The Characteristic That Changed the World, Mark 3:13-19

The One Characteristic That Changed the World

You can have it, today
Mark 3:13-19

(Parallel Passages: Matthew 10:1-4, Luke 6:12-16)

Jesus’ Disciples Had One Common Characteristic That Changed the World

When I look down that cross-country finish line on our title slide, it takes me back to high school. The winding rugged trails, the mud, the hills, the burning lungs, the exhaustion. In that race, it didn't matter who started the fastest or ranked the highest, or had the nicest, lightest running shoes. The only thing that mattered was who stayed the course and finished well.

I felt that same intensity a few days ago, having the honor of performing a wedding ceremony, because marriage is more than just a stroll in the park. It’s marathon. A life altering commitment, a lifelong Covenant. Outside of Salvation, marriage is arguably the most life changing decision one will make. That’s why I counsel couples to weather together for at least four seasons before saying “I do.”

Finishing well, in long races and marriages requires intense and intentional Preprayering and preparing.

That’s what we see as we step into our text in Mark 3, as Jesus stands on a mountain, making a world altering, Eternity shaping, Covenant creating, decision about who to choose for His twelve Apostles.

In the verses just prior to our text today, Jesus was down by the sea. He was being swarmed, crowded, and nearly crushed by multitudes seeking miracles.

But when it came time to make a decision that would alter human history, Jesus left the crowds and He went up into the mountain to be alone with His Father.

If the very Son of God pulled an all-night prayer meeting before making a major decision, how much more should we pull away to the mountain of prayer before making any move in our lives?

1.    Preprayeration

Have you ever invested in all night preprayeration?

Jesus did.

Before any choice was made before a single name was called, while everyone else was sleeping, Jesus was praying.

The Gospel of Mark, in its fast-paced style, takes us straight to the mountain. But the physician Luke pulls back the curtain and gives us a vital piece of HIStory.

Luke 6:12 tells us: “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray and continued all night in prayer to God.”

Think about that. Hours in the dark, alone with the wild beasts, on a rocky mountainside, bathing a decision in prayer.

Jesus is our example of Divine dependence. Jesus Christ, who possesses all wisdom, did not rush into staffing His kingdom. He spent the entire night in intimate communion with the Father, aligning perfectly with the sovereign, providential blueprint.

And this leads us to the profound conclusion that choosing Judas Iscariot, was not a mistake.

But, make no mistake, God did not make Judas do what He did, but God knew He would.

God weaves His wonderful ways, through the wicked ways, of man.

Jesus didn't wake up, look down the line, and say, “Oops, I accidentally picked a thief and betrayer.”

No, Judas was prayed over. Judas was chosen. Judas was purposefully factored into the Divine Eternal Equation, as prophesied hundreds of years prior, that one who ate with Him would betray Him for thirty pieces of silver. Ps. 41:9; Zech. 11:12-13.

Nothing catches God by surprise.

The cross was never a plan B.

2. The Sovereign Selection

The very first verse of our text. Mark 3:13 tells us: “And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.”

Notice the sovereignty of God:

• Jesus did not take a popular vote from the crowds.
• He did not put out a sign-up sheet for volunteers.
• He did not conduct interviews or auditions to find the most qualified.

He called “those He Himself wanted.” True ministry, true calling, and true discipleship are initiated by the Sovereign King, never by human ambition or worldly credentials.

And look at the response of the men: “And they came to Him.” There was no hesitation, no bargaining, and no making excuses.

When the voice of the Shepherd echoes across the mountain, the true sheep hear His voice, drop their nets, leave their past, and respond with immediate, uncompromised obedience.

3. Presence, Prayer & Purpose

Now, we need to understand what these men walked into.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke act like three different camera angles on this mountain.

Mark captures the Blueprint of Presence—emphasizing that they were chosen to simply be with Him. If you turn to Luke 6:13, he adds the Blueprint of Prayer, showing us, it was at daybreak, after that all-night prayer vigil, that He formally called and named His disciples. And if you read Matthew 10:1–4, he records the Blueprint of Purpose, where they are actively named right as they are being deployed into the harvest field.

