Pastor Mark Mikels – August 24,
\n2008<\/p>\n
“BECOMING SPIRITUAL DECATHLETES – Part Nine”<\/p>\n
(“Connecting With Christ” Series
\n– Part 48)<\/p>\n
(Mark 15:25-34)<\/p>\n
Intro … Our examination of Christ’s Spiritual Decathlon is nearly
\nover. Today we see him take on Decathlon Challenge #8. I’ve called it
\n…<\/p>\n
Christ’s Eighth Great Challenge … “DARKNESS ENDURING”<\/p>\n
Two Scriptural phrases form the focus for this most incredible
\nspiritual challenge …<\/p>\n
“Darkness came over the whole land” – Mark 15:33<\/p>\n
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” – Mark 15:34<\/p>\n
Here’s the larger passage in which those phrases are found …<\/p>\n
It was the third hour when they crucified him. The written notice of
\nthe charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. They crucified two
\nrobbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who
\npassed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So!
\nYou who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
\ncome down from the cross and save yourself!”<\/p>\n
In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked
\nhim among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save
\nhimself! Let this Christ, this King of Israel, come down now from the
\ncross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also
\nheaped insults on him.<\/p>\n
At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth
\nhour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi,
\nEloi, lama sabachthani?”–which means, “My God, my God, why have you
\nforsaken me?” (Mark 15:25-34)<\/p>\n
In these verses is reported (without question) the most difficult of
\nall the incredible challenges that Jesus undertook during those final
\neight days of his earthly life.<\/p>\n
For a period of time, in the carrying out of his earthly mission, he
\nwas separated (physically, emotionally and spiritual) from the Father
\nHimself.<\/p>\n
No connection with the ONE to whom he had retreated for fellowship and
\ncomfort all the days of his life.<\/p>\n
No sense of the Father’s nearness, no encouragement from the Father’s
\nlove, no strength provided by the Father’s grace, no hope even in the
\nFather’s rescue. Thus the agonizing cry … “My God, my God, why have<\/p>\n
you forsaken me?”<\/p>\n
Darkness fell – not only upon the land – but upon his soul as well.<\/p>\n
And enduring that darkness for as long as it lasted became his task!<\/p>\n
And in that task he laid out a pattern for each of His Own for as it’s
\nexpressed in …<\/p>\n
Today’s Key Reality …<\/p>\n
DARK DAYS come to EVERYONE!<\/p>\n
Who of us has not experienced something of the “Darkness of Heart and
\nSoul” that circumstances can bring upon us?<\/p>\n
Tragedies happen; hopes are dashed; people disappoint; plans go
\nhorrible awry; feelings of panic set in and we can feel forsaken by all
\n– even by<\/p>\n
our God.<\/p>\n
After all … the words Jesus uttered on the cross were first expressed
\nby King David himself in Psalm 22 at a time of great darkness in his
\nlife. Here’s just a bit of the rest of that psalm …<\/p>\n
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?<\/p>\n
Why are you so far from saving me,<\/p>\n
so far from the words of my groaning?<\/p>\n
O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,<\/p>\n
(I cry out) by night, and (I) am not silent.<\/p>\n
Those are words of desperation … those are words forced through the
\nlips of one whose heart is so weighed down that it can barely function.<\/p>\n
It was not a stretch for Jesus to take David’s words as his own as he
\nsuffered there on the cross.<\/p>\n
The truth is … Days of Darkness come to everyone.<\/p>\n
The question is … How can we endure them?<\/p>\n
I suggest to you this morning that we endure the darkness the<\/p>\n
same way Jesus did, by wrapping our hearts around the truth of …<\/p>\n
Today’s Key Conviction …<\/p>\n
God is at WORK in the DARKNESS –<\/p>\n
Something AWESOME is taking place!<\/p>\n
The darkness is never for nothing – the darkness is never unproductive.
