Participants:
Series Code: THI
Program Code: THI000027S
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00:24 Welcome to
00:24 Timeless Healing Insights. 00:25 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:27 We're on a journey 00:28 through the Gospel of Mark. 00:29 We call it Healing Insights 00:30 From The Gospel of Mark. 00:32 And we're looking for things 00:34 in God's Word 00:35 that have practical 00:36 healing significance today. 00:37 I've been blessed 00:39 as we've been on our journey 00:40 together. 00:40 I invite you to journey 00:42 with me 00:43 as I bring you 00:44 to our live venue 00:45 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, 00:46 for today's presentation. 00:51 Father in Heaven, 00:53 we thank you so much. 00:54 You know, our deepest needs 00:57 may boil down 00:58 to just connecting with you, 01:00 hearing your voice, 01:01 speaking to us. 01:02 Please do that again today. 01:04 You know, 01:05 I need to hear you 01:06 speaking to me. 01:08 I pray that you'd help 01:09 each one of us 01:10 in the congregation, 01:11 each one tuning in 01:13 to hear your words 01:14 of encouragement, 01:15 guidance, comfort. 01:18 Thank you. 01:18 That we can trust you 01:19 to do that. 01:20 For we ask it in 01:21 Jesus name, Amen. 01:28 Sometimes you 01:29 just have these 01:30 memorable conversations. 01:32 And I had one of them 01:33 this week. 01:35 I was dealing with a fellow 01:36 that I'll call Richard, 01:38 patient of mine. 01:40 Richard had 01:42 been in my virtual office 01:44 doing Tele Medicine 01:45 about four months ago. 01:47 He had been started on 01:48 a very common medication. 01:50 There is a good likelihood 01:52 that probably half of you 01:53 in this room 01:54 have taken this particular drug 01:56 at some point in your life. 01:58 But he had an unusual reaction 02:00 to it. 02:01 His bone marrow 02:03 literally shut down. 02:04 Well, 02:05 not completely, 02:06 but his bone 02:07 marrow was in bad shape. 02:09 He had a condition that we call 02:11 Pancytopenia, Pancytopenia. 02:16 And that is a condition 02:17 where basically 02:19 all of your main 02:20 cell lines, 02:21 your white blood 02:22 cells, your red blood cells 02:25 and your platelets, 02:26 which are actually fragments 02:27 of cells involved in clotting, 02:29 all of 02:30 them had taken a severe hit. 02:37 I shared with Richard 02:39 that all of the evidence 02:40 pointed to the problem 02:41 being with this 02:42 particular medication. 02:44 And so we instructed Richard 02:45 to stop the medicine. 02:47 He ended up working 02:48 with the specialists in blood. 02:50 We call them hematologists. 02:52 He made things more dramatic 02:54 for us. 02:55 Some of you 02:55 that are health professionals, 02:56 just to help 02:57 you understand 02:58 the gravity 02:58 of Richard's situation, 03:00 we had gotten a complete blood 03:02 count on him 03:03 and I looked at his 03:04 neutrophil count. 03:05 Those are special 03:06 white blood cells 03:07 that you need to fight 03:08 bacterial infection. 03:10 And the count showed zero. 03:13 Okay, Absolutely zero. 03:15 Now, of course, 03:16 the folks in the lab 03:17 got worried about that, too. 03:19 And they looked 03:19 under the microscope 03:20 and they found 03:21 a few neutrophils 03:22 every now and then. 03:23 But this was like really bad. 03:25 And then on top of it, 03:26 Richard got an infection. 03:27 So for those of you 03:28 that are connecting the dots, 03:30 he was just in a really, 03:31 really bad situation. 03:33 But, instructed 03:34 to stop the medicine. 03:35 He does it. 03:36 He's working 03:37 with the hematologist. 03:38 The good news is, 03:39 over the course 03:40 of the last four months, 03:41 the Lord blessed him 03:42 and his blood counts are 03:44 essentially normal now. 03:46 You say, Well, what 03:47 was so shocking 03:48 about the communication? 