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["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] ["Pomp and Circumstance"] All right, if you look like a bulletin just go ahead and lift up your hand. Brother Adam will bring you one. As always on the inside there we have our service times listed. We'll be back tonight at 5 30 p.m. and then of course Thursdays at 7 we're going to the book of Acts. We'll be in Acts chapter 27 this week. I understand we meant to go through it last week but I ended up getting stuck in Yakima so I won't go into all that but anyways we had brother Raymond come down and fill in for us. I understand he did a great job so appreciate him coming down here but we will be back. I'm not planning on going anywhere between now and then so there should be no unforeseen reasons why I won't be here this Thursday back in the book of Acts so come out and join us for that. Also a happy birthday to everybody celebrating in the month of December. Moi and of course Julie my youngest are the only two this month that I know of. If your birthday isn't listed or your anniversary and you would like it to me just get that information to me and I promise I'll put it in there. I promise I won't include anyone's age or anything like that but we do have the donuts back there so enjoy those. There's some cider as well and then also we're gonna be having a farewell party in honor of Joshua and Teresa Elliott on Sunday December 17th after the morning service and we're gonna cater some tacos from Juanitos so they do a great job of course with the carne asada over there so I figure that's probably a good way to see the Elliott's off into the sunset so to speak is giving one last chance at the best Mexican food in the nation you know so maybe maybe try maybe give one like are you sure you want to go I mean this is what you're passing up on you know if the church isn't enough to convince you to stay well maybe the tacos will get you but I'm joking of course I know they've got a life up there to go live and we're happy and excited for them everything that's gonna take place in that next chapter lies we do want to wish them a fond farewell as they go so that's gonna be sunny December 17th my understanding is you guys are leaving the 18th right so that's the last chance if you got something to say that's that's that's your last chance all right I don't want to say it's their last meal okay it's their last meal here okay but anyway come on out and help us see them off and then on the back we have the Christmas caroling of course this is a Tempe this is available to anybody that would like to go on Tuesday December 19th at 5 30 p.m. I will not be able to make this this year so but I can make the van available if people would like to go up there we have a couple of insured drivers of course one of them would have to be willing and able to go if you want to come talk to me if there's people that want to participate this up in Tempe I can definitely do my part to get you up there and enjoy that and at least get your transportation taken care of so come see me if you'd like to participate in that they go out for about an hour that break up into groups if you've never done it it's a great time I'm kind of disheartened that I won't be able to make it this year but you know that's just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes speaking of cookies there will be hot cocoa and cookies after I know it just says hot cocoa there but there's supposed to be cocoa or cookies as well and then cookies are again on the schedule here on the announcement below that we're not going to be hosting a Christmas Eve candlelight service this year we're just gonna have our normal regular service times but after the evening service we will be serving again cookies and cocoa down here so of course if you're wondering when the Christmas Eve services it's on Christmas Eve okay so that's December 24th it falls on a Sunday this year but we're gonna we're just gonna give that a Sabbath this year and let that rest and we'll come back to the Christmas Eve candlelight service probably next year but we will have a time of cookies and cocoa and fellowship after the evening service that'll all be provided by the church don't feel obligated to bring anything if you'd like to just come out and at least observe the birth of Christ on Christmas you know it's kind of what the day is about anyway Christmas Eve Christmas so hopefully you'll at least be in church so you can pass on the cookies but anyway well that's the plan this year below that we have just a quick announcements about our recliners of course someone was kind enough to donate a couple recliners to the church please just keep in mind those are for those that are in need of accommodation and if you're wondering if that's you it's not okay so I don't want to get too detailed about that all right it's for the it's for the it's for the weak and elderly or you know whoever feels like they need one okay but it's not for you to just get comfortable and take a nap while I'm preaching not that you need a recliner for that but I'm just joking so anyway that's it for the announcements this morning let's go ahead and sing one more song before we get into preaching oh I do have one other thing to do sorry I've been meaning to give these out these are the spoons for the for the chili cook-off this year so we had a couple of winners and I felt bad about not having these ready in time but I said you know what what's preventing me from getting them right so this second place goes to mrs. Joanna so everyone give her a round of applause there and of course Fiona was third place I won't make her stand up here and in front everybody miss Joanne will bring her but that will do it for announcements for when the battle's over Oh Oh Oh Oh Oh so put up our bodies with Psalm chapter 94 Psalm chapter 94 as always read the entire chapter Psalm 94 verse 1 the Bible reads Oh Lord God to the men's belonging of God to the men's long show thyself lift up thyself thou judge of the earth render a reward to the proud Lord how long shall awaken how long shall the wicked triumph along shall they utter and speak hard things and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves the brick and pieces like people Lord flicked our heritage they slay the widows a stranger and murder the fatherless yet they say the Lord shall not see and I shall a god of Jacob the garden understand the British among the people and fools when we be wise he that planted the gear here he that for me I shall not see he that chastises the not correct he that teaches man knowledge should I know the Lord know the thoughts of man there that blesses the man not just a so Lord and teaches him out of my law that makes give him rest with days of mercy until