Pastor Mark Mikels July 27, 2008<\/p>\n
“EVENT #4 – BATTLE PREPARING!”<\/p>\n
“Becoming Spiritual Decathletes”<\/p>\n
(“Connecting With Christ” Series – Part
\n44)<\/p>\n
Mark 14:1-31<\/p>\n
Intro … Today we continue in our quest to become World-Class
\nSpiritual Decathletes – masters of the 10 incredibly challenging tasks
\n– the Spiritual Decathlon, if you will, that Jesus himself dominated
\nthe final week of his earthly life.<\/p>\n
So far we have examined three of those ten great challenges …<\/p>\n
Temple Cleansing – Question Handling – Future Facing<\/p>\n
Today we come to …<\/p>\n
.<\/p>\n
Christ’s Fourth Great Challenge …<\/p>\n
“BATTLE PREPARING” that is …<\/p>\n
Getting READY For Great Spiritual EXERTION<\/p>\n
One can not follow the life of Jesus Christ for more than a few pages
\nof Scripture (especially not the pages covering the final days of his
\nlife) without realizing that He regularly was called upon to exert
\nhimself greatly in Sacred Service. Great demands were placed upon him –
\ngreat ministries were wrought by him.<\/p>\n
One of the major tasks of his life and ministry was the actual
\npreparing of himself for those great exertions.<\/p>\n
At the point we pick up the story today, Jesus is right on the verge of
\nthe greatest of all the challenges that would face him … right before
\nhim loomed the Struggle in the Garden, the All-Night Humiliation before
\nthe Leaders of the Land, and the Awfulness of the Crucifixion itself.<\/p>\n
Preparing himself for what lay immediately ahead was a challenge in and
\nof itself and this morning we treat it as such.<\/p>\n
Now keep in mind (as we have said each week) that in his personal
\npreparation for great spiritual exertion, he lays out the pattern we
\nshould follow as we seek to “prepare ourselves” for the spiritual
\nexertions that we will be called upon to make.<\/p>\n
With that in mind, consider with me …<\/p>\n
Today’s Key Observation #1 …<\/p>\n
Two amazing EVENTS provided the CONTEXT<\/p>\n
for the Lord’s personal PREPARATION for Battle …<\/p>\n
The DINNER in Bethany and the LAST SUPPER in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
The key word here is “Context” … these two social events provided the
\nopportunity – the environment – the occasion – for two incredibly
\nsignificant happenings and those significant happenings presented Jesus
\nwith the challenge we’ve called “Battle Preparing”.<\/p>\n
Happening #1 … At the Dinner in Bethany an unnamed woman came
\nunobtrusively into this probably all-male gathering and poured an
\nentire jar of expensive perfume on Jesus’ head.<\/p>\n
Happening #2 … During the Last Supper in Jerusalem, Jesus identified
\nhimself as the sacrifice that would make possible a New Covenant
\nbetween God and Man.<\/p>\n
Now, having said just that much let me draw your attention to …<\/p>\n
Today’s Key Observation #2 …<\/p>\n
From these two amazing events arise two PRINCIPLES<\/p>\n
of Preparation, each with its own unique STEP of Response.<\/p>\n
Let’s consider these events one at a time … first, the Dinner in
\nBethany.<\/p>\n
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man
\nknown as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very
\nexpensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the
\nperfume on his head.<\/p>\n
Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this
\nwaste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages
\nand the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.<\/p>\n
“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done
\na beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and
\nyou can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.
\nShe did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to
\nprepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is
\npreached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in
\nmemory of her.”<\/p>\n
What an incredible moment! It created quite a ruckus.<\/p>\n
Have you ever noticed how an act of generosity – extravagance even –
\nwill generate extreme reactions?<\/p>\n
Some will question the “giver’s” motives – they might accuse the giver
\nof “showing off” or seeking to gain some special “advantage”; others
\nlike some who were there that night in Bethany will point out how the
\ngift could have been put to so much better use; others might think “I’d
\nbe so embarrassed if such a thing were to happen to me.” People like
\nthat would find Jesus at fault for permitting such a thing to go on.
