God is Pursuing You | Who Do You Say Jesus Is? | Grace Community Church Willow Street

Well, good morning, Grace Community Church. Join me in a word of prayer. And Pastor Paul, if it's all right, I'm going to stand still when I pray, I'm not going to bob up and down, if that's all right. So. All right, well, while he catches his breath, let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father God, we are thankful for the opportunity that we can gather here today and to be in your house and to be able to worship. And Lord, as we got to sing praises that you're due, Lord, we are thankful that you are our living hope. And Lord, that we gather here with purpose because of what your son Jesus did on the cross by paying for the penalty of our sins, Lord. And so we're thankful for that. And Lord, that we can not only gather here, but as we can live every day of our lives, Lord, that we can know that if we put our faith and trust in your son Jesus, Lord, we are redeemed. And Lord, we are anew. And Lord, we are excited for someday we get to be with you for all of eternity. And we thank you for that, Lord. Your word also tells us in Philippians 4, 6, I'm reminded, says be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication to bring our request to you, Lord. And Lord, you don't give that to us as a spiritual checklist of things just to mark off that we've done, Lord. But we do that, Lord, because if we want answers to things that are going on in life, Lord, we can't control. We know that you can, Lord, that you are all powerful, Lord, that you are sovereign. You are the God of the universe. And so, Lord, as we bring our needs of our church before you, we ask you to do only what you can do, Lord. And so I pray that you would be with our people as they navigate, Lord, as they go through storms of life, Lord, they may be sitting in our sanctuary, they may be sitting at home, Lord. And they may have gone through things this past week, Lord, that have been difficult, that have been hard, Lord, whether it's physical, emotional, spiritual, relational, financial, Lord, there's many things that could be on people's hearts and minds, Lord, and I just pray that you would give them the peace that only you can give that passes all understanding, Lord, and you would meet them where they're at, Lord, that you would be able to have breakthroughs for them. And Lord, that you would allow them to know, Lord, they are not alone, that you are with them. And Lord, help us as your people. That, Lord, that we could be your hands and feet, Lord, that we can walk with people, encourage care for people as they navigate difficult things they face in life, Lord, that you put us in a church family, that we don't do things alone, that we walk with one another. We care for one another because we are your body, Lord. And so we just pray that you'd meet those needs and, Lord, only as it that you can do, Lord. Lord, Beyond Grace Community Church, we recognize, Lord, that we have local partners in this month, Lord. Our local partner we're praying for is North Star. And, Lord, I'm sure it breaks your heart, Lord, that you see that as your creation, Lord, that they will traffic other creation, Lord. And Lord, do things that are inhuman, Lord. And so I just thank you for an organization like North Star that steps in and helps those that have been rescued from human trafficking and will walk with them, Lord. And that's a long road. And, Lord, that's a heavy road of many things that they face. And we're thankful for the faithfulness of Northstar that they have people that walk with them and care for them, Lord. And Lord, I pray that you would be with the staff, that you continue to strengthen them as they navigate the work they do each and every day, Lord, I pray that you would meet all the needs that they have, whether it's budgetary, whether it's Stafford, all the things they do, Lord. Would you be able to meet those needs so they can continue being on the front lines of doing the good work that they do? Lord, Help us as a church, Lord, as we not only support them financially, Lord, but prayerfully or even, Lord, I know there's people in our church that serve. And, Lord, they put their hand to the plow and they serve and they help North Star in very tangible ways, Lord. And so we thank you for that. Would you continue to keep raising those people up and be able to meet needs as they have, Lord? Lord, we also want to lift up and be praying for our global partners in this month, Lord, we lift up Beth Grimm, Lord, we're thankful for her faithful work that she does as she goes around the world working with missionary families, Lord, and sometimes I know it can get lost because missionaries go around the world and they share the good news of the gospel, helping people know and follow your son Jesus, Lord, and that's a wonderful thing. But, Lord, we recognize they have children. They need to be educated. And as they go through that process, being in different parts of the world, Lord, they always don't have access to things. And Beth, is able to fill that gap and use her educational background to go and to be able to care for those missionary kids all around the world, Lord, and so I pray that you'd be with her, give her wisdom and discernment as she continues to do that work. Lord, would you give her safety as she travels to many different countries and as she faithfully serves you, Lord and so we thank you for that. And Lord, we pray as we continue in this service here this morning, Lord, would your spirit be with us? Lord, we pray that you would be with Pastor Paul as he preaches your word as we continue in our sermon series for Mark and Lord, help us as we listen to it that our mind and hearts, Lord, for the things that you want us to hear and transform us so that we're more conformed into the image of your son, Jesus, as we live our lives every day as your followers, Lord, and so we entrust this all to you. We pray this in the strong and powerful name of your son, Jesus. Amen. The scripture reading for this weekend is found in Mark, chapter 7, verses 24 to 37. Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it, yet he could not keep his presence secret. In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. First let the children eat all they want, he told her, for it is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs. Lord, she replied, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. Then he told her, for such a reply, you may go, the demon has left your daughter. She went home and found her child lying on the bed and the demon gone. Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of Decapolis. This there some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. After he took him aside away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. He then spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, ephatha, which means be opened. At this the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened, and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone, but the more he did. So the more they kept talking about it, people were overwhelmed with amazement. He has done everything well, they said. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak. Thank you very much, Pastor Jared, for reading the word of God from Mark, chapter seven, verses 24 to 37. That's where we're going to be this morning. Well, we're going to actually start off by looking at one particular word. As we continue in our sermon series in the Gospel of Mark, I want us to think particularly about a word. The word is approach. Say that with me. Approach, Approach. That was pretty weak for 9:15. Let's try it one more time. Say it one more time. Approach. Approach. You know, people have an approach about them, how they enter into certain relationships. You have one, I have one. But what about with God? Throughout the centuries, people have approached God in a variety of ways. We call these religions and if you look throughout the world, there's all kinds of religions. Some have used rituals to try to approach God, rituals in an attempt to earn his favor. There I think of like Hinduism, I think of the practice Shinto that we find where literally Shinto means the way of the gods. So you see that there are some religions that are all about rituals. They're trying to earn in a sense, God's favor. But then other religions, they use deep contemplation, deep contemplation. In a sense, they're trying to warrant his wisdom. There. I think of religions like Buddhism or more the monastic kind of faiths. Still there are other religions who try to approach God with knowledge in an attempt to. To some extent you have to think about this, gain his respect. There. I think of Islam. You know, the very first word in the Quran is the word to read. It is to read, to pursue knowledge. To some extent you think about other religions that some use the approach of service, acts of service in order to earn God's love. So you look at the world that we live in and you think, oh my goodness, like you have all these religions and all these approaches God and yet I turn now to you and I think, now what about you? What's your approach? How do you in a sense approach God? How have you tried to approach him? How have you tried to run after him? Have you tried rituals? Have you tried contemplation? Have you tried to, you know, gain knowledge? Have you tried acts of service? What is your approach? While people have always found different ways to reach for God, the gospel Mark makes it very clear to us that the one true living God is always reaching for us. In our futile attempts to pursue Him. We know for certain that he has been adamantly pursuing us, that God is always seeking after us. He isn't waiting around for us to get ourselves in shape or put ourselves together. No, he is pursuing us in hot pursuit. It was St. Augustine who said this. In his confessions. He wrote these words, you, Jesus, were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you. You called, you shouted, you broke through my deafness. Martin Luther said this. God does not wait for us to take the first step toward Him. He is already on the move, searching for us in the dark places where we hide. I think it was Dr. Martyn Lloyd Jones who said it the best. Religion is man searching for God. Christianity is God seeking after man. Religion, Religion is man searching for God. While Christianity reveals that the God of all creation has been pursuing us. As we turn the pages to Mark chapter seven, that's what we're going to find, a God who pursues you and me and the people here in Mark chapter seven who are not your typical people. These are outsiders that we're going to read. These are not folks that you and I would necessarily. If you were a Jewish person in the first century, these would not be your friends. And yet Jesus shows us that he pursues them as well. He crosses a sacred divide from Jewish lands into Gentile territory. He crosses from the law, the land of the law, to the wilderness of the nations. Look at verse 24. Jesus left that place. He went to the vicinity of Tyre. Vicinity of Tyre, literally, is a place full of gentiles, outsiders. He entered a house and he did not want anyone to know it. Yet he could not keep his presence