"A Life that Demands Attention!" (Mark 1:21-28)

"A Life that Demands Attention!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #7)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

February 27, 2011

Jesus Christ's life demanded attention. Does yours?

For a message entitled "A Life that Demands Attention!", God's Word from Mark 1:21-28. Let's read this out loud together: "They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. ²² They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. ²³ Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, ²⁴ saying, "What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are--the Holy One of God!" ²⁵ And Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" ²⁶ Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. ²⁷ They were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him." ²⁸ Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee." [prayer]

Let's examine what made Jesus famous throughout the region of Galilee. First, A LIFE THAT DEMANDS ATTENTION TEACHES GOD'S WORD!

Let's examine the testimony of Mark 1:21-22, "They went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath He entered the synagogue and began to teach. They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

Who is the "They" in verse 21? The question is answered in the previous verses, Mark 1:16-20. "They" is Jesus and the four selected disciples. Are you ready for a pop quiz? Can you name the first four disciples? Take a moment and write down the answer. Let's list them in order Simon, Andrew, James, and John. We must know our Bibles (God's written Word!) with the same hunger we desire to know Jesus Christ (God's living Word) if we are to be His disciples!

Why is the "they" significant? "They" is significant because one of the central themes of the Gospel of Mark and a key to understanding God's Master Plan to reach all the people of the world is discipleship! This one word "they" reminds us of how Jesus Christ made disciples!

In your sermon notes you will see 4 letters with spaces after each: M.A.W.L. (It's an acronym.) If you pay attention to Jesus' life then you will see that He teaches you how to make disciples. As the one making disciples you do these four things:

1. Model - Jesus lived before all people the way they should live their lives. Jesus models what it means to be human and to follow God. We have to first follow Jesus Christ in our own lives! Are you following and modeling Jesus to all who watch you? Are you contagious?

2. Assist - Jesus did more than say, "Come and See". Jesus said, "Follow Me" (Mark 1:17). The key to Jesus' disciple-making is that He invited people to learn God's Word by walking with Him in everyday life. Discipleship is an everyday life-on-life activity--as you are going you teach how to handle everyday life as a disciple! Are you intentionally investing in the lives of new followers by inviting them into your life?

3. Watch - Jesus said, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men" (Mark 1:17). Jesus sent out His disciples on short-term mission trips to do the ministry so He could ensure learning. The final exams are in the field! That's how He grows us and we must do the same for those we teach by going into the mission field together to learn outside the classroom! Are you training disciples to do the ministry themselves or have you kept people dependent on you?

4. Leave - The baby eagle is eventually thrown from the nest to learn how to fly on their own. Jesus sent His disciples into the world to complete the mission of God! You learn as you go, and you go because you have learned! Who have you sent out to make disciples?

Are you a spiritual parent or grandparent? Who are you discipling in your life? List four people…[pause]

When Jesus Christ took the four disciples with Him to the synagogue, He did so intentionally! He was teaching them about the Kingdom of God in a way of teaching that was different from all they had ever grown up with.

Jesus took them with Him to the synagogue and His teaching astonished or amazed the faithful Jewish men of Capernaum. Why did it astonish these men? Mark says, "for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

Because Jesus Christ taught with the authority of God's anointing, the Holy Spirit empowering Him. This harkens back to the authority of Moses and the prophets. More directly in this situation though, Jesus taught through the authority of the Scriptures themselves. Jesus is contrasted with the teachers of the Law (the scribes). The scribes did more to codify the Scriptures into rules and regulations to live by, than to teach the Scriptures within their inherit authority. In other words, the scribes commonly used man's authority, quoting previous teachers of the Law to make their point.

Jesus taught with authority as with the finality of the voice of God! When you teach God's Word knowing it is inspired (God-breathed) then your life demands attention because God's Word is given to us with power and authority! From 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

Do not be like the scribes and fall back upon man's authority. Religious men seek to regulate lives and create conduct codes from the Bible so that people will conform to their interpretations, their church's rules, their denominational DNA. No!

Man's interpretation is not the rule of our life; God's Word is our authority! Let's not codify it, but let's know the Word so well that our lives are transformed! Are you teaching the Scriptures or what you have read or heard someone else teach? Who is your authority?

