The King's Command

George Bailey - Struggling through life, but has a GOOD life - His Rival (Mr. Potter) invites to his fancy office - Potter spins a story about George’s life and how is just scrapping by - Potter offers George a job & NICE salary - Potter begins to ‘sell’ George on materialistic security - George thinks about it for a minute - THEN he wakes up & realizes what’s happening —> George fights off the TEMPTATION of Wealth & “easy” life…

We don’t always do such a good job of fighting off temptation do we?

Good News - Jesus did & perfectly - “who in every respect has been tempted as we are” (Call To Worship)

BODY:

Read

Mark 1:12–20 ESV

The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

PRAY

3 Points -> Jesus Fulfills, Jesus Commands, Jesus Compels

1) JESUS FULFILLS (Our True & Better (12-13))

Mark 1:12–13 “The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.”

Jesus doesn’t bask in the glory of the Trinity @ his Baptism - He goes to work.

Drove = The Spirit compels him to go (expel)

It is not God, or the Spirit that tempts Jesus, but show’s his submission to Father’s Will.

Typology - 101

OT Figures/Fathers -

Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, etc. —> Just a shadow of Jesus to come —> The NT writers understood this - Mark understands this - Not covered in OT references - BUT Jesus is the fulfillment…

Galatians 4:4–5 “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

Specific Examples Here

40 days = 40 years in Wilderness (Israelites wandering after Egypt)

Wilderness = weakness -> Jesus will flip this - desolate place (Luke 5:16 “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.”

Will teach His Disciples to do the same —> Mark 6:31 “And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.”

Wilderness becomes where Jesus & then the Disciples, commune with God.

Many OT prophets received message in the wilderness

Elijah - 1 Kings 19:8 “And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.”

Moses - Receives Law from God -> 40 days & 40 nights - Exodus 24:18 “Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

Jesus in the Wilderness fulfills…

40 Years of wandering (& temptation)

40 days before Moses receives the Law (the Covenant)

Jesus is made weak - but ultimately finds His strength - through the Father in the place of WEAKNESS.

2) JESUS COMMANDS (Presence = Kingdom of God (14-15))

Mark 1:14–15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.””

What is the Kingdom?

Greek ‘Kingdom’ = an area or district ruled by a king ‘kingdom’

Webster’s Dictionary ‘Kingdom’

1: a politically organized community or major territorial unit having a monarchical form of government headed by a king or queen

2 often capitalized a: the eternal kingship of God b: the realm in which God's will is fulfilled

3 a: a realm or region in which something is dominant

The Kingdom of God then, is wherever God has dominion.

In John 12:31 Jesus refers to Satan as the ruler of this World.

But what has Jesus just done? —> Exercised His Dominion over Satan.

The Proclamation Continues -> The good news of Victory is here & it is Jesus Christ HIMSELF.

What were people expecting?

They were hoping for a King that would Deliver them from their oppression —>

Egypt - Canaan (Enemies they didn’t drive out) - Babylonians & Assyrians - Romans

When will it stop? —> Surely when the King comes…

Presence = Kingdom

"The Appearance of God's Son as His Agent Signaled the Presence of the Kingdom"

Christ’s presence is the Kingdom - The Kingdom & the Announcement of it walked the Earth for 3 years — Then he told the disciples it’s better for me to depart so that the HELPER will come — PRESENCE = KINGDOM

3) JESUS COMPELS (Disciples Follow Him - Immediately(16-20))

Mark 1:16–20“Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”

Example of Disciples Call

Called -> immediately follow

There is no hesitation compare this to an exchange Jesus has later, Matthew 19:16-22

Matthew 19:16–22 (ESV) — SUMMARIZE

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

It would have been easy for Simon & Andrew or James & John to come up with excuses —> But we see they respond IMMEDIATELY

Left Occupation -> Fisherman (significance) - “fishers of men” phrase…

Jesus is going to change their occupation — IDENTITY

Two Examples in the text - Hebrew implications

Disciples give us a “type” to follow.

APPLICATION: The Call…

A New Law - A New Covenant - A New Message

The Message Translation: “Time’s up! God’s kingdom is here. Change your life and believe the Message.” [v. 15]

Repent DOES NOT EQUAL Remorse for doing wrong

Repent = “to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change (thought, attitude, etc.)

Repentance without Faith can BECOME - Remorse can destroy people who carry a burden of guilt — Repentance is ACTIVE (Verb) | Remorse - state of emotion (noun).

Have you REPENTED? Do you practice REPENTANCE? (Not REMORSE)

2. Believe -> Place your faith in something —> Sitting in that Chair

The faith of Infant - Illustration

Does your faith in the Father look like that?

Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations (1499 Epigram on Faith)

A little faith will bring your soul to heaven; a great faith will bring heaven to your soul.

—Spurgeon

3. Follow (Natural outflow of REPENT & BELIEVE) - Active (Verb).

The Disciples moved away from their old lives & TOWARD Jesus - where they would cling for the next 3 years…

Jesus WILL equip “I will make you BECOME fishers of men.”

Some you of you won’t “follow Jesus, because you don’t feel equipped.”

CONCLUSION:

Lord Kenneth Clark (British television broadcaster, historian & museum curator) lived and died without faith in Jesus Christ. He admitted in his autobiography that while visiting a beautiful church he had what he believed to be an overwhelming religious experience. He wrote, “My whole being was irradiated by a kind of heavenly joy far more intense than anything I had known before."

But the "flood of grace" as he described it, created a problem. If he allowed himself to be influenced by it, he knew he would have to change, his family might think he had lost his mind, and maybe that intense joy would prove to be an illusion. So, he concluded, "I was too deeply embedded in the world to change course."

“When Martin Luther was asked how he overcame the devil, he replied, ‘Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, ‘Martin Luther used to live here, but he as moved out. Now I live here.’”