A Teacher with Authority

Welcome to God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in Morning Sun, Iowa. Check us out online at www.sharonrpc.org. We pray that this message will be a blessing to you and that the Lord will use it to transform your faith and your life. We turn in your Bibles with me to the book of Mark, the book of Mark chapter 1.

Matthew, Mark. Luke and John, you're too far. Go back. Matthew, Mark. Mark chapter 1. Mark chapter 1, and we'll be looking together this morning at verses 14 through the end of the chapter. Mark chapter 1, beginning at verse 14. If you're using your Pew Bibles and you have King James in front of you, you'll find that on page 882. Mark chapter 1, beginning at verse 14. This is God's perfect Word. Now, after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.

And as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Then Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. They immediately left their nets and followed him. When he had gone a little further from there, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were also in the boat, mending their nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and went after him. Then they went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Now there was a man in the synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, saying, Let us alone! What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come here to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him saying, be quiet and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority he commanded even the unclean spirits, and they obeyed him. And immediately his fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee.

Now as soon as they had come out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. But Simon's wife's mother lay sick with a fever. And they told him about her at once. So he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up. And immediately the fever left her and she served them.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons, and he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him. When they found him, they said to him, Everyone is looking for you. But he said to them, Let us go up into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth. And he preached in their synagogue through all Galilee and casting out demons.

Now a leper came to him, imploring him, kneeling down to him and saying to him, if you are willing, you can make me clean. Then Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out his hand and touched him and said, I am willing, be cleansed. As soon as he had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed. And he strictly warned him, and sent him away at once, and said to him, See to it that you say nothing to anyone, but go your way.

Show yourself to the priests, and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded as a testimony to them. However, they went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the matter, so that Jesus could no longer openly enter the city, but was outside in deserted places. and they came to him from every direction.

Prayer for Illumination

Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word and we pray now that your spirit would attend to the preaching of it. Lord, I pray that you would give me words to speak and that you would work in the hearts of myself as well as the rest of your people. That we might not just read these words as dead words on a page, but that you would let us stand in awe of who you are. In Jesus's name, amen.

Sermon

Mark is a fast paced gospel. And we're going to move through the book of Mark fast. So I need you to buckle up your seatbelts because we got a lot to look through. It's going to be a lot of fast things. I want you to pay attention to two things as we move through this second half of chapter one.

First is what is Jesus doing? And how do people respond to who Jesus is? So first, as we go through, we're going to look at what Jesus says in the very first part, verse 14. Now after John was put into prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent and believe the gospel. The gospel is a fancy New Testament word for good news. But when would you receive this type of good news? It was when a king was coming and he was victorious, and it was sending out messengers, letting them know that, hey, the king has come! Victory is here! There was a conquering king coming. But see, when the king is away, things happen in a house.

I want you to think back to a house where mom and dad leave kids alone at home for a few hours. There's really two different types of kids when their parents leave them alone for two hours, aren't there? There are the first child type kids, and then there are kids like me. There are the kids who are, okay, we gotta keep the rules, we gotta keep everything together, and we need to follow every command. And then you have the kids who are like, it is heyday, mom and dad are gone, we get to do whatever we want.

But when news that mom and dad are coming home happens, it affects people's hearts in different ways, doesn't it? For the disobedient wild child, it's, oh no, mom and dad are coming home. I don't know how we're going to fix this. And for the child who's obedient, it's, oh yes, mom and dad are coming home, and they're going to set everything right. And my brother's going to get it.

I'd like to propose to you that that's exactly what we see in the parable of the prodigal son. Israel is that child who's been, it's a mixed group, right? But there's those children who are wild and disobedient. And Jesus is going to show compassion to that wild, disobedient child, and people aren't going to be happy about it.

But Jesus is also going to show compassion to those who have been trusting in him. longing for the Messiah. John's ministry was one to say, hey, the kingdom is coming. The mighty one is coming. The king is about to come. And now Jesus has gone through the wilderness temptation. Now he's gone through his baptism. Now he starts his formal ministry. John is put into prison. And now Jesus says the kingdom of God is at hand. And as we go through, we're going to see that it's not just that the Kingdom of God is at hand, but it is Jesus who is the King of that Kingdom.