4. Ekklésia & Apostolos

And when you look at Luke 6 and Matthew 10, they introduce a specific Greek word here that Mark implies: they call these men Apostles (Apostolos).

When you unpack the historical and political context of that word, alongside the word Ekklesia, it completely shifts how we understand the purpose of the Church.

Jesus did not choose religious or synagogue or Christianese to describe His movement. Instead, He intentionally hijacked two high-level, secular terms from the Greco-Roman political and military world to show that He wasn't planning a Sunday School picnic—He was launching a global takeover.

Here is the breakdown of those two words working together:

🏛️ 1. The Ekklésia (The Called-Out Assembly)

In the ancient Greek world, the Ekklesia was the official, legal assembly of citizens who were "called out" (ek-kaleo) of their homes to gather and vote on the laws, policies, and direction of the city-state.

·      It was a legislative body carrying governmental authority.

·      When Jesus says in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My Ekklesia," the Roman empire would have immediately recognized it as a rival, sovereign assembly operating under a different King.

⚓ 2. The Apóstolos (The Sent Envoys)

An Apostolos (Apostle) was the official legal envoy, ambassador, or admiral sent out by a king or the Roman senate with the full backing of the government.

·      They were sent out with a fleet to go into foreign territories.

·      Their job was to conquer, plant a flag, establish a colony, and teach the citizens how to talk, think, and live like the home country. They were sent to replicate the kingdom.

Jesus takes a ragtag team of fishermen, tax collectors, and political radicals into His Presence and transforms them into world changing Kingdom envoys (Apóstolos) to establish His sovereign assembly (Ekklesia) on earth. Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

He didn’t pick the elite—He picked regular folks, willing to make an Eternal Covenant to stay the course and never turn back.

5. Presence Precedes Performance

Now look at verse 14, because the Holy Spirit lays down an unshakeable rule for anyone who desires to walk with God.

Mark 3:14a: “Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him...”

Stop right there. Catch the order of the call.

Before Jesus ever sends these men out to do a single thing, He calls them to be with Him.

God hasn’t changed. In the beginning the first word to man was "Be..." fruitful and multiply... Then, the next day they took the day off to rest. To hang out, be together, perhaps, take a walk and talk with God in the cool of the day.

But today, we live in a culture obsessed with performance and production. We want to run out and work for God before we ever invest time with God.

People love to talk about God, but not to God.

It doesn't work like that in the Kingdom of God; intimacy precedes deployment.

The first commandment is to love the Lord with all you’ve got.

True, life-changing Power never flows out of talent; it flows out of intimacy with Jesus.

You cannot represent the King in public until you've served Him in private.

6. Be an Ambassador for Christ

Once they have been set apart to be with Him, then—and only then—does the mandate expand.

Mark 3:14b-15: “...and that He might send them out to preach, and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.”

Jesus gives them a two-fold mandate as His legal ambassadors:

1.    To Preach: To proclaim the uncompromised, unchanging Truth of the Kingdom.

2.    To Demonstrate Power: To exercise absolute authority over the broken physical realm (healing) and the broken spiritual realm (casting out demons).

Dear Church, the power these twelve men carried didn't belong to them, it was delegated authority.

When ambassadors speak on foreign soil, they don't speak on their own authority; they carry the full weight, power, and backing of the government that sent them.

Even Jesus said His Words and deeds were not of His own authority, but what the Father gave Him:

John 12:49: "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak."

John 14:10: "The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works."

John 5:19: "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do..."

When the Apóstolos walked into the towns of Galilee, they carried the legal backing of the Throne of God.

When you, receive a Divine Mandate, birthed from intimate preprayeration with Christ, you carry the Power and Authority of the Almighty.

He does the preaching, He does the power... You do the yielding. Have Thine own way Lord have Thine own way, You are the Potter I am the clay...

7. E pluribus unum

Out of many, one.

When we read the roster of the Twelve in verses 16 through 19, we see a radical, conflicting mismatch of humanity. In the natural world, this group was a recipe for a riot.

We see Simon Peter, a raw, impulsive fisherman whom Jesus renames "Peter"—the Rock.

Then, James, and John—rough, hot-tempered fishermen whom Jesus appropriately nicknames the "Sons of Thunder" because of their volatile personalities.

Then there’s Matthew, a tax collector. A man who seemed to have sold his soul to the Roman empire, getting rich by extorting his own Jewish countrymen. He was viewed as a traitor and a social pariah.

And right next to Matthew, Jesus placed Simon the Canaanite—otherwise known as Simon the Zealot. The Zealots were political radicals, dagger-wielding assassins sworn to violently overthrow Rome and kill anyone who collaborated with them.

In the natural world, Matthew and Simon the Zealot would have killed each other. Yet here they are, bound together as one, sitting at the same table, sharing the same bread, serving the same King.

The glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ collapses walls, unifies the most contrasting of hearts, and erases social division, and makes, out of many, one. E pluribus unum.

But as you look at their conflicting backgrounds, you’re bound to ask: What did Jesus see in them?

They didn't have theological seminary degrees. They didn't have high social status, pristine pedigrees, wealth, or elite worldly talents. They constantly misunderstood Jesus’ parables, they argued over who was the greatest, and they stumbled over their own tongues, doubts and fears.

Yet He who sees the end from the beginning looked beyond their faults and saw one single, common denominator.

They had one common characteristic that changed the world:

THEY WOULDN’T QUIT.

When the religious elite walked away, they stayed. When the crowds vanished because the teaching got too hard, they clung to the hem of His garment. When life went sideways, they stayed the course. When living for Him, meant dying for Him—they didn’t flinch.  

They were erratic, they were broken, they were flawed—but by the grace of God, they had a faith filled dogged determination and tenacity that would not let go.

 They, no matter the cost, stayed the course.

This is the same thread of endurance that runs through HIStory.

• God saw it in Noah, who kept hammering on an ark for a century while the entire world mocked and ridiculed him. He didn't quit.
• God saw it in Abraham, who packed up his tents and kept walking toward an invisible promise, even when the timeline seemed biologically impossible. He didn't quit.
• God saw it in these disciples, who tripped, fell, and even fled—but they got back up, returned to the upper room, and eventually laid down their very lives rather than recant the name of Jesus Christ.

They would not quit.

And that was the world changing characteristic they all possessed.

You can have it too, right now, today.

Which brings this message home.

You might be thinking: “Yeah, that's probably true for lots of folks, but I'm a little too far gone, too late, too old, too tired, old dogs can't learn new tricks...”

IF YOU'RE STILL BREATHING YOU STILL HAVE A DIVINE ETERNAL PURPOSE AND CALLING!

Jesus’ disciples had that one common characteristic: they refused to quit. And they changed the world.

In the speed of a decision, you can have that exact same characteristic. Right now, at this very moment, you can make an eternal covenant with God saying: 

“I have decided to follow Jesus, every moment, every step, every breath, every word, every deed, no turning back, no turning back.”

Give Him your absolute irrevocable “YES.” He will take care of the rest. He will give you the Power, the Passion, the Authority, and will sustain you through the storm.

Galatians 6:9
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

IF YOU DON’T QUIT, YOU WIN

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for choosing, not just the twelve to be with You, but all who will receive You. Help us live as Your Ambassadors, give us passion to fight, and run, to win. Teach us to be soul winners and disciple makers. Strengthen us to stay the course and finish well. So, when all is said and done, of all those You’ve given us, none are lost.

Thank You.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

Prayer Requests: 

Call or text: 612-554-2522

Email: pray4measap@aol.com

Facebook: Church at WPV

Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling

Watch online:

Facebook: The One Characteristic That Changed the World, Mark 3:13-19

You Tube: The One Characteristic That Changed the World, Mark 3:13-19

This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

 

EGYPT HAS FALLEN, HAS FALLEN! EZEKIEL 32

 

EGYPT HAS FALLEN, HAS FALLEN!

EZEKIEL 32

Today we stand at the grand finale of God’s judgments that began in Ezekiel 25, against godless pagan nations surrounding Israel.

Chapter 32 is a funeral dirge for the empire of Egypt. Right after this chapter, the book of Ezekiel pivots from a message of destruction to a message of restoration, the duty of the Watchman, and the future hope of Israel. Chapter 32 is the gateway between judgement and hope.

