Mark Driscoll Audio

This sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at Muldoon Community Assembly Church in Anchorage Alaska on September 6th 2015 at their evening service.

This Sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at James River Church in Ozark, MO, on June 7th 2015.

This sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at Trinity Church of Mesa in Mesa Arizona on September 20th 2015.

This sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll was preached at Muldoon Community Assembly Church in Anchorage Alaska on September 6th 2015.

As the old adage goes, you save the best for last. This is why at a concert the biggest hit is the song that closes the show and dessert is saved for the end of a meal. The same is true in Ecclesiastes. The entire book has thus far explored the meaning of our fleeting life, and now gives us the bottom line for how to keep life aligned with God’s will.

Being young is like living in spring. Everything is alive and vibrant. Being old is like living in winter. Things grow dark and dim, and death is foreboding and on its way one day.

I grew up in the Northwest with a lot of trees and loggers. Loggers have particular tools for chopping down giant trees. The butter knife is not among those tools. Why? Not because it is sinful to log with a butter knife. No one ever went to hell because they were logging with a butter knife. Butter knife logging is not sinful, it’s just foolish. Some people are like butter knife loggers. They are doing a good thing in an unproductive way. They waste lots of time and energy only to get minimal results. How can you make your life more efficient? That is the question Solomon is driving at.

How motivated are you, honestly, by winning? Are you as zealous for wisdom as you are for winning?

Don’t let the mundane duties of life rob you of the joy of life. Don’t let the pain of life rob you of the joy of life. Don’t let the mystery of life rob you of the joy of life. Instead, understand that God has a bucket list for you to pursue. It would be sin to disobey his list, and the list might surprise you.

Until the final judgment, we are encouraged to have fun, eat something good, drink something tasty, and make some memories by enjoying life. Life is filled with injustice, frustration, and work to be done. We should work for justice, but, we also need to not become so obsessed, driven, and serious that we lose sight of the goodness of God and greatness of His coming kingdom. Some people are so dour that they accomplish a lot but live very little.

Even the godliest people need to occasionally pull over, ask some diagnostic questions, and make adjustments. In this section of Ecclesiastes we are going to pull over for a soul pit stop and have Solomon run diagnostics on our soul with nine questions to get us healed up, tuned up, and back to enjoying life with God.

Anyone and anything can be broken, taken, or forever changed in an instant. Knowing this leaves us with only a few options: Option A – you get bitter when you lose who/what you enjoyed Option B – enjoy nothing/no one so that you cannot get hurt Option C – enjoy what you have for as long as you can and when it’s gone be grateful to God for what you had

In Western culture, the adults have invented a new game that I like to call “Climb the Ladder.” In Climb the Ladder you look at those people who are above you on the rungs of success. You spend so much time looking at life on their rung - such as the car they drive, house they live in, clothes they wear, food they eat, and social events they enjoy – that when you look down at your rung beneath them you find yourself unhappy.

Class conflict between the rich and poor is seemingly constant, and only increased during an election season. It is common for each side to villainize the other...This conflict is so deep in the roots of western cultures that even Christians get into the mudslinging and name calling. The truth is, you can cherry pick Bible verses to support both sides quite easily, which is what left leaning poverty theology and right leaning prosperity theology tend to do.

Satan and demons are at war against God, angels, and Christians. Satan is the accuser, adversary, destroyer, deceiver, father of lies, tempter, murderer, evil one, and a real enemy. Jesus comes to liberate those who are taken captive in this cosmic battle. When he meets a man possessed by a multitude of demons, he exercises his authority over them. He casts them out of the man and into a large herd of pigs (unclean animals in the Old Covenant), condemning that region’s pagan way of life. The people are scared of Jesus, but the saved man obeys Jesus and stays behind to boldly preach his story about what Jesus did for him—converting many others after him.

Pastor Mark preaches on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus—fully man and fully God—ministered to crowds of thousands. As a man, he was truly exhausted when he and his disciples set out in a boat to cross the sea. He was so tired that he slept through a dangerous storm that made his disciples—experienced fishermen—desperate for help. As God, he commanded the wind and waves to be still; they obeyed Jesus’ voice, the voice of the Creator. The disciples were amazed because only God has such authority. Jesus is the Creator who made the world and the Savior who came into the world to rescue sinners.

When was the last time you met with God? When is the last time you gathered with God’s people for corporate worship? What was the attitude in your heart and mind? Did you come prepared to meet with God, or just roll in and roll out to be entertained as if the point of a worship service was the same as a concert or movie – to put on a good performance for you?