the pit we dig for the wicked the Lord will not cast off his people that only forsake his inheritance the judgment shall return to righteousness and on the upright heart shall follow who will rise up for me against the evildoers or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity unless the Lord I do my help my soul I almost dwell in silence when I said my foot slipped I mercy the Lord held me up in the most food of my thoughts within me that accomplished like my soul so the throne of iniquity I fellowship with thee the training mischief by the law they gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn the innocent blood but the Lord is my defense and my God is the rock of my refuge and he shall bring upon them their own iniquity they shall cut them off in their own wickedness a the Lord our God shall cut them off and so if you want to keep something there in Psalm 94 we'll come back in a little bit but I'm gonna continue on in the book of Mark this morning and of course we've been going through it verse by verse over the last several weeks and there's just a lot to really review at this point so I'm not gonna take any time to do that but if you've been following with us you know verse 29 in the context is where Jesus is coming out of the synagogue after having cast out the devil there and everything that took place in the previous verses but in verse 29 it says and forthwith when they came out of the synagogue they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew and James with John so what we're looking at this morning is verses 29 I believe through 35 or 36 and we're going to be looking at Jesus in the house of Simon Jesus in the house of Simon and what's interesting about this of course you know as we're going through these verses we're explaining doctrine where appropriate kind of explaining maybe difficult verses when we run into them but a lot of times you get just these narratives of what they did and what happened and the Bible really opens up itself for us to just kind of make application and the application I want to make this morning is that when Jesus is in the house of Simon really what he's doing is he's kind of dropping in isn't he it's kind of a drop in who knows what the drop in is right if you got the relatives that live nearby you know I know when I lived in Michigan my mom's house was kind of centrally located and we always had aunts and uncles and siblings and other people just kind of just stopping by is just saying hello unannounced right and of course that's always a good thing you know usually right okay and but that's that's the drop in right where you just kind of stop in and just kind of see what's going on and say hello and you kind of see that in this story I don't know that this was necessarily something that was planned or maybe if Simon given the circumstance with his mother-in-law being sick you know asked Jesus to come but the way the Bible kind of shows us here is it's just kind of Jesus dropping in right it says in forthwith meaning you know after these things when they were come out of the synagogue they entered in the house of Simon they just went from one place to the next they said hey we got to have somewhere to stay tonight there's somewhere you know we after church we got to go get the meal we got to have a place to stay where should we go well let's go to Simon's house right and what I like about this is that Simon you know obviously just throws the doors wide open and says come on in he's open to the drop-in okay obviously the drop-in visit isn't always something we would look forward to okay maybe if we're busy or we have a lot going on or we're not feeling well you know there might be times or someone want to drop in we would say hey you know that now is not a good time okay but here's the thing when Jesus wants to drop in it's always a good time okay and the application I want to bring this morning is you know would Jesus be welcome if he dropped in at our house today if Jesus were to gonna just come and stop by this afternoon you know how would we feel about that okay we need to make sure that we would be comfortable with that and the truth is you know some of us might not feel that's comfortable we might think man boy Jesus if I'd known you were coming I would have cleaned the place up right or that's the very least okay we would feel like you know I know how it is houses get lived in people are busy and you know ladies always feel like the place is never cleaning up no matter who's dropping by right anyone stopping by there they're always apologizing for the house right but what about with Jesus drop I we'd probably be a little bit more concerned just than the orderliness of the house you know making sure that you know the dirty laundry was put away and the bathrooms were clean the dishes weren't all over the place and all the toys had gotten cleaned up and we dusted and wiped all the glass down and everything that you know we would do if we were anticipating an important visitor you know if Jesus were dropping by we'd probably be a little bit more concerned than just those you know just those four those formal things so to speak you know we might be find ourselves a little more concerned with maybe some of the things that are in our house or maybe if Jesus were to just drop by we might be a little bit more embarrassed about how we were behaving in our house or the things that we were doing or maybe the way we were speaking to our spouse or treating our children or the children were speaking to their parents if Jesus dropped in and came in and said what's all the yelling going on in here right maybe we wouldn't be quite so comfortable quite so ready like Simon to just throw the doors open and say come on come on in but here's the thing about this with this drop in what we have to understand about the Christian life is that Jesus isn't somebody who just comes and goes in our life you know Jesus isn't just someone who's gonna stop by every once in a while and check up on us you know Jesus is with us everywhere we go he's already everywhere one just because he's present everywhere he's God there's nowhere we can hide from him but also because of the fact that the Holy Spirit dwells in us the moment you got saved guess what Jesus dropped in and he set up residence through the Holy Spirit's if you would again keep something in Psalms 94 go over to John chapter 14 John chapter 14 I'll be in mark if you want to look at the verses that I'm referring to I'm gonna have you in a couple places hopefully you don't sprain a finger this morning but it's possible I know he got in Psalm 94 we're looking at mark 1 verse 29 and forthwith when they were coming to the house out of the synagogue they entered into the house of Simon Andrew with James and John they dropped