Sermon Series: The Good News Is Why He Came 

The Power of the Good News 

Mark 1:16-39

PSBC 12/9/01 AM

In a nutshell: In being the central figure of the Good News, Jesus, early on in His ministry demonstrated His power through: Competence, Comprehension, Command, Compassion, Control, and Communion. He wants to demonstrate that power in your life.

I. Introduction

A. WW2 Story

Toward the end of the Second World War, the Italian forces were driven out of North Africa. In an effort to make one of the North African harbors unusable to the Allies, the Italians took huge barges, filled them with concrete, and sunk them across the entrance to the harbor. When the Allies took over that sea port, they realized that their problem was to remove those barges in order to use that harbor for their ships.

They came up with a very ingenious solution to the problem. They took massive gas tanks-not the kinds of tanks we have on our cars, but the kind that are buried under gas stations. These are the kinds of tanks that hold thousands of gallons of fuel at one time.

The allies sealed those tanks so they would float, and they floated them into position over the place where the barges were below, during low tide. They then attached strong chains from the gas tanks to the barges below the water's surface. When the tide came in, the barges were lifted by the tanks as they floated with the tide. The tanks pulled the barges from the sucking sand at the bottom of the bay. Then it became a relatively easy matter to remove them and make the harbor usable again.

Think of the power in that operation! -The heavy barges were chained to the tanks. -The tanks were riding the movement of the tides. -The tides rose and lifted the tanks, which in turn lifted the barges -All because of the unseen gravitational pull of the moon.

That's real power! But this morning, I want to show you a power that is so much greater!

B. Power of the Gospel

What we celebrate at this time of year is so much more than a weak, helpless baby who was born in a manger in Bethlehem. That baby was God and brought a powerful revelation to the human world… …There is a kingdom of unseen reality in which the forces of good and evil are constantly at battle. …The ruler of that kingdom, and ultimate winner of the war, is God, Himself. …Entrance into that kingdom requires complete righteousness-which is an impossibility for any human being to achieve. …But because of God's love for humanity, He provided a way for human beings to live in that Kingdom with Him. …That Way is Jesus-the baby born in Bethlehem's manger. He earned the righteousness that was necessary for entrance into the Kingdom of God, and He freely gives it to anyone who asks.

That's the good news of Christmas. And it requires that a human being trust only in Jesus Christ as the forgiver of his or her sins, and follow this same Jesus as the leader of his or her life. Period.

Well, today, were going to look at six ways Jesus shows He has the power to be the leader of our lives. And my hope is that as you see the power of Jesus manifested in these six ways, that it will give you the utmost confidence that Jesus knows what He's doing when he asks you to follow Him.

Please turn to Mark 1, and we'll start at verse 16.

II. Six Ways Jesus Demonstrated Power

A. Competence

Mark 1:16-20 16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

At the beginning of this day, Jesus asked four men to follow Him. We know from other New Testament writings that these four men had at one time been disciples of John the Baptist. So, we can surmise, that all these men were acquainted with Jesus. But in these verses were their official challenge to join up with Jesus, and follow Him.

What's interesting to me is the emphasis Mark gives in this incident. Mark records Jesus saying, "Come follow ME, and I will make you fishers of men."

Jesus is assuming total and complete responsibility to train these men in what it means to live in the Kingdom of God. They were going to have to learn how to go through each day, trusting in the power of God, rather than the power of man. It was going to be a tough adventure, but Jesus was telling them here that He was competent to accomplish the task. And that's the first thing I want you to see about Jesus' power to lead us-He is competent! Jesus is assuming total responsibility to mold, shape and make these men (an us) into the people needed to follow God.

But the interesting thing is that as Jesus shaped and molded these guys for the Kingdom of God, He did it in a way that retained their uniqueness.

Think about it. Peter and Andrew were casting their nets into the sea-in other words, they were throwing their circular nets out over each side of the boat, trying to catch fish. It's no coincidence that these two guys became the prominent evangelists in the first century church. Their entire lives, after Jesus got ahold of them, would be spent casting the good news of Jesus Christ out to the people around them. Andrew was always the one bringing individuals to Jesus; and Peter was the one who spoke to large crowds.

