Becoming Familiar With the Presence of God — Carter Conlon

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Becoming Familiar With the Presence of God

Mark Chapter 3, please, if you go there in your New Testament. And while you are, please, again, special welcome to all of our visitors here in the Main Sanctuary or if you're visiting in the Annex tonight, trust that you've already been blessed this evening by the presence of the Lord touching your life.

We thank God for that with all our hearts. Mark 3, I'm going to speak tonight on becoming familiar with the presence of God. Becoming familiar with the presence of God. Father, I stand before you, as always, in need of a quickening and anointing power of the Holy Spirit.

I have nothing apart from what you give me. I am nothing apart from what you make me. I'm asking you to quicken my physical body and my heart and my mind and animate me tonight. Lord, even the expressions that come through this body, let them be the expressions of your heart.

Animate my voice, Lord. I pray for the grace to truly disappear, that you may appear. Hide me tonight, Jesus, that your name might be lifted up and truly glorified among your people. Thank you, Lord, that you still see fit every time we meet to walk among the candlesticks of the testimony of this church that you've established at this time in this city.

I pray, God, that you give us hearts to hear this word tonight. I know I have your word. I know I've been at your throne. I know, Jesus, that you want to speak something to us. I pray, God, give us the grace to hear this.

Give me the ability to speak it simply, that every man may understand it. I ask this in Jesus' mighty name. Mark chapter 3 and verse 31. There came then his brethren and his mother, and standing without, sent unto him, calling him.

And the multitude sat about him. And they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. But he answered them, saying, Who is my mother or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren.

For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother and my sister and my mother. I want you to travel with me for a moment tonight to a scene, as if it is a play, although this is a reality.

This actually did happen. But please go back with me, if you will. Two thousand years ago, Christ Jesus, the Son of God, is sitting in a house. And there are people sitting around him, and outside of that house are a group of people who are calling to him.

Now, to the most who might be present at this particular scene, the people outside of the house appear to be those closest to him. They are, in fact, the closest to him. They are his family. The Scripture tells us, in verse 21, that when his friends, and the word actually in the Greek New Testament is kinsmen, when they heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him, for they said he is beside himself.

There are people outside of the house. They are calling to him. They are calling for him. And to all the casual onlookers, this is really his family, as much as perhaps tonight we are considered the family of God.

These are his blood relations. Mary is there, his mother. Possibly James, Joseph, Simon, and Jude, his brothers are there. And maybe some sisters. And they're gathered outside. But they are gathering, and they've come for a reason, which they most likely believe deeply is justified.

In verse 21, it says, and when his kinsmen heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him, for they said he is beside himself. And in the original text, whether you and I like it or not, it says, they said he has lost his mind.

You know, some of the early writers had an incredible difficulty with this. An incredible difficulty with the fact that Mary, his mother, and his brothers, who were the closest physical people, family-wise, to him on the earth, could actually be outside a house where he is, calling to him, not really because they're seeking him as Lord, but they really believe he's lost his mind.

Some of the early writers of this scripture had such difficulty with this, that one of the original parchments, as it is, from which our modern Bible translations have come, were so troubled by this verse that they eliminated it.

They virtually erased it from the Word of God. But how many know tonight you can't erase the Word of God? No matter what you try to do with it, it will still appear again on the page. God intended it to be there for a particular reason.

When you read the commentaries, it's rather humorous. When you read, for example, Hendrickson's pulpit commentary, they don't really know what to do with this verse of scripture. They make excuses for Mary and say, well, obviously Mary is there because others have convinced...

It doesn't say that in the scripture. It just says she's in the crowd who thought he'd lost his mind. But they say, well, Mary must have been there because he was neglecting his bodily needs. He was, as it is, seemingly obsessed with ministry, going day and night, crowds pressing around him, probably not eating enough.

And she was very concerned about him. So here is Mary with the others outside of the house, as if Mary is incapable of making a mistake and didn't need a Savior like every other person in the world. But the reality is they thought he had lost his mind.

