More Than a Fan

0:43 You can turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 3. We're going to be continuing in our study following Jesus. We look at verses 7 through 12 for a message that I've titled, More Than a Fan. Hey, has anyone in here ever seen a celebrity out in public, maybe on an airplane or in a mall or at a restaurant? You know, in New Mexico, with all the film industry, we have a lot of celebrities that are in and out of New Mexico. Anyone ever been around people when they've seen a celebrity? You know what I've noticed? When people see a celebrity in public, they all of a sudden forget how to be adults. and they all become little kids, right? Like it doesn't matter where you're at. If you're with your friends and you see a celebrity maybe at dinner or in the mall or walking through an airport, somebody always whispers, hey, I think that's so-and-so, whoever it is, hey, I think that's so-and-so.

1:37 And all of a sudden, grown adults forget how to act, right? People start pointing without trying to point, which is like a very weird thing if you've seen this happen in public. Like it's very obvious. It's almost more obvious than just pointing. It's like, and it's like, okay, bro, we know what you're doing. And then you have people pull out their cell phones pretending like they're sending a text, but oddly, the text is like this, and they're kind of trying to move their fingers and zoom in, right, to get that photo so they can look at the photo they took on their phone with like IMDB and see if it's the same person. Like, people just forget how to act, and then the inevitable question comes, hey, should we try to get a selfie? By the way, the answer to that question is always yes. Yes, you try to get the selfie. You know, it's amazing what celebrity does to people. Or think about sports fans, right? Like this is like another level of devotion, wildness, and being absolutely committed.

2:35 And I used to think that football fans were crazy. And then with the World Cup and watching soccer fans, and yes, I'm American, so it's soccer and football, just in case you're wondering. But these soccer fans, man, they are wild, right? They are wild. You know, tens of thousands walking through the streets, painting their faces, wearing the jerseys. How about those Norway fans in the stands, woo, doing the rowing? Like, that's so tough. And then the England fans singing Wonderwall after. I'm not quite sure where that came from, but I'm here for it. You know, they're just wild. And then football fans in America are the same way. They paint their faces. They wear jerseys every Friday. They spend thousands of dollars on tickets. They know every statistic, every draft pick, every coaching rumor. They can tell you what happened in a game 10 years ago, but they can't remember where they put their keys today, right?

3:28 Like, it's wild. They're fans. And fans can be incredibly passionate. But here's something I've noticed. There's a huge difference between being a Fran and being a friend. right? There's a big difference between being a fan and being a friend. If you meet a celebrity and you get a picture, do you start going around and telling your friends that you're friends with that person? Oh yeah, I'm friends with this guy that I met in an airport once and asked him for a selfie in the bathroom super awkwardly. We're really good friends. No, there's a difference between a fan and a friend. A fan takes a picture on their phone. A friend has that person's number in their phone. A fan might know everything about someone. A friend actually knows them. A fan watches from the stands. A friend gets invited into the locker room. A fan wants an autograph. A friend has access. A fan cheers from a distance. A friend walks alongside.

4:34 And I bring that up because I wonder if that's not how many people approach Jesus. I think there's a lot of people who are big fans of Jesus They're really loud, they cheer, they clap They take pictures at church, they sing But they're just fans, not friends There's no relationship How many of us are guilty in coming to the biggest fan club every Sunday And just cheering for Jesus But never allowing Jesus to change our lives We'll stand for Jesus and lift our arms to Jesus and sing loud to Jesus, but we refuse to kneel and bow before Jesus. There is a difference between a fan and a friend. There's people today who are so fascinated with Jesus. They're so inspired by Jesus. They admire his teaching. They appreciate his miracles. They even enjoy being around people who follow him. But admiration isn't the same as relationship. Admiration isn't the same as relationship. And I want to let you know, you can admire Jesus and not be a Christian.

5:46 You can be fascinated with Jesus. You can appreciate Jesus and not be a Christian. Now take it one step further. The Bible actually calls us to something even deeper than friendship. It's called discipleship. Jesus said to his disciples, I have called you friends in John 15, which by the way, what a wonderful promise that is, isn't it? That Jesus calls us friends. He is the friend of sinners. And yet he also continually called the disciples and us to follow after him. Because friendship with Jesus isn't just casual. It produces discipleship. So maybe a better contrast isn't fan versus friend. It's fan versus follower. And my question for you today is, are you a fan of Jesus or are you more than a fan? Are you a follower of Jesus? Because guess what? Fans don't go to heaven. Followers go to heaven. Now it's possible to be both a follower and a fan. I'll be the first to admit, I'm a big fan of Jesus. Anyone in here a fan of Jesus?