in would we be welcome would Jesus be welcome to be to drop in on us this morning or would there be you know some magazines we have to hide would there be some browsers we have to clear will there be some you know other things we'd want to stash away and make sure that aren't out there in the open would we have to change our behavior when we have to you know not conduct ourselves as we normally would okay the truth is Jesus already done dropped in Jesus dropped in the moment you got saved he's already everywhere look at John 14 verse 17 even the spirit of truth that's a reference to the Holy Spirit whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelleth in you and shall be in you of course he's speaking to the disciples and the Holy Spirit had not yet been given so that's why it's kind of you get these two different tenses here where the Holy Spirit is saying he dwelleth with you meaning he's he's amongst you right now because I'm here he's here the Holy Spirit is here we're present God is with you and shall be in you meaning future tense after I am gone and I send the Comforter that's when the the the the Holy Spirit will be given and will begin to indwell the believers and that's the time that we're living in that time of where he shall be in us look Jesus the Holy Spirit is in you Jesus has dropped in already so if you know here's the thing if the idea of Jesus physically dropping by makes us uncomfortable you know what then there's things we have to change already we need to start putting our finger on some things to say this needs to change this behavior needs to change we need to get rid of this sin we need to clean this up we need to change some things because Jesus has already dropped in spiritually and he's with us everywhere we go if you keep something in John 14 we'll come back towards the end but go to Psalm 94 Psalm 94 it's a foolish thing to think that God doesn't see and hear us everywhere we go you know the story this morning it's a literal just dropping in it's just Jesus stopping by he's going to be there for a little bit and then he's going to be gone he's going to show up he's going to do his thing and they're going to have that fellowship and then he's going to leave Simon Peter's house but in the case of you and I Jesus is with us everywhere we go because we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit he shall be in you if you look at Psalm 94 where we were this morning reading in verse 3 it says Lord how long shall the wicked how long shall the wicked triumph course Psalm 94 is you know he's talking generally about the wickedness of the world okay but we could apply this to our own lives the the world the unsaved they have a certain mentality when it comes to how they uh you know uh treat God or their perception of God or what they think of God and that's kind of what's going on here he's expressing his angst about the wicked and their attitude towards God he's saying how long shall the wicked triumph it seems like they're getting away with it Lord at verse 4 how long shall they utter and speak hard things how long shall they blaspheme that holy name how long shall they scoff and mock and ridicule God and his people and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves how long are they going to be so lifted up with pride and just flaunt sin in God's face they break thy break in pieces thy people Lord and afflict thine inheritance they persecute the righteous they slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless what causes these people to do all these wicked things these are pretty serious things I mean murdering uh the widow slaying the widow murdering the fatherless fatherless doing all these wicked things what causes the the the lost unsaved world that behave this way verse 7 yet they say the Lord shall not see that's their mentality that's the mentality of the unsaved world that's why they they're so proud and they're so boastful and they're so bold to do all the things that they do because their thought is God doesn't see God isn't there there is no God they say it's a certain type of people with a certain type of mentality they say the Lord shall not see what kind of people would say such a thing what kind of people would say oh the Lord shall not see they say that what kind of people are they well they're wicked for one but look at verse 8 understand ye brutish among the people and ye fools when will ye be wise so this is the reply to the wicked to those that would say the Lord shall not see the reply is understand ye brutish let's bring that into the modern vernacular stupid as it's used in jude right brute beasts dumb animals okay you see when someone's a brute you know it's that's not just a cologne okay i don't know if they even make that anymore but okay they do i'm getting some nods all right it's out there okay some of you might be wearing it this morning no offense okay might you know probably beats the alternative all right but here's the thing brute is not something you want to be you might want to smell brutish you know if you want i don't know if you're into that scent but a brute is not something you want to endeavor to be in life right because and this is the type of people that say these things the type of people that say oh god doesn't see it's stupid you're brutish if you think that you're dumb if you think god doesn't see you that's what he's saying ye brutish among the people you fools when will you be wise when are you going to smarten up when you get when you get some smarts we're going to be quit being so foolish and so stupid and so dumb what's the stupidity here that he's talking about what is that makes them brutish the fact that they say the lord shall not see and of course we're talking about you know the people of this world but could we apply that to ourselves this morning look if we're sitting in here this morning and we're just you know behaving ourselves in a way and have this attitude of well it's okay for me to do this because god doesn't see or the deacon doesn't know about it you know here that's a stupid thought that's dumb that's foolish god sees us everywhere we go god hears every word we say god knows every thought we think before we think it and to think otherwise is stupid okay it's stupid to think that he doesn't see us look at verse nine he that planted the ear shall he not hear we're talking about god here you know who cares about whether i know where it's about something or not who cares about whether i'm going to drop in or not god's already there god's already dropped into your life everywhere you go god follows you to work god follows you to the grocery store god follows you up and down the highway he he follows you everywhere you go you know i didn't plant the ear i'm glad i don't want to hear everything