03:54 It's because when I talked 03:55 with Richard, 03:56 he had absolutely no insight 03:59 into the fact 03:59 that the medication 04:01 had caused his problems. 04:04 Now, why would that be 04:04 so worrisome to me? 04:07 Well, 04:07 I don't want him taking that 04:08 medication again. 04:09 You could say, oh, well, 04:10 it's on his chart 04:11 now and everything. 04:12 But you want someone 04:13 to connect all the dots. 04:14 And here 04:15 I thought everyone 04:16 had communicated very clearly 04:18 to Richard 04:19 what his problem was. 04:22 Communication. 04:24 Sometimes we think 04:25 we are being very clear, but 04:29 our message is not 04:32 getting through. 04:35 gracious folks, 04:36 and you say, well, 04:37 what was his hemoglobin 04:39 when you explained to him 04:40 his diagnosis? It's true. 04:42 Even with his transfusions, 04:43 it was running around 04:44 seven back four months ago. 04:47 And if any of you have 04:47 been really anemic, 04:48 you understand 04:49 your brain doesn't work 04:50 all that 04:51 well when you're that anemic. 04:52 Okay. 04:53 So granted, 04:54 there were some reasons 04:55 why Richard 04:55 may not have remembered 04:56 all that well, but still, 04:57 it was shocking to me. 04:59 Clear communication, I thought. 05:01 But the message 05:03 had not sunk in. 05:06 Well, 05:07 if this is important 05:08 in medical circles 05:10 where doctors are dealing 05:11 with often life 05:12 and death situations, 05:14 how important 05:15 do you think it might be 05:17 when it comes 05:17 to a Bible writer like 05:21 John Mark? 05:22 We simply usually refer to him 05:23 as Mark. 05:24 How important was it to Mark 05:27 that he communicate accurately? 05:29 If a medication may have life 05:32 or death consequences, 05:33 what about the 05:34 words of the Bible? 05:35 You would say 05:36 even more so, right? 05:38 Even more important 05:39 as far as whole person health 05:41 than any medication 05:42 is God's revelation. 05:44 So how important to Mark 05:47 were His words? 05:50 Well, 05:50 put yourself in this situation. 05:52 If you were a Bible writer 05:53 and you were trying 05:54 to communicate 05:55 the greatest of news, 05:56 he begins his Bible, 06:00 his Bible book, 06:01 by calling it the Good News. 06:04 It's the most important thing 06:05 that Mark's 06:06 ever going to write. 06:07 So you can be sure 06:09 that he was concerned 06:10 about communicating 06:12 accurately with 06:13 his intended audience. 06:16 Of course, that all begs the 06:17 question, doesn't it? 06:18 Who was 06:19 Mark's intended audience? 06:21 Who was he 06:22 especially thinking of 06:23 when he wrote his gospel? 06:26 Well, 06:27 the evidence suggests 06:28 that he was especially 06:29 thinking of Gentile Christians, 06:33 likely, especially those 06:35 in that great 06:36 cosmopolitan chief 06:39 city of the day, Rome. 06:42 And why do we piece those 06:46 puzzle pieces together 06:47 and come up with that 06:49 that conjecture or that 06:51 that theory? 06:52 Because Mark doesn't 06:53 say, hey, I'm writing this 06:54 especially for 06:55 Gentile Christians in Rome. 06:57 Well, 06:57 some of the things 06:58 we've already observed. 07:00 We saw that Mark was closely 07:02 connected with both Paul 07:04 and Peter. 07:06 And later in their lives, 07:07 both of those two individuals 07:09 were in the city of Rome. 07:15 If you're to read 07:15 Bible commentaries, 07:17 you'd read things like 07:18 this that are found in a 07:20 particular commentary 07:22 I was reading this week. 07:23 The tradition 07:24 of the early church 07:26 affirms consistently 07:28 that this gospel 07:29 was written by Mark 07:31 in Rome 07:32 as a record of Peter's 07:34 teachings, 07:35 most probably 07:36 while Peter was still alive. 07:38 And to give you 07:39 a little bit more background 07:40 in the cultural context, 07:42 put very nicely in the book 07:43 Acts of the Apostles. 