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A Can of Jesus Crush

when I was a kid- we used to go to Hawaii and have pineapple crush- loved it- kids would gather around and we’d take sips. Crush was such a fitting name

• What if we desired Jesus like we desire the things of this world?
• Got caught up in “lest they should crush him” not trying to say something it doesn’t say- but I got caught up on that word “crush” and thought of it as a desire- a pressing towards
• What if we had a crush on Jesus?

You’ve all had a crush on someone before. Or someone has had a crush on you. It consuming when you have a crush on someone. You can’t think about anything else, and you don’t want anything else

Mark 3:7-12

• What if we had a crush on Jesus?

1. A crush has priorities

• 7 But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8 and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon,
• At this point in the story Jesus is gaining a bunch of followers, and the amount of people that are following him is increasing. Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, beyond the Jordan and those From Tyre and Sidon
• Tyre and Sidon is interesting- it in Modern day Lebanon, so it’s a bit away from where Jesus is.
• Tyre and Sidon were a large and ornate Roman necropolis. hippodrome, An east-west colonnaded street, a huge triple-bay triumphal arch and a water aqueduct  On the island of Tyre, , the agora (market place), an unusual arena, and a huge bathhouse.
• Thus, New Testament Tyre and Sidon were prosperous Roman port cities. Yet there was great spiritual hunger in the region.
• Apparently their prosperity wasn’t satisfying enough to their hearts so they traveled a great distance to be near Jesus- because they knew he had what they needed
• They were willing to change their location to get closer to Jesus- travel-move-
• Proverbs 21:21 He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness, and honor.
• What does it mean to you

• Don’t get caught up in your prosperity to the point that you forget Jesus
• Pastor jay a couple of weeks ago- comfort creates complacency- sales- 0 to a hero
• Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.
• We can turn around, in a short amount of time, lose sight of what our true needs are
• We go from praising God for his provision, to cursing him for not giving us more
• But those from Tyre and Sidon didn’t. They weren’t afraid to travel a long distance for Jesus
• Its no different when we’re crushing on someone- we’ll  go LONG distances to get a little bit of time with them
• Crystal and I dating- I was in the Army- Sometimes, I’d drive an hour through traffic just to spend an hour with her and have to turn around and come back
• Some of ya’ll married folk wont even come to the other end of the house if your spouse calls out
• Are you pursuing after God? Are you willing to do what it takes to connect with him?
• Matthew 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

1. A Crush moves when they hear

• I think back to when I was in middle school- if you had a crush on someone- your friends would tell you where they were and what they were doing and if you heard they were going to be somewhere- you’d go there- Rearranging your schedule to ‘accidentally’ be there -You wanted to hear the stuff- what are they wearing, what are they doing
• Again- those from Tyre and Sidon couldn’t help but come to see what all the fuss was about
• Interestingly enough- they didn’t sit and wait and say “if God wants to find me, he can”
• They went to where the fire was.
• V 8 when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him.
• To see what the commotion was about with Jesus- The stories of what Jesus was doing compelled them to want to go to where he where he was
• Psalm 66:5 Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
• God does things! He heals, he sets free, he changes lives, he restores marriages, he gives passion, he gives direction, he forgives sin!

• The works of God are evident to those who are looking for them-
• What does it mean to you
• When you hear what God is doing, are you drawn to want to hear it and be around it?
• Jesus said in John 1:39 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” And he’s still saying that today!
• Christ is compelling you- come and try me out- come and see who I am- and you will experience me!
• When you hear about what God is doing, are you drawn to want to come and see what it is, or are you indifferent to it?
• My Dog- When he was a puppy- you would call him and he would come running- regardless of what I was doing or what I had- now- he looks at me from down the street and takes his time
• You should be drawn to the things of God- not indifferent to them
• Crystal and I hate missing church- yes, its because of seeing people, but mostly its because if God is going to be there- we don’t want to miss it! I want to be where he is
• Psalm 119:20My soul breaks with longing For Your judgments at all times.
• Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides You
• Listen to what God is doing and what he has done in the life of other people and then go to where he is! You’ll find him there!
• And when you get there- DRINK IT UP- Take everything that God has for you there- You’re already here- why not raise your hands and see if it does anything- pay attention- take some notes- the craziest thing that may happen is that you might actually experience something from God

