David cuts the Corner of Saul's Garment in the Cave

Have you ever had something really bad happen, and you wonder to yourself? How could God let this happen? Why is this happening? Or maybe you think, I can’t handle this.

You feel overwhelmed. What do we do when we feel overwhelmed? We get through it. We let ourselves feel it. And we get through it. We know the feleing isn’t permanent. It’s temporary.

But we might be tempted to ask the question: Why God?

Why me?

Maybe a better question is, why not me? We all good through hard times. That’s part of life. That’s part of how God’s system works. Particularly for Christians, we go through trials to test and build our faith in Him.

We may be tempted to start arguing with God. What if instead we trusted Him? Instead of starting to ask those questions, maybe instead, or at least after we ask, we can finally say, I don’t understand. But I choose to trust you God. That’s hard. It’s very important though, because God wants us to learn to trust Him more and more despite our circumstances.

We’ve seen that situation again and again for David, who is on the run, with his band of followers, fleeing from King Saul.

David could’ve said Lord why? I was supposed to be King. But instead I’m on the run. Instead David trusted God. David also wrestled with God. He had it out with him in the psalms. But he kept trusting.

He didn’t give up. That’s the battle I think, really. We wrestle with God as Christians, with questions and fears and emotions, with sins, and the goal in all that is I think to wrestle but stay with God, sometimes people want to run away, but we as Christians run toward. Keep running toward God.

We’ve spent our lives so many of us here running away from things. Running away from our problems running away form people, but now, with God, let’s run toward Him, not away.

If you recall, David and his six hundred men were being chased by King Saul’s army. But at the last moment, Saul was called away due to a philistine attack on Israel.

After fighting the philistines off, Saul goes to work again.

It says in 1 Samuel 24:1-2, “After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” 2 So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.”

Chelsey our program coordinator was telling me about how beautiful En Gedi is. She traveled to Israel several years ago, and got to visit some of these sites we hear about in the Bible. En Gedi is a desert, but there is a beautiful oasis, with a waterfall, where I’m sure David and his men visited and refreshed themselves at. It’s important to remember that these aren’t just stories, about David and Saul, these are historical events, at real places. Places you can visit even today.

In verse 3 it says, “Saul came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave.”

Saul has three thousand men pursuing David, but he has to sneak off to use the bathroom. So he goes off into this cave. And little does he know David is in that cave with his men.

What are the chances right? But that’s the thing. What are the chances any of us would be here today? For some of you, me included, what are the chances you would be anywhere near a church much less in one? That’s what God does. He does the impossible. He sets things up just right for the right moment to happen.

We’re just the right distance from the sun, the Earth is. We’ve just the right number of DNA sequences. The moon is in just the right place to stabilize the rotation of the Earth. Jupiter is in just the right place to absorb incoming asteroid impacts. And God made sure we were all here today.

So David’s men think this is the perfect opportunity to finally take out Saul.

Any other person on the planet would think the same thing. I would think that, if I were in this situation. This is the chance we’ve been waiting for.

In verse 4... The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.”

David doesn’t kill him. He sneaks up, and cuts a piece of his robe off. Then he comes back to his men.

It says in verse 5-7: Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.”

David didn’t kill Saul, but he’s even upset that he cut off a corner of his robe. How could he do this to the one God has placed as king? This is a man with a very strong conscience. He is grief stricken by the slightest compromise, by the slightest scent of sin. May that be true of us as well. May we be very sensitive to any sin we might commit in our lives and may we allow our conscience, as well as the Holy Spirit, to drive us away from any sin we might commit. May we be as ashamed as David if we are guilty in any way.

Next in verses 8-13: Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground. 9 He said to Saul, “Why do you listen when men say, ‘David is bent on harming you’? 10 This day you have seen with your own eyes how the Lord delivered you into my hands in the cave. Some urged me to kill you, but I spared you; I said, ‘I will not lay my hand on my lord, because he is the Lord’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, look at this piece of your robe in my hand! I cut off the corner of your robe but did not kill you. See that there is nothing in my hand to indicate that I am guilty of wrongdoing or rebellion. I have not wronged you, but you are hunting me down to take my life. 12 May the Lord judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. 13 As the old saying goes, ‘From evildoers come evil deeds,’ so my hand will not touch you.”

David speaks to King Saul directly. He says, may the lord avenge upon you, but I will not touch you. That is the biblical way to deal with hatred, anger, and the desire for revenge. You let God deal with it. God will repay, not you.

And if that’s tough, you repeat this phrase: Vengeance belongs to God.

God is the only one qualified to deal out judgment. No human has the qualifications for that. Only God.

You forgive. You pray for them. Then God deals with them on his own terms and in his own time. Don’t like it that way? Tough, that’s how it is.

