Mark Sermon Week 33 - The What Now and the How

Intro/Welcome

Welcome:

Good morning

Introduce

Welcome those in person/online

Intro

Last week

easter / Good Friday

you ever wonder what now?

we finished mark last week technically

Make ended in v 9

so someone went in an added Mark 16:9-20 to tell what happened next

So maybe that’s you

I believe n the life, death and resurrection of Jesus…what now?

We’ve spent the lat 32 weeks covering the three year period of Jesus life

today we’ll cover the last 2000 years in one sermon.

The What Now and then the How

Bible

We are going to be in Acts 1:1-10.

go there in your bble

Pray

Isaiah 61:1–4 (NASB95)

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;

2 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord

And the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,

3 To grant those who mourn in Zion,

Giving them a garland instead of ashes,

The oil of gladness instead of mourning,

The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting.

So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.

4 Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities, The desolations of many generations.

Summary of Mark

Acts 1:1–3 (CSB)

1 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs...

This is basically the summary of Luke

Luke 1:1–4 (CSB)

1 Many have undertaken to compile a narrative about the events that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as the original eyewitnesses and servants of the word handed them down to us.

3 So it also seemed good to me, since I have carefully investigated everything from the very first, to write to you in an orderly sequence, most honorable Theophilus,

4 so that you may know the certainty of the things about which you have been instructed.

Acts is Part 2 of Luke’s Two Volume Work

telling the Story of Jesus and the Story of the Church

Which is also a summary of Mark.

But let’s summarize Mark by answering 3 questions:

What did Jesus come to do?

Why did Jesus die?

Why did Jesus Rise?

What did Jesus come to do?

Mark 1:15 (CSB)

15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near [at and].

Repent and believe the good news!”

We saw that this ministry of Jesus consisted of three main things:

Declaring the gospel of Kingdom of God

Preaching and Teaching

Demonstrating the power and presence of the Kingdom of God

healings of diseases, deformities

raising the dead

driving out demons

displays or power over nature

Serving those in NEED

Suffering Supernaturally

Discipling People into the Kingdom of God

Why did Jesus have to die?

Mark 10:45 (CSB)

45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (minister), and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is the GOOD NEWS — the GOSPEL — The Euengelion

The Kingdom is available to all b/c of the SUBS. DEATH OF THE KING

But why?

B/c God loves you

B/c God wants to be with you and you to be with Him

but Sin was the barrier, the blockade, the b???

This was the ransom — the price for sin

1 Corinthians 6:20 (CSB)

20 for you were bought at a price. So glorify God with your body.

1 Corinthians 7:23 (CSB)

23 You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of people.

The price was the precious blood of Jesus

1 Peter 1:18–19 (CSB)

18 For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

This was entrance into the Kingdom of God

the stamp of citizenship is faith in the substitutionary death of the King

Why did Jesus rise?

To Prove his Identity

Son of God, Savior, King of the Kingdom

To Prove that Sin was paid for

To bring renewal and restoration

So what now?

The What Now

Acts 1:3–4 (CSB)

3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs,

appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise.

Jesus continues teaching the Kingdom of God

now that resurrection is understood and makes sense of everything.

Wait

The first thing that Jesus them is to WAIT

isn’t that just like God

Wait? we hate waiting.

I can’t even wait for my latte

I can’t even wait for 15 sec for a video to load

I can’t wait 30 sec at a red light

Jesus says WAIT.

We MUST to learn to wait

Wait on what?

the FATHER’S PROMISE

The Father’s Promised Holy Spirit

What is that?

Acts 1:4-5 (CSB)

“Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”

The Holy Spirit?

John 14:15–17 (CSB)

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commands.

16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. 17 He is the Spirit of truth.

The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.

John 14:25–26 (CSB)

25 “I have spoken these things to you while I remain with you.

26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,

will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

John 15:26–27 (CSB)

26 “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—he will testify about me. 27

You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16:7–11 (CSB)

7 Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away,

because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you.

