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The 60: Kingdom Unexpected (Mark 1:9-15) | Life Unexpected

Debrief

Debrief offers an abridged outline of the Sunday sermon for individuals or Community Groups alike, to re-engage the content of the Sunday sermon. This outline is far from complete, but serves to give a track or road map to walk through the content of Sunday in another context during the week.

An Unexpectedly Good Messiah (v:10-11)

God chooses unlikely people to fulfill His purposes: Moses…….Gideon…….John the Baptizer…….The Disciples……. (1 Cor.1:26-29)

Jesus came from Nazareth. The least likely place someone would come from to deliver God’s people. (John 1:46) – Nathaniel said to Philip “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Nazareth is the most unlikely place we would expect to see the salvation of the world to begin.

Revival tends to happen among the poor, the weak, the lowly, the unexpected. Sometimes the church is hijacked by the clever, and it quenches the work of God.

Jesus, the One who needed no baptism, humbled Himself and was baptized with the rest of the people from Judea and Jerusalem.  Jesus came to stand where sinners should stand. Jesus allowed the ‘sinful’ water to be poured over Him, even though He was sinless.

God the Father was pleased with Jesus although He had come from Nazareth and hadn’t done anything ‘ministry’ related up until that point.

Jesus was affirmed notwithstanding where he came from, humanly, and what he had accomplished, humanly

God the Father gives Jesus His Authority and Anointing (John 6:27), but He also gives Him His Approval and Affirmation

Tension between Legalism and Lethergy

The authority and the affirmation were personal. It was directed toward Him. His is the subject. It’s clear others heard and saw, but the emphasis is on Jesus hearing and seeing.

An Unexpectedly Good Mission (v:12-13)

The unexpectedly good mission is all about living a life of Conflict, NOT Comfort

So often the message that’s coming is that the Gospel saves you from temptation, testing and trials of all kinds. But that’s not the reality.

“Temptation isn’t impersonal – there’s an actual enemy doing the tempting.” - Tim Keller

After Jesus drives you to Himself from the small places you where……after you go from the very small places you where to “the heavens being opened”, Jesus may drive you into the wilderness.

Don’t expect it to be long, but “immediately.”

The church in Rome was undergoing constant and building persecution. They were thrust into the worst of it. You might be too when you submit you life to Jesus.

What do people expect when they first meet Jesus? Help……Success…….Moral Club……New Friends…….Problems Solved…….Best Life Now…….

Following Jesus will not be easy…….It is more about doing God’s will than it is about feeling good…….

In the midst of the trials God will take care of us, like He took care of Jesus, even sending angels.

An Unexpectedly Good Message (v:14-15)

Kingdom of God: God’s reign over His people and His world; an entirely new way of living – living that we were meant to enjoy in the garden, but now because of sin, beginning with repentance.

John being arrested is just one more reminder of how hard and potentially costly this life is going to be.

There is one more mention of the cost of the Kingdom before Jesus begins to preach the message of the Kingdom……the good news and the bad news……the Kingdom of God is near, but you have to engage differently in light of it

The time is here…….Jesus is here……the opportunity to repent and believe in Jesus is here

The unexpectedly good life is the unexpectedly robust life of repentance

Diving In

Diving In offers a few questions to help you re-engage the concepts from Sunday. Feel the freedom to use all of the questions, or to simply camp out on just one. These questions aren't intended to answer all the issues that surface through the thrust of this weeks' message, but to simply raise them and allow you time and space to process them, ideally in the context of your Community Group.

  • Have you ever considered the pedigree of Jesus, in his humanity, compared to yours? In what way does the simple, humble upbringing of Jesus encourage you as you consider your own pedigree, your own upbringing and family history?
  • Do you see yourself operating more in the anointing and authority of the Father or the affection and approval of the Father? Is there a danger living and ministering to one extreme or the other? If so, how?
  • Do you sense you're more drawn to a life of self comfort or a life of conflict for the Gospel? What does a life of comfort look like to you? What draws you there? What does a life of conflict in the Gospel look like to you? What draws you there?
  • How have you seen the message or repentance to be the most unexpectedly good message? How have you seen a life of ongoing repentance be the most unexpectedly good life you could find?

Deep End

The Deep End is a short and simple formation exercise you can use to dive deep into your heart before God. Feel the freedom to divert from the directions if that makes it easier for you to connect with Jesus in this exercise.

  • First, quiet your heart before the Lord. If you find yourself distracted by various thoughts (things on your “To Do” list, etc.), don’t “fight” the distractions, but rather spend some time praying over those things. Hopefully soon your heart will quieted down and you will be able to hear the Lord speaking to you.
  • Next, spend some time reading over Mark 1:11. Take a few minutes to commit this simple verse to memory.
  • After this, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you if you truly sense that God is pleased with you in Christ. What are the things that keep you from believing that God is pleased with you as a son or daughter? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the root of that issue.
  • Next, ask the Holy Spirit to bring to your remembrance the things Scripture says about you in Christ and the way God now sees you because you're in Jesus and Jesus in you. If you find yourself stuck, take some time to read Ephesians 1:1-14.
  • End your time by thanking the Father for the affection and approval He has shown you, as He has to Jesus.

Digest

Our digest section is all about helping you to memorize and meditate on God's Word so you'll be able to better digest it. Take some time to commit these short verses to memory this week:

"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."' - Mark 1:14-15

My hope is that these simple exercises in The 60 will help what we discovered during this week be distilled, and deepened in your heart and life with Jesus.

Matt

For the Elders

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