The disciples had eyes, but they didn t see; they had ears, but they didn t hear. This was Jesus diagnosis of their spiritual condition.

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1 Mark 8:17-18 Introduction The disciples had eyes, but they didn t see; they had ears, but they didn t hear. This was Jesus diagnosis of their spiritual condition. Their eyes and ears were fine physically; it was in the realm of spiritual perception that they were having difficulty. They had sight, but not insight; they heard, but they didn t heed. The best word to describe their spiritual condition is dull. They were spiritually dull disciples. Sometimes we look down on the disciples. I am certainly not going to gang-pile them. - Maybe their easy targets because it s easier to point out other people s faults and much harder to see our own.

2 2 1. Peter and his big mouth 2. Judas and his lack of loyalty. 3. Thomas and his doubt. 4. James and John s ambition to sit on Jesus right and left. The world had been turned upside down and the disciples didn t get it. That s why Jesus calls them dull. Dull is a Bible word. It is used in both the OT and NT to describe a regression from insight to ignorance, and from discernment to disregarding. Isaiah said, 10 Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed. (Isaiah 6:10, NIV)

3 3 If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, you don t want to regress and become spiritually dull! You want to make progress and overcome spiritual dullness. In Mark 8 we are warned of 5 ways in which we can become spiritually dull. I. You Can Become Spiritually Dull by Living under your Circumstances (Mark 8:1-10). A. This is what we would call a no-brainer. 1. Jesus had just fed the 5,000 and had 12 baskets of food left over. 2. But the disciples missed the point. 3. The only clue to their incredible dullness is their own statement, 4 But where in this remote place can anyone get enough bread to feed them? (Mark 8:4, NIV)

4 4 4. The barren, desert surroundings that they called wilderness overcame their faith in Jesus. 5. It simply eclipses it. B. They thought nothing could be done because of the adversity of their circumstances. 1. We do this too. a. We say, under the circumstances, I don t see how this or that can be done. b. This is how we express our hopelessness and faithlessness. 2. Under the circumstances is a very descriptive phrase. a. It means we have a material philosophy of life, instead of a spiritual one. b. It means we believe what we see is all that there is.

5 5 c. It means we ve factored God out of the situation. d. It s faithlessness because we are thinking situationally. 1. Faith is not positive thinking. 2. Faith is not optimism. 3. Faith is not looking on the bright side. e. Faith is interjecting God, not leaving Him out. 3. When you begin to live under your circumstances, you become spiritually dull. II. You Can Become Spiritually Dull by Longing after Signs (Mark 8:11-12). A. Jesus had just miraculously fed 5,000 people. B. He had earlier fed 4,000 people. C. He healed the sick; cast out demons; raised the dead. Signs and wonders followed His teaching...

6 6 D. Yet the Pharisees ask Him to perform a sign for them, at their request. E. When you begin to long after signs, you actually become spiritually dull. 1. Why? 2. Your looking for signs, not God! 3. You re not focusing on God s Word and your relationship with God. 1 Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. (Heb 11:1-2, NIV) 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. (Heb 11:8, NIV) 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh s daughter.

7 7 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. (Heb 11:24-26, NIV) Faith sees God! Faith lives on the basis of the unseen! III. You Can Become Spiritually Dull by Looking on the Surface (Mark 8:13-15). 15 Be careful, Jesus warned them. Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod. (Mark 8:15, NIV) A. Jesus is comparing the influence and effect of His own teaching to that of the Pharisees B. He says, look to the below-the-surface meaning. 1. It is not a matter of getting all the formalities down right.

8 8 2. It is a matter of getting our hearts, minds, and souls upright! 3. Your righteousness must EXCEED that of the Pharisees (Matt. 5:20). a. They were concerned about every jot and tittle, b. They prayed three times daily, c. They memorized scripture. d. But they neglected the more important matters of the law justice, mercy and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23). 4. It s not FORM, it s FAITH. C. So go deeper. 1. Don t settle for the superficial stuff. 2. Don t go over the same milk all the time. D. Grow up!

9 9 1. Think for yourself. 2. Reason from Scripture to Experience. Not Experience to Scripture or Experience to Experience. 3. Start with God and stay with God. 4. Don t settle for anything else. IV. You Can Become Spiritually Dull by Listening to Speculation (Mark 8:27-30). 27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, Who do people say I am? 28 They replied, Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets. 29 But what about you? he asked. Who do you say I am? Peter answered, You are the Christ. 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. (Mark 8:27-30, NIV) A. This is Peter s great confession. 1. Jesus is the Christ - the Anointed Messiah, promised and prophesied in the Old Testament.

10 10 2. Anything less lessens the person and work of your Savior. 3. Today words like disease, addiction, victimization, co-dependency, and dysfunctional fill our Christian vocabulary. - Christians seek after inner healing, healing of memories ; - they submit themselves to regression therapy. 4. While we are becoming experts at understanding these words, great words like justification, and sanctification are seen as outdated. 5. Speculation causes you to become spiritually dull. 6. Don t do it; let Jesus be your sufficient Savior!

11 11 V. You Can Become Spiritually Dull by Loathing your Suffering (Mark 8:31-33). 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. Get behind me, Satan! he said. You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. (Mark 8:31-33, NIV) A. Jesus is telling Peter, and us, that there are only two kingdoms, only two ways of thinking, open to us. B. If your mind is not set on the things of God, you are by default fixated on the things of this world - where Satan rules. 1. A system created and structured to suck the humanity out of you and make you an instrument of wickedness. 2. One that despises the cross. 3. One that shuns sufferings.

12 12 C. But suffering is inevitable. D. It s an unavoidable part of your Christian growth. E. To the degree you loathe suffering you will become spiritually dull, and you will learn nothing. VI. Overcoming Spiritual Dullness. A. We are called to a more radical form of discipleship. 1. It has been said that all disciples are believers, but not all believers are disciples. 2. I agree. 3.Discipleship is a decision you make as a believer to leave your spiritual dullness behind. B. The first characteristic of discipleship is strong desire. 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mark 8:34, NIV)

13 13 1. You ve got to want it! 2. You ve got to want it bad! 3. You ve got to want it more than anything else. 4. Even to the point of denying yourself and carrying your own cross. Return the Cross to Golgatha I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church, I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles; But on a cross between two thieves; on a town garbage heap; at a crossroads of politics so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek. And at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died, and that is what He died about. And that is where Christ s men ought to be,

14 14 and what the church people out to be about. ( George McCloud, Focal Point, January-March 1981) C. A second characteristic of discipleship is duty. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father s glory with the holy angels. (Mark 8:35-38, NIV) 1. Jesus says, 35 whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. (Mark 8:35) 2. A sense of duty means you put a high priority on the things of God Alfred Lord Tennyson once wrote, Theirs is not to make reply, Theirs is not to reason why,

15 15 Theirs but to do or die. ( From The Charge of the Light Brigade 4. If you want real quality of life, be a radical disciple. 5. Lose yourself in following Jesus! 6. If you gained the whole world, you d still remain empty if you weren t radically following Jesus. Conclusion Believers can become spiritually dull and regress. But they can also overcome spiritual dullness and make progress. It is a matter of discipleship. All disciples are believers, but not all believers are disciples. Be a disciple!