February 28, 2025 • 48 mins
Uncertainty often leads to worry. But it doesn’t have to. Discover one way to find peace in your day-to-day life.
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Mark as Played
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it
gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Enjoy the message. One thing I want to point out
to you that you may not be aware of. We
typically group our messages a different series, and I decided
(00:26):
to preach a series called Savage Jesus. Why I did
it is because I'm tired of us pretending like Jesus
is safe. And one reason I wanted to use the
term savage Jesus is because.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I knew that religious people wouldn't like it.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We typically like our heroes sath and we typically like
them better after they're dead. You notice this sometimes, don't you?
That the way that we present our heroes is that
we prefer a certain version of them that is safe,
that doesn't offend us. And one of the things that
(01:11):
I hope about doctor Graham's legacy is that he is
not just remembered for only the amazing invitations that he gave,
but for the barriers that he broke down.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
It's good that we take a little time.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
This week to share some of his quotes about heaven.
But what he did here on earth in bringing Heaven
to earth and driving back darkness, I mean doctor Graham,
doctor Demas.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Was a savage in his own way.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
What he did in Chattanooga, Tennessee in nineteen fifty three,
that was the most savage thing I ever read about,
where he tore down the barriers that they had set
up to keep black people separated from white people at
his crusade and looked at two white ushers and said,
you can either leave those down or have the crusade
without me.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
That's pretty savage.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I kind of like that version of doctor Graham, not
just you know, my wife and I often talk about this,
how for us growing up, Ray Charles was the pepsi
guy because we came into his legacy at a time
when he was older, and that's what we knew him as,
and we disregarded You see this happen every year on
(02:27):
the day that we celebrate doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
You see the same three quotes. I've decided to stick
with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
The same three quotes I've been to the mountain, same
three quotes I've had. But doctor King did a whole
lot more than go to the mountain and have a dream.
He went to prison, he suffered not only the scorn
(02:52):
of those that he was trying to fight against, but
those he was fighting for. And so when you forget that,
when you sanitize some body down to the point that
you try to make them almost like we make them
a mascot. You ever see those little toys where you
pull the string and they have a few sayings that
they say, and there's like five.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Things that they say.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I'm afraid we've done that with Jesus. I'm afraid that
we've got it down to the point now where we
have a few things that Jesus said, you know, love
people and turn the other cheek, and you know a
few little things images of Jesus. Shepherd Jesus with a
pull string and he says nice comforting things. This little
(03:33):
little Jesus that we put on the shelf, and he
says the things that we want to hear. You even
hear people sometimes they'll say, well, that doesn't sound very
much like Jesus. Did you ever read some of the
things that Jesus really said. Jesus was more than free
hugs and warm feelings.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Jesus was Are you ready a savage? Gee?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Jesus walked in church one day. The poor people were
being exploited by being sold sacrifices at a marked up price,
and they could.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Not afford them, and so they were excluded.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
From worship because the temple had become more about profit
and power than it had about the presence of God.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Do you know what Jesus did. He prayed about it.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Oh oh oh, he posted on Pinterest about it. This
is not Pinterest, Jesus. This Jesus started kicking over tables.
He ripped out the ATM machines.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
He drove out the tax collectors with the whip. Put
that on Pinterest.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Well to you, pharisees, blind guys, strain out a NAT's
swallow a camel. You're of your father, the devil. I
never saw that on a coffee. You are of your father.
I am the way, the truth in the life. We
like that Jesus. Jesus was a savage. He answered them
not a word, because he was the word. He got
(05:15):
so mad at death that he decided to overturn it.
He got so cramped in his grave that after the
price had been paid, after he had done what needed
to be done, watch how savage he kicked the end
off of a borrowed grave. Why borrowed. He wasn't gonna
(05:36):
be there long. He was a savage when he got up,
I got to show you one thing, and I shall
save this for Easter. But the Bible says that he
folded the linen they had wrapped him in. He was
so savage that he folded it, because when you fold
a linen at a meal, it means I will be
back when he comes back. He's not coming back like
(05:57):
a lamb. He is the lion of the trial Judah,
and I feel his presence in this place.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So let's get started.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
In the series, Mark, chapter one, verse one.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Through fifteen records these words the.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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 desert. Prepare the
way for the Lord, Make straight paths for him. Interesting
that Mark does not start with the birth of Jesus Christ.
(06:42):
I wonder if he does that so that we will
not be so attached to our image of him as
a baby. Do you remember that movie with the race
car driver, And do you remember he said, I like
the baby Jesus the best a lot of us. Do
we worship a certain version of Jesus? That is said, well,
(07:04):
Mark isn't going to give us that portrait of Jesus.
And it's correctly called a portrait. Because scholars say that
Mark's gospel is not only the oldest gospel from which
the other gospel writers would take the base information and
add their own commentary. But one of the things about
Mark's gospel that we will notice, because I plan to
host our entire study from this gospel account, is that
(07:26):
he wrote in terms of action, and you don't get
in this gospel a lot of the commentary about what
Jesus actually taught. You get more of a picture. The
scholar that I studied said that Mark writes with a
paint brush. He would rather show you than tell you,
(07:46):
because the highest level of proclamation of the gospel is demonstration,
not explanation.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Some people can explain.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
To you all about propitiation and atonement, but there's so
mean to their wife, that why I wanted Jesus. That
can't keep you from treating your family like crack. And
so Mark is going to show us portraits of Jesus.
We will be looking at least five or six in
this series. But he starts it off and he goes
(08:17):
to this scene in verse four, And so John came.
And so John came baptizing in the desert region and
preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
and 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. John was a savage.
(08:41):
He wore clothing made of camels hair, with a leather
belt around his waist, and he ate locust and wild
gluten loaded honey. And this was his message. After me
will come one more powerful than I. After me, will
come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose
(09:02):
sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and Untie,
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit. At that time, Jesus came from
Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he
saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on
(09:25):
him like a dove, and a voice came from heaven.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
You are my son, whom I love. With you, I
am well pleased.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
At once the spirit sent him out into the desert,
and he was in the desert forty days being tempted
by Satan. He was with the wild animals and angels
attended him. 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 is near
(10:00):
pent and believe.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
The good news.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I want to use as a construct for this first message,
before and after, before and after, the way that I
study scriptures.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I was telling him Buck the other day. I don't
know if he was listening, but I was trying to
explain to him between.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Sets, how I look for little words and commonalities in
a text. And that's a great way for you to
study the scripture as well. To observe patterns in the scripture.
It help you know what to pay attention to. And
I was noticing in this passage of scripture. In verse four,
it says John came. In verse seven, it says after me,
(10:41):
one will come. In verse nine, it says that Jesus came.