Then David says, verses 14-15 “Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? May the Lord be our judge and decide between us. May he consider my cause and uphold it; may he vindicate me by delivering me from your hand.”

David publicly declares, "God, you judge this situation. Because we can’t. Deal with this God, because neither of us can."  David is so humble! He refuses to manipulate events. He allows God to work things out. He invites Him to. Can we do the same? Can we let God run our lives? Yes we can. We really can. And we will. 

We see Saul's response in verses 16-22: When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that your voice, David my son?” And he wept aloud. 17 “You are more righteous than I,” he said. “You have treated me well, but I have treated you badly. 18 You have just now told me about the good you did to me; the Lord delivered me into your hands, but you did not kill me. 19 When a man finds his enemy, does he let him get away unharmed? May the Lord reward you well for the way you treated me today. 20 I know that you will surely be king and that the kingdom of Israel will be established in your hands. 21 Now swear to me by the Lord that you will not kill off my descendants or wipe out my name from my father’s family.” 22 So David gave his oath to Saul. Then Saul returned home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.

Saul is astonished. He weeps he is so amazed by what has just happened. He can tell where this is going. David will be King. So he asks David to not harm his family after he’s gone. David agrees. Saul takes his troops and leaves. David goes back with his men to the caves.

Now the big question, it doesn’t matter if we just hear this message and think hey that’s cool, then go back to business as usual. The point is, to apply this to our lives.

How do we live this?

Five principles

1. Don’t run away when you’re overwhelmed - Run toward God. Just like David, time and again, he stayed with God when he was stressed and overwhelmed and in a storm of emotion

2. Believe that God will line things up just right – It may seem impossible in your life right now. I can’t possibly keep going. Believe that God will work things out just right so you can continue on successfully. You just have to do your part, do the footwork. He’ll bring the miracles.

3. Be a man, or woman of conscience – a man of conscience. Someone who is sensitive to doing the right thing in any situation. Someone who is convicted easily by the Holy Spirit. Have a tender heart like David, eager to do the right thing, afraid to do the wrong thing.

4. Be incredibly humble – We know Jesus Christ our savior was so humble, so humble he being God became a man, walked among us, and was a servant to everyone, served day and night, and then died to free us from our sins. David refused to kill Saul, refused to take it by force, was so humble, he submitted to God, and refused to harm Saul. That’s radical humility

5. Let God be the judge – David refused to condemn Saul for his actions. He said the Lord rebuke you. We must do the same. Refuse to condemn our enemies, instead forgive them, and pray for them. Then let God deal with them.

Run to God, Believe that God will bring miracles, Be a person of conscience, be very humble, and let God be the judge.

Jesus casts out impure spirits & heals a Fever

"John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station."
-Today in the Word, MBI, October, 1991, p. 18.

John Paton was a missionary to cannibals, but he found himself and his family protected from the tribes who might’ve otherwise killed them. But, God can do miracles.

We know that there is a spiritual world, beyond our physical world. It’s a world that we can’t see with our eyes. Though sometimes it is made visible to us.

During my time of drinking and drugs, I often sensed that there was something in the room with me, something harassing me, tormenting me, attempting to harm me. There were even a few rare times when I actually saw something.

In the spiritual world there is an ongoing battle going on between angelic messengers of God, angel armies, and demon armies, servants of evil. These are each participating in the spiritual battle for the souls of humanity on planet Earth.

Angels work for God, demons work for Satan, the evil one. God is infinitely more powerful than Satan and the demons. But in this great controversy, Satan and demons play their part in tempting humans toward sin. God and his angels then urge people toward the good. And we as humans make our free will choice, we either receive Christ as our savior and become pure and walk in God’s path, or we follow the flesh, the devil, and evil, and we indulge our desires.

God asks us, who are you?

Our flesh cries out: I want.

That is the great battle within us, between the Spirit and the flesh.

Jesus Christ our savior, our friend, understood this spiritual battlefield. He knew of the reality of angels and demons, and life and death and choice and destiny.

The life of Jesus, we saw last week, as recorded in the book of Mark, is playing out in front of ancient Israel.

Last week we saw in Mark chapter 1, Jesus being baptized, then being tested in the wilderness by Satan, then calling his first four disciples.

Jesus is operating in a small part of ancient Israel, in the region of Galilee. And we’re going to see Jesus engaging in the spiritual battle, by dealing demons that are inhabiting people.

But first, he teaches.

It says, “21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.”

For Jews the sabbath rest was on Saturdays. So it’s Saturday, and Jesus goes to the local church, and teaches the people.

And here we find our first point for today, something I want you to notice: Jesus taught with authority.