i didn't form the eye and i'm glad because i don't want to see everything he that chastised at the heathen shall he not correct and that that's the warning here he's saying look if god planted the ear and god formed the eye he hears and he sees everything and the warning is he that chastised at the heathen shall he not correct if god punishes the wicked how much more so his own children he chastens every son whom he received what the bible says he that teacheth man knowledge shall he not know god knows everything the lord knoweth the thoughts of man that they are vanity look god even knows our thoughts let alone our actions let alone our deeds god knows the things that we think god knows our motives the problem with having this attitude of saying well the lord shall not see is that one it's stupid it's it's dumb people that think that is what also is the fact that it leads to wickedness it leads to sinner lies when we pretend that god is blind right how long shall the wicked how long shall the wicked triumph it's wicked people that have this mentality and and they commit all kinds of sin it's stupid to think and if you would go over to first peter chapter one that god somehow is okay with unholiness that god is somehow okay with sin in our lives and look i understand none of us is perfect self-included we all have sins but we should not be in the habitual perpetual state of sin and when god puts his finger on something we need to get rid of it if jesus dropped in and said fix it let's fix it but let's not be like wicked people let's not be like dumb foolish people just say oh god doesn't see god doesn't care he's not that concerned you know simon peter was able to just throw the doors open and say come on in why because nothing to hide look at first peter chapter one verse 13 wherefore gird up the loins of your mind and be sober and hope to the end for the grace that has to be brought unto you at the revelation of jesus christ how is it that we are to hope unto the end right he's saying be patient hope unto the end right how are how are we supposed to do that as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according the former lust and ignorance as obedient children now look it's easy to obey in the presence of a parent isn't it when mom and dad are watching your ever move it's easy to you know know what to do how to stand at attention it's a lot harder to obey when they're gone when you think they don't see when you think they don't hear and in it mom has eyes in the back of her head right the eyes of mom are throughout the whole house right it's and when we don't hear things that's when we get nervous right but how much heart what if mom and dad leave the house oh they're gone now now it's our house now we get to have the rule of the roost right no we're we're to obey as god's children as obedient children in the absence as we're waiting for his return as we're waiting for the revelation of jesus christ we have to behave ourselves as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according the former lusts in your ignorance right just like psalm 94 ignorance being brutish being foolish and thinking that god doesn't see us therefore it's okay to live an unholy life he's saying no you need to be obedient and fashion yourselves not according the former lust in your ignorance but verse 15 as he which hath called you is holy so be he holy in all manner of conversation and conversation there in the bible just means in the way which you conduct yourself today it has a different meaning it's when two people are talking we call it a conversation but another meaning is just your conduct okay how are we to conduct ourselves as obedient children what does that mean to be an obedient child of god meaning you're not going to be foolish and and and and brutish and just continue on in the former lusts of our ignorance but we're going to be holy we're going to and that's something you have to work at that's something you have to strive for that's something you have to want in your life holiness is not you know it's something that just automatically comes into a person's life the holy spirit comes the ceiling is there and we can grieve and quench the holy spirit or we can walk in the spirit not in the flesh and we can live a holy life and the holiness there a lot of times is obviously it's the opposite of fashioning ourselves according to our former lusts and our ignorance you know a lot of holiness is getting sins out of our life getting things out of our life stop doing things that displease god that's what it means to be an obedient child well why should i verse 16 because it is written be holy for i am holy we are a reflection of our heavenly father so that should be reason enough right for us to want to clean up our lives and not to be brutish and to have the same mentality as the world of thinking that god isn't seeing and hearing and knowing everything that we say think and do when jesus drops in you know how how would that make us feel well the truth is he's already dropped in in our lives he's already everywhere he's already indwelling us therefore be holy but let me also just kind of go through this passage and if you want to go back to mark back to mark there i will be back in first peter later if you if you want to look at a passage with me later i don't i'm not sure everywhere i have you at this point i'm done in psalms i know that okay but i got you in john and in mark one obviously this morning we'll be back in first peter we'll be in chapter five later but let's look at what happens when jesus drops in on his disciples so that's the initial you know application that we can make hey jesus left the synagogue and said we're going to your house simon uh wait okay let me run ahead you know let me let me call let me text hey jesus is coming you know get rid of this and and hide that and and do this and clean the place up and yada yada yada make some kids are cleaned and on their best behavior no he just said what let's go house is right over there what happens when jesus drops in on his disciples because that's who simon is a disciple it says again in mark chapter 1 verse 29 and forthwith when they were come out of the synagogue they entered into the house of simon and andrew with james and john but simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever and anon they tell him of her so they show up and simon's wife's mother or his mother-in-law is laying there sick of a fever and they tell him of her what happens when jesus drops in his disciples well he hears their need he hears their need well i don't know if i want jesus to drop in i don't want to if i want to be holy and have god that close in my life i don't want to know if i want to concern myself especially myself you know not according to my former