There's really no getting around this. Jesus himself said it clearly, and I believe he spoke it from experience. In Matthew 13, 57, he said, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house.

He knew what it was like to be without honor. These people outside his family appear to be calling with concern. But you see, here's the reality. They've become too familiar with the Son of God. They've been with him in the house every day.

They've seen him come home. He's worked in the carpenter shop, perhaps in the early years with his father Joseph. They've sat at the table. They've talked with him. He has been among them. They've become very familiar with him.

As a matter of fact, they've become too familiar with him. And this is a problem that recurs not only in this day, but it recurs in our day, in every generation. Seemingly, sometimes those who know him the most are those who can become too familiar with him.

They can come too casually into his presence. They can become too acquainted with him, being there every moment. And you see, this is a condition that affects those that are closest to him and have known him for the longest of time.

Familiarity can produce a loss of awe. You remember when you first got saved and you came to the house of the Lord and you were awestruck. And you would sing a song like we sang tonight. I am a friend of God.

And you were just awestruck that God would even want to be my friend. You'd come into the house of the Lord with a trembling in your heart. Every time you opened your Bible, it was as if you'd found this incredible treasure that the world seemed to be oblivious to.

But you'd found this thing. As if you dug in the sand somewhere and you'd found this hidden treasure. And every time you opened the lid, you were going deeper and deeper into some incredible gems of truth that were revolutionizing your life.

And there was this sense of awe. First of all, that God Almighty himself would even consider you or me to invite us into his presence. I remember in the early years when I first knew him, I lived with this sense of awe.

I lived with it from morning to evening. Sometimes I would walk down the hall in my workplace and you get that kind of trembling feeling that just goes through your body. Just the sense that I would just realize God lives in me.

Not just invited me into his presence, but he lives in me. He's changing me. I would wake up in the morning and realize that I was not the man I had been the night before. I was not such a magnanimous change that everybody around is just standing in absolute awe of how my life is changing.

But I know inside I am changing. Image by image, line by line, step by step. God is changing me from the inside out. And I lived with this sense of awe. I remember going into the house of the Lord and sometimes I could hardly wait for the service to end so I could truly worship him.

Because I lived with awe. And it seemed sometimes, I remember in the early years I'd walk in to some places that I attended in fellowship and everyone was so casual in his presence. Talking about things that seemed to indicate that there was no sense of awe that they were about to meet corporately as it is in worship God.

They're invited into the presence of God. Talking about cars and oil changes and all types of foolish things. And yet in a moment we're about to as it is appear before the throne of God. I know this is only symbolism but we're about to worship the one who really does sit at the right hand of almighty God who is the head and we are his body.

But over time familiarity comes into the heart. We get used to God's presence. We get used to him always being there. I see Mary and Jesus' brothers get up and eat. Jesus is just there every day. He is going about the, although it must have been hard to be a brother of Jesus.

Can you imagine? He never tells a lie. He never disobeys his mother and father. And can you imagine being there and having your mother or father say, why can't you be like your brother? How utterly hopeless that would be.

But familiarity produces a loss of awe. I think of Mary, for example, who's outside the door. And if we believe the scriptures, she's at least in the crowd who appear to think that he's lost his mind.

And in Luke chapter 1, verse 30, Mary had a word. And this word came from an angel, a messenger of God. And the scripture says, the angel said to her, in Luke chapter 1, verse 30, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favor with God.

And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth a son and shalt call his name Jesus. And he shall be great and shall be called the son of the highest. And the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Now, can you imagine how Mary must have felt? She has an absolute word that you are about to conceive a son, being a virgin, not knowing a man.

This is going to be miraculous. She had to know it was miraculous. And he's not only just a son, but he's the son of God. And he will be given, now she's familiar with history, the history of Israel. She knows David was a great king.

She knows that God gave the promise to David that of his lineage was going to come a redeemer as it is for the people of Israel. And eventually, of course, for all of humankind. She must be at least in measure aware of this.