The world is filled with people, and it is tough to figure out which ones you should befriend, allow access to, take advice from, and do life with.

Self esteem. Self improvement. Self help. Self love. Self actualization. Self pride. It’s all self delusion. Preaching from Philippians 2:1-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll teaches how Jesus is for us the most happy person who has ever lived because, in part, He was the most humble.

Loneliness. We all experience it, sometimes even a crowded room where we are reminded that we are not known, pursued, or loved. To not think about our loneliness we gravitate toward endless hours of mind numbing entertainment such as reality television shows featuring people hanging out with their friends while we sit on our couch alone listening to old Cure songs in the dark. Sound familiar? Preaching from Philippians 1-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll explains how the rebels guide to joy is to be found amidst loneliness according to the apostle Paul who was sitting alone penning the truth from his cold, lonely, and dark jail cell.

Conflict. Most of us shy away from it, dread it, and lament over it. Yet, from Philippians 3:1-11 Pastor Mark Driscoll preaches about how the holy rebel Paul discovered joy in the midst of constant conflict that had broken his body, taken his freedom, but not touched his joy.

If you had more money what would you buy? New car? New house? New body? Could any amount of money buy you joy? Preaching from Philippians 4:10-23 Pastor Mark Driscoll reveals that the rebels guide to joy includes knowing how to have joy even when you are flat busted broke and too poor to pay attention.

Paul wrote to the Philippians, alone in a prison, broke, hungry, tired, and was awaiting the possibility of having his head chopped off when he wrote to the church to challenge them to do all things without grumbling or questioning so they could be blameless and innocent in the midst of such a thoroughly jacked up world. Pastor Mark Driscoll preaches from Phil.2:12-30, and describes how it is possible to find Joy in temptation.

Life hurts. It hurts emotionally, financially, physically, and spiritually. In the midst of suffering there is nothing worse than a pithy bumpersticker solution to a life wrecking hardship and what suffering people need is real truth for real life in real pain. To that end, Pastor Mark Driscoll, preaches from Phil. 1:12-18 to show how Paul found Joy in his own suffering, because it served to advance the gospel of Jesus.

When is the last time you freaked out and went postal? Did you lay on the horn of your car because you are the only person who can drive? Did you have breakdown because your friend betrayed you? Did no lose it when yet again you had more bills to pay than money to pay with? If so, then you will enjoy Pastor Mark Driscoll’s sermon on Philippians 4:2-9 where he gives us the rebels guide to joy in anxiety based upon the writings of the apostle Paul who was sitting in a jail cell suffering.

You are going to die. No matter how well you eat, how much you exercise, or how carefully you live in the end you too will end up in a hole in the ground. Can you find any joy in that truth? The Apostle In Phil. 1:19-30, Pastor Mark Driscoll preaches on how only a rebel like can Paul find Joy in facing Death.

Are you tired? Weary? Worn down? Burned out? Are you sick of all the positive thinking naturally organized highly competent cheery high energy types who keep telling you to put on a smile and think happy thoughts when all you want to do is take a nap? Then you’ll enjoy Pastor Mark Driscoll’s sermon on Philippians 3:12-4:1 where the tired, lonely, flat broke Paul who was sleeping on a dirt floor after getting kicked around like a hackey sack gives us the rebels secret to a joyous heart in an exhausting life.

We live in a society where everybody is peddling joy. Stuffed shirt types try to sell you religion, and the legion of advertisers tell you that joy can be found in a bottle, pill, or new car. Yet, as Pastor Mark Driscoll examines the life and teachings of the apostle Paul in Acts 16 and Phil. 1:1-1a you will learn where joy is to be found as the Bible is the rebels guide to joy.

If there is no good God who sees and knows all and judges justly in the end, then there is truly no hope for justice in this life. All we are left with is social Darwinism, might makes right, the fittest survive, and the rest of us just get to be the human shield here to stop the bullets from getting to the bourgeoisie.

Do you think you’ve ever worked a day in vain? Do you think you’ve ever shed a tear in vain? Do you think you’ve ever read a Bible verse in vain? Do you think you’ve ever confessed a sin in vain? Do you think a bullet has ever been fired in vain? Do you think a meal has ever been eaten in vain? No. God makes everything beautiful in its time. When? In its time! In HIS time!

