rec0602-113457<\/a><\/p>\n Introduction<\/em><\/p>\n C.S. Lewis<\/strong><\/p>\n Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God; the proud\u201d\u00a6are in that danger.<\/p>\n Now you may quickly respond \u201d\u201c \u201cI\u201d\u2122m not a prostitute or anywhere close to such!\u201d<\/p>\n Probably not\u201d\u00a6and we all want to be clear that we\u201d\u2122re not THAT bad, don\u201d\u2122t we?<\/p>\n But such a response reveals pride in our hearts that wants to minimize our own sinfulness.<\/p>\n But before an absolutely holy God, we ALL\u201d\u201dwhatever the gory details of our own sin might be\u201d\u201dneed forgiveness for the unforgivable!<\/p>\n We all need a redemption that we can\u201d\u2122t buy!<\/p>\n The Good News is that there IS redemption through Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n As we continue our study of the Gospel of Mark, I want to look at how Jesus related to others\u201d\u00a6and who He chose to relate to the most.<\/p>\n Because, if we would \u201cfollow Jesus\u201d, we must likewise live and relate to others in the same way He did.<\/p>\n Mark 2:13-17<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n One account from Mark\u201d\u2122s Gospel really sums up what Jesus was pursuing in all of His relationships\u201d\u00a6it\u201d\u2122s the calling of Levi (or Matthew).<\/p>\n 13\u00a0<\/sup>Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. 14\u00a0<\/sup>As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector\u201d\u2122s booth. \u201cFollow me and be my disciple,\u201d Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him.<\/p>\n 15\u00a0<\/sup>Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus\u201d\u2122 followers.) 16\u00a0<\/sup>But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, \u201cWhy does he eat with such scum?\u201d<\/p>\n 17\u00a0<\/sup>When Jesus heard this, he told them, \u201cHealthy people don\u201d\u2122t need a doctor\u201d\u201dsick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As if we were in a helicopter, let\u201d\u2122s fly over Mark\u201d\u2122s Gospel and notice the folks Jesus Relates to in Mark\u201d\u2122s Gospel.\u00a0 We won\u201d\u2122t really \u201cland\u201d but just hover over a few places and look around.<\/p>\n 1:14-20 \u201d\u201c Fishermen<\/span> (Common Folks\u201d\u201dNon-Religious)<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 1:21-28 \u201d\u201c Demon-Possessed \u201cChurch Member\u201d<\/span> \u201d\u201c such DO exist!<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 1:40-45 \u201d\u201c Leper<\/span> \u201d\u201c Indescribably UNCLEAN!<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 2:1-12 \u201d\u201c Paralytic<\/span> \u201d\u201c perceived to be more sinful and cursed by God, or paralyzed because of his parents\u201d\u2122 sin.<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 2:13-17 \u201d\u201c Tax Collector<\/span> \u201d\u201c utter outcast because of their greed and betrayal of friends and family, all for money!\u00a0 Folks like Levi (Matthew) worked for the occupying Roman Empire and used the authority of the local Roman soldiers to enable them to get rich by collecting far too much tax from their fellow Jews!\u00a0 These guys made the IRS look like Boy Scouts!<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 3:1-6 \u201d\u201c Man with Shriveled Hand<\/span> \u201d\u201c again, physical ailments were seen as signs of God\u201d\u2122s curse because of someone in the family\u201d\u2122s sin\u201d\u201deither the one with the ailment or their parents.<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 5:1-20 \u201d\u201c The Demoniac of the Gerasenes<\/span> \u201d\u201c This madman was eat up with demons!\u00a0 There were enough demons in this guy to send 2,000 pigs off a cliff into the lake and drown.<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 5:21-43 \u201d\u201c A Dead Girl and A Woman with Hemorrhaging<\/span> \u201d\u201c While on His way to heal a dying girl, Jesus heals a very UNCLEAN woman, who has hemorrhaged regularly for 12 years.\u00a0 Meanwhile the little girl dies and Jesus goes to that UNCLEAN place of death\u201d\u00a6and raises her to life again!<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 7:24-30 \u201d\u201c Daughter of a Greek Woman<\/span> \u201d\u201c Jesus gives grace to a Gentile by casting out an evil spirit from a little girl because her mother trusted that He was God\u201d\u2122s Son.\u00a0 And notice\u201d\u00a6He took care of this evil spirit from a distance\u201d\u201dJesus just told the mother the demon was already gone from her daughter.<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 9:14-27 \u201d\u201c Boy with an Evil Spirit<\/span> \u201d\u201c This boy\u201d\u2122s father was desperate for help but wasn\u201d\u2122t even fully convinced that Jesus could help him\u201d\u00a6and yet, Jesus heals because this man trusted all he could at the moment and asked Jesus to help his faith too!<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n 10:46-52 \u201d\u201c Blind Bartimaeus<\/span> \u201d\u201c a blind beggar!\u00a0 From everyone else\u201d\u2122s perspective, just an irritating part of the everyday landscape in that part of town\u201d\u201da constant nagging for money from Blind Bart, bless his heart.\u00a0 But Blind Bart realizes one thing\u201d\u201dthis guy that\u201d\u2122s walking by today is no ordinary man\u201d\u00a6He is \u201cthe Son of David\u201d, the Messiah, Who brings God\u201d\u2122s mercy to those who need it most!<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As Jesus Himself said in Mark 2:17:<\/p>\n Healthy people don\u201d\u2122t need a doctor\u201d\u201dsick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n Now\u201d\u00a6if Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him, should we not also choose to relate to those who are well aware of their need so that, through our love and witness, they might come to know the only One Who can redeem them?<\/p>\n Yes, we\u201d\u2122re called to fill our lives with redemptive relationships, just like Jesus did.<\/p>\n No, we can\u201d\u2122t redeem anyone\u201d\u00a6but we can introduce them to Jesus Who can\u201d\u00a6and WILL!<\/p>\n WE must intentionally relate to those who, just like we do, need Jesus most!<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Conclusion<\/em><\/p>\n Mark 10:45 (NLT)<\/strong><\/p>\n For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others<\/span><\/em> and to give his life as a ransom for many<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n C.S. Lewis<\/strong><\/p>\n God washes the feet of men.<\/p>\n And if God, in the person of Jesus Christ, so served others, so must those of us who call ourselves His followers, His worshipers!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Ronnie McBrayer<\/strong><\/p>\n Here is what the early church father, Clement of Alexandria said: \u201cReal Christians practice being God.\u201d What does that mean? It means our nature reflects who God is. It means the experiences people have with us, should be the experience they have with God himself. It means that God is made visible and tangible, not with our declarations of truth or reciting of the creeds; God is made visible in us, and in our world, when we love others as he loves them. To follow Christ means we enter into his world \u201d\u201c his kingdom \u201d\u201c his lifestyle of love.<\/p>\n Jesus intentionally related to those who knew they needed Him!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Therefore\u201d\u00a6<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n WE must intentionally relate to those who, just like we do, need Jesus most!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n HOW are YOU doing this in your own life?<\/p>\n WHO do you have relationships with?<\/p>\n WHO are you thinking of right now that needs grace but you\u201d\u2122ve avoided?<\/p>\n God is calling you to intentionally relate to THAT person today.<\/p>\n Jesus gave His life for me\u201d\u00a6how can I refuse to give my life away to others so that they may know Him?<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Message by Chad Kelly rec0602-113457 Introduction C.S. Lewis Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God; the proud\u201d\u00a6are in that danger. Now you may quickly respond \u201d\u201c \u201cI\u201d\u2122m not a … Continue reading Redemptive Relationships<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n