We are in the Book of Mark.
Mark chapter 11 is where we got to.
Good to see everybody out this evening.
Good to have everybody home from travels and good to have the students back as well.
Let's get into our study right after a word of prayer.
Gracious Father in heaven, we come before your throne, grateful for the day that you've blessed us with, for the life that you have granted to us, for the opportunities that we
have to serve you and we pray that we will do so in a way that is acceptable in your sight and right in your eyes.
Lord, as we stand before you,
uh humbly asking for your grace, your mercy, your kindness, but also thankful for your Son who came and died on the cross for our sins that through Him we have grace and truth
delivered to us.
Lord, we pray that you will be with us as we go throughout this period of study.
May we open our hearts and our minds to the things which Jesus taught his disciples and taught
those in the first century, the actions which he performed which glorified both your name and showed us how we are to live and have our existence in this world.
We pray that we will apply these things to our lives and all this we ask in Jesus name.
Amen.
March after 11, Jesus sends the disciples to go into uh the area and get this colt.
He says it's going to be tied by the door outside on the street, and He instructs them what to do if someone asked them why they're doing what they're doing.
Why would someone ask them why they're doing what they're doing?
because it looks like they're stealing it.
And yet, Jesus says, if this occurs, here's what you should do.
Interesting lesson there for us, and that is that when God says, if this occurs, you should do this, it's probably a good indication that that's going to occur.
And when it does, we should do exactly what he said.
If we applied that more, especially in congregations in the church,
If we were to take the scenarios that the New Testament lays out as far as if this were to occur, do this, we would find things work a whole lot better in congregations because we
would just be implementing what God already knew we would need in order to do what we needed to do.
But too often we find ourselves trying to be creative problem solvers with issues that God's already told us what to do.
How should we handle an issue where there's an individual in a congregation that is persisting in sin and is unrepentant of it and is glorifying in it and is still assuming
and acting as though they're part of the body of Christ?
What does Paul say to do?
Withdraw from them.
What should we do if someone is lazy and will not work and will not provide for their own?
Same thing, Paul tells us 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, if there's some among you that is reported that you're basically sitting around expecting others to take care of you,
waiting for Christ to come back.
Maybe it's 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, it's the last chapter in one of the books of Thessalonians, you can go look it up.
Paul says, withdraw from that person until they repent and start doing what they ought to do.
which is walking in a upright way, providing for themselves.
When we find ourselves in a scenario where God has already outlined in scripture what we should do, we shouldn't have to spend a whole lot of time questioning what we should do.
When someone in a congregation sins against someone else in the congregation, how should it be handled?
Christ said to do it.
What did he say to do in Matthew chapter 18?
Alright, the person who was sinned against should go to the person who sinned against them privately.
And if the person will not hear them, what should they do?
they should bring two or three witnesses, which by the way necessitates that there were witnesses.
What if there weren't any witnesses?
See, what we often do is say, well, if that doesn't apply, just jump over that step and take it to everybody.
No, you don't.
Because the witnesses are important for validating the truthfulness of the claim.
And too often what we do is we try to apply what scripture says is we
kind of just twist it to our own personal preference or to our own personal benefit.
If someone sins against you and there are no witnesses, now, let's couch this in a couple of things, a couple of qualifications.
If someone sins against you and does you physical bodily harm, who should you take it to?
The church or the law?
The law, why?
Because that's a different category than we have under discussion here.
We're talking about someone who has sinned against, let's say for instance that someone defrauded somebody else and they're both members of the church.
Should that be taken to the law?
The answer to the answer is no.
1 Corinthians, Paul deals with the church and he says, some of you are doing this to others of you and you are taking each other to law.
Do you not have good people within the body of Christ where you can judge a matter amongst yourselves?
Now, what if it's a public company out in the world that's defrauding another public company out in the world, there just happen to be two brothers in the body of Christ that
are both connected to those companies?
That may be a different scenario, but we're talking about personal interactions.
Paul in Corinthian says, if this is happening among brethren, deal with it among the brethren and stop taking each other to court.
Because all you're doing is demonstrating that you're not Christ-like.
but you're doing it publicly in front of the world.
Just take it to someone who can judge the matter, who's a Christian, and then do what's right.
Now what happens if that brother then, having seen the evidence, having seen that they are in the wrong, will not repent?
Okay, well now we're back in a scenario where Christ says, here's what you're supposed to do.
because now you have witnesses.