6:56 yes I'm a fan of Jesus but if we let it stop at simply admiring and fangirling and we don't allow it to produce following within our lives then we've missed the point the entire point is discipleship is following is transformation a fan enjoys Jesus when it's convenient. A follower rearranges their life around Jesus. A fan is impressed by the power of Jesus. A follower is completely surrendered to his authority. And here's the question Mark quietly asks us. And I want to ask you this today. Just because you're close to Jesus, does that mean you're following him?

7:48 We're gonna read a story and there's a lot of people in this story who were very close to Jesus. So close as a matter of fact, it says that they were pressing around him, reaching out to him, wanting something from him, but their proximity to Jesus didn't necessarily produce the results of salvation and sanctification within their lives. So just because you're close to Jesus, just because you come to church, just because you know the Psalms, just because you have a public outpouring that appears to be genuine worship, just because you can quote some Bible verses, does that mean that you're actually following him? And today, Mark invites us to ask the uncomfortable but necessary question, am I simply a fan of Jesus or am I more than a fan? And we're gonna see here in Mark chapter three three different responses that people and us can have to Jesus.

8:41 Number one, many are swayed by his presence. Number two, some are starving for his power. And number three, few are surrendered to his authority. Let's look at our first point, swayed by his presence. And let's read together Mark chapter three, verses seven through eight. If you have your Bible, put it in the air so I can see it. Come on, let's go, I love it. I gotta believe that more people bring their Bibles to this church than any other church. I mean, you guys are dedicated to God's word. If you didn't bring your Bible, there's one in front of you in the seat, or you can pull out your phone and do it digitally. I don't know what other options you have. Maybe, like, cheat on a test and look at your neighbor's Bible if you don't have any of those options. But we're going to be reading together, so let's read Mark chapter 3, starting in verse 7. It says,

9:41 It mentions twice in two verses a great multitude. So first of all, do you think Mark wants us to understand that there's a great multitude? There's a lot of people. Mark's saying a ton of people are coming to see Jesus. Lots of people are interested in Jesus. And Mark intentionally gives us this long list of places. Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan, Tyre, Sidon. It's like not just in this city, but in all the cities around, everybody wanted to know what was going on with Jesus. People are walking for days to see him. Days and days and days. They're all coming to see Jesus. We would read this and say, well, that's a good thing, isn't it?

10:35 Like it's good that there's a lot of people who are interested in Jesus. It's good that there's great multitudes coming. Isn't that why he came was to save these great multitudes? But I want to ask the question, why? Why are they coming to Jesus? Well, it's pretty simple. Word has spread. Word's gotten out. People all over this Middle East region are hearing about this man named Jesus who heals, who does things no one had seen before, heals the sick, brings sight to the blind, helps the lame to walk, the dead rise to life. And they're all pressing to say, I want what this guy has. I've heard what he can do. He's healing, he's casting out demons, he's doing all these things. And on top of that, I heard he brings a bunch of wine to weddings. And he gave like 5,000 people a fish and chips meal for free.

11:30 It's actually sounding more and more like England fans at the World Cup. He's like, man, I gotta meet this guy, Jesus. The question isn't whether the crowd liked Jesus, because obviously they did. The crowds kept growing. More people kept coming. They liked Jesus, but that's not the question. Look, I'm not here to ask you if you like Jesus. You probably do. That's why you're here. I mean, at the bare minimum, you might be curious about Jesus. Maybe you're like, I'm not sure if I like him yet, but I'm curious about him. But that's not the question. The question isn't, do you like Jesus? The question isn't, are you curious about Jesus? The question is, are you following Jesus? The question for these people, my question is, why did they like Jesus? Were they following Jesus because he was worthy or because he was useful? I'm gonna ask that again because I think this is a question each and every one of us have to answer.

