Mark Driscoll Audio

If you stop to think about your work, what it’s accomplishing, and why you should keep working, you will likely end up very discouraged, start wearing black, and listening to bands fronted by people whose dad did not hug them enough. But, this kind of reflection on "why we do what we do" is rare because we are so stressed out by our work that we lay awake at night, so overwhelmed by what we have to do that we don’t even have the time or energy to ask if we should be doing it.

Solomon tried to find meaning by enjoying anything and everything apart from God but found it to be a meaningless waste of time. This just goes to prove that you can have a full fridge, full house, full closet, full bank account, full social life, full mind, full stomach, full liquor cabinet, full résumé, full bedroom, yet an empty soul. Everything minus God is nothing. Nothing plus God is everything.

Something has gone terribly wrong and no matter how many organizations we start, elections we hold, wars we fight, dollars we spend, attempts we make, protests we hold, medications we prescribe, bad guys we lock up, or tears we shed, the world is hopelessly crooked and cursed. This bothers us, so we want to straighten it out. The problem is that not only is everything on the earth crooked, so is everyone on the earth. We are all crooked. Every one of us.

According to Ecclesiastes, the evolutionary chart in school fooled us into believing that history is a straight line going up and we are more advanced than those primitive people who came before us. The truth is that history is really a circle, a cul-de-sac to be more exact. One generation after another drives around that cul-de-sac worshiping their idol and trying to outdo their neighbor with more sex, more stuff, more power, more information, and more fame. As fools often do, we mistake movement for progress. With brutal honesty about this fact, Ecclesiastes feels more like a punch in the gut than a kiss on the lips.

Jesus teaches that identity results in activity: who we are in Christ determines what we do. If you are a light, shine in the darkness of the world. Your light also should continue to grow brighter. Maturing as a Christian requires listening carefully to God’s Word and God’s preachers. The powerful preacher George Whitefield (1714–1770) offers six exhortations for how to listen to a sermon. Finally, in the church, serve like family; true family members hear what they are supposed to hear, and then do what they’re supposed to do.

A notoriously sinful woman does the unthinkable: she goes, uninvited, to Simon the Pharisee’s home, where Jesus is eating with “holy” religious men. There, broken and sobbing, she lavishly worships Jesus: falling at his feet, cleaning them, anointing them with her best perfume, and kissing them. Her actions are passionate, but not erotic. She publicly and humbly acknowledges her sin before the most judgmental, condemning, and self-righteous men. Religious people see others’ sins, not their own. Yet “holy” Simon did none of what this woman did (worship, serve, repent of sin, or give generously). She responds so passionately and generously because Jesus loved her much, and she loved Jesus much. When you know how much Jesus loves you, and you love him back, it’s the beginning of your passionate, worshipful, generous relationship, and everything changes. Jesus also deals with her sin. He doesn’t excuse her many sins; he forgives her. What Jesus did for that woman he did for other women who followed him, and he co

Jesus says that “among those born of women none is greater than John.” John was great because he sought answers for his questions about Jesus, because he trusted in Jesus, and because he was fearless in his service to Jesus. John lived a great, big, bold, humble life by the power of the Holy Spirit, and only by that power can we do the same.

John was great because he called people to true repentance (not its counterfeits, such as religious repentance, pagan repentance, worldly sorrow, mere confession, blame shifting, minimizing, and excuse making), because he endured impossible people, and because he suffered critics. Above all, though, John was great because he was filled with the Holy Spirit; like a kite filled with the power of the wind, he flew high and strong. That’s such a better life than a kite that never gets out of the box.

Pastor Mark continues preaching on the Beatitudes, examining principles from Jesus’ teaching: 1) Forgiven people should forgive; 2) Getters should be givers; 3) Leaders should lead themselves; 4) Good trees should produce good fruit; and 5) Truth plus obedience equals a rock-solid foundation. We are all hypocrites who are blind to our own blindness. We need to be uprooted and replanted for new lives and legacies built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.

Jesus heals a centurion’s servant, a man who is near death. The religious people still do not understand that it is all about grace, not works or merit. Being a moral, upstanding citizen—like the centurion—will not earn you forgiveness or salvation. Even though the centurion was an honorable man, he still needed to place his faith in Jesus; he did just that and Jesus was amazed at his faith. Jesus is a greater warrior worthy of the worship of all soldiers; we want them to know, love, and serve Jesus, which is why we have a Military Ministry at Mars Hill.

