Month: February 2021

“Habits of His Grace: Faithfulness”

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(Mark 1:12-15)

In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear describes habits as the compound interest of self-improvement. In other words, more often than not, the big changes in life aren’t actually big changes at all, but rather little changes, consistently carried out over time. That is precisely the magic of compound interest – it is nothing more than incremental growth multiplied exponentially over time that builds wealth. 

Of course, for anyone to find this perspective attractive enough to consider implementing any new habits, one monumental assumption is necessary: an individual has to see the value of self-improvement. It may shock or surprise you, but an astounding number of people actually choose to simmer and stew in their current situation, retaining a woe-is-me victim mindset that prefers the narrative of negativity. They can be so committed to holding on to that view that it goes well beyond just the glass is half-empty perspective; they’re convinced that everyone else but them even got a glass in the first place! But, if we embrace that God’s call for us to grow is not optional, then establishing healthy habits is foundational to that growth.

So why has it been so hard for you to establish habits? The answer may very well be found in determining the driving force behind our efforts at establishing habits. What is that? Often times it’s guilt – guilt used positively or guilt used negatively (“I should do this; I shouldn’t do that.”). Ultimately guilt will give up, because guilt is not a sustainable driving force. It is a rather cruel slave-driver. It cares not where one’s heart is, but only about the end result, only about whether or not the action itself being achieved. Guilt is relentless and suffocating.

But Christians realize that we have something else at our disposal, something far more powerful than guilt: we have grace. Grace-motivated habits instead of guilt-induced habits is really what this series is about. And our approach will be different. While we will spend a good amount of time focusing on Jesus and his habits, we need to be crystal clear on why we’re doing so. We are NOT doing so to reduce Jesus to something so insulting as merely an example for us to follow. You don’t need more examples to follow. There are plenty of good ones in the world. The problem isn’t finding examples to follow; the problem is our inability to follow them. And frankly, Jesus came to be far more for you than just an example to follow anyway. 

He came to be your Savior, your Substitute. And to do that, we want to appreciate how he carried out what was necessary to be our Savior: his active obedience and his passive obedience. They aren’t the same thing, but they’re both instrumental to our salvation, and they’re both crucial for helping us establish grace-motivated habits.

What do we mean by Jesus’ passive obedience? This is the work of Jesus that we most frequently associate with carrying out our salvation. Jesus passively endured the punishment, suffering, and death that were carried out against him. This is not only remarkable because he was innocent and didn’t deserve it, but even more so because as God, he had the power and ability to keep it from happening. Yet he chose not to! He passively allowed others to inflict it all upon him because he was experiencing it as our Substitute, enduring the punishment and judgment that our sins deserved. He passively paid the price so that we wouldn’t have to. 

Less commonly addressed is the importance of Jesus’ active obedience, which refers to his ability to actively maintain holiness in his thoughts, words, and actions throughout his whole life. As a God of justice, the Father’s requirements for a right relationship with him are that sin must be paid for and that 100% round-the-clock perfection be maintained. So if Jesus had only died for our sins, our salvation would be incomplete. We needed a Savior, a Substitute who could also live perfectly for us. Jesus actively resisted all temptation and conducted his entire life with complete perfection. He actively obeyed all of God’s demands. It is his active obedience that will serve as the focus of this series, and the grace flowing from that active obedience that will enable us to pattern our Habits of His Grace.

So let us appreciate the first of our habits of grace: faithfulness. How do we define “faithfulness?” Often times it is used almost interchangeably with “commitment.” Being faithful is viewed as being committed to doing what you said you were going to do. You work at a job faithfully for years. You are faithful in your marriage. To be faithful is to be committed to staying the course. While I don’t think that’s a bad definition or way of understanding it, maybe we’re overcomplicating it a bit. Perhaps a simpler understanding of faithfulness is merely being full of faith. Filled with trust. Full of conviction. Being full of faith not in my own ability to stay the course, but in God’s promise to stay his course in my life.

