Participants:
Series Code: THI
Program Code: THI000029S
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00:22 Welcome to Timeless
00:23 Healing Insights. 00:24 I'm Dr. David DeRose. 00:25 As we prepare to open the word 00:27 let us pray together. 00:29 Father in heaven, 00:30 we look to you right now 00:32 to be our guide 00:33 as we study the Scriptures. 00:35 Please give us minds 00:37 to learn, minds to apply 00:39 just what you want us to apply. 00:41 We ask it all. 00:41 In Jesus name, Amen. 00:49 From the time 00:51 I was just a little kid, 00:53 when I heard about 00:54 these things, 00:54 I was so excited about them. 00:57 I don't know what it was. 00:59 But when I learned 01:01 about these amazing things 01:03 as a child called geodes, 01:07 I was just captivated by them. 01:09 Now, maybe some of you are 01:11 are very familiar with these. 01:13 Well, 01:14 often simply ordinary 01:16 looking rocks. 01:18 I mean, 01:19 at least to an untrained eye. 01:20 Now, some of you 01:20 might be geologists 01:21 and you say, oh, 01:22 I know exactly what that is. 01:24 But you look at these rocks 01:25 and they just look 01:26 like ordinary rocks, 01:27 and then you 01:28 break the rock open 01:30 or you cut into it, 01:32 or you somehow smash the rock 01:35 and you end up 01:36 finding all kinds 01:38 of hidden beauty. 01:41 Can you appreciate geodes? 01:44 I don't know what 01:45 it was about them, 01:45 but when I heard about them 01:47 as just a child and saw them. 01:49 You'd think 01:50 my enthusiasm 01:51 would lead me to be 01:52 a geode collector, but I'm not. 01:54 I've had a few over the years, 01:55 But if we've still got some, 01:57 I don't know where they are, 01:58 but they're just amazing rocks. 02:04 Now you say, Well, 02:06 yeah, 02:06 they look ordinary 02:07 on the outside. 02:09 Yeah, they're 02:10 beautiful, often on the inside, 02:12 sometimes even very valuable. 02:15 What does this all have to do 02:17 with a study 02:17 on the Gospel of Mark? 02:20 It's because sometimes 02:21 things have to be ripped open, 02:23 they have to be broken open 02:25 in order 02:26 to appreciate their full value. 02:30 So I'm still not connecting 02:32 this with the gospel of Mark. 02:35 The Gospel of Mark 02:36 is actually set 02:38 in the context of things 02:40 being broken, things 02:42 being broken. 02:45 Well, before we look 02:46 at a particular passage 02:48 in Mark, 02:49 that makes this very clear. 02:51 I want to expand the analogy 02:52 a little bit, 02:53 because some of you 02:53 are thinking, well, 02:54 how can this be good? 02:55 I mean, maybe 02:56 with a geode it's good, 02:57 but why would we 02:58 talk about things 02:58 that are broken being good? 03:01 Well, sometimes our health 03:04 is undermined 03:06 by things that are broken. 03:08 Other times 03:09 something in your life 03:11 can be broken 03:13 or cut or apparently damaged. 03:17 But it can actually 03:18 lead to better health. 03:20 Are you confused? 03:23 Good. Good. 03:23 You're following along then. 03:25 Well this one 03:26 you can all relate to. 03:27 If a bone is broken, what? 03:31 That's going to 03:31 compromise your health. 03:32 I don't care 03:33 how small the bone is. 03:35 They're all there 03:35 for a purpose. 03:36 And some someone says, well, 03:39 I know those bones are just 03:40 really small in your ear, 03:42 the ossicles. 03:43 I probably could 03:44 suffer a broken bone there. 03:45 I'll tell you, 03:46 if you get those ossicles 03:47 out of place, 03:47 you're not going to hear. Okay. 03:50 So every bone 03:51 has a special function, 03:53 and if you break 03:54 one of them, it's compromised. 03:55 But now think about this. 03:57 If an orthopedic surgeon 04:00 breaks open your skin, 04:04 makes an incision, 04:06 they can go into your body 04:08 and they can actually repair 04:11 a broken bone. 04:13 If you have a severe break, 04:15 they might have to go in 04:17 and do what 04:17 we call 04:18 an open reduction 04:19 and internal fixation. 