12:26 Were they following Jesus because he was worthy of their worship and their honor and their praise or were they following Jesus because he appeared useful to what they wanted within their lives? And I ask you the same question, Jesus followers. Do you follow Jesus? Do you come after Jesus? Do you pursue Jesus because he is worthy of all glory and honor and praise? Because he is the king of kings, the most high, who deserves all of our worship? Or do you follow Jesus? Are you curious about Jesus? Do you like Jesus because you think he might be able to give you what you want? Because you think he might be able to do for you what no one else can. Notice Mark never says these people came because they wanted to obey Jesus. They came because they heard what Jesus could do. Look back in verse 8. It says that, and Jerusalem, and Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and those from Tyre, and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things he was doing, came to him. They heard, oh, he's doing these great things. We should go check it out and see what it's all about. They weren't following his teaching. They were following his miracles. Hey, have you heard about Jesus? He heals. He casts out demons. He changes lives. They were captivated by his reputation. They're attracted. They're fascinated. They're amazed. But an important principle comes to light. Attraction isn't transformation. Attraction isn't transformation. As a matter of fact, there's many people today who are very attracted to Jesus. They're very attracted to his teachings. They're attracted to the things he said. They're attracted to the idea of being in church and having their kids grow up in Sunday school. They're attracted to being around other believers because they seem nice. They're attracted, but they've never bent the knee and they've never been transformed.

14:28 There's a stark difference between attraction and transformation. Attraction doesn't get you to heaven. Transformation gets you to heaven. Fans are attracted by what Jesus does. Followers are attracted by who Jesus is. Now, that doesn't mean the crowd was wrong for coming. And I want to point this out because we can look at this on the hindsight and say, man, these heathens, they're just coming because they want something from Jesus. How shameful of them to do that. But the crowd wasn't wrong for coming. In fact, everyone starts somewhere. These people were curious. And you know curiosity brings many people to Jesus?

15:08 Curiosity draws many people to church. As a matter of fact, I think we're in a day and age right now where more people are curious about Jesus and the Jesus way than ever before. They're curious about what the Bible says. They're curious about how Christians actually act. And that curiosity might draw them to church, might draw them to begin seeking and searching for answers. Curiosity isn't wrong, but curiosity was never meant to be the destination. Jesus doesn't want you to be curious. He wants you to be committed.

15:40 Jesus always intended curiosity to lead to commitment. And that's still true today. You know, it's really easy for churches to become full of fans. full of fans, full of people who come every Sunday to cheer Jesus on, to sing songs for Jesus, to clap for Jesus, to be around Jesus' people. There's a lot of people who come to church because they're swayed into attending for one reason or another. Some people come because they love the atmosphere. They're like, I have nothing else to do on a Sunday morning. At least I'll be around a nice atmosphere and the air conditioning and good coffee. Some people come because they love the music. Well, it's so uplifting, it's encouraging. Some come because they love the preaching. Some for the community. Some just come for the coffee. But Jesus didn't come to collect admirers.

16:35 He came to make disciples. He didn't come to collect admirers. Look, Jesus isn't like some tween girl sitting up at nighttime in her bed trying to get likes on her latest TikTok or Instagram post. Jesus doesn't care how much you smash the like button or share his posts. Jesus isn't waiting for your affirmation of his lordship. He's waiting for your surrender to his lordship. He's waiting for you to acknowledge that he is God.

17:05 You remember the parable of the sower and the different kinds of soil that the seeds can fall on and how it changes the output of the seed, of what it becomes? Well, there's a group in that story in Matthew chapter 13 that I think perfectly defines what simply being a fan of Jesus is and not letting it go past that. In Matthew 13, five through six, it says, some, speaking of the seeds, fell on stony places where they did not have much earth and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched and because they had no root, they withered away. I think this perfectly describes what a fan of Jesus looks like. They're curious. They come. They want to be a part of it. And immediately they get excited. And it appears that they spring up with growth. And they're the most passionate, most emotional.

18:00 They have their hands lifted, singing the loudest. But the second calamity and trials and the sun begins to scorch on their lives, they quickly fade away like nothing had ever happened. Now, the stony ground that Jesus spoke of, I want you to understand what it was. It wasn't like a pile of rocks. We all know if you drop seed on a rock, it's not gonna grow, right? Rather, what it's speaking of in the stony places, it's speaking of a layer of topsoil on top of bedrock. What happens when that occurs is there's a water table close to the surface because the water collects on the rock and then the layer of topsoil allows seeds to spring up quickly. And so what would happen is these seeds would spring up quickly because they had access to water, but the second the roots started going down, they would hit rock, and they wouldn't be able to grow because they weren't properly rooted, and so they would die. Now, we've all met these rootless people who, upon hearing the gospel, respond immediately. Again, they have a tremendous emotional experience. They seem to undergo immediate change in their lives. They're living on an emotional high, a state of euphoria. They lift their hands the highest, pray the longest, sing the loudest, and then it's gone just as quick as a social media trend. And we can look at that and say, what happened to that kind of a person?

