Mark 7:14-23 (10/2/24)

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Mark 7:14-23 (10/2/24)

The Nature of Sin

October 2, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 7:14

* If we’re going to overcome sin, we need to understand it’s nature.

* Jesus talked about this a lot.

* He taught that sin grows from the inside-out, not the outside-in.

* It’s more like a cancer than a germ.

* In Bible times, they didn’t have science like we have it today.

* We understand the difference between a germ and cancer.

* A germ is contagious - it comes from the outside and infects you on the inside.

* Cancer grows from the inside out and is not contagious.

* Jesus challenged the religion of the Pharisees.

* They did the right stuff on the outside, but inwardly, they were rotten.

* They made a big deal out of rituals and outward observations, but not inward purity.

* In their eyes, sin was more like a germ than cancer.

* So Jesus broke up their paradigm.

* He and His disciples ate food with dirty hands.

* This broke the tradition of cleansing before you ate.

* By doing this, Jesus showed that sin was a cancer, not a germ.

* And that these Pharisees were cancerous.

* vs 14-23 - What happens on the inside of your heart is what defiles you, not what you do on the outside.

* You can play the part outwardly, but God sees what’s happening inwardly.

* Character is doing what’s right as God defines right even if nobody knows it.

* CAVAET - The only way something on the outside can defile you is if you don’t have the Holy Spirit flowing through you.

* EX: Water hose in a muddy hole.

* Be the same person in private that you are in public.

* Just like David before he fought Goliath - he was faithful in the lion and bear stories.

* Sin is a cancer, not a germ - make sure you stay pure privately.

Mark 8:14-21 (10/2/24)

October 2, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 8:14–21

* God wants us to have “eyes that see.” * He wants us to see the spiritual through the physical. * Site is looking at the physical. * Insight is seeing the deeper meaning behind what you see. * God can give you insight if you open your eyes to the spiritual. * Jesus had just fed the 5k and the 4k and the disciples picked up lots of leftovers. * Then they left for another place to minister, but the disciples forgot to bring any of the bread. * Once they arrived the Pharisees came up to Jesus asking for a sign. * They didn’t operate by faith - they operated by logic. * Their theology was “seeing is believing.” * For a true believer, our theology is “believing is seeing!” * When it comes to true saving faith, belief always comes first, sight comes second. * So Jesus turns to His disciples and says: * vs 15 - “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod and the Herodians.” * He used a physical analogy to make a spiritual point. * Leaven as a noun is “a pervasive influence that modifies something or transforms it.” * As a verb, to leaven something is to “permeate, modify, or transform something.” * A leavening agent is “a substance that lightens and softens the mixture.” * Jesus didn’t want the thought patterns of the Pharisees and Herodians to penetrate the disciples’ minds, leaving them puffed up and soft in their faith. * Look at the two different mindsets: * The Pharisees were hypocrites - they said one thing and did another. * “The leaven of Herod wants self-realization rather than repentance; it looks for ways of self-affirmation rather than self-denial. Herod wanted to know Jesus, but on his own terms and without turning to Him as the definitive source. Herod wanted to listen to John, but on his own terms and without repenting.” -Ligoneer Ministries * Jesus knew these two mindsets would destroy the influence of a kingdom mindset in their culture, so He warned them against them. * Look how the disciples responded: * vs 16 - “They began to discuss with one another the fact that they had no bread.” * They were looking through their physical eyes. * Look how Jesus responded: * vs 17-21 - When He discerned they were still looking through physical eyes He reminded them of the leftovers. * It was as if Jesus was saying, “Do you remember what you got when you served the people first? Do you remember the amount of food you ended up with when you focused on doing My thing over your thing? You each ended up with way more than you could eat.” * The principle - if you look for and seek the spiritual God will always take care of the physical. * You’ll never have to worry about physical things again - let the Pharisees and Herodians do that. * Jesus will take care of those things for you. * Just keep your eyes focused on the spiritual. * Anytime you go through anything, always search for the spiritual principle first. * Ask what God is saying. * When you do this you will always find that the physical will take care of itself. * But if you only look at the physical you’ll miss the spiritual. * EX: I had a massive retaining wall fall at a commercial building we built years ago. My first reaction was the figure out a way to fix the wall, but God prompted me to look at what He was saying spiritually. * I did that and learned 12 things He was trying to say to me. * I also fixed the wall physically, but I came out on the other side a completely different man because I saw the spiritual.

