Mark 9:1-29 The path to greatness is dependence.

Mark 9:1-29

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How do you become a great Christian?

How do you live a godly life full of power and victory?

Well, it is by being humble and dependent. Why? Because I am not the Messiah. You are not the son of God. And however hard we try we can never be even the tiniest bit as glorious, powerful or wonderful as the Lord Jesus!

Mark’s gospel opens with these words: 1:1 This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus is the Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek) which means the Promised Rescuer. He is the one promised in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible, the one who will rescue us all from sin and death. Christ is not his surname but his job description. Jesus, saviour of the world!

And chapters 1-8 have been proving this remarkable truth. He has power to teach, power to heal, power over sickness, demons, even death! He even has power over creation – wind obeys him, the sea obeys him, he can even make food from nothing, feeding a crowd of 5000 and then 4000. And in 8:29 Jesus asks his disciples: “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah.”

He is Messiah, God’s the Promised Rescuer. And immediately Jesus starts teaching them how is he going to save us, and what it means to follow him. He must die. And we must die.

That’s what we saw last week. To save us Jesus needs to die. He will die in our place on the cross, a sacrificial lamb, taking our sins upon himself so that he can give us his righteousness. It’s new life for old. Our sinful rebellious life can be swapped for a new one! But that means giving up our old one, dying to self, and accepting the new one, living for Christ.

Is it worth it?
And how do we live it?

Those are the two questions tonight’s passage answers.

1. Following Jesus means listening to Jesus, the glorious, transcendent, eternal son of God!

2. Following Jesus means stop pretending to be independent, and instead trust Him in all things. I believe. Help me in my unbelief.

1. Following Jesus means listening to Jesus

We’re called to bank everything on Jesus. Being crucified does not involve holding something back for yourself! Losing your life is pretty final. These are the words Jesus uses. You cannot be a Sunday Christian. Jesus is Lord of all, or not Lord at all. There is nothing in all Creation over which Jesus does not say “this is mine!” – there is nothing in your life over which Jesus does not say “this is mine. This belongs to me”.

So, it’s a big risk. Are the promised rewards of eternal life, real life now, the best life now, the only way to live – are these backed up by anything?

If you pull out a kr100 note it’s backed by bank of Norway. If I’d pulled out a Zimbabwean dollar bill, you’d feel a little less secure. Or the bank of Greece or Spain! Can Jesus back up his promises? Is he right about his view of the Messiah?

Jesus went on to say, “I tell you the truth, some standing here right now will not die before they see the Kingdom of God arrive in great power!” 2 Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain to be alone. As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed, 3 and his clothes became dazzling white, far whiter than any earthly bleach could ever make them… 7 Then a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”

Follow me and be killed and I will give you life. It’s quite a challenge. This was really difficult for the disciples. They thought the Messiah would be some all-conquering hero, Rambo on a horse riding in to Jerusalem to free the Jews and throw the Romans out, power blasting from his hands. But instead Jesus is talking all about dying and suffering and being a sacrifice. Huh? Surely you’re wrong Jesus. Peter even says so! Mk 8:31–32 Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead. 32 As he talked about this openly with his disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things.

So this was a real brain twister for the disciples. And Jesus knew this. So he says some of you will SEE the Kingdom of God. And six days later, there is Peter, James and John, Jesus’ “inner circle” and they see the Glorified King. Jesus as he is.

Jesus is revealed in all his glory on the mountaintop. With him stands Moses, the Law-giver, and Elijah, the greatest of the prophets: “the Law and the Prophets” being a way to describe the Old Testament. Them appearing with Jesus is saying “We testify to Jesus”. The Old Testament, the Holy Scriptures, say that “Jesus is right”. And to make it very clear, the Father says v7 This is my dearly loved son: listen to Him.

Jesus is God, LISTEN TO HIM. What he says about the Messiah is right. What he says about his death and resurrection is true. His words bring life, since he is the One who speaks life into existence. Listen to him.

Those words were for Peter, James and John, and those words are for us. We must listen to Jesus. His words are truth. True truth. No matter what we think we know about Jesus, we must put aside and really listen. Peter couldn’t hear what Jesus was saying because his own views about the Messiah were in the way. He couldn’t understand. He was blind. He had to keep listening.