lust but as an obedient child i don't know if that's really worth it to me to be holy even as he is holy i don't know if i want to be what a disciple because that's what it is to be a disciple we'll look at that towards the end but the disciples those that are comfortable with jesus dropping in they have their needs heard and look we're all going to have needs in our lives all of us there's going to be physical sickness there's going to be you know things that we go through spiritually mentally financially there's going to be things that we go through with our families our relatives our our children i mean the life is just full of problems we need god's help and when jesus drops in when jesus is close when when the disciple is comfortable with just having jesus abide with them he's heard anon they tell him of her he hears their need if you would go over to proverbs chapter 15 proverbs chapter number 15 the bible says in first john five i'm sure this is a passage we're familiar with and this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will he heareth us this is the confidence that we have in christ that if we ask anything according to his will we're heard he hearth us you know that's a very precious promise in the word of god to know that when we go to god we can be heard but what's the stipulation if we ask anything according to his will according to his will you say well that sounds like a self-fulfilling prophecy oh jesus only knows the things or only hears the things if we that we ask according to his will but here's the thing if you're a disciple if you're trying to live a holy life if you're you're trying to to follow the lord that's what you're going to pray you're going to pray god's will that that is just going to be natural to you you're not going to pray for something contrary to the will of god because that's you know that's what someone who's you know not a disciple would do you know we're not promoting a name it claim it prosperity gospel here you know you put it put a you know six-figure tithe check in the tithe plate and then and then claim that cadillac brother step out in faith ask for that bugatti right that's not what we're promoting here but if we are god's children and his disciples if we're following him we're going to pray and we're going to ask for the things that are according to his will and he'll say gladly give us those things we will be heard disciples know his will they know what things to ask of him because they do his will the bible says in james 4 he asked and received not because he asked him this that you may consume it upon your lusts the disciple he prays according to god's will and he's heard of god and receives those things and we know if he hear us whatsoever we ask we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him look at problems 15 verse 8 the bible says the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the lord but the prayer of the upright is his delight look if we're upright in our conversation if we're holy even as he is holy if we're fashioning ourselves as obedient children if we're disciples then our prayer is god's delight we'll be glad to pray those things but if you know we have no interest in the things of god if we don't want to be his disciples you know we're not even going to pray for those things we're going to we're not going to we're going to have not because we ask not we're not going to pray and ask god to help us with this sin or help us with this good thing that we should be doing because we're not a disciple we're not upright the prayer of the upright is his delight go to proverbs chapter 28 proverbs chapter 28 the bible says in psalm 66 if i regard iniquity in my heart the lord will not hear me if i look at my heart and say oh there's iniquity and just allow it to remain here's something that i know god disapproves of here's something that god wants out of my life here's some thought some attitude some action some sin whatever it is here's something that god wants out i know it's not right but i regard it in my heart then the lord will not hear you and look the disciple gets heard by god and we need to be heard by god what's the fever in your life who's the sick mother-in-law in your life and i'm speaking figuratively what's the need that you have in your life that you need god to hear if it's pretty discouraging to sit there and think well i don't think god's going to hear that and that's exactly the situation we're in if we're regarding iniquity in our heart isn't it what the bible says you know i'm not just trying to to be mean up here this morning or something that's what the bible says that if i regard iniquity in my heart the lord's not going to hear me look at proverbs 28 verse 9 he that turneth away his ear from the hearing of the law right the bible the words of christ the word of god the law if we turn our ear from that the bible says even his prayer shall be an abomination and it's not the prayer of the wicked it's not the prayer of some unsaved he then praying to some false god some idol somewhere it's god it's one of god's people that they're it's not that they don't have the law it's that they refuse to hear it they turn their ear and say no i'm not gonna listen to that if that's what we do then even our prayer shall it's not even now we've gone beyond we will not be heard right psalm 66 the lord will not hear me that's half the picture if i regard iniquity in my heart if i turn my ear from hearing the law god's not only not going to hear me he's going to actually look at my parents say that's an abomination what happens when jesus drops in on his disciples on those that are open to it that are willing to just throw the door open and say welcome is that they're heard and they are heard quickly it says there in james excuse me mark and anon they tell him of him anon meaning quickly immediately they tell him see disciples they pray according to experience and knowledge that's why they pray according to his will they didn't get it they told jesus quickly of simon's wife's mother they went to him immediately without hesitation because of everything they'd already seen up to this point they'd already seen jesus healed they'd already seen jesus cast out demons they already knew this was god's will and that he was able to do this so they just immediately went to him and said well could could you do something about my mother-in-law and they knew that they would have that petition that they asked of him they knew that they would be heard of him because they prayed according to his will and the only people that are ever going to pray according to god's will are disciples are people that follow christ what else happens when jesus drops in one there he hears their need two there's comfort when jesus drops in you know maybe we're thinking about the idea of jesus literally dropping by and it's making us a little uncomfortable if that's us we ought to examine things we ought to do some soul searching we ought to pray and maybe fix some things because if if that's making uncomfortable it's the exact opposite feeling that you should have when jesus drops in the presence of god should bring comfort into our lives it shouldn't make us nervous mark one verse 31 again he came it says after they went to him and told him of her and they came and took her by the hand and lifted her up and immediately the fever left her and she ministered unto them when he hears this petition when his disciples come to him and say we have this need because they're his disciples because they follow him because they are asking according to his will because they've known and seen and experienced his will he immediately responds he immediately replies and takes her by the hand and it's such a such an amazing thought to think of the lord jesus christ taking you by the hand physically reaching out and touching this woman's hand you see the disciples they you know we're obviously not going to have the physical touch of god in our lives but we'll know his presence we'll know he's close we'll get to feel the touch of god in our lives we'll get to see the hand of god work in our lives if we're disciples but if we turn our ear from the hearing of the law our prayer is an abomination if we regard iniquity in our heart the lord will not hear our petition if we're upright our prayer will be his delight and he will come close and he will come quickly and we'll see his hand in our lives he will take us by the hand not only that it says there that he lifted her up and what happened and immediately it works right there and he lifted her up right you know when you're when you're really sick just the idea of getting up and moving is is hard i remember when we got covid you know the first time who knows how many times we've had it now all right the common cold everything every time you get sniffled it's covid right it's my 12th round with covid but i remember that first time i got it because it's real okay is i've never been sick like that i mean i was out for weeks and i remember i would just lay in bed just lethargic didn't want to do anything and a few times i got up and it was just like i walked out and i'm like why am i even up everything's aching and you just go and you lay down we've all been there you're weak you can't do anything you don't want to do anything you're physically you know just enabled there's no strength but look when jesus comes near and he touches this woman's hand he lifted her up the strength came back into her feet and into her legs her body she stood up right and the fever left her and immediately the fever left her she was restored see when disciples have jesus close when they understand that jesus has already dropped in and they start to live the life they're supposed to be living they're doing those things which always please their father they can have the assurance that god will hear their prayer that he will comfort them and not only that he will strengthen them he will like her lift them up i think i had you in first peter earlier if you want to go back to first peter chapter number five when god's hand touches our life there's comfort and there's strength in genesis 49 i'll just read to you it says but now his bow abode in strength this is isaac speaking of joseph and his hands joseph's hands were made strong by the hands of god the mighty god of jacob god's hand in our life brings strength just like in joseph's our hands will be made mighty by the mighty hand of god strengthened for what what do i need strength for i can get through my day i can i can meet my responsibilities i can get to work i can do my duties around the house i i could do what i need to do day by day i function just like the heathen out there i could do everything that they do what do i need god's hand for what do i need strength why should i be concerned about it because as a disciple you're strengthened for what for battle for battle you know it was his abode abode in strength speaking of joseph it was his bow in his hands a bow is a you know and we're not talking about a violin bow we're talking about an bow and arrow okay that's an that's a implement of you know offense right that's hunting that's fighting wars that's what we need strength for strength for the battle look at first peter chapter five verse six humble yourselves therefore under the what the mighty hand of god that same hand that heals that same hand that comforts that same hand that strengthens is the mighty hand of god it can do other things in our lives too just like our hands you know our hands are capable of much aren't they we can help people we can work we can create things we can minister to people we can nourish others we can bring comfort we can you know bring people in you know there's touch all that stuff but our hands can also do a lot of bad things too they can bring a lot of pain and hurt that's the same way with god you know god we want god's hand in our life in the right way and all i'm saying this morning is god's hands already in your life it's going to be there well if you like it or not it's just what side do you want you know how do you want it to be in your life do you want it to be like in in the house of simon here where when god put his hand on his mother-in-law she was comforted and she received strength and she was able to stand again or is that mighty hand going to show up in some other way well it takes humility right to be exalted humble yourselves therefore in the mighty hand of god that he may exalt you in due time simon's mother was exalted she was lifted up casting all your care for upon him for that's that comfort again be sober be vigilant because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion's walketh about seeking who we may devour look we need god's strength in our lives for the battle the spiritual battle that is very real because there is the devil our adversary that we cannot resist on our own that's why it takes humility to say god i need you to help me i need your help to get this victory i need you to help me fight this battle yeah we have our part to do verse 9 whom resist steadfast in the faith knowing the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world look at verse 10 but the god of all grace who have called us into his eternal glory by christ jesus after they have suffered a while make you perfect establish strengthen settle you strengthen you to him be all glory and dominion forever never amen so when the decide when jesus drops in what happens to the disciples they're comforted and they are strengthened for the battle not only that but when jesus