Let's move to our next teaching point from this famous trip to the synagogue. A LIFE THAT DEMANDS ATTENTION HAS AUTHORITY TO DEFEAT EVIL!

This may be a disturbing or confusing passage to you, but we are witnessing nothing less than a firsthand historical account of real spiritual warfare including dialogue between Jesus and an evil spirit. Let me explain a bit about this story as I read it to you again. Mark 1:23-27 records, "Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean [evil] spirit; and he cried out, saying, 'What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? [the evil spirit is either addressing himself in the plural or referencing evil in general] I know who You are--the Holy One of God!' [The evil spirit is rightfully scared because he recognizes Jesus as the Holy One of God, the Bearer of the Holy Spirit, and between the Holy Spirit and an unclean spirit there exists a deadly opposition that the demon knows is fatal for him. The demon in this story is trying to use an ancient battle tactic to gain the upper hand on his opponent by naming Him by His rightful name—let me be clear, this is not a confession (though the evil spirit clearly knows who Jesus is), but a defensive attempt to gain control of Jesus.] And Jesus rebuked him, saying, 'Be quiet, and come out of him!' [Jesus Christ immediately shows that true authority does not come in the dark arts of magic tricks, incantations, or spells. True authority is found in God! Jesus Christ could not nor would not allow the defensive utterance of the demon to go un-rebuked--Jesus dealt with the evil spirit; that is why He came!] Throwing him into convulsions, [we have no idea how long this man had been demon-possessed or what preexisting condition led to him being demon-possessed or what damage the demon had done to him in the time he possessed him!] the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. They [everyone, but Jesus!] were all amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, 'What is this? A new teaching with authority! [Jesus is teaching Mark 1:15] He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.'"

Let's cut to the chase: to be a Bible-believing Spirit-filled Christian you must confront the materialistic secular worldview of our modern western culture. We have a worldview that says, everything can be explained by the sciences. We want to be able to see or touch everything, or at least have a scientific explanation behind what we can't see so that we can believe it is true; we want proof, we are a skeptical people. This is a flawed, prideful, and in many cases atheistic worldview!

Many of us don't even realize that it influences how we view the world, even as Christians! So, let me ask this question, Why was there an "unclean spirit" in a man who attended synagogue? Does this happen today in church? What then shall we do about it?

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow (until Satan is vanquished by God as foretold in the Book of Revelation!) there was and is and will be unclean (evil) spirits in the world. Jesus' came to reconcile humanity back to God (which means Jesus came to bring humanity back into right relationship with God) and this sent Him head long into an encounter with this unclean spirit in the Capernaum synagogue (and more to come). Jesus dealt with the evil forces who had destroyed this man's ability to be reconciled to the Father because to not deal with this evil would have been to compromise the very purpose for which Jesus came into the world in the first place—Jesus came to have victory over evil and strip Satan of any authority he has over humanity; to set us free!

Just as Jesus dealt with this evil, so we too as Spirit-filled disciples must confront evil when it presents itself in our heart, our lives, our marriages and families, our communities and churches, our nation and world. To allow the evil to go un-rebuked is to compromise the very purpose Jesus called us to follow Him. Let's talk about authority. More spiritual warfare from Acts 19:13-16, "Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, 'In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.' Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?' Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding."

Why didn't the evil spirits obey the religious leaders, even when they invoked the name of Jesus Christ? The reason the seven sons of Sceva, the Jewish chief priest, could not cast out the evil spirit simply by saying "in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches..." is because they did not have the authority; they were not followers.

These non-believers were trying to use Jesus' name as a magic trick or incantation. They were hoping to have power and authority without a relationship. Impossible! Authority to defeat evil is not found in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, but in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Matthew 10:1 states, "Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." Fellow disciples, let me make it clear, the only authority we have is because of our relationship with the One who has all power and authority. This authority is bestowed upon us.

Where does your authority come from to defeat evil? Do you confront the evil in your life? At what cost?

As we move to the last verse of this section, we will see that your life is not intended to demand attention for you. A LIFE THAT DEMANDS ATTENTION INCREASES THE FAME OF JESUS CHRIST!

The last verse of this section is Mark 1:28, "Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee." Another translation states, "And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee."