04:21 Maybe they put 04:21 hardware into that bone 04:24 because it was 04:24 such a bad break, 04:25 they couldn't 04:26 just set it with a cast alone. 04:28 Are you following 04:28 along with me? 04:29 So do you see 04:30 there was a cutting 04:31 or a severing 04:32 or an opening 04:33 in order to repair something? 04:35 So this idea of things 04:37 being broken open 04:38 doesn't always mean 04:40 that it's bad. It can be good. 04:44 Job, the book of Job 04:47 has this 04:47 beautiful illustration. 04:49 I really love this picture 04:50 of our loving father. 04:52 Behold, 04:53 Blessed is the one 04:54 whom God reproves; 04:56 therefore despise 04:58 not the discipline 04:59 of the Almighty for He wounds, 05:03 but He does what He binds up. 05:07 He shatters, 05:08 but His hands heal. 05:10 Do you get the picture? 05:12 So it's 05:12 this idea of God 05:13 being the divine surgeon. 05:16 Now, I'm thankful 05:17 that we have people 05:18 in our ranks here 05:19 who have been 05:20 active in ministry 05:21 using surgery, 05:23 whether they're the surgeon 05:25 or assisting in the process. 05:26 I am very glad 05:28 that we have surgeons 05:29 on planet Earth. 05:31 But also as an 05:32 internal medicine specialist, 05:34 I try to help people 05:35 avoid the surgeons 05:36 as much as I can. Okay. 05:37 Is that okay? 05:39 And I think you probably 05:41 can relate to that. 05:41 Most people aren't lining up 05:43 to see the surgeon, 05:44 but catch this picture of God. 05:45 Even though we may 05:46 not like surgery. 05:48 Why does God break? 05:50 Why does He shatter? 05:52 He does it so that He can heal. 05:54 You know, 05:55 sometimes that has to happen. 05:56 You may have to break 05:58 a bone and reset it. 06:00 If the bone 06:01 did not heal properly. 06:05 Job 5 actually 06:06 connects us with our theme. 06:08 The Book of Mark. Mark 1. 06:11 We have this very interesting 06:14 verse. 06:15 Mark 1:14 06:16 The time is fulfilled 06:18 and the Kingdom of God 06:19 is at hand; 06:20 repent 06:21 and believe in the gospel. 06:24 So this is Jesus, the very 06:28 first words 06:29 that come out of His mouth 06:31 in the Gospel of Mark. 06:32 And what is He speaking about? 06:35 He's speaking about something 06:36 that really, you might say, 06:39 kind of breaks 06:41 our spiritual comforts. 06:44 He's calling us to repent. 06:49 Now, that's 06:50 not a word 06:51 that always 06:52 brings up warm feelings, 06:54 but it is a word that really 06:57 comes to us 06:58 because Jesus is in the healing 07:01 business. 07:03 It's not cruelty 07:04 to reveal disease. 07:06 And Mark 2 07:08 the Lord willing, 07:09 we'll get there 07:10 in our next study. 07:11 But I want you to see what 07:12 Jesus says about his ministry. 07:14 He says it's not the healthy 07:16 that need a doctor 07:17 but the sick. 07:18 I have not come to 07:19 call the righteous but sinners. 07:24 And what we're going 07:25 to find today, 07:26 as we look at 07:28 well, look in more detail 07:29 at Mark 1, 07:31 we're going to find that 07:33 Mark in rapid 07:35 sequence helps us to see 07:37 that Jesus is ministering 07:39 to people who recognize 07:41 that they're ill 07:42 and recognize their need 07:44 for healing. 07:46 Let's just take another minute 07:48 and expand this 07:49 this picture for you. 07:50 We're talking about 07:51 seeing that 07:52 which is not apparent, 07:53 opening things up, 07:54 getting insight. 07:56 And the gospel of Mark really 07:57 is set in that context. 08:00 As a physician, we 08:01 often order diagnostic imaging. 08:05 Just this week 08:06 there are two patients. 08:07 These, of course, 08:07 are not their real names 08:09 and all the real details. 08:11 But 08:14 this is exactly what happened. 08:16 Vinny, 08:17 he was having abdominal pain. 08:19 And so I actually ordered 08:21 an abdominal ultrasound 08:23 as part of our evaluation. 08:26 And then there was Shirley. 08:28 Shirley was seeing 08:29 a specialist. 08:31 And I'm not even sure 08:32 why the specialist 08:33 thought she needed an MRI, 08:38 but the specialist ordered it 08:40 for some reason. 08:41 It wasn't something that seemed 08:42 clearly indicated. 