We often wonder, what’s actually true in the world? Who can I trust? And I think as we read the words of Jesus we find that we can trust the words he speaks. When we read them, something comes over us, I know for me, when I read the words of Jesus, I sense that they are true. I know deep within that they are true. Really real. I may not like it, it may call me out on my nonsense, but I can tell it is true. And that’s rare.

Jesus taught with real authority. You can trust that authority.

But then something astonishing happens.

It says this in verses 23-26: 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an impure spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.

Jesus now demonstrates his authority. Some listened I’m sure and thought why should we trust this man? Why should we believe his teaching? Because Jesus has and does have real power from heaven.

Before I was a Christian I was listening to the gospel of John over and over again, and I knew something was there. Something.. different. But could I really trust it? I took a leap of faith and prayed to Jesus to help me. And he did. He guided me out of drugs and drinking, and smoking and many other sins and addictions, and I was shocked to find, Jesus has real power and authority.

There really is someone there when I pray. Jesus is really answering and doing miracles in my life, things I can’t explain are happening in my life. Because Jesus is at work in my life. Evidence. Plain and simple.

For this situation, the entire church of Jews there, the synagogue now has evidence. They’ve known this man with an impure spirit, they’ve seen him act strangely. They can’t quite explain it. But then Jesus deals with the issue directly, and the man is set free.

We don’t see a lot of this in modern America, with demonic possession, impure spirits being cast out, we’ve seen it portrayed in movies I think, but possession does still occur in our day and age. I think it’s more rare in America because Christianity is so influential here, but in other nations, like in African countries or in India or China, possession is more common. And similarly in ancient Israel, possession was very common. Jesus deals with it quickly and directly.

Interesting side note, even the impure spirit knows that Jesus is the holy one of God, and Jesus quickly says be quiet. Don’t tell people that. Jesus is very strategic about timing.

It says in verse 27-28: “The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.”

Very quickly the news about Jesus is spreading around the region of Galilee. Jesus is being very careful though to make sure it doesn’t spread too fast. It could easily spin out of control if it does.

So our first incident today, is Jesus teaching in the temple, and then casting out the impure spirit from the man. What happens next?

In verses 29-31 it says, “29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they immediately told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.”

Simon Peter’s mother in law has been sick in bed with a bad fever. This is the family of one of the first four disciples he’s called to follow him. He comes into Peter’s home, and Peter tells Jesus, my mother in law is sick. So he goes by her bed side, and helped her up. And just like that, the fever was gone.

How is that possible? Jesus is able with special power from heaven, to heal the sick and hurt.

Now in all the history of the world, no one has ever been able to do such a thing. It’s just not possible. But, one man, Jesus Christ, did it. And that’s why he’s made such an impact on the history of planet Earth. It’s hard to forget someone like that, even two thousand years later. We still talk about Jesus, and all he did and all he still does today in the world.

We still hear today, in the body of Christ, of people being miraculously healed. And they will tell you that Jesus healed them, or Christians prayed, and they were healed.

Many stories I’ve heard from this church, of people being sick, and then we prayed here, and they were healed. Cancer disappeared. Issues on the spine, turned out to be nothing at all. Suddenly people get well. Health issues are overcome. When we pray in Jesus name, what does that mean? In the authority of Jesus Christ, which we now have, we pray this, and then, it happens.

And we’re amazed.

But this begs the question: Why isn’t everyone healed then? Why do some people never get healed? For me, why am I tired everyday? I had a stomach issue for over a year, and it took a long time to slowly get better, why didn’t Jesus heal it instantly? Not everything issue is healed. Just like in Jesus time, not every person was healed. Sometimes the addict doesn’t survive, they die. Sometimes the cancer patient does die. Sometimes healing doesn’t come. And that’s OK too.

It's not God’s will for every person to get well. Sometimes maybe we need to be sick for a while. Or it’s simply a reality of this world. But, healing does happen too.

Then it says, “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.”

It doesn’t take long for people to hear about these two incidents, the man in the temple and Simon’s mother in law. Now people are lined up by the hundreds, and Jesus is healing them, and casting out demons.

But it’s noted again, he doesn’t let the demons speak, because they know who he is. Is that confusing? Wouldn’t Jesus want everyone to know who He is? Actually no, he wouldn’t. Jesus is focused on timing.

Jesus knew that later, his followers would shout from the rooftops what had been spoken about in the inner room. But for now, it needs to happen slowly.

Thirdly, recorded near the end of chapter one, it says this, “35-39 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

38 Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.”

Jesus goes off by himself, early in the morning and he prays. He gets alone with God and he prays. Even Jesus the son of God needed to pray, to talk to the Father. So we also need to do that, to get alone with God.

Maybe even to get out in nature, and to simply pray, and talk to God, for hours, that sounds wonderful. If Jesus did it, we should do it. We must do it. Get alone with God. Talk to Him. Pray to Him. Seek His help. For some, the morning is best. For some, night is best.