Jesus Christ's fame grew because He was a man on a mission—He taught the Scriptures with authority and He commanded evil spirits. His teaching of the Kingdom of God was accompanied with signs and wonders of the Kingdom of God! Jesus Christ came to earth to fulfill the ancient promises of God—that He would be their God and they would be His people! We hear this promise in the ancient prophet Isaiah 66:18-19, "'For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory. I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations . . . to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory And they will declare My glory among the nations.'"

Jesus came with this mission! We see His mission being fulfilled in the synagogue in Capernaum and His fame spreads! How does His mission continue today? What are we called to do as disciples?

We (you and I) are to continue the mission of God today. We are the witnesses foretold in Isaiah 66. We are empowered and sent to the nations and distant coastlands to declare God's glory among the nations! We have a part in this epic story that God is continuing to tell through His Holy Spirit!

And your life counts! How you live your life and to what ambition you live it for has eternal consequences!

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to be like Jesus Christ—we are to teach as Jesus taught, we are to make disciples as Jesus made disciples, we are to cast out demons and defeat evil as Jesus did, and there is so much more on this epic journey through the Gospel of Mark for us to learn of who we should be and what we should do. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to bear witness to Jesus Christ so that His fame, and not our own, shall become even greater!

We are to live lives that demand attention and as people look at us (and they will be watching to see who we really are!) we will either bring discredit to or increase the fame of the name of Jesus Christ. This choice is in every detail of our everyday lives because we have been called to be witnesses!

In Acts 1:8 Jesus Christ said to His disciples, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Jesus empowers you with the Holy Spirit for the mission! Does your lifestyle and testimony increase the fame of Jesus Christ and bring glory to God?

"The Contagious Life!" (Mark 1:16-20)

"The Contagious Life!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #6)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

February 20, 2011

Drama-Part 1

My friend and ministry partner in California wears a tee shirt that says, "Attitudes are contagious—Is yours worth catching?" What does someone catch from being around you?

For a message entitled "The Contagious Life!", the Word of God from Mark 1:16-20, "As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him." [prayer]

The first activity of the King after He summons His subjects to the Kingdom of God is to personally select and call the first four men to follow Him; to become His disciples. Mark puts this right upfront on purpose! A central theme of the Gospel of Mark is discipleship!

What is discipleship? It's important for us to know and to agree what discipleship is. Please take the next 2-3 minutes to think, discuss, and then write down your definition. Please don't do this alone; turn to your neighbors and discuss as a small group. We learn best in small groups. [play background music]

A strategic component of God's master plan to restore His creation and redeem His people is made visible by how Jesus Christ lived His life and how He conducted His ministry. ­­­­­­­First, JESUS CHRIST CALLS ORDINARY PEOPLE TO FOLLOW HIM!

Mark 1:16 records, "As [Jesus] was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen."

Jesus came to defeat evil and He was putting together the winning team, but what a bunch of ragamuffins He called. He did not call the social, political, military, intellectual elite. God ordained for everyday ordinary people to be the key ingredients to His Master Plan!

To further make the point, we see how God calls even the greatest of Old Testament prophets from amongst the least of people in Israel. From Amos 7:14, "Amos answered Amaziah, 'I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees."

The only qualification to be called is to be available! Are you available to God when He calls you?

Second, JESUS CHRIST CALLS PEOPLE IN THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES! The story continues in Mark 1:19, "Going on a little farther, He saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets."

All four men were fishermen and in proximity to one another on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus went to them where they were (to their place of work!) and called them to follow Him; to enter the life of discipleship!

When you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you are filled with the Holy Spirit in order to be a minister of reconciliation. In that moment, you are given a new purpose—to be the ambassador of Christ. As disciples of Jesus Christ we are called to represent the person and work of Jesus Christ to the people we encounter! You are called to be the one who extends the invitation of discipleship to people where they are in their lives! This is a sacred trust to each of us!

God calls people directly through numerous means, but His primary means in history is to select unlikely people to speak for Him. Again with the Old Testament Prophet Amos we see this is how God works throughout history. From Amos 7:15, "But the LORD took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'" God called an ordinary man in the midst of his everyday work to go to the people where they were to hear God's message.