08:44 She, 08:45 you can see 08:46 here, was having some 08:47 I think she was having frequent 08:48 urinary infections 08:50 or something. 08:50 And okay, 08:51 so they're going to get an MRI. 08:53 But she felt perfectly fine. 08:56 Well, what happens, 08:57 why do we do 08:58 diagnostic imaging? 09:02 Well, I can tell you 09:03 in Vinnyase 09:04 we got that ultrasound back. 09:06 It was totally normal. 09:09 Totally normal. 09:11 So how does that sound to you? 09:14 Well, if you're the patient 09:15 and you have a 09:16 totally normal test, 09:17 is that good news or bad news? 09:19 Yeah. 09:20 I mean, we say, well, 09:20 that's good news because we're 09:22 I mean, as physicians, 09:23 but as laypeople, too, 09:24 we're always 09:25 concerned about 09:26 the worst, Right? 09:27 So you say, well, 09:28 at least 09:29 I don't have anything serious 09:30 that showed up on 09:30 the ultrasound. 09:31 But the problem is, 09:33 Vinny was having problems. 09:36 And so 09:36 now after the 09:37 normal test comes back, 09:38 what is he saying? 09:40 Well, what's 09:41 wrong with me then? 09:42 You know, I want help. 09:44 And they haven't identified 09:45 what's wrong. 09:46 So a bad test? 09:48 Well, if it helps us 09:51 to get the proper treatment, 09:53 it may not be bad. 09:54 What about Shirley? 09:56 She was feeling perfectly fine, 09:57 but when she had that MRI, 10:00 it actually revealed 10:01 a malignancy, a cancer. 10:05 And so she's on a cancer 10:07 treatment protocol. 10:08 Going to see a specialist now 10:11 that she would not 10:12 have been doing 10:13 had she not had that 10:14 imaging study. 10:15 Are you following 10:16 along with me? 10:17 So who had the better result? 10:20 Well, you say I 10:21 you know, 10:21 I don't want 10:22 a diagnosis of cancer. 10:22 But here's the point. 10:24 The very worst situation 10:26 with cancer is where 10:27 it's undetected 10:29 until you roll 10:29 into the hospital 10:31 and they say there's 10:32 nothing we can do 10:33 and you've got a few weeks. 10:36 You following along? 10:38 So, seeing what is hidden 10:40 may be reassuring, 10:42 but when it comes 10:43 to the gospel, 10:44 all of us have sinned, 10:45 the Bible says. 10:46 And so 10:48 as we come in 10:48 contact with Jesus, 10:50 His good news somehow first 10:55 reveals where we fall short 10:57 and we hear that 10:57 call to repentance. 10:59 In fact, 11:01 some have summarized the gospel 11:02 the good news in these words. 11:04 They've said 11:05 Jesus came 11:06 to comfort the afflicted. 11:09 So if you're 11:10 weighed down today, 11:11 if you 11:11 you sense your need 11:13 for Jesus, He's 11:14 here to minister to you. 11:16 But the flipside of it is, 11:18 if you think you've 11:19 got everything all together 11:20 and everything's just perfect 11:21 and you wish 11:22 everyone else were 11:22 just like you, 11:25 well then 11:26 I have good news for you too. 11:28 Jesus wants to 11:30 do that, diagnostic 11:32 imaging on you. 11:33 He's going to show you 11:34 that you have things 11:34 that need repair 11:36 and He's going to afflict 11:38 the comfortable. 11:40 So it's just an 11:41 interesting picture 11:42 and it's so relevant 11:43 because these are the things 11:45 that we see 11:46 throughout Scripture 11:47 in the Psalm, Psalm 147, 11:49 we read these words, 11:49 Praise the Lord, 11:51 how good it is to sing 11:52 praises to our God, 11:54 how pleasant 11:54 and how fitting to praise Him. 11:56 He heals the broken hearted 11:59 and He binds up their wounds. 12:01 Who does He heal? 12:03 Those who are broken hearted. 12:04 Those who recognize their need. 12:06 Just like Jesus 12:07 said, it's not the 12:08 the well, people 12:09 that come to see the doctor. 12:11 It's those 12:11 who recognize their need. 12:14 Now, this might be pretty raw 12:15 because all of us have 12:17 just been impacted, 12:19 at least in 12:20 some shape or fashion, 12:22 by Hurricane Ian. Right? 12:24 We've heard about it. 12:25 Maybe some of you know people. 