secret. Jesus allowed himself to be known. Why? Because he is God and God cannot be hidden. God pursues us no matter where we are. Now, I want to take a step back here for a second. I'm all about Jesus, clearly. And I love that whenever you read the Bible, you realize that God is pursuing us. What I get most nervous about this morning is the practices that Jesus uses in Mark chapter seven are not things that I would practice. I and some of you are going, well, what are you talking about, Paul? Well, at first glance, his practices seem very unusual. In this chapter. I. I don't know if you were picking up when Pastor Jared read, but just notice how Jesus approaches people, not necessarily the way I would do it. In Mark chapter 7, verses 27, we get this interesting conversation that Jesus has with a woman whose daughter is being tormented by an unclean spirit. And notice what Jesus says to her, look. Look at his very first words. First, let the children eat all they want, for it's not right to take the bread and to toss it to dogs. That is strange and very unusual advice. Your child is suffering. You come to God, and God says, well, you know, it's not right that we would toss the bread to the dogs. What in the world are you talking about? What planet are you living on? And it almost sounds like, if you read this, that Jesus is calling this woman a dog. Which sounds kind of strange because if you've been with us in this gospel series in Mark, Jesus has been completely compassionate to everybody. Why on earth would you call this woman a dog? It's very strange. And to not make matters even worse, Jesus here I was saying to him this week in my office, it's like, you're not helping yourself. Because if you go to verse 33, I mean, just look at this. After he took him aside, we're jumping down a little bit. This is Jesus interacting now with a deaf man. After he took him aside away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears, and then he spit and touched the man's tongue. Yes, you read that correctly. Jesus put his fingers in the man's ears. Now, if you don't think that's weird, let's try something. Everybody turn to the person to the left and stick your finger in their ear. That's weird. Some of you are doing it. It was kind of like a rhetorical thing, but, you know, you're a literalist. I get it. But not to even make matters worse, notice what else he does? He spits into his hand, and then he touches the man's tongue with the hand that he's spitting. All right, let's try that. Turn to the person in front of you. Just kidding. I don't even want to suggest to some of you because I know you're ornery and you would do it. That's gross. I mean, I'm like, I'm reading this this week and I'm going, jesus, you're breaking several health code violations here. If this is a workplace, HR would be called. You're fired. You can't do this. I mean, we have a residency here at this church to raise up pastors. We don't teach them these practices. There's not a day where, all right, guys, we're teaching you how to spit properly. It's strange. It's very odd. I mean, his words to the woman seem harsh, and his practices here seem unorthodox. And yet, what is even stranger is how people respond in the first century to what Jesus is saying and doing. Because at first glance, his approach is appreciated. Did you see this in verse further down? Once Jesus has done all his speaking and all his sayings, look at how the people applaud him in verse 36 and 37. People were overwhelmed, we're told with amazement. And this is what they say. He has done everything well. I mean, essentially they're saying, this guy's great. Can you come back? And I'm thinking, the spitting guy. That's who you want. He's great. And then they go on to say, he even makes the deaf here and the mute speak. I mean, these people are so overwhelmed with excitement, they start quoting scripture. That first phrase, he has done everything well, from Isaiah 29, verse 14. And then the second phrase that they use, he even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak from. It's from Isaiah 35, verses 3 through 6. I mean, the word of God just starts pouring out of those people. They're so excited. They're like, we had heard about God. We'd read about God, but now you are God in our midst, and look what you're doing. They're so excited, which kind of leaves me scratching my head a little bit because I'm like, really? I mean, did you hear what he said to the woman and what he did to this deaf and mute man? And now you think he's God. It only reveals to us that what we think is sometimes strange is actually God pursuing us because he knows how to speak to our hearts. He knows where we're at. He knows what to say. I remember the first time I saw my wife. Let me tell you something. Oh, man, I still dream about this. I'm madly in love with her. I still think about this. It was like 2007, the year doesn't matter. I saw her walking out of this dorm room. She. She had this ginormous backpack on, and she's just walking. And I saw her, and I thought, I gotta get to know that girl. And I pursued from a distance, which is now considered stalking. But back then, it wasn't. And she went into the cafeteria. Oh, I still remember this. And she went to the salad line. I'd never been there before. And I'm just shoving stuff on the plate. I don't even. My eyes are on her. And not to get really weird, but I just wanted to get closer. I'm just a smell of perfume. You know what I'm saying? Guys, you know. You know you know, and you're like, yeah, I'm going to talk to her. And then you get, like, within proximity and you have no idea what to say. I don't even