\nStill others will inwardly resent the fact that they were neither the
\nbenefactor nor the benefited; they would resent the spotlight that this
\ndeed cast.<\/p>\n
The Scripture indicates that the room pretty much exploded with all of
\nthe above – the dinner was put on hold. The woman was in the shadows no
\nlonger – they jumped all over her.<\/p>\n
And in the midst of it all, a strong voice, a voice that could not be
\nignored said,<\/p>\n
“Leave her alone” (you self-centered, pompous hypocrites)<\/p>\n
“She has done a beautiful thing to me. She poured perfume on<\/p>\n
my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.”<\/p>\n
Tucked away in the story of that amazing event is …<\/p>\n
Preparation Principle #1 …<\/p>\n
“God’s GRACE Must Be POURED Out UPON You.”<\/p>\n
“Be WILLING To RECEIVE It.”<\/p>\n
(Mark 14:3-9)<\/p>\n
No Spiritual Task can be accomplished in our own human strength; no man
\nis equal to the task. Even the Son of God relied upon the strength
\nprovided by the Heavenly Father to face the challenges life laid before
\nhim.<\/p>\n
In fact, later in the week Jesus would say that very thing to his
\nchosen Twelve …<\/p>\n
“I am the vine and you are the branches … apart from me,<\/p>\n
you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)<\/p>\n
The Lord said a similar thing to the Apostle Paul when he was
\nstruggling with a great affliction … Paul, he said …<\/p>\n
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power<\/p>\n
is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)<\/p>\n
The first principle of preparation for spiritual challenge says …<\/p>\n
“God’s Grace Must Be Poured Out Upon You”<\/p>\n
Be “Willing To Receive It”.<\/p>\n
Jesus certainly was …<\/p>\n
He said, “She has done a beautiful thing” …<\/p>\n
You know, he could have been the first one to get upset … He could
\nhave said … “What are you doing – you’re ruining my meal – you’re
\nwasting God’s resources – you’re embarrassing me!<\/p>\n
He could have expressed more distress than any of them BUT he saw it
\nfor what it was – it saw it as God’s own Grace being poured out upon
\nhim. He was being prepared for what was coming.<\/p>\n
I have no doubt that the aroma of that perfume was still upon him when
\nthey nailed him to the cross – each remaining molecule of its fragrance
\nsaying to him “You are prepared for this – You have received Grace from
\nGod for this very hour”.<\/p>\n
Preparation for spiritual challenge involves “Receiving the Grace” that
\nGod would pour out upon our lives.<\/p>\n
Jesus was ready to receive it … “This, he said, is a beautiful
\nthing.”<\/p>\n
The Apostle Peter for example was not ready …<\/p>\n
Remember how he reacted in the Upper Room when Jesus came to wash his
\nfeet … Talk about an “extravagant action” – the eternal Son of God
\nstooping to perform such a menial task!<\/p>\n
Peter said “Lord, you will never wash my feet”. I will not let you
\n“pour yourself out” in this way on my behalf. I’m fine just as I am.<\/p>\n
Later, that same over-confident, under-prepared Peter would say …<\/p>\n
“Lord, I will never disown you”;<\/p>\n
Lord, even if all the others fall away, I will not.”<\/p>\n
And so, having failed the preparation challenge – Peter would crumble
\nunder pressure and actually deny the Lord three times in a matter of
\nhours.<\/p>\n
Even the Apostle Paul didn’t want to receive it…<\/p>\n
He wanted the Lord to just take his particular challenge away … In
\nfact he said that he pleaded with the Lord three times to remove it. (2
\nCor. 12:7-9)<\/p>\n
But the Lord communicated to Paul that the challenge (what Paul called
\nhis `thorn in the flesh’) would not be removed but “sufficient grace
\nwould be given”, meaning that Paul would be more than prepared to
\nhandle it successfully.<\/p>\n
And once he knew that … Paul accepted the Grace and quit trying to
\nget out of the struggle.<\/p>\n
“Therefore, (He said) I will boast all the more gladly about my
\nweaknesses,<\/p>\n
(my challenges), so that Christ’s power may rest upon me.”<\/p>\n
Preparation Principle #1 …<\/p>\n
“God’s Grace Must Be Poured Out Upon You.”<\/p>\n
“Be Willing To Receive It.”<\/p>\n
And now we come to the second of these two amazing events –<\/p>\n
The Last Supper in Jerusalem. Here’s how it reads … Mark 14:17-25<\/p>\n
When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. While they were
\nreclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of
\nyou will betray me–one who is eating with me.”<\/p>\n
They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, “Surely not I?”<\/p>\n
“It is one of the Twelve,” he replied, “one who dips bread into the
\nbowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him.