19:19 Again, I think the issue is that they were just fans. They were never truly followers. And I actually think this is one of the major reasons behind the deconstruction movement. I think you have a group of people who were never truly planted or discipled or followed Jesus. They were just fans of Jesus. They came to Jesus wanting something from Jesus, thinking that Jesus was going to give them all the things they wanted. And they're good with it until Jesus says, hey, you should stop sleeping with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Hey, you should stop going to parties. And then all of a sudden it changes, right? It's like, well, wait a second. I thought this relationship was one-sided. I thought I asked you for things and you give them to me. I didn't think that you asked things of me. I didn't think that you asked me to be holy. And so just as quickly as they were fans, they leave because they're fair weather fans. It's like every Cowboys fan, right? Before the season, you're excited, you're cheering, and then you're burning your, your, all your Cowboys gear at the end of the season. I'm sorry. I know it's too soon.

20:23 Has been for like 30 years, but. Look, it's easy to ask and look at a person like that. It's easy to wonder how can that happen? You know, some people are simply impulsive by nature. I'll freely admit I'm incredibly impulsive. Anyone else in here like incredibly impulsive, like ADHD to the max or into a new hobby every single week? And it's like, you don't even know where it comes from. Just one night you're on TikTok and you decide, I'm gonna play pickleball for the rest of my life. That's gonna be my new thing. And then four weeks later, you're like, I don't want to see a pickleball paddle ever again. Right? Like just super impulsive. One hobby to the next. And all you have to do to see this is look at garage sales. Right? Some people's lives are littered with things they began but never finished. Like you go to garage sales and it's a treasure trove of forgotten hobbies and a decision to work out that stopped after a week.

21:16 Right? It's filled with treadmills and golf clubs, sewing machines, infomercial, life changers. all these things that somebody was excited about, only to forget about. We need to be really careful to not allow this same mindset to seep into our spiritual lives. Spiritually, the people that it's speaking of here aren't people who've had true conversions that have lost their salvation. Rather, these are people who never really had salvation to begin with. They were just fans. It was a shallow, emotional experience that was only on the surface. And it's very possible that many in the church today have followed another gospel, one that promises heaven without the reality of hell, one that offers forgiveness without genuine repentance. And such a person may have come to God thinking of God as some kind of a divine butler or celestial nonjudgmental good friend that they can just take with them wherever they go.

22:15 And they're just like the crowd. They hear about this guy and they all come. They want to see what's going on. And in this day and age, it's easy to wonder how well people really understand the gospel, or for that matter, what the Christian life really is. A recent poll was done by the Barna Research revealed that 41% of practicing Christians, 41%, it's almost half of Christians, believe that the only truth one can know is what is right for one's own life. That is not the gospel. That is not the truth. That's a large majority, a large group of Christians who are fans, not followers. And people can be drawn to church for so many kinds of reasons, so many different reasons. Maybe they need hope. Maybe their marriage is struggling. Maybe they want community.

23:08 Maybe someone invited them and they just decided they'd check it out. I wanna let you know, those aren't bad reasons. Those aren't bad reasons. something drew every one of us to church something drew every one of us to Jesus that's okay but eventually every person needs to move beyond asking what can Jesus do for me to asking who is Jesus and will I follow him or not and that's my question for you today who is Jesus to you Who is he? Is he just a nice guy? Is he just a good teacher? Is he just somebody who should be admired that we should cheer for and clap for? Or is he the king of kings and the Lord of lords? And will you choose to bend the knee, submit your life to him, and allow him to change and transform every aspect until the point where your life is unrecognizable from what it used to be?

24:04 That's what a follower of Jesus looks like. Because proximity to Jesus isn't the same thing as intimacy with Jesus. See, the crowds had proximity. They were close, close enough to touch him. And yet very few actually followed him. And you can sit in church every week. You can have close proximity to holy things. You can quote Bible verses. You can look the part. You can know the pastor and still never surrender your life. As a matter of fact, I think this is one of the most dangerous things in Christianity. Because the longer you remain just a fan without allowing yourself to become a follower, the more inoculated to the gospel you become. And you begin to trick yourself into thinking, oh, I love Jesus. Well, what's the determining factor of that? Well, I know the songs. Forrest Frank's the only thing I listen to in my car.