Now it's clear based upon all of the evidence that this person is living in an immoral way and practicing sin.
and it ought to be dealt with within the body of Christ.
We struggle partly because we don't take time to go through scripture and go, here's a scenario, how should we handle it?
Before the scenario actually arises, we ought to be, and it's a good practice, to go through scripture and go, you know what, what if we were to outline
different scenarios and just say, I'm gonna make a plan on what I'm gonna do if I am ever in this situation because this is what God says to do.
We would start acting with far more wisdom than we typically do when we're in this scenario and we're emotional about it and we're not making the right choice because we're
upset, we're angry, we're distraught.
All of this leads back to Proverbs chapter one, where Solomon tells his son as he writes the book of Proverbs, I'm going to give you wisdom, I'm going to give you insight, I'm
going to give you understanding so that you might know how to understand the things that wise people say and that you might know how to live.
And when we first practice the concept of fear the Lord, fear the Lord means I am going to do what He says to do.
In all of the scenarios, in all of the situations that we find ourselves in, in all of the different situations that we're going to encounter in life, our first question should be,
what would the scriptures tell me to do in this situation?
not because we're gonna go, you know what, I'm gonna go find something that proves that I'm right and everybody else is wrong.
No, that's the wrong way to handle scriptures.
but because Jesus says, listen, here's what you're supposed to do.
You're supposed to use the scriptures and look at yourself and if you find that there's a log sticking out of your eye, you better get the log out of your eye before you start
worrying about the speck that's in somebody else's.
And too often, too many scenarios in life, whether that be marriage scenarios, business scenarios, congregational scenarios, interpersonal scenarios.
The last question we ask is, what would the Bible tell me to do?
and actually open up the scriptures and go, did God already deal with this?
Did he already tell me in this case, do this?
Sometimes we're taught that by example because we read about someone doing it.
If we were to use the example of Paul as exhibited in the book of Galatians, and if we're present in an assembly of Christians and we notice one Christian
causing by their influence division among Christians by the way they're acting, what should we do?
What did Paul do to Peter?
withstood him to the face.
Now, he didn't do it meanly.
He did it to correct the influence that Peter was having on those who should have known better.
Even Barnabas was being swayed by what Peter was doing.
But there are also other times where we find, for instance, Aquila and Priscilla, who they hear this Jew teaching about the church, or sorry, teaching about Jesus, the Messiah, and
the fact that the Messiah has come.
and they don't stand him to the face because he's ignorant about certain details, what do they do?
They take him aside privately and they teach him so that he knows better how to do what's right and then they help him have a greater influence.
They don't say you're never going to account too much.
You don't even know what you're talking about.
We're not amazing Christians, but I mean, after all, we know more than you do.
No, that wasn't their approach.
They taught him, they helped him, and then they increased his impact in his knowledge and the truth.
So much so that when Paul writes the book of 1 Corinthians, Paul writes to the Corinthian church and among the list of influential people, it's Paul, Peter,
And Apollos.
Apollos wasn't an apostle, but Apollos had had so much influence in Corinth because of the work that he had done.
The teaching and the preaching that he had done, once he had finally been connected to the church and learned about the church, he had had such an influence that Paul was listing
him in the same category of influence as himself and Peter.
in the body of Christ.
So as we go through life, as we are challenged to deal with all of the scenarios that we face, we need to just think back occasionally to what Jesus says here with the apostles
that says, you're gonna go here, you're gonna encounter this, when you do, you're gonna do this.
And when we start behaving that way, when we start living that way, when we start operating first with the mindset of, what would the scriptures tell me to do before I act
on the scenario?
We're gonna find our life gets a little easier, far less stressful, far less difficult to wonder, did we do the right thing?
because when we can backstop why we made the choice with, because God showed me how to handle the situation.
we will have far less time spent wondering did we do what was right?
Did I handle it the right way?
Now, do temperament, demeanor, the way we say things all come into play on certain matters?
Sure.
But at the end of the day, the question is did we do what God told us to do?
Now, Jesus is gonna tell them
You go into the village opposite you.
As soon as you have entered into it, you will find a cold tide on which no one is sat.
Loose it and bring it.
And if anyone says to you, why are you doing this?
Say the Lord has need of it and immediately he will send it here.
I don't know that we spend maybe as much time thinking as we should about
That last part.
We like think about the cult, we like to think about what comes after it, we like to think about all the other things surrounding it, but what do you get out of the fact that they
were to say the Lord has need of it and immediately He will send it here?