In any case, Simon and the disciples go searching for Jesus and find him out in the solitary place, saying hey everyone is looking for you.

But Jesus doesn’t actually return to that same area. He has to move on to a new area. Everyone in the region needs to hear the message. So he moves on to different cities in Galilee, going to the local temples, and teaching, and proving hus authority by miraculous healing and the casting out of demons.

And here we find one of the central themes of Mark’s gospel, the action gospel, the right now gospel, Jesus teaches, but Jesus also acts, he has authority, he has power, and he uses that power and authority in very real ways.

Same thing with each of us today. We each have a testimony of what Jesus has done for us. Yes, he teaches us. That’s one of the reasons we come to church each Sunday to receive teaching and learn more about our savior to fill our mind with truth, but, we have more than the teachings of Christ, we have each encountered Christ, and he has done something for us, he has freed us from addictions, he has healed our broken hearts, he has healed brokenness and hurts, he has redeemed us from guilt, he has freed us from demonic influence and given us new dreams and hopes.

In Mark’s gospel, Jesus takes practical action in the lives of the people he meets, he heals them, he casts out demons, he teaches with authority.

It doesn’t have to be something huge like healing you from cancer or breaking you from drug addiction, it can be so many more simple things, like sensing His love, or finding new hope, or having your heart softened and encouraged, finding something true and beautiful in world of lies.

So that’s our challenge for today, to see the authority of Jesus Christ, and to see in that authority something special.

Second, to know we find ourselves in a spiritual battle amongst angels and demons and hard choices.

Thirdly, to know Jesus does heal health problems, but that’s not always the case either. It’s very situational.

And fourthly, to pray like Jesus prayed is vital. To spend time alone with the Father in heaven. That’s real. And that’s powerful.

David's Mighty Men protect Keilah from the Philistines

One day news came to David that the Philistines were at Keilah stealing grain from the threshing floors. David asked the Lord, “Should I go and attack them?”

“Yes, go and save Keilah,” the Lord told him. -1st Samuel 23:1-2

David gang of followers are hiding out in the caves, in the fields, and more recently in the forest. Now, David is inspired by God to move to protect Israel from an enemy nation that has constantly assaulted them. The Philistines are attacking Keilah. David asks God what to do. 

Point number one, David prays and asks for God’s permission before he takes a new course of action. We must do the same, when we sense God's Spirit inspiring us to do something, we must verify it with God, in prayer. Then, we will know what to do next. 

1st Samuel 23:3 But David’s men said, “We’re afraid even here in Judah. We certainly don’t want to go to Keilah to fight the whole Philistine army!”

Point number two, David has to trust God more than his own soldiers who are already afraid and on the run. But David sees the big picture. He’s not held down by the feelings of his own people. He sees beyond that. Similarly, those around us may question what God is doing in our lives. But we need to hold true to what God is saying. 

1st Samuel 23:4 So David asked the Lord again, and again the Lord replied, “Go down to Keilah, for I will help you conquer the Philistines.”

Point number three, David double-checks with God. Sometimes it’s wise for us to do the same thing. We think we heard from God, we think we know what to do, but check again with God, just to be sure. Maybe our friends were right, and we're way off from what God wants! I've seen that many times. Someone is very sure, they need to leave their wife for their mistress. God told them to. Well, God didn't tell them to. They are being led by their emotions, not by God. That's a danger for us as well. Double check your emotions with God. Our emotions are not God's leading. His Spirit leads us. There is a big difference! 

1st Samuel 23:5-6 So David and his men went to Keilah. They slaughtered the Philistines and took all their livestock and rescued the people of Keilah. Now when Abiathar son of Ahimelech fled to David at Keilah, he brought the ephod with him.

Point number four, David had been going to God directly. Certainly a good thing to do. But David realizes, wait, I have a pastor I can go to about these questions too. This is a good thing. Go to your spiritual leaders for guidance. You can always talk to your pastor, or an elder in the church, or a Christian friend to get some guidance on decisions you make. 

1st Samuel 23:7-14 Saul soon learned that David was at Keilah. “Good!” he exclaimed. “We’ve got him now! God has handed him over to me, for he has trapped himself in a walled town!” So Saul mobilized his entire army to march to Keilah and besiege David and his men.

But David learned of Saul’s plan and told Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod and ask the Lord what he should do. Then David prayed, “O Lord, God of Israel, I have heard that Saul is planning to come and destroy Keilah because I am here. Will the leaders of Keilah betray me to him? And will Saul actually come as I have heard? O Lord, God of Israel, please tell me.”

And the Lord said, “He will come.”

Again David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah betray me and my men to Saul?”

And the Lord replied, “Yes, they will betray you.”