So how are people going to respond? Right? Will Jesus come and will He make all things right? Will people start repenting all around Him? As we continue, we'll see that Jesus is the King of His Kingdom, but the question is going to be, will people repent?

Will the person who is promiscuous sexually turn from their sexual immorality and impurity and turn towards purity? Will the person who has lustful thoughts turn his mind towards God? Will the person who steals get a job and repay what he has wronged? Will the person who covets put away selfish ambition and turn towards contentment before God? Will the person who has worked hard but has filled his heart with pride turn to humility before God?

Will the person who seems so put together yet tears people down by gossip and slander put away evil speaking? Will they repent? because the kingdom of heaven is at hand? Will they begin to learn to love and to tell the truth? Will the person who says that they believe in God, yet is always filled with anxiety, resign themselves to God's sovereign care for them? Will the person whose life is marked by anger come and bow before Jesus Christ? Will they repent and learn to put on love, kindness, patience, self-control?

Well, the person who says that they follow God, but blasphemes His name, their hearts don't pray, and they have mixed their own opinions with God's Word, will they turn and receive God as Jesus Christ presents the kingdom? How will people respond to Jesus as we work through the book of Mark? And as we go through this, I'm also going to ask you, How would you have responded to Jesus? And also, how are you responding to Jesus?

Will we be those who repent and believe? for the kingdom of God is at hand. Well, I'd like to look with you at nine different responses. I was telling someone this morning, you better be ready. It's a two-sided sermon outline type day. So we're going to move fast. So response number one. Look with me at response number one, verses 16 through 18. Simon and Andrew. How do they respond? And as he walked, this is Jesus, as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon. By the way, Simon's a Hebrew name for Peter.

He saw Simon and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. Pretty good thing for fishermen to do, right? To have nets that they're casting. This is the nice thing about Mark. He tells us obvious things, right? So they're fishermen, they're casting their nets out to the sea. Then Jesus said to them, follow me and I will make you become fishers of men. And they immediately left their nets and followed him.

These guys have a real occupation. These guys have a real boat with real nets and they're really fishing in the real Sea of Galilee. You can go into the museum in Galilee and you can see one of these boats that they dug up out of the mud. They earned their living and they're there with real jobs, working by the sweat of their brow.

And Jesus says, you know what? I know what you are, but I am going to call you to a higher purpose. Will you come and follow me? And it's an imperative. Throw down your nets. Lay down your nets. And I'm going to make you a fisher. I'm going to make you become fishers of men. And notice their response. Verse 18. They immediately left their nets and followed Him. Is that how you would have responded? They've never met Jesus. Is that how you would have responded? Look at the second response, response number two, verses 19 and 20.

When he had gone a little further from there, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, who were in the boat mending their nets. And immediately Jesus called them, and they left their father in the boat with the hired servants and went after him.

These people have a real job. They're working in their boats. They're mending their nets. They're doing hard work. And they have their dad there. And as James and John are in the boat, by the way, the Hebrew, or the word for James is actually Jacob. But as Jacob, so if you hear me get this mixed up, I don't know why English translations put it James, but as Jacob and John are there working with their dad, Jesus comes alongside. He says, follow me. And notice what they do.

They don't just leave their jobs. They leave their family. They left their father Zebedee in the boat. And they went and they followed him instead. This was the man who had raised them their entire lives. This was the man that when they would wake up early in the morning and go out fishing, he was the one who taught them how to make money. He was the one who showed them how to walk. He was the one who showed them how to live. And now Jesus says, instead of following your father, come and follow me. And they immediately leave their nets and follow him.

Would you do that? How would you have responded? Would you leave forsaken mother and father, siblings, children, to follow after Christ? I'm gonna let you know that some of you are called to do that this very week. Maybe even today. In your life, it's a question of ultimate allegiance. Some of you, you're going to be put into a position that only Satan could think of. Trying to make you choose between God and your family. What choice will you make? Response number three is, turn our eyes to the next verse, verse 21.