Alright, first thing is they knew who the Lord was.
So whoever they interacted with was fully aware when they said the Lord has need of it of who it was for.
What else?
All right, you have here a picture of someone who their immediate reaction to knowing that this animal was needed by Jesus.
for his purposes meant there was no discussion about what they were gonna do.
There was no deliberation.
There was no him-hauling about, you know, we were really planning on having that cult here to do this other thing that we, I mean, he was tied there for a reason, right?
So they had a reason for having him.
They had a reason for him being there.
and the moment that Christ said, I have need of it.
they had the immediate reaction of, it's yours to do with as you choose.
Any textual evidence or historical evidence to indicate that Jesus owned the cult?
No.
But the individual who did own the colt, as was pointed out, recognized the authority of Christ.
And as far as they were concerned, if Christ needed their cult, he could have the cult.
which you should also probably then understand their position was if Christ needed anything, he could have it.
One of the things going back to the prior discussion of when we see in the text...
the disposition from God that when we enter a scenario and we find ourselves in a scenario, we ought to just say, what would the Bible tell me to do in this scenario?
We find here the scenario of an individual who has a colt.
And we find a scenario where the Lord has need of the coal.
What does the person do?
gives the Lord the cult for His purpose.
Turn over to 2 Corinthians chapter 8.
Paul writes, Moreover, brethren, we may get known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, that in great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and
their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.
For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we should receive the gift and
the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
and not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God.
So we urge Titus that as he had begun so he would also complete this grace in you as well.
But as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also."
Paul as he's riding the Corinth.
to inform them that he's sending Titus to them to make sure that they have the offering that they had committed to, to send to the churches in Judea the thing of which he wrote
about in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verses 1 and 2 when he says that on the first day of the week as you're gathered together each one should bring as they have prospered that there
be no collection when I come.
He says, you've made a commitment to this, you've made a commitment to the churches in Judea, you be bringing that every single week so that when I arrive it is ready.
When I get there, there won't be time for you to go back and negotiate with the banker and sell some property.
We don't have time for that.
You make sure it's there when I get there.
And he's going to send Titus along in advance to make sure it's there when he gets there.
But as he does that,
He's going to tell the Corinthians about the Macedonians.
who the Macedonians, when they heard about the need in the Judean churches.
They didn't just give to it.
They didn't just make a commitment to give to it sometime in the future.
Paul says they gave of themselves first.
Now, as Paul describes the church in Macedonia, this is much like we mentioned a few weeks ago in the book of Revelation where John describes one of the churches as in poverty.
This is the idea here.
They were poor.
As Jim McGuigan put it, they were poor with like 18 O's in the middle.
They were poor.
And yet the Macedonians in their deep poverty.
said, we can help the churches in Judea.
If they've got a need, we can help.
And they didn't immediately go grab out of the treasury.
They were in deep poverty.
What do you imagine the treasury probably had in it?
Nothing.
They were in deep poverty.
So what did they do first?
They gave of themselves.
How did they?
How does somebody give of themselves if they're in deep poverty?
They can't be giving of their excess, they don't have any.
So how do they give of themselves?
They work.
What did they have?
They had the ability to labor.
So they said, the churches in Judea need help.
We've got to help.
So they went out and labored to have something to give.
What is it that Paul describes us as being blessed to do as we labor?
He says that we ought to labor so that we have to give to those who are in need.
So, Church of Macedonia, here's the Lord needs your help in the form of money.
So what does the Church of Macedonia do?
We don't have any.
Sorry, tough luck.
Come back another time, maybe when the economy is better.
No, that's not what they did.
They said, we don't have any, but we can go get some.
So they begin to labor.
But notice what else Paul says.
He says, for I bear the witness back in verse three that according to their ability, yes and beyond their ability.
They were freely willing.
Key terms here.
Number one, beyond their ability.
Have you ever thought about the fact?
that when Paul says, here was their ability, all right, let's put it in a box, this is what they had the ability to give.
Except what they gave wasn't that little square.
What they gave was this big square around it.
I'm sorry, how do you give beyond your ability?
I mean in modern times we just go, just go borrow money.
I don't think the fiat system was quite then what it is today.
So it probably wasn't they went and borrowed a bunch of money.
How do we understand that they gave beyond their ability was this and they gave that?
Okay, they may have sacrificed of their own needs and provisions to give beyond that.
