Welcome to Timeless Truth with Pastor Jim Thomas. In season 2, Pastor Jim is leading us in a study of Mark. Today’s passage is Mark 3:20-30.
Notice the increasing fervor of the crowds and the animosity of the religious leaders.
Jesus was…
- Surrounded by the pressing needs of the crowds.
- Unable to even take in a meal.
- Misunderstood by His own family.
- Accused and indicted by the religious leaders of the time.
What is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit?
How does Mark describe this sinful disposition of heart?
- It is hostile and callous, conscious and deliberate
- Attributing the work of Jesus to Satan
- It is a settled attitude vs a one-time event
- Some people who should be able to recognize Jesus simply refuse to
- If you’re actually concerned about having committed this sin, it’s highly likely you have not
- Good news: God’s grace is greater than all your sin
Willful Unbelief…
- Denies God’s purposes
- Is deaf to God’s Word
- Refuses to let God be God
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’
– C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
“Only if your God can say things that outrage you and make you struggle (as in a real friendship or marriage!) will you know that you have gotten hold of a real God and not a figment of your own imagination. So an authoritative Bible is not the enemy of a personal relationship with God. It is the precondition for it.”
– Timothy Keller, The Reason for God
“The ultimately lost person is the person who cannot want God. Who cannot want God to be God… The reason they do not find God is that they do not want him or, at least, do not want him to be God. Wanting God to be God is very different from wanting God to help me.”
– Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart
