Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES MINISTRIES

Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES MINISTRIES

by Mike Letterman

Season 7

Hope for the Hopeless - The Hopeless Woman

Intro: The Bible is filled with impossible, hopeless cases. Situations and circumstances appear in the Word of God, and so very many of them appear impossible. There seems to be no solution. Storms, needs, deaths, sicknesses, and many other situations, that to the human mind are impossible, yet they are handled with ease by the power of a sovereign God. This section of Mark’s Gospel is filled with several of those impossible situations. There is a storm, then a man filled with demons, and then a dead little girl. Jesus steps into every single one of these unimaginable situations and proves that He is more than capable of handling whatever happens. One truth that demonstrates itself over and over in the pages of the Bible is the truth that God is more than adequate for every situation. There are no impossible situations with Him. There are no hopeless predicaments with the Lord! Your situation is not hopeless! Your storm is not hopeless! Your sin is not hopeless! Your sickness is not hopeless! Your lost loved ones are not hopeless! Nothing is hopeless with the Lord!

Season 6

Sacrificial Worship

Let me remind you that worship is a distinct method of approaching God. Worship is different from prayer and praise. Prayer and praise may contain worship, but by themselves, they are something altogether different. Prayer is the obsession of the soul with its needs. Prayer says, “Lord save me!” Prayer says, “Lord give me!” Prayer asks for the things the soul desires. There is nothing wrong with that; it is what He commands and invites us to do! Praise is the obsession of the soul with its blessings. Praise says, “Thank you Lord for all that you have given me and done in me.” Praise says, “Thank you for your gifts.” There is nothing wrong with vocal, visible praise. He commands us to do it and it honors Him. Besides that, He is infinitely worthy of all the praise we can give to Him! Worship is the obsession of the soul with God Himself. Worship’s focus is not on itself or its blessings. Worship’s focus is on God alone. Worship says, “Lord, thank You for Who You are! Thank you for being holy, loving, merciful, saving, powerful, etc.” Our knowledge of Him should cause us to bow before Him in humble worship!

Setting Up for Worship

Genesis 22:1-14 King James Version 22 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. 2 And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. 3 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. 9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 11 And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. 12 And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.

Season 5

The Ascension of Jesus

Lets read from God’s Word: Mark 16:19-20 King James Version 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Ministry of the Resurrection

Mark 16:9-14 King James Version 9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. 12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. 13 And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. 14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

The Difference a Day Can Make

Mark 16:1-8 King James Version 16 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. 2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. 6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. 7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. 8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

The Secret Servant

Mark 15:42-47 King James Version 42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. 44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. 45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. 46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre.

The Death of the Servant

Jesus left His home in Heaven, invaded this world, His arch enemy’s own territory, to redeem His people from their sins. Jesus Christ, Who was, is, and ever shall be God, came to this world and became a man, Phil. 2:5-8; John 1:1; 14. He lived a sinless life, perfectly keeping the Law of God for those who could not keep it. Then, He was rejected by the very people He came to save, John 1:11. Jesus came to this world to provide a way for the lost to be saved. In order for Him to open this way of salvation, He had to die. He had to be nailed to a cross and executed, the innocent dying the guilty, 1 Pet. 3:18. Jesus was rejected by the Jews. They accused Him of blasphemy and declared that He was worthy of death. They beat Him, bound Him and took Him to Pontius Pilate. Pilate refused to free Jesus and upheld the death sentence, turning Jesus over to his soldiers so that they could execute Him. Those soldiers took Jesus and they mocked Him, they beat Him with a scourge, and they led Him away to a place called Calvary, where they nailed Him to the cross.

The Road to Calvary

The scene has been set. All the actors are in their places. Everyone knows their lines even though they have never rehearsed their parts. The greatest act in human history is about to be played out. These verses talk about the aftermath of our Lord’s trial before the Jews and then Pilate. Both the Jewish leaders and the Roman governor have condemned Jesus and declared Him to be worthy of death. The Jews did it because they hated Him. They hated Jesus because He claimed to be their Messiah. He was not the kind of Messiah they were expecting, so they rejected Him and sent Him away to His death. Pilate condemned Jesus to death to save his position with Rome. Pilate violated every conviction he held. He convicted a Man against Whom no one had been able to lodge a valid charge. Pilate sinned against truth, conscience, integrity and principle in condemning Jesus. He allowed an innocent man to be crucified to ensure earthly security. In so doing, Pilate condemned his eternal soul to Hell! Today, we will follow Jesus Christ from Pilate’s judgment hall to Mount Calvary, where He will die for the sins of His people. As Jesus makes His way from Pilate’s hall to Golgotha, several scenes are played out in the tragedy of His death.

Gethsemane

Our study of the Gospel of Mark is bringing us ever closer to the moment when the Lord Jesus will give His life for sin and sinners on the cross. As Jesus approaches that hour, events in His life begin to move forward at an incredible pace. As these last events unfold in our Lord’s life, we are allowed to witness some of the most heinous and most holy events being played out side by side. The passage before us today is one of the most holy. And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

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