07:45 In the Providence of God, Peter 07:47 was permitted 07:48 to close his ministry in Rome, 07:51 where his imprisonment 07:52 was ordered by none 07:53 other than the Emperor Nero. 07:59 And it happened 08:00 about the time of Paul's 08:02 final arrest. 08:04 Are you putting the 08:05 pieces together? 08:06 Thus the two veteran 08:08 apostles, Peter and Paul, 08:10 who for many years 08:11 had been widely 08:11 separated in their labors, 08:13 were to bear their last witness 08:15 for Christ 08:16 in the world's Metropolis. 08:19 God had providentially 08:21 through circumstances 08:22 that we probably wouldn't 08:23 have chosen. 08:24 But in His Divine providence, 08:26 Peter and Paul there in Rome 08:28 and one of the people there 08:29 in Rome 08:32 for with Peter for 08:33 sure, is John Mark, 08:36 the writer 08:36 of the Gospel of Mark. 08:40 As we think about 08:42 this audience, 08:44 we realize that 08:45 throughout the book, 08:47 as Mark is writing, 08:48 he's not thinking 08:49 of a Jewish audience. 08:51 It becomes very clear. 08:52 Here's 08:53 just a few of the insights 08:54 that have led 08:55 many Bible students to say, 08:57 No way, 08:58 He was not writing 08:58 this book for Jews 09:00 because throughout his book 09:01 he takes pains to explain 09:03 Jewish customs, says 09:05 it would be totally unnecessary 09:06 if his audience were Jews. 09:09 Second, he 09:09 translates Aramaic phrases 09:12 into Greek. 09:14 So, for example, 09:14 when Jesus is on the cross, 09:15 you may remember Mark records 09:17 Jesus saying, Eloi, Eloi, 09:19 Lama Sabachthani, 09:20 that's Aramaic for what? 09:22 My God, my God, 09:24 why have You forsaken Me? 09:25 It's translated 09:26 into Greek by Mark. 09:27 He's assuming 09:28 the people are not Jews 09:30 speaking Aramaic in Israel. 09:34 And then Mark often provides 09:36 geographic details, things 09:38 that would be unnecessary 09:39 if you were a Jew living 09:41 in the area of Jerusalem. 09:44 So the point is 09:45 simply this 09:46 and here is a very good example 09:48 of this one. 09:49 Speaking about Jewish 09:50 customs, we'll study 09:50 this in some detail, 09:51 the Lord willing, 09:52 as we go through our series. 09:53 But in Math, excuse me, 09:55 in Mark 7:3 - 4, we read this. 09:58 The Pharisees 09:59 and all the Jews do not eat 10:01 unless they give their hands 10:02 a ceremonial washing, 10:04 holding to the tradition 10:05 of the elders 10:07 when they come 10:07 from the marketplaces, 10:08 they do not eat 10:09 unless they wash 10:12 and they observe 10:12 many other traditions, 10:14 such as the washing 10:15 of cups, pitchers and kettles. 10:18 Would 10:18 you need to tell a Jew this? 10:20 No, he's not writing 10:21 for a Jewish audience. 10:23 So the evidence is 10:24 that Mark 10:25 is writing 10:26 to Gentile Christians. 10:28 They've already come to faith 10:30 in Jesus, 10:31 likely many of them in Rome. 10:34 And what are they dealing with? 10:36 Well, what is their identity? 10:38 If you're a Gentile 10:39 believer in the days of 10:42 Jesus early church, 10:43 what would you be thinking 10:44 about yourself? 10:45 Now a lot of Christians 10:46 have the idea, Oh, well, 10:47 if they're Gentile believers, 10:48 they just know about Jesus. 10:49 They don't know 10:50 about the Old Testament. 10:51 That is absolutely wrong. 10:53 You do not have to look 10:54 far in the Bible 10:54 to realize 10:55 that the early church, 10:56 even the Gentiles, 10:57 were firmly grounded 10:59 in the Old Testament. 11:00 Jesus, think about it, 11:01 turn to Luke 24 if you want. 11:03 If you get 11:04 bored at 11:05 any time in the message 11:06 and look at Jesus. 11:08 Because what Jesus did 11:09 with the disciples 11:10 is He anchored their faith 11:12 in the Old Testament. 11:15 He pointed out all the things 11:16 that were in the Scriptures. 