drops in they serve notice there again in mark 1 verse 31 and he came and took her by the hand there's that comfort he lifted her up there's that strengthening and immediately the fever left her and she ministered unto them ministering is just serving this is what happens when the hand of god works in our lives when jesus shows up when he drops in they serve she ministered unto them this is what we need to be strengthened for the battle and for service if you would go over to john chapter number 14 john chapter 14 i'll wrap up here you know nehemiah when he went to build the walls again of jerusalem when he's trying to encourage his brother and he says he told them of the hand of got my god which was good upon me so they strengthen their hands for this good work you know god's god wants to put his hand on us god wants to come in and into the the lives of his disciples and yes comfort them and yes strengthen them but it's not just strength not only to resist and to and to and to stand fast in the faith but also to serve him it takes strength to serve god they were strengthened they strengthened their hands for this good work it says there of course you know serving jesus is what she did here you know she stood up and she ministered but notice it says that she in mark chapter one that she ministered unto them plural not just jesus okay and this is a whole nother point that i really don't have time to develop i i need to make application and close here but you know we're obviously not going to literally serve jesus today he's not physically present with us but jesus commanded his disciples in the last supper to do as he has done to be as one that serves among his brethren right he told them you know he called me master and lord and so you say you well for for so i am but you know he said but he also said but i am among you as one that's serving you know he girded himself with the towel and washed their feet at the last supper jesus did that you know and not just to prove how humble he was or something but to set an example for all of us who is it that we're supposed to be serving obviously jesus but how do you do that today you know you can't go bring jesus a bowl of soup or whatever it is that she served him whatever was on the on the stove that night i don't know and that's what that ministering might have been you know maybe maybe there was a literal washing of their feet that was a custom back then maybe there was something on that she made up a meal or or or got the bedding ready i don't know exactly but she did something and obviously jesus was there but we can't do that for him anymore we can't meet his physical needs there's no need for it he's not here we serve jesus today by yes doing his will doing the things which are commanded of us but we also serve jesus day by serving one another serving one another galatians 5 says for brethren you have been called unto liberty only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh but by love serve one another you know we've been called on liberty we're set free in christ we are saved we're not bound by sin we're not going to hell does that mean we should just live for the flesh he's saying don't use your liberty as an occasion for the flesh well no matter what i do i'm i'm on my way to heaven so i can just do whatever i want yeah that's true but the admonishment is to by love serve one another make your life a life of service this is what happens when jesus drops in their needs are heard their needs are met people are comforted people are strengthened people serve and i know i have you in john but if you would go back to mark keep something there in john but we're going to go back to mark the last thing that happens when jesus drops in his disciples is that his disciples get to see the work of god they get to see that hand of god working in their midst this is such an amazing verse in mark chapter one and sometimes you read the bible you got to slow down and smell the roses and really put yourself there use your imagination think about the situation put yourself in the story you know make yourself one of these disciples you know maybe you're just a bystander who's not mentioned in the scripture and you got to kind of tag along and see all these things happen you were just in the synagogue and saw everything that happened there and then you're going over to simon's house and you're you're there with the disciples and you're watching jesus perform this miracle on simon's mother-in-law and she's standing up and she's serving and then at verse 32 and at even when the sun did set the sun's going down they brought him all that were diseased and them that were possessed of devils meaning the people in that region verse 33 and all the city was gathered together at the door everyone said we know where jesus is he's at simon peters house let's get all of these people that are diseased let's get all the sick people and let's get all those that were possessed with devils let's go over to simon peters i mean you imagine that you just finished dinner with the disciples and jesus and you're maybe on the front porch or whatever on the rocking chair and all the thing over the hill comes this great throng of people you're just hey i'm just here to watch the sunset it almost sounds like something out of like a zombie movie all these disease coming they're gonna surround the house right i mean what a sight all these people possess with devils you know like again there's a proof text that some people weren't all like the demoniacic vadera some people could be brought he had to be bound with chains and no man could could contain him right but there were some others that could be that were possessed with devils i mean what a what a motley crew what a what a group of people coming over the hill you know that's not exactly somebody we're just gonna throw the doors open for necessarily yeah come on in you know but look when we throw the doors open for jesus we get to see god work we get to see god do things on a big scale not just in our own lives but in the lives of everybody else when we're disciples and we serve others when we're strengthened we're comforted we're brought back and put in our feet and we decide to not use our liberty as occasion to the flesh but by love to serve one another that's when we get to see god work in the lives of those around us and it says all the city was gathered at door and healed many of the sick of diverse diseases and cast out many devils and suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him this is what happens in the lives of those in which jesus drops in but here's the thing it's something only disciples see because it's something only disciples are comfortable with only disciples say if they're see if look you know if there be any wicked way