So David and his men—about 600 of them now—left Keilah and began roaming the countryside. Word soon reached Saul that David had escaped, so he didn’t go to Keilah after all. David now stayed in the strongholds of the wilderness and in the hill country of Ziph. Saul hunted him day after day, but God didn’t let Saul find him.

Point number five, God will give you favor as you follow Him. David asked God if he should stay or go. The Lord tells him to leave Keilah. Don’t make your stand there. Instead go and hide. And Saul keeps searching for David, but the Lord makes sure Saul doesn’t find him.

1st Samuel 23:15-18 One day near Horesh, David received the news that Saul was on the way to Ziph to search for him and kill him. Jonathan went to find David and encouraged him to stay strong in his faith in God. “Don’t be afraid,” Jonathan reassured him. “My father will never find you! You are going to be the king of Israel, and I will be next to you, as my father, Saul, is well aware.” So the two of them renewed their solemn pact before the Lord. Then Jonathan returned home, while David stayed at Horesh.

In verses 15-18 we see the pact renewed between David and Jonathan.

Point number six, even when friends are far away, God will from time to time renew the brotherhood, or sisterhood between them.

1st Samuel 23:19-24 But now the men of Ziph went to Saul in Gibeah and betrayed David to him. “We know where David is hiding,” they said. “He is in the strongholds of Horesh on the hill of Hakilah, which is in the southern part of Jeshimon. Come down whenever you’re ready, O king, and we will catch him and hand him over to you!”

“The Lord bless you,” Saul said. “At last someone is concerned about me! Go and check again to be sure of where he is staying and who has seen him there, for I know that he is very crafty. Discover his hiding places, and come back when you are sure. Then I’ll go with you. And if he is in the area at all, I’ll track him down, even if I have to search every hiding place in Judah!” So the men of Ziph returned home ahead of Saul.

Meanwhile, David and his men had moved into the wilderness of Maon in the Arabah Valley south of Jeshimon. When David heard that Saul and his men were searching for him, he went even farther into the wilderness to the great rock, and he remained there in the wilderness of Maon. But Saul kept after him in the wilderness.

Point number 7, even when the walls are closing in we can trust God. The citizens of Ziph betray David and his men. And they have to go even deeper into the wilderness, to the great rock. Jesus is our great rock. We can run to Him and find safety. He is our salvation. He is the rock deeper into the wilderness, when everything is going wrong. He is the rock of rescue. Sometimes at the deepest darkness in our life, we finally find that rock bottom refuge, something we could never see before, until we had reached a point of no return. That's often where Jesus meets us. It's the same in my testimony. Jesus heard my cry at rock bottom, as my cry to Him echoed up into the chasms of heaven one after another, all the way up to the throne of God. He answered me at rock bottom, and delivered me to a lush oasis of life and beauty, gushing warm waters and fruit and honey and shade for my dry skin. 

1st Samuel 23:26-29 Saul and David were now on opposite sides of a mountain. Just as Saul and his men began to close in on David and his men, an urgent message reached Saul that the Philistines were raiding Israel again. So Saul quit chasing David and returned to fight the Philistines. Ever since that time, the place where David was camped has been called the Rock of Escape. David then went to live in the strongholds of En-gedi.

And again, point number 7 reinforced here, David men and Saul’s men are on opposite sides of a mountain. And Saul is about to catch David’s men, but God makes sure the timing is just right, that Saul gets word that enemies are attacking, and so he has to leave the area.

And that great rock was called henceforth the rock of escape. Jesus is our rock of escape from the sins and destruction of this world. There is no other rock of escape in all the earth and all the universe to run to. Only Jesus Christ the living savior of all who would dare to believe. Would you dare to believe today? Cry out to Jesus Christ will all your might and believe he can help you. Start there. 

And David finds a new stronghold to rest in, in En-gedi. Praise the Lord. A beautiful oasis in the desert of his current circumstances.

The Uniqueness of Mark's Gospel: John the Baptist in the Wilderness

Last night I was listening to some beautiful music. And I was just thinking, this music is a gift from God. It really is. Who is this creator who made everything? How are we to understand who he is? Of course, we know we understand from his word, but I was thinking, and I wondered: What can we understand about God from the world and from the various things in the world? Because all these things that are good, and are inspired by God.

The creation of music, on a guitar, on a piano is a gift from God. And a beautiful tree is a gift from God. It is something God made that belongs there. Grass on the ground, even structures, buildings, these are gifts from God and he inspired people to do these things. They're all reflections of who he is, in fact, God is a creative god, He's a God of beauty. He is a God who sets up systems as well, like law and government and policies and procedures. And those are good things, right? The fact that we have laws and police officers and, speed limits, and those are all things that tell us about who God is.