James and John, on the other hand, were doing something else. They were mending their nets. The Greek word for "mending" is the same word which appears in…

Ephesians 4:11-12 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

The word "mend" is the same as "to prepare". The Ephesians' verse says that pastors are to "prepare" or "mend" God's people so they can do the work of ministry. And just as James and John were preparing their nets, getting them ready for use, Jesus eventually prepared these guys to be teachers who would equip other Christians to live as God's followers.

I really like this concept of Jesus having the competence to lead. Because it indicates to me that when Jesus asks you and me to follow Him, He not only equips us-taking full responsibility to teach us everything we need to learn to be useful in God's Kingdom, but He does it in a way so we retain our distinct of personalities-the very things that make you, you; and me, me!

B. Comprehension

A second thing I want you to see about Jesus' power to be the leader of our lives is found in verses 21 and 22…

Mark 1:21-22 21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

Here Mark emphasizes the comprehension of Jesus. Jesus has such a huge scope of knowledge, such a keen insight into human need, and he knows so much about each one of us, that He can teach us better than the best of human teachers.

An outstanding American psychiatrist, J. T. Fisher, wrote…

"If you were to take the sum total of all authoritative articles ever written by the most qualified psychologists and psychiatrists on the subject of mental hygiene, if you were to combine them and refine them and cleave out the excess verbiage, if you were to take the whole of the meat and none of the parsley, and if you were to have these unadulterated bits of pure scientific knowledge concisely expressed by the most capable of living poets, you would have an awkward and an incomplete summary of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount."

Friends, that's why the people on this Sabbath Day in Capernaum's synagogue were astonished. The teaching of Jesus cut right through all the fat and gristle of their lives and got right down to speaking to the meat of the issues of their lives unlike any religious teacher they had ever heard. He was relevant, He was insightful and He was dead on in what He said!

And that's one of the things that makes Jesus so powerful. He comprehends us better than we even comprehend ourselves.

C. Command

A third thing I want you to see about Jesus' power is found in what happened next when He was in this synagogue…

Mark 1:23-28 23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are-the Holy One of God!" 25 "Be quiet!" said Jesus sternly. "Come out of him!" 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek. 27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching-and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him." 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.

This incident represents Jesus' command. There is no doubt this evil spirit was reacting to what Jesus was saying. And finally he couldn't stand it any more! The insight Jesus gave that Sabbath morning was so piercing, so accurate, and so clear, that the demon was tortured with the truth. So he interrupted angrily, "What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?"

At this point, Jesus rebuked the demon, commanded it to be silent, and ordered him out of the body of the man, where he was residing. And reluctantly, the demon left.

Friends, that's the power of Jesus. That's the command He has.

Illustration: Folks, understand, demons possession is a very real thing… -I was involved in an exorcism, several years ago. -I've also seen and heard demonic manifestations in people who have come to me for counseling. -Not too long ago, during my father's last term as an elder in my home church, he and his pastor experienced a situation where two of the youth in that church were heavily involved with the "Dungeons and Dragons" board and computer games. They discovered that a demon had entered one of the young men and was manifesting itself in evil and destructive ways. That demon had to be, and was cast out of that young man. -I have several books in my library, documenting demonic activity around the world

And in any instance regarding demon possession, the only common denominator to overcoming it is one single thing-the name of Jesus.

Philippians 2:9-11 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus' command of this situation with the demon possessed man was so powerful, so remarkable, and so decisive… that Mark says that the news spread quickly over the whole region. It spread like wildfire. People recognized that Jesus had a command of even the powerful forces of evil that dwell in the Kingdom we cannot see.

D. Compassion

The fourth way that Jesus demonstrated His power on this day is found in the next, very touching three verses…

Mark 1:29-31 29 As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon's mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her. 31 So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.

You all have had fevers. And you all know that when you have a fever, you don't function very well. A fever is our body's way of repairing itself. But when you're going through it, it is very miserable and uncomfortable. That's what's going on in Peter's mother-in-law's body during this time. She has a fever, that if allowed to run it's course, would probably have broken in a few hours or days… and the disease would be gone.

But when Jesus was told about her condition, He had compassion on her, and He healed her. Compassion is the fourth way Jesus demonstrated His power.

I suppose in the overall scheme of things, this wasn't a particularly necessary miracle. But, friends, it speaks of the compassion that Jesus had for someone who was hurting. And, you know, it didn't even matter if it was a big or little hurt-this woman mattered to Jesus. And that is the way Jesus treats every person who has a relationship with Him. Part of His power, is in His compassion-compassion for even the smallest or least little difficulty or discouragement or problem that you or I have in our lives. So, how des this show power?

