Not Everyone Gets A Vote | Mark 1:29-39 | Pastor Kyle Alison

In this message, Pastor Kyle walks through Mark 1:29–39 in a sermon titled “Not Everyone Gets a Vote.” 

Discover how Jesus stayed focused on His God-given purpose despite the pressure, opinions, and expectations surrounding Him. This message will challenge you to stop living for approval, spend intentional time with God, and pursue the purpose He’s called you to with clarity and confidence. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed trying to please everyone, this sermon will remind you that purpose is found in God’s presence—not public opinion.

Transcript

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For those that I haven't met in person, I will meet you all at the end of the month. So I'm really excited about that. But to give you a little glimpse into my life, as you can probably tell, I've never been a super skinny person, right? I've always had a little bit of weight and always been trying to like do diets and do this and that. Well, this last year, I'm like, you know what? It's January. Let's get serious. And over the last uh, what is it, almost five months, I've been able to lose about 30 to 40 pounds, and everything's going good, and I'm really excited. But here's the thing have you ever noticed that anytime you decide to change your life, everybody suddenly has something to say. Like everyone has an opinion, right? Like you're trying to get healthy. Now everyone's a a nutritionist as they're eating a cheeseburger from McDonald's trying to tell you how to eat healthy, right? Like everyone uh has an opinion when you go to find a better job and you want to improve yourself, whether through school or something like that, everyone's got the career advice. Like, bro, don't you still work at McDonald's making minimum wage? Like, what's the deal? You're 40, right? Like, you try to cut toxic people out of your life and build healthy relationships. And what? Everyone becomes a relationship expert and a therapist all of a sudden. And the second you decide to get serious about Jesus, what happens? Everybody suddenly has an opinion about your faith, about your choices, about your standards, and what your priorities should be. Because that's how life works, doesn't it? The moment you move forward, voices start getting louder. The moment you pursue purpose, criticism increases. The moment you stop living for everyone else, what happens? Everyone else starts demanding a vote in your life. Everyone will always have an opinion. And if we're not careful, we will find ourselves pulled in ten different directions trying to keep everyone else happy. But now here's what makes it tricky. Most of these voices aren't bad, are they? Most are not evil, most are not trying to hurt us in any way. A lot of them are well-meaning people, family, friends, people at church. But listen to me, they're still not God. And if we're not careful, we start living our life based on whoever is the loudest, instead of living your life based on what God is actually trying to say. Here's the truth. Here's my main point I want to get to today. Not everyone gets a vote in what God has called you to do. Someone give me an amen to that one. Today we're continuing through the gospel of Mark, and we will be in Mark 1, starting in verse 29. It says this. See, even Jesus loves mother-in-laws. It says that that evening after sunset, many sick and demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. The whole town gathered at the door to watch. So Jesus healed many people who were sick with various diseases, and he cast out many demons. But because the demons knew who he was, he did not allow them to speak. Before daybreak, the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. Later, Simon and the others went out to find him. When they found him, they said, Everyone is looking for you. But Jesus replied, We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them too. That is why I came. So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons. Let's pray. Lord, right now we just come to you. We pray that you will open our hearts and our ears to what you have for us. Holy Spirit, have your way through this message in Jesus' name. Amen. So we see here in the story that Jesus has begun his ministry and he walks into Simon Peter's house after leaving the synagogue, which we heard about last week. And Peter's mother-in-law is sick with a fever. Jesus heals her immediately, and then word starts to spread. By that evening, the whole town is gathered at the door. We see people are getting healed from their sickness. People are getting healed from demon possession. Lives are being changed. It is incredible to see the momentum building, the crowd growing. Everything is working right now. I mean, if you were building a ministry strategy, man, this is exactly what you would want, wouldn't you? This is the moment you lean into. This is the moment that you capitalize. But then unexpectedly, everything shifts. When Jesus goes against the desires of his disciples and the crowd, to what? Pursue his true purpose. See, if you are here today and you are tired of running yourself empty, trying to meet everyone else's expectations, if you are exhausted from carrying the weight of everyone else's opinions, and if you're ready to stop living for approval and start living with purpose, then here over the next few moments, I want to give you three quick observations from this word that we read