The date of this prophecy is recorded as March 5, 585 B.C. That means this word came from Almighty God roughly two months after Jerusalem had been burned to the ground by Babylon.

To the natural eye, it looked like the godless systems of the world were winning. 

Sound familiar?

Egypt stood proud, wealthy, prospered by the Nile, protected by oceans of wilderness to the east and west. Pharaoh Hophra could look out over his kingdom and think he was invincible, untouchable.

But God always sets a deadline for the demise of pride. About 15 years from the date of this prophecy Babylon marched into Egypt  killed Pharaoh and knocked Egypt to her to her knees, a blow to this day she never fully recovered from. 

Once again verifying the absolute certainty of God's Word and the sovereignty of the Almighty has never nor will ever, be deterred by a royal throne, an enormous army; or even by, especially by... the outcome of an election.

Today, we’ll look at the history of this text; what happened.

Then, we’ll look at the HIStory—(HIS story); the prophetic types and shadows that reveal what is happening and will happen in our not-so-distant future.

We will break this into three sections:

I. THE GRIDIRON (earthly pride, 1-16). The battleground of this life.

II. THE GRAVEYARD (eternal penalty, 17-32). God takes us from Gridiron of this life to Graveyard of the afterlife.

III. EGYPT AND BABYLON: PROPHETIC TYPES AND SHADOWS

 

I. THE GRIDIRON (EZEKIEL 32:1–16)

This first half of the chapter details the physical, earthly destruction of this proud superpower.

LET'S READ Ezekiel 32:1-16

Pharaoh viewed himself as a majestic lion or a powerful river dragon, a master of his own destiny.

But God looked at him as an arrogant beast whose days were numbered. Look at the language God uses in verses 4 through 6:

“I will cast you out on the open fields, and cause to settle on you all the birds of the heavens, and with you I will fill the beasts of the whole earth. I will lay your flesh on the mountains and fill the valleys with your carcass. I will also water the land with the flow of your blood...”

When a nation relies on its own wealth, its own power, and treats the Almighty like an afterthought, with lukewarm apathy, God causes that nation to atrophy.

He uses Nebuchadnezzar’s sword to pierce Egyptian pride. He darkens their skies. He muddies their waters. He leaves them desolate.

Giving them the unmistakable message:

God indeed governs in the affairs of men.

The Lord puts it like this in verse 15: Then they shall know that I AM the Lord.

This is not just, pathetic history, it’s prophetic HIStory. Notice the prophetic message woven in the words of Ezekiel:

Birds and beasts eating human flesh; water flowing with blood; this is a foreshadow of the final judgment of this world’s system.

Revelation 14:20
And the winepress was trampled outside the city, and blood came out of the winepress, up to the horses’ bridles, for one thousand six hundred furlongs.

Note: 1,600 furlongs is 200 miles. That is the length of the Promised Land, top to bottom.

Church, this is not a little limited localized judgment. When God’s final Divine judgement falls against the godless one world system (Babylon), blood will saturate the entire planet.

Revelation 19:17–18
Then I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in the midst of heaven, ‘Come and gather together for the supper of the great God, that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, both small and great.

Egypt on the gridiron of God's judgment is a shadow of what happens to every system, every government, every empire, every person, that stands against the King of kings.

 

II. THE GRAVEYARD (EZEKIEL 32:17–32)

Now as we move from the gridiron to the graveyard, let’s read Ezekiel 32:17-32.

Two weeks after the first prophecy, God commands Ezekiel to wail, not just for Pharaoh, but for the multitude of Egypt, the entire empire.

This section is a tour through the graveyard of nations; the pit (Sheol; Hades).

The once proud and powerful empires are there. Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, and Edom. These caused terror in the land of the living. They had the biggest and best chariots and horses, and the most secure borders.

But the grave balances the scales. You can’t take it with you.

Jesus sheds more light on the subject. In Luke 16:19-31, He told of a rich man who lived in luxury, wrapped in fine linen, secure in worldly riches. But when he died, he found himself in the torments of Hades (Sheol).

The rich man looked across a great gulf and realized his earthly riches, his social status, couldn't buy him a drop of water to cool his tongue in that torment.

The world promises everything and delivers nothing. If a man gains the whole world but loses his soul, he has gained nothing and lost everything.