And she's given this word of God. And not only that, she's told that he's going to reign forever. And there'll be no end of his kingdom. Not just a kingdom that's going to be temporary. It's not going to last just 33 years or such like on the earth.

But it's going to be an eternal kingdom. You would think there'd be a sense of awe in her heart that would just simply never leave. In verse 35, Mary asks in verse 34, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said to her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee. The power of the highest shall overshadow thee. And therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

She has conceived without the help of man. She knows that this is a miraculous child. She's fully well aware of this. She's given a word. The word comes to pass. Just like you and I. Folks, you have conceived in a sense.

You have changed. Since you came to Christ there have been things born in your life that you know didn't come from the help of man. I know there are people in this sanctuary tonight that without Christ you'd be insane.

Without Christ you'd be a pathological liar. Without Christ you'd be immoral and stuck in a cesspool of immorality. But Christ came to you. And sovereignly and miraculously He has changed you from the inside out.

People will say to you or close to you, How did this happen? How did you change? All you can say is, I don't know. I don't know. I got a word from God. And God came and made the word in my life a reality.

Oh folks, if this doesn't produce a sense of awe that we have the living God who created this universe within us, recreating us in the very image of His Son Jesus Christ, then we are in danger of becoming familiar with Him.

The Promises Given to Mary and Joseph

I think of Joseph who had undoubtedly told her the word that came to him in Matthew chapter 1 and verse 21. Joseph was given a word. He was going to put Mary away when he found out that she was with child.

But a messenger again came to him and told him that you're going to have a son and that Jesus is going to save His people from their sins. Now Joseph had to have told her this. Mary knows that Jesus is going to be placed on the throne of David.

He's going to be called the Son of the Highest. He's going to rule and have a kingdom that never ends. And He's also going to save His people from their sins. Now his brothers and sisters, these are the brothers and sisters of Jesus, if they had not witnessed it, would have at least heard of His miraculous power in John chapter 2 at the wedding feast of Cana, when Jesus turned water into wine because there was a need at this particular wedding.

Now we find His kinsmen, the closest to Him, outside the door, calling to Him, feeling that it's their duty to stabilize Him. Isn't it amazing? We've got to stabilize Jesus. He's lost His mind. Jesus, come to us.

Come home with us. We need you. And it appears to be holy. These appear to be the people that are the closest to Him, but in reality they want to take Him home and stabilize Him. Now you'd think they were without the knowledge of Scripture at this point.

You don't have to turn there, but in 2 Samuel chapter 6, you hear the story of a young man called Uzzah. Now David had determined to take the ark of God and take this ark of God into the center of Jerusalem.

Now the ark was only a representation of God. And David knew that it was God's desire that His people embrace Him right in the very heart of where He longed to dwell within them. And David heads out and there's an incredible procession.

They are singing, as the Scripture says, with all of their might. They're dancing and shouting and doing all kinds of things. And the ark had been sitting in the house of a particular man who had sons, and one of the sons, his name was Uzzah.

And this ark, I don't know in what part of the house it was in, but every day Uzzah, no doubt, could go in and view the ark. The ark was just there. The ark was a fearful thing because to look into the ark, you know, historically meant to die.

The ark represented the very presence of God, the provision of God, the protection of God, the fighting power, as it is, of God was all in this ark. Even the Philistines, the enemies of Israel, were terrified of the ark of God.

And this young man, Uzzah, I can see him getting up in the morning and going for breakfast and walking in the dining room and there's the ark of God. And it's in the house for a season and he just becomes very familiar with this ark in the house.

One day King David comes and says, we're going to take this ark and we're going to bring it into the very heart of Jerusalem. Now David wasn't studying the scriptures and decided to do this according to the ways that seemed right to man.

It was prescribed that only the Levites could carry it and it had to be carried in a certain manner. But they had lost the fear of God. There was a loss of the sense of the awe of the written word of God and the instructions of God.

So they decided to carry it on an old cart or a new cart rather with oxen pulling it. And as they headed out, this young man Uzzah and his brother Ehior are part of the parade. And the oxen appeared to stumble.

And Uzzah reached out to stabilize the ark. And when he reached out to stabilize the ark, God killed him right on the spot. And that was the end of the parade. The parade was over. The Bible says that David feared God, not only feared him, he was angry with God that day.

And he considered what God had done a breach upon Uzzah. And he made a statement. He said, how can I bring the ark home to me if this is the way God deals with people? But I think of this young man tries to stabilize that which is only a representation of God.

As if God has to be held up. As if God is going to fall. Can you imagine? The God who created the universe by the words of his mouth. He created a billion galaxies. All things that exist are created by him.

Nothing that exists was created without him. And here is little Uzzah who lives on this speck in the universe called the earth. Thinking that he's got to put out his hand and give stability to God. But now we have at the door of this house a people who are not trying to stabilize something that represents God.

They're trying to stabilize God himself. You see, because they felt God had lost his mind. Yet the human heart has an incredible ability in its fallen nature to justify even its deepest rebellion against God.

It's amazing how the human heart can justify foolishness. Now some claim that their concern was for his personal well-being. And as I said earlier, that may be true. But I believe it's more than that.

Jesus’ Authority to Forgive Sins

You see, in Mark chapter 2 and in verse 5, Jesus started to make some claims. It was fine, I suppose, to come home and find that the housework was done in a miraculous amount of time. Chairs seemingly made and tables made with a craftsmanship that was perhaps known to few.

Water turned to wine. It's fine to have a Jesus that does miracles. But now he's beginning to make some claims that are coming to the ears of his family. In Mark 2, verse 5, he says, When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven thee.

But there were certain of the scribes sitting there and reasoning in their hearts and saying, Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? For who can forgive sins but God only? And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why reason ye these things in your hearts?

Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins.

He said to the sick of the palsy, I say to thee, arise, take up thy bed, and go thy way into thy house. Now Jesus is making some claims. He claims that he has the power to forgive sins. In effect, in the minds of the people, he's making himself equal with God.

Because only God has the power to forgive sins. In chapter 2, again in verse 28, if we follow the sequence of Mark, Jesus says, therefore, the Son of Man is Lord also of the Sabbath. I'm not going to go into the whole scenario.

But basically he says, I'm not only the one who has the power to forgive sins, but I'm Lord of the Sabbath. I'm Lord of all the religious traditions. I'm Lord of everything. Now he has placed himself on a collision course with the social religiousness, which would not tolerate his words.

And his family knew it. And I believe they feared for the safety of God, of Jesus. They feared for his safety. Does he not realize that the things that he is saying are... We agree that he should reign.

We agree he should have the throne of his father David. We agree he should have a title as magnanimous as son of the highest. But he's making claims that are going to get him killed. This society cannot tolerate these words.

And so those who are closest to him, fearing, as Uzzah did, that he's going to fall down. Somehow this is a mistake. He's lost his mind. Does he not realize he's going to get himself killed? So they come outside the house.

They're calling to him, deciding that, listen, we've got to take him home and reconfigure him. Because this society is not going to be able to tolerate this. He's presenting himself as exclusive. He's presenting himself as the only way to eternal life.

He's calling himself God. He says he has the power to forgive sins. They know the religiousness of their day. They know the venom of the religious leaders of their society. They know he's on a collision course with death if he keeps on this particular pathway.

And in their hearts, just like so many that are familiar with him today, they say, Oh Jesus, is it not more reasonable that you make yourself a little more palatable to the masses? Why do you have to be so exclusive?

Why do you have to say these things? All you do is anger people. Come home with us and let us help you. Let us instruct you. Let us reconfigure you a little bit. Help round out some of the rough edges.

There's got to be a way to say this without offending so many people. And isn't this where we are today? So many who are considered his family coming to the house of God get embarrassed at Christ. Embarrassed at his words.