12:26 I was just 12:27 speaking with someone 12:28 just yesterday, 12:30 fellow pastor there in Florida, 12:33 talking about how 12:34 their family was impacted, 12:36 how others were impacted. 12:37 They were not right in the 12:39 the eye of the storm. 12:40 So they fared a lot 12:41 better than they could have. 12:42 But the point was 12:45 this touched 12:47 thousands of people 12:48 directly, right? 12:51 And then as we hear stories 12:53 like that, 12:53 as we know people 12:54 maybe as we just 12:55 listen to the stories, 12:57 your first response will be 12:59 maybe well 13:00 I'm glad 13:00 I don't live by the coast, 13:03 but then I'll tell you, 13:05 we live nowhere near the coast 13:07 in northern California, 13:08 before we moved here. 13:10 But the people that 13:10 bought our house 13:11 just a few weeks ago 13:12 were evacuated 13:13 because the fires 13:15 came so close to their home 13:17 that they were 13:18 in serious jeopardy. 13:20 So you say, well, 13:20 I'm glad we're and, 13:22 you know, Fort Wayne, 13:23 no significant fire 13:25 danger and hurricanes, 13:27 they're off the list. 13:29 But the point is, 13:30 when we hear 13:31 about these things, 13:32 we realize how 13:33 tenuous life is, right? 13:36 Just a few years ago, 13:38 I got a call 13:40 actually was talking 13:41 with some people in the clinic 13:42 where where 13:43 I do my telemedicine 13:45 still there 13:45 in Northern California. 13:46 And they said 13:47 one of the workers 13:47 just, you know, 13:48 their house just burned down 13:49 and said, oh, no more fires. 13:51 And they said, no, 13:52 there were no fires, 13:53 but it was just 13:53 some electrical problem 13:55 in their house. 13:56 So you can see I'm 13:57 glad I'm not in fire danger, 14:01 but we are in fire danger, 14:03 right? 14:04 Doesn't matter where you, I'm 14:05 glad I don't live 14:05 near the coast, 14:06 so I can't get flooded. 14:09 No you can get flooded 14:10 right here too. 14:11 some of you know, 14:12 by experience. Right? 14:14 So the whole point is we're 14:17 in a very unstable world. 14:20 So you say, 14:21 okay, this is 14:22 not a real comforting message. 14:24 Where's the good news? 14:26 We're talking about things 14:27 that unsettle us, things 14:28 that open things up, things 14:30 that break, things, things 14:31 that rip open. 14:32 And that brings us right 14:33 to the first chapter of Mark. 14:35 We're going to look at a word, 14:37 a Greek word. 14:39 And before we do, 14:40 I'm giving you 14:40 one more medical illustration 14:42 because I think 14:43 you can relate to this 14:44 if you haven't related to 14:45 anything else I've said. 14:48 Probably most of 14:49 you have heard 14:50 of the 14:50 medical diagnosis, 14:51 schizophrenia. 14:53 It is a severe mental illness. 14:57 People, 14:58 when it's florid 14:59 when it's in its 15:00 full blown condition, 15:01 they're out of touch 15:02 with reality. 15:03 They may be hearing voices 15:05 that are not there. 15:06 They may be seeing things 15:07 that are not there. 15:08 They can be living in a 15:09 totally delusional world. 15:11 Many times they're paranoid. 15:13 They're afraid of things. 15:14 They're scared of things. 15:15 They may be your friend, 15:17 and yet they think you're 15:18 trying to hurt them 15:19 in some way. 15:20 Schizophrenia comes from 15:22 two Greek words schizo, 15:26 which refers to splitting 15:28 and friend, 15:29 which refers to mind. 15:31 So sometimes 15:32 laypeople will say, 15:33 Well, 15:34 this is a split personality. 15:35 Well, probably 15:37 not the best way 15:38 to describe it, but, 15:39 you know, 15:40 we'll cut you some slack 15:41 as lay folks. Okay. 15:43 But my point is 15:44 this root schizo has to do with 15:47 a violent separation. 15:51 It is not just a word that is 15:53 used in medical terminology. 15:55 It is used in the 15:56 gospel of Mark. 15:57 And here it is. 15:59 Mark 1:10. 16:01 We read about Jesus baptism 16:03 in our last study together. 