Jesus says it like this:

Matthew 16:24-26
²⁴ Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ²⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

III. EGYPT AND BABYLON: PROPHETIC TYPES AND SHADOWS

Now we move from history to HIStory.

Dear Church, our text today comes alive in the here and now when we understand the prophetic types and shadows playing out here.

To set the stage please remember how God originally delivered Israel from physical bondage in Egypt with a mighty hand. Yet, when they were in the Wilderness of Freedom, they shrank from the weight and responsibility of the liberty of Godliness.

They looked back at the meat-pots of Egypt. They preferred slavery with cruel taskmasters over the accountability of freedom and holiness.

They weren't the only ones, they did it in Jesus’ day, they do it today

John 1:11–12
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God...

And why did they not receive Him?

John 3:19
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

Humanity consistently chooses anonymity over accountability. Darkness instead of Light. They’d rather sit on the side and hide in the darkness of a worldly system, rather than stand in the light and liberty of Christ.

Now, I pray we see how each thread of God’s Word is woven together into a Powerful Prophetic tapestry.

Egypt represents Worldliness—the proud, self-sufficient, materialistic security that says, “you don't need God, the treasures of Egypt, the pleasures of this world, meet and satisfy your every need.”

Babylon represents the New World Order—the aggressive, devouring global system that moves in to conquer and convert everything under a single godless banner.

As Revelation 13:15-17 declares: 

he (the false prophet) was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast (antichrist), that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶ he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, ¹⁷ and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.”

Church, look at the demonic imitation. The Holy Spirit points people to worship Jesus Christ. The false pushes people to worship the antichrist.

Notice, the Holy Spirit prompts and leads. The demonicratic system forces and pushes.

This antichrist deception that devolves into the new world order has already begun. We are allowing it to happen right before our very eyes, through lukewarm apathy.

Look at the data from our recent midterm elections: Approximately 62% to 65% of the total registered voter population in America identify as Christian, however only 17% of voter turnout in midterms were “Christians.”

That means a large percentage of so-called Christians never even bothered to cross the street to vote. 

Additionally, 67% of Jewish voters cast their ballots for a Jew hating, antisemite, anti-Constitution, anti-Christian, antichrist like, marxist muslim Abdul Al Sayed.

(Not to mention 8 men who identify as women, won seats in congress. Not to mention 20 million new voters seemingly materialized out of thin air. Isn't that about the same amount of illegals welcomed in during Biden regime?)

But we’re not mentioning any of that stuff.

When God's people sit it out, when we refuse our responsibility to be salt and light, then, we the people of God, willingly hand the reigns of our nation, our lives, our children's lives, to the demonicratic one world government of Babylon.

THE CHURCH LOST THE ELECTION

THE CHURCH HANDED THE NATION TO DEMONICRATS

 

CONCLUSION: THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER

Hear what the Spirit of the Lord says to the Church.

Egypt has fallen.

Babylon has fallen.

But make no mistake the proud, self-sufficient, materialistic worldly spirit of Egypt is on the rise.

The aggressive, devouring, conquering, Babylonian banner of a Godless one world governance, is metastasizing rapidly right before our very eyes.

Just as God’s Word forewarns.

Don’t be deceived, the demonic spirit of Babylon will rise to world dominance.

But don’t be dismayed. It’s just a shooting star, it will quickly fall as foretold in Revelation 14:8, 18:2: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen...”

Isaiah 40:8, Matthew 24:35, 1 Peter 1:24.
Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God endures forever.

The darkness may seem to be winning, but 1 John 3:8 reassures us:

For this is why the Son of God was manifest, to destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus came to pick a fight with the devil, death, hell and the grave...

He did.

And won!

And is coming again for the knockout punch to shatter the works of darkness, dissolve the demonicratic system of this world, and establish His Eternal throne just as Daniel 2:44 guarantees:

And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots and some trust in horses but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for showing us the gridiron and the graveyard, the Truth of this life and the afterlife. Now please help us to believe it and do something about it. Dear Lord we pray You wake us from the atrophy of lukewarm apathy. We pray for a passion to obey You, to be salt and light, preserving and illuminating the atmosphere around us, so that of all You’ve given us, none are lost.