24:58 I got one of those what would Jesus do bracelets on the first weekend of Vision Week, and I wear it all the time. I do all these things. I even invited someone to Freedom Celebration, and we can begin to look at our lives and the things that don't actually mark holiness or righteousness, and we can begin to equate our fandom of Jesus to holiness. Look, you can know every worship song and still not know the Savior. and that's because crowds gather around charisma, disciples gather around Christ. We gather around Jesus and not for what Jesus can do for us, we gather around him simply for who he is to worship him and to praise him and to give him our lives and as we give him our lives and we allow him to change our lives from the inside out, it's important that we take opportunities just like I said during communion to look back One of the best ways you can tell if you're a fan or if you're a follower is to look back.

26:00 Look back at your life before Christ and compare it to your life now. And if there's not many changes, you're probably a fan. Well, Nate, that's so harsh. That's really judgmental. You don't know my heart. You're right, I don't. But the Bible tells us that we are to judge others by their works. That you can tell me you're a Christian, but if your life doesn't reflect it, I hate to break it to you, you're not a follower, you're a fan. It's important for us to look back and ask ourselves that question. Does my life look different? Am I a fan or am I a follower? Have I allowed Jesus to genuinely change my life? A fan says, Jesus changed my weekend. A follower says, Jesus changed my life. So the crowds keep getting bigger. Everybody wants something. And now Mark tells us exactly what they wanted. Let's look at verses 9 through 10 as we see the second response to Jesus, and that is starving for his power. Verse 9, Mark says, so he told his disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for him because of the multitude, lest they should crutch him. So there's so many people that Jesus is worried like, man, this might be it. I came here to die on the cross for people's sins, not be crushed by the crowd. So you guys better have a boat ready in case we gotta jet out of here. But he doesn't leave. It says, for he healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about him to touch him.

27:34 Jesus actually tells his disciples to have a boat ready. Why? Because the crowd is becoming dangerous. As a matter of fact, the word that Mark uses here for pressing against him is the same word, the Greek word that carries the idea of the pressing and crushing of grapes in order to make wine. It's a violent image. It's a visual image. That's what is happening. People are pressing in. They're crushing against him, trying to get to Jesus. Everyone is reaching. Everyone is grabbing. Everyone wants healing. Everyone wants relief. Everyone is starving for his power. Everyone wants their miracle, right? And you can almost picture it like people fighting each other. No, that's my miracle. Get out of my way. I was here first. Like a parking lot at a concert, but on steroids, right? Like everybody is just wanting their way, their thing, their miracle from Jesus. And before we look at that and say, ooh, that's so gross. Why are people doing that? People are so disgusting. I want you to think about it, the desperation. Nobody wants to wait. Everybody's desperate for Jesus. And if it was you, if it was your sick son or your sick daughter, If it was your sick spouse, your friend, or yourself, you'd lived for decades with an infirmity and no one could fix it, but then you hear about this guy named Jesus who's healing people and breathing life into people, what would you do?

29:00 I think you'd do exactly what they did. You'd come with desperation, starving for the power of Jesus to touch your life. Parents carrying children, friends bringing the sick, people hoping that today, maybe today, would finally be the day that their suffering ends and their life changes. And here's what I love about Jesus. He keeps healing. His compassion never runs dry. There's not a moment in the story where Jesus stops and rebukes everybody. Hey, you heathens, you're coming for miracles, but I am here to forgive you. No, he doesn't rebuke people. What does he do? He just stays there. He keeps healing. He keeps ministering. He never rebukes people for bringing their pain. He welcomes broken people. He heals broken people. He moves towards hurting people. And that's still who Jesus is today.

29:57 Jesus never runs out of compassion for you. Jesus won't rebuke you when you come and bring your problems to him. He'll allow you to come with all the junk, all the things, all the hurt, all the pain, and he allows you to come to him. So maybe you came here today carrying something heavy. Bring it to Jesus. Look, wanting God's power is okay, but here's where the story challenges us. It can't stop there. It can't stop. Your entire relationship with Jesus can't be built and maintained on desperation. Eventually, desperation has to turn into discipleship. See, many people wanted healing, but few wanted holiness. Many people wanted Jesus to change their circumstances. Few wanted Jesus to change their hearts. Everybody wanted to touch his hand, but few wanted to be touched by his heart. There is nothing wrong with coming to Jesus because you're desperate. If we're honest, most of us in this room came to Jesus because we were desperate.