We see Jesus being full of faith, even when he was virtually empty of the basic necessities of life. “At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him” (Mark 1:12-13). Forty days in the dessert lacking – not being full of, but almost empty of – the things we take for granted. He had no suitcase with several changes of clothes. There was no cooler being pulled behind him to keep food fresh and ready any time he was hungry. No comfy cozy bed in which to sleep and no roof over his head. He was running on empty in just about every way imaginable. 

Except faith. Even without all that he was missing, Jesus was still full of faith, or faithful. When everything else is lost or gone, and faith is all you have, you see that faith is all you really need. Jesus faithfully stood up to each of the devil’s temptations, as the other Gospels record. And Jesus’ faithfulness was not only on display in his ability to keep from falling into the devil’s temptation in the dessert, but also in his faithful preaching, “‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!’” (v.15). Making that even more noteworthy, John had already been imprisoned for proclaiming that message, yet Jesus did not put his message on mute, but proclaimed it faithfully. 

Jesus wasn’t alone in demonstrating this habit of grace, his faithfulness. The Holy Spirit and the Father got it on the action, too! The Holy Spirit faithfully directed Jesus into the dessert in the first place, knowing it was necessary for Jesus to succeed in battle against Satan and his temptation in our place. And when Jesus did succeed, God the Father faithfully sent angels to attend Jesus in his time of need, just as he had promised in Psalm 91:11, “For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” See how our faithful Triune God works in perfect harmony with the faithful obedience of the Son!

And what difference does his faithfulness make when it comes to you developing this habit of grace? All the difference in the world! His faithfulness not only fills in the cracks of your unfaithfulness, as if you were almost there but just needed Jesus to finish it up for you! No, it’s his whole record of faithfulness, not yours, or your lack thereof – that already counts toward God! Who of us would feel confident in making a case before God based on our own past faithfulness? Would we like to point to the number of times our actions were more reflective of a person without faith than a person of faith? How about the times that doubt and worry about our situation smothered any sense of faith and trust we ought to have had in God’s promises? Our general lack of commitment, our unfaithfulness just in our relationship with God, which hops all over the place from lukewarm to cold to hot – is that the kind of “faithfulness” we wish God to take note of on our accounts? Let us hope not, for we know what the eternal outcome of such flawed faithfulness would be!

Let Jesus’ faithfulness in the face of temptation in the desert be the source of confidence for the faithfulness God demands. Let the price Jesus paid on the cross be sufficient payment for your unfaithfulness. So you have been freed from the guilt of your unfaithfulness, which has been replaced by the grace of his faithfulness! Do you understand? You have been freed from your own disastrous track record of unfaithfulness and freed for a guilt-free life of becoming more and more faithful, with every ounce of fear of failure having been removed. The Father already has counted the Son’s perfect faithfulness to your account. You aren’t left lacking. You aren’t left in your unfaithfulness. You are faithful, for Jesus was faithful in your stead. 

So be what you are, be faithful, for in doing so, you are merely living up to how God already sees you in Christ. Be full of faith in your commitment to growing and developing your faith. Be full of faith in your marriage. Be full of faith in your friendships and interactions with others. Be full of faith as you let your light shine on social media. Be full of faith and stand out in a faithless world. Be faithful, not because you must, but because you already are in Christ Jesus. 

I don’t know about you, but I get excited about this kind of stuff. You may not consider yourself to be into growth and personal development, but let me challenge you to reconsider. That’s one of the many unique blessed perks of belonging to Jesus – he does the growing in us. The Holy Spirit will see to it that you grow and develop personally – that’s his job. We call it sanctification, or growth in Christian living. It’s who we have been made to be. It’s who we are. It’s how we can faithfully make an eternal difference in a faithless world that concerns itself with what is temporary. Your faithfulness matters. God can use it to make a huge impact! 