Proverbs 31:8 (9/25/24)

September 25, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Proverbs 31:8

- Our job as believers is to mature in our faith - to grow spiritually strong. - Hebrews 5 - A buddy of mine is the CEO of Iron Sharpens Iron men’s ministry. - They teach that a real man is a real man is. - They use Prov 31:8-9 as the foundation. - vs 8-9 - “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” - What makes a R.E.A.L. man: - REJECTS PASSIVITY - he doesn’t sit idly by while bad things happen. - EX: Adam stood by while Eve conversed w/the serpant. - Deitrich Bonhoeffer - “It’s not enough to help hurting people. You have to stop the things that hurt them.” - John Stuart Mill in 1867 - “Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.” - A real man doesn’t wait for others to do what he knows he should do. - He operates by faith, not fear. - ENGAGES GOD DAILY - he has a vibrant personal relationship with the Lord. - Strength and Pursuit are linked - the more you pursue God the more you have His presence. - And when you have His presence you get His power. - A real man uses discipline to strengthen his relationship to God. - He goes to God before he goes to others. - ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY - Authority and Responsibility are linked. - If you want to keep your authority, stay in the place of your responsibility. - He understands his priorities and assumes ownership of them. - Modern Psychiatry calls a person who cannot take responsibility as someone suffering from a “character disorder.” - LEADS COURAGEOUSLY - he acts like a father. - 1 Corinthians 4:15 - “You have many teachers but few fathers.” - A father is willing to fight the wolves - he doesn’t run from them. - A real man is like David - he saw a giant too big to miss while everyone else saw a giant too big to fight. - A real man has a warrior spirit. - He stands for truth and doesn’t back down.

Mark 1:28 (9/25/24)

September 25, 2024 • Benham Brothers • Mark 1:28

- In today’s influencer culture, people are elevating fame over faithfulness. - People are lusting for fame. - As a result, they elevate likes over lives. - Much of it has been learned from pastors. - When your income, image, and influence are determined by people liking you, you’ll never stand strong. - I heard a speaker say, “With the rise of social media, young people would rather be discovered more than developed.” - Oswald Chambers said, “Focus on depth, and let God handle your breadth.” - Notice how it worked for Jesus. - He was simply faithful to do exactly what God told Him to do. - vs 28 - “And at once his fame spread everywhere throughout all the surrounding region of Galilee.” - His fame spread. - The news about who He was and what He was doing spread. - Was that the goal? - No. He didn’t come for fame - He came for faithfulness. - Fame was simply a byproduct of His faithfulness. - If fame were God’s goal for Jesus, He would’ve been born in the 21st century when social media was a thing. - I was in a green room with several famous people and one of them joked that they had never heard of me and David and had to look us up on Google. - Then he laughed. - He meant it light-heartedly, so we all laughed with him. - But the more I thought about it the more I realized that our culture elevates fame over faithfulness all the time. - The reason David and I aren’t fame is because of our faithfulness to stand by God’s truth on marriage and life. - Because of that, we were canceled. - As a result of being canceled, people don’t know who we are. - We’re now “non-famous” Christians, and I feel really good about it. - We don’t need famous Christians. - We need faithful ones. - And if fame comes as a result, as it did for Jesus, so be it - use it to bless those who aren’t famous! - NOTE - if you keep an eternal perspective, God rewards all faithfulness with fame in His kingdom.