Thank You, Lord.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

Prayer Requests: 

Call or text: 612-554-2522

Email: pray4measap@aol.com

Facebook: Church at WPV

Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling

Watch online:

Facebook: Egypt Has Fallen Has Fallen, Ezekiel 32

You Tube: Egypt Has Fallen Has Fallen, Ezekiel 32

This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

 

 

The Practical, Powerful, Providential Ministry of the Almighty, Mark 3:7-12

 

The Practical, Powerful, Providential Ministry of the Almighty, Mark 3:7-12

Mark 3:7-8
But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea ⁸ 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.

In the verse right before our text opens, the stuffy, high-nosed religious elite crossed the point of no return. After Jesus healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath, the Pharisees immediately went out and conspired with their enemies, the Herodians, on how they might destroy Him.

Jesus had been showing them and telling them repeatedly who He is:

• He healed the leper—and everybody knows, only God can heal lepers.
• He forgave sins—and everybody knows, only God can forgive sins.
• He called Himself the Son of Man and Lord of the Sabbath—and everybody knows that refers to the Messiah.

But after His repeated invitations met their repeated rejections... He withdrew.

Church, we pray that is never true of me or you. When a heart hardens itself against Truth, it withers and grows numb until no amount of conviction by the Holy Spirit will get through. It is from that dark place in the Pharisees' hearts that Jesus withdrew.

But the Son always finds another place to shine.

Without missing a beat, Jesus headed for the shore. He left the stained glass and steeples for sunshine and beaches. He didn’t go to some fancy cathedral, He stood on the shore, by the sea, like a voice crying in the wilderness.

And the people came.

These weren’t the elite. They weren’t the self-righteous religious insiders. These were common folks, from common places, the needy, the sick, the lame, the outcasts, the despised, and the rejected. This sounds like the parable Jesus told about the Great Banquet in Luke 14. When the preferred, prominent, elite guests rejected the Master's invitation, the Master didn't cancel the feast. He sent to the streets, the lanes, the highways, and the byways to compel the outcasts to come in.

Notice a Divine national object lesson. 

God blessed ancient Israel and promised to make her a blessing to all the nations. However, they largely rejected their Creator. Because of that rejection, they were judged and never fully occupied the full 300,000 square miles God promised to Abraham. Today, they live on a tiny fraction of that land—about 8,000 square miles.

America, on the other hand, invited Him. We built our foundation on Him, weaving Scriptural truths into our founding documents. Multitudes have flocked to our shores seeking blessing, just like those desperate crowds flocked to that Galilean beach. God has blessed America from sea to shining sea, in part, to show Israel, "This is how you were supposed to do it. Trust Me, call on Me, obey Me."

Likewise, Israel’s history is an object lesson to America: even the most blessed, prosperous, powerful nation will fall under Divine judgment when it turns from its Creator.

Mark lists seven distinct regions from which the crowds flocked: Galilee, Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, Transjordan, Tyre, and Sidon. Sidon was a grueling 50-mile journey through mountainous, hostile terrain. Idumea, in the south, was over 120 miles away.

While the religious elite wouldn't cross the road to receive the Truth, desperate souls would spend a week on the road just to catch a glimpse, or touch the hem, of His garment. Today, folks stay home if there’s a cloud in the sky. That lukewarm apathy causes spiritual atrophy and makes God want to puke. Revelation 3:15-16.

We look at the election results, our hearts grow heavy and we wonder if the church stayed home. But remember: the power, authority, and sovereignty of Almighty God has never been determined by a ballot box.

Earthly rulers come and go, but the Lord remains on His throne. When culture grows dark, that is not our cue to throw in the towel—that is our cue to trim our lamps and shine brighter! 

If you don't quit you win. Gal. 6:9.

God does not need a political majority to bring a revival.

Mark 3:9-10
So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. ¹⁰ For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him.

Here we see working simultaneously the Practical and Providential Ministry of the Almighty.

Jesus told His disciples to keep a small boat ready because of the multitude, “lest they should crush Him.”

Practical needs of ministry must be met for ministry to continue:

• The boat, a pulpit.
• The water, a sound system.
• The sandy shores, a sanctuary.
• All combined to provide crowd control, “lest they should crush Him.”

