Mark 6
June 9, 2013 AM – 19th
Anniversary Sunday
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (Mark 6)
A.
Jesus, the Son of God,
Does Some Amazing Things
1.
Taught amazing truths (Mark
6:1-4) – that is where Jesus mainly focused His efforts – on telling us the
truth about God, about ourselves
2.
Personally Fed 5,000 people (Mark
6:32-44)
3.
Walked on stormy waters (Mark
6:45-50)
4.
Calmed the raging sea (Mark 6:51)
5.
He AMAZED everyone close to Him
(Mark 6:51)
B.
Yet as amazed as they were,
they were not impressed – it didn’t change their lives (Mark 6:52)
1.
Because of their hard hearts
2.
And so they end up missing the
miracles
C.
We too Miss a lot of good
things in life – we don’t allow that amazement to change us
1.
We take a lot of things for
granted
2.
We forget that there is much more
to life than all the things we can possess
D.
He Daily Loads Us Up With
Priceless Benefits (Psalm 68:19,20) – I believe it!
1.
Don’t look for what everyone else
is wanting. The buzz of the day – constantly changing, constantly crippling
people
2.
God gives us more than just
THINGS! Spiritual benefits (Eph 1:3)
3.
Eternal benefits – that cannot
ever be lost, or spent up!
E.
God ONLY Does Wondrous Things
(Psalm 72:18; 136:4)
1.
Wondrous – make you wonder,
surprising, amazing, marvellous
2.
God cannot do anything less that
amazing things
F.
Take time this morning to notice
the miracles of God in your life! If any of them are there! If not, today could
be the chance for you to start experiencing REAL, bona fide miracles!
II.
Message - The Miracles in
a Christian’s Life
A.
Life Itself (Psalm
139:13-16) Amazing
1.
Don’t miss the wonder of life –
of living things
2.
This universe would not have any
life if it weren’t for a life-giving God
3.
Life does NOT spontaneously spawn
from rocks!
4.
It is only a miracle! Never mind
what the pro-abortion crowd is saying!
B.
God’s Attention (Psalm
139:17,18; 40:5) Amazing
1.
He thinks about US! What an
amazing thought – that the almighty Creator would actually want to think about
ME!
2.
His eye is on the sparrow, AND
His eye is on you and me.
3.
He watches over us, and considers
our needs His priority
4.
Don’t forget that He cannot
forget us (Isaiah 49:15,16)
a.
Isa 49:15
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
b.
Isa 49:16
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are
continually before me.
C.
God’s Son, Jesus, IN us
- Amazing
1.
He is wonderful, amazing,
marvellous (Isaiah 9:6)
2.
And He is IN every believer,
working on us, changing us, helping us
3.
Gal 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith
of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
4.
Eph 3:17-19
That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and
grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth,
and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth
knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
5.
Came in by invitation.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at
the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in
to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
D.
God’s Chastening of His
Children (Psalm 119:67,71) – Scary but Amazing!
1.
That is a wonderful miracle –
that God KEEPS working on us!
2.
Humbling us
3.
Correcting us
4.
Getting us back on course
5.
It’s not God being angry with us!
He is trying to get us away from the devil’s grip
6.
Next time you get in trouble for
sin in your life, PRAISE GOD that He cares enough to keep perfecting you! Psalm
138:8 “The LORD will perfect
that which concerneth me”
E.
God’s Words (Psalm
119:129, 161) – Absolutely Amazing
1.
Don’t forget the amazing MIRACLE
of this Book
2.
It is not just a religious book
like
a.
The writings of Confucius
b.
The Hindu writings of the Vedas,
the Gita and the Puranas
c.
The
d.
Or the Koran
3.
No. THIS Book is different
a.
Written by 40 different men
b.
Across three different continents
c.
Spanning 2,000 years
d.
In three different languages:
Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
e.
300 clear, unambiguous prophecies
about a coming Messiah
f.
Almost 100 of which have already
come true
g.
Scientifically accurate
h.
Historically accurate
i.
Indestructible
1)
Mat 5:18
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
2)
Jesus said in Mat 24:35
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
4.
And, It’s EVEN in our own
language!
a.
Forbidden for so long –
punishable by death for even owning a Bible
b.
People imprisoned for just
reading it out loud in public – still happening
c.
That’s why in the Reformation,
they opened up the churches and the Bible was placed on the pulpit, and people
queued up to read it out load as others, who could not read, would gather to
listen to the wonderful words of life
5.
You can hold the entire
collection of 66 Books IN YOUR HAND!
a.
66 scrolls
b.
Normally would weigh about 150
pounds in weight
c.
And you can have it in your lap,
on your phone
d.