31:04 If you came to Jesus in desperation, raise your hand. I mean, we came from desperation, tired of trying the same things over and over again and never being satisfied, never being fulfilled, tired of the drugs and the alcohol and the parties and the sexual conquests and making as much money as we could to only be in a place where we're more unsatisfied than we were before. And many of us sitting right here in this place, if we're honest, we say, I'm not satisfied. I'm not happy. I'm trying to do all the things. As a matter of fact, I thought church might do it, but I'm still not happy. I'm unsatisfied. I'm desperate for something new, desperate for something different. There's nothing wrong with coming to Jesus because you're desperate. The problem is staying there. See, sometimes we reduce Jesus to a divine emergency contact.

32:01 That we only come to him when we're desperate. When things are good, we don't need Jesus. But when we're desperate, then we need Jesus. When life falls apart, then I'll call Jesus. When I need something, then I'll pray. When everything gets better, see you later. I don't need you anymore. Next time I'm desperate, I'll come to you. You know, that's what fans do. Fans love the benefits. Disciples love the benefactor. and some people who come to Jesus love Jesus as long as they're benefiting but the second they stop benefiting they stop believing fans are impressed by Jesus followers are surrendered to Jesus fans stand in awe of his power followers bow under his authority fans are drawn to what Jesus can do for them. Followers are devoted to who Jesus is. And followers don't simply love what Jesus provides. They love Jesus himself. You know, some people spend 20 years asking Jesus to fix life's problems. Lord, fix my life. Well, then give me your life. No. Lord, Lord, fix my life, fix my problems, fix my pain, fix my finances, fix my marriage. And Jesus is saying, give me your life.

33:21 All those things you want are a byproduct of you bending the knee and bowing before me, allowing me to change and transform your life. It's not about the benefits, it's about the benefactor. And we come and we worship and praise the most high God, not because of what we can get out of him, we do it because of what he has already given us in sending his son to die on the cross for our sins, to make a way to heaven. We are following him because of how good, holy, and righteous he is.

33:55 God isn't a vending machine. He's the king. do you treat God like the king or do you treat God like a vending machine? And when the vending machine doesn't work and you don't get what you want, you shake it. God, why didn't you do that for me? Give me those Twinkies.

34:17 Rather than acknowledging and saying, Lord, whatever my lot is, whatever I have in this life, whether I'm cursed or whether I'm cast down or destroyed, still I will bless your name. I will praise your name because it's not about what you can give me right now. It's about the fact that you are the king and you are worthy of the praise and my life will be a lifestyle of worship before you. That's a follower. That's the difference between a follower and a fan. Look, the greatest miracle isn't a healed body. It's a transformed heart. So the crowd see a miracle worker.

34:52 They're swayed by his presence. They're starving for his power. the demons see something totally different. Now we'll see our last point, surrender to his authority. Look at verse 11. Now, we're not going to really touch on this last verse, verse 12. We're really going to be looking at verse 11. But I want to quickly explain to you, if you read that verse and you're like, what the heck? Why did Jesus tell them to shut up? Like, that's a good thing, right? You're the son of God. Yes, I am. Tell people about it. I mean, if the demons start telling people, hey, he's the son of God, people have to believe, right? The demons are like, yeah, actually, that guy's the son of God.

35:44 We're just kind of here to kill, steal, and destroy. So worship him. So what's up? Why did Jesus tell them to stop? Keep in mind, Jesus lived his entire life on a prophetic calendar. He came with the express purpose to die on the cross for your and my sins, to be risen from the dead, to ascend to heaven and to firmly stomp on the head of the serpent as was prophesied in Genesis. That was his entire purpose. And there's so many messianic prophecies in the Bible. And throughout Jesus's life, he fulfilled those prophecies. And he mentioned to the disciples several different times and to people he healed, not to make known who he was because his time had not yet come. Now we know his time finally came when Jesus finally allowed himself to be worshipped as king was on Palm Sunday when he rode a donkey into Jerusalem and they cried, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna. And he allowed himself to be revealed.