How then can you establish this habit of his grace – faithfulness – in your day-to-day life? Don’t overwhelm yourself with all the areas that you could develop this habit and then do nothing. Pick just one area and commit to following through with it faithfully. It might be daily Bible reading. It might be worshipping weekly. It might be giving consistently. It might be scheduling prayer. It might be witnessing intentionally. Be confident that the compound interest of this habit of his grace will not only lead to self-improvement, but will also build up and bless Christ’s Kingdom as well.

“Jesus: the Savior We Want or Need?” (Part 2)

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(Mark 9:2-9)

I don’t know how they used to do it. I don’t know how husbands knew what they needed to bring home when their wives sent them to the store to just “pick up a few things.” I suppose in the past, grocery stores didn’t have quite so many options as they do today, but still, the number of choices provided for just about any product in any aisle is paralyzing. Thank goodness for phones that can snap a quick picture and send it to the wife to confirm the correct item! Otherwise, it might be virtually impossible to be able to determine exactly which brand/size/style of any given product is needed.

God has not left us with so many options when it comes to determining the Savior we need. There is just one, and we are not left guessing who he is. For on that day, on that mountain, the three disciples with Jesus knew he was the Savior they need. “There he was transfigured before them” (v.2b). This was not natural. This was not normal. This was an other-worldly glory, a supernatural experience, a divine glory, if even only a taste! Then the Father verified Jesus with his own verbal stamp of approval. That means there are no guessing games to play. There is no possibility of a mix-up or a switcharoo. “Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” (v.7). The Father spoke! He expressed his love and confirmed Jesus as his Son and Savior we need! 

If these words of the Father sound familiar, it’s because we focused on them not too long ago in our Bounce Back series at Jesus’ baptism. Almost identical words were spoken by the Father to Jesus at that time, at the beginning of his ministry. Here they are again, like bookends, demonstrating the Father’s satisfaction with every detail of Jesus’ life and ministry. So these words validate Jesus. They speak of the Father’s approval. He is the Savior we need.

We talked last Sunday about the challenge we face in distinguishing wants from needs, and how that can spill over into the perception we have of Jesus – is he the Savior we want or the Savior we need? He surely did not come to limit himself on such a small scale as merely meeting our wants. His primary goal is not our short-lived worldly happiness, but our eternal heavenly joy. So finding the perfect mate, landing the ideal job, and hitting full stride in your health are not real high on his to-do list for us if he is not yet very high on our to-do list. Recall what was stated last Sunday about the danger of placing our wants ahead of our needs: when we pursue happiness first and Jesus second, we get neither; when we pursue Jesus first and happiness second, we get both. When you don’t seem to have the things you want to bring you happiness, perhaps it isn’t the lack of those things that is the cause of your unhappiness, but rather that you’re looking for happiness in the wrong place.

We can find true happiness in the Savior we need. There are two elements to consider when wrestling with Jesus being the Savior we need. The first is Jesus – is he, as opposed to someone or something else, what we need? Does he meet the criteria of what is needed? We need a Savior who could meet both divine and human requirements, Son of Man and Son of God, one bound by the law who could also keep the law in our place, one who could die and yet whose divine death could be counted sufficient for all. We needed a Savior would not stay dead and let death have the last word. We needed a Savior who could flawlessly fit every single prophetic foretelling that God provided centuries ahead of time. Only one fits all of this criteria, meaning Jesus alone can serve as the Savior we need.

But the other element to consider is our own personal perspective: do we realize that we really need him? “Yes, of course!” you say. Let me ask you why. Why do you need Jesus? I don’t mean “you” collectively, as in a whole group, but rather “you” individually. And no, I’m not going to let you off the hook with the general sentiment, “Well, I’m a sinner, and sinners need forgiveness, so I need Jesus.” That’s nice. “Yes, we’re all sinners who need Jesus, so let’s gather every week to hear about general sin and general forgiveness for sinners that Jesus came to offer and then we’ll be on our merry way for another week.”