Do you know what else tells us about who God is? It's the blank slate. God is One who empowers us to create, you think of a woman playing her guitar, and the guitar is a blank slate. And God puts the guitar in their hands and says, "Make something beautiful." For Him. And it's the same thing with someone who carves wood. Or some someone who likes to paint or someone who does landscaping or gardening. God gives him a patch of dirt and says he says, "Make something beautiful out of it." That is who our God is. He empowers us to make beautiful things. And that's what we are as well. He wants us to be people who make beautiful things and bring peace. God will often give us just a blank canvas and says, do something with this. Be creative. That's who God is.

That's His love. That's his empowerment to us. And that's what makes us unique from angels and from other spiritual beings, from angels, and living creatures, is that we have that spark of creativity. We have that image of God, we're made in the image of God, where we want to create, we want to think beyond the bounds. We know that nothing in this world quite satisfies us. Because we're always reaching for something just a little beyond. Like when we look at a beautiful sunset or the stars at night. It's not enough for us to look at it, we want to become part of it, we want to jump into that canvas, that beautiful canvas and walk the streets. And I believe part of that is going to be the next life paradise, the new Jerusalem, Heaven will be a lot of that where we are jumping into the canvas, and walking the streets of the Starry Night by Van Gogh. And I know that sounds way out there, but it's gonna be beyond what we can imagine something very beautiful, something very special.

But it is fundamentally a perfect reality, where that longing that this world never quite meets this hunger that people try to fill with drugs and alcohol and pills and sex and various things will finally be filled by the presence of God. And that's really what we long for, I think is to search the Depths of God, that's what we really long for, is to search the depths of our Creator. And I think we get a little taste of that when we look up in the sky at night or at the sunset. But in that we are just scratching the surface of searching the Depths of our Creator. And if you want to know how deep the depths of our Creator are, then look at the scale of the universe compared to the planet Earth. That is how deep the depths of God are.

When you see photos taken by the Hubble telescope, of the beauty of the universe, that's just the beginning of our journey into searching the depths of God. I think in the next life the New Jerusalem is going to be like Moses at the top of the hill looking over the promised land. Like a new adventure just starting. As if we were to get in a spaceship and launch into the universe, that's how much is ahead of us when we enter the new city, of the new heavens and new earth.

But we can start that today, to search the depths of God. Immediately right now, we can begin to do that. That doesn't have to wait until the next life we can begin to search the depths of God today. I think that that's what we'll see in the Gospel of Mark. It's the gospel of not later, but right now! 

We see that blank canvas put before Jesus, in the lives of so many people that he makes beautiful. That's our job in this life then, is there's a lot of canvases in front of us, other people, where we can be a spark to say, "make something beautiful with your life because Jesus loves you."

You have that canvas before you in your own life. You can smear filth all over it if you want, a lot of people do. But you can paint a beautiful sunset or a sunrise or something beautiful on there if you want to. And Jesus carried that message in the Gospel of Mark. He takes something that's ugly, and he clears away the filth. He says, here's a clean slate, now make something beautiful. 

The gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four canonical gospels listed in the Bible. It’s quick, it’s concise, it’s intended to be a good overview of what actually happened, apart from excessive detail like Matthew or Luke; also excluding poetic elements and theology like John’s gospel. The Gospel of Mark was written by an early church leader named John Mark. The gospel of Mark focuses in on Jesus’ prayers and prayer times.

There’s a great little introduction to the gospel of Mark written in the NLT Prayer Bible, it says this, “John Mark, an early missionary with Paul and Barnabas and later Peter wrote this vivid account of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Mark is unique among the other gospel writers in that he focuses less on Jesus’ teaching and more on his actions. Jesus heals, drives out demons, calms storms, and raises the dead. Mark’s description of Jesus’ life and ministry often features greater detail than that of the other Gospels, giving his Gospel a dramatic intensity that quickly draws its readers into the realities of Jesus’ life on earth.” -Jean E. Syswerda, The Prayer Bible, p. 1271.

Today we’re going to be focusing in on Mark chapter one verses 1-20, and we’ll be reflecting on three key events in this first portion of Mark. We’ll be looking at the ministry of John the Baptist as he prepared for the coming of Jesus, then the baptism of Jesus, and Jesus’ calling his first disciples.

I’m not going to go a lot further into the context, the historical events, the personality of John Mark, and his mentions in the book of Acts. Instead I want to jump into these historical events, and hopefully we can see ourselves as part of these moments, and allow them to speak to us. Let’s soak up the power of the word of God, and find spiritual nourishment from the scriptures.

