Sermon Tone Analysis

*GIVE GOD THE GLORY*

* *

*Mark 3:20‑30*

 

ETS:Some people refused to believe that Jesus' actions were of God.

ESS:We need to give God the glory for what Christ does in people's lives.

OBJ:I want my listeners to praise God for what He does through Christ.

*Introduction*

Can you imagine anyone being embarrassed because Jesus was healing people?

Can you imagine anyone being upset because people were going to Christ and experiencing a remarkable change in their lives?

In our text this morning we notice that two groups had problems with what Jesus was doing and the

\\ attention He was attracting.

They refused to believe that Jesus' actions were of God.

Who were these two groups?

One group was made up of His own

people ‑ His family.

The other group was the scribes ‑ respected religious leaders of the community.

Jesus was doing marvelous, miraculous things in people's lives, and some people failed to give God the glory for it.

We need to be like those who recognized God at work and gave Him the glory for what was happening.

We need to praise God for what He does through Christ.

At all times, and in

all ways, we need to give God the glory for what Christ does in people's lives.

This morning I want us to notice three reasons from this passage of

Scripture that explain why we need to give God the glory for what Christ does in people's lives.

I.

We Need To Give God The Glory For Christ             Because Of Who He Is.

\\     A.

Some people don't properly glorify the Lord               because they perceive  Jesus to be just a man.

John 6:42  And they said, "Is not this Jesus,                the son of Joseph, whose  father and mother               we know?

How is it then that He says, 'I have             come  down from heaven'?"

 

John 7:5  For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

Mark 3:20‑21  Then the multitude came together again, so that they  could not so much as eat bread.

[21] But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out  of His mind."

1.Perhaps Jesus' family felt He was leading people astray.

They  were shocked to see so many following Him.

\\        2.

They tried to apologize for Jesus and excuse               His radical teachings by calling Him                            mentally disturbed.

3.

It is just as demeaning to the name of Jesus                when people today affirm that He was good                 and wise, but still just a man.

B.

Some people don't properly glorify the Lord              because they accuse Jesus of being a cohort of            Satan.

Mark 3:22  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has  Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."

Jesus spoke of the folly of such an attitude in verses 23‑27.

He  wasn't in league with Satan ‑‑ He had defeated Satan.

C.

Anytime a person is a nonbeliever in Jesus  Christ as the only begotten Son of God, God              in the flesh, it is a failure to glorify the Lord.

\\        1.Some today call the gospel message of Jesus   a fairytale.

2.Regardless of what we think or say of Jesus,              all are lost who

         fail to submit to Him as their Lord and Savior.

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through Me."

 

Acts 4:12  "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other  name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

We need to give God the glory for Christ because of Who He is.

II.

We Need To Give God The Glory For Christ Because Of What He Has Done.

\\     A.

The crowds were following Christ because of what He had done for  people.

1.He healed the sick.

2.He cast out demons.

3.He forgave sin.

4.He treated all people with compassion.

Because of what they had seen Jesus do, the crowd found it easy to glorify God for what was happening.

B.

Jesus' own people failed to see His divine nature.

By relating to Jesus simply as just another family member, just   another local citizen, just a man, they failed to properly appreciate what Jesus was doing.

\\     C.

The scribes, who were bitterly opposed to Jesus because He refused to play their religious games, refused to even consider that Jesus might in any way serve God, much less be God.

While they had to admit that He was casting out demons, they also insisted that He was  in league with demons.

D.

Throughout the years, in the name of Christ                people have found  forgiveness, deliverance,              healing, new life, restored relationships,                      purpose in living ...

 

        We praise God for what He has done in our                 lives and the lives of others through Christ.

III.We Need To Give God The Glory For Christ Because Failure To Do So Is  Sin.

Mark 3:28‑30  "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the  sons of men, and what ever blasphemies they may utter; [29] "but he who

\\ blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation"‑‑ [30] because they said, "He has an

unclean spirit."

 

    A.

Jesus confronted the scribes with the fact that             they were crediting Satan with the blessing                 which God was bringing to people's lives.

They were so opposed to Jesus that they                     would rather connect His good deeds with the            devil than with God.

B.

Even in our day it is not unheard of for people            to attribute healings, etc. with the work of                   Satan as opposed to God.

Even if we don't                 agree with the theology of someone else, even            if we are repulsed by their actions and~/or                    attitudes, we need to be careful that we don't              follow the example of the scribes in Jesus'                  day.

\\     C.

When we see the gracious activity of God on behalf of people, we need to be sure to give the glory to God.

We need to remember what the New Testament book of James tells us:

 

James 1:16‑17  Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

[17] Every good  gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

D.

Verses 28 and 29 speak of what is often called "the unpardonable sin."

There have been various interpretations given through the years, including:

       1.Out and out cursing or otherwise speaking                 evil of the Holy

         Spirit.

2.Attributing the works of God to the devil.

3.Unbelief in Jesus Christ.

\\    One thing that I want us to focus on is that the scribes and other religious leaders were often so opposed to Christ that they rejected everything about Him.

There are many people today who are in the same   position.

They will utterly deny or try to excuse away the positive difference that Jesus Christ makes in people's lives simply because they reject Him as the rightful Lord and only possible Savior of their lives.

If they acknowledge His working it is a step toward acknowledging who He is and how they need to respond to Him because of

who He is; therefore they try to convince themselves that there is a natural explanation for what He does.

Failing that, some people go so

far as to pronounce Christ as being joined with spiritual forces which desire to destroy man or stand in the way of man living an enjoyable life.

His activity on behalf of people is declared to be enslavement of them or a deceitful means of winning their trust in order to ruin their lives.

\\ Failing to recognize Christ as the Son of God who meets the deepest needs of man is a sin which leaves people utterly without hope.

 

 1 Timothy 2:5‑6  For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, [6] who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be

testified in due time,