Embarrassed at his exclusivity. Embarrassed by his cross. Embarrassed by his blood. Can you see them apologizing outside the door? Can you see Mary and his brethren? Oh, you know he's tired. He's been neglecting himself.

You know, he's just obsessed with this ministry. Now, we know what he said. But good people and those who follow religious traditions go to heaven too. God knows when they die if they're good. Today we have entire groups claiming to be his family.

But they're removing the cross. They're rejecting the blood from the theology of God because it's too violent. It's too restrictive. It's too exclusive. Calling to him. Coming to the house and calling to him.

But ashamed of his words. Ashamed of the things that he had to say about himself. Ashamed of his mission. Which was a violent mission. It was an exclusive mission. It was a mission that sent him to a cross.

Undoubtedly, Mary and the others feared that Jesus might be killed by a people who would not be able to conform him to their own perceptions of God. They would have known that the end of his road was a cross.

And the rage of a religious crowd who'd rather destroy the very image of God than bend their knees to his lordship. And that's where this world is today. They would rather destroy the image of God than bend their knees to the lordship of Jesus Christ.

The Violence and Passion of the Cross

But I remind you that one day every knee is going to bow. And every tongue is going to confess. You see, beloved, the cross is violent. It is violent and you can't escape it. But in the cross we see the passion of a holy God.

Pouring out his wrath on his own son. That you and I might be saved. You see, if you only see the violence and don't see the passion, you've missed the message. And many today in the church of Jesus Christ are trying to eliminate the violence.

And in eliminating the violence, they have lost the passion. It's the passion of God that sent his son to a cross. It's the passion of God that caused him to become a man in the first place. It's the passion of God that sent him on a collision course with his own fallen creation.

Because he was not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. He didn't hold back. He didn't try to sanitize his message. It was exclusive. He made it exclusive.

Because there's no other way you can be saved but through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It's violent. And beloved, we must never run from it. We must never be embarrassed by it. It's violent, the cross.

But it's the violence of a man who had dashed in front of a speeding train to save an insane man who was bent on suicide. It's that kind of violence. It's the violence of someone who had cast himself into frigid water.

Knowing that certain death awaited him. So that some who had fallen in through their own carelessness might be saved. It's the violence of a man on a narrow mountain ridge. In order to save a man who was gripping on in his last moments of life.

It's the violence of a man who had killed his own son to get to a complete stranger. Not even sure that that man would take his hand. It's that kind of violence. It's a violence so passionate for your soul.

So filled with the love of God that the human mind cannot comprehend it. God killed his own son. Not even sure that you would take his hand. So much he loves you. And his own son came to fulfill his will.

Knowing that the end of his life was a cross. Knowing it was to endure the wrath of his father and the separation from God his father that he had never known for all of eternity. It's a love so beyond our ability to understand it.

It's a passion that despises the shame. And one day sits at the right hand of God with his own redeemed. It's the passion of a Christ who didn't turn in his journey. He didn't try to sanitize the message that there was only one way that you and I could be saved.

He had to endure the wrath of God. Jesus hears these people crying outside of the house. Come to us. He knows why they're there. He's God. He's omniscient. He knows everything. He knows they've come because they are fearing that he's lost his mind.

He knows that they're trying to prop him up. Make him a little more appealing to the masses. He knows it. In the original text, one of the commentators says that he turns to the people in the house with irritation.

It's his own family outside. Who should know him? They should know him. It seems sometimes that the people of the world are completely at ease with the claims of Christ as they're presented. It seems to be his own family that have so much trouble with it.

Isn't that the way it is in America today? We see his own family coming to the house, calling his name but just absolutely offended with his words and trying to create this sanitized Jesus that everybody will find easier to accept.

And the one commentator at least says he turns with an irritation. There's a sense of irritation in his voice. They said, Behold, your mother and your brothers are seeking you. And he said, Who is my mother?