16:05 Here we look at it again 16:07 because we really didn't 16:08 talk about this 16:09 dramatic word that is used. 16:12 The account says, 16:13 just as Jesus 16:14 was coming up out of the water, 16:17 he saw heaven being torn open. 16:20 It's that Greek word schizo ok 16:23 and the spirit 16:24 descending on him like a dove. 16:28 Say, well, 16:29 why this dramatic word? 16:32 It's actually 16:32 a relatively unusual word 16:34 in the New Testament. 16:35 It only occurs ten times 16:37 in the whole New Testament. 16:38 But it always has this 16:39 this this idea 16:42 of this 16:43 breaking apart, cleaving 16:45 asunder, rending something, 16:47 ripping it up. 16:49 And we see it in relationships 16:51 and we see it 16:52 with inanimate objects. 16:55 For example, 16:56 in the book of Acts, 16:57 you see this word 16:58 schizo used 17:00 when there is dissension. 17:03 Paul and Silas 17:04 preaching in Acts 14. 17:07 It says 17:08 The multitude of the city 17:09 was divided. 17:11 The word schizo is used there. 17:13 And what happens? 17:15 The Jews on one side, 17:17 the apostles 17:18 and those 17:18 who accepted their message 17:19 on the other, 17:20 a dramatic division. 17:22 Later on in the Book of Acts, 17:24 Paul is called 17:25 before the Sanhedrin, 17:27 the ruling council, 17:28 and when he recognizes 17:30 that they have 17:31 some different views 17:32 of the afterlife 17:33 being Pharisees and Sadducees, 17:35 he says, 17:36 I am called 17:37 because of my 17:38 belief in the resurrection. 17:40 And this causes a dissension. 17:44 It causes a splitting, 17:45 a division, a schizo. 17:48 Now, let's go back to Mark. 17:50 Why does he use this word? 17:52 And he uses it 17:53 only one other place. 17:55 I want you to see this. 17:56 Mark in his gospel. 17:58 At the beginning, 17:59 he speaks about a schizo, 18:00 a rending of the heavens. 18:03 He uses the word 18:04 only one other time in Mark 15, 18:07 and he says 18:08 the veil of the temple 18:10 was schizo 18:12 in two from top to bottom. 18:15 What's happening 18:16 when there's this ripping? 18:17 I mean, you would say 18:18 if you were a good Jew, 18:19 this is terrible. 18:20 The the veil of the temple, 18:22 the Holy Temple 18:23 Veil was just ripped. 18:25 Was this bad news or good news? 18:28 It was actually good news 18:30 because Jesus was dying 18:33 as the all 18:34 sufficient sacrifice. 18:35 So as Jesus dies, as He 18:37 makes that final act 18:38 of consecration, 18:40 the temple veil is ripped 18:42 in two 18:43 and it's basically 18:43 showing that, no, 18:45 we don't need a high priest now 18:47 to go into the presence of God 18:49 just once a year. 18:50 But we, as Paul 18:51 said in Hebrews 4 18:53 we can come boldly 18:54 to the throne of grace 18:56 if you need mercy today, 18:58 If you need grace today, 19:00 you can go right 19:01 into the throne room of heaven. 19:03 When you pray, 19:03 when you lift up your voice, 19:05 God hears your prayers. 19:06 You don't need anyone 19:07 to pray for you. 19:08 Are you following along? 19:10 And so this schizo that seems 19:12 so violent 19:13 is actually basically God 19:16 authorizing, God saying, 19:18 I'm opening 19:19 heaven broader to people 19:22 and it's 19:23 that same picture that we see 19:25 in Mark 1. 19:26 He is opening the heavens up. 19:28 And so Jesus is 19:29 when He's speaking, 19:30 not only does 19:31 He speak about repenting, 19:33 but He says 19:34 the kingdom of God is at hand. 19:37 What does that mean? 19:38 The Kingdom of God is at hand. 19:41 Now, if you think 19:42 about it for a minute, 19:43 you could say, 19:43 Well, 19:44 that's a little bit ambiguous 19:45 if you don't think 19:46 it's ambiguous. 19:47 The Greek scholars tell us it 19:48 is in the original language. 19:50 They says you could read that 19:53 they say you could read that. 19:56 And, well, it means 20:00 the kingdom of 20:01 God is here already. 20:05 But it could also mean 20:06 that the kingdom of God 20:07 is near. 20:08 It's approaching. 20:10 It's coming closer. 20:12 Which is it? 20:13 Is the kingdom near 20:14 or has it come already? 20:16 And the best answer 20:17 is it's both. 20:19 It's both. 20:21 So when those heavens 20:22 are rent apart, 20:24 what's happening? 