SoulFit: Mary Magdalene From Delivered to Devoted

We reflect on Mary Magdalene and the danger of letting gratitude fade as deliverance becomes our new normal. We look at how Jesus meets her in the darkness, calls her by name, and sends her to share the resurrection message.
• forgetting what freedom used to feel like over time
• Mary Magdalene in Luke 8:2 and the meaning of complete bondage
• deliverance that becomes devotion through staying close committed and present
• devotion proven in hard moments when others leave
• John 20:11-18 at the tomb and the power of Jesus saying her name
• delivered and then deployed to carry the resurrection message
• our challenge to share what God brought us through

Go tell your story

https://aarondegler.com/

Transcript

Welcome To SoulFit

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome, Soulfit. Thank you for taking time to join us today. If this is your first time, welcome. Each week we join our live call as we take a little scripture and we share how it's applicable to our life. So let's get started. Let's join our live call. We will get started. So as we continue our series on She Matters. Well, today we're going to talk about Mary Magdalene. Magdalene. Magdalene was because that's where she was from, was Magdalene. So it's Mary Magdalene. Mary of Magdalene. Have you ever might be times in your life when you something was challenging, something was very hard, and you get through that, or you're delivered from it. And then time goes on. What happens as time goes on? Typically, what happens? We kind of forget what that was like. We forget, you know, how that felt and what we felt at the time. So, and then so over time, it's just kind of natural. Our memory of how that felt at one time kind of diminishes. And and I think that's true with a lot of us. And sometimes maybe it's something that we're we're free of, and it feels good. Like, you know, it's kind of like when we lose weight. When you lose 20 or 30 pounds, you go, man, that feels great. And that what happens over time? If if you are or you keep that 20 or 30 pounds off, then over time is what happens is that becomes the new norm. That's what it normally feels like. So we kind of forget what it used to feel like to have those extra 20 or 30 pounds. And the same thing is true sometimes with things that go on in our life. It feels good when we get rid of those or we get past them. But over time we for we have a new norm and we forget what that was like. And so as we talk about Mary of Magdalene, she was delivered, but she never forgot. And you know, in Luke 8, 2, it talks about how she was, Jesus cast out seven demons out of her. And after that, she followed, she followed him, she supported his ministry, she stayed when others left. She was at the cross, she was the first at the tomb. And as we're gonna see, she was also the first to see the risen Jesus, which is is pretty neat. So she we could say she wasn't just saved, she was transformed. It may be, if you think about if there's a time in your life that's something you're saved from, and over time does that just kind of become who you are, like that's your new norm, or is it something that actually transformed you? Maybe you know, made you be an advocate, or make you look out for others, or want to help others in that area, or in some way it transformed you. Maybe you act differently, maybe you speak differently, maybe you think differently. It was a transformation of some sort. And when we think of her, she was deeply broken. I mean, seven demons really equals complete bondage. I mean, and you think about complete bondage, in other words, no way out, totally engulfed in that. She knew what it felt like to be trapped. She knew what it felt like to be controlled, she knew what it felt like to be lost. Think about, and when we think of complete bondage, it's really kind of all of that. It's really all of those things. If you're trapped, you can't get out. You have no control over self. Someone else is controlling everything you do, or to be lost. Is that complete bondage, like no hope, no way out? And so when Jesus set her free, she didn't just kind of keep tabs on him. No, she was she followed him all those places that we talked about, support his ministry, stayed when others left. She was at the cross, at the tomb, all of those things, she was there. And so her deliverance, when we talk about how she was in complete bondage, and Jesus delivered her, her deliverance turned into a devotion. She was there for him every step of the way. She stayed close, she stayed committed, she stayed present. Think about if you've been delivered, maybe it's maybe it's from a bad uh relationship, maybe it's from a bad something going on. And when you are now devoted, maybe when you come into a new relationship, it is you stay close, you stay committed, and you stay present. All of those things, that's kind of what that was. It was she was delivered out of though that bondage, completely trapped, completely controlled, completely lost. And she was delivered from that into freedom. And so she was devoted. And when we're devoted, that's what devoted looks like. We stay close. We stay committed. If you're devoted to Christ, you stay close. How do you stay close? You have conversations through prayer. How do you stay committed? You stay in the word every day. How do you stay present? Is this is this what I'm supposed to be doing, doing according to his word and prayer? That's how we how we can do that on a daily basis. She was actually there. She got to be there, be close, be in his presence, do all those things. So, you know, how do we do that same thing? Because her God is our God, it's the same one. So sometimes over time, as God brings us things out of things, we kind of start to forget a little