11:17 This is to the disciples 11:19 as they're going to go out 11:20 and teach all nations 11:22 anchoring them 11:23 in the Old Testament. 11:24 And then you read 11:25 as Paul reaches out 11:26 to the Romans 11:27 in the book of Romans, 11:28 or he reaches out to 11:30 the Philippians in the letter 11:32 to the Philippians, 11:33 or as he writes 11:34 to the Thessalonicans, 11:36 or you go on 11:36 and on the Ephesians, 11:37 all of these 11:38 these are people living in 11:41 what we would call 11:41 today, Israel. 11:43 They were in Gentile regions 11:45 and what does he do? 11:46 As you read 11:47 through those books, 11:47 he connects them 11:49 with the Old Testament 11:50 scriptures. 11:50 He connects them 11:51 with the line of Abraham. 11:52 He connects them 11:53 with the prophecies 11:54 of the only Bible 11:56 that they actually had 11:57 in that era, 11:57 which was what we call today, 11:59 the Old Testament. 12:01 So this is the mindset 12:03 of the Gentile Christian. 12:04 But there's more 12:05 to their mindset 12:06 because they were living 12:09 likely around 12:11 somewhere around 66 A.D. 12:13 That's the best guess 12:14 as to 12:15 when Mark wrote his gospel. 12:17 Now, today, 12:17 when you write something, 12:18 what do you do? 12:19 I mean, if you're writing 12:20 something that you 12:21 want someone to 12:23 to look at and retain, usually 12:26 at least 12:26 I put a date on it, right? 12:30 Well, typically 12:31 we don't have that 12:33 in the documents 12:34 that we have in the Bible. 12:34 We don't have people typically 12:36 dating the documents. 12:37 There's nothing 12:38 where Mark says, Hey, 12:39 I'm writing this, you know, 12:41 NISAN 14 A.D. 12:43 66, nothing like that. 12:46 But the best evidence 12:47 as we piece things together 12:49 is that 12:50 this is when it was written 12:51 right around this time. 12:53 Nero is still on the throne. 12:54 He's going to reign 12:55 for another couple of years. 12:56 Christians are 12:57 being persecuted. 12:59 The city of Jerusalem 13:00 is going to be destroyed 13:02 in 70 A.D. 13:03 And the reason we know 13:05 it didn't happen after 70 A.D. 13:07 with pretty good confidence 13:08 as we read through Mark 13. 13:12 Mark 13 is parallel 13:13 by Matthew 24. 13:15 You know where Jesus is 13:16 speaking about things 13:17 that are going to 13:17 happen even in our day. 13:20 It speaks very clearly in Mark, 13:22 he's giving a message 13:24 to the readers 13:24 or to the listeners, 13:26 pay special attention to this. 13:28 The implications are 13:30 Jerusalem has not yet fallen. 13:32 Listen to this 13:32 message from Jesus 13:34 and you 13:35 are going to save your lives. 13:36 And that's exactly 13:37 what happened. 13:37 Those who listened to Mark 13, 13:39 their lives were spared 13:40 when Jerusalem was surrounded 13:43 by armies a few years later. 13:45 So all of these things 13:46 put us in a context. 13:47 Gentile believers, 13:48 many of them are 13:49 being persecuted. 13:50 What kind of message 13:52 then, is Mark 13:53 going to give them? 13:54 How is he going 13:55 to start his gospel? 13:56 It's a very 13:57 interesting contrast 13:58 because most of you, well, 14:00 open your Bibles. 14:01 I just want you to notice 14:02 the very first few words 14:05 of Mark's gospel. 14:06 Mark 1. 14:09 Mark 1, the very first verse. 14:12 And I'm reading 14:13 from the New King 14:13 James version. 14:15 Mark 1:1. 14:17 The very first few words, 14:19 the beginning 14:20 of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 14:23 And you hear those words, 14:24 the beginning of the good news 14:26 about Jesus Christ. 14:27 And what are you thinking? 14:29 If I just told you 14:29 I want to tell somebody 14:30 about the good news of 14:31 Jesus Christ, 14:32 you might be thinking, 14:33 Wow, maybe 14:35 he's going to connect them 14:35 all the way back 14:36 with antiquity. 