Sermon Oct 18
Mark 6:14-29
Jesus introduced the Kingdom of God saying, “Repent and Believe.” The hardest part isn’t believing that God can do a miracle. The hardest part is believing when the miracle doesn’t come. You pray for healing, and the person dies. You pray for restoration, and the relationship falls apart. You pray for God to intervene, and the situation gets worse. I’ve experienced loss in my own life. And when you walk through that kind of loss, you are confronted with a question that is not merely theological. It’s personal. IF GOD CAN INTERVENE, WHY DOESN’T HE ALWAYS INTERVENE? When people fail to Repent and Believe it produces HATRED, EXPLOITATION and FEAR. We see all of these in this passage. Herodias hated John the Baptist and wanted to kill him. She exploited her daughter even while her husband, King Herod, was exploiting John the Baptist as well as Salome, his step-daughter. In the end, Herod was tricked into killing John the Baptist after he made a foolish boast in front of others and was afraid to do what was right. Instead his fear caused him to do what he didn’t want to do. Meanwhile, John told the truth. John was faithful. John was righteous. And John was beheaded. Romans 8:28 says, “God works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.” Not everything that happens is good. John’s execution was not good. The abuse of power was not good. Your loss is not something you have to pretend was good. But the evil of this world does not have the power to defeat the purposes of God. He can redeem what we cannot repair. He can bring good from what others intended for evil, and ultimately defeat death itself. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In God’s story, you may suffer. You may not understand why. You may pray for a miracle that never comes in this life. But if you belong to Christ, your suffering is not the end of your story. Jesus has risen, death has been defeated, and one day God will make all things new. Faith is not pretending that suffering doesn’t hurt. Faith is trusting Jesus when it does.
Discussion Questions
1. We live in a broken world where a lot of broken things happen. How does Repentance, Faith heal the cycle of brokenness? How does Fear feed it?
2. Romans 8:28 promises that God is able to do what we cannot understand; He works ALL things together for good… How does this characteristic of God help you trust (Greek: Pistis) or “believe” in Him even when you don’t receive the answer you were looking for?
3. Re-read Isaiah 55:8-9. Do you believe it is reasonable to trust that God is working suffering and hardship for good even when you cannot understand?