today that can help us step into the purpose that God created you for. The first observation is this you can't pour out if you don't first get filled up. Somebody in Ford Hall say, filled up. There you go. It says the Bible tells us that very early in the morning, Jesus gets up while it's still dark, while everyone's still asleep, and he leaves. He goes on to a solitary place to pray. So why did he step away? Well, Jesus just had a very busy day, right? We heard about part of it last week when he was there at the temple preaching, casting out demons at the same time. And then we see today as he goes and spends all evening casting out more demons and healing the sick. It's a long, long day that he just had. Healing people, casting out demons, hanging out with mother-in-laws. Oh, forget that last part. And the very next thing he does is he gets alone with his father in heaven. He didn't sleep in after a long night. How many people have a busy day and they're like, man, I get to sleep in tomorrow. He didn't ride the momentum of what was happening and keep building the crowds. He didn't immediately jump back into what he was doing. What did he do? He stepped away. Why? Because even Jesus understood something we often ignore. Church, if you're going to continue to pour out, then you have to also be continually filled up as well. See, this is where a lot of us run into trouble. We think that being used by God means always being available, always saying yes, always doing more, always showing up for everybody else. But what ends up happening is as we keep pouring out and pouring out and pouring out without ever being refilled, we know what happens, right? We run dry. Hear me when I say this. Spending time alone with Jesus is not optional today. It is mandatory for your life. It is mandatory for me, for you, for anybody who has ever chosen to follow Jesus. Jesus shows us the way. Like he even knew it wasn't an option, right? Here's something crazy to think about. When you're reading the Gospels and hearing about Jesus' ministry, this ministry lasted three years, but we actually only get about 30 days worth of Jesus' ministry recorded in the scriptures. Think about that. After three years, we have a 30-day snapshot of what Jesus did. Now, in those 30 days, we also have the last few days before his death, the whole last week. But of that, 17 times. 17 times. It says that Jesus left the disciples, he left the crowds, he left everybody aside, and he went and he spent time alone with his heavenly father. John or uh Luke 5.16. It says that Jesus often, someone say often, withdrew to lonely places and prayed. You know, Luke is someone that he didn't have a first hand account of what happened. See, he kind of found stuff out later on. So what'd he do? He went around and he interviewed all the disciples and all the people that was close to them. And every single person said the same thing. Jesus often, continuously, continually left everybody else to go spend time with his heavenly father alone. It's that priorities. See, let me be super clear here. If you are not spending time alone with the Father, and I'm not even talking about church, look around. You're not alone, are you? I'm talking about allowing God to be able to disciple you. Everyone should look for a discipleship, but 95% of discipleship should come between you and your heavenly Father. See, that's what spiritual maturity looks like. Instead of being like, oh, I'm just gonna come and let other people feed me. It's finding that time alone to pray, to read your Bible, to worship the Lord by yourself, or most importantly, to shut up and just say, Lord, I'm here just to listen to what you have to say. See, if you are not doing these things on a regular basis, then you are starving yourself of the strength and encouragement needed to thrive in this life. See, if the Son of God made it such a priority in your life, then what are we doing putting it on the back burner, right? Let me remind you, you cannot continue to bless others if you are not allowing yourself to be blessed by the Holy Spirit. You cannot continue to give if you are not also receiving that strength back from Jesus. And you cannot continue to give if God is not continuing to refill you. Here is why it matters so much for the rest of this passage. When you are empty, you don't just feel tired, you start making bad decisions based on pressure instead of purpose. Brings me to my next observation, which should be a warning for all of us when we are trying to step into God's purpose for our life. Observation number two, people will try to pull you into what they want. Someone say, people. Someone else say, uh-huh. You know what I'm talking about. It says that after Jesus goes off to pray, Simon and the others, they go looking for him. How many parents here in Fort Hall can testify that as long as your kids are awake, you ain't getting any alone time, right? Why do you think Jesus always goes off by himself when his disciples are asleep? Jesus knew this principle very well, didn't he? The word says they finally found him. And they say, Jesus, everyone is looking for you. Now this might sound like such a simple statement, but it's actually loaded with expectation, isn't it? See, what they're really saying is, Jesus, this is working. Jesus, don't leave. We have to stay here. We have to keep doing what people are responding to. Keep people liking us by healing, by casting out demons, by doing what they want us to do. And