And in verse eleven it says a voice came. In
Verse thirteen, it says that the angels came. So John came,
one will come, Jesus came, avoid angels came.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I guess you could see.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We're getting a picture here of Jesus Christ on the
come up. And we start with this very powerful statement
of validation where the Father says, you are my son
whom I love with you, I am well please. But
before that validation happened, there is a preparation that is mentioned.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I think preparation is.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
So important, and obviously so does God, because when he
sent his son into the world, before he performed any miracles.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Before he.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Raised any dead people, before he opened any blinded eyes,
he went through the waters of baptism, and before he
went through the waters of baptism, this man called John,
who was an unlikely looking preacher who did not fit
the stereotype of how a clergyman should dress, was preparing
(11:59):
the way the Lord I broke in this introductory message
into four sections the first one is called preparation. Preparation
and prepare the way for the Lord. And so John
came to prepare the way for Jesus. And Jesus came
verse nine from Nazareth. And Mark said, this is the
(12:19):
beginning of the Gospel. But it was not the beginning
of the life of Christ. The life of Christ in
its early years took place primarily in Nazareth. When I
say Nazareth, it means nothing to you other than that
you associate it, perhaps with Jesus, and it meant next
to nothing to the people in Jesus' day. In fact,
(12:43):
Nazareth was the kind of place. Now, I grew up
in a place that is famous for its culture and
its impact. I grew up in Monk's Corner. But some
of you grew up in places like Nazareth. Nazareth was
a no name place for no name people. So when
the Bible says that Jesus came from Nazareth, it means
(13:04):
that the Son of God and the Savior of the
world came from.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
An unexpected place.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
John, the Baptists, who many scholars associate with the tribe
of the Essenes, was preparing the way in the wilderness,
and Jesus was coming up in Nazareth. Perhaps you've heard
that he was a carpenter. I think it must have
been a real trip to be making wood out of the.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Trees that you spoke into existence.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Have you ever thought about what it would be like
to make a table out of a tree that you
put in the ground. You know, the Bible says in
Colossians that all things were created and are sustained by
the power of his word. Yet Jesus meant the first
thirty in obscurity in Nazareth. Hey, they had us saying,
(13:51):
where you're from Valdosta, Valdosta State.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
They had a saying about Nazareth.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
They would say, can anything good come from Nazareth? They
said that about Jesus because the authority that he spoke
with did not match the background that he came from,
and the works that he would do so outstrip the
expectations of the people. He taught with authority and not
(14:18):
as one of their teachers of the law. They had
us saying, can anything good come from Nazareth? That no
name place for no name people, that place that we.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Don't plan our vacations to.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Jesus came from Nazareth, not from Jerusalem. It would have
made sense for him to come from Jerusalem, the center
of the temple call.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
It would have made sense for him to come from
perhaps a.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Place in the Roman Empire that was more empirically important.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
But Jesus came from Nazareth.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
He came from Nazareth, and the people wanted to know
can anything good come from Nazareth? But it was his
place of preparation. And when God has a great purpose
for your life, he will often involve a season of obscurity.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Let's be honest about it.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
In the beginning was the Word, and the word was
with God, and the.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Word was God.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
It's not like Jesus needed to learn what he already was.
But even Jesus went through a season of obscurity before
he fulfilled his purpose. And some of you are in
Nazareth right now, and you're wondering the same thing that
the people wondering about Jesus. Can anything good come from Nazareth?
(15:38):
Can anything good come from singleness? Can anything good come
from losing my job? Can anything good come from cancer?
Can anything good come from middle school? Can anything good
come from a broken heart? Can anything good come from depression?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Can anything good come from divorce?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
But I love him because he takes the most unlikely
places and fulfills the greatest purpose.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
How need you do to shout right now?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
If you've ever been in Nasareth wondering God, what am
I doing here?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Jesus came from Nasareth.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Great things come from small places, New beginnings come from
dead ends. Jesus came from Nazareth. It was his place
of preparation. Preparation is kind of the opposite of the
primary value of our day.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
We live in the age of instant validation.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Instead of thinking an issue through, we post it immediately
to see if we can get someone to agree or
disagree with us, just because we want attention.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
See how quite gets when I preach real good.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Just see how they were shouting like forty seven seconds ago.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Did you see how quickly all the shouts.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Dissipated from the room, just because I told you the truth.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
There is nothing off limits.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
We will stage our kids instead of raising them, We're
staging them for the.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Approval of people.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Stand here, shut up, smile, Stand here, shut up, smile
Because I yelled at you all day. But if I
can post something that made it look like we had
a good day. Maybe somebody will tell me I'm a
good mom.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
If it's too much, come give me chunks. I don't
want to tear the church apart on the first week
of the series. I was planning to do like six weeks,
but I don't know if we're gonna survive. The first
Jesus came from Nazareth and he was baptized John. That
(18:01):
confused me at first.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And so if you're reading this and you're like, I
don't read the Bible much, but that's kind of weird.
Don't you get baptized because you need to be forgiven
of your sin?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And isn't Jesus the one who didn't have any sin?
That's what John thought.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
John was surprised when Jesus came to be baptized, because
you know, he's lining them up and he's dunking them,
and John did not. John's baptism was not like ours,
you know how our baptism we let you read something
and share something. John was such a savage one time
he looked at the crowd and said, who told you
to come out here?
Speaker 1 (18:36):
You brew the viperse?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
What if when you got in the tank, let's go
to Gaston for a baptism. Can you imagine Kid Hester
telling that big boy that was in the tank today.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
I was so nervous Ken was gonna drop him.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Imagine if he called him a snake before he talked
to him. And John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.
He was fighting against the oppression of the system that
had made principles more important than people, and so was
(19:15):
he was rebuking really the leaders. And he'd say, you snakes, repent,
you snakes, repent, you snakes, repent. He turns around and
there's the savior of the world. You Savior of the world.
I should baptize you. I was just telling them I'm
not fit.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
To tie your shoes. This isn't right.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
But Jesus says something, and Mark doesn't give it to us,
because probably I really believe this hold on I'm ocd in.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
This thing's crooked.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Probably Mark was writing his recollections not based on his
own personal experience. We don't even historically know who who
Mark was with one hundred percent accuracy, but we have
reason to believe that these recollections were based on the
memory of Peter Peter, who tried so hard to keep
(20:09):
Jesus from the Cross Peter, who had an expectation of
an earthly kingdom that would overthrow Rome. And it really
matches the style of Peter that Mark's gospel would include
very little detail. Is just really one thing after another
after another. His favorite word that Mark uses, and you'll
(20:32):
see it over and over again when you come back
to church.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Every week of this series.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Is immediately or suddenly, and it's just Jesus is on
the move.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Now.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
The thing about it was that for half of Mark's gospel,
Jesus is on the move through Galilee where he did
his ministry. The other half he's headed to the Cross,
the place he came for all along. Peter did not
understand that before, but he did after. And there's a
breathlessness of this god gospel that comes across because Jesus
is headed to the cross, headed to his purpose, headed
(21:07):
to redemption, which makes possible reconciliation, and he has no
time to waste. So we will forgive Mark if he
leaves out a lot of the details. He just tells
us that Jesus came and was baptized, But Matthew tells
us because there are four gospel accounts that Jesus told
John the reason that he did it. He said, this
must be done to fulfill all righteousness.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
In other words, it was an act of obedience.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And if there's any word that might be more unpopular
than preparation in our culture, it's obedience. Nobody tells me
what to do. I pray to Jesus during football games.
Nobody tells me what to do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Jesus power than his submission to the will of his father.
He said, I've got to do this in obedience.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
John said it doesn't make sense, and Jesus said, it
doesn't have to make sense. It is written, and therefore
it must be accomplished. And so John doesn't argue with
him about it. He just does it. And when he
does it, the Bible says that a dove came from
(22:28):
heaven descended on him. The dove is often used to
symbolize peace. Here, it is a symbolic indication of the
presence of the Holy Spirit and God validates the sonship
of Jesus Christ. This is different than the transfiguration Holly.
(22:48):
In the Transfiguration, which happens many chapters later, he will say,
this is my son whom I love. Listen to him here.