Don’t forget the practical needs of the people. A great multitude came when they heard how many things He was doing; not things He was saying.

They packed that beach for the same reason people pack an Emergency Room. They had physical needs, and they heard Jesus could heal them.

That is the Powerful, Providential part of the ministry of the Almighty.

He healed them.

He didn't make them pass a theological exam, or raise their hands and “repeat after Me.” 

Out of His goodness, He met their physical need with the ultimate goal of meeting their spiritual need. As Romans 2:4 tells us, the goodness of God leads to repentance.

To this very day, that is how the Kingdom operates. We do what we can; He does what we can't. We handle the practical; He handles the providential.

Just a couple of days ago during that monsoon, instead of sitting around doing "important ministry stuff," Vinny and I spent (correction: invested) the entire day wading through the downpour, sucking up water with shop vacs, stretching hoses, and setting sump pumps. Hour after hour, as fast as we could pump it out, the saturated soil pushed it back in.

We prayed and pumped, pumped and prayed. We called for the Church to pray, quoting James 5:17, that Elijah was a man with a nature like our, and he prayed that it would not rain, and it did not rain.

You prayed; we pumped. The practical and Providential worked together. In due time, a break appeared in the sky, the downpour slowed, and we finally got ahead of the inundation.

Through practical means, we prevented a neighbor's house from being flooded. Through Providential means, their hearts were flooded with gratitude.

That is the ministry of the Almighty at its finest.

Mark 3:11-12
 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.” ¹² But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.

The religious elites who should've known Him, who should've been speaking about Him; instead, were blind leaders of the blind.

But the demons knew exactly who He was, and said so. They fell down before Him, cried out to Him, “You are the Son of God!” until Jesus silenced them.

The kingdom of darkness knows and believes, who Jesus is, so much so, they tremble.

James 2:19 warns us: “You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble!”

That blows the doors plumb off modern, hyper-grace superficial faith. Merely acknowledging facts about Jesus does not save a soul.

The demons confessed His Divinity, but they didn’t surrender to His Lordship. They bowed in terror, not in worship.

There is a massive gulf between intellectual assent and a surrendered heart. 

Jesus warns that in that day many will say, “Lord, Lord... but I’ll say to them, depart from Me, I never knew you.” Matthew 7:21–23.

Knowing of God, is not knowing God.

Why did, He warn them that they should not make Him known?

They said, "You are the Son of God." That's true.

Truth in the mouth of a liar is still deceptive.

Jesus will not compromise, nor have fellowship with unfruitful works of darkness. Eph. 5:11.

Jesus is our example.

This is the ultimate litmus test to tell the Genuine Ministry of the Almighty from the counterfeit:

Truth stands without compromise.

On the other hand, the counterfeit will always compromise to spread their agenda. They compromise with ideologies they once opposed—like abortion, gay marriage, open borders, antisemitism, and gender mutilation. They will look you in the eye and tell you that men can get pregnant.

It is a total surrender of reality just to advance a demonic platform.

This tells us we're at the drawing near to the fullness of the gentiles, when the cup of iniquity overflows and Jesus pulls the plug, removes His Bride, and starts the clock on Israel's seventieth week.

The night is far spent, the day is at hand, it is high time to put off the works of darkness and put on His armor of Light. Romans 13:12.

Let's not settle for hollow religion.

Let's not treat God like an emergency room.

Let's never rely on intellectual belief like demons.

Let’s put feet to our faith, walking and talking Truth without compromise, let's roll up our sleeves, or put on our rain gear, and let the goodness of God lead us and everyone He’s given us, to repentance.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, the establishment turned against You, the masses came to get from  You, yet, You stayed the course, continued to shine, Your love, Your light, Your goodness. Please help us do the same.

Thank You.

We trust and love You, forever.

Amen.  

Prayer Requests: 

Call or text: 612-554-2522

Email: pray4measap@aol.com

Facebook: Church at WPV

Books: amazon.com/author/dougspurling

Watch online:

Facebook: Practical, Powerful, Providential Ministry of the Almighty, Mark 3:7-12

You Tube: Practical, Powerful, Providential Ministry of the Almighty, Mark 3:7-12

This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.