this is where so many people get pulled off track. Here's a big takeaway from this section. If you are not being filled up regularly, then you will be easily pulled in other people's agendas. Let me just say this. Everyone focus up here for just a minute. If you are running on empty today, you will start saying yes to everything. Not because it's God's will, but because it's what people expect from you. And let's be honest, this is hard to navigate because it feels good to be needed, right? It feels good to be wanted, it feels good for people to affirm you and to respond to what you are doing. But just because something feels good doesn't mean it's God, is it? And just because people want you somewhere doesn't mean God sent you there. Listen, if you don't have the time with God locked in today, you won't have the clarity to know the difference between what is good and what is God. Last observation today. Someone give me an amen. Number three, purpose should drive your actions, not other people's opinions. Someone say purpose. Verse 37 it says, When they found him, they said, Everyone is looking for you. But Jesus replied, we must go on to other towns as well and to preach to them too. That is why I came. That is why I came. Look, ladies and gentlemen, this is what purpose, clarity, and direction should look like. What's Christ's purpose? To share the good news with as many people as possible. And based on that purpose, Jesus makes a decision that doesn't make sense to anybody else. He walks away from the crowd, he walks away from the success, he walks away from a place that he was clearly needed. Why? Because he was not driven by what people wanted, he was driven by why he came. And this is where everything comes together. What had Jesus just been doing? He had just been spending time alone in prayer with his Father. So when the opinions came, when other agendas came, he already had clarity. He didn't have to figure out in the moments because it had already been settled in the quiet place. Let me warn you today: if you do not know your purpose, you will be controlled by other people's opinions. You will stay where you are celebrated instead of where you are called to go. You will keep doing what works instead of doing what is right. But Jesus shows us something different, doesn't he? It starts by getting filled up by him, then directed by him, then sent by him. So what does it look like for us? Well, first we have to be equipped. We get alone with God in the quiet place, and he empowers us, strengthens us, and equips us through prayer, reading the word, worshiping him. Then he focuses us. Where does he want us to go? He gives us that purpose, and then what does he do? He launches us into that purpose. You know, if you're here today and you cannot immediately articulate your purpose, then it's time to go back to observation one and spend some time with God. Because when you are truly rooted in God's presence and clear on your purpose, you will have the courage to walk away from what is good in order to stay committed to what God is calling you to do next. This morning I want to conclude with two questions. The first question is one we ask every week because it is the most important question you will ever answer. Ford Hall, do you have a personal relationship with Jesus and have chosen to accept him as Lord of your life? Because here's the truth that all of this points to you would never fully walk in God's purpose until you first surrender your life fully to him. Because following Jesus is not about adding him to your life, it's about giving him your entire life. With every head bowed and eyes closed right now. Maybe you're here today. And if you're being honest, you've been living based on your own direction. Or maybe you've been living based on everyone else's expectations. If you never fully surrendered your life to Jesus, right now, here's your opportunity. If you want to say yes to Jesus today, will you just raise your hand? Thank you. Believing in faith. Thank you. Ford Hall, will you repeat this prayer after me today? Jesus, I give you my life. I believe you died for me. I believe you rose again. Forgive me of my sin. Make me new. From today on, I choose to follow you. In Jesus' name. Amen. Church, I have one final question today. For everyone here in the room, here's what I want you to wrestle with. Which voices need to lose their vote so you can fulfill your purpose. Look, God is calling you. God is speaking to you today. Take this time right now to examine your life, ask yourself, am I following what God wants of me? Or am I following what the world has told me to want? If you are here today and you're like, Pastor, I need to refocus my life. I need to silence the noise and just focus on what you want. Will you just raise your hand so I can pray with you right now? Thank you. Lord, you see the hands. Lord, you know the hearts today. Lord, I pray for every person there in Fort Hall that in the name of Jesus, may they refocus their lives on you. On your purpose, what you desire. Lord, may they stop running on empty and start focusing on you, spending time alone with you in prayer, worship, reading the word, meditating on who you are, listening to your advice and your counsel, Lord, so they can focus on what you want, to be filled by you and not to be distracted by those around them. May they remember not everyone gets a vote, only you. Lord, may we step into that purpose and will in the name of Jesus. Amen.