Chuck Colson says, "Power is like saltwater; the more you drink, the thirstier you get." But since all power belongs to God, Jesus doesn't desire more. He already has all there is. That means He is able to use it freely-and He does. In His power, He has the ability to demonstrate compassion about everything in our lives-right down to the smallest detail.

E. Control

Look at the next verses for the fifth way Jesus demonstrated his power-His demonstration of control…

Mark 1:32-34 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

At sundown, the Sabbath ended. So, people began to flock to Jesus, bringing their friends and relatives who were sick and demon-possessed, for Jesus to heal.

What struck me when I read these verses, is the control that Jesus exercised over demonic activity. He basically laid a verbal quarantine around these evil forces. He wouldn't allow the demons to speak-not one word! You see, Jesus knew that the demons knew who He was. And if they spoke of who He was, then people would flock to Him for all the wrong reasons. And Jesus didn't want crowds based on physical healing. Let's face it, physical healing is temporary, at best. The Bible tells us…

Hebrews 9:27 27 … man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

No matter how often you are healed, you still are eventually going to die-and then permanent reality begins.

Jesus was more interested in the spiritual reality of humans. The spirit is what lives for eternity. And the things that affect the spirit are not the physical things, but things like our attitudes, our thoughts, our values, and our virtues. Jesus wanted to heal the spirit of human beings, and cure them of things like bitterness, hostility, lust, anger, worry, anxiety and criticalness.

Healing and deliverance from these things has eternal value. So Jesus exercised control over these demons in order to keep His ministry on track with things that had eternal significance, not just popular appeal.

Now, the day is just about over. It's late/early morning, and Mark gives us a sixth way Jesus shows His power…

F. Communion

Mark 1:35-39 35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. 36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: "Everyone is looking for you!" 38 Jesus replied, "Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages-so I can preach there also. That is why I have come." 39 So he traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.

After a full day of ministry, Mark tells us that before it was even light out, Jesus went out on the mountainside and communed with God. In other words He prayed. He talked with His Father in heaven.

Now, we have a pretty good idea what He prayed about by looking at what He said to His disciples, " Let us go somewhere else-to the nearby villages-so I can preach there also." He was praying about His next ministry appointments. He was praying for open doors into people's lives, so they could hear and understand "the good news", and respond to it and enter into a relationship with God.

Jesus, with all His power, still recognized that as a man, He needed the power that only comes from communion with God.

Even Jesus, the Son of God, very God of very God, the One to whom every knee shall bow on earth and in heaven…still needed intense prayer and time alone with God, for Him to experience success. He had to connect to the power source to remain powerful. He recognized that without God's help, all matters of human effort are useless, weak, or mediocre at best. What a difference we experience when we realize this important principle-without God we can do nothing.

This is what it comes down to… On the front of your WIG's is Corrie ten Boom's piercing question…

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire? (Corrie ten Boom) For Jesus, it was His steering wheel. It is one of the areas He demonstrated He had real power. He knew where to go for power.

III. Conclusion

Friends, Christmas is all about the good news being given to human beings. The good news is a person. That person's name is Jesus. And this morning He's asking you to allow Him to lead your life with His power.

Illustration: There was a fellow who had been reared in the city, but wanted to be a farmer. He eventually bought a farm along with several milk cows. In the feed store one day, he complained to the feed store owner that his best cow had gone dry.

"Are you feeding her right?" asked the store owner.

"I'm feeding her what you've been selling me," said the man.

"Are you milking her everyday?"

"Just about," answered the city slicker. "If I need six or eight ounces of milk for breakfast, I go out and get it. If I don't need any, I don't get it--I just let her save it up."

At that point, the feed store owner had to explain, what I may have to explain to some of you. Cows don't work that way. With cow's milk, you take all that there is, or you eventually have nothing.

If you're only willing to allow the power of the gospel-the person of Jesus Christ-into your life in small doses, or you're only seeking His power sporadically, or only connecting with Him as it's convenient, I'm afraid the power of the gospel in your life is going to dry up.

Down through the centuries, God has shown that He only demonstrates His power through two means: -Either through the absence of human power, -or the abandonment of human power. Either way, the power of Jesus Christ to lead our lives won't show up, until we choose to depend on that power, alone. 

Amen.