36:39 Why? Because there was a prophecy hundreds and hundreds of years before that prophesied that exact thing was happening. And so the reason Jesus tells him not to talk, not to tell people, is because he was living his life in prophetic form and fashion so that he could fulfill the prophecies to prove that he was indeed the Messiah. So just a really quick understanding of that if you were wondering why he told them to be quiet.

37:05 The last response that we can and should have to Jesus is that we should be surrendered to his authority. The demons immediately fall before Jesus. Literally, the word it uses means that they collapse. They fall down in trembling fear and they cry out, you are the son of God. Now think about the irony here. The religious leaders are questioning him. The crowds misunderstand him. Even the disciples are still trying to figure it out. At this point, the disciples still don't know that he is God incarnate, that he is the Messiah. As a matter of fact, later on, Jesus asked the disciples, hey, who do men think that I am? And they say, well, some say Elijah, some say Moses. And there's all these different ideas of who Jesus could be. And then he turns the question on them and he says, who do you say that I am?

37:58 And it wasn't until that moment when Peter responds with the correct answer that you are the son of God, you are the Messiah. It wasn't until that moment that the disciples realized who Jesus was. Up until that moment, they're still trying to figure it out. They don't know exactly who he is, but they know that he's worth following. And so they've left their lives behind and they are seeking after and following him. So the religious leaders question him. The crowds misunderstand him. The disciples are still trying to figure out. but the demons know exactly who he is. You are the son of God. Think about that. Hell has better theology than the crowd. Hell has better theology than the fans, than the churches. And I think the same would be true today. Hell has better theology than a lot of TikTok theologians. Hell has better theology than a lot of Christians have themselves. The demons know exactly who Jesus is.

38:52 They have perfect theology. but knowledge isn't salvation and recognition isn't relationship. And here's the truth. Perfect theology has never saved anyone. Hasn't. I don't care how good your theology is. I don't care if you have an answer to everything and you know all the theology books. Theology doesn't save anybody. It can't. Theology isn't the answer. James tells us even the demons believe and they what? They tremble. Do they surrender to his will? No. They're scared. They know who he is and they tremble but they don't surrender. And you can have perfect theology, all this understanding and yet still have never surrendered your life fully to him. You're still living based on your good works, your knowledge, your understanding, how well you can articulate things. And that has become the form and the basis for your entire life. And really, all you are is a super fan who knows all the statistics, knows the play that happened 10 years ago, knows the coach's names, has all the jerseys. You're just a super fan, but you're not surrendered to his will. Knowledge isn't enough. Recognition isn't enough. The issue has never simply been belief. The issue is surrender. The demons believe and tremble. They don't surrender.

40:19 And the difference between a fan and a follower of Jesus isn't information. It's submission. Fans admire Jesus. Followers obey Jesus. Fans are amazed by his miracles. Followers submit to his lordship. Fans clap. Followers bow. Fans ask, what can Jesus do for me? Followers ask, Lord, what would you have me do for you? Our culture is full of fans, people who admire Jesus. As a matter of fact, I don't think there's ever been a time in my lifetime where there have been more fans of Jesus. Everybody's a fan of Jesus now. It's actually okay to do it. Celebrities are talking about it. They're curious. They're reading the Bible. They're checking out church. They want to know what it's all about. Well, I think Jesus was a really great teacher. Good. I think Jesus was a really good man. Okay. I think Jesus was really loving. Great. Even the demons would agree. But guess what? Jesus doesn't care what you think about him. He cares how you obey him, how you listen to him. This isn't a popularity contest. Well, I think Jesus is cooler than the other gods. Jesus is way cooler than Buddha. That's not what it's about. It's not a popularity contest.

41:43 It's a submission contest. Even the demons believe and tremble. Many Americans believe that Jesus existed, believe that he died, believe that he rose again, even believe that he's God. but belief without surrender is still short of discipleship. So the question for you isn't, what do you think about Jesus? The question is, who's in charge of your life? Who's in charge of your life? Look, I'll be honest. I really don't care what you think about Jesus.

