouraged over the last few days by the spirit among our youth that seemed to honor Christ.

II. Christ will complete your satisfaction.

Are you satisfied with Christ?

Are you content with your church?

I will tell you that I’m grateful that we have a church filled with people that love one another and Jesus.

If I was in a position where I didn’t love my church I would find somewhere that I could be at home.

However, when we are filled with Christ we are filled with His contentment.

Jesus will be enough for you. Suicide is on the rise, drugs and alcohol abuse are increasing dramatically. Depression is consuming the minds of this world. However, for the Christian, Jesus should be our satisfaction.

If you are not satisfied this morning it is not because Jesus has been unfaithful, or because he does not care for you. It is probably because you have forgotten that He has opened your eyes, healed your ears, loosened your tongue, and worked a miracle in your life. When they saw what Jesus did, they said he does all things well.

How about you today? Can you look at your life and say, “He does all things well?”

Or have you lost your satisfaction?

Every week I look forward to asking Bro. Kenneth how he is doing. His response is always the same. “Pastor, I always have a good week.”

For the child of God this should be our motto. With Christ we always have a good week.

III. Christ will catapult your witness.

Lastly, we see that Christ had commanded them not to tell anyone, but they couldn’t contain what was inside.

When someone as big as Jesus lives in your heart you can’t keep it contained within. He is bound to stick out somewhere.

When Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on that donkey, the crowds had gathered. They wanted the miracle worker to be their king. They wanted the man who could make their lives easier to lead them. Yet, Jesus did not desire to be known as the miracle worker. He wanted to be known as the one who could forgive sin.

He commanded them to tell no one because He didn’t want the miracle to be the focus of the story. There are many so called faith healers who go on TV and claim to do miracles. They brag of their abilities and power, yet this was never the focus of Jesus. He performed miracles but he did so, so that men might believe in his ability to forgive sins.

When we recognize that his greatest miracle is the forgiveness of sin we will not be able to be contained.

However, many are waiting on the physical miracle and have failed to recognize the miracle that has already been performed.

I’m grateful when he heals cancer, I rejoice when he moves in the impossible. But, I do not have to wait for that miracle to praise His name. I can stand today and say,

“HE DOES ALL THING WELL.”

And because of that I will tell the world what Jesus has done for me and what he will do for them.