But what is it that makes you a sinner? What sin? “Oh no, pastor, we don’t bother going there. We don’t get into the details, because that’s nobody’s business. We don’t get specific, because doing so might cause me to feel… guilty.” And that’s the cardinal sin of our day, isn’t it – making someone else feel guilty for something? Society – and not just society, mind you, but more and more even voices within the church itself – refuse to let anyone get away with making someone else feel guilty. 

Have we considered, though, that others can’t make us feel guilty – at least not a godly guilt that leads to repentance? We have become accustomed to terms like shaming and bullying. Real and reprehensible as these can be in certain contexts, we have slipped into casually using them interchangeably with guilt and the idea that we can make someone else feel guilty. We’ve put the burden of guilt on the other person instead of ourselves in cases where we’ve actually done or said something wrong. In so doing, we’ve essentially freed ourselves from ever having to feel guilt!

But guilt is an internal feeling that comes from our awareness of either not doing something we know we should do, or doing something we know we shouldn’t be doing. If someone else points out something I have done or have not done on the basis of God’s Word and I feel guilty about it, good! Thank God! The law has done its work and accused me, convicted me, condemned me, and the result is an overwhelming sense of guilt. That only means you realize that your sin is real and that it really troubles you. Good – it should! Sin isn’t some mere slip-up or whoopsie that is relatively harmless; it is damning!

If we avoid guilt or treat it like some untouchable disease or some unspeakable trauma which no one should ever have to experience, then here’s the bigger question: where does that leave grace? What need of grace do we have if there is no real guilt from real sin that I’ve really committed that really condemns me before a real God who is righteous and holy and has at his disposal the ability to cast me to a real hell forever? If none of that is real, then grace might as well be a mythical unicorn or Bigfoot that is fun and fascinating, but which has no basis in reality! But if all of it is real – which it is! – then we absolutely need grace to be real, too, for there is no acceptable alternative that can ever bail us out of hell. 

So the Father showed the disciples that grace is real by showing that Jesus is really his Son, and therefore, really our Savior. See how real guilt and real grace collided in Peter’s reaction to this mountain top experience. “Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)” (v.5-6). He was terrified, yet wanted to stay! In the presence of perfect holiness, guilt is exposed. To know Jesus as our Judge is terrifying! We want to get as far away as possible from his presence! But to know that grace is the standard by which he judges removes that terror. So we find ourselves never wanting to be far removed from the One whose calling card is grace, but to be closer and closer to him, for grace alone is the only sure and certain hope of forgiveness and salvation. 

Mark even provides us with some bonus material to cement that grace! How else did Jesus prove himself to be the Savior we need? He reminded the disciples he was going to rise from the dead! He predicted it. He didn’t raise the possibility of it. He didn’t offer some conditional clause – if this, then that, then maybe I rise from the dead. He clearly claimed it! When giving the disciples direction on when it would be appropriate to share what they had seen, he told them to hold off “until the Son of Man had risen from the dead” (v.9).

And then he did it. He actually did it! Jesus rose from the dead! No, today may not be Easter Sunday – in fact, as we enter the season of Lent this Ash Wednesday, it is still six weeks away! Yet every Sunday, the day of the week on which Jesus rose, is Easter, because the resurrection is reality. Jesus rose from the dead and far surpassed the status of providing for our wants; he rather won what we need: the Father’s declaration that we are not guilty. The promise that forgiveness of sins is really his to offer, no strings attached. The promise that we, too, will rise again. The promise that there is a place for us in heaven.