The gospel of Mark starts like this: “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way”—
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins." -Mark 1:1-4

The beginning of the good news. What a wonderful truth! The beginning of our good news. The beginning of our only hope for salvation. The beginning of everything that makes us who we are. The beginning of our only hope, in an empty broken world full of problems, and overcast days, and dirty laundry, and rusty metal and broken dreams, and lost hope. In a world of oppression, of rich vs. poor, of corrupt vs. true, of cons and con artists, we find the beginning of the good news, the one hope of humanity, the Messiah, the Son of God.

And it would begin like this, a messenger would prepare a road for Jesus to walk on, a straight path, a gathering of people who are ready to hear what messiah will say to them, with hearts ready to receive forgiveness.

Repentance, for the future forgiveness of sins. A changed attitude about life. We start to see something beyond our own little lives. We see a big picture. We see the meaning of life. Why we are here. We see that God made the universe. We see that we are guilty of sins against the God who made the universe. We see we stand condemned without Jesus. We see that the good news is our only hope. That is the straight passage in our minds. That straight passage in our minds, of seeing God is real, and see our own sin, and where that sin will lead us, to destruction, and then a hunger and desperate thirst for forgiveness. John the Baptist called the people to realize they had sinned and commit to a new way.

You could say that even today, that is our job, to prepare people for their encounter with Jesus Christ. Our job as Christians who have received Jesus as our savior and received forgiveness is to invite people to see three key things:

One, God is real. We are accountable to Him.

Two, we are condemned because we’ve sinned against the Creator.

Three, we all need forgiveness of sins.

Most people don’t know those things. So sometimes it seems like we have to preach the problem before we can preach the solution. You tell someone they need a savior, well, they don’t understand what that means. But if you tell someone you’ve sinned against a holy righteous God, you explain God’s standard, the ten commandments, which they’ve broken, well now they’re beginning to see the problem, then the solution can be shown, the savior Jesus the messiah.

John the Baptist is this outsider, preaching this message in the wilderness, and people are coming to him, I mean by the thousands and tens of thousands people are coming to him. This is no small group he’s gathering. People from everywhere across the nation of Israel are coming.

It says in verse 5-8, “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 6 John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7 And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

One day, Jesus himself comes to see John the Baptist. And here we see a pivotal event in the life of Jesus, his baptism.

It says this, verse 9-11, “At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

This moment really heralds the beginning of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry. Jesus had to wait thirty years, growing up, maturing, living a pure life, waiting for the moment when he would at last go on that day to meet with John the Baptist. And what happens?

It’s a clear and miraculous sign, remembered throughout all of human history, that Jesus was indeed from another realm, another reality, another place, that though Jesus was a man, he was infinite, he was the son of God.

We see the Holy Spirit burst forth, as if a hole was torn in the sky itself, and rushes in and surrounds Jesus as he comes up out of the water. And the voice of God the Father says, “You are my Son.”

There we see the Trinity, God the Son on Earth, God the Holy Spirit hovering over God the Son, and God the Father speaking life over God the Son.

This draws our attention all the way back to Genesis, when God the Father speaks, he says “let there be light” and then it happens. His voice is power, he declares and it comes into existence. The same is true for you. That’s the only reason you exist, God commanded it and then you suddenly existed. In Mark 1, we see God speaking over Jesus, and Jesus is begotten of the Father, eternally.

Similarly in Genesis it says the “the Spirit of God hovered over the waters” and in the gospel we see the Spirit of God hovering over the waters over Jesus as well. And the Son of God, Jesus, is there among the world he holds together with His infinite power. Amazing!

Jesus is completely affirmed by this event. For John, for the crowds, and for us today, Jesus is Messiah. He begins his ministry.

Similar events will happen in your life. Think of when you became a soldier or adherent, you made a public declaration of your faith. I’m new. I’m owned by God. And in those moments God confirmed it the congregation, to heaven, and to you, this is my child, I’ve adopted her, she is mine.

So Jesus begins his ministry. What’s the first thing that happens in His ministry? Before he can do anything, it says he was driven out by the Spirit into the wilderness.

It says, verse 12-13, “At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.”

We are tested by God time and again as Christians, to make sure we’re holding true to God, and not trusting in self. Similarly Jesus is tested here, Satan tempts him. And Jesus has total victory in the temptations. He resists them all. We are also tempted by the enemy. And we must stand firm in those temptations. Then, angels come and heal us, after the tempting.

After spending forty days in the wilderness being tempted by Satan himself, the chief demon, Jesus is victorious. Be assured of this: Before any big shift or change in your life you’ll be tested. And you need to stand firm in those times when you’re tested.

Later, John the Baptist is arrested by the Roman authorities, and Jesus began preaching after this. The event of John being arrested really then shifted the attention from John’s ministry to Jesus as the central figure. The way had been prepared, and now Jesus would walk on that path.