It's personal. He says, you are my son whom I love.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
With you, I am well pleased.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
It is a direct validation of Jesus' ministry, and it
came after Jesus' obedience. I'm afraid that a lot of
times we want validation before obedience. But validation does not
(23:28):
come before obedience.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
It comes say the word.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
This is a message of before and after. Now, notice
what hasn't happened yet. At the moment that God the
Father validates his son, Jesus has not opened the first
blinded eye. Jesus has not healed anybody of leprosy or
cleansed them of their condition. Jesus has not caused any
(23:55):
lame people to walk.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Not at this point.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Jesus has not even taught the crowds in a way
that would captivate them to the point that they would
stay and skip dinner just to hear what this man
has to say. Jesus has not packed out the house
to the point that some men will tear off a
roof to get their friend.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
In so he can be healed. He has done none
of that yet.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
And before he ever performs his first miracle, the heavenly
Father speaks a word a validation, and maybe you need
to hear that God's love for you is never based
on your performance before he ever did anything. It's kind
of like he got the trophy before he even showed
(24:36):
up for practice.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
It's kind of like God does not validate.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
How people validate, because people will validate you based on
what you do for them. People will validate you based
on the value that your actions carry that will contribute
directly to their well being. But God does not validate
based on performance. He validates based on relationship. He did
not v validate what Jesus would do. He validated who
(25:03):
he was. And just in case you haven't heard it
in a while, and you feel kind of dirty and
kind of ashamed of yourself and kind of like you
don't belong in the presence of God and like you're
not one of those good church people. I want you
to know you're still his child, You're still made in
his image, You're still blood with his blood. Every drop
(25:24):
he's spilled was on purpose, and one of those drops
had your name on it.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
And if the blood was enough for me, it was
enough for you.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
And you don't have to stand here ashamed and look
forward to one day when God will never love you anymore,
that he loves you right now.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
I set You're free right now, loved right now, cleansed,
right now, healed, right now. Somebody shout, I.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Am I am his child, I am accepted. Jesus did
not perform his ministry for acceptance.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's why he.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Didn't care what anybody thought about it. When you know
somebody more important approves of you, it makes the opinions
of people a whole lot less significant, isn't that true?
(26:26):
I don't know. I don't care. This sounds bad, this
sounds unpastoral, But.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
I don't care as much what you think about this sermon.
I care. I will check Facebook, Instagram.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
But before that, before ever, I said, before I'll walk
off the stage, Holly will meet me and I look
at her and she'll be like you slated.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
When she says.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
That, that will matter a little bit more, a little
bit more because she lives with me. And if the
person who knows me the best here's what I have
to say and feels like it was aligned with the
character of my life, I.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Don't need the Graham.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
No.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
I think this is important.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
I think it's so important that we receive the validation
of God each day, or we will need from people
what they are not capable of giving us. How are
they going to accept you unconditionally? They don't even like
themselves some of the time. And a voice came, and
(28:03):
a voice came. John came. That's preparation. A voice came,
that's validation. But notice when he came, when he when
the voice spoke, church, pay did you just little stuff
in the Bible?
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Don't just read seventy seven verses I'm getting coffee and
then post about it and post about it. Read it?
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Do read it. It came before he performed any miracles.
It was not contingent upon his performance, and it came
after his obedience.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
At that time, Jesus came from Nazareth.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
The galley was baptized by John and the Jordan check
it out first in his first in on the screen.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Is it on there?
Speaker 2 (28:44):
As he was coming up? That means, as he was
doing what he was supposed to do. As he was
coming up, he saw heaven torn open? Is that what
it says? My eyes are closed and depending on you
to validate the heavens torn open? And the voice spoke,
(29:06):
so he saw vision and he heard a voice, but
he didn't see it until he was on the way up.
So it meant that he went all the way out
to the Jordan, got in the water, went down, and
on the way up, God said, I'm proud of you.
(29:27):
And when he came up noticed this. The synergy of
the text is this, when he came up, the dove
came down. When he came up to fulfill that which
was spoken of, that which was prophesied about him in
obedience when he came up.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Now here's where a lot of us get it twisted.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
We want the dove to come down before we get
into the waters of obedience. We want God to give
us peace about a decision that.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
We know we need to make.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
But I found out that peace comes after obedience. So
when Jesus went down into the waters, which signified his death,
and came back up, which signified his resurrection, it was
on the way up. It was as he was doing
the will of his father. It was as he was
(30:20):
in the process of fulfilling the purpose that he was
put on the earth for that he saw the heavens
open and he heard the voice of God saying, this
is my son, and the dove came down, But the
dove didn't come down until Jesus came up.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
And you know what, You are not going to get
the peace of.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
God in your situation until you commit yourself to obey
what he's speaking to your heart. Peace comes after obedience.
And if you don't have the peace of God in
your situation, God's peace might be awaiting your obedience. But
(31:04):
we want to experience before what we can only experience after,
So we put stuff off.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
You note like, well, I'll do it when I feel
a peace about it. That's a Christian thing. Only Christians
talk like that.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
People who don't have this religious jargon to throw around
to cover up their lack of decisiveness have to either
do it or don't.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
But we wait for a peace. I was just reading
that text over and over.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
And as he was coming up, the dove didn't follow
him down to the water. Come on, Jesus, you got this.
Come on, this is the right thing to do. I
promise you, I promise you. The dove did not make
its appearance until Jesus was already wet.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Until you die to yourself and go down in the water.
And as he was coming up, came down.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
So I had to do something the other day, and
I didn't want to do it in my flesh, in
my spirit, I am reborn, and I told somebody I
was gonna do it, and they said, oh, do you
have a peace about it?
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I guess you have a peace about it.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I said no, That's why I'm doing it because I
want peace and I don't have peace. And I have
spent the last several months waiting for peace that only
obedience can produce. Now, the love of God did not
(32:46):
come because Jesus obeyed, but the peace of God, the dove,
the validation came as he obeyed. I said, I'm gonna
do what I need to do.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
And the peace will follow.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
I'm gonna do what doesn't make sense and the peace
will follow.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
I'm gonna join an e group at Elevation Church.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
I thought my leaders would shout and the peace will follow.
But the peace came after the obedience. Peace comes after obedience.
Peace comes after obedience. It's my whole message, and so
I'm repeating it in case you think this.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Is a sub point, it is not.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Everything up until now was just to tell you this
Lake Norman, peace comes after obedience. Jesus went down Jesus
came up. As he's coming up, the doth comes down.
The voice from heaven speaks, and the validation of Jesus
Christ came.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
After his obedience.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Stop waiting to feel like it, Stop waiting for people
to understand it. Stop waiting until everything gets just right.
This is the day that the Lord has made. I
will rejoice today. If you hear his voice, do not
hearden your heart, and then the peace of God, which
(34:15):
passes all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind.
In Christ Jesus and peace. Here comes to dove, Here
comes to dove, Here comes to dove. But this dove,
this dove has a mind of his own. This dove,
this holy spirit. That's what it symbolizes in the Bible.
(34:37):
And the dove comes down, and the dove is so beautiful.
Come on, Eljay, play some dove music, some dove descending music.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
I think that's Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star. And then abrupt change.
You gotta get used to Mark, because he's our tour
guide for this entire series. At once, verse.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Twelve, he doesn't even give us time to hang out
with the dove, get a selfie with the dove at once.
At once, immediately suddenly the spirit the dove sent him
into the desert. Why is he going to the desert
verse thirteen?
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Fill it in.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
And he was in the desert forty days being tempted
by Satan.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Why would the dove lead you.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Into a place where the devil was waiting. I don't
like that dove. I want the other dog. Give me
another dove real quick. And suddenly, right after the validation
(36:15):
came the temptation. Because anytime God speaks a promise over
your life, you will immediately have the opportunity to prove
the promise.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
In the desert.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
The same death that presided over his baptism now leads
him into the desert, which seems on the surface to
be a contradiction of the Lord's prayer. You know our Father,
who are in heaven, Hello, will be your name, your
kingdom Come. Jesus taught us this prayer, you will be.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Done on earth.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
I know people think that football locker room made this
prayer up.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
But Jesus taught this prayer on earth as it is
in Heaven. Give us us there daily bread, forgive.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Us our deathtints, we forgive our debtors, and lead us
now into temptation. So why did the spirit of God
lead Jesus into the very temptation that he told us
to pray against. See, Jesus was a savage and he
(37:21):
knew what to do in the desert, and he knew
that the desert is the place where you.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Prove the promise of God.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
I wanted to include this point because some of you
are not in the place of validation as I speak today.
