Sermon Tone Analysis

Everything You Always Wanted - Security

 

Related Scriptures:  Psalm 121, Isaiah 30,31, Mark 6

 

Mark 6:14 ¶ King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known.

Some were saying, {Some early manuscripts He was saying} "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."

15  Others said, "He is Elijah."

And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."

*/16  But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"/*  17  For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison.

He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.

18  For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

19  So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him.

But she was not able to,  20  because */Herod/**/ feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man/*.

When Herod heard John, */he was greatly puzzled; {Some early manuscripts he did many things} yet he liked to listen to him.

/*  21  Finally the opportune time came.

On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

22  When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl*/, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you/*."

23  And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom."

24  She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.

25  At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter."

*/26  The king was greatly distressed/*, but */because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her/*.

27  So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head.

The man went, beheaded John in the prison,   28  and brought back his head on a platter.

He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

Hard to determine how much of the woes of this world are caused by our insecurities and fears.

They cause people to act in unreasonable and unpredictable ways.

The desire to produce security becomes an effort to control others and our circumstances.

Pulling rank in the home.

I am the head of the house and you will follow me.

If a man has to say this to a woman then somehow he has lost something.

He may have the position but he has lost the authority and the more he tries to “pull rank” the worse it gets.

It is a tribute to the life of John that Jesus reminded this ruler of John the Baptist.

Wouldn’t that be something if Jesus were to walk in this world and for someone to associate him with us?

He had the position which was coveted.

He was the ruler, the boss.

He called the shots.

It is often these people who are the worst when it comes to insecurity.

When there is much at stake they assume that there is bad will out there and someone is out to get them.

Sometimes they imagine the opposition where there is none and create it.

Sometimes they imagine it to be greater than it is and they fuel the fire by their actions.

The Peter Principle

 

Herod’s duplicity came from a haunted conscience.

He saw ghosts as most people do when they carry unresolved guilt.

."

*/16  But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, the man I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"  /*It is too true that our behavior is influenced by the decisions that we make along the pathway of our lives.

He was a religious sympathizer.

(*/Herod/**/ feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man/*.

When Herod heard John, */he was greatly puzzled; {Some early manuscripts he did many things} yet he liked to listen to him.)

/*Somehow he attached value to John as a preacher and even though he didn’t fully understand his message he liked to hear this man preach.

I would say that the great majority of people who attend church on Sundays fall into this category.

It’s nice to be in church today.

They walk away from Sunday thinking they have done something special for God by “being here”.

I do want to thank you for attending church because it is an encouragement to me personally but in my heart of hearts I want to see people saved – to come into the kingdom of God and to find transformation and personal fulfillment.

He was unwise in his speech and made promises far too easily.

Spontaneous to a fault.

(*/"Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you/*."

23  And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.")

He never stopped to consider that he was binding himself to the character weaknesses of someone who danced a good dance.

There are people who can perform well whose character leaves much to be desired.

When they see their opportunity then their true agenda surfaces.

(24  She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered)

 

He was in fact controlled by the people that he ruled.

*/26  The king was greatly distressed/*, but */because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her/*.

He was true to others before he was true to himself.

How true to the nature of sin.

How many times have you felt pressured to do what you know is not the right thing to do because of someone else and the possible consequences that there might be to face.

Trust is the antidote for insecurity.

What are you gonna put your trust in?

What kind of things are you banking on?

Are you insecure today about life in general or your relationship specifically?

I am going to try to tell you how you can find the fulfillment that your inner being is longing for next week.