Who are my brothers? And he looked around about on them which sat about him and said, Behold. My mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of God. The same is my brother and my sister and my mother.

The Gospel’s Exclusivity and the Call to Follow Christ

You see, here's what I see as the sense of this verse. He's saying, I'm on a journey. I'm on a journey. And my journey is to do the will of my father. And I'm speaking for him and I'm making a clear declaration of the gospel that is according to God.

And whosoever is not ashamed to come with me on this journey. This is my mother. These are my brothers and sisters. They're not ashamed of me. They're not ashamed of my words. They're not ashamed of the cross of Jesus Christ.

They're not ashamed of his claims of exclusivity. They're not ashamed of the blood. They're not ashamed of the violence of God's wrath that he poured out on himself to save a sinner. They're not ashamed of Jesus.

They feel no need to make apology for him. And in fact, they are on the same journey that he is on. In some measure, to be despised and rejected by a society and even a church age that is ashamed of Jesus Christ.

They're ashamed of his words. They're ashamed of how he has presented himself and feel the need to take him home. May you and I never, never, never, never, may we never lose the sense of awe at who Jesus is.

May we never become familiar and casual and careless in his presence. For Times Square Church, my heart's cry is God help us. God help us to preach the gospel. God help us to live the gospel. God help us to walk with Christ.

God help us to go into the workplace. And when everybody snickers and sneers at the exclusivity of Christ, we're not ashamed of it. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.

But to we who are saved, it is the power of God. Never ashamed. Remember Jesus said, if you're ashamed of me and my words, I will be ashamed of you before my Father in heaven. This is speaking about the claim of Christ.

Who Christ is. He met with us tonight again. He always does. He walked the aisles as we worshiped. And you could sense the pleasure of God. I guess the question I have to ask my heart, yours, are we too familiar with his presence?

Why are we calling to him? Are we calling because we want to walk with him? We want to, as he invites us, take up your cross. Follow me as I follow my Father. Or are we looking for some kind of a sanitized Jesus?

A little more easy to digest. I don't know about you. But I'm going with him. I'm going with him. If you are not saved tonight, I want you to know that God passionately loves you. He allowed fallen men to spit on, kick, mock, beat and bruise, beyond human recognition, his own son.

Because it was the punishment that you deserved. And I deserved it for our rebellion against the Holy God. The things that we've done. That according to the law of God, we should spend eternity in hell apart from God.

And deservedly so. God would be completely just. But he's a God of great love. And we can't really see that love until we see the cross. The cross is the expression of God's love. There's no greater expression of God's love than the cross of Jesus Christ.

Where we see God doing something that to our natural minds is almost inconceivable for God to do. He had never been separated from his own son. You and I don't even understand the word never. But he had never been separated.

You look in the scriptures and Jesus is identified as the one who was daily his delight. The one who was co-creating everything. As part of the triune and the inseparable God. Inconceivable that God should pour his wrath out on his own son.

Only love. Only love. Only love. Only a love that you and I will never comprehend could have allowed God to do that. Could have made him do that. If I were God, I probably would have just taken this whole thing, this whole world and just blown it into space somewhere and started again.

And that's what you would do too, if you're honest tonight. Why should you? Could you conceive of having an ant colony at home? A little aquarium with a pile of ants in it? You reach in one day and they all start biting your hand.

And you know they have to be destroyed because of what they've done. But instead of destroying them, you kill your own son? It's something like that. But it's much deeper than that because God created us out of his heart, which is a heart of love.

Inconceivable to God that he should have to cast us into eternity away from him for all of time. So he takes the punishment of our sin upon himself. Not even sure that you would take his hand. Can you imagine?

Can you imagine if you end up in hell? People that are here tonight, think about this. You end up in hell. And you were here. And God stretched out his hand to you and you had a choice and a chance to go to heaven.

You had a chance to be forgiven your sin. You saw clearly the love of God. You understood what the cross was all about. But in your heart you said, oh ho hum, this is not the Christ that I came to hear about.