Then they went into Capernaum, And immediately on the Sabbath, He entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes." We find out in verse 21 that Jesus is a teacher. He's not just a preacher, but He also goes into the synagogue, He opens the book, He reads the Bible to them, and He teaches them what it is. But He teaches them different.

See, they were used to the grammarians, who would be able to pick up the scroll of Isaiah and be able to parse out all the different parts, you know, they could say, well, hold on, this is actually a yictl instead of a tictl, and here we're able to see that, you know, it's not singular, but it's plural, and the word is grammarians. Have you ever met a grammarian in your life who always picks apart your words? That's what the teachers were like then. They were really well trained in the grammar of the text. But did you know you can know the grammar of the text so well that you miss the glory of God? That you can become so infatuated with that minutia of scripture that you actually miss the message of the gospel.

And they don't understand, here comes Jesus. untrained, unlearned, walks into the synagogue and teaches them as one who has authority. Why? Because he has the Holy Spirit upon him. And so he comes and he preaches and he teaches them as one who has authority. And how do they respond? They're astonished. People are amazed. I need you to be careful, right? Just because someone is amazed doesn't mean that they have faith. All sorts of people are amazed at Jesus' teachings, and yet have no love for Him.

So most likely in the synagogue there's a mixed response, but look with me at what happens after this. Look at verse 23. This is response number four of the unclean spirit. Now there was a man in the synagogue, or in their synagogue, with an unclean spirit, and he cried out saying, let us alone! What have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God. But Jesus rebuked him, saying, Be quiet and come out of him.

And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him. They were all amazed. So they questioned amongst themselves, saying, What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him. And immediately his fame spread throughout all the region of Galilee.

This man is someone who's in the midst of the congregation. People knew this guy. It's not like it said they were in a good church meeting and then all of a sudden the back doors flew open and out of the dark came this really weird dude. No, he was a normal guy in the rest of the congregation, the synagogue. And all of a sudden, from out of his throat comes a voice that's not his own.

This unclean spirit, what have you to do with us? Jesus of Nazareth. Isn't that just freaky in and of itself? I just have to say, when demons start speaking in the Gospels and you start hearing, you know, they're using plural voices, but yet it's a singular demon, you're like, dude, what the?

I don't know what's going on here. I don't think the people understand what's going on here. This is, what in the world? This is nutso. Now, I'm going to tell you that there is an anti-supernaturalism that pervades our culture, pervades our world today. We're so enlightened. We're so smart. We know that demon possession stuff is just first century superstition mumbo jumbo.

But I'm telling you, I was just talking to a guy this week. That as he was talking about someone he knew, he said, I don't know what's wrong with him. It seems like he's demon possessed or something. When he gets like this, I don't know what to do. And it's not this person normally. Now, I'm not saying that person is actually demon possessed. But what I'm saying is, if we think we have everything about the spiritual world understood, go read your New Testament again. This unclean spirit cries out.

Jesus of Nazareth, I know who you are, the Holy One of God. He's pointing back to the book of Isaiah, the Redeemer of God's people. What we just read in the book of Isaiah, he's saying, I know you're that one. I know you're the one who's going to lay low the mountains. I know you're the one who's going to redeem your people. I know you're the one who's going to do this. I need to stop here and just point out once again that just because somebody knows that there is a God, even if they have sinned to something like theism, doesn't mean that you're saved.

The ranks of Satan's demons are filled with people or with demons who believe that there is a God and shudder. They don't fear God. They don't love God. They don't reverence Him, but they hate Him. Someone might know of God, but that does not mean that they believe in God. It's a far cry from love, worship, and obedience. And this demon doesn't want Christ. This unclean spirit speaks out of this man and shows his true colors.

Jesus commands him. And what Jesus commands everything must obey, he tells him to be quiet, to come out of him. And the word there, I like actually the New King James, he's convulsed, right? He's shook violently. And he cries out with heaps, three different words on itself in Greek. It's not just a, he doesn't just cry out, he doesn't just cry out a little bit, but it's a mega cry. He cries out with his loud voice and it comes out of him. And what's the response of everybody else around them?