So Jesus reinforced the reality of his resurrection to remind us why we need him. But why couldn’t the disciples tell anyone what they had seen? It may help us to reflect what happened after this incident. The disciples made a pretty convincing case that Jesus knew what he was doing when he told them to keep mum – they weren’t ready to explain it. How do we know? Jesus would again tell them he would be betrayed, suffer, die, and rise – and not only did they have no clue what he meant, but they were afraid to ask him (cf. Mk. 9:31ff). After that, they demonstrated their immaturity by bickering back and forth about who among the disciples was the greatest (cf. Mk. 9:33ff & 10:35ff). And then of course in Jesus’ moment of need he was double-crossed, denied, and deserted by his disciples. No, their own behavior would demonstrate quite well that they weren’t ready to explain to others the significance of what they had seen on that mountain that day.

But you are. You are able to tell others what you have seen because you know that the Jesus you need is the same Jesus they need. When you know about something that others need, it’s different than when it comes to your own wants. You may or may not tell others about finding the source of something you want, because you don’t know if they want it, too. But you know that Jesus is what they need, so you tell them where to find him. You tell them about how the Jesus they need is served in heaping helpings right here every Sunday. You tell them about how our kids have the Jesus they need woven into everything they learn at our school. You tell them what is so, so special about this place that you just don’t find elsewhere in the world – it’s Jesus, the Savior they need; the Savior we all need. From here, as we journey through the season of Lent, we see that Savior serve us as our Substitute, through his suffering and his sacrifice.  

“Jesus: the Savior We Want or Need?” (Part 1)

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(Mark 1:29-39)

Have you ever tried to hit a moving target? It’s hard enough to hit the bullseye on a stationary target, let alone hit the mark on something that’s moving. Yet trying to hit a moving target is exactly what we’re doing when we spend life chasing after “wants.” Today it’s this and tomorrow it’s that. The next day it’s something entirely different. Before we know it, we have closets and whole rooms and garages and even storage units filled with wants. We seldom take note of how unfulfilling our wants are when we finally get what we want because we move right on to the next want. But we don’t learn. We keep wanting, as if we’ll eventually secure the want that satisfies us if we just stick with it long enough.

Making this hunt for what we want even more complicated is that we think ourselves to be pretty capable of distinguishing the difference between a want and a need. But that line is blurred, too! Do you need new clothes, because your closet is literally bare and you have nothing to wear tomorrow, or do you want new clothes because none of the stuff in your closets and drawers is new and exciting anymore? Do you need a new car because you literally have no way to get from point A to point B right now without one, or do you want one because you crave the new car smell or are just bored with the existing one? Do you need a new phone because the one you have now literally cannot make a call or complete a text or do you want one because it has shiny new features? Do you need that stuff for yourself or for someone else that you just bought on Amazon or did you just want to feel the satisfying rush of clicking the “Add to cart” or “Buy now” button? Our uncanny ability to convince ourselves that a want is really a need rivals the smooth-talking lawyer who has the jury eating out of the palm of his hand. Only we’re not swaying some jury; we’re swaying ourselves!

Now before you go thinking this is just another sermon lamenting that we have culturally accepted the idolatry of consumerism and materialism, think again. While much work does need to be done in our hearts to tear down those idols, there is another concern that flows from our inability to distinguish a want from a need: into which category does Jesus fit? It stands to reason that if we blur the line between wants and needs in certain other areas of our lives, we have to be open to the possibility of that confusion also spilling over into our view of Jesus. So this morning and next Sunday we are exploring the Jesus we want versus the Jesus we need. 

Last Sunday as Mark took us to the synagogue in Capernaum, we got a glimpse of the impact Jesus’ teaching had on people. They noticed it was different. They noticed it was authoritative. They noticed the power of his words and actions, and his reputation went viral. Mark picks up after that with our verses this morning, informing us that Jesus and his disciples went to Peter’s home, where Jesus continued to amaze with his healing power by ridding Peter’s mother-in-law of her fever. And then we see the impact that Jesus’ synagogue stint that Saturday had on the town. “That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. The whole town gathered at the door…” (Mk. 1:32-33). The “whole town gathered!” Jesus’ teaching had left its mark, the people waited for the sun to set in order to avoid breaking any Sabbath laws, and then they rushed to Jesus’ door. They must have recognized Jesus’ teaching to be just what they needed!

