Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Other Side - INTERVENTION Part 1 Extended Notes

Here are the notes from Part 1 of our new series INTERVENTION presented on Sunday, March 14, 2010. I'll post the notes from this morning's message later tonight.

Special Note: Significant portion of this message were inspired by and taken from an excellent message by John Ortberg on "The Other Side." Thanks to Ortberg for his consistently inspiring insights.


The Other Side
INTERVENTION - Part 1


Intervention: to involve yourself in a situation so as to alter an outcome.

Mark 4:1 (NLT), Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. There was such a large crowd along the shore that he got into a boat and sat down and spoke from there.

Jesus’ First Trip to “the Other Side”

Mark 4:35 (NIV), That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to THE OTHER SIDE.” (Matt 8:28-34; Lk 8:26-40)

Underline the phrase, “…the other side.” This phrase was actually a technical term in Jesus’ day. It didn’t simply refer to GEOGRAPHY. When Jesus said, “Let’s go over to the OTHER SIDE...” He was saying, “Let’s take our ministry from Galilee over to a place called the Decapolis.”

Decapolis was a Greek Word for “10 Cities.” The Decapolis was "enemy" territory. The people who lived there were thoroughly pagan. A few Jewish people lived there, but they were in the minority. The dominant population group in the Decapolis were Gentiles…

In Mark 4:35 Jesus basically looked at his disciples and said, “Let’s get RADICAL… Let’s get out of the box. Let’s try something different. Let’s move from ministering to people who LOOK, ACT and THINK basically just like you and me, and let’s minister to the people who live in the Decapolis.”

The disciples were probably thinking, “He’s lost His mind…”

Keep in mind that Jesus has been drawing huge crowds in Galilee… But when he arrives in the Decapolis, NOBODY was there to meet him. Only ONE GUY comes out to meet him… Check out Mark 5.

Mark 5:1-2 (NLT), So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the land of the Gerasenes. 2 Just as Jesus was climbing from the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit ran out from a cemetery to meet him.

Mark 5:3-7 (NLT), This man lived among the tombs and could not be restrained, even with a chain. 4Whenever he was put into chains and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the chains from his wrists and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to control him. 5All day long and throughout the night, he would wander among the tombs and in the hills, screaming and hitting himself with stones.
6 When Jesus was still some distance away, the man saw him. He ran to meet Jesus and fell down before him. 7He gave a terrible scream, shrieking, “Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, don’t torture me!”


Mark 5:9-10 (NLT), Then Jesus asked, “What is your name?” And the spirit replied, “Legion, because there are many of us here inside this man.”

The word “Legion” is a Roman military term that involved a group of six thousand soldiers. Evidently, that’s how many evil Spirits this man was possessed with… This is an indication of the kind of power that Jesus was up against… It’s interesting that all six thousand DEMONS CRINGED IN FEAR at the very presence of Jesus…


Here’s the USA Today version of what happens next… Ultimately, these demons ask permission to be sent into a group of two thousand PIGS… Once the demons enter the pigs, the pigs rush down a steep bank into a body of water where they ultimately drown… (Mark 5:11-13)


Mark 5:14-15 (NLT), The herdsmen fled to the nearby city and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran.

Mark 5:14b-15 (NLT), Everyone rushed out to see for themselves. 15A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, but they were frightened when they saw the man who had been demon possessed, for he was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly sane.

Mark 5:16-17 (NLT), Those who had seen what happened to the man and to the pigs told everyone about it, 17and the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone.


This is absolutely amazing! These people don’t respond by saying, “Wow! This guy has real power… I’ve got a sick mom, a tormented child or a troubled friend… This guy has the power to help him…” That’s not how these people respond… They actually beg Jesus to LEAVE…

In their mind, Jesus has power, but he’s from “the other side” and somebody from “the other side” could hurt them … Somebody from “the other side” could have an agenda… Somebody from “the other side” could have an attitude of superiority or judgmentalism… They’re actually afraid of Jesus because He is from “the other side.” And these people beg Jesus to leave… And He does…

But just before He leaves, the guy who had just been set free comes to Jesus…


Mark 5:18-20 (NLT), When Jesus got back into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go, too.

Amazingly, Jesus says, “NO!” The same Jesus who had invited twelve men, “Leave it all and follow me…” This same Jesus looks at this guy who had just been delivered from six thousand demons and says, “Don‘t follow me… Stay right here and share your ‘GOD STORY’.”

Mark 5:19 (NLT), But Jesus said, “No, GO HOME TO YOUR FRIENDS, and tell them what wonderful things the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.”

Matthew 5:20 (NLT), So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was AMAZED at what he told them.

This could be called Jesus’ “first road trip to ‘the other side’.”

Jesus wants to make certain His disciples get it… He knows that they have a tendency just to hang out with people who LOOK exactly like them, TALK exactly like them, and SHARE the same values they share… Jesus knows that these guys have a real tough time believing that EVERY SIDE belongs to Him and needs to be brought under His Lordship…

So, sometime later, Jesus takes this same group of guys a second ROAD TRIP to “the OTHER SIDE.”


Jesus’ Second Trip to “the Other Side”

Matthew 15:30-31 (NLT), Jesus returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat down. 30A vast crowdbrought him the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others with physical difficulties, and they laid them before Jesus. And he healed them all. 31The crowd was amazed! Those who hadn’t been able to speak were talking, the crippled were made well, the lame were walking around, and those who had been blind could see again! And they praised the God of Israel. (See Mark 7:31-37)

Underline that last phrase… “The PEOPLE ON THE Other Side” PRAISED THE GOD OF ISRAEL!"


What Changed?
One MAN Shared His “GOD STORY”!


If you want to get a glimpse of Jesus’ heart for “the Other Side” just take a walk through the Gospels…

The Heart of Jesus for “the Other Side”

• Matthew (Matthew 9:9)

• A Samaritan woman (John 4:1-26)

• The daughter of a woman from Syrian Phonecia (Mark 7:24-30)

• An outcast with leprosy (Luke 5:12)

• A dying thief (Luke 23:40-43)


YOU HAVE NEVER LOCKED EYES WITH SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T MATTER TO THE HEART OF GOD!


Matthew 28:18-20 (NLT), Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth. 19Therefore, [YOU] GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”


A Simple Strategy for Reaching Out to “the Other Side”:

• Love and Accept People Unconditionally.

Romans 15:7 (NLT),
…accept each other just as Christ has accepted you; then God will be glorified.

• Pray like everything depends on God. Work live everything depends on you.

• Serve Someone Sacrificially.

Steve Sjogren writes that “…the simple power of kindness, small acts done with great love, can turn the church inside out.”

• Invest in People Consistently.

• Invite them to an Experience.

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