bit. And, you know, when when those things pass and we've been praying for them, we've been praying for them. We talked about how we pray through those, we talked about Hannah praying through her pain, and we pray for those, pray for those, and then our prayers are answered. And we're so thankful, we we probably have all kinds of prayers afterwards that we're we're so thankful for. But then do those start to, does our gratitude start to grow a little cold, a little chilly as time gets away from that? Because, and I'm sure we've all had those where we've been praying for something, we get it, and we're so thankful. And then how long ago was that that you're something you were really thankful for that God brought you through? And are are you still being grateful for that now? And I think that's a challenge to all of us, and that's really what she did. She was at as she was set free, that gratitude never got cold. That gratitude, she kept showing up for him, kept being there, kept being present. She kept doing that. It didn't grow cold. And I think sometimes we might do that from time to time as we start to get away from what we were brought through, to say, thank you for doing that. Thank you for this life that I have, thank you for all the different things that we brought us through. And when we talk about how she stayed when others left, you know, at the cross, disciples ran. Peter denied Jesus, but she stayed. You know, and really it's easy to stay in the easy times, right? But devotion is really is really proven in the difficult moments. Think about friends you might have. If we're if we're talking about friends, actual people we can see. When you're when they're devoted, are they the friends that when you're really having hard times, they stick by? Maybe hard times look like you're not at your best. Maybe you're not the nicest person to be around. Maybe you know, you're not always have the right words. Maybe you don't always have the right attitude. You can be a little grumpy, you can be a little hard to get along with. You know, are those friends staying with you in those difficult moments? Maybe you don't talk to them for days because things are going on. All those things, and when you have friends that are devoted, and probably all of you can think of at least one friend that through your life, when you've had difficult moments, they have stuck with you through all that. And that's really what devoted looks like. And and she didn't leave. She didn't leave when it got uncomfortable, she didn't leave when it got painful, she didn't, it didn't make sense, but she was still there. So, and think about the friends that you've had. Did they stay around when it got uncomfortable? Did they stay around when it got and got painful? You might have hurt their feelings, or it just didn't make sense what you were doing, but they still stuck around, they were still there for you. That's what she did for Jesus. And I mean, isn't it easy if we if we read along in the Bible to find all those moments that he's doing miracles? It's easy to follow along with that. Like, oh yeah, he's doing miracles. Life is good, and isn't that kind of what we do sometimes? I mean, every turn I make in life here lately, it's just a blessing. I mean, just it's easy to say, yeah, I'm praying, I'm doing all the things, I'm being blessed. I mean, it's just perfect. But isn't it harder to stay connected when things don't look like anything's going right? There's nothing going on. Everything, life kind of looks just like flatlined. And that makes it a little bit more challenging. You know, it it we've kind of said, you know, it's easy to praise him on the mountaintops. Sometimes it's really challenging in the valleys. So sometimes we have to ask ourselves, do we follow when it's easy or do we stay when it gets hard? Do we still have that? Are we still devoted when it gets hard? I'm gonna read a little bit from John 20, 11 through 18. I'm gonna read all of them because this is when Mary goes to the tomb. And I and I just think this great. When we talk about she matters, this is when she had he cast out seven demons, and she matters, and this is kind of what is explained in John 20, 11 through 18. Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. This is um, as we just passed Easter, it was on the cross, she stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look in the tomb and saw two angels in white seated where Jesus' body had been, one at the head, one at the uh foot. They asked her, Woman, why are you crying? They have taken my Lord away, she said. And I don't know where they put him. But she and at this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not realize that it was Jesus. He asked her, Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you're looking for? Thinking he was the gardener. Can you imagine seeing Jesus and thinking that's just the gardener? Looked like just any average dude hanging out. She goes, Sir, if you've carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him. Jesus said to her, Mary. He said, Her Mary. He said her name. That's all he said was Mary. And when he said her name, she turned toward him and cried in Arabic, Robani. I think I said that right. I probably didn't, but which means teacher. Jesus said, Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, I'm ascending to my father and your father to my God and your God. Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news. I have seen the Lord. And she told them he had said these things to her. A woman that Jesus casted out seven demons told this same woman that to go tell his disciples. His disciples had been with him through everything. He said, Go tell them what I'm about to do. Go tell them. How powerful is that that and and and may or may not know, it's even more important when as in this day and time, a female, what she said usually wasn't held as very credible. So a lot of times, if I mean she couldn't be a witness in anything because what she said wasn't credible, but yet Jesus chose her, a woman, in this time, to go tell the disciples what he had told her. And the interesting thing is that he talked to her. She didn't realize that that was Jesus, just an old gardener out there. And as soon as he said her name, her name, she turned to him and cried out. What means in our our language, teacher. And she recognized as soon as he called her name, she recognized exactly who it was. And when she showed up at the tomb, it was still dark, too. And and kind of what is that darkness is an example of? It could resemble being outside, of course, but aren't sometimes emotionally, aren't we in the dark? Sometimes in the spiritual, aren't we in the dark? When things have seemed to flatline, doesn't everything around us seem dark? Emotionally, spiritually, mentally, it seems dark. And and kind of like, you know, we kind of think the same as she did. She showed up and thinks, you know, I'm she's grieving. Where is he? She's thinking, this is it. It's over. Where is he gone? And then when he spoke her name, it changed everything. And he didn't give some, before he told her what to go do, he didn't give an elaborate speech. He gave a personal personal moment by what? Calling her name. And that is really, think about when somebody calls your name or says your name. Doesn't that make it more personable? Like, oh, that makes me feel so good. Think about if somebody just says, Hey, you, how are you doing today? Or they call you by name and say, How are you today? Or they call you by name and say, Oh my gosh, I am so glad you're here. I have been missing you. Instead of telling the crowd, hey y'all, I've been missing y'all. That doesn't feel very special. But when somebody calls our name, that's a personal moment. That's what Jesus did for her. And she was delivered and she was devoted, but she was also delivered and then deployed. Deployed how? Jesus tells her, go and tell them. Go and tell them what I'm doing. So delivered and then go spread the word. And I think sometimes that's our calling is we're delivered, we're saved. And then what do we do with that? We go share that story, we go tell them. We too can be disciples and are called to that. Go tell your story. So a woman with a past delivered from seven demons is chosen to carry a message. Think of the weight of that message. A woman back in those days, at that time, was carried to choose chosen to carry the most important message in the world, then and forever. The message of the resurrection. How do we make that applicable? Because she mattered, she mattered to the story of resurrection. She took her story and went and told them. And that is what we are called to do. What is your story? What were you saved from? And I challenge you to share that, to open up and share what that is, because you know, other people need to hear that story. God brought us out of it through it. And sometimes we're still living like that version of ourselves. But when when we when we pray and we've brought through it, then we are called to go tell them. Who is them? Maybe it's a friend, maybe it's a loved one, maybe it's somebody that you just meet and you go, I think they need to hear this. And that's our challenge. And through that, what did God do for you? And through that, you are telling them what he did for you and how that impacted your life, how that made a difference in your life. And as we we think about that, and and devotion, devotion to God, to Christ, to the Bible, to all those things, is when it's hard. It's easy to be devoted when everything's going easy. But when it gets hard, it's more challenging. And when we are, we can come out on the other side with a story that we can share. And those stories can be of the miracle, those stories can be of I kept pushing, I kept staying locked in, I stayed devoted, and I stayed connected. All those stories look different. I'm not saying all those stories have a happy ending, but those stories all look different, and those stories have to be shared. The good, the bad, and the great. All have to be shared. So that's really just the challenge is keep to having an attitude of gratitude, and then just as Jesus called her to do, go tell them. Because she mattered, just as each one of you matters. I mean, each one of you have a story that God brought you through, not just for you, but to share with the world, to share with one other person, not to share necessarily sometimes with the world, just to share with your world, which might just be one other person that needs to hear your story in your world. So I'm gonna finish up in prayer and then everybody can get on with their phenomenal, fantastic Friday. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us together today. Lord, thank you for just sharing Mary Magdalene's story and how she mattered to in the story of resurrection, the story of redemption, and just the story that changed the world forever, Lord. And just um allow us to praise you, to be thankful, to be grateful for the things you've done in our life, and not to hold those in, but to share those with others because that is the story that needs to be told, is our story and of how you have impacted our life in every day, in every way. And I just pray that each one of us share that story in our world to make a difference in the world. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you to each one of you for joining me, and I hope you have a safe, fantastic, phenomenal Friday. Thank y'all, and thank you to each of you for joining us on SoulFit. I look forward to seeing you right here next time on SoulFit.