And we must too. Keep reading. Keep reading what God actually says in his word, not what we think it says!
Because how often do we just “read” something without reading it. Our brain is extremely efficient – it likes to create heuristics: shortcuts for familiar tasks. The first time you drive to a new job, you notice everything along the way. You focus on the road. You notice the view. You see the flowers and trees and shops and people and everything. 3 weeks later you register none of that. You arrive home and you don’t remember the drive. Your brain has shifted into “repeat mode” (heuristics). The danger is when we do that to the Bible. It takes effort to read the Bible because our brain is lazy and just sees what it thinks is already there – it takes the short-cut! That’s why God repeatedly urges us to work hard, stay awake, beat our body into submission, make every effort. To hear his voice takes active effort on our part! The Holy Spirit doesn’t swan down and deposit wisdom in our minds! That’s why the apostles in the early church devoted themselves to teaching and preaching (and prayer!).

This is my dearly loved son – listen to him!

Strong words.

But why should we listen to him? Because he is what the whole Bible is pointing to, what the whole Old Testament, the Law and the prophets, Moses and Elijah, is building up to.

Because in him is revealed God himself. Elijah and Moses are the only two people to whom God revealed himself. On the mountain of God, they asked to see him, and God passes before them. He showed Moses his glory, and then gave him his word – and he said to Elijah… well, nothing. He didn’t speak in a still small voice. That’s a poor translation. It’s a deafening silence. He’d already spoken through Moses, and Elijah needed to listen. But now! Here are Peter, James and John on the mountainside seeing the glory of Jesus revealed, and they are to LISTEN TO HIM. This is something new, fulfilling Moses. Jesus is Almighty God, revealed in his glory before them. Here then is the Name of God, his very nature, standing before them in human form.

Following Jesus means listening to Jesus, the glorious, transcendent, eternal son of God!

2. Following Jesus means stop pretending to be independent, and instead trust Him in all things.

Mk 9:24 “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!”

We’ve got quite a cast of characters here in this story:
The disciples, the demon-possessed boy, the father, Jesus, the crowd, and the teachers of the religious Law. When Jesus comes down the mountain there is a massive argument going on. The religious leaders are arguing with the disciples, and the reason is soon apparent – they were not able to cast out the demon (v18). We don’t know what the religious people were saying, but they were probably calling out the disciples as fakes, fraudsters. And, in this case, they were right.

Listen to Jesus in v19 Jesus said to them, “You faithless people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

What was the disciples’ problem? They were trying to do this miracle by themselves. They thought that by virtue of their position as Jesus’ disciples that they had power. It was idolatry: they replaced Jesus with themselves as their authority and power. Just as in Exodus when Moses comes down the mountain and sees the people of Israel engaged in idolatry – worshipping a golden calf, now Jesus comes down the mountain and sees his disciples, his people, worshipping their own power and position.

If that seems to you a bit of a stretch, or a bit harsh on the disciples, have a look at the context of this story. 8:14 Don’t be like the Pharisees. 9:34 the disciples argue about who is greatest. V38 John silenced someone because they weren’t following them! 10:35 James and John want to have the top positions. 10:13-17 the contrast of the rich young ruler depending on his own efforts for salvation, and the children dependant on others.

They could not cast out the demon because they did not pray. They did not declare their dependence on Jesus. They did not ask him to do what they could not. They did not wait for Jesus. They probably did not even use Jesus’ name. They probably hadn’t really understood who Jesus was. Maybe they thought that he was just a man like them, blessed by God, and as they were in the inner group, soon they would have the same power. They were like the rich young ruler, like the Pharisees, great in their own eyes – instead of like children, asking Dad for help.

So while the disciples are engaged in an idolatrous power-play, being rightly rebuked by the religious leaders, and generally making a mess of things because of their big heads, their arrogance. The father of the boy, however, prays. Where? Have a look at v24. Jesus has just called him out on his lack of belief “What do you mean, ‘If I can’?” Jesus asked. “Anything is possible if a person believes.” 24 The father instantly cried out, “I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!” That is prayer! “I believe; help my unbelief!” I can’t do it. I need help.

Prayer is a declaration of dependence. God I can’t do this. God I need you.

And that is why prayer is so vitally important. Not to give God information, like God’s sitting up in Heaven waiting for the daily news bulletin from Daniel, with no idea what’s going on! This is the Creator and sustainer of the Universe we’re talking about, the one who rules by absolute decree, where a hair on your head does not fall without him knowing, where he knows the words that you are going to speak even before you speak them. Prayer is not for God’s sake, to impress him or whatever. No, prayer is for our sake.

Every time we pray we declare to ourselves, to the spirit world, to the watching universe, to those around us, that we are dependent on God. We cry “I believe; help my unbelief!” Jesus, we need you.