8 When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

John 16:13–14 (CSB)

13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come.

14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.

The Father’s Promise = The Holy Spirit = Baptized in the Holy Spirit

Baptized with/in the Holy Spirit?

What does that mean?

baptism = immersion, saturated, overwhelmed = filled

So he’s talking about the coming Holy Spirit

which of course happens in Acts 2 — on the day of Pentecost.

Acts 2:1–4 (CSB)

1 When the day of Pentecost had arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like that of a violent rushing wind came from heaven, and it filled the whole house where they were staying. 3 They saw tongues like flames of fire that separated and rested on each one of them.

4 Then they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them.

Peter then Preaches the first Spirit empowered message

and says that this coming of the Holy Spirit is the fulfilling of OT Prophecy

Acts 2:17–22 (CSB)

17 And it will be in the last days, says God,

that I will pour out my Spirit on all people;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.

18 I will even pour out my Spirit on my servants in those days, both men and women and they will prophesy.

19 I will display wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below: blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes.

21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Joel 2:28–32 (CSB)

28 After this I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity;

then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions.

29 I will even pour out my Spirit on the male and female slaves in those days.

30 I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth: blood, fire, and columns of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.

32 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved, for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,

as the Lord promised, among the survivors the Lord calls.

So they are to wait in Jerusalem for the coming/baptizing by the Holy Spirit — whatever that means.

Let’s see how they do

The Disciples Impatience

Acts 1:6 (CSB)

6 So when they had come together, they asked him,

“Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?”

The disciples are just like us

“Is now the time?” = “Are we there yet?”

Jesus from the Driver’s Seat

Is he harsh? does he yell?

No, he gently continues to instruct.

The Great Commission

Acts 1:7-9 (CSB)

7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you,

and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight.

Witness

There it is = be my witness

testify to the person and work of Jesus

the word is martyr

You will be my martyrs

so many of the early followers died b/c of their testimony this word came to mean ‘to die for the testimony of Jesus’

We are called to be Witnesses — Testifiers — Martyrs

But what does that mean?

Does that mean just ‘sharing the gospel with people?’ — evangelizing

It is not less than that, but it is more than that

Is your life a witness / does it testify / to who Jesus is?

This means how you live your life

how you work your job

how you parent your children

how you deal with relationships

how you spend you money

what you do with your time

and yes using your words to share the gospel of the King and His Kingdom.

Witnessing makes Disciples

Thus being a witness is how we make disciples

Great Commission

When our lives become more like Jesus — the goal of discipleship — then our lives witness to the person and work of Jesus.

are we becoming more loving?

more sacrificial?

are we serving more?

giving more?

Guilt?

I imagine right about now, most of us we are beginning to have a particular experience

A little prosecutor is arising in your heads condemning you for all you haven’t done.

We call that GUILT & CONDEMNATION

it says “You not doing enough!

And it’s not from Jesus

This is where our understanding of the Gospel of the King and His Kingdom is so important.

It’s not about doing — it is paid for — “it is finished”

It’s not so much WHAT we are doing...

It’s about HOW we are doing.

It’s about whose strength are we living by?

You see it’s not about trying harder, doing more, buckling down, white knuckling it

We are called to live differnetly

Our lives are to look more like Jesus’

The ministry of One Hope is to look like the ministry of Jesus

This is the WHAT NOW

But the HOW is just as if not more important

So HOW do we live differently?

How does our life EFFECTIVELY WITNESS to Jesus?

We first need of WITNESS JESUS in/on our life.

The How - The POWer of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus has already told us.

Acts 1:8 (CSB)

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The HOW of the WHAT NOW is in the POWER of the Holy Spirit.

Ask yourself that this week: What now? What do I do Now?

Parents: how do I handle this situation with my child?

YP: How do I handle this ethical situation at work?

Relationships: How do I confront this sin/betrayal?

Min: How do I remain faithful amidst discouragement?

Stu: How do I keep both faithfulness to Christ and friendship with this person?