Are you available to be used by God to invite people where they are? Are you willing to go to them?

Welcome to the master plan of God! You have been called to be a child of God for a purpose. JESUS CHRIST CALLS PEOPLE TO BECOME DISCIPLES ON MISSION! Mark 1:17 records of Jesus' call to these fishermen, "And Jesus said to them, 'Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.'"

Jesus' call to discipleship is a call to a missional life—a call to live our lives like Jesus lived His life for the mission He came to us! This is evident in every aspect of Jesus' ministry and how He teaches and trains His disciples to carry on His royal work of the Kingdom of God. From Luke 10:1-3, "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'"

A quick review: God calls ordinary people where we are to be disciples on mission! That is how God calls and now let's learn what the call of discipleship requires of us as the men and women who are called by name to follow Jesus Christ.

First, FOLLOWING JESUS REQUIRES WILLINGNESS TO GIVE UP YOUR IDENTITY! Listen to how Simon and Andrew responded to Jesus' call of discipleship. From Mark 1:18 "Immediately they left their nets and followed Him." These two men left behind all they ever knew. In fact, Jesus actually changes the name of Simon to reflect his new life purpose.

From John 1:42, "He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas' (which is translated Peter)."

Disciples are handpicked! They do not choose Jesus; Jesus chooses them! This is the sovereign authority of the King of the Kingdom! Jesus takes these ordinary men and He redefines their lives for God's mission! He gives them new identities for they are no longer their own—they are now the chosen of God!

You too have been handpicked! Who or what defines who you are? Answering the call of discipleship requires of us to freely and willingly allow God to redefine who we are for His mission. Do you still believe your life is yours to do with it as you please? The Bible declares of you in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "You are not your own; you were bought at a price."

Second, FOLLOWING JESUS REQUIRES WILLINGNESS TO LEAVE BEHIND YOUR SECURITY!

Listen to how James and John responded to Jesus' call of discipleship. From Mark 1:20, "Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away to follow Him." James and John were not poor fishermen in hard economic times. These were business men who were a part of a lucrative trade industry. Fishing was big business and this family business was big enough to have hired servants. These two brothers would inherit the family business. They had a guaranteed secure future if they would only keep doing what they had always done.

Listen to the critique our world and culture would make of these men: "What were they thinking giving up all that? If they would only use some common sense and plan for the future; they have families and retirement to consider; they are taking this religious stuff too far if it's actually impacting their life!"

Whose voice do you listen to: God's or the world's? In my heart I hear the words of Jesus from Luke 9:25, "What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?" How cheaply we sell ourselves to the world and it's counterfeit promises and illusions of security! When you are chosen by God to be a part of His epic story, what else matters? Your security? Your retirement? Your comfort? Are you willing to trust God 100% with your life?

Listen to the testimony of discipleship from Philippians 3:7-8, "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ…" Is this your testimony?

Why would these disciples and why would anyone today be willing to make such significant sacrifices, to immediately leave everything behind to follow Jesus?

I believe the answer is clear when we fall in love with Jesus Christ: JESUS CHRIST IS CONTAGIOUS!

We can be assured that all four of these fishermen have heard of Jesus of Nazareth and most likely have heard him teach and felt the pull of the Holy Spirit on their lives. We don't know all the details or how long the Spirit of God had been preparing them for that exact moment. When these men heard and saw Jesus, they followed because Jesus Christ draws all people to Himself. Jesus testifies of this reality in the Gospel of John 12:32, "And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

Introduce Drama-Part 2

What does it means to live a contagious life? What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?

A CONTAGIOUS LIFE INTENTIONALLY FOLLOWS JESUS CHRIST... A contagious life is the life of discipleship! A disciple is contagious because they follow Jesus Christ who is the Contagious One! The life of discipleship is the life that makes the sacrifices to leave behind our illusions of identity and security to follow the Lord Jesus Christ and dedicating ourselves to the life-long pursuit of knowing Him and being like Him!

Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew 16:24 "Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'"

Jesus emphatically and unflinchingly told His disciple Peter and tells us, His disciples today, "You must follow me" (John 21:22b).

