Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, July 31, 2022

More Mark. Today, Pastor Michael is starting round two of his series on the book of Mark. Jesus is in the wilderness, battling Satan, for 40 days.  Battling wild beasts with the angels supporting Him, in an area that is arid, rocky, open land.  And the wilderness is also a metaphor for places we are at in our life when the devil is just ‘picking’ on us, a place we’re alone at, a place with little hope.   There are purposes for trials in our life that we do not understand.  Jesus wasn’t sent out to confront Jesus as a confrontation; it was to bring purpose to a trial.  A greater understanding, a greater faith can be found in our trials, as Jesus was there for 40 days, doing just that.  A period of testing, preparation and preparing Jesus for his purpose in the world. We all have our ‘wildernesses’.  Just because God has allowed something in your life doesn’t mean He has planned on a hardship for you or a punishment for you.  God always has a purpose, even if we cannot see it at the time.  He will always bring purpose out of our pain! (CSB Baker Illustrated Bible Study Notes) Immediately after the baptism, the Spirit literally “drove” Jesus out into the wilderness (1:12). The same Spirit who descended on Jesus at the baptism has an appointment for him with God’s adversary to determine whether Jesus will use his divine Sonship for his own advantage or in obedience to God’s saving purpose for the world. Jesus’s forty-day trial in the wilderness (1:13) may reflect God’s testing of Israel in the wilderness for forty years (Dt 8:2). The wilderness plays an important role in the OT, not only in the wilderness wandering after the exodus, but also in the prophets, as a place of Israel’s refreshment with God and refinement for obedience to his call. Verses can be found today in Mark 1: 12-13. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.