And most importantly, IN YOUR
HEARTS (Dt 6:4-9) and in your homes!
6.
This Book is a miracle – treasure
it! Read it! Love it! Obey it! It will do you good every time!
F.
A Bible Preaching Church
(Matthew 16:18) – Amazing!
1.
Don’t miss the miracle of a
church like this – it is becoming rarer and rarer
2.
Without Bible believing people
like this, who are committed, sacrificially, to the preaching and teaching of
the words of this Book, this society, this nation would turn into hell! Psalm
9:17 “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget
God.”
3.
Nobody naturally WANTS a church
like this
a.
People want Oprah Winfry, the Pub
culture, entertainment, fun
b.
People would RATHER go to the
beach, go shopping, stay in bed
c.
OBVIOUSLY, for people to make a
church like this a priority in their lives will have to be a miracle
d.
Sunday morning, evening,
Wednesday, soul-winning, teens on Saturday
4.
But ONLY a fundamental, Bible
believing
a.
So that marriages don’t fall
apart so easily
b.
So that people’s lives don’t go
off into ruin by sin
c.
So that those whose lives HAVE
been ruined by sin, can be restored
5.
This church is a MIRACLE!
6.
19 years ago, some old wooden
doors were opened on the first Sunday of June in 1994, and people were invited
to hear the words of this old Book preached and taught to them
a.
We had TWO people show up with me
and my family that morning!
b.
And it has been a miracle ever
since
7.
It hasn’t been perfect – but it
sure has made a difference!
8.
Bible believing churches make the
difference
9.
If it weren’t for a church called
a.
I would not have heard the Gospel
in March of 1980 as a 17 year old teenager
b.
I wouldn’t have learned how to
trust the Lord Jesus Christ for my own salvation from a devil’s hell
c.
I wouldn’t have been motivated to
read the Bible through twice the first year I was saved
d.
I wouldn’t have learned just how
lost and without hope this whole world is and in need of the Gospel
10.
I thank God, that Jesus didn’t
leave evangelism up to the Jews, or to the schools
11.
Jesus started His Church – a
group of born again believers, who faithfully (FAITHFULLY) and sacrificially
strive to do the will of God together!
12.
And a Church like this is a
miracle
13.
I hope you don’t just “attend”
here but are committed members!
14.
Because THIS is a miracle place
15.
The devil hates this place
a.
Hates the people
b.
Hates what we preach
c.
Hates what we do for Jesus Christ
d.
But that is okay.
16.
I love it anyway! I come every
meeting, enjoying the miracles sitting in every chair
G.
The New Birth (John 3:1-7)
1.
I have saved the best for last!
2.
It is a miracle that God can
change someone – make them righteous before God! (Job 25:4-6) “How then can
man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of a woman?
Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure
in his sight. How much less man,
that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?”
3.
None of us were born right – we
were born sinners – born definitely wrong
4.
It takes a miracle of God to
reach into the heart and life of a humbled sinner, and convert them – transform
them – save them!
5.
Jesus said it was a miracle! Born
of the Holy Spirit!
6.
A whole new life! Completely
started over! Forgiven, and forgotten because of Jesus!
7.
Don’t ever let yourself get over
the day you were saved by God’s kindness and grace
8.
Sing like it was a miracle!
9.
Live like it is priceless!
III.
Conclusion
A.
Jesus, the Son of God, Does Some
Amazing Things
B.
Yet so many people are not
impressed – it doesn’t change their lives
1.
So, they end up missing the
miracles
2.
Because of their hard hearts
C.
We Miss a lot of things in life.
We take a lot of things for granted
D.
We forget that there is much more
to life than all the things we can possess
E.
Let me remind you, God ONLY
Does Wondrous Things. He cannot do anything less that amazing things
F.
He Daily Loads Us Up With
Priceless Benefits – Miracles that need remembering
1.
Life Itself
2.
God’s Attention on us – His
care!
3.
God’s Son, Jesus, IN us
4.
God’s Chastening of His
Children
5.
God’s Words
6.
A Bible Preaching Church
7.
The New Birth
G.
Do you have any of those
blessings, miracles?
1.
You have to start with the last
one – the new birth first!
2.
And then start noticing that God
loads ALL of them on His children, DAILY!
H.
If you would like to get
the New Birth…
1.
Admit that you need it!
2.
Ask for it!
3.
Accept it as the GIFT of
God! Don’t even try to work for it! It is a gift from God to any sinner who
will ask!
4.
Finally, Live in it!
It is a whole new life! That lasts forever! It is not a prayer you pray,
or a religious experience that you have and then move on.
a.
It is the resurrection from the
dead
b.
It is the dumping of an old life,
and the living of a completely new life, following our Saviour all the way to
heaven!