The proof of whether or not we are intentionally following Jesus Christ is in the fruit of our life! Let's finish the sentence and see if this sounds familiar to anyone: A CONTAGIOUS LIFE INTENTIONALLY FOLLOWS JESUS CHRIST BY MAKING DISCIPLES!

Yes, this is the faith community's mission at FBC! We are called by Jesus Christ to follow and fish! You encounter people every day, are you fishing for disciples? When people watch your life, what do you they catch? Is anyone catching Jesus from you?

Jesus makes it clear that those who follow Him and call Him Master will do two things: follow and fish! We see this in His example and we also hear it in His commands. Listen to the everyday every person call of discipleship. From Matthew 28:19-20, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Are you living a contagious life?

Who are you currently discipling? If you are discipling someone, are you equipping them to go and make disciples? If you are not currently discipling someone then start praying right now for God to show you one or two people for you to start discipling.

Are we living our mission to the world?

My Valentines Message from me to you

Dear Loved Ones,

God has given me a deep abiding Valentine message for you--repent and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! This is God's love; therefore, it's the greatest and most loving thing I can say and do for each person I meet this day and every day. Let's be people in mission until all worship! Share the indescribable gift of Jesus Christ with all you know and join me in praying this prayer to God: "God, please break my heart for the things that break your heart. Please Lord, give me a deeper passion for the Harvest. Lord, I surrender all rights to my life and ask that you use me to reach the lost wherever and whenever you say. I am yours. I give you all my love and devotion and ask that you empower me to share your love with all I meet. In Jesus' name. Amen"

Let the radical life begin...

Now, join me in praying hard for God to move deeply in people's hearts. Pray for God to bring His Spirit of conviction of sin so that people will be broken by God and start weeping over their sins, start confessing their sins to God and to one another, and repent from the ways of the kingdom of the world to the ways of the Kingdom of God! Pray for spiritual victories and for the Spirit of God to have great victories in our midst through healings, deliverances, miracles, signs and wonders! Pray for a break of strong holds in our church, our community, our nation, our world, and in each person's hearts (may we see person after person become broken for God's full usage!). May we change our minds (repent) about the ways of the world and be Romans 12:1-8 people. May we be Galatians 2:20 people. May we be 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 people. May we be men and women with hearts after God's heart and fulfill His purpose in our generations. May we be 1 Thessalonians 5:17 people!!!

God is moving deeply in my heart... thank you Jesus! Please pray with me and for me brothers and sisters. Let's hold one another accountable to the John 15 life. Let's abide in Christ together.

With the imperfect love of a sinner saved by grace, Happy Valentine's Day!

Jerry

"The Call to the Kingdom-Life!" (Mark 1:14-15)

"The Call to the Kingdom-Life!"

Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #5)

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

February 13, 2011

I love epic stories! In most epic movies there are kings and kingdoms; conquerors and empires; ancient wars and epic battles between good and evil; kings defending their kingdoms against oppressive evil. These epic stories capture our hearts because there is a deeper truth running through them that rings true in the deep places of our souls. We live in a war-torn world where two kings wage epic warfare for our loyalty and obedience to their kingdoms. This war was made visible to us in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ when the Son of God, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, came from heaven to earth to decisively declare and victoriously usher in the Kingdom of God. Jesus crushed Satan's death grip on humanity and decimated his oppressive reign on earth.

Today, 2000 years after the death blow to Satan's kingdom, we are hearing Jesus' eternal call to all who have given their misplaced loyalty to the enemy's losing camp. Together, let's listen to the invitation of God to leave behind all of our loyalties to Satan's worldly kingdom and give our 100% loyalty to the Kingdom of God. For a message entitled "The Call to the Kingdom-Life" let's hear God's Word from Mark 1:14-15, "Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'" [prayer]

Open your sermon notes and let's begin with the first teaching point: THE CALL TO THE KINGDOM-LIFE IS AN IMPERATIVE TO RESPOND TO THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL OF GOD!