In the Batman movie “The Dark Knight” we find a couple of people dressing up like Batman to take on criminals. Of course, these guys aren’t Batman. They don’t have the training, they don’t have the gadgets, they don’t have the skills. And so, when they go up against the baddies, they lose. They’re not Batman. They might have a similar costume, they might be pretending they’re Batman – but they are not. They need the real Batman to come and rescue them!
The disciples here are dressing up like Jesus, pretending they’re Jesus. But they’re not. They need the real Jesus to come and rescue them.

If the disciples had prayed, declared their dependence on Jesus, they would have been able to cast the demon out. They would have been great! But they were arrogant, tried to do it in their own strength, and so were caught out.

Application: If we want to be great in the Kingdom of God, do great things for God, we need to start by humbling ourselves in prayer before the only one who truly is great: Almighty God.

Impossible application: We don’t need God to be great in his kingdom. I can live a good Christian life without God.

Possible application: Find times for regular prayer. Set aside time each day to read the bible and pray. Pray after dinner with your children. Pray with you wife. Have times of extended prayer (I’ve found walking in the forest helps me to concentrate. Notodden is great for this – so much beautiful nature!).
Plan to pray – make it part of your schedule, otherwise you won’t.

1. Following Jesus means listening to Jesus, the glorious, transcendent, eternal son of God!

2. Following Jesus means stop pretending to be independent, and instead trust Him in all things. I believe. Help me in my unbelief.

Following Jesus means in humility dying to myself, to my own greatness. It means living every day dependant on him. What next Lord. My Dad starts each day with “The answer is “Yes” Lord. Now what’s the question”. There’s a man dependent on God. And I know first-hand goring up in their home that he is a man who is great in the Kingdom, a man who really does follow Jesus.

So let’s do the same. Let’s read our Bibles, making sure we carefully listen to Jesus. And let us say “Yes! Lord” to whatever he calls us to obey.

Romans 12 (David Cook)

Here is the "highlights" of Romans 1-11 plus the reading of chapter 12: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-DSjRONViGJVUJfLWFiQXZGNG8/view?usp=sharing

Click this link for the sermon. 
http://youtu.be/KGqkldOxb14
Please do not share this link. If you want to purchase a copy of the talk for your own use, you can purchase here. Select the "Video download series" for video you can watch on your computer. These are the same one's we've used in church.

The following are the notes I (Daniel) took during the sermon when we heard it live at Word Alive in Wales (Easter 2015):

Romans 12 The renewed mind – David Cook

Muller – 10 000 children in orphanages! Muller “In my judgement it is the first daily duty, supreme and ultimate importance secret of effectual service; to see your souls happy/healthy in the Lord.”
Pray (Adam stopped talking to God, Christ brings us back)

Paul begins with the gospel...
What do I tell myself every day
No-one speaks more to me than I do. Lloyd Jones: Christians need to talk to themselves .
JI Packer pg 256:
“I am a child of God,
God is my Father,
Heaven is my home,
every day is closer to heaven,
my Saviour is my brother.
Every Christian is my brother too

Rom 5:1 the first great therefore of Romans: THEREFORE
Rom 8:1 Therefore now no condemnation
Rom 12:1 THEREFORE I urge you brothers in view of God’s mercy.

Ch 1-11 in view of Gods MERCIES (plural) – in view of salvation, propitiation, Holy Spirit leading you in battle against sin nature.
Illustration: Archbishop’s sermon on Rom 12 on Royal coronation. We were urged to be servants like the Queen. But both failed – both missed part 1 “in view of God’s mercies” in view of what God’s done for us in Christ.
Illustration: Why Johnny can’t preach – ethical exhortation must never be divorced from redemptive context. God never does that. He never tells us what to do without telling us WHY.

We are in perfect relationship with God. Therefore you are to offer YOU as a LIVING sacrifice. The death of Jesus makes the whole OT sacrificial system redundant – but it has been replaced with living sacrifice
What should I say to me about me: “God has been merciful to me. Therefore I live for him”
cf 2 Cor 5:14-15 Chris died for all so that all who live might no longer live for themselves but for him
One outworking 1 Cor 6:18 Flee because YOU do not belong to YOU, you belong to the one who redeemed you. I am not mine, I am his.
You, because of God’s mercies, no longer belong to you.
This is your spiritual worship – the word spiritual is actually the word LOGICAL. It is a reasonable response. CT Studd “If Jesus Christ be God and died for then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him” (as he left all his estates in England to go as missionary)

Resist the world. Do not allow the world to press you into its mould. Adam: Serve self, divorce God. But rather (passive) be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Does not say by the renewing of your emotions. Reasonable rational.