20:25 That separation between heaven 20:27 and earth is being bridged. 20:29 Jesus is coming. 20:30 God is coming to Earth. 20:32 His ministry is beginning now. 20:34 And we're going to see 20:36 the power of heaven on Earth. 20:38 We're going to see the 20:39 kingdom of grace ushered in. 20:43 But the Kingdom of 20:44 Glory is not yet here. 20:46 Jesus has not yet come back. 20:48 Sin and suffering 20:49 are not done away with. 20:50 So it's quite interesting 20:52 as you look through Mark 20:53 1 and we'll do that 20:54 today, by God's grace, 20:56 we're going to see miracle 20:57 after miracle, 20:58 where it's showing us 20:59 the power of Christ. 21:01 It's showing us 21:02 the closeness of the kingdom, 21:03 Christ Kingdom 21:04 is being established. 21:05 His reign is being constituted, 21:07 but His kingdom 21:09 is not fully here. 21:10 And so we also see 21:12 we also see evidence 21:15 that the kingdom of glory 21:16 is not fully with us. 21:18 Think about it. 21:19 Every healing ministry, 21:21 even every resurrection, 21:24 Jesus raised people to life 21:25 right during His ministry. 21:26 We'll read about it 21:27 in Mark's Gospel. 21:28 What happened to those people? 21:33 Ultimately, they all died. 21:35 Or they got sick again 21:37 with something else. 21:39 So yes, 21:40 Jesus stepped into their life, 21:41 but it wasn't 21:42 the full consummation 21:44 of Christ's kingdom 21:45 being established 21:46 on this earth. 21:48 So what we see in Mark 1 21:50 is that God's kingdom is 21:54 His reign is beginning. 21:55 Jesus is here, physically here. 21:56 We're going to see His power. 21:58 We're going to see 21:58 what he wants to do 21:59 in your life in mine. 22:00 But His kingdom 22:01 has not fully arrived. 22:04 Let's look 22:05 at some examples of that 22:06 before we look at the more 22:07 inspiring examples. 22:09 I want you to see this because 22:10 and you know, 22:11 I so appreciated this 22:12 this kind of perspective 22:14 that we've been cultivating 22:16 as we've 22:16 been going through this study. 22:17 And that is that, 22:19 you know, 22:20 the way things look on 22:21 the surface 22:22 is not always 22:23 the way things are in reality. 22:25 And so here in verse 12, 22:27 if you look at Mark 1:12, 22:31 we see that the 22:33 Holy Spirit drives 22:35 Jesus into the wilderness. 22:36 It's, again, 22:37 kind of a stern word. 22:39 He's throwing 22:40 Jesus out into the wilderness. 22:42 And then as you 22:42 read down into verse 14, 22:44 before Jesus even speaks, 22:46 we read the words 22:48 Now, after 22:49 John was put in prison 22:51 so stop and think about this, 22:54 What kind of kingdom is this 22:56 that started? 22:57 I mean, 22:58 how does Jesus ministry start? 22:59 He consecrated Himself to God 23:02 in baptism. 23:03 The heavens are opened up. 23:05 We see this. 23:05 That God speaks. 23:07 He tells Jesus 23:08 how He's approved. 23:09 This is my beloved son. 23:11 And you think that everything 23:13 maybe from that point on, 23:14 is this going to be amazing? 23:16 And where does Jesus 23:17 spend the next 40 days? 23:21 In the wilderness. 23:22 Who is He witnessing to 23:23 in the wilderness? 23:24 Go ahead, look at it. 23:25 Look at it in Mark 1. 23:27 How many people do you find 23:28 Mark highlighting? 23:30 All the amazing things 23:32 that Jesus does 23:33 in the wilderness. 23:34 It's quite interesting 23:35 how he describes it. 23:37 He says there 23:38 that as Jesus is 23:39 brought into the wilderness. 23:42 Huh? 23:43 I mean, would you believe it? 23:45 Would you believe it? 23:46 It doesn't mention 23:47 a single person. 23:49 It just mentions what? 23:51 Wild beasts. 23:54 Okay? 23:54 What kind of ministry is there? 23:57 Do you see it in verse 13? 24:00 He's with the wild beasts 24:03 and He's tempted by Satan. 