with me show me lord search my heart and know my thoughts today try me oh savior see if there be any wicked way in me that's that's the prayer of a disciple who says drop in you're welcome it's something only disciples are comfortable with let me just close by saying this i know you're still in john 14 if you want to go there dropping in here dropping into church does not make you a disciple this is something i can't remember where i heard it said but i heard this said recently and i've been thinking about it and i don't know if anybody has this mentality but it would surprise me if people do that people think that they're a disciple or they're spiritual because they came to church today that's all it took for discipleship and the cost of discipleship is pretty low because from where i'm standing it doesn't look like it's taking a lot for you to just sit there and feign interest i'm just joking right but look just and i think even amongst our brand our stripe of baptists you know in the new uh the the new independent fundamental movement the new ifb and sometimes people get this mentality well i go to a new ifb church where they preach hard and they think just by virtue of crossing some physical threshold at the front door that some all of a sudden they're the spiritual being that they have some deep walk with god just because they came into a church like this and sat down look discipleship is something that happens throughout the rest of the week when you're not here this is just where you come to get encouraged or whatever else you need what makes a disciple is following jesus daily it says there at the end of mark verse one chapter one verse 35 and in the morning this is after healed everybody rising up a great while before the day he went out and departed into a solitary place and there prayed so jesus does this great work gets up early the next morning a great while before the day meaning before the sun has even risen and he goes out and he goes into a solitary place meaning nobody else is there and they're prayed and notice in verse 36 and simon and they that were with him followed after him you know they were disciples before jesus ever showed up they were disciples because when jesus left they kept following him they're not disciples because they got to hear the preaching or see see jesus do all these miracles they're disciples because when jesus went somewhere they were with him the next day when the crowd's gone and there's no one there to see or hear anything they're there with jesus that's what makes a disciple following jesus daily is what makes us a disciple not showing up to church a couple times a week you're still there in john 14 verse 15 he said if you love me keep my commandments keep my commandments that's what we do if we love god and if we keep his commandments then we obviously must have to know what those commandments are and if we know his commandments then we will pray and ask those things that we desire of him and we know that we'll have them because we pray according to his will because we are his disciples and he says and i will not leave you comfortless i will come to you he said if you continue in my word john 8 then are you my disciples indeed if you continue in my word then are you my disciples if we hear preaching of the word of god if we read something in the word of god and it conflicts with our outlook our philosophy if it conflicts with something we're doing in our lives and we continue in his word if we say if we change that's what makes us a disciple you see the you know the miracles they're there they were done in the sun weren't they they were done out in the open the sun was setting and everyone was seeing it but the disciples in the story were made under the moon when the moon was still up they were made in the dark when there was no one else around to see or hear or to give praise or or to take note they were just there with jesus you want to be a disciple you know here's a good recipe get up great while before the day you know obviously some of us have conflict scheduling conflicts with that whenever get alone with jesus go to a solitary place that's where disciples are made when the door is closed and locked and shut before anybody else has gotten up before the sun has even risen we're there in god's word and praying and reading and letting him speak to us if we're speaking to him and god's ministering to us through the spirit that is already in us when we've thrown up open those doors we've thrown those doors open and welcome jesus in those early morning hours in those private moments that's when disciples are made because that's when real change comes into our hearts and into our lives showing up to church doing things at church look we ought to do them but those are just outward things that we do it's what's in the heart that matters most that's that's what makes the difference so that's that's the question this morning you know jesus dropped in he went into the house of simon are we comfortable with that we should be because we're saved we already have the indwelling of the spirit and if we live in the spirit let us also then walk in the spirit let's close in a word of prayer lord again thank you for the indwelling of the holy ghost lord thank you for the the great privilege and opportunity we have to see you work in our midst as as individuals lord to know the comfort and the strengthen strengthening of the holy spirit and lord to see the the hand of god work in our lives or in the lives of those around us and lord and through this church lord i believe you could do a great work that lord if we as god's people would welcome you in and we would live those lives that we ought to live lord we would see you do great things that this church would be built and that the spiritually diseased and and others lord would their lives would be changed in this community i i believe that lord i prayed help us to be a body of disciples or not just people who show up or people who are fans of a movement lord we're grateful for all those things lord but that we would first and foremost be disciples of christ and that we would learn what that means to be a follower of jesus christ lord to to be with you daily and to lord to to make the changes that that we need to make we ask these things in christ's name amen all right we'll go ahead and sing one more song before we go amen by us again hallelujah amen glory and praise to the land that was slain lord, for all our slaves land, land, land, every slave hallelujah, thy holy hallelujah, amen hallelujah, thy holy be by us again be by us again each heart with thy love lead so deep we can go with pride for all hallelujah, thy holy hallelujah, amen hallelujah, thy holy be by us again amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen amen