Jesus finds wrecked people. He pursues people who don’t ask for him and comforts people who don’t seek him. Jesus literally reaches into death and brings life, both for the dead son of the widow and for all Jesus’ people. Dead people do nothing to participate in their healing; it is solely a gift of grace. Jesus is an even greater risen son who conquered death for all the children of God.

Jesus calls the twelve disciples—and all of his people today—to transition from a come-and-see experience to a go-and-die life. We can learn eleven leadership lessons from Jesus’ selection of the twelve disciples, so that, by the Holy Spirit’s power, we will follow Jesus’ leadership example and have a church that is patterned after Jesus’ ministry.

Pastor Mark preaches on the Beatitudes at the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus spent much of his ministry. Jesus taught that he is the King of kings who is bringing a countercultural kingdom. The kingdom of God is not about getting wealth, power, comfort, or fame. It’s about being in relationship with God—loving God and loving others, especially your enemies.

The religious legalists swarm around Jesus to argue with him about the Sabbath. They come not to listen, but to criticize. Religious legalism is adding rules to the Bible, and it is the enemy of Jesus Christ. Legalism makes you bold, unbiblical, arrogant, unloving, and dangerous. The result of religion is a paint-by-numbers life. It’s artless and heartless. There are seven steps—to avoid—to become a legalist.

The people of Capernaum are amazed at Jesus’ authority in preaching, in healing, and in commanding unclean spirits, or demons. There are two erroneous reactions to the topic of demons: the first is to deny they exist, and the second is to obsess over them. Instead, if we know our enemy and understand his schemes, he cannot easily outwit us. Our life is like a house; for Christians, Satan never owns the house, Jesus does, but Satan can influence and oppress. We must recognize the ways in which we could leave doors and windows to our house open (such as through unrepentant, habitual sin). Through repentance and faith in Jesus because of his death, burial, and resurrection, our allegiance to Satan is canceled, and our freedom in Christ is granted. God’s enemy becomes our enemy and Jesus’ authority becomes our authority.

Jesus gave his life for the glory of God and the good of others, and we should too. 1) Pour yourself out in ministry. Do something, anything, for Jesus. 2) Rest and recover in solitude. 3) Pursue your calling, not your potential. Those who don’t have a sense of calling exchange busyness for fruitfulness. Live your life intentionally by pursuing the things that God has gifted and called you to. 4) Train other leaders. Here, Jesus calls his first disciples, Peter, James, and John, and they leave everything to follow him. For them (as it should be for all Christians and churches), it was all about evangelism—people meeting Jesus.

Jesus changes lives, and we see two examples in Luke 5:12–26. There, Jesus heals a man full of leprosy; not only that, but he reaches out and touches him, like he touches all who are unclean. Jesus also heals a paralytic and forgives him of his sin. The religious people question Jesus and accuse him of blasphemy. They just don’t get it: Jesus cleanses us from our filth, Jesus forgives our sin, and Jesus saves us from our religion.

Jesus loves sinners and was a missionary who went into the culture among sinners. He publicly picked, pursued, and called Levi—a despised tax collector—to repent of his ways and follow him. A good missionary: 1) follows Jesus; 2) starts a community group (welcoming other people into your life and home, as Levi did); and 3) repents, repents, repents. At Mars Hill Church, we gather (come together as God’s people for preaching, teaching, and worship) and scatter (go out as God’s people for mission and community) because Jesus did both. The scribes and Pharisees complained when they saw Jesus as a missionary with sinners; they didn’t understand that everyone is a sick sinner who needs Jesus, the great physician, to heal them.

Jesus was a world-class, Spirit-filled preacher of Scripture. At the beginning of his ministry, he traveled throughout the Galilean region, preaching in synagogues. When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth, he unrolled and read from the scroll of Isaiah; Jesus taught that he is the fulfillment of Scripture. He takes care of the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. Jesus is our riches, freedom, sight, and liberation.

Jesus preaches in his hometown of Nazareth, but the people reject him. They would rather kill Jesus than kill their religion. He teaches from 1 Kings 17 (Elijah and a pagan widow) and 2 Kings 5 (Elisha and Naaman the leper) to show that even religious people are as needy as the starving widow and that their sin is as horrific as leprosy. We see in this passage at least eight ways we could be compelled to reject Jesus: theology, control, greed, selfishness, familiarity, comfort, embarrassment, and religion.