Wait. On second thought, maybe that wasn’t why they gathered at Peter’s house. It doesn’t appear that anyone was asking him to provide them with a bonus session of teaching. They didn’t come to him thirsting for Jesus to open up the Scriptures even more to them. As it turns out, they wanted more of what Jesus did for the demon-possessed man in the synagogue. Did you hear that? They wanted. Jesus had just been providing what they needed in the synagogue that day – the very words of life; yet that very sameday they tracked him down in hopes of having him meet not more of their needs, but their wants.

But were the townspeople so wrong to depend on Jesus for bringing physical wellness? Isn’t restoring people’s health also a need? To put it bluntly, no. That is, not when concern for physical health overshadows concern for spiritual health. This was always one of the bigger struggles in the previous Bible Information Class that I taught. The very first lesson would open by asking people to list the things that are important in life. Health always came up, which led to some interesting discussion about where it ranked in comparison to spiritual health. It appears our culture has very much bought into the expression, “If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything.” 

But consider this: which of these two scenarios do you think has the potential to make a bigger impact on others? Take a Christian hospitalized with a serious, debilitating chronic disease. In one case this Christian makes it clear to other hospital patients and staff that he’s been praying hard to the Lord for healing. Eventually he is healed. Other patients and staff may either take notice of the power of prayer, or they may just as easily conclude that the hospital did its job and healed him (after all, that’s what they were trained to do!). In the other case that same person prays, not for healing, but for patience, strength, endurance, peace to bear up under the disease and accept the good that God promises to bring through it. In that case, healing never comes, but it doesn’t go unnoticed how the patient handles his disease with perseverance and patience and dignity and confidence and so on. In one case, the patient prayed for a want; in the other, a need. Which one would you expect made a bigger impact on the hospital staff and other patients?

Admittedly, this topic can be especially challenging, because I don’t want anyone to walk away thinking that it is not OK to take our wants to God in prayer. That would be wrong of me to state that, since he invites us to do so. So how do we strike the balance between knowing when wants are overshadowing needs? How to we keep our wants in check? We have to understand the root driving force between each. What drives me to seek God for my wants and what drives me to seek God for my needs? Here’s an oversimplified way to help you work through that: am I more interested in my happiness in my life, or God’s happiness in my life? The former is more frequently tied to what I want, while the latter is based on what I need.

Permit a few more examples. A spouse asks to visit with me and expresses unhappiness in the marriage, followed by the determination to file for divorce on that basis that God wants us to be happy. Is that course of action based on our idea of happiness in life or God’s? And this mindset so easily seeps into a number of areas in life. I am unhappy with my job. I am unhappy with my car. I am unhappy with… and since our culture encourages us to appease and satisfy the almighty idol of happiness, we justify any and every action that we think will bring it. 

Only it doesn’t. Why? Because we have it backwards. Here is a spiritual truth that will serve you well if you commit to spending the rest of your life trying to master it: when we pursue happiness first and Jesus second, we get neither; when we pursue Jesus first and happiness second, we get both. Another way of saying it? Put your wants before your needs and you’re gambling with both; put your needs before your wants and you’re likely to get both (because when spiritual needs come first, those tend to shape our wants so that we want more of what Jesus knows we need!).

But if there is a slight caveat to this approach, it is this: God is too good to us! He actually does grant us our wants even when we neglect him for our needs. That was what happened to those who showed up at Jesus’ door. He didn’t turn them away just because they didn’t ask for more spiritual enlightenment or a deeper understanding of the Scriptures, but instead he compassionately granted their requests, meeting their wants with his healing hand. “Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons…” (v.34). God is too good to us! Even when we reverse the order and selfishly put our wants before our needs, he so often graciously accommodates!

