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Sermon Audio: Who’s In Charge?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 9:38-50
Duration: 23:52
Size: 13.2 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
Salty Christians
Mark 9:38-50

Here, John complains that someone outside the “in” group was doing kingdom work.

The truth is that if someone out of mercy helps another be freed from a demon through the power of Jesus, they are not going to turn around and tell people not to believe or trust in Jesus.

You’ve done your best to serve the Lord, your family, or this community, and nobody seems to appreciate it.

Even as a simple act of kindness has with it great rewards, so too are there great punishments for those who prey on the young ones in the Lord.

Take drastic measures, if need be, to keep yourself from being scandalized in your own relationship with Christ.

Don’t worry about the faults of others. Take care of your own faults by humbly admitting your need of Christ and getting help from Him.

That is, speak words of peace and encouragement. Help those young believers find joy in their service for Christ, because they’re going to have enough trouble as it is in this life.

We never know what other people are dealing with, and the last thing they need is somebody putting them down.

You see, we truly help people not with harsh words of criticism. No. We help them with words of grace and peace, seasoned with salt.

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Sermon Audio: Who’s In Charge?
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 9:14-37
Duration: 27:17
Size: 14.5 MB

Jesus: The Ultimate Action Hero
Who’s In Charge?
Mark 9:14-37

Chapter 9 of Mark’s gospel is really an object lesson in upsetting the default human tendency towards power and the real way God’s universe runs.

I love this account because we, as Jesus’ disciples, face ministry “failures” at times. We think we hear from God, we step out in faith, and then fall flat on our faces.

Here Jesus shows His exasperation. But notice what frustrates Him: unbelief.

It’s like Jesus is saying “I can do anything. The question is: do you believe I can?”

So perhaps the disciples had begun to attempt to drive out demons in their own strength when their initial attempts failed.

But instead of really pressing in to find out from God what’s going on, we just grimace and bear it, or we hide away, or throw a pity party, or solve it in our own strength.

True greatness is measured by how much you serve, not by how much you rule.

When the disciples couldn’t drive out the demon, Jesus spoke of the problem of unbelief, which is really lack of submission and trust in Jesus.

“…But if you can do anything,…”

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”