14:37 Jesus as the Creator 14:39 in the very beginning. 14:40 By the way, 14:41 John does that 14:41 in his gospel, right? 14:42 In the beginning was the Word, 14:44 and the Word was with God. 14:46 When you say no, 14:47 I mean at least 14:48 if you're going to tell someone 14:48 the story of Jesus, 14:49 the good news of Jesus, 14:50 you've got to start out 14:52 with maybe 14:53 Jesus birth 14:54 or maybe the angel, 14:55 appearing to Mary. 14:57 Well, 14:58 you can read 14:59 Matthew, you can read Luke, 15:00 and they'll talk about 15:01 all those things. 15:02 They're especially 15:04 writing to who? 15:04 Matthew and Luke. 15:05 They're writing to people 15:07 who they want to see this, 15:09 this, this Jewish connection. 15:11 Many people believe, 15:11 Matthew clearly is 15:13 especially writing 15:14 to a Jewish audience. 15:15 And Luke, 15:15 as he tells 15:16 the story, 15:17 is clearly connecting 15:18 with how Jesus 15:19 and God the Father 15:20 first reached out 15:22 to the Jewish nation. 15:23 But if you're writing 15:24 to Gentile believers, 15:26 as Mark was, 15:27 where does Mark start? 15:29 And some of you are saying, 15:30 Well, wait a minute, John, 15:30 if he started all the way 15:31 at the beginning, 15:32 who is he writing to? 15:33 Well, 15:34 if you look at the closing 15:36 chapters of John's gospel, 15:38 you'll see that it seems John's 15:39 special emphasis 15:41 was on nonbelievers. 15:42 Look with me at John 20:31. 15:45 But these are written, 15:46 John said, that you may what? 15:48 Believe that 15:49 Jesus is the Messiah, 15:50 the Son of God, 15:51 and that by believing 15:52 you may have life in His name. 15:57 Mark, 15:58 when he writes, 16:00 he writes 16:00 from a very 16:01 different perspective. 16:03 It is stark. 16:04 Look at this. 16:05 As you start reading 16:07 Mark's gospel. 16:09 No, Jesus was alive from times 16:13 ages past, 16:14 no reading about his birth, 16:16 no reading about his childhood. 16:18 It just starts bam. 16:20 My messenger starts 16:22 with John the Baptist 16:23 and then Jesus, 16:24 you say, What's going on? 16:28 I would suggest to you 16:29 this is the most authentic 16:31 gospel written for Gentiles, 16:33 because that's what 16:34 the Galilean 16:35 Gentiles experienced. 16:37 They didn't know 16:38 about all the Old Testament. 16:40 And all of a sudden 16:41 you're hearing, 16:41 hey, do you hear 16:42 what's going on? What? What? 16:44 There's somebody out 16:45 in the wilderness. 16:45 They're preaching 16:46 and there's 16:47 somebody here nearby, 16:48 and they're doing all kinds 16:48 of miracles. Like what? 16:50 You know, what's going on? 16:52 Well, there's a lot more 16:53 to the background than this. 16:54 And I want you to see this 16:55 because we're going to dive 16:56 into the first chapter 16:57 of Mark here shortly. 16:59 But I want you to realize 17:01 that this Greco 17:02 Greco-Roman perspective 17:05 that the believers in Mark's 17:08 day had primed them 17:10 for a couple of things. 17:11 One, many of you realize 17:13 the Greek influence was one 17:14 that was very focused 17:15 on knowledge and 17:17 and and knowing 17:18 all the aspects of things 17:19 and debating 17:20 and having all the details 17:22 being logically consistent, 17:24 we read about that in Acts 17. 17:26 You remember 17:28 as we're reading 17:29 Luke's account, 17:30 Luke is the writer 17:31 of the Gospel of Luke, 17:33 as well as the Book of Acts. 17:34 He says this about 17:35 the Athenians, 17:36 the Greeks, 17:37 all the Athenians 17:38 and the foreigners 17:39 who live there 17:39 spent their time doing nothing 17:41 but talking 17:42 about and listening 17:44 to the latest ideas. 17:46 They like to cogitate, 17:47 they like to 17:48 wrestle with issues. 17:50 So if you're going to appeal 17:51 to the Greek influence, 17:53 you've got to be 17:54 logically consistent. 17:56 It has to have 17:56 the ring of truth. 