Jesus meeting the wants of so many people was not lost on the disciples, who tracked him down the next morning while he had escaped for some rejuvenating prayer. “When they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” (v.37). The implication was that there was no time for prayer – Jesus had more wants that needed to be met! Then Jesus helped his disciples reflect on the major distinction between meeting wants and meeting needs. “Jesus replied, ‘Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come’” (v.38). Preaching was Jesus’ primary purpose. Proclaiming that salvation was at hand. Forgiveness would be freely offered at the most expensive cost ever – the cost of Jesus’ own life and blood. Grace would be given, for grace is what is universally needed. Sickness healed and perfect health restored and even demons cast out – all these wants would matter precious little if Jesus had not addressed our greatest need: a repaired relationship with God that each of us has broken with our sin. That is our greatest need. Jesus alone provides for that, making him so much greater than just the Savior we want; he’s the Savior we need. More to be revealed next Sunday as we consider Jesus’ Transfiguration.

Bounce Back to His Name

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(Mark 1:21-28)

A name is a pretty big deal. A name is of course much more than just the sound made by a combination of letters when we read them together. A name is the reputation that is associated with a person. It’s so natural for us to connect the two – a name and an immediate reputation – that even if I just mention a generic name, like Matt, Sarah, Mike, or Rachel, you immediately think of a specific Matt, Sarah, Mike, or Rachel. You immediately associate a specific person whenever you hear a name. That’s why a person’s name or reputation is so important, and why we strive to establish or maintain a good name – it’s what people think of when they think of us – good or bad!

A name is also really quite a powerful thing. We might not think of our own name as being that powerful, but consider what happens when someone else steals your name. Anyone who has ever dealt with this is well aware of how much power a name can have. If someone successfully steals a name, an identity, that person can tap into bank accounts and retirement accounts and max out credit cards and do all kinds of damage. A name is a powerful thing. You can also name drop or give a name as a referral and doing so can sometimes provide certain perks or benefits that we wouldn’t have access to on our own. 

And of course, every one of us appreciates it when others know or remember our name. I recall not too long ago being with my wife at one of her work events. There were a number of very successful people she works with in attendance, many of whom we knew by name, but surely didn’t expect to be known by them. As I started chatting with another guy there I knew, his wife came by. I was so impressed when he paused to introduce me to her and he remembered my name.  Here I was a nobody, and yet this individual who was in another league of business success, made it a point of knowing me by name. 

Names matter, and none more so than God’s. In fact, each Sunday in this series has either directly or indirectly pointed us to God’s name, his reputation, everything we know about him. Our connection to God is the key to being OK when life isn’t. We bounce back to the Word because more than anything else, it points us to his saving name and reveals all that is necessary for us to know about God to not only to be saved, but also to be kept in the saving faith. We bounce back to baptism because it comforts us to know that in baptism he branded us with his name and our identity is based on that. We bounce back to witness which is nothing more than confessing his saving name to others. Last Sunday we bounced back to prayer, which is offered up in his name to the One who has revealed that he can do more than we can ever ask or imagine. Everything comes back to his name, and what is truly mind-blowing is that the most powerful name of all longs to know us by name, too.

Just how powerful is that name that is above every name who also longs to know each of us by name? Look no further than the Gospel for this morning. Though other teachers had come and gone in the synagogue at Capernaum, this one was different. Jesus was different. “When the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law” (Mark 1:21-22). “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 impure spirits and they obey him.” News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee” (v.27-28). This guy didn’t teach like others. They could only quote the readings and the works of others, but Jesus revealed his wisdom, his brilliance, his insights into the Scriptures without needing to quote the “experts.” Furthermore, the content of his message surely oozed grace and forgiveness, tying the Scriptures together with the Savior and the fulfillment of salvation God had promised his people. And as a result, Jesus’ reputation spread.