1. A crush is always a little too close-

• 9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.
• Jesus knows what is happening and what needs to happen- If he’s going to get out of this thing without getting hurt- he needs to be out on a boat
• Two fold reason here- 1. Sound travels well over water. Jesus would preach like this- out on the boat and then people up on the side of the hill could hear him 2. He was away from getting crushed by the masses
• Can you imagine for a minute how big that crowd would need to be for him to feel like he was going to be crushed? There must have been thousands around him wanting to be around him
• I think about Elvis, the Beatles, Michael Jackson, Justin Beiber. These guys were examples of what a crowd can do to someone they are trying to get close too.
• They will do whatever it takes to get close to them
• What does it mean to you?

• Are you doing whatever you can to get close to Jesus?
• Psalm 143:6 I spread out my hands to You; My soul longs for You like a thirsty land.
• I think often times we just take it as it comes and don’t like that we aren’t close to God but we’re unwilling to do anything about it
• Most people’s lives- Get up, get ready, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed
• Saturday chores or something fun. Sunday church. Sunday afternoon get ready for work week.
• If you have kids, insert lots of yelling, screaming, fighting, driving them around and pointless school activities and sports
• Then we sit back on Sunday- look around and think- why do I feel so far from God this week?
• Where are you at in the story? Crushing Jesus or sitting in the back?
• Last month- meeting Zach Lavine- I’m big- I’m pushing my way through- we’re going to meet that guy- I didn’t really care- but my son wanted to meet him- took pushing past
• Position yourself to grow in Jesus- Read your Bible. Spend time in prayer. Listen to Christian music. Hang out with people of faith. Serve people. Love people. Read good Christian authors.

• Does Jesus have to get a boat because of you?
• Faith-Daddy you’re squeezing me too hard

1. A Crush is touchy

• pressed about him to touch him
• There’s just something about the Rockstar Jesus- everyone wants to touch him and be around him- so many here that they want to get close and touch him

• And its not just that they want to touch him- they want to be healed by him
• LUKE 6:17-19 READ
• 19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.
• These people knew where the power was and they wanted to touch the one who had the power so that they could be healed!
• And Jesus knows when people are touching him- he knows when they are drawing from his power- Luke 8:4646 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.”
• He knows when the power goes out of him and why people are touching him
• What does it mean to you?
• Are you trying to get close and touch the one that can heal you? Or are you standing away?
• The God of this universe is available for you to touch the hem of his garment and be healed
• God doesn’t want you to be living in despair or going through life without his touch
• Reach out to him- touch him be close with him
• In the OT, touching things could make you unclean- but NOW- by touching CHRIST you can be made CLEAN- TOUCH HIM!
• I really don’t have any personal space. I like to be close. Maybe its wrong. Idk. That’s just the way I am. Crystal isn’t like that. She’s constantly telling me to move over. So I move closer

1. A Crush can’t help it- fell down before him and cried

• 11 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, “You are the Son of God.”
• The power of Christ was such that when people were filled with unclean spirits, the spirits themselves would fall down before him and recognize that he was the son of God
• Even demons testify to the Lord ship of Jesus- There was no denying that he was the Christ
• Philippians 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
• Every knee is going to bow to Jesus- everyone

• What does this have to do with a crush? Well- the closest I could come was thinking about how people faint when they meet famous people and pass out
• Vasovagal syncope (vay-zoh-VAY-gul SING-kuh-pee) occurs when you faint because your body overreacts to certain triggers, such as the sight of blood or extreme emotional distress. It may also be called neurocardiogenic syncope.The vasovagal syncope trigger causes your heart rate and blood pressure to drop suddenly. That leads to reduced blood flow to your brain, causing you to briefly lose consciousness.
• That’s what happens when fans meet famous people- A PERSON
• In this story- the DEMONS fall out before Jesus because they know his power-
• What does it mean to you?
• Here’s what I’m saying- Does being around Jesus have any affect on you whatsoever?

• Any tears? Any bumps? Any emotional response? I’m not saying you have to feel that every day, but at some level, sometime, I’d think you’d feel something….something.
• I get it- Don’t want to be weird- don’t want to feel out of place. ITS OKAY
• Many times people in the bible were greatly affected by the presence of God among them
• Psalm 16:11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
• Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.