You are in the place of temptation. So remember, Mark
doesn't really break it down. He just tells us real quick,
(37:51):
because Peter's just given him the highlights, and he's writing
in a style that keeps the action moving, because this
thing is headed to the conflict of the cross, and
he has no time to waste. So he just tells
us simply, he was in the desert forty days. He
doesn't even mention that Jesus didn't eat in those forty days,
(38:11):
doesn't even mention it being tempted by Satan. He was
with the wild animals and angels that did.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
And that's all he says about it.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
If I went forty days with the animals, I would
want to describe every detail of it. But Mark says
he was there and he was tempted, but it didn't work.
By the way, you don't have to do You don't
have to explain every nuance of all of the trials
that you go through. Sometimes we are so busy describing
(38:41):
what we are going through that we miss the opportunity
to declare the praises of the one who brought us
through it. He gives one verse to forty days he
was tempted, and then the angels came. But the angels
did not come to protect him from the temptation. The
(39:06):
angels came after the temptation. And sometimes we are expecting
God to protect us from stuff when He wants to
use the stuff to prove his power in our lives.
And so he puts you in a lonely place. But
even in a lonely place, you are under and open heaven.
(39:29):
The greatest temptation of life is to find your validation
in a source other than Christ. It is life's greatest temptation.
Where will you find your validation? And so Satan says
to Jesus, if you're hungry, turn the stones into bread.
Jesus said, I don't need it. I don't live by
(39:49):
bread alone. I live on every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
By the way, it's.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
A bad idea to get in a scripture quotation. Contest
with the one who is the word of God. He
didn't just write it.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
He wasn't.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Now you're debating scripture with the one who is it
in plesh.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Okay, then prove it.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
This is life's great temptation to find your validation in
anything other than God.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Prove it.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Throw yourself off the temple, prove it, make more money,
prove it, show him how great you are. Prove it.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Jes said, I don't need to prove it. It is written.
It is written. I've already been.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Validated in the waters, so I don't have to prove
anything in the wilderness.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
I already ate.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
I do this anytime I'm going over to somebody's house
and I'm not sure if they can cook.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
It's just preemptive. It's wisdom.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
Jesus said, I'm not hungry for that. Bow down and
worship me. Why would I bow down to what is
already under my feet?
Speaker 1 (41:15):
And the angels came, and then the angels.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Came, and then the angels came, not before the temptation,
but after the demonstration. And so if God has put
you in a wilderness situation today, this could feel lonely,
this could be emotional, this could be in your body.
Every wilderness looks different. But the purpose for your wilderness
(41:41):
is that you demonstrate the power of God in your life.
And the power of God does not come until.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
After, after after.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
Maybe that's what faith is. Wow is believing before what
you will only understand.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
After.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
By the time Mark writes down these miracles, it's been thirty.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Years since stay happened.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
And Peter is talking to Mark, telling him what to write,
and he said, he said, I want you to use
half of half of this gospel account to talk about
the last week in Jesus's life. Peter was the one
who told Jesus, you can't go to the cross. It
will mess up our pr campaign. You can't die, that's
(42:51):
bad for ratings.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
But after.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
He had risen from the day and that then they
remembered his words, and the same disciple that spent all
three years of jesus ministry trying to keep him from
the cross took half of the gospel account that he
recollected to talk about the very thing that he wanted
to keep Jesus from Wow. It goes to show that
(43:23):
some of the dry places that we would avoid are
the very places that God will use the most. The
key is, can I believe it before I see it?
Can anything good come from Nazareth? Can anything good come
(43:48):
from my dysfunctional past? Can anything good come from this
season that I want out of so bad?
Speaker 1 (43:57):
And then the angels I came with an announcement. Your
angel is already on the way. Your angel is on
the way. And don't give into the temptation.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
To bow down and worship something that is less than God,
or to compromise your values in this season.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
You know who you are. You heard it in the
waters of baptism. This is my child. I am well
pleased with him.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
This is my daughter, I am well pleased with her.
That's my boy, that's my girl. I got a purpose
for you. Do not doubt in the wilderness what God
showed you in the water. Your Angel is on the way.
Your Angel is on the way. Don't turn the stone
into bread just yet. You brought to get some angel
(44:54):
food cake. Your angel is on the way. And the
God of all grace, after that you have suffered, after
you have suffered a little while, will himself, restore you,
make you strong.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
The strength comes after the suffering.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
And that's what Jesus knew. That's what he knew with
the animals. That was proven after the angels came. There
is something today that you need to believe that you
cannot see, something that you need to believe that you
cannot feel. And it only makes sense on this side
(45:44):
of the cross, and after you have suffered. What verse
was that that said after you've suffered?
Speaker 1 (45:54):
We just talked about it first what first? Who Saint Peter?
We finally got it after after. But let's just take
a moment. Let's do something that will really drive the
devil out of our desert.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Let's go ahead right now at every location and praise
God before for what we will only understand after. Come on,
(46:39):
let's worship in the wilderness a little bit. If you
don't feel it good, that gives you a chance to
prove that.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
It is faith, not feeling faith not silent.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this moment you have
brought us to, and we thank you for the voice
that came from heaven that spoke into our souls today
that before we were ever created, you had a plan
for our lives that before we ever did anything right
or wrong, you had already determined our purpose in the earth.
(47:23):
We thank you that everything that we're going through in
this season and the wilderness will prepare us.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
For the purpose that you know about in our lives.
Speaker 2 (47:32):
That you know about, you know the plans you have
for us, plans to prosper us, not to harm us,
to give us hope and a future. We thank you
for the after, but we want to thank you for
the after while we're still living in the before. We
don't want to wait for the angels to come.
Speaker 1 (47:53):
To give you glory.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
We know that one day every knee will bow and
every tongue will confess that you are Lord to the
glory of God the Father.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
But we don't want to wait for that day.
Speaker 2 (48:02):
So we make our decision to worship you right now
and to declare right now that Jesus.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
We give you glory right now. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (48:19):
Special thanks to those of you who give generously to
this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
You can click the link in the description to give
now or visit Elevationchurch dot org. Slash podcast for more
information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2 (48:37):
You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
share it on your social stories and tag us at
Elevation Church.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
Hey, this is Stephen Ferdick.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm the pastor of Elevation Church, and this is our podcast.
I wanted to thank you for joining us today. Hope
this inspires you. Hope it builds your faith. Hope it
gives your perspective to see God is moving in your life.
Enjoy the message. One thing I want to point out
to you that you may not be aware of. We
typically group our messages a different series, and I decided
(00:26):
to preach a series called Savage Jesus. Why I did
it is because I'm tired of us pretending like Jesus
is safe. And one reason I wanted to use the
term savage Jesus is because.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
I knew that religious people wouldn't like it.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
We typically like our heroes sath and we typically like
them better after they're dead. You notice this sometimes, don't you?
That the way that we present our heroes is that
we prefer a certain version of them that is safe,
that doesn't offend us. And one of the things that
(01:11):
I hope about doctor Graham's legacy is that he is
not just remembered for only the amazing invitations that he gave,
but for the barriers that he broke down.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
It's good that we take a little time.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
This week to share some of his quotes about heaven.