17:58 And then the Roman influence, 18:01 as this commentary put it. 18:03 Romans were concerned 18:05 with a person's production, 18:08 not his works. 18:09 You couldn't 18:09 just say something. 18:10 You had to back it 18:11 up with activity. 18:12 So the mindset of these Gentile 18:15 believers, 18:16 they're influenced 18:17 by their culture. 18:18 Things have to be 18:19 logically consistent. 18:21 People have to show 18:23 they have to 18:24 demonstrate things, 18:25 not just talk about them. 18:27 So how does Mark 18:29 speak to this type of audience? 18:32 Is he going to show us 18:33 something 18:34 that's logically consistent, 18:35 that appeals to reason? 18:36 It appeals 18:37 to these Gentile Christians 18:38 who've been brought 18:39 into a church 18:39 that's connected 18:40 with the Old Testament. 18:41 What is he going to do now? 18:43 Let me just observe 18:44 something for you. 18:46 You do the same thing. 18:49 You do. 18:50 How do I know what you do? 18:51 It's because I do it 18:52 and you seem enough like me 18:54 and you're living 18:55 in the same place 18:56 that I'm living that 18:57 I think you do the same thing. 18:59 And I was reminded of it 19:00 by another patient this week 19:01 because they were telling me 19:02 about a doctor 19:03 that they went in 19:04 to see for the first time, 19:05 and they decided, 19:06 I am not going back 19:07 to see that physician. 19:09 And I was wondering why. 19:10 And they basically said 19:11 they didn't 19:12 they didn't use these words, 19:13 but they basically said, 19:14 I don't 19:15 think I can trust that doctor. 19:18 Some of you may know 19:19 the name of Dr. 19:20 David Levy. 19:22 Dr. 19:23 Levy is a neurosurgeon. 19:26 He wrote a book 19:27 called Gray Matter. 19:30 Levy wrote this. 19:31 So much of a 19:32 doctor's 19:33 job is in not just diagnosis, 19:36 but in demeanor 19:38 and presentation as well. 19:40 The way you come across 19:41 as you speak, 19:42 the way you comport yourself, 19:44 the way you relate to patients. 19:48 And what is happening 19:49 in that initial visit. 19:50 When you see a new provider 19:51 you're trying to size up, 19:52 do you want to let this person 19:54 be responsible 19:55 for whatever 19:56 area of your health 19:57 you have concerns with? Right. 19:59 And part of it is deciding 20:01 whether that health care 20:02 provider is trustworthy. 20:05 Now, think about it. 20:07 If Mark's 20:07 gospel is going to have 20:09 healing efficacy, 20:11 what do you think? 20:12 Do you think it must emerge 20:13 as a trustworthy 20:15 account as well? 20:16 What do you think? Yes. 20:17 If he's 20:18 if he's wanting people 20:19 to connect with his gospel, 20:20 he's got to from the beginning, 20:21 establish 20:23 something that they can trust. 20:26 So how does Mark do it? 20:27 He does it in three ways. 20:28 He he under 20:29 he relates to his audience 20:31 in at least three ways. 20:32 I want you to think about this. 20:33 First of all, 20:34 he shows 20:35 that God is faithful, 20:37 that God is consistent, 20:39 and that his gospel 20:40 is going to be consistent 20:41 to God's past revelation. 20:43 From the very beginning, 20:45 He's establishing 20:46 the trust 20:47 worthiness of his account. 20:49 And but I would suggest to you 20:52 that there's more than just 20:53 trustworthiness involved. 20:54 I mean, think about it. 20:56 You might feel that 20:56 you've got a physician 20:59 who is trustworthy. 21:00 They're going to tell you 21:00 the truth, 21:01 that they don't know something. 21:02 They're going to 21:02 tell it to you. 21:04 And but they 21:05 just give you no hope. 21:06 They say, well, 21:07 I don't know anything 21:07 about your condition. 21:08 I've never treated this before. 21:10 And now you might say, 21:10 well, they're trustworthy, 21:12 but they don't have 21:13 the knowledge base that I need. 21:16 And you might ask 21:17 for a referral 21:18 or you might get 21:18 a second opinion. 