Not only was he becoming known as an amazing authoritative teacher, but he also demonstrated the power of his name in a satanic showdown. Mark tells us that a man possessed by an evil spirit was among those gathered in the synagogue that day. Are you surprised to see Satan in a synagogue? Don’t be. After all, where else does he have the most work to do? He’s got it easy out in the world, where God’s and his Word are afterthoughts on so few radars. But where God’s people gather around his Word – there is the biggest threat to Satan’s puny reign as the prince of this world! So he will do all he can to infiltrate, attack, divide, and destroy the place where the Word is prominently preached, sung, and spoken week after week. Yes, he will even take possession of minds and hearts that are not already filled with Jesus, so that he might control and manipulate them for his purposes.

Do you doubt that such demon possession takes place today? Do not doubt it. Though it may not appear to be so prevalent in our western culture, isn’t that how Satan would prefer it? When we hear the violent ramblings and wild and erratic behavior of those struggling on the streets, wouldn’t Satan be delighted to be pulling off the greatest disguise if he convinced us that every one of those cases is just a matter of someone struggling with addiction or mental disorder? Isn’t it a possibility that at least some of that can be attributed to Satan’s work? But even if that isn’t the case, couldn’t we also reason that Satan has precious little need of demon possession in our culture because he’s already enjoying so much success? He’s made tremendous strides in distracting our society with worldly pleasures and concerns so that Jesus is nowhere to be found in people’s plans and schedules. Nevertheless, if you speak with Christian missionaries who serve in parts of the world where pagan rituals and spiritism and are prevalent, you will hear story upon story of demon possession being alive and well. So it is real, and it is powerful.

Satan has lots of different ways of working, but one could argue that none of them are more formidable than demon possession. So many of Satan’s antics are subtle and sly, but demon possession is bold and blatant, as if his intent is to bully us away from Jesus via fear and intimidation. But if that is the best he’s got, see what small work Jesus made of it! Jesus gave a command and obedience followed. “‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’ The impure spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek” (v.25-26).There was no defiant refusal from the demon. There was no terms of negotiation. There was no other option but to comply with Christ’s command. So powerful is the Son of God!

So when Jesus demonstrates his unrivaled power against the devil when the devil brings his “A game,” might Jesus have the power to stand up to the devil’s lesser tricks and temptations as well? Surely! The issue in such cases is never whether Jesus can, but rather whether or not we call on his name to do so. There is no more powerful name than his. We need but call on it, and he will answer. When the devil sows his seeds of doubt and anxiety, call on the name of the Prince of Peace and see if it makes a difference. When you are in need of direction to keep you on the right path, call on the name of the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When you are tempted, call on the name of the one who was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet was without sin. When you are filled with fear, call on the name of the one who is your Refuge and Strength. When you can’t do it alone, call on the name of the one who is your Helper.

And know that Jesus himself did this, too! At a different point in Jesus’ life and ministry, much closer to his suffering and death, Jesus recalled the power of God’s name on your behalf. This is the prayer Jesus prayed for you: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me” (John 17:11-12). See how Jesus called on the power of God’s name to protect and keep you!

And as we close out this series, what a wonderful way to reflect on how we close out each service. Until relatively recent history, the Christian church concluded worship with the blessing. Then it became the practice to sing a closing hymn. But don’t let the blessing be lost just because it’s not last. God’s intent behind giving us that blessing, as we were reminded in the First Lesson from Numbers, was to put his name on us. When you leave this time of gathering for worship each week (which we also begin in Jesus’ name), we leave with the blessing of his name. And the neat part is that I didn’t come up with that; the church didn’t come up with that – God did! He wants to bless his people by placing his name on us. “So they will put my name on [them], and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27). Wouldn’t that be enough? Even if there was not a single song or hymn that you liked, no Scripture reading that stuck with you, nothing earth-shattering in the sermon, but each week wouldn’t it be reason enough to gather here just to depart with the promise that you enter another week not just with your own name, but with his name on you? Surely that would go a long way in helping ensure that we’re OK, even when life isn’t.