But what he did here on earth in bringing Heaven
to earth and driving back darkness, I mean doctor Graham,
doctor Demas.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Was a savage in his own way.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
What he did in Chattanooga, Tennessee in nineteen fifty three,
that was the most savage thing I ever read about,
where he tore down the barriers that they had set
up to keep black people separated from white people at
his crusade and looked at two white ushers and said,
you can either leave those down or have the crusade
without me.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
That's pretty savage.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
I kind of like that version of doctor Graham, not
just you know, my wife and I often talk about this,
how for us growing up, Ray Charles was the pepsi
guy because we came into his legacy at a time
when he was older, and that's what we knew him as,
and we disregarded You see this happen every year on
(02:27):
the day that we celebrate doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
You see the same three quotes. I've decided to stick
with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
The same three quotes I've been to the mountain, same
three quotes I've had. But doctor King did a whole
lot more than go to the mountain and have a dream.
He went to prison, he suffered not only the scorn
(02:52):
of those that he was trying to fight against, but
those he was fighting for. And so when you forget that,
when you sanitize some body down to the point that
you try to make them almost like we make them
a mascot. You ever see those little toys where you
pull the string and they have a few sayings that
they say, and there's like five.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Things that they say.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
I'm afraid we've done that with Jesus. I'm afraid that
we've got it down to the point now where we
have a few things that Jesus said, you know, love
people and turn the other cheek, and you know a
few little things images of Jesus. Shepherd Jesus with a
pull string and he says nice comforting things. This little
(03:33):
little Jesus that we put on the shelf, and he
says the things that we want to hear. You even
hear people sometimes they'll say, well, that doesn't sound very
much like Jesus. Did you ever read some of the
things that Jesus really said. Jesus was more than free
hugs and warm feelings.
Speaker 1 (03:53):
Jesus was Are you ready a savage? Gee?
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Jesus walked in church one day. The poor people were
being exploited by being sold sacrifices at a marked up price,
and they could.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Not afford them, and so they were excluded.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
From worship because the temple had become more about profit
and power than it had about the presence of God.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
Do you know what Jesus did. He prayed about it.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Oh oh oh, he posted on Pinterest about it. This
is not Pinterest, Jesus. This Jesus started kicking over tables.
He ripped out the ATM machines.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
He drove out the tax collectors with the whip. Put
that on Pinterest.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
Well to you, pharisees, blind guys, strain out a NAT's
swallow a camel. You're of your father, the devil. I
never saw that on a coffee. You are of your father.
I am the way, the truth in the life. We
like that Jesus. Jesus was a savage. He answered them
not a word, because he was the word. He got
(05:15):
so mad at death that he decided to overturn it.
He got so cramped in his grave that after the
price had been paid, after he had done what needed
to be done, watch how savage he kicked the end
off of a borrowed grave. Why borrowed. He wasn't gonna
(05:36):
be there long. He was a savage when he got up,
I got to show you one thing, and I shall
save this for Easter. But the Bible says that he
folded the linen they had wrapped him in. He was
so savage that he folded it, because when you fold
a linen at a meal, it means I will be
back when he comes back. He's not coming back like
(05:57):
a lamb. He is the lion of the trial Judah,
and I feel his presence in this place.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
So let's get started.
Speaker 2 (06:13):
In the series, Mark, chapter one, verse one.
Speaker 1 (06:16):
Through fifteen records these words the.
Speaker 2 (06:19):
Beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
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 desert. Prepare the
way for the Lord, Make straight paths for him. Interesting
that Mark does not start with the birth of Jesus Christ.
(06:42):
I wonder if he does that so that we will
not be so attached to our image of him as
a baby. Do you remember that movie with the race
car driver, And do you remember he said, I like
the baby Jesus the best a lot of us. Do
we worship a certain version of Jesus? That is said, well,
(07:04):
Mark isn't going to give us that portrait of Jesus.
And it's correctly called a portrait. Because scholars say that
Mark's gospel is not only the oldest gospel from which
the other gospel writers would take the base information and
add their own commentary. But one of the things about
Mark's gospel that we will notice, because I plan to
host our entire study from this gospel account, is that
(07:26):
he wrote in terms of action, and you don't get
in this gospel a lot of the commentary about what
Jesus actually taught. You get more of a picture. The
scholar that I studied said that Mark writes with a
paint brush. He would rather show you than tell you,
(07:46):
because the highest level of proclamation of the gospel is demonstration,
not explanation.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
Some people can explain.
Speaker 2 (07:54):
To you all about propitiation and atonement, but there's so
mean to their wife, that why I wanted Jesus. That
can't keep you from treating your family like crack. And
so Mark is going to show us portraits of Jesus.
We will be looking at least five or six in
this series. But he starts it off and he goes
(08:17):
to this scene in verse four, And so John came.
And so John came baptizing in the desert region and
preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
and 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. John was a savage.
(08:41):
He wore clothing made of camels hair, with a leather
belt around his waist, and he ate locust and wild
gluten loaded honey. And this was his message. After me
will come one more powerful than I. After me, will
come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose
(09:02):
sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and Untie,
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit. At that time, Jesus came from
Nazareth in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he
saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on
(09:25):
him like a dove, and a voice came from heaven.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
You are my son, whom I love. With you, I
am well pleased.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
At once the spirit sent him out into the desert,
and he was in the desert forty days being tempted
by Satan. He was with the wild animals and angels
attended him. 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 is near
(10:00):
pent and believe.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
The good news.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I want to use as a construct for this first message,
before and after, before and after, the way that I
study scriptures.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
I was telling him Buck the other day. I don't
know if he was listening, but I was trying to
explain to him between.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
Sets, how I look for little words and commonalities in
a text. And that's a great way for you to
study the scripture as well. To observe patterns in the scripture.
It help you know what to pay attention to. And
I was noticing in this passage of scripture. In verse four,
it says John came. In verse seven, it says after me,
(10:41):
one will come. In verse nine, it says that Jesus came.
And in verse eleven it says a voice came. In
Verse thirteen, it says that the angels came. So John came,
one will come, Jesus came, avoid angels came.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I guess you could see.
Speaker 2 (11:04):
We're getting a picture here of Jesus Christ on the
come up. And we start with this very powerful statement
of validation where the Father says, you are my son
whom I love with you, I am well please. But
before that validation happened, there is a preparation that is mentioned.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
I think preparation is.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
So important, and obviously so does God, because when he
sent his son into the world, before he performed any miracles.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
Before he.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Raised any dead people, before he opened any blinded eyes,
he went through the waters of baptism, and before he
went through the waters of baptism, this man called John,
who was an unlikely looking preacher who did not fit
the stereotype of how a clergyman should dress, was preparing
(11:59):
the way the Lord I broke in this introductory message
into four sections the first one is called preparation. Preparation
and prepare the way for the Lord. And so John
came to prepare the way for Jesus. And Jesus came
verse nine from Nazareth. And Mark said, this is the
(12:19):
beginning of the Gospel. But it was not the beginning
of the life of Christ. The life of Christ in
its early years took place primarily in Nazareth. When I
say Nazareth, it means nothing to you other than that
you associate it, perhaps with Jesus, and it meant next
to nothing to the people in Jesus' day. In fact,
(12:43):
Nazareth was the kind of place. Now, I grew up
in a place that is famous for its culture and
its impact. I grew up in Monk's Corner. But some
of you grew up in places like Nazareth. Nazareth was
a no name place for no name people. So when
the Bible says that Jesus came from Nazareth, it means
(13:04):
that the Son of God and the Savior of the
world came from.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
An unexpected place.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
John, the Baptists, who many scholars associate with the tribe
of the Essenes, was preparing the way in the wilderness,
and Jesus was coming up in Nazareth. Perhaps you've heard
that he was a carpenter. I think it must have
been a real trip to be making wood out of the.
