Sermon Tone Analysis

Big Idea:

Trusting the Master will be worth it.

Intro:

Hey Church Online Family, thanks for joining us!

By the way, I know that our online services aren’t just for who missed service, or for anyone who sees it shared on social media.

We have real church family that relies on Church Online.

People who are truly part of our family.

So, I just want to say hi to all of you - like Howard and Kay! Thanks for worshiping with us today!

A couple weeks ago, I mentioned I recently caught up on the Netflix series: Cobra Kai.

I know not everyone is into karate, but I am, mostly because martial arts has been a part of my family for a long time.

In fact, if you google my name, you’ll likely get 3 different results:

Some random Asian doctor.

My info will pop up.

Or, you’ll see my dad, who is a Hawaiian Kenpo Grand Master.

He’s got a bunch of karate schools all over the world.

My brother (who also now teaches karate) and I grew up learning Kenpo.

And though I quit karate a long time ago, there still something in me that gravitates towards it, which is why I like Cobra Kai.

It’s also why I watched all of the Karate Kid movies (even though some were poorly made).

Do you remember the first Karate Kid?

That one was not poorly made.

Remember when Mr. Miyagi was first teaching Daniel-san how to do karate?

He was doing what seemed like random chores: washing cars, sanding the floor, painting the fence and house.

It didn’t make sense to Daniel, that is, until Mr. Miyagi (the karate master) put it all together.

Then, he saw that he was learning how to properly block strikes (something important in martial arts).

In order to properly learn karate, Daniel had to surrender to the master.

And it’s that principle that connects to our passage today in the Book of Mark.

And remember that word, “surrender,” because it’s gonna be a key part of our discussion today.

Before we jump into the passage, let me first clarify the direction I’m taking us, because it’s a little different than my other sermons.

Usually, I try my best to keep us focused on one Big Idea.

But today, as we read thru the passage, I’m going to jump all over the place with interpretations and applications.

It might seem a little scatter-brained at first, but I promise I’ll bring it all together at the end, so that we can take home one Big idea to meditate on and apply to our lives.

Let’s get started.

Picking up where we left off last week…

Exegesis:

A little context as we begin the passage.

Remember:

Jesus had just walked on water crossing the Sea of Galilee.

He healed a bunch of people in Gennesaret.

Then all the religious leaders got mad that his disciples didn’t wash their hands.

Ands Jesus reminds every one that it’s not about the dirt on our hands, but the filth in our hearts.

So, from there, he arose at went north to the region of Tyre, which is in modern day Lebanon.

Something important to realize is Jesus is now outside Israel, in a non-Jewish area, meaning no “good” Jew would want to go there.

The religious leaders would’ve really disapproved of traveling thru this unclean area!

I could picture his disciples thinking, “Yo Jesus, where we going?”

You ever drive thru a rough area and think, “Umm… where are we going?”

And suddenly hear your spouse or parent hit the automatic lock?

I remember when we were driving from San Diego to Connecticut and we stopped in Memphis, at Popeyes, in the hood.

[If you don’t know about Memphis, based on the crime rate statistics, in a room like this, 6 people are getting jacked and 2 are getting hurt].

We had no choice because we had to use the bathroom and were hungry.

But I was fine.

As I shared before, I grew up in places like this.

… but then, as I was walking back to my car from Popeyes, I heard “click.”

I looked over and a little old lady hit the automatic locks ON ME!

I was a little bit offended!

“Excuse me?

We’re in downtown Memphis and you lock the door on me?

I’m the least threatening purpose in this parking lot! I’m headed to start a new church!”

Anyways, the Jewish people would’ve seen Tyre kinda like that.

Regardless, Jesus purposefully takes his disciples there.

But why?

Well remember, this whole time, Jesus and his disciples have been trying to get some REST.

And they kept getting interrupted.

One reason they went to Tyre is because they were TIRED!

And they got a little private house and tried to keep their location private, but it didn’t work.

I think this story can be strangely comforting for us.

When Jesus was here on earth, He was tired, just like we get tired.

He tried to rest because it’s extremely important, but there were times, in this broken world, where that rest got delayed and interrupted.

If you feel this way today, know that Jesus knows what it’s like to be tired, have boundaries broken by others, and He wants to help you.

He gets it.

And maybe a next step is...

To simply surrender (there’s that word) to the situation like Jesus does.

If God is your God, and He wants you to rest, you can trust He will make it happen as you follow Him by faith.

Do you need to be intentional about your rest?

Yes.

Go far away to a private location to protect it?

Maybe.

But maybe He’s leading you thru this time of broken rest for a future and a hope, for yourself and for maybe others you encounter...

Verse 25...

Real quick, when it says, “Gentile” it simply means she was not Jewish.

Understanding that is important because in the Bible, God chose to progressively work out His plan to save the world.

He started by making a covenant relationship with the Jewish people.

It’s not that God didn’t love the world (or all people), but He chose the Jewish people to be the ones who would tell everyone about the One True God.

But isn’t it interesting, Jesus just left a group of Jewish religious leaders (who should’ve embraced Him but instead rejected Him) and found a Gentile (non-Jewish) person willing to “surrender” (there’s that word again) to Him.

It says she fell at His feet and begged Him to help.

Now, as wonderful as this surrender is, if I was Jesus, I’m gonna be a little bit cranky.

This is like the third time His vacation has been interrupted.

He even went far away and people still found Him.

He’s had no time to rest.

I said it before… when I’m tired, I’m a really bad Christian.

You know when you put your kids to sleep at night and the house is finally nice and quiet?

You can finally relax and rest.

No one is asking you questions or asking you to do anything.

For me, I sit in my chair, take a deep breath, and close my eyes.

Peace - finally!

Then, I hear footsteps.

Somebody got out of bed.

And because I’m tired, I’m not in a good place.

No matter what the issue is, I’m not having it.

They could be like, “Dad, there’s a wolf in my bedroom!”

I don’t care.