A quick English lesson: an imperative is a command, not a suggestion. And a command is something we each must do, especially when that command is coming from a lawful authority; in this case, our rightful King! Listen again to Jesus' call from Mark 1:14-15a, "Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;'"

Jesus Christ came into Galilee after the prophet John the Baptist was taken into custody by Herod the tetrarch. Here is the emphasis of Jesus' entrance: men who are in power over the worldly kingdom, like Herod (& his many contemporaries today), may silence the voice of God's prophets and kill those who proclaim the Gospel, but they cannot stop the Word of God! The King and His Kingdom cannot and will never be stopped!

The conquering King, the promised Messiah, has come to deliver His people from captivity! God, in His sovereign authority, takes the initiative and acts on behalf of His people to fulfill the promises He made throughout His covenants with humanity recorded in the Old Testament (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses). The royal activity of God to redeem His people has commenced and we are now confronted by Jesus' proclamation and what will be the establishment of the New Covenant between God and His beloved creation!

Jesus preaches the Gospel of God and the content of the Gospel is a royal summons to all humanity into the sovereign authority of God, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel." This is the fulfillment of God's promise to rule His people. This is not a geographical kingdom, but the Kingdom of God which is beyond space and time. God's reign with His people is forever! From the very first covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12 to the covenant with Moses, God's promise has been to rule over His people for ever. Exodus 15:18 proclaims, "The LORD shall reign forever and ever."

Listen to the messianic prophecy of the coming King from Isaiah 40:10-11, "See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. . . He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."

Jesus Christ proclaims the Good News of the Kingdom of God that cannot be contained by any ethnicity, geographical or national border. The Gospel of God that Jesus proclaims is for all people regardless of their ancestry. We learn this in Matthew 8:11, "I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven." Jesus does not break the promise of God with Israel, but He proclaims this promise to be the one and same promise He made to Abram in Genesis 12:3c, "And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Ephesians 3:6 teaches us of this Gospel, "This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."

This Kingdom is for you and me! There is no person on earth who has sinned so bad or run so far or hidden so deeply that the love of God cannot find them and rescue them from the grips of Satan's lies. But we must respond to this royal summons! We must respond to the proclamation of the Gospel of God with urgency! Today is the day of salvation! What is holding you back from responding today?

This summons requires us to respond in our hearts and in our lives. Our second teaching point, THE CALL TO THE KINGDOM-LIFE IS AN IMPERATIVE TO HATE SIN!

For this second point we are focusing on one word from Mark 1:15, "repent and believe in the gospel." The original Koine Greek word Mark writes is metanoeō which literally means "to change your mind."

This is a critical word for us to understand if we are going to truly live Kingdom lives. What is Jesus telling us we must repent about? To be Kingdom-people we must change our minds about our allegiances and loyalties. Either we will continue to think the ways of this world are the right way or we will allow our minds to be changed for the ways of the Kingdom of God by having our minds renewed! (Memorize Romans 12:2!)

Do you know the difference between the ways of the world and the ways of God? Have you allowed the Holy Spirit to deal with every presupposition you bring into your relationship with God? (STOP here and pray!)

To put this directly: We must hate sin (the ways of the worldly kingdom) and love righteousness (the ways of the heavenly kingdom)! We must hate the one and love the other! The Bible teaches us in Psalm 97:10a "Let those who love the LORD hate evil…"

Jesus tells us that we cannot serve two masters! So let's be transparent (sincere, real, authentic) with one another about our repentance. We've been called to hate sin and love righteousness. Do we truly hate sin for its detestable nature? Sin is an affront to God; therefore, it should be to us too!

Show movie clip from Fireproof.

Do you hate your sin enough to take a baseball bat to it? What causes you to put your attention and loyalty on someone/something other than the Kingdom of God?

Most people are just sorry about the mess their sin causes, but they don't really hate the sin. They just hate the consequences of their sin! And let's be honest about our human nature: we would continue to sin if we had a reasonable assurance we could get away with it with no consequences. Do you hate the consequences of sin or the sin itself?

True repentance is a changing of our mind about sin. We must first pray and ask God to identify the sin in our lives (STOP and pray!) and once He shows us we must change our minds about it. We must hate it and take a baseball bat to it; remove it at all costs! Even if this sin is our most prized thing, our security in this life, or even something we see so many other people doing because it is our fellowship with sin (however harmless we may think it is) that keeps us from having the Kingdom-Life we are summoned to!