Be driven by right thinking. Early Christians were the best thinkers of their age. Betrand Russell “most people would rather die than think – and most people do”

As Christian we properly use our minds

Turn over Rom 1:25 – the great exchange. We swapped out God v28 depraved mind.
How could people do such things? Because they worship the created instead of the Creator
Rom 12 we no longer have that counterfeit mind. We have a new mind. 12:2 is able to test and approve God’s will. Not given over to perversion. To a mind that now reverences God.
Transformation springs from a new mind that can make proper moral choices.

1min read Bible 4min think about what you read! Cultivate your mind.
Be lead by your brain, not by other parts of your anatomy!!!

Now Paul takes this up and applies it
v3-8 how you think about yourself
Not more highly than you ought. You don’t have all the gifts you need, but you do have some of them. Be interdependent. You are not the body, but you are part of the body. You need to serve.

How am I going to respond to my fellow believers?v9 -11
How does enthusiasm and vigour come? By service!
How do we get joy? Through prayer (not singing and dancing)
Practice hospitality with great vigour. (Here’s some money – no! feed them, give them shelter in our home)

How do I relate to the world that hates me v15
BLESS them, and do not curse them.
rejoice with my enemy who’s rejoicing

no class structure in the church

don’t take revenge but leave room for God’s wrath. So contrary to the world.

The unheeded Christ. Michael Hart – ranks Jesus no. 3 because he does not see Christians loving their enemies or teaching their children to love their enemies.

None of these come naturally to me!
You do not belong to you.

In view of God’s mercies do you see yourself as a living sacrifice.
We cannot claim the benefit of redemption without the implications
Illustration: sold house. Paid for – please give keys. No I want to keep the keys. Impossible to be paid and keep the keys. Impossible to be redeemed but keep living the same way!

I have been redeemed
I no longer live for me
I live for my saviour
I serve my brothers
I respond to an antagonistic world generously.

Colossians 3:22-4:6 ALL of life: in the world.

Read Colossians 3:16-4:6

Colossians is a frightening book. Just listen to these verses.

3:10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
3:17 [W]hatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

At first read it’s pretty much ho-hum, of course, Christ Is Lord, yes, be good, yes. But as you read it in-depth, really LOOK at who Christ is and what we are called to do….it is a gut-wrenching, mind-spinning, fear-generating book.

Why? Because the gospel changes our lives. Because Christ is not tame and small, but giant! He is victorious, powerful, triumphing over evil spirits, striding across history from Creation to the Cross of Redemption and on to all eternity: this vast, cosmic figure supreme over all things. And he demands EVERYTHING from us. And he will not be denied. How can we deny him? How can we say no?

Being a Christian is the most frightening thing you can do.

All of life belongs to Him. Our church life, our home life, our work life. Our thoughts, our words, our actions. He is our Master, and we belong to him.

So, don’t just sit there if something needs to change. Repent. Make right with the Lord. Ask for forgiveness. We have been challenged over these past few weeks – use this time wisely, use Communion, to pray and get right with God, and then also with someone in the church, or your wife or husband, your kids. Do whatever Christ calls you to do.

Two weeks ago we looked at our relationships in the church, last week serving Christ at home: wife and husband, children and parents; and today we look at the last section: slaves and masters, and then outsiders.

1. Slaves and masters v22-4:1

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you. Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear of the Lord. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favourites. 4:1 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

Like I said last week, there is surprising equality in this list from v18-4:1. The husband and the wife are to obey the Lord. Children and parents are equally addressed, and slaves and masters are reminded they are under authority. Those without power (or with less power) (wives, children, slaves) are addressed as equal citizens of heaven, being called to live in a way that pleases the Lord. Those with power (husbands, parents, masters) are reminded that their power is given under God, to be used as HE sees fit: in love, for the good of those under your power. This is no justification for abuse of power – it is the opposite!
It’s very clear that these couplets are to be read together. You cannot read v22 without also reading 4:1. Slaves must obey their masters, yes – and masters must be just and fair to their slaves! And not only that, but they have the same motivation: Christ is your master.