Speaker 1 (13:25):
Trees that you spoke into existence.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Have you ever thought about what it would be like
to make a table out of a tree that you
put in the ground. You know, the Bible says in
Colossians that all things were created and are sustained by
the power of his word. Yet Jesus meant the first
thirty in obscurity in Nazareth. Hey, they had us saying,
(13:51):
where you're from Valdosta, Valdosta State.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
They had a saying about Nazareth.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
They would say, can anything good come from Nazareth? They
said that about Jesus because the authority that he spoke
with did not match the background that he came from,
and the works that he would do so outstrip the
expectations of the people. He taught with authority and not
(14:18):
as one of their teachers of the law. They had
us saying, can anything good come from Nazareth? That no
name place for no name people, that place that we.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Don't plan our vacations to.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
Jesus came from Nazareth, not from Jerusalem. It would have
made sense for him to come from Jerusalem, the center
of the temple call.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
It would have made sense for him to come from
perhaps a.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Place in the Roman Empire that was more empirically important.
Speaker 1 (14:49):
But Jesus came from Nazareth.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
He came from Nazareth, and the people wanted to know
can anything good come from Nazareth? But it was his
place of preparation. And when God has a great purpose
for your life, he will often involve a season of obscurity.
Speaker 1 (15:12):
Let's be honest about it.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
In the beginning was the Word, and the word was
with God, and the.
Speaker 1 (15:15):
Word was God.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
It's not like Jesus needed to learn what he already was.
But even Jesus went through a season of obscurity before
he fulfilled his purpose. And some of you are in
Nazareth right now, and you're wondering the same thing that
the people wondering about Jesus. Can anything good come from Nazareth?
(15:38):
Can anything good come from singleness? Can anything good come
from losing my job? Can anything good come from cancer?
Can anything good come from middle school? Can anything good
come from a broken heart? Can anything good come from depression?
Speaker 1 (15:55):
Can anything good come from divorce?
Speaker 2 (15:57):
But I love him because he takes the most unlikely
places and fulfills the greatest purpose.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
How need you do to shout right now?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
If you've ever been in Nasareth wondering God, what am
I doing here?
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Jesus came from Nasareth.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Great things come from small places, New beginnings come from
dead ends. Jesus came from Nazareth. It was his place
of preparation. Preparation is kind of the opposite of the
primary value of our day.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
We live in the age of instant validation.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
Instead of thinking an issue through, we post it immediately
to see if we can get someone to agree or
disagree with us, just because we want attention.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
See how quite gets when I preach real good.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Just see how they were shouting like forty seven seconds ago.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
Did you see how quickly all the shouts.
Speaker 2 (17:06):
Dissipated from the room, just because I told you the truth.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
There is nothing off limits.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
We will stage our kids instead of raising them, We're
staging them for the.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Approval of people.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
Stand here, shut up, smile, Stand here, shut up, smile
Because I yelled at you all day. But if I
can post something that made it look like we had
a good day. Maybe somebody will tell me I'm a
good mom.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
If it's too much, come give me chunks. I don't
want to tear the church apart on the first week
of the series. I was planning to do like six weeks,
but I don't know if we're gonna survive. The first
Jesus came from Nazareth and he was baptized John. That
(18:01):
confused me at first.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
And so if you're reading this and you're like, I
don't read the Bible much, but that's kind of weird.
Don't you get baptized because you need to be forgiven
of your sin?
Speaker 1 (18:11):
And isn't Jesus the one who didn't have any sin?
That's what John thought.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
John was surprised when Jesus came to be baptized, because
you know, he's lining them up and he's dunking them,
and John did not. John's baptism was not like ours,
you know how our baptism we let you read something
and share something. John was such a savage one time
he looked at the crowd and said, who told you
to come out here?
Speaker 1 (18:36):
You brew the viperse?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
What if when you got in the tank, let's go
to Gaston for a baptism. Can you imagine Kid Hester
telling that big boy that was in the tank today.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
I was so nervous Ken was gonna drop him.
Speaker 2 (18:53):
Imagine if he called him a snake before he talked
to him. And John's baptism was a baptism of repentance.
He was fighting against the oppression of the system that
had made principles more important than people, and so was
(19:15):
he was rebuking really the leaders. And he'd say, you snakes, repent,
you snakes, repent, you snakes, repent. He turns around and
there's the savior of the world. You Savior of the world.
I should baptize you. I was just telling them I'm
not fit.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
To tie your shoes. This isn't right.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
But Jesus says something, and Mark doesn't give it to us,
because probably I really believe this hold on I'm ocd in.
Speaker 1 (19:44):
This thing's crooked.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
Probably Mark was writing his recollections not based on his
own personal experience. We don't even historically know who who
Mark was with one hundred percent accuracy, but we have
reason to believe that these recollections were based on the
memory of Peter Peter, who tried so hard to keep
(20:09):
Jesus from the Cross Peter, who had an expectation of
an earthly kingdom that would overthrow Rome. And it really
matches the style of Peter that Mark's gospel would include
very little detail. Is just really one thing after another
after another. His favorite word that Mark uses, and you'll
(20:32):
see it over and over again when you come back
to church.
Speaker 1 (20:33):
Every week of this series.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Is immediately or suddenly, and it's just Jesus is on
the move.
Speaker 1 (20:41):
Now.
Speaker 2 (20:42):
The thing about it was that for half of Mark's gospel,
Jesus is on the move through Galilee where he did
his ministry. The other half he's headed to the Cross,
the place he came for all along. Peter did not
understand that before, but he did after. And there's a
breathlessness of this god gospel that comes across because Jesus
is headed to the cross, headed to his purpose, headed
(21:07):
to redemption, which makes possible reconciliation, and he has no
time to waste. So we will forgive Mark if he
leaves out a lot of the details. He just tells
us that Jesus came and was baptized, But Matthew tells
us because there are four gospel accounts that Jesus told
John the reason that he did it. He said, this
must be done to fulfill all righteousness.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
In other words, it was an act of obedience.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
And if there's any word that might be more unpopular
than preparation in our culture, it's obedience. Nobody tells me
what to do. I pray to Jesus during football games.
Nobody tells me what to do.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
Jesus power than his submission to the will of his father.
He said, I've got to do this in obedience.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
John said it doesn't make sense, and Jesus said, it
doesn't have to make sense. It is written, and therefore
it must be accomplished. And so John doesn't argue with
him about it. He just does it. And when he
does it, the Bible says that a dove came from
(22:28):
heaven descended on him. The dove is often used to
symbolize peace. Here, it is a symbolic indication of the
presence of the Holy Spirit and God validates the sonship
of Jesus Christ. This is different than the transfiguration Holly.
(22:48):
In the Transfiguration, which happens many chapters later, he will say,
this is my son whom I love. Listen to him here.
It's personal. He says, you are my son whom I love.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
With you, I am well pleased.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
It is a direct validation of Jesus' ministry, and it
came after Jesus' obedience. I'm afraid that a lot of
times we want validation before obedience. But validation does not
(23:28):
come before obedience.
Speaker 1 (23:31):
It comes say the word.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
This is a message of before and after. Now, notice
what hasn't happened yet. At the moment that God the
Father validates his son, Jesus has not opened the first
blinded eye. Jesus has not healed anybody of leprosy or
cleansed them of their condition. Jesus has not caused any
(23:55):
lame people to walk.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Not at this point.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Jesus has not even taught the crowds in a way
that would captivate them to the point that they would
stay and skip dinner just to hear what this man
has to say. Jesus has not packed out the house
to the point that some men will tear off a
roof to get their friend.
Speaker 1 (24:10):
In so he can be healed. He has done none
of that yet.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
And before he ever performs his first miracle, the heavenly
Father speaks a word a validation, and maybe you need
to hear that God's love for you is never based
on your performance before he ever did anything. It's kind
of like he got the trophy before he even showed
(24:36):
up for practice.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
It's kind of like God does not validate.