\nBut woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for
\nhim if he had not been born.”<\/p>\n
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and
\ngave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.”<\/p>\n
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all
\ndrank from it.<\/p>\n
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he
\nsaid to them. “I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the
\nfruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of
\nGod.”<\/p>\n
Here in this event Jesus created a ruckus all by himself. “One of you
\nwill betray me and face severe consequences.”<\/p>\n
All of them were first saddened at the thought that such a thing could
\nhappen and then horrified by the thought that any one of them might be
\nthe one.<\/p>\n
In telling them ahead of time, Jesus was letting them know that he knew
\nwhat was about to happen and exactly how it would happen and that he
\nwas planning to press on in spite of the pain such a thing would cause
\nhim.<\/p>\n
And it’s in that “pressing on” that we recognize …<\/p>\n
Preparation Principle #2 …<\/p>\n
“God’s GRACE Must Be POURED Out THROUGH You.”<\/p>\n
“Be WILLING To PASS it ON.”<\/p>\n
(Mark 14:12-26)<\/p>\n
Did you pick up on the key phrase as I read through the account?<\/p>\n
“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,”<\/p>\n
he said to them.<\/p>\n
Physically speaking, the blood of Christ would be poured out upon the
\ncross; spiritually speaking, his blood would be sprinkled on the mercy
\nseat in the heavenly sanctuary. Many would come to salvation because of
\nhis willingness to be used to “pass on the grace”.<\/p>\n
That’s always the final step of preparation … “Willingness to pass on
\nthe Grace that has been poured out upon us” – we could even add,
\nregardless of the cost.<\/p>\n
That night around the table Jesus was demonstrating his complete
\npreparation for what lay immediately ahead.<\/p>\n
Being prepared for Spiritual Battle – Being prepared for great
\nspiritual exertion of any kind – means recognizing that even as God’s
\nGrace must be poured out upon us to enable us for effective ministry so
\nthe accomplishment of that ministry requires the Grace of God to be
\npoured out through us into the very circumstances in which God would
\nhave us minister.<\/p>\n
Here’s how the Apostle Paul put it in his second letter to Timothy …<\/p>\n
“I am already being poured out like a drink offering.”<\/p>\n
(2 Timothy 4:6)<\/p>\n
Deep in the dungeons of Rome, Paul sensed that he was near the end and
\nthat his final great act of witness was soon to be given. He would die
\na martyr’s death and he would indeed be “poured” out in service to
\nChrist.<\/p>\n
He had in fact been being “poured out” for years.<\/p>\n
Physically, he had been beaten and stoned; he had been shipwrecked and
\nimprisoned; he had been accused falsely and hounded unmercifully.<\/p>\n
He had borne the burden of all the churches that he had established.<\/p>\n
And through it all he had served as a willing conduit for the
\ntransforming, empowering Grace of God.<\/p>\n
Through His willingness to have that Grace poured out upon him and his
\nwillingness to have that Grace poured out through him, he had prepared
\nhimself to face anything that came to him.<\/p>\n
He had faithfully walked in the steps of his Savior and he would
\nchallenge us to do the same …<\/p>\n
“Follow my example” (he once wrote) as I follow the example of Christ.”<\/p>\n
(1 Corinthians 11:1)<\/p>\n
And there we have it … follow the pattern that Christ himself has
\nlaid down and that 1000’s of his saints have emulated over the years
\n…<\/p>\n
For today … with regard to the challenge of “Battle Preparing” …<\/p>\n
Do recognize that the ability to face and overcome spiritual challenges
\ncomes as God pours His empowering, enabling grace upon you and through
\nyou –<\/p>\n
Be Willing to Receive it and to Pass it on!<\/p>\n
Final Thot …<\/p>\n
Most BATTLES are won or lost before the FIRST SHOT is fired –
\nPREPARATION is everything!<\/p>\n
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Pastor Mark Mikels July 27, 2008 “EVENT #4 – BATTLE PREPARING!” “Becoming Spiritual Decathletes” (“Connecting With Christ” Series – Part 44) Mark 14:1-31 Intro … Today we continue in our quest to become World-Class Spiritual Decathletes – masters of the 10 incredibly challenging tasks – the Spiritual Decathlon, if you will, that Jesus himself dominated […]<\/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-5","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermons\/192"}],"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=192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sonlifecommunitychurch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}