know my name right now. I don't even know. Yeah, nice to see you. You're eating salad, too. That's great. I mean, you don't even know what to say. I mean, we've done this, we've pursued things, we pursued people, and we get to the moment, we're like, I'm lost. And yet, when you read Mark 7, when Jesus interacts with us, he knows exactly how to speak to our heart. He knows exactly what to do. And so I think it's worth our time to dive a little deeper into Mark chapter seven. Now think about it from this perspective. In Mark chapter 7, in verses 24 to 30, Jesus clearly uses a parable. He uses a parable all throughout the Gospel of Mark, starting in chapter four, Jesus told us he was going to speak in parables. And normally he has to explain his parables because nobody understands. So in Mark chapter seven, he doesn't disappoint. He is doing his standard practice. I'm going to talk in parables because I want to see. Do you know who I am? Do you recognize me? And so Jesus here in Mark chapter seven, tells a parable. But it's who he tells the parable to that helps us understand what the parable means. First, we're introduced to this person. In verse 26, Mark tells us that she was a woman and she was a Greek born in Syrian Phoenicia. Now that's interesting. Greek meaning that she's a Gentile. Jews consider Gentiles in the first century to be unclean. And yet Jesus here is interacting with her clearly. But she was born in Syrian Phoenicia. Syrian Phoenicia was known for their wealth. They were also known for their second thing, how they had heavily oppressed the Jews for centuries. Mark tells us that this woman was part of a group of people that were considered outsiders, unclean. But even further than that, she was part of a group of people who used to oppress the Jewish people. Jesus is a Jewish. And then Mark tells us something else in verse 26. The woman was a Greek born in Syria and Phoenicia. And then he ends with, she begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. This is not just a Gentile. This is a desperate mother. A desperate mother. Her daughter is being tormented by a demon. And instead of relying on her nation's wealth or her Nation's gods, she turns to Jesus Christ. And yet you have to see the tension in the room here. This is a Gentile whose people historically oppressed the Jews. And now Jesus the Jew has an opportunity. Does he bless this woman, or does he let her suffer the consequences of the sins of her people? Think about that. We read through the Scriptures so quickly, we don't see the tension that is building in the room. And yet there is a ton of attention here. And so Jesus talks to her like he talks to everybody else in parables. Early on in chapter seven, he tells us about that digestive system. And now it's interesting in verse 27. Look at this. If you were here last week, you understand what I just mentioned. Now look what he says. First, let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children's bread and to toss it to dogs. We know bread here means blessing. Nobody disputes that. But historically, people have understood this parable to mean that the children are the nation of Israel and the dogs are the Gentiles. And so they've interpreted this parable to mean that Jesus is saying, listen, I've come to the Jews, to the nation of Israel first, then you Gentiles can get the leftovers. I'm not here for you yet. But it seems strange to interpret it that way. For me, I'm a little more of a literal kind of guy when I read this kind of parable. And Jesus says, first, let the children eat all they want, for it's not right to take the children's bread and toss it to dogs. It seems to me that what if Jesus is just outlining bread, basic human order. What if he is saying, listen, I recognize you're a mother. I recognize you're a desperate mother. And I recognize you've probably fed your kids a couple times and you understand how things work. You feed your kids first, and then you feed the dogs. What if Jesus is just simply being simple and he says, listen, people have to eat first, then pets. People eat first, then pets. So I get your desperation. I empathize with it. I sympathize with it, and I'll show compassion toward it. What if that's what he's saying, that people eat first, then pets? I practiced this yesterday, by the way. Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday morning. I got up, made my kids pancakes and scrapple. Because I'm raising them right. That's right. And I serve them good scrapple. I'm very particular about it. And so we sat there and they had. And what you do is you do a pancake, then you do scrapple, then you do a pancake, then you do. Then you do an egg on top. Oh, with some syrup. It's beautiful. Beautiful. And so the girls were there around the table on our deck, and they ate their full and they were satisfied. And then our dog Piper was off to the side because I don't let her beg under the table. It bothers me. And there was leftovers. And I said, piper, would you like some? Because I read this passage and I thought, well, Jesus said people eat first, then pets. And so I practiced that. I put it down in ground and Piper ate. I mean, it seems very simple to me. Tim Keller in his commentary says this, that it's a parable. The word parable means metaphor or likeness, and that's what it is. Remember, the woman is a mother. Jesus is saying to her, you know how families eat? First the children eat at the table, and afterwards their pets eat too. It's not right to violate that order. Now, the thing is, if Jesus really is calling this woman a gentile dog, it seems interesting because the woman doesn't think that