It says in verse 14-15, “After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Repent and believe. Those are the two key factors of salvation. If we remove either we get a false gospel.

If we remove believe, then it’s just repent, it’s a pharisee saying just make yourself good enough for God. And that’s false teaching. That’s self-righteousness, and it’s a dead end. God doesn’t accept self-righteousness. It’s nothing to him. We can’t be good apart from God.

If we remove repentance, which is common today unfortunately, we also get a false gospel of “just believe” or what theologians call “easy-believism” just believe, now you have Jesus, don’t worry about changing your life, don’t worry about not sinning, it’s easy believism. You go from being a pharisee to being a false teacher, saying, take Jesus, along with the rest of your life, take Jesus, along with your sins, and put it all together as one.

But then we must put it all together, repent of your sins and believe in what? Believe the good news, that Jesus Christ has paid your sin debt, confess your sins to Him, repent of your sins before Him, believe in Him, believe in His perfect sacrifice, and receive forgiveness of your sins. Believe the Good News.

We can’t repent or believe without Jesus Christ Himself at work in us. That’s why we must cry out to Jesus Christ, in that we repent and believe. Praise the Lord.

So Jesus is now preaching his message, repent and believe, but he is also going to be gathering a group together to share that message with him. He is going to gather an inner circle that he’s going to train and equip.

So we see Jesus calling his first followers.

It says in Mark 1:16-18, “As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him.”

Immediately, immediately, immediately! This we see again and again and again in Mark’s gospel. It happened right then, right away. Boom, quick. There are many things in the Christian life we have to wait for. We wait years and years. But just as often, suddenly, something completely changes. Suddenly, immediately, we get healed. Immediately, we repent. Immediately we find encouragement from God.

We do serve a God who asks us to wait. But we also serve a RIGHT NOW kind of God. I’m quite sure about that. I think of the scripture that says while he was still praying the angel appeared to Him. He hadn’t even finished the prayer, and it was answered. There have been times in my life where I start praying and before I even finish the prayer God answers it. Don’t under-estimate God’s ability to answer right now. But also don’t be surprised if he asks you to wait either. It’s all about the situation and what God is saying in that particular situation. It’s often different.

God is not one where we can predict what he is going to do next. I’ve learned that the hard way. God’s timing is perfect. Sometimes he says wait for years and trust and pray and sometimes he says right now, boom, done.

And to conclude for today, Jesus then calls James and John: From verses 19-20, "When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.”

Without delay, he called them. Without delay, right at the moment, again, we see Jesus moving quickly, when the time is right, things can happen very quickly. He finds four of his twelve disciples in those few moments of walking along the waters edge. James and John left so fast, Jesus called them so fast, and just like that, they left the boat, in the middle of what they were doing, they left dad and the other workers in the boat, and off they went with Jesus.

I think in our lives as Christians we have to be just as quick to obey Jesus when we asks us to do something. If he wants us to pray with someone, just go do it. If he wants us to witness to someone, just go do it. If he tells us to go leave a bible tract on the shelf at the store, or in the gym room, just up and do it quickly. If he asks us to a call a friend or prompts us to pray for someone, even an enemy, stop what you’re doing and call ,or pray, right away. Without delay. Immediately. Pretty clear, right?

Alright, to review, three key factors in this portion of scripture, one, John the Baptist preparing the people for Jesus. Two, God’s three-fold presence at the baptism of Jesus. Three, Jesus immediate calling of the first four followers.

So, to apply these biblical concepts, we should live this way…

• We as Christians should do what we can to prepare people to encounter Jesus

• God will call us to publicly declare our faith before people and before Him

• Engage with God as Father, Messiah Jesus the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit comforter

• Recognize when we’re being tested by God and take steps to make sure we stand the test

• Repent and believe, it’s not enough to just believe, we have to obey too!

• God has us wait at times, but is also a right now God, who answers us quickly

• When the Spirit moves you to do something, do it quickly

I think throughout this whole series through the Gospel of Mark we’re going to get a simple message from Jesus: Repent and believe.

It’s so easy to get off track in life. It’s so easy to lose touch with who Jesus really is. It’s so easy to start to drift off from the truths of the Bible. And pretty soon we’re secretly sinning. Pretty soon we putting our faith in other things, money, cars, property, and so on. We get off track easily as humans. We start to focus on other things. We start to watch too much TV, and spend too much time playing videogames and watching movies and scrolling on social media.

And again and again we have to be reminded of the simple, but infinitely powerful message of the Bible, of Jesus Christ’s life, and we repent and believe that simple, powerful gospel message, of salvation through Jesus, forgiveness of sins, repentance, faith, hope, and perfect love filling us. Praise the Lord. We repent today Lord, and believe again in you alone Jesus for our salvation. Praise the Lord for His wonderful gift!