They're slack-jawed. What just happened? Who is this? Have you ever met someone who's able to cast out demons? I haven't. Have you ever met someone who teaches with the type of authority that you're able to tell someone to get out of a boat and they abandon their family and go and follow them? I only know one person who's able to do that.

How would you have responded if that had happened in our church? Let's look at the fifth response. The people who saw this exorcism, verse 27, then they were all amazed. So they questioned among themselves saying, what is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey Him. And immediately His fame spread throughout all. of Galilee. They discuss it amongst themselves. How do the people who saw this respond? They discuss amongst themselves. They argue about it together. They question with one another. Could you imagine what the potluck after church would look like after that?

Is this a type of new teaching with this type of authority? That even the unclean spirits have to obey him? The question is, how would they respond? Would they repent? Would they believe? How would you respond? If you were there in the room, would you repent? Would you believe? I wonder how you would respond today. Well, news goes out, verse 28, and immediately his fame spread throughout all the region of Galilee. And then we're going to find our sixth response here, the faith of the disciples. Look at me at verses 29 through 31.

Now, as soon as they came out of the synagogue, they entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John, but Simon's wife's mother, I don't know if you're like me, that's kind of cumbersome, let's just say Simon's mother-in-law, lay sick with a fever, and they told him about her at once. So he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and immediately the fever left her, and she served them." They come, out of the synagogue it's the sabbath they come out the jewish sabbath they come out of the synagogue they go into the house of peter and there his mother-in-law is sick with a fever and how the disciples think about jesus well they go and they tell them about her immediately but now notice this don't let this escape you jesus hasn't healed physically anyone yet. How do they know Jesus is going to be able to do this? All they know is that here's Peter's mother-in-law, she's sick, and they need to bring her to Jesus.

There's no precedent for this. I don't know their motivation, was it concern for her? Was it that they were embarrassed because the house is in disarray because normally the lady who's picking up stuff the night before, it was dirty and so she was sick, she didn't know what to do? Or is it because there's no food?

Maybe this is like a good Iowa house, right? You walk into somebody's house and what's the first thing they ask you? Do you want anything to drink? And then right after that, do you want anything to eat? And after you eat a little bit, they say, you want some more food? This is the normal custom. Showing hospitality was huge in Jewish culture. And so was it because there's no food there that they have to explain away like, hey, Peter's mom-in-law is sick. She's normally the one who makes food for Sabbath.

Sorry, we don't have anything, Jesus. We don't know. They just go and they tell Jesus that she's sick. And so Jesus goes in. He lifts her up by taking her hand. And the fever leaves her. How's that happen? How does someone gently reach down, grab someone by the hand, helps her up gently, and she's better? What's her response in verse 31? She serves them. She serves them. Are the disciples responding with faith? How would you respond? Do you take people who are sick to God in prayer? Do you trust a great physician who knits you together in your mother's womb? Do you believe that Jesus can actually do miracles? Let's look at the seventh response.

At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. And the whole city was gathered together at the door. Then he healed many who were sick with various diseases and cast out many demons. And he did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew him.

Right? The crowds come. The crowds are like at the gates, right? They're right there in Capernaum at the gates of Peter's house. They've surrounded the place and they're just, they bring, it's sunset, right? The Sabbath is over. So now they can carry all their sick people to Jesus because they've just heard that there's somehow, there's someone there who's able to heal them. And so the crowds, there's a sense of chaos and desperation. The sun is down, and they bring their sick and their demon-possessed, and Jesus heals and casts many out." The question is, why were they at the gates? Why were they there? I'm going to suggest to you that there's at least three reasons, or three groups of people, why they were at the gates. The first is, some of them were there out of desperation. I'm sure some of them had gone to the doctors time and time again and no one can heal them and they know that something is wrong and maybe finally someone's able to heal them. If you've ever read Nabeel Qureshi's book, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, as a Muslim guy who became a Christian, I'd highly recommend this book. Nabeel, at the end of the book, he converts to Christianity.