dogs have a bad life. Matter of fact, she's not bothered by it. She just interprets herself into the parable and she says, well, food is food. I'm fine with that. But notice how she begins her response. She says, lord, I recognize who you are. I get who's at the table. She says, lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs. I understand. I love her response. It's a response of humility. It's a response that's appropriate to the situation. If Jesus is handing out crumbs, she'll take them. Why? She's desperate. She's not there to dispute over Jewish and gentile laws. She doesn't care about those things. You ever been around a desperate mother? When a mom is desperate, they'll take what they can get if it means helping their child. If scraps is what the Savior is offering, she'll take them too. As long as her daughter is set free from the demon, she doesn't need a five course meal. She doesn't need to be lavished upon. She doesn't need God to entertain her. She came for the crumbs. The interesting thing is we get all caught up in this phrase dog. The interesting thing is, is that actually this is the first time in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus doesn't have to explain himself. Normally he tells a parable, then he has to explain the parable because Nobody understands it. She gets it very clearly. And Jesus allows her to leave. And it's interesting that as she leaves, this is what he says. For such a reply. For such a reply. For such a reply. You may go, the demon has left your daughter. Moved by faith, the woman then leaves, and she has dined under the table of the divine. And she left satisfied, finding her daughter at home set free. Jesus wasn't mistreating her, he was testing whether or not she believed he was who he said he was. And she did, and her prayers were answered. Now we must go to the second story, the second interaction here in verses 31 to 37. Because I know you're all wondering about the spitting. I was too. But you need to see the spitting as a, as a sign or a symbol of compassion. I want to explain this to you all. Throughout the Gospel of Mark, Jesus has been compassionate, especially with the feeding of the 5,000. He looks at people with compassion. He's been traveling all through Gentile regions. He was in Tyre, Sidon, now he's gone into Decapolis. Some people say this is about 120 mile trek that Jesus has taken over. All through Gentile territory he finds himself surrounded by a crowd of people. Pushing through this crowd is a small group and notice what we're told in verse 32. There are some people brought to him, a man who was deaf and could hardly talk. And they begged Jesus to place his hand on him after he took him aside away from the crowd. Did you see the compassion here? Did it stand out to you? Once again, Jesus has people begging and it's not a mother with her child, it's friends with their friend. They push him to the forefront and they say, jesus, would you please lay your hand on our friend? We want him to talk, we want him to hear. And Jesus says, oh, I'd be glad to do that. Just one stipulation. The stipulation is that Jesus says, I want to take the man aside. Would you allow that? See, this is compassion. When you pull a person to the side to address them, it's interesting. Sympathy is when you and I say, I feel bad for somebody. And empathy is when I feel with you. But compassion is when I help you. And Jesus here helps the man by not turning him into a spectacle for the crowd. This isn't about Jesus showing off. You know, it's like some people will pray only if there's 10 people around. Some people always want to show off how bright and brilliant they are. They use, you know, look at all the rituals. I Practice. Look how deep I've contemplated things. Look at all the knowledge I have. Look how I serve. They show off. Look who I know. They love to tell you who they know. Not Jesus. I won't turn this man into a sideshow circus. He pulls him aside. That's compassion. And he privately addresses the man. And then it's interesting what else he does. Verse 33, after he took him aside away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears and then he spit. He touched the man's tongue. Now listen to this. Before you pass judgment on those practices, think about this. The man has never heard. All he knows is that people are pushing him around. Imagine this scene. You're there in a crowd. You're the deaf guy. You can't hear what in the world they're saying. And you can't talk to anybody and say, can someone explain to me what's happening here? And then suddenly your buddies shove you to the forefront. Now this guy you don't even know is grabbing you and putting you off to the side. Things are happening quickly. And yet Jesus, in an act of compassion, slows it down. One scholar said this, what Jesus does Here in verse 33 is a first century version of sign language. Imagine this scene. Jesus says, I'm going to open your ears, stick out your tongue. I'm going to heal your tongue. He's communicating with him in a language he understands in a way that the man can relate. Jesus doesn't want to startle the guy. He doesn't want to scare him. He's showing compassion. I'm here to help you. I know you can't hear me, but I'm here to help you. And so Jesus does just that. He helps the man. Now the spit, to be honest with you, most scholars say the spit is assigned to the man, that what has been closed and bound will be open. It's like putting water on a dry rag. And yet that communicated to the man's heart. See, what we're finding in this particular passage is not something strange. It's actually we're finding that there