That's a possibility.
I think there's something more key to it than this though.
As they responded with the willingness not just to give of excess, but to give beyond their ability, God gave them more than they would normally have had.
See, this is the struggle that we have.
We often operate in a fixed, finite box of, all right, my pay is this, my bills are this, before I subtract my bills, my giving is this, if we're doing it the right way, all right,
my savings is this, my bills are this, I'm living within my means, therefore I can do X.
That is your ability.
And yet when we understand what the Macedonians did, they said, we don't have anything.
but we can go work for it.
And what God did, I firmly believe, as you see in the text, is God said, great, I'm going to work out how that's going to work.
Because of their willingness to labor, God was willing to give them a exceedingly bountiful amount that was brought in from their labor.
because they were willing to sacrifice, God was willing to supplement.
Have we ever been reminded that God's limitations are not finite?
that we cannot out give God.
That if we were to seek first His kingdom, oh wait a minute, I seem to remember somebody who talked about this.
If we were to seek first His kingdom, all these things, what are those things?
All the physical things, all the things that we worry about every day, as Paul, sorry, as Jesus describes the Gentiles, will be added unto you.
He's not saying, you know what, I'm going to make it where you're more skilled so you get a better job.
He's saying, I'm going to provide for you in ways you can't even think about and imagine because you're doing the work of my kingdom.
And so the Macedonians go out labor.
and what they normally would have been able to do out of their ability was this and what God did with their labor was this.
And so, as they have expended their time, their effort, their energy, what did they get back out of it?
Paul tells us in the text.
He says,
that they were freely willing, but he also says that they got out of it much the same thing that the Corinthians did.
He said they abounded in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence, and in love.
The Corinthians had gotten the same thing the Macedonians got, spiritual blessings.
which were worth far more than what they gave.
All of this is to remind us.
from the example of the person who owned a colt.
that the moment the Lord said, I need the colt.
The owner's reaction was, cult's yours.
The cult was yours before you said you needed it.
The cult was always the Lord's.
It was in the stewardship of the person who owned it.
and because it was in the stewardship of the person who owned it and the Lord said, need it.
They said, there you go.
It is a challenge for us when we find ourselves in situations in life.
to not limit our ability to what our ability is.
but to rather say, all right, I know what I can do, and whatever I can do, and whatever the Lord adds to it, that's what we'll do.
How's he gonna do it?
Don't know.
but whatever he comes up with, that's what we'll do.
because we're first willing to give of our ability.
Jesus is teaching the disciples a lesson.
So many times as you go through the text, go, why didn't Jesus go get the colt?
Is it just because he's the master he gets to sit over here and do nothing while the servants go work?
Do you ever see Jesus treating the disciples that way?
No.
there's certainly times that the disciples are said about the normal, ordinary, menial tasks, like when Jesus is needing to talk with the woman at the well, where are the
disciples when Jesus is at the well?
They're out getting food out of the city.
They're taking care of the physical things while he's taking care of the spiritual things.
But more often than not, there's going to be a spiritual lesson behind the things that Jesus tells them to do.
When they get in the boat and they're told to go across to the other side of the Sea of Galilee and Jesus stays on the shore,
Was it because there was a spiritual lesson that they needed to learn?
Absolutely.
So Jesus is going to go up into the mountain to pray, then Jesus is going to come and Jesus is going to walk across the water to them.
And had they not called to him as he was walking across the water, he'd walked right past them.
because they needed to learn a lesson.
They're learning a lesson right here too.
When you see Jesus send the disciples somewhere, you should be asking yourself, why?
What are they supposed to learn from what they're doing?
Because not only does Scripture not include any unnecessary information.
Jesus didn't have any time to waste in teaching and training the disciples.
Their time's almost up.
So if it was significant enough that Jesus is going to separate himself from the disciples for them to go do this, there is something for them to learn in doing it.
And in my mind, it's all in what he tells them is going to happen.
then they're going to see it happen.
He's going to tell them if anyone asks of you.
This is what you tell them.
And then, verse four, so they went their way and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street and they loosed it.
But some of those who stood there said to them, what are you doing loosing the colt?
And they spoke to them just as Jesus had commanded so they let them go.
the disciples are being trained.
The disciples are being trained.
that the things that are around them belong to God.
that when God has use of them, it is their responsibility to help people participate in doing the work.
It's a challenge for me.
I am of the natural perspective.
I'll take care of it.
Something needs to happen.