It's an amazing story. And at the end of the story, spoiler alert, he gets brain cancer. He's got a wife and young kids. And he's an educated Christian man at this point, right? He's gone to college, he's gone to seminary, he's gone and he's doing a PhD at Oxford, and he finds out he's got terminal cancer and he's about to die. And he's desperate, right? He just wants to stay alive so he can see his wife and his kids.

And so in that desperation, even Nabil went to one of these faith healer things, just thinking, maybe, I don't think that this is real, but maybe, maybe I'll go to one of these faith healers and I'll see if maybe they could heal me. I don't know. Now it didn't happen. Faith healers are often dealing in snake oil.

But I think there's a whole bunch of people in this group who are just desperate. There are others who are just going because they're going with the crowd. They're the family members. I remember going to these harvest crusades in Southern California growing up, and we would fill the entire Angel Stadium. And just tons and tons of people would show up. Very few of them actually wanted to be there. They just wanted to be there for the crowd. They didn't want to be there for the gospel message. Myself being one of them. But some of them were responding in faith. Because they knew that somehow this man was their only hope. somehow the king had finally come. How would you have responded? Why would you have gone to Jesus? Would you have gone at all? Last two responses. Hold with me quick. The applications are just going to be questions. So you're going to, we're going to move through these last ones fast. The next is Jesus and Peter. Look with me at verse 35.

Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, he went out and departed to a solitary place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him. When they found him, they said to him, Everyone is looking for you. But he said to them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth. And as he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and casting out demons, right?

Jesus has been working late into the night, right? It's after the evening time when they start bringing all the sick people to Jesus, and what does Jesus do? He's working all night long, and then when everybody else is still sawing logs asleep, before the morning, before that glorious sunrise, He goes out to a deserted place. And what does Jesus do?

He prays. As Jesus is exhausted from His ministry, communion with his father in heaven is most important. He goes where? To a deserted place. Why? For prayer. To go and commune with God. To offer up his desires to his father. To bring to him his thanks and his supplications. And how does Peter respond to this, right? When Peter wakes up in the morning, there's People knocking at the door, hey, is this where Jesus is?

Well, I don't know, let me go wake him up. Oh no, there's his bed mat, he's not there. Well, go start looking for him, right? They send out a search party, everybody goes trying to find him. And as they're looking all over for him, he finds Jesus. And what does he say to him? In verse 36 and 37, I'm gonna summarize this in my own translation, right? They found him and they said to him, everyone is looking for him. Essentially, they're saying, dude, there's work to do. What are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Come on, man, get with it. The gates still have people there. What are you doing, Jesus? Come on back.

Let's see, Jesus has a focus on his mission. Verse 38, what is the mission of Jesus? But he said to them, let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth. Jesus came to preach. Jesus's primary message, his primary mission was to preach. People love the miracles of Jesus, right, because they're extraordinary. A lot of people love what Jesus can do for them, rather than loving the Jesus who is God. The miracles were signs of the veracity of his message, but they were not the purpose of his mission. Jesus goes on a preaching tour in verse 39.

And so I have to ask you, do we respond to Jesus wanting Him, or do we respond to Jesus wanting what He can do for us? Do you respond to Jesus because of who He is, or do you respond to Jesus just because of what He can do for you? Do you love Him, or do you just want your belly filled?

Last response, response number nine, Jesus and the leper. Verse 40, now a leper came to him imploring him, kneeling down to him and saying to him, if you are willing, make me clean. The leper's body is someone who's filled with these sores. The leper is this person who is an outcast from society.

In the law, if they were to walk through town, they had to cry out, leprosy, leprosy. Just so that way, if anybody saw them or walked near them and accidentally touched them, they wouldn't become leprous. They were outcasts. They were exiles. They were put on the fringes of society. They were kept at an arm's distance.

And here comes this man in desperation to Jesus. And notice his position. Notice his posture. He gets on his knees. and he submits to him in his heart. If you are willing, make me clean. I noticed Jesus' response to this type of attitude. Well, it's my favorite Greek word ever. Jesus is moved with compassion. The word there comes from the word splognon. Jesus is moved in his bowels. Jesus is from deep down in his kidneys. He sees this man and with all the compassion that could ever be drummed up in the Son of God, he looks at him and he loves him. And then he does something. Look, let's just slow it down here for a brief second. Then Jesus moved with compassion, stretched out his hand, and no, no, don't do that.