is a God who is adamantly pursuing people. And he speaks them in a way that they can understand, in a way that they can hear, in a way they can interpret it. And why? Because he wants to save them. He wants to help them. And we've seen this all along. You shouldn't be startled by it. Jesus speaks in parables, and he follows up his parables by acts of compassion. He speaks in parables, he follows up with Acts of compassion. Jesus is being consistent here. And the reason he's being consistent is because he understands that most of us religious, we are searching for God while we need to discover that God has been seeking us all along. So we use rituals and we use contemplation and we use our knowledge and we use acts of service, all trying to earn his favor and his love and his wisdom and his respect. And Jesus says, you don't have to do that. I've been looking for you all along. So the real question for you and I is, how do we then approach a God who's been pursuing us? How do you approach a God who's been pursuing you? It's interesting because the first truth that you learn from these two encounters is simple. You come to him with nothing. That's how you approach him with absolutely nothing. You notice the deaf woman and I mean, I'm sorry, the desperate mother and the deaf man come to Jesus with absolutely nothing. Now, you could say, well, Paul, I mean, they came with their problems. I mean, clearly they had problems. And it's like, yeah, we all have problems. You know, you could turn to the person looking to your right or to your left, look at them. They got a lot of problems. You don't have any, but they do. See, we all come to Jesus with problems. He expects that. But what typically happens is we come to God and we come to church, or we come here and we like to show off. The Syrian Phoenician woman could have shown off her wealth. She could have come to Jesus, said, jesus, here's a boatload of cash. Can you help me? She doesn't do that. But we live in a culture that loves to show off how much they have and who they know and what they have and where they've been and where they're going in life. And we just keep going and going and going in that direction. And Jesus, like, I'm not interested in that. See, we come to God with nothing. Look at this woman. Look how desperate she is. In verse 25, we skip this. This is a wealthy person. And Mark tells us, in fact, as soon as she heard about Jesus, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit, Lotus, she fell at his feet. She brought nothing. She fell at his feet. She was willing to get as low as she possibly could in order for Jesus to help her. And see, here's the problem. In America, we don't like that kind of living. See, in America, we have a pride about us. We walk tall. We could never find ourselves stooping so Low maybe because we've never been so desperate. We've always had the bank account. We've always had the business. We've always had. We've always had. We've always had. You know, pride is a terrible thing. And it's no coincidence that the thing that holds this little girl captive is a demon. Do you know how you get demons? How do we get demons? Garland says this in his commentary. He says, remember, it was pride that turned angels into devils. What was once a messenger of God in his mercy has now become the tormentor of a little girl holding her captive. See, pride will turn you into a devil. It'll turn you into a demon. When we come to Jesus Christ, we bring nothing. Secondly, when we approach the God who's been pursuing us, we hear this, we disregard our status. Disregard your status? Think about this for a second. On earth, you may be rich, you may be popular, you may be brilliant. You may be the person that people look after and seek and always are offering the job to. But in the presence of Jesus, all that goes away. We are just mere beggars. We are mere beggars because we need Jesus to set us free from the bondage that we have found ourselves in. And in verse 30, it is no surprise that Jesus supernaturally sets that little girl free. It is no surprise that Jesus, in verse 35, sets the deaf mute man free. Did you pick up on how Mark described how the man's tongue was healed? Look at verse 35. At this, the man's ears were opened and his tongue was loosened. Literally, that means unchained, unbound. You see, when we come to Jesus, we set aside our status because we are just mere beggars that need to be unbound, unchained from the world that we have found ourselves in. So what? Thirdly, when we approach the God who's been pursuing us, we can yield to his authority. It should not shock you and I that this woman worshiped other gods, that she came from wealth. But it should shock us that her first words to him are, lord, I recognize who you are. You are God. I am not. And I am willing to yield to your authority. I am willing to get under the table if that's what it requires. I don't need anything special. I just know who you are and who I'm not. She's desperate and she comes to Jesus recognizing that he is God. It's interesting. Sometimes we like to come to God and we like to say, well, I am the president of such and such, or I'm the CEO or I'm the boss or I'm this or I'm that. And here, before Jesus Christ, we all bow before him. Think about it like this. The word of God says that before Jesus, every tongue should confess, every knee should bow. Why do we bow? We bow because we recognize that He's Lord. But if you want to try to stand in his presence, he will not be your Lord at that moment. He will be your judge. He will be your judge. This woman sprawled out before Jesus is fully submitted to him. When