42:17 I wanna know who's in charge of your life. Who's calling the shots? Who's making the decisions? who's determining what you should do and what you shouldn't do who's making the decision where you should go and where you shouldn't go who's making the decision which friend groups are you going to be with and which friend groups are you going to distance yourself from because you know it's destructive for your walk with God who's calling the shots is it you is it your friends they're making the decisions for you is it society and culture or media is it chat gpt who makes all your decisions, Claude? You're like, I don't know what to do. Ask Chad GPT. Has he become your Holy Spirit? Who makes the decisions in your life? Who are you following? Are you just a fan or are you a follower? Because fans applaud Jesus. Disciples obey Jesus. Fans want Jesus to improve life. Disciples give Jesus their lives and say, Lord, do with me what you want.

43:17 Christian Jesus isn't looking for applause he's not looking for your applause he's looking for your allegiance yes his miracles deserve amazement but his lordship demands surrender fans are impressed by what Jesus can do followers are transformed by who Jesus is and look here's the reality every knee will bow someday every knee will bow every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. They're gonna be forced at some point to say the same thing the demon said. Everyone will bow. The fans, the fair weather fans, the followers, the people who have nothing to do with Jesus, everyone will bow their knee someday. The difference between a fan and a follower is a follower decides that they're gonna bend their knee now. I'm not gonna wait until I stand before Christ on judgment day and be forced to come face to face with the reality of whether or not I believed or trusted in him.

44:16 I'm gonna decide that right now. I'm gonna give him my life. I'm gonna bend my knees. I'm gonna allow myself to be sanctified and transformed by his love and his truth. And I'm gonna make an impact and a difference in my world as I ask on a daily basis, not Lord, what can you do for me? But Lord, what can I do for you? What have you called me to? Which one are you? You're gonna bow someday. Will you bow now or will you bow later? Mark gives us here three responses to Jesus And one is a little bit hidden We've talked about it, we haven't addressed the group The crowd wanted his miracles The demons recognized his identity But there's a third group They're not really mentioned We're going to talk about them at length next week But that's the disciples The disciples are here in this story In this situation The crowd wanted his miracles The demons recognized his identity The disciples left everything to follow him One group was fascinated.

45:16 One group was informed. But only one group was transformed. And every one of us fits somewhere in this story. Where do you fit? Are you simply fascinated by Jesus? Man, it's so exciting. The songs are so great. I always feel good when I go home. Are you simply impressed by Jesus? are you informed about him? Maybe you know everything about Jesus. You're like, man, I grew up in church. I know all the Bible verses. I've got good theology. I have really good information. Great. Or are you transformed? Are you changed from the inside out? Let me ask you, are you simply impressed or have you surrendered? Because Jesus never said, come and admire me. Jesus never said come and agree with me He said come and follow me And I don't know about you but I want to be more than a fan of Jesus I want to be a genuine follower of Jesus So I have a closing challenge for you I want you to end by asking three diagnostic questions honestly So as I ask these questions write them down and answer them honestly And that will help you determine whether you're a fan or a follower I already gave you one from before and that was look at your life before Christ and look at your life now. If there's not a lot of changes, if there's minimal changes, if it's only external changes, you're probably not a follower, you're a fan. Here's three more questions that you can ask. Am I following Jesus because of what he gives me, or am I following Jesus because of who he is? If you're only following Jesus because of what he can give to you, not because of who he is, the Lord of heaven and earth, then you might be a fan.

47:07 Number two, would I still follow Jesus if he stopped answering every prayer the way that I wanted? Again, this is that idea. Are you viewing God as a vending machine rather than as Lord? And if God stopped answering your prayers the way that you wanted him to answer them, would you still be a Christian? If your life looked like Job, that every time calamity came and you prayed for it to go away, just more calamity came. And you kept getting pressed. You kept getting crushed. You kept getting destroyed. You kept having all your prayers feel unanswered. Would you still trust him and follow him? Or would you stop believing if you stopped benefiting? And third and finally, has Jesus simply impressed me or has Jesus become my Lord? Look, his power might draw the crowd, but his authority is what makes a disciple. so as we close I want you to ask yourself that question honestly one more time are you a fan or are you a follower and if you're just a fan I want you to know there's still hope for you you can be more than a fan Jesus is still healing people today he's still taking broken lives and restoring them he's still taking people who come in desperation having tried everything else and he's still there saying, I am the source of living water.

48:27 Drink of me and you will never be thirsty again. I am the bread of life. Eat of me and you will never hunger again. Jesus is still offering you the same thing he offered those crowds. And that is healing and hope. Will you come to him?