\nDays of darkness come because we live in a darkened sin-filled world.<\/p>\n
But as Jesus once said,<\/p>\n
“Be of good cheer (take heart), I have overcome the world.” (John
\n16:33)<\/p>\n
Consider with me this morning now, some of the awesome work that God
\nhas done and will do in the darkest of times.<\/p>\n
Consider with me first of all what was happening …<\/p>\n
* IN THE DARKNESS ON THE CROSS … 1 Peter 2:24<\/p>\n
1. SUBSTITUTION was happening!<\/p>\n
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree …<\/p>\n
On the cross of Calvary, Jesus was being put in our place. As righteous
\nJudge of all the universe, the Father was allowing His own sinless Son
\nto offer himself as a substitute for the sinful human race.<\/p>\n
The apostle Paul would express it this way … (2 Corinthians 5:21)<\/p>\n
“God made him who had no sin to become sin for us”<\/p>\n
In the midst of that horrible darkness, the Father himself was
\norchestrating this incredible substitution – the innocent for the
\nguilty.<\/p>\n
He was arranging for all of man’s sins to be placed upon His own dearly
\nbeloved Son! In the extreme we could say, he was literally overseeing
\nthe transformation of righteousness into wickedness.<\/p>\n
In the Father’s eyes, his Son was now the very incarnation of evil
\nitself.<\/p>\n
He couldn’t bear to even look upon him, let alone have fellowship with
\nhim!<\/p>\n
In that darkness – during those dark hours – an incredible substitution
\nof the sinless for the sinful was taking place.<\/p>\n
Now that “substitution” all by itself would be enough to cause the
\nFather to draw back in horror and disgust from His formerly spotless
\nSon. But there was more happening in that darkness than just
\nsubstitution.<\/p>\n
2. JUDGMENT was also happening!<\/p>\n
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree<\/p>\n
so that we (he) might die to sins …<\/p>\n
You see, Jesus didn’t just become sin – as abhorrent as that would be.
\nJesus needed to “pay for sins” – he needed to be “punished for sin” –
\nhe needed to endure the righteous judgment of God upon sin.<\/p>\n
The Scripture tells us in Paul’s letter to the Romans (6:23) that “the
\nwages of sin is death”.<\/p>\n
Physical death … yes – but more than that the full wage of sin is
\nspiritual death or the second death which is defined Biblically as
\ntotal separation from God for ever in the lake of fire (Revelation
\n20:14).<\/p>\n
Thus the Father was required by the very nature of the judgment upon
\nhis Son to turn away from him – to forsake him – to allow him to
\nexperience the full agony of such total and complete separation and
\nisolation.<\/p>\n
And it was in the midst of that agony that Jesus cried out those
\nchilling words … “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”<\/p>\n
In the darkness there on the cross, substitution was happening; in the
\ndarkness, there on the cross, judgment was happening.<\/p>\n
Thirdly and finally, in the darkness, there on the cross …<\/p>\n
3. ATONEMENT was happening!<\/p>\n
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree<\/p>\n
so that we (he) might die to sins and live for righteousness;<\/p>\n
by his wounds you have been healed.”<\/p>\n
There is the great and glorious outcome of those hours of darkness
\nJesus endured … During those hours he provided for our “healing”.<\/p>\n
He paid for our sins – he made possible our forgiveness – he made
\npossible our experience of full and abundant Christian Living!<\/p>\n
God himself was working in the darkness on the cross to provide the
\nmeans whereby you and I can be saved.<\/p>\n
Jesus endured the darkness and by so doing allowed the work of God to
\ncome to its fullest expression.<\/p>\n
I believe that Jesus himself was enabled to so endure because he had
\nhis mind and heart firmly wrapped around that key conviction we shared
\njust a few moments ago.<\/p>\n
“God is at work in this darkness –<\/p>\n
Something awesome is taking place!”<\/p>\n
And in doing that he left us a pattern for us to follow whenever “dark
\ndays” invade our lives.<\/p>\n
Here’s a key point … Jesus knew before he ever went to the cross the
\nvery work the Father would accomplish in that darkness if he would
\nsuccessfully endure it. I believe that that knowledge provided the
\npower that enabled him to endure right to the end.<\/p>\n
That same “knowledge power” is available to us to endure any “dark
\ndays” that we must face.<\/p>\n
You see, the Bible does not leave us in the dark about “being in the