The Kingdom-Life requires you to live a repentant life and for this life must bear fruit—this fruit is the only visible witness of your changed loyalty from the kingdom of this world to the Kingdom of God! Jesus is teaching about the repentant life when He tells this parable in Luke 13:6-8, "Then [Jesus] told this parable: 'A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.''" The summons to the Kingdom and the repentant life is urgent; it is time sensitive!

In Matthew 3:8, we hear from John the Baptist to the multitudes who came for baptism, "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."

This is an urgent imperative that must be made visible in each of our lives. Does your life visibly demonstrate your love for God?

The Kingdom-Life is not possible without the third action item. We must respond, repent, and believe. THE CALL TO THE KINGDOM-LIFE IS AN IMPERATIVE TO GIVE FULL ALLEGIANCE TO JESUS CHRIST!

Mark 1:15 ends with "repent and believe in the gospel." "Repent and believe" is not a new imperative, but a fresh reiteration of the prophets of old. This time though, it is declared by the Son of God, the King of Kings, who came once the time was fulfilled to declare with urgency that the Kingdom of God was now at hand!

The Greek for believe is pisteuō which means we must "put our trust in" the Gospel. The Gospel is centered not on a concept or religious system, but on the very person of Jesus Christ!

The heavenly King stepped out of heaven and into space and time to summons people to the Kingdom of God; to give their full allegiance to the Gospel! This is God's royal activity to redeem His lost children (all of whom have gone astray like a sheep without a shepherd!) and to fulfill His promise to restore that which was broken by sin—perfect relationship with God! The coming of Jesus Christ is the greatest point in history because this is the self-revelation of God unparalleled in any other point in history! God stepped into our space and time to be the way into the Kingdom of God. God made Himself one of us and proclaimed the Kingdom that He Himself was ushering in. He showed us the way! The call of the Kingdom-Life is to believe in the King and to give our full allegiance to Him! Jesus Christ is the means of salvation!

In John 10:9-10, Jesus declared of Himself as the entrance into the Kingdom, "I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

Jesus Christ confronted Satan and his rule over earth! Jesus took on sin, disease, and even death and defeated them all! Jesus subdued the created realm and brought to submission all that is over and under as the sign of God's coming Kingdom. There is no time to delay to put your full trust in Jesus and enter the Kingdom of God.

Do you want proof of the Kingdom of God? Do you want to see it? Then put your faith in the One who can give you eyes to see. Jesus told Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, that the way to see the Kingdom of God is by being born again through the Holy Spirit. From John 3:3, "Jesus replied, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.'"

Have you been born again through the Holy Spirit of God? This is only possible by putting your full faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as your Lord and Savior!

Memorize this Promise of Salvation from 1 John 5:11-13: "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."

Jesus Christ is the final word of invitation to humanity in our last hour. And the Holy Spirit is granting you the privilege of hearing the invitation today. You must make a decision and then live eternally with the consequences: either you will submit your full allegiance to God's sovereign reign over your life and enter the Kingdom of God (eternal fellowship with the very presence of God, the return to Eden called Heaven) or you will choose the world and its riches and honor (and that's the only thing you will get; a brief life of your choosing and then the eternal separation from God; a place Jesus described as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth, called Hell).

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the means of salvation to all humanity! Do you have intimacy with and full allegiance to the King of the Kingdom?

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For further study on the King, study the great "I am" declarations made by Jesus Christ.

1. "I am the way…" from John 14:16.

2. "I am the bread of life." from John 6:48.

3. I am "living water" from John 4:10-14.

4. "I am the vine…" from John 15:5.

5. "I am the alpha and the omega…" from Revelation 1:8.

For further study on the Kingdom of God study the parables of the Kingdom taught by Jesus Christ.

1. Matthew 13:44-45 (teaching on the Kingdom's worth)

2. Luke 14:15-24 (teaching on urgency of our response)

3. Luke 14:25-33 (teaching on the cost we must pay)

4. Luke 15:1-32 (teachings on the value of each person)

Is your allegiance to the King and Kingdom visible in your daily life actions? Do your word and deeds convey loyalty to the commands of the King? Study Matthew 10 & Luke 10 to see how God sends us as agents of the Kingdom.