the man who is deaf allows Jesus. Did you hear this? Place his hand on top of him. That is getting into a posture of submission. I recognize that you come over me. I recognize that there's an order to things. And I'm not God. I'm the one in need. Even Jesus himself in this passage, recognizes that there is an order to things. Did you notice before Jesus healed the deaf man, it tells us that he looked up to heaven. That's a posture of prayer. I have an authority. See, we don't like in America this idea of humility. We also don't like the idea of submission. But submission is nothing more than the divine ordering of things. It's the humble recognition of the divine ordering of things. As John Stott says, it's when you and I realize who he is and who we're not and that we need Him. And he does not need us. He chooses us because he's been pursuing us. Think about this, friends. Some of us, we struggle in our lives. And not because with Christianity, not because we know that we come to God with nothing. We've never seen a casket where they're carrying a bunch of luggage behind. We get that you come to God with nothing. We understand the idea that when you're in his presence, your status doesn't matter. We understand that. But it's the yielding part. It's, have you fully submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you willing to get on your hands and knees before him and say, you're God and I'm not? Have you ever done that? Because if you've never done that now think about this, then you can't do the fourth thing. You see, when you come and approach the God who's been pursuing you your entire life, it's the fourth thing that reveals whether or not you yielded your life to Him. And the fourth thing is this. We rejoice. You notice here in this story that once Jesus is done his words and his practice, look at verse 36. Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he Did. So the more they kept talking about it, the more they think about this. Jesus can tell demons to be dismissed, and he can tell storms to be stilled, and yet he can't tell these people to be quiet. It's ironic, is what it is. The people won't be quiet. People were so overwhelmed, Mark tells us, and with amazement, that then they start quoting from Scripture and. And they actually ended up quoting from Isaiah 35. Have you read Isaiah 35? This is what it says in Isaiah 35, verses 3 through 6. Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way. Say to those with fearful hearts, be strong, do not fear, your God will come. And then it says this. Pay attention here. He will come with vengeance, with divine retribution, he will come to save you. Then the eyes of the blind will be open, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped, and the lame will leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. These people read their Bible. They may be unclean gentiles, but they know the Scriptures and they know when they see a Jesus and when they don't. And right now, they see a Messiah, they see a Savior. Why? Because people's eyes are being opened, their ears are being restored, their tongues are speaking, and. And they can't help but shout with joy. They rejoice. Now, there's this one little hiccup with their quotation of Isaiah 35. And if you haven't paid attention, you're going to want to pay attention to this. It's right smack in the middle of it. Look at that. Look, you see what it says right there in the middle? Be strong, do not fear. Your God will come. He will come. Say this with me. Vengeance with divine. Say this with me. Retribution with vengeance and retribution. So I had to say to the Lord this week, well, where's the retribution, the vengeance in Mark, chapter 7? Many scholars have pointed out that Mark wanted us to see something in the healing of the deaf man. Now you're going to want to lean in here. When Jesus healed the deaf man, look at verse 34. He looked up to heaven with a deep sigh. The word sigh actually means moan. Have you ever been around somebody who moans? People who moan, it's because they're in pain. They're in pain. Right before our eyes. Jesus heals this man. But right before our eyes, Jesus suffers for this man. Mark uses the word moan because Jesus became mute so this man could speak. It's not that Jesus Christ came with divine retribution for you or for me, but it says Tim Keller points out. Jesus didn't come to bring divine retribution. He came to bear it. He came to show us that he is the God that pursues us and runs after us. So when we approach his holy presence, we come with nothing. We lay aside our status. We yield to his authority. But we rejoice because now the blind can see and the mute can speak. We rejoice because blessing became his suffering. His body was broken, so yours didn't have to be. This is why we rejoice. This is why we worship. Would you bow your heads with me? Father, I thank you this morning that we get the joy and the privilege to meditate on your word. Father, oftentimes we pass through your scriptures quickly and say, well, we didn't understand that, so it must not be significant. And yet, Lord, as we have just feasted on these passages, I pray that we would examine our own lives. Lord, there are some of us in this room who have never fully surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ. Yeah, we come to church. Yeah, we've heard the gospel over and over and over again. But we are the God of our own lives. We are the King of our own castles. We've never fully surrendered to Jesus, and that's why we struggle with worship. When others sing and they raise their hands, we stand still and silent. Because we know in our heart.