If you stop to think about your work, what it’s accomplishing, and why you should keep working, you will likely end up very discouraged, start wearing black, and listening to bands fronted by people whose dad did not hug them enough. But, this kind of reflection on "why we do what we do" is rare because we are so stressed out by our work that we lay awake at night, so overwhelmed by what we have to do that we don’t even have the time or energy to ask if we should be doing it.

Solomon tried to find meaning by enjoying anything and everything apart from God but found it to be a meaningless waste of time. This just goes to prove that you can have a full fridge, full house, full closet, full bank account, full social life, full mind, full stomach, full liquor cabinet, full résumé, full bedroom, yet an empty soul. Everything minus God is nothing. Nothing plus God is everything.

Something has gone terribly wrong and no matter how many organizations we start, elections we hold, wars we fight, dollars we spend, attempts we make, protests we hold, medications we prescribe, bad guys we lock up, or tears we shed, the world is hopelessly crooked and cursed. This bothers us, so we want to straighten it out. The problem is that not only is everything on the earth crooked, so is everyone on the earth. We are all crooked. Every one of us.

According to Ecclesiastes, the evolutionary chart in school fooled us into believing that history is a straight line going up and we are more advanced than those primitive people who came before us. The truth is that history is really a circle, a cul-de-sac to be more exact. One generation after another drives around that cul-de-sac worshiping their idol and trying to outdo their neighbor with more sex, more stuff, more power, more information, and more fame. As fools often do, we mistake movement for progress. With brutal honesty about this fact, Ecclesiastes feels more like a punch in the gut than a kiss on the lips.

Jesus teaches that identity results in activity: who we are in Christ determines what we do. If you are a light, shine in the darkness of the world. Your light also should continue to grow brighter. Maturing as a Christian requires listening carefully to God’s Word and God’s preachers. The powerful preacher George Whitefield (1714–1770) offers six exhortations for how to listen to a sermon. Finally, in the church, serve like family; true family members hear what they are supposed to hear, and then do what they’re supposed to do.

A notoriously sinful woman does the unthinkable: she goes, uninvited, to Simon the Pharisee’s home, where Jesus is eating with “holy” religious men. There, broken and sobbing, she lavishly worships Jesus: falling at his feet, cleaning them, anointing them with her best perfume, and kissing them. Her actions are passionate, but not erotic. She publicly and humbly acknowledges her sin before the most judgmental, condemning, and self-righteous men. Religious people see others’ sins, not their own. Yet “holy” Simon did none of what this woman did (worship, serve, repent of sin, or give generously). She responds so passionately and generously because Jesus loved her much, and she loved Jesus much. When you know how much Jesus loves you, and you love him back, it’s the beginning of your passionate, worshipful, generous relationship, and everything changes. Jesus also deals with her sin. He doesn’t excuse her many sins; he forgives her. What Jesus did for that woman he did for other women who followed him, and he continues to do for even more women today.

John was great because he called people to true repentance (not its counterfeits, such as religious repentance, pagan repentance, worldly sorrow, mere confession, blame shifting, minimizing, and excuse making), because he endured impossible people, and because he suffered critics. Above all, though, John was great because he was filled with the Holy Spirit; like a kite filled with the power of the wind, he flew high and strong. That’s such a better life than a kite that never gets out of the box.

Jesus says that “among those born of women none is greater than John.” John was great because he sought answers for his questions about Jesus, because he trusted in Jesus, and because he was fearless in his service to Jesus. John lived a great, big, bold, humble life by the power of the Holy Spirit, and only by that power can we do the same.

Jesus heals a centurion’s servant, a man who is near death. The religious people still do not understand that it is all about grace, not works or merit. Being a moral, upstanding citizen—like the centurion—will not earn you forgiveness or salvation. Even though the centurion was an honorable man, he still needed to place his faith in Jesus; he did just that and Jesus was amazed at his faith. Jesus is a greater warrior worthy of the worship of all soldiers; we want them to know, love, and serve Jesus, which is why we have a Military Ministry at Mars Hill.

Pastor Mark continues preaching on the Beatitudes, examining principles from Jesus’ teaching: 1) Forgiven people should forgive; 2) Getters should be givers; 3) Leaders should lead themselves; 4) Good trees should produce good fruit; and 5) Truth plus obedience equals a rock-solid foundation. We are all hypocrites who are blind to our own blindness. We need to be uprooted and replanted for new lives and legacies built on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ.

Jesus finds wrecked people. He pursues people who don’t ask for him and comforts people who don’t seek him. Jesus literally reaches into death and brings life, both for the dead son of the widow and for all Jesus’ people. Dead people do nothing to participate in their healing; it is solely a gift of grace. Jesus is an even greater risen son who conquered death for all the children of God.

Pastor Mark preaches on the Beatitudes at the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus spent much of his ministry. Jesus taught that he is the King of kings who is bringing a countercultural kingdom. The kingdom of God is not about getting wealth, power, comfort, or fame. It’s about being in relationship with God—loving God and loving others, especially your enemies.

Jesus calls the twelve disciples—and all of his people today—to transition from a come-and-see experience to a go-and-die life. We can learn eleven leadership lessons from Jesus’ selection of the twelve disciples, so that, by the Holy Spirit’s power, we will follow Jesus’ leadership example and have a church that is patterned after Jesus’ ministry.

The religious legalists swarm around Jesus to argue with him about the Sabbath. They come not to listen, but to criticize. Religious legalism is adding rules to the Bible, and it is the enemy of Jesus Christ. Legalism makes you bold, unbiblical, arrogant, unloving, and dangerous. The result of religion is a paint-by-numbers life. It’s artless and heartless. There are seven steps—to avoid—to become a legalist.

The people of Capernaum are amazed at Jesus’ authority in preaching, in healing, and in commanding unclean spirits, or demons. There are two erroneous reactions to the topic of demons: the first is to deny they exist, and the second is to obsess over them. Instead, if we know our enemy and understand his schemes, he cannot easily outwit us. Our life is like a house; for Christians, Satan never owns the house, Jesus does, but Satan can influence and oppress. We must recognize the ways in which we could leave doors and windows to our house open (such as through unrepentant, habitual sin). Through repentance and faith in Jesus because of his death, burial, and resurrection, our allegiance to Satan is canceled, and our freedom in Christ is granted. God’s enemy becomes our enemy and Jesus’ authority becomes our authority.

Jesus loves sinners and was a missionary who went into the culture among sinners. He publicly picked, pursued, and called Levi—a despised tax collector—to repent of his ways and follow him. A good missionary: 1) follows Jesus; 2) starts a community group (welcoming other people into your life and home, as Levi did); and 3) repents, repents, repents. At Mars Hill Church, we gather (come together as God’s people for preaching, teaching, and worship) and scatter (go out as God’s people for mission and community) because Jesus did both. The scribes and Pharisees complained when they saw Jesus as a missionary with sinners; they didn’t understand that everyone is a sick sinner who needs Jesus, the great physician, to heal them.

Jesus changes lives, and we see two examples in Luke 5:12–26. There, Jesus heals a man full of leprosy; not only that, but he reaches out and touches him, like he touches all who are unclean. Jesus also heals a paralytic and forgives him of his sin. The religious people question Jesus and accuse him of blasphemy. They just don’t get it: Jesus cleanses us from our filth, Jesus forgives our sin, and Jesus saves us from our religion.

Jesus gave his life for the glory of God and the good of others, and we should too. 1) Pour yourself out in ministry. Do something, anything, for Jesus. 2) Rest and recover in solitude. 3) Pursue your calling, not your potential. Those who don’t have a sense of calling exchange busyness for fruitfulness. Live your life intentionally by pursuing the things that God has gifted and called you to. 4) Train other leaders. Here, Jesus calls his first disciples, Peter, James, and John, and they leave everything to follow him. For them (as it should be for all Christians and churches), it was all about evangelism—people meeting Jesus.

Jesus preaches in his hometown of Nazareth, but the people reject him. They would rather kill Jesus than kill their religion. He teaches from 1 Kings 17 (Elijah and a pagan widow) and 2 Kings 5 (Elisha and Naaman the leper) to show that even religious people are as needy as the starving widow and that their sin is as horrific as leprosy. We see in this passage at least eight ways we could be compelled to reject Jesus: theology, control, greed, selfishness, familiarity, comfort, embarrassment, and religion.

Jesus was a world-class, Spirit-filled preacher of Scripture. At the beginning of his ministry, he traveled throughout the Galilean region, preaching in synagogues. When he preached in his hometown of Nazareth, he unrolled and read from the scroll of Isaiah; Jesus taught that he is the fulfillment of Scripture. He takes care of the poor, the captives, the blind, and the oppressed. Jesus is our riches, freedom, sight, and liberation.