THE RELATIONSHIP OF OUR HEART TO THE MINISTRY OF JESUS Mark 3:1-19 INTRODUCTION: 1. The adventure of Jesus continues. 2. The heart is one of the most important things in this passage of scripture. My heart needs to be Christ s home. Every compartment, room, nook and cranny. The heart is the deepest part of me. My deepest thoughts and feelings. May we allow the Great Physician to examine our hearts today. 3. Let s look at the three different scenes in this part of the Gospel of Mark in regards to the relationship of our heart to the ministry of Jesus. BODY: I. OPPOSITION TO THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (An unbelieving and hardened heart - Mark 3:1-6) A. The opposition was waiting for Him. 1. They were waiting to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. 2. If Jesus had been cautious, He would have conveniently avoided the man with the withered hand. Ministry to the needy can bring us to confrontations. B. Jesus confronts the opposition. 1. He refused to seek safety. We need to be courageous and not avoid the confrontation of unbelief. 2. Jesus tells the man to stand forth or step forward and says, Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath or evil? To save life or to kill life?
3. Their response was they were speechless. No wonder they were plotting in their hearts to kill Him. They had missed the boat. They were concerned about their own ideas, rather than the word of God spoken by Jesus. C. The root cause hardness of heart. 1. Hard-hearted to us means being cruel and callous, which is right, but to the Hebrew it meant to be stubborn or resistant to the purpose of God. 2. We can all have forms of religion, such as the Pharisees and still have a hard heart. 3. Let s see where hardness comes from. Hebrews 3:10-13, Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, They al ways go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways. So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called Today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. a. Ignorance b. Deceitfulness of sin c. Unbelief D. The remedy for hardness of heart. 1. Jeremiah 4:3-4, For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your hearts, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 2. Hosea 10:12, Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you. 3. Hardness comes to the life of a Christian when they know the will of God and don t do it.
E. The opposition takes counsel to kill Him. 1. The Herodians were the court attendants and associates of Herod. They were continually in contact with Romans. 2. The Pharisees were the Jewish sect that was the most strict and orthodox. They considered the Herodians unclean. Their hate had brought them to stop at nothing to kill the purposes of God. 1. Do we have any hardness in our hearts? 2. Let s break up the fallow ground! 3. Jesus, soften our hearts! II. ACCEPTANCE OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (An accepting and pressing heart - Mark 3:7-12) A. The multitudes follow Jesus. 1. They heard what He has done and they want to reach Him. They travel from far away to see Him. He has to get in the boat so they will not crush Him (press hard against Him). He healed many. 2. They accepted that He was a Man sent from God and they received from Him. B. The multitude was pressing upon Him. 1. Do we press into until we touch Him? They believed. 2. They were of a simple heart, not like the stubborn hearts of the Pharisees.
C. The results of acceptance and pressing in. 1. The people received what they desired. Healing, etc. 2. Unclean spirits were dealt with by Jesus. He would not let them testify to who He was! 1. Do we have accepting and pressing hearts? 2. Press in until you receive! III. EXPANSION OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS (A loving and teachable heart - Mark 3:13-19) A. Jesus goes away to pray and make decisions. 1. He saw the need to multiply His ministry. 2. He went away to pray and find the Father s direction to make permanent His ministry and spread His message. 3. He spent a whole night in prayer to chose the twelve. They had already been somewhat sifted and tested. He sought the Father to find loving and teachable disciples. B. Jesus chooses twelve. 1. He called them to: a. BE WITH HIM - He called them to special training consisting of an intimate nearness to Him and a loving relationship. b. SEND THEM OUT - He chooses them and us knowing His power and ability to use us and the abilities He has given us.
C. Jesus commissions them. 1. To take the message and use His power. It is a dual responsibility. 2. We did not first choose Him. He chose us! 3. John 15:16, You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. D. Jesus renames them. 1. This list of names is more than a roll call or filler. 2. Examples of their new names: a. Peter The Rock b. James & John The Sons of Thunder c. Thaddaeus Large Hearted 3. If you could focus on one word that would portray what you want to become, what would it be? 1. Two qualities Jesus saw in the disciples were their love for Him and their teach ability. 2. Do you disciple someone to multiply the ministry of Jesus? 3. Ask God to give you someone to pour into. 4. Let s be loving and teachable.