This is shocking. Slaves were property, not people! But here they are seen as equal with their masters before the Lord. It was this equality eventually destroyed institutional slavery, just as it destroyed institutional misogyny (abuse of women), and the institutional abuse of children. The little book of Philemon gives us a great insight into how this view of slaves as being brothers alongside their masters started to tear down the institution of slavery. It is hard to treat someone as property when they are your brother in Christ. The gospel is the most powerful change agent in the history of the world – because it changes people from the inside out.

But the gospel is not about changing societies. It’s not about winning the “culture war”. Imagine if Paul had gone on a crusade to stop slavery instead of preaching the gospel and planting churches. What a disaster! Maybe a few slaves would have been freed. And then died and gone to hell! And the society would never have changed. Only the gospel was powerful enough for that: roughly half of all people back in those days were slaves! Even highly educated people like doctors and lawyers could be slaves. Slavery was part of the culture. Tearing down slavery would have collapsed that society.

So instead, whatever our circumstance, we are called to serve the Lord. We are not called to serve the Lord when things are the way WE think they must be, but whatever the situation. Jesus showed us how to behave, whether tired and hungry or feasting, whether attacked and ridiculed or honoured. Whatever the situation, he gave glory to the Father.

So, Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything you do. Try to please them all the time, not just when they are watching you.

Maybe they were justified in slacking off. Maybe their master was bad. Maybe their master was a Christian and they resented not being set free. Shockingly, God calls them to love their master. Not “do what’s best for you”, but DO what’s best for him! But what about me, we bleat, I’m such a victim. In Christ you are no victim, but victor. In Christ you can choose to follow in his footsteps, not a doormat but a willing servant. It is empowering, it gives dignity and honour, no matter whether slave or emperor. The victim mentality makes people passive and foolish.
Instead, choose to love your boss. In the Greek the word there is literally “eye-service”. How often are we tempted to, or just do “eye-service”. The boss comes in and we’re suddenly rushing around, extremely busy – they go out and… lazy! That’s not loving. That’s dishonest.

And the motivation is strong: Serve them sincerely because of your reverent fear…. not “of your master” but of the Lord. How often is our service, our work, done out of fear. Fear of discovery, fear of being fired. No, fear the Lord! His eye is certainly always upon us. 23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
We represent Christ. We belong to him. So whatever we are called to do, let us do it well.

The book “Thank God it’s Monday” Mark Greene sets up a comparison between two Christians in the workplace.
One Christian always witnessing to people, using every opportunity to share the gospel - but he’s a terrible worker, slacking off at every opportunity, and avoiding work (mainly to witness!). The other Christian never says a word, people don’t even know he’s a Christian – but does really good work, and all his colleagues respect him.
The point Mark makes is that we are at work to work. And witness. But our actions (bad work) can destroy our witness.

It’s one of the reasons Paul doesn’t tell the slaves to “RISE UP!”. The gospel is not about violent revolution. It’s a revolution of love. Richard Wurmbrand said this about the Christian’s persecuted in Romania by the Communists: “When you squeezed the Christian, what came out of him was love.” It was the love of Christ, the new spirit, the new nature within.

Although we are not slaves with masters in the workplace today, I think it’s clear that Paul wants us to understand that whatever applies to slaves also applies to free men in their work. Slavery was a normal form of service, and therefore, in that way quite similar to the workplace today (some people may feel they really are slaves!) in our culture. And because the principles here aren’t specific to slaves, are they? Do what’s best for your boss, serve well, honour others with your work, and, if you’re in charge of other people, be just and fair. Isn’t that the kind of place you want to work? Everyone looking out for everyone’s interest, working together, and the boss appreciates this and honours the worker’s contributions.

This passage helped me so much when I was working as an auditor. I hated auditing. It is the most boring job on the planet. I struggled so much to “work willingly” – I was so unwilling. I was so bored the temptation was to avoid work as much as possible. But these words at the end of v24 “the Master you are serving is Christ” I couldn’t get away from. Not eye-service. Fear the Lord. C’mon Daniel, serve Christ. He has provided this job. You are not auditing for the client, or for your boss, or for yourself, but for Christ. Audit for your Saviour. Now get up!

So, because you love Christ, work as if for him.

But, wait, there’s more! How did this chapter begin? 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. and 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

That mindset – to think about the things of heaven, to be living for Christ – affects everything. Even our work.

24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. 25 But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favourites. 4:1 Masters, be just and fair to your slaves. Remember that you also have a Master—in heaven.