Speaker 2 (24:40):
How people validate, because people will validate you based on
what you do for them. People will validate you based
on the value that your actions carry that will contribute
directly to their well being. But God does not validate
based on performance. He validates based on relationship. He did
not v validate what Jesus would do. He validated who
(25:03):
he was. And just in case you haven't heard it
in a while, and you feel kind of dirty and
kind of ashamed of yourself and kind of like you
don't belong in the presence of God and like you're
not one of those good church people. I want you
to know you're still his child, You're still made in
his image, You're still blood with his blood. Every drop
(25:24):
he's spilled was on purpose, and one of those drops
had your name on it.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
And if the blood was enough for me, it was
enough for you.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
And you don't have to stand here ashamed and look
forward to one day when God will never love you anymore,
that he loves you right now.
Speaker 1 (25:43):
I set You're free right now, loved right now, cleansed,
right now, healed, right now. Somebody shout, I.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Am I am his child, I am accepted. Jesus did
not perform his ministry for acceptance.
Speaker 1 (26:05):
That's why he.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
Didn't care what anybody thought about it. When you know
somebody more important approves of you, it makes the opinions
of people a whole lot less significant, isn't that true?
(26:26):
I don't know. I don't care. This sounds bad, this
sounds unpastoral, But.
Speaker 1 (26:37):
I don't care as much what you think about this sermon.
I care. I will check Facebook, Instagram.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
But before that, before ever, I said, before I'll walk
off the stage, Holly will meet me and I look
at her and she'll be like you slated.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
When she says.
Speaker 2 (27:04):
That, that will matter a little bit more, a little
bit more because she lives with me. And if the
person who knows me the best here's what I have
to say and feels like it was aligned with the
character of my life, I.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
Don't need the Graham.
Speaker 2 (27:32):
No.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
I think this is important.
Speaker 2 (27:36):
I think it's so important that we receive the validation
of God each day, or we will need from people
what they are not capable of giving us. How are
they going to accept you unconditionally? They don't even like
themselves some of the time. And a voice came, and
(28:03):
a voice came. John came. That's preparation. A voice came,
that's validation. But notice when he came, when he when
the voice spoke, church, pay did you just little stuff
in the Bible?
Speaker 1 (28:13):
Don't just read seventy seven verses I'm getting coffee and
then post about it and post about it. Read it?
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Do read it. It came before he performed any miracles.
It was not contingent upon his performance, and it came
after his obedience.
Speaker 1 (28:32):
At that time, Jesus came from Nazareth.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
The galley was baptized by John and the Jordan check
it out first in his first in on the screen.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Is it on there?
Speaker 2 (28:44):
As he was coming up? That means, as he was
doing what he was supposed to do. As he was
coming up, he saw heaven torn open? Is that what
it says? My eyes are closed and depending on you
to validate the heavens torn open? And the voice spoke,
(29:06):
so he saw vision and he heard a voice, but
he didn't see it until he was on the way up.
So it meant that he went all the way out
to the Jordan, got in the water, went down, and
on the way up, God said, I'm proud of you.
(29:27):
And when he came up noticed this. The synergy of
the text is this, when he came up, the dove
came down. When he came up to fulfill that which
was spoken of, that which was prophesied about him in
obedience when he came up.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Now here's where a lot of us get it twisted.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
We want the dove to come down before we get
into the waters of obedience. We want God to give
us peace about a decision that.
Speaker 1 (29:56):
We know we need to make.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
But I found out that peace comes after obedience. So
when Jesus went down into the waters, which signified his death,
and came back up, which signified his resurrection, it was
on the way up. It was as he was doing
the will of his father. It was as he was
(30:20):
in the process of fulfilling the purpose that he was
put on the earth for that he saw the heavens
open and he heard the voice of God saying, this
is my son, and the dove came down, But the
dove didn't come down until Jesus came up.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
And you know what, You are not going to get
the peace of.
Speaker 2 (30:38):
God in your situation until you commit yourself to obey
what he's speaking to your heart. Peace comes after obedience.
And if you don't have the peace of God in
your situation, God's peace might be awaiting your obedience. But
(31:04):
we want to experience before what we can only experience after,
So we put stuff off.
Speaker 1 (31:15):
You note like, well, I'll do it when I feel
a peace about it. That's a Christian thing. Only Christians
talk like that.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
People who don't have this religious jargon to throw around
to cover up their lack of decisiveness have to either
do it or don't.
Speaker 1 (31:29):
But we wait for a peace. I was just reading
that text over and over.
Speaker 2 (31:34):
And as he was coming up, the dove didn't follow
him down to the water. Come on, Jesus, you got this.
Come on, this is the right thing to do. I
promise you, I promise you. The dove did not make
its appearance until Jesus was already wet.
Speaker 1 (31:51):
Until you die to yourself and go down in the water.
And as he was coming up, came down.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
So I had to do something the other day, and
I didn't want to do it in my flesh, in
my spirit, I am reborn, and I told somebody I
was gonna do it, and they said, oh, do you
have a peace about it?
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I guess you have a peace about it.
Speaker 2 (32:23):
I said no, That's why I'm doing it because I
want peace and I don't have peace. And I have
spent the last several months waiting for peace that only
obedience can produce. Now, the love of God did not
(32:46):
come because Jesus obeyed, but the peace of God, the dove,
the validation came as he obeyed. I said, I'm gonna
do what I need to do.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
And the peace will follow.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
I'm gonna do what doesn't make sense and the peace
will follow.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
I'm gonna join an e group at Elevation Church.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
I thought my leaders would shout and the peace will follow.
But the peace came after the obedience. Peace comes after obedience.
Peace comes after obedience. It's my whole message, and so
I'm repeating it in case you think this.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
Is a sub point, it is not.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
Everything up until now was just to tell you this
Lake Norman, peace comes after obedience. Jesus went down Jesus
came up. As he's coming up, the doth comes down.
The voice from heaven speaks, and the validation of Jesus
Christ came.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
After his obedience.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
Stop waiting to feel like it, Stop waiting for people
to understand it. Stop waiting until everything gets just right.
This is the day that the Lord has made. I
will rejoice today. If you hear his voice, do not
hearden your heart, and then the peace of God, which
(34:15):
passes all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind.
In Christ Jesus and peace. Here comes to dove, Here
comes to dove, Here comes to dove. But this dove,
this dove has a mind of his own. This dove,
this holy spirit. That's what it symbolizes in the Bible.
(34:37):
And the dove comes down, and the dove is so beautiful.
Come on, Eljay, play some dove music, some dove descending music.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
I think that's Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star. And then abrupt change.
You gotta get used to Mark, because he's our tour
guide for this entire series. At once, verse.
Speaker 2 (35:17):
Twelve, he doesn't even give us time to hang out
with the dove, get a selfie with the dove at once.
At once, immediately suddenly the spirit the dove sent him
into the desert. Why is he going to the desert
verse thirteen?
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Fill it in.
Speaker 2 (35:39):
And he was in the desert forty days being tempted
by Satan.
Speaker 1 (35:45):
Why would the dove lead you.
Speaker 2 (35:47):
Into a place where the devil was waiting. I don't
like that dove. I want the other dog. Give me
another dove real quick. And suddenly, right after the validation
(36:15):
came the temptation. Because anytime God speaks a promise over
your life, you will immediately have the opportunity to prove
the promise.
Speaker 1 (36:31):
In the desert.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
The same death that presided over his baptism now leads
him into the desert, which seems on the surface to
be a contradiction of the Lord's prayer. You know our Father,
who are in heaven, Hello, will be your name, your
kingdom Come. Jesus taught us this prayer, you will be.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Done on earth.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
I know people think that football locker room made this
prayer up.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
But Jesus taught this prayer on earth as it is
in Heaven. Give us us there daily bread, forgive.