\ndark”!<\/p>\n
In the “dark times” of our lives, God is at work … here are some
\nthings that the Bible says about His Work at such times.<\/p>\n
* IN THE DARKNESS OF OUR LIVES …<\/p>\n
1. FAITH is STIMULATED!<\/p>\n
(Brought to its fullest capacity – James 1:2-4)<\/p>\n
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
\nkinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops
\nperseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be
\nmature and complete, not lacking anything.<\/p>\n
“Faith” (the writer of Hebrews tells us) “is the evidence of things not
\nseen” (Hebrew 11:1). Dark days “test our faith”.<\/p>\n
Our “faith” is that which we believe – it’s both content and
\nconviction. Our faith is “tested” – challenged – when we can’t “see” or
\n“understand” what is going on.<\/p>\n
It’s faith – maturing faith – that enables us to say …<\/p>\n
“God is at work in this darkness –<\/p>\n
Something awesome is taking place!”<\/p>\n
Dr. Raymond Edman, who was the president of Wheaton College long years
\nago when Linda and I were students there, gave this counsel to the
\nstudent body – counsel developed over long years in Christian Service
\n…<\/p>\n
“Never doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light”.<\/p>\n
In the light my faith is to be formulated and in the dark my faith is
\nto be demonstrated. And in the demonstration of faith in the darkest
\nmoments of life, my faith is brought to its greatest capacity.<\/p>\n
Two more things are going on in the darkness of our lives …<\/p>\n
Not only is faith being stimulated but …<\/p>\n
2. HOPE is GENERATED!<\/p>\n
(Yearnings for what is yet to be – Romans 5:3-5)<\/p>\n
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know
\nthat suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
\ncharacter, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has
\npoured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has
\ngiven us.<\/p>\n
In the dark times of our lives, God works to produce a genuine,
\nlife-altering “hope” … not a “I hope I get out of this mess somehow”
\nkind of hope but a genuine faith-filled, yearning for the ultimate
\nfulfillment of God’s glorious plan. This is the kind of “hope” that the
\nwriter of Hebrews (6:19) says can serve as an “anchor for the soul,
\nfirm and secure”.<\/p>\n
It’s HOPE – onward looking hope – that enables us to say …<\/p>\n
“God is at work in this darkness –<\/p>\n
Something awesome is taking place!”<\/p>\n
And now just one final thing…<\/p>\n
IN THE DARKNESS OF OUR LIVES …<\/p>\n
3. OUTCOMES are FORMULATED!<\/p>\n
(God’s working personally in all of this – Romans 8:28)<\/p>\n
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
\nhim, who have been called according to his purpose.<\/p>\n
By no means does God generate the darkness that enters our lives. Most
\nof it is the natural result of us living in a fallen, sinful world that
\nis populated by fallen, sinful people.<\/p>\n
But here’s the deal … though God doesn’t generate the darkness, he
\ndoes orchestrate it.<\/p>\n
That is, when it comes, He picks up His conductor’s baton as it were
\nand begins the process of turning cacophony into melody – chaos into
\norder.<\/p>\n
He works purposefully in all the dark things that enter our lives.<\/p>\n
And when things seem the darkest, he is working His hardest.<\/p>\n
We can trust him when darkness invades our lives even as Jesus trusted
\nhim when darkness enveloped him on the cross!<\/p>\n
And as a result, we will endure!<\/p>\n
Final Thot …<\/p>\n
Our DARKNESS is God’s DAYLIGHT!<\/p>\n
“Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like
\nthe day,<\/p>\n
for darkness is as light to you.” (Psalm 139:12)<\/p>\n
setstats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pastor Mark Mikels – August 24, 2008 “BECOMING SPIRITUAL DECATHLETES – Part Nine” (“Connecting With Christ” Series – Part 48) (Mark 15:25-34) Intro … Our examination of Christ’s Spiritual Decathlon is nearly over. Today we see him take on Decathlon Challenge #8. I’ve called it …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"template":"","meta":[],"categories":[10,3],"archive_item":"http:\/\/archive.org\/details\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com--becoming-spiritual-decathletes--becoming-spiritual-decathletes-part-9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons\/158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sp_sermon"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}