This life is temporary. It will soon be done and we will be with God. Very soon the veil will be torn from our eyes and we will see him. And we will be rewarded or paid back for what we have done. Don’t do what is wrong for God sees what is done in the darkness. You will not get away with it.
Instead, look to Christ. Look to your inheritance coming soon, so very soon. Time is short. Weary slave with an abusive master – look to Christ. Know that your real life is hidden with Him, untouchable, impåerihsable. A great inheritance awaits you. 3:1Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand.

Our brothers in Syria and Iraq. Lift up your eyes. This life is gone in an instant. Those in prison. Those being tortured, flung out of their homes. Beaten. Meeting in secret in China, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Eritrea, Sudan, and so on. Be encouraged. We have a Master – in heaven.

So, whether slave or free man, master or worker, work for Christ, for he is our master.
Work for Christ, for soon we will be with him.
Work with love flowing through you, for the Spirit of Christ is in you, his heart, his love.
Work like Jesus.

2. Outsiders (4:2-6)

2 Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. 3 Pray for us, too, that God will give us many opportunities to speak about his mysterious plan concerning Christ. That is why I am here in chains. 4 Pray that I will proclaim this message as clearly as I should. 5 Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.

Pray. Pray because what God demands of us is impossible. Pray because prayer is reminding yourself that you are not God, that you depend on Him. That I am weak, but he is strong. Prayer is not a weapon, it is not an incantation – a magic spell that if we say the right words in the right way or while doing the right things God will have to act.
In Mark 9 Jesus comes down the mountain after his transfiguration and discovers his disciples have tried to cast out a demon – but couldn’t. This demon can only be cast out by prayer he says. Huh? Because prayer is humbling yourself. It’s asking GOD to be God. My Dad calls it bowing himself out and bowing God in.

We pray first for our obedience: the way we live. It is not surprising after chapter 3 that we are called to devote ourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart. We cannot do this on our own. Only through Christ and in his strength.

But it’s not just focussed on us and our lives – our prayers have an outward focus: opportunities to share the gospel. Just like Paul in v3-4, asking for prayer that he would not fail to proclaim the message clearly. Yes, even the great apostle Paul desperately needs prayer. He knows how weak he is. He knows where his true strength comes from. Please pray that I will not fail in my task, he says. And then reminds us that just like him, we are to live wisely, making the most of every opportunity.
How can we share the gospel if our lives tell a different story. How can we say “I love Jesus” if our lives are shouting “I love myself”.

What does your life say about you? What does mine say about me?

Our words are worthless if our lives are the opposite of everything we say we believe. If your Dad says it’s important to put on your seatbelt but never puts on his - what are the kids going to do? Actions speak louder than words.
That why the Bible says “faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). Otherwise it’s just an idea - it’s just intellectual assent (agreeing in your mind that something is right). It’s not real. If it doesn’t affect your life – you don’t really believe it.

Jesus says in Luke 6:43–47 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes.… What you say flows from what is in your heart. 46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?

So we pray. We pray and ask for forgiveness when we fall. We pray and thank God for his mercy to us. We pray and ask for his strength. We pray and tell him how great he is, how wonderful, how majestic and holy and awesome. And we pray that we would be bold to speak the gospel to our friends and work colleagues, our neighbours and anyone else we meet.
And we pray for each other. We pray that we will be bold like we should. We pray . Pray particularly for me, that I would be faithgul to the message of the Bible, especially the unpopular bits, or the bits that make me uncomfortable because the hit too close to home!

Pray that we will tell people the gospel.!

Because it’s not enough just to live right. “Preach the gospel, if necessary use words” is just plain wrong. It’s not Biblical, and it wasn’t uttered by St Francis of Assisi, who used to preach (with words) up to 5 times a day.

What happens if you don’t use words? No-one is saved.
People just think “Oh, they’re nice people”. And that’s why we like it. Live nicely, and you never have to offend people by telling them about sin and judgment and the lordship of Jesus.
Nobody comes to Christ through niceness. They have to be TOLD why. They have to hear about JESUS! On judgement day, “let me in, I thought my neighbour was a lovely chap” will not work. “I trust in the blood of Jesus and that alone to wash my sins and make me righteous before God”. “Come in friend.”

So we pray for God to work in us, to change us. We pray for God to speak through us, to save others. We pray that 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

At work, as “slave” or “master” we remember we work for the Lord. Our focus is on heaven. And if life is hard and unfair, we look for glory and remember that Christ, our real life, will appear soon, oh so very soon.

And we pray, pray for the strength to live like Jesus, at church, at home with our wife or husband, and our children, at work, and with non-Christians. And we pray that the Lord would make us bold to make the most of every opportunity to share Christ.