Speaker 2 (36:57):
Us our deathtints, we forgive our debtors, and lead us
now into temptation. So why did the spirit of God
lead Jesus into the very temptation that he told us
to pray against. See, Jesus was a savage and he
(37:21):
knew what to do in the desert, and he knew
that the desert is the place where you.
Speaker 1 (37:27):
Prove the promise of God.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
I wanted to include this point because some of you
are not in the place of validation as I speak today.
You are in the place of temptation. So remember, Mark
doesn't really break it down. He just tells us real quick,
(37:51):
because Peter's just given him the highlights, and he's writing
in a style that keeps the action moving, because this
thing is headed to the conflict of the cross, and
he has no time to waste. So he just tells
us simply, he was in the desert forty days. He
doesn't even mention that Jesus didn't eat in those forty days,
(38:11):
doesn't even mention it being tempted by Satan. He was
with the wild animals and angels that did.
Speaker 1 (38:16):
And that's all he says about it.
Speaker 2 (38:18):
If I went forty days with the animals, I would
want to describe every detail of it. But Mark says
he was there and he was tempted, but it didn't work.
By the way, you don't have to do You don't
have to explain every nuance of all of the trials
that you go through. Sometimes we are so busy describing
(38:41):
what we are going through that we miss the opportunity
to declare the praises of the one who brought us
through it. He gives one verse to forty days he
was tempted, and then the angels came. But the angels
did not come to protect him from the temptation. The
(39:06):
angels came after the temptation. And sometimes we are expecting
God to protect us from stuff when He wants to
use the stuff to prove his power in our lives.
And so he puts you in a lonely place. But
even in a lonely place, you are under and open heaven.
(39:29):
The greatest temptation of life is to find your validation
in a source other than Christ. It is life's greatest temptation.
Where will you find your validation? And so Satan says
to Jesus, if you're hungry, turn the stones into bread.
Jesus said, I don't need it. I don't live by
(39:49):
bread alone. I live on every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.
Speaker 1 (39:53):
By the way, it's.
Speaker 2 (39:54):
A bad idea to get in a scripture quotation. Contest
with the one who is the word of God. He
didn't just write it.
Speaker 1 (40:01):
He wasn't.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Now you're debating scripture with the one who is it
in plesh.
Speaker 1 (40:08):
Okay, then prove it.
Speaker 2 (40:10):
This is life's great temptation to find your validation in
anything other than God.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Prove it.
Speaker 2 (40:16):
Throw yourself off the temple, prove it, make more money,
prove it, show him how great you are. Prove it.
Speaker 1 (40:22):
Jes said, I don't need to prove it. It is written.
It is written. I've already been.
Speaker 2 (40:33):
Validated in the waters, so I don't have to prove
anything in the wilderness.
Speaker 1 (40:44):
I already ate.
Speaker 2 (40:49):
I do this anytime I'm going over to somebody's house
and I'm not sure if they can cook.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
It's just preemptive. It's wisdom.
Speaker 2 (41:03):
Jesus said, I'm not hungry for that. Bow down and
worship me. Why would I bow down to what is
already under my feet?
Speaker 1 (41:15):
And the angels came, and then the angels.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Came, and then the angels came, not before the temptation,
but after the demonstration. And so if God has put
you in a wilderness situation today, this could feel lonely,
this could be emotional, this could be in your body.
Every wilderness looks different. But the purpose for your wilderness
(41:41):
is that you demonstrate the power of God in your life.
And the power of God does not come until.
Speaker 1 (41:49):
After, after after.
Speaker 2 (41:57):
Maybe that's what faith is. Wow is believing before what
you will only understand.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
After.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
By the time Mark writes down these miracles, it's been thirty.
Speaker 1 (42:21):
Years since stay happened.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
And Peter is talking to Mark, telling him what to write,
and he said, he said, I want you to use
half of half of this gospel account to talk about
the last week in Jesus's life. Peter was the one
who told Jesus, you can't go to the cross. It
will mess up our pr campaign. You can't die, that's
(42:51):
bad for ratings.
Speaker 1 (42:56):
But after.
Speaker 2 (42:58):
He had risen from the day and that then they
remembered his words, and the same disciple that spent all
three years of jesus ministry trying to keep him from
the cross took half of the gospel account that he
recollected to talk about the very thing that he wanted
to keep Jesus from Wow. It goes to show that
(43:23):
some of the dry places that we would avoid are
the very places that God will use the most. The
key is, can I believe it before I see it?
Can anything good come from Nazareth? Can anything good come
(43:48):
from my dysfunctional past? Can anything good come from this
season that I want out of so bad?
Speaker 1 (43:57):
And then the angels I came with an announcement. Your
angel is already on the way. Your angel is on
the way. And don't give into the temptation.
Speaker 2 (44:19):
To bow down and worship something that is less than God,
or to compromise your values in this season.
Speaker 1 (44:25):
You know who you are. You heard it in the
waters of baptism. This is my child. I am well
pleased with him.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
This is my daughter, I am well pleased with her.
That's my boy, that's my girl. I got a purpose
for you. Do not doubt in the wilderness what God
showed you in the water. Your Angel is on the way.
Your Angel is on the way. Don't turn the stone
into bread just yet. You brought to get some angel
(44:54):
food cake. Your angel is on the way. And the
God of all grace, after that you have suffered, after
you have suffered a little while, will himself, restore you,
make you strong.
Speaker 1 (45:15):
The strength comes after the suffering.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
And that's what Jesus knew. That's what he knew with
the animals. That was proven after the angels came. There
is something today that you need to believe that you
cannot see, something that you need to believe that you
cannot feel. And it only makes sense on this side
(45:44):
of the cross, and after you have suffered. What verse
was that that said after you've suffered?
Speaker 1 (45:54):
We just talked about it first what first? Who Saint Peter?
We finally got it after after. But let's just take
a moment. Let's do something that will really drive the
devil out of our desert.
Speaker 2 (46:15):
Let's go ahead right now at every location and praise
God before for what we will only understand after. Come on,
(46:39):
let's worship in the wilderness a little bit. If you
don't feel it good, that gives you a chance to
prove that.
Speaker 1 (46:45):
It is faith, not feeling faith not silent.
Speaker 2 (46:59):
Heavenly Father, we thank you for this moment you have
brought us to, and we thank you for the voice
that came from heaven that spoke into our souls today
that before we were ever created, you had a plan
for our lives that before we ever did anything right
or wrong, you had already determined our purpose in the earth.
(47:23):
We thank you that everything that we're going through in
this season and the wilderness will prepare us.
Speaker 1 (47:29):
For the purpose that you know about in our lives.
Speaker 2 (47:32):
That you know about, you know the plans you have
for us, plans to prosper us, not to harm us,
to give us hope and a future. We thank you
for the after, but we want to thank you for
the after while we're still living in the before. We
don't want to wait for the angels to come.
Speaker 1 (47:53):
To give you glory.
Speaker 2 (47:55):
We know that one day every knee will bow and
every tongue will confess that you are Lord to the
glory of God the Father.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
But we don't want to wait for that day.
Speaker 2 (48:02):
So we make our decision to worship you right now
and to declare right now that Jesus.
Speaker 1 (48:08):
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
We give you glory right now. Thank you for joining us.
Speaker 2 (48:19):
Special thanks to those of you who give generously to
this ministry. Is because of you that this ministry is possible.
You can click the link in the description to give
now or visit Elevationchurch dot org. Slash podcast for more
information and if you enjoyed the podcast, you can subscribe.
Speaker 1 (48:36):
You can share it with your friends.
Speaker 2 (48:37):
You can click the share button, take a screenshot and
share it on your social stories and tag us at
Elevation Church.
Speaker 1 (48:43):
Thanks again for listening. God bless you.
Host
Steven Furtick
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.