Mark Driscoll Audio

The Pharisees use fear of man to bully the multitudes and keep them from Jesus, and they try to bully Jesus too. Is Jesus or someone else sitting on the throne over your life? Fear of man is when someone other than Jesus sits on that throne. You want to please them, which ultimately is worship and results in anxiety. Jesus teaches that we can overcome fear of man by living for the final judgment day, by being willing to suffer, by remembering the love of God for us, and by replacing fear of man with fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom.

Jesus plus anything, even religion, ruins everything. Jesus is harsh with the religious people because they are wolves who close their eyes to the light, make rules for God, want praise for themselves, and defend their idols. Religious rules are all about the external—not the internal—and raise human preferences to the level of God’s laws. Religion doesn’t help people; rather, it binds and enslaves them. Religious people try to be holier than Jesus, but we’re saved by Jesus’ works, not our own.

People who are opposed to Jesus throw water on others’ passion for him. Regular practice of the spiritual disciplines (community, Scripture, prayer, worship, giving, serving, obedience, evangelism) kindles Spirit-fired passion. Be more concerned about your eternity than about the weather and the news. Are you going to heaven or hell? Jesus tells us to repent or perish. We all will die and stand before God to give an account for our life. Get ready for that day in court; do not delay. True repentance is confession, contrition, and change; it takes the whole person.

Jesus teaches some parables and principles for prayer. First, our God is good, loving, gracious, and kind, so we should come to him, day or night, 24/7, and ask, seek, and knock. Second, God is a good Father and if we ask him for a good thing, we won’t get a bad thing. A good Father gives good gifts and the greatest gift is the Holy Spirit. Ask, continually, for the Holy Spirit and his help.

Prayer is simply communicating with God. Jesus is the perfect prayer, so he teaches his followers how to pray. First, Jesus teaches that God is our Father. If you want to grow in prayer, don’t focus on prayer. Get to know the Father. If you want to learn how to pray, don’t look at religious people. Look at children with a father who adores them. Through Jesus’ prayer we also learn that our Father is holy, our Father is a king, our Father is generous, our Father forgives sins, and our Father leads well. Our Father hears and answers every prayer.

Are you Mary or Martha? Mary’s contemplative; Martha’s active. Mary’s about being; Martha’s about doing. Martha thought she was going to serve Jesus the good portion, but Mary chose the good portion. Jesus is our good portion that will never be taken away. A meal is temporary, but time with Jesus is a gift that lasts forever. We live in a Martha world; we’re troubled, we’re anxious, and we’re distracted. But God built this world to be a Mary world with Martha moments. When sin entered the world, it turned into a Martha world in which we have to fight for Mary moments. The rhythm of our day is supposed to be Mary first, then Martha. Spend time with Jesus, then get stuff done. Worship like Mary, then work like Martha. Worship God before you work so that you can worship God in your work. We want Mary’s heart and Martha’s hands.

Week 6 of a 6 week study of the spiritual gifts. This week we learn about the guidelines for tongues, prophecy and women in the church.

Our mini-series on spiritual gifts continues this week by studying what Paul has to say about speaking in tongues to the church at Corinth.

Week 4 of a 6 week study of the spiritual gifts. This week we depart from the book of 1 Corinthians to examine the gifts of encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy, and hospitality.

This Interview took place at The Most Excellent Way to Lead Conference at NewSpring Church in Anderson, South Carolina with Pastor Mark Driscoll and Pastor Perry Noble.