21:19 Are you following along? 21:21 Now, it's interesting. 21:23 We don't just want a healer. 21:25 We want someone 21:26 who has connection 21:27 with healing power. 21:28 And what's true 21:29 in the medical arena is true 21:31 in the spiritual arena as well. 21:32 Back to Dr. Levy. Dr. 21:34 Levy said it 21:35 this way, 21:35 As I have addressed 21:36 patient spirituality 21:38 and made prayer 21:39 a regular part 21:40 of my patient interactions, 21:42 the response 21:43 has been impressive. 21:44 So this is a physician 21:46 that is praying 21:47 with his patients. 21:49 And he says, 21:49 As I pray with my patients, 21:51 I have seen lives 21:52 brought to a level 21:53 of spiritual, emotional 21:55 and physical health 21:57 that my patients 21:58 had never enjoyed before. 22:01 He's tapping 22:02 into a healing power. 22:03 It's not his healing power. 22:05 Listen to what he says. 22:07 In the process, 22:07 I've learned 22:08 two important things: 22:09 that there is a limit 22:10 to what I can do 22:11 as a highly trained 22:12 and experienced surgeon, 22:14 and that there is 22:16 no limit to what? To what 22:19 God can do to touch a person 22:22 emotionally 22:23 and spiritually, 22:24 not just physically. 22:26 Why am I sharing this? 22:28 I'm sharing it 22:29 because it's not enough 22:30 for Mark 22:31 just to connect people 22:32 with something that they say, 22:33 This is true. 22:33 He has to connect his readers 22:36 with Jesus, 22:38 the source of healing power. 22:40 And so this is 22:41 what Mark is doing. 22:41 He's trying to help 22:42 you see, it's 22:42 not just something 22:43 you could trust. 22:43 It's someone 22:44 not only that is trustworthy, 22:46 but someone that loves you 22:48 and that is active 22:50 and is all-wise. 22:52 Boy, 22:53 this is a good combination. 22:55 Some years ago 22:56 there was a young man 22:58 that didn't have all these 23:00 criteria met. 23:02 We'll call him Willie. 23:04 Willie seemed to be 23:05 a very loving 23:06 and caring person. 23:07 And so one day 23:07 as he was walking down 23:08 the street, he seemed to be 23:11 well headed to a destination. 23:13 He seemed to have quite 23:14 a purpose in his step. 23:16 But, he saw that 23:17 there was someone in need. 23:18 And so Willie stopped 23:20 what he was doing 23:21 to help a poor individual. 23:23 This poor individual 23:24 was obviously 23:25 having car problems 23:27 because he was trying 23:28 to push his car 23:30 up a slight grade. 23:31 Get it off the road, 23:33 up the grade 23:34 and into a parking lot. 23:36 Willie stopped to help. 23:37 How many of you think 23:37 this is sounding good? 23:39 Yeah. Sounded very good. 23:40 Willie gets behind the car 23:41 with the car owner, 23:42 and they are pushing together, 23:44 and the car is going up 23:45 this grade. 23:46 Now, many of you know something 23:48 about geography 23:49 on planet Earth. 23:50 There is absolutely no hill 23:52 on planet earth 23:53 that continues to ascend. 23:56 Sooner or later, 23:56 what happens to every hill? 23:58 Yes, it 23:59 crests and goes 24:00 down the other way. 24:01 And it just so happened 24:02 that this hill crested 24:04 right after it got 24:05 into the parking lot. 24:07 So they are struggling 24:08 and the car is making progress, 24:10 and making more progress. 24:11 He's being active, Willie is. 24:13 He's being compassionate. 24:15 He's trustworthy. 24:16 It seems he's, 24:17 you know, 24:17 just being kind 24:19 and considerate. 24:20 And once they get that car up 24:21 to the top of the parking lot, 24:23 something very 24:24 dramatic changes. 24:26 Now, instead of being difficult 24:28 to push the car up, 24:29 the car starts 24:30 going on its own volition. 