All right, I'll take care of it.
Something else needs, I'll take care of it.
Why?
Just because I have, I don't know, I've always grown up with it.
Oh, I bet I can do it.
It's a challenge huh?
I've never done that before.
Sure, let me go take care of it.
But there's times where we need to learn.
each and every one of us, we have our own limitations.
We can't do everything.
Raise your hand if you thought you could do everything.
I thought I could, but apparently I was wrong.
So we can't do everything, which means we have to do what to succeed?
work together.
Now, these disciples are going to be the same disciples that are going to get into Jerusalem and not too many days from now they're going to be again arguing who's in, who
is the greatest in the kingdom.
And Jesus has already taught them the one who is the greatest in the kingdom is what?
The least is the slave of all.
and now they're going to come and they're going to get a cult and someone's going to freely give...
Do you think if you were to imagine what we know about Christ and the disciples that there was enough money amongst them to buy the cult?
Very unlikely.
I suspect Jesus ran a pretty slim margin in the finances and then Judas was dipping in and taking the rest.
So they couldn't buy the coal.
So did they, well, we don't have a coal.
We can't afford a coal, therefore no coal.
No, because God provided what they needed through someone else.
but they had to do something to get it.
Mm-hmm.
you
So, Jase has got a significant point here.
Jesus says you're gonna go get a cult that no one has ridden.
Raise your hand if you've ever had the pleasure of sitting on any horses or animals that have never been ridden before.
uh It's an experience.
And yet the text is quite clear as you go through it.
Jesus had no problem with the cult.
Jesus' authority extended beyond the disciples to the person who owned the colt, to the colt itself.
They brought the colt to Jesus, verse 7, threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it.
And many spread their clothes on the road, and others cut down leafy branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
Then those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying, Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of Lord.
Hosanna to the highest, or in the highest.
Jesus rides the colt as if the colt was the most tame, well-trained.
animal to have ever been ridden.
That's the picture you get from the text.
He just sat on it.
when
Jesus.
tells the water and the storm, peace be still, what's it do?
It obeys.
When Jesus sits on the colt, what does the colt do?
base.
when Jesus
looks to the church and tells the church what to do.
What does the church do?
Maybe we should ask that in two different ways.
What should the church do?
It ought to do exactly what he says.
What does the church often do?
decides it has an opinion.
Unlike the storms that knew they didn't have an opinion.
Unlike the cold that didn't have an opinion.
church thinks, wait a minute Jesus, we have an opinion.
the church should, Christians should, operate the way the owner of the cult did.
I don't have an opinion.
Because that person who owned the colt did the same thing that the colt and the storms did.
It's Do it as you please.
so many times in life.
We imagine.
that our scenarios are far.
more difficult, far more challenging than the ones in Scripture.
And if we imagine that, it's because we are ignorant of the Scriptures.
And we are challenged again and again and again when we come to the text to go, maybe I'm just not applying the scriptures.
when we look at everything that we have.
Who does it belong to?
God.
Our only question in evaluating everything that we have is, how does he want me to use it?
And when is the opportunity that's in front of me to use it, Him and His will and not His will.
Because of that, we do have to be good stewards.
We do have to be discerning to know is this something that is good?
Is this something that is indifferent?
Is this something that is wrong?
but if it falls under the category of good and His will.
then our question is, do we have the ability?
Then our question is, do we have of ourselves to give?
then the question is, if we give of ourselves first, what will God do?
One of the things that I have been pleased about, I'll summarize and conclude.
is over the last year, especially over the last eight or nine months, as we had the evangelism training from Rob and as we have been involved in that work, that all
throughout the congregation there has been a mindset to both participate, to give of oneself, of give of one's time, to give of funds, as there was a need, there was somebody
ready to help.
That is a blessing in this congregation.
That is how we should operate in this congregation.
And there's also been a foresight and a willingness to say, how can we do more?
How can we do it better?
While at the same time, a very clear perspective of how can we make sure we're doing and behaving with good stewardship towards what we do.
So I wanna just take this time to commend all of you who have been involved through this year for everything you have done, every way you have helped, every way you have given,
because we're seeing the benefit of it, we're seeing the success of it, we're seeing the fruit of it.
But as we go back to 2 Corinthians chapter eight.
one of the benefits that we receive isn't calculatable by a financial report.
It's rather the spiritual blessings that come from seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven.
I'm out of time and then some.
Thank you for your participation.