You can't touch him, Jesus. You'll get leprosy. You can't touch him. You'll get unclean. You can't touch a leper. And he touches him. This is most likely the first time this man has been touched in decades. And Jesus touches him and he says, I will be clean.

See, because when you come in contact with the Holy One of God, you are no longer unclean, but you are clean. Jesus can't be made unclean, for he is the Holy One of God, the unspotted lamb. The sacrifice without blemish. When you come into contact with the living God, you become clean. Jesus banishes his uncleanness. Jesus takes away. His isolation is gone. His loneliness is gone. His pain is gone. His grief is gone. His shame is gone. His exclusion is gone.

But Jesus commands him, and this is paradoxical, right? We're gonna see this again and again in the book of Mark. What Jesus commands him is really interesting. In verse 43, and he strictly warned him and sent him away at once, verse 44, and said to him, see that you say nothing to anyone, but go your way. Show yourself to the priests and offer for your cleansing those things which Moses commanded as a testimony to them.

All right, first Jesus tells him, don't say nothing. Don't say anything. Zip the lips, bud. You cannot spread this around. All right, now thank God in his sovereignty, even though people might mess things up and disobey, God still accomplishes his plans. Because time and time again, Jesus says, don't say this. Don't let everybody know. Why? Because they're going to try to forcefully make him a king. They're going to try to force him into the mold that they want their Messiah to be. And Jesus says, no, don't tell anyone. Right? Keep your mouth shut. What you need to do is just go up to the temple. Remember what Moses told you. Go do what he commanded. But how does the guy respond? Verse 45.

However, he went out tell anyone and he told everyone he began to proclaim it freely and spread the matter so that Jesus could no longer openly entered the city but was outside in deserted places and they came to him from every direction they couldn't keep silent the word spreads we don't even know if he actually went to the temple how would you respond if Jesus had cleansed you? How would you respond if he had told you everything you had ever done and said, I still love you? The result of this is Jesus has to go back into the deserted places. He has to go back into the wilderness and people have to come out to him.

There's too many crowds. I'm gonna leave you with nine questions of application. Nine questions of application. They're gonna come fast. You can ask me later if you don't get all of them, that's okay. Question number one. Are you willing to leave things and people behind to follow Jesus? Am I willing to leave things and even people behind to follow Jesus? Number two, a question of response.

Would you follow Jesus immediately? or do you follow Jesus in your life immediately? Question number three, do you love Jesus or do I love the stuff that Jesus can do for me? Do I love Jesus or do I just love the stuff that Jesus can do for me? Question number four, do you live your life under Jesus' authority? Do you live your life under Jesus' authority?

Question number five. Do you live your life for Jesus's mission? Do you live your life for Jesus's mission? Question number six. Part of discipleship is learning. Do you learn from Jesus? Do you listen to him? Question number seven. Part of discipleship is following. Do you follow Jesus? Do you obey him? Question number eight.

Do you repent of your sins? Do you turn from your sins with grief and hatred in your heart for those sins? And with full apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, will you turn from your sins unto God? and endeavor for new obedience. Question number nine, do you believe? Do you respond to Jesus Christ with faith?

Closing Prayer

I want you guys to just ponder those through the week. Feel free to come back later. Ask yourself the questions in this afternoon. Let's pray. Father, thank you for Jesus Christ, our Savior and King. God, please, let us know the Holy One of God, not just intellectually, but as our Lord and Savior. In His name we pray.

Thanks for listening to this week's message from God's Word for You, a ministry of Sharon R.P. Church in rural southeast Iowa. We pray that the message would be used by God to transform your faith in your life this week. If you'd like to get more information about us, feel free to go to the website, SharonRPC.org. We'd love to invite you to worship with us. Our worship time is 10 a.m. every Sunday at 25204 160th Avenue, Morning Sun, Iowa, 52640. May God richly bless you this week.