24:06 I'm pointing this out to you, 24:08 and I'm reminding you of John 24:09 the Baptist in verse 14 24:11 now after 24:11 John was put in prison, 24:13 because although 24:13 we're going to read as Mark's 24:15 first chapter unfolds, 24:17 all these amazing things 24:19 that Jesus is doing, 24:20 how things happen 24:21 when Jesus speaks, sometimes 24:24 in the very context 24:26 of God's reign, 24:27 sometimes things 24:27 aren't happening. Okay? 24:30 And the point is, 24:31 it doesn't matter 24:31 where you're at on your journey 24:33 today, God is anxious 24:35 to work in your life. 24:36 Was He working in John's life 24:37 when He was in prison? 24:39 He sure was. 24:40 Was He working in Jesus life 24:42 when He was in the wilderness? 24:44 Yes. 24:45 So that's the context. 24:48 In the midst of 24:48 brokenness, there's 24:50 some really encouraging things 24:51 for all of us, though. 24:53 In the midst of brokenness, 24:55 some really encouraging things. 24:57 I was just reading something 24:58 from the chaplaincy literature, 25:02 looking at, 25:02 especially at hospice care. 25:05 And it was really 25:05 a very interesting paper. 25:07 The scientific literature 25:09 was talking about 25:10 how sometimes 25:11 when we're going through 25:12 the worst things in life, 25:14 turning our eyes 25:15 to the beautiful, 25:17 the things that have beauty 25:19 can change our perspective. 25:21 They can be restorative. 25:23 And so as I was 25:24 thinking about this, 25:25 it wasn't a spiritual paper, 25:27 But what we're going to see in 25:28 the Gospel of Mark 25:29 is the beauty of Jesus, 25:31 the beauty of His character, 25:33 His healing love, His power. 25:35 And so if you're going 25:36 through difficulty today, 25:38 you might say, Well, 25:39 where is Jesus? 25:40 Still turn your eyes to Jesus, 25:42 look to Him, 25:43 see His loving character, 25:45 see His love for you, 25:47 His care for you, 25:49 and even His call 25:50 for you to repent. 25:52 There might be things 25:53 in your life 25:53 that are getting in the way 25:54 of how God wants to bless you. 25:57 This is a sign of His love 25:59 just as much. 26:02 Well let's together 26:04 turn our eyes to 26:05 Jesus right now and pray. 26:08 Father in heaven, 26:09 we thank you so much 26:10 that you speak 26:11 to us through your word. 26:13 Thank you for opening 26:14 the Gospel of Mark to us, for 26:15 helping us to see practicle. 26:17 insights for us personally 26:20 and to share with those 26:21 that we love. 26:22 Continue to bless us 26:23 in future weeks. 26:24 As we continue on this journey, 26:26 we ask in Jesus name, Amen. 26:30 And as you continue 26:31 on your journey 26:32 through the Gospel of Mark, 26:33 we want to share with you 26:34 a special resource 26:35 that we have prepared for you. 26:37 It actually is called 26:38 Healing Insights 26:39 from the Gospel of Mark, 26:41 and this is something 26:41 we've already prepared. 26:42 It's not the same 26:44 videos that you're 26:45 seeing on air or online, 26:47 this is a series 26:48 that basically goes through 26:50 kind of rapidfire 26:53 through the same 26:53 things we're taking more time 26:55 with in this series. 26:56 In eight 26:57 half hour presentations, 26:59 we go through high points 27:00 in the gospel of Mark. 27:02 You can 27:03 purchase a copy of this online 27:05 at CompassHealth.net. 27:06 It retails for about $40, 27:09 but we want to 27:09 give it to you free 27:10 if you're a partner with us 27:12 in keeping this programing out 27:14 on the airwaves. 27:16 If you go to our website 27:17 www.timelesshealinginsights.org. 27:23 You can get a free copy of this 27:25 any donor 27:27 of $25, one time donor of $25 27:31 or an ongoing donor of $15 27:34 a month 27:35 or more in 27:36 either of those categories. 27:37 We will send you 27:38 a copy of this. 27:39 This is good for a limited time 27:41 that we're offering 27:41 beginning in March of 2023. 27:44 So we would love 27:46 to have you partnering with us 27:47 and we'd love to share 27:48 this great resource with you. 27:50 So may God continue 27:51 to bless you 27:52 as you continue your journey 27:53 and Bible study, 27:54 especially through the Gospel 27:56 of Mark. 27:56 I'm Dr. 27:57 DeRose. |
Revised 2023-03-16