The HOW is in the POWer of the Holy Spirit

Power = dynamis = dynamite = real power = ability = empowerment = strength

The DYNAMITE for MARTYRDOM is the Holy Spirit

The WEAPON for WITNESSING is the Holy Spirit

The POWER for PRESENTING JESUS is the Holy Spirit

it is only when the HOLY SPIRIT comes that we have the ability to live like this

that is what they/we are WAITING FOR

So in your life, when you try to ‘live like Jesus” to do live ‘rightly’

are you waiting on the Holy Spirit?

Or are you proceeding in your own strength?

We may know that this is the answer right Phil 4:13

Philippians 4:13 (CSB)

13 I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

But Pastor, what does that actually look like?

How can I actually live by the power of the Holy Spirit?

How can I live in resurrection power?

What does that actually look like day to day? moment by moment?

Living by the Power and Presence of the Holy Spirit

Let’s do what the Disciples did

Let’s do what Jesus did.

There is at least four things I see in the Life of Jesus and the Apostles

Wait, Listen, Obey, Reflect

Wait

Pause, slow down, take a breath

Invite the Lord into your particular moment

Listen

Learn to recognize the Voice of the Lord

We hear the voice of the Lord

In The Word of God

By the Spirit of God

In the still small voice — the indwelling spirit

Through the People of God

God will often speak to us through others.

Obey = Witness = Testify

do what God says

Reflect

Capture / remember / write dow

Last two weeks

I started writing down what I thought the Lord was saying

It’s amazing how often he is speaking.

Does that really work?

Does God love you?

Does he care about you?

Every detail of your life?

Is he that Big?

TRY IT

Yes — try it for one week

The biggest barrier to most of us living Spirit-Empowered Lives is

we are too busy

we never slow down long enough to ‘wait on the Lord’

to hear from Him and do what he says

This is an epidemic in the US

ruled by distraction

when we are ruled by distraction = subtraction

The answer is NOT just try harder, do more

the answer is to STOP and to WAIT

LISTEN, OBEY, REFLECT

Application:

Ask the Lord...

Parents: how do I handle this situation with my child?

YP: How do I handle this ethical situation at work?

Relationships: How do I confront this sin/betrayal?

Min: How do I remain faithful amidst discouragement?

Stu: How do I keep both faithfulness to Christ and friendship with this person?

Conclusion

If you begin to do this

You will begin to WITNESS Jesus in/on your life

Then your life will be a WITNESS TO Jesus

The Church, then and now

This is exactly what played out in the book of Acts

They waited

The Holy Spirit Came in Power

Empowered Kingdom Ministry began and the church exploded

The Ministry of The Apostles - Book of Acts

The Ministry of the apostles began to look a lot like the Ministry of Jesus

Declaring the gospel of Kingdom of God

Preaching and Teaching

Demonstrating the power and presence of the Kingdom of God

healings of diseases, deformities

raising the dead

driving out demons

displays or power over nature

Serving those in NEED

Suffering w/ Supernatural power

Discipling People into the Kingdom of God

The Church Now

does our church / the church today / look the same as the Ministry of the Apostles? The Ministry of Jesus?

I think it should for two reasons:

We have the same Mission as the Apostles and early church

We have the same Means of Power — it is the same Holy Spirit in us that was in them and in Jesus

Application

Does your life witness to the person of Christ by the power of Christ?

Have you witnessed the person and power of Jesus IN/ON your Life?

One Hope

I think we are beginning to see this at One Hope

We heard from Heidi a couple weeks ago

I want to invite Ben Smith to come up and share

b/c I believe his life has been a witness to Jesus

Ben Smith

Info

Been at One Hope for a number of years

Works at Lockheed

got married here 7 years ago

Served in various places

Played bass

led various community groups

coaches community group leaders

leading a discipleship group now

Had their first baby (Roman) about a year ago

Share for a couple minutes

How have you witnessed Christ IN/ON your life?

How has your life been a witness TO Christ?

Pray us out

Closing Prayer