24:32 Both of them 24:33 are behind the car. 24:34 That means there is no one 24:35 in the driver's seat. 24:37 And needless to say, 24:38 that car 24:39 came to an abrupt stop, 24:41 unfortunately, at another car 24:43 in the parking lot. 24:45 So you would say, yes, 24:47 Willie's motives were all good. 24:48 But I'm glad we have 24:50 a heavenly Father 24:51 who doesn't make mistakes 24:52 like that. 24:53 Now, some of you 24:53 might be wondering, 24:54 you might say, Well, 24:55 I was following God 24:56 and it looks like 24:56 he got me into a car crash. 24:58 No, but Mark's account, 25:00 as we'll see, shows 25:02 that God is faithful 25:03 and that we can trust Him. 25:05 You see, Mark also presents 25:07 Jesus, yes, He's 25:08 a man of activity like we saw, 25:10 but he's more than that. 25:12 He is an individual. 25:14 Jesus, 25:14 the subject of his gospel, 25:16 is one 25:17 who is being guided 25:19 by the Holy Spirit. 25:20 From the very beginning 25:21 of Mark's Gospel, 25:23 you see the Holy Spirit. 25:25 The Spirit does this. 25:26 The Spirit is there. 25:28 We're going to see it 25:29 as we continue 25:29 to look at Chapter 25:30 1 of Mark's gospel. 25:32 The Holy Spirit 25:33 continues to show up. 25:34 And if you think about it, 25:36 this would relate 25:36 to the Gentile Christians, 25:38 because all of them knew 25:39 the reason 25:40 the Gospel had gone to 25:41 the Gentiles 25:42 is because of what? 25:43 It's because the Holy Spirit, 25:45 on the day of Pentecost 25:46 came down 25:46 and empowered the church 25:49 to bring the Gospel 25:50 to the Gentiles. 25:51 And even when 25:51 they were dragging their feet 25:53 sometime, like Peter, 25:54 remember 25:55 they're in the house of Simon 25:56 the tanner, 25:57 he received that vision 25:59 basically saying, 26:00 Go and minister to Cornelius 26:03 and the Gentiles. 26:05 Well, Mark's gospel 26:07 in it, Jesus emerges 26:09 as trustworthy. 26:10 Jesus emerges 26:12 as all loving, Jesus emerges 26:14 as all intelligent. 26:16 He is the divine 26:17 human, great physician 26:19 who is interested 26:20 in curing your ills 26:22 and curing mine. 26:23 And as we continue 26:25 on this journey 26:26 through Mark's gospel, 26:27 you will see that it is filled 26:30 with healing power. 26:31 It was just 26:32 what the people 26:33 in Mark's day needed. 26:34 It is just 26:36 what you and I need today. 26:42 Thank you 26:42 for engaging with 26:43 Jesusėaling 26:44 ministry as we've been looking 26:45 at healing insights 26:46 from the Gospel of Mark. 26:48 We invite you to be 26:49 a part of the healing 26:50 ministry of Timeless 26:52 Healing Insights. 26:53 There's a number of ways 26:54 you can do it. 26:55 First 26:55 and foremost is continue 26:56 to pray with us 26:58 that God would bless 26:59 this ministry, 26:59 that He would sustain us 27:01 and help us get these messages 27:03 out on a weekly basis 27:05 on the airwaves. 27:06 Whether you're watching on 27:07 a conventional 27:08 television station 27:09 or whether you're 27:10 watching online. 27:12 Another way you can 27:13 partner with us 27:13 is by sharing 27:14 our web site, www. 27:18 TimelessHealingInsights.org 27:20 is the place 27:20 where you can engage 27:21 with our free health materials 27:23 as well as the archives 27:24 of this weekly broadcast. 27:27 You can get free handouts 27:28 and you can share this site 27:30 with your friends and neighbors 27:32 so that they can benefit 27:33 as well. 27:34 And one last way 27:35 that you can help us 27:36 is joining us financially. 27:38 Thank you, for those of you 27:39 that do. 27:40 This as a listener 27:41 and viewer supported ministry 27:42 and there are many costs 27:44 that are associated 27:44 with getting this 27:46 broadcast together 27:47 and sending it out 27:48 throughout the world. 27:49 So join us 27:50 there 27:51 at TimelessHealingInsights.org. 27:52 Thank you 27:54 for your partnership 27:55 in these many ways. |
Revised 2023-03-01