Untitled Sermon (5)

Identification of the Messiah & the Good News

Welcome

I am so happy to see each and every one of you

How is every one doing today

So this morning

We are going to be

Hit on a sermon that I once preached

And it was this sermon that opened up a series

Where we walked through the book of Mark

By show of hands

How many of you

Have actually read the book of Mark

There is no shame whats so ever if you have not

That’s what we are here for

Am I right

No shame at all

But you know as we start to dive into this Gospel

I really want you all

To start to look very closely

At the details

Of each story in the Gospels

Because its in the details

Where we learn some of the greatest truths

Some of the greatest lessons

That God has for us

You know and I am a firm believer

That the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit

Making each word of incredible importance

Each detail

Every command

Every behavior

Everything mentioned in the Bible

Was put there for a reason

But today oddly enough

We are literally gonna start with a single verse

Just one verse is all

So if you would please

Open up your Bibles

ipads

iphones

tablets

Turn with me to the Gospel of Mark 1:1

Mark 1:1 NKJV

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Prayer

So kind of like the book of 1 John

Mark opens up this book in a powerful way

The Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Literally translated this means

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

This almost forces the reader to think, what Good News?

Each Gospel writer opens up differently

Matthew opens up with a very jewish flavor

Stating genealogies

Luke opens up like more of a doctoral thesis

John begins by ensuring we completely understand the divinity of Christ

Almost going into a

Metaphysical or

Ontological type argument

But Mark was written

and purposed for the everyday person

My dad used to call it the shot gun blast type Gospel

Where there isn’t much detail

But it packs a punch

I must admit I like Mark’s the best

The Good News Of Jesus Christ

Salvation has come at last

You know and

As i was studying for this sermon

I read a few different commentators

And they all agree

This was the proclamation of victory

This was Mark’s way of screaming

We win!

The Messiah has come

End-time salvation had come

Our path to God

Our Salvation is at hand

Jesus is that Good News

You know and it is the Gospel of Christ that teaches

The Bible teaches

that there is good news for those of us that believe

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But at the same time

I would be a false teacher

If I didn’t go into every detail

Because if there is good there must be bad

Just as with hot there is cold

Or with light there is dark

So is there  good there has to bad

What am I referring to

Let me pause real quick

If you’ve never heard of the creation museum in Kentucky

Highly recommend this place to you

First off the Museum itself is phenomenal

But then just down the road

You have the actual

Life size version of Noah Ark

Takes your breath away

I remember one exhibit that went and

Focused on the destructionof this world

I remember walking into a hall

One sign said “Sin changed everything”

Another gave the results of the ‘curse’

Now remember God cursed all of creation because of the sin of Adam and eve

But this exhibit

It was actually quite creepy

They had scratched into a door

like a horror movie

said “The Worlds not safe anymore”

it goes into picture of the Holocaust

wars

drugs

death

But the point being

It wasn’t supposed to be like this

I specifically remember a sign that mentioned

            A sign that said these exact words

IT WASN”T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS

We live in a world where destruction is the norm

were violence is praised

were sin is glorified

were promotion of self is worshiped

were God is mocked

were Jesus is a joke

were lust is envied

and violation of God’s will perfected.

***SHORT PAUSE***

We live in a world where in the past and present

Anything pure is considered offensive

Where God’s will is a joke

Can you imagine what the initial readers of Mark would have thought

The Good News?

What Good News?

After all the Jews were a conquered people

dominated by Rome

Persecuted beyond belief

Killed for sport

What Good News?

WHAT GOOD NEWS!?

You know Paul understood this

Paul acknowledge this in his own writings?

Look with me at Romans 8

You see the Jews waited desperately for their Messiah

They waited for God to come and redeem them

To deliver them from their suffering

Look what Paul says about our current state

and the hope of the future

Romans 8:20-22

Romans 8:20–22 NLT

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. …

….The Good News of Jesus Christ….

The good news that our coming king

that our Messiah

that our savior

our highpriest

our God

had come to save us

that our salvation was at hand

Like I stated this world

never meant to be filled with such evil

So then what happens?

God flips the script

Flip the Script; Upside down kingdom

So then if the Gospel is the good news

What does that look like

***Transition to biblical story***

I believe the bible tells a story

A true story

As a matter of fact I believe every word in this book

I may not understand it all

But I know it is God’s revelation for mankind

Because of this I believe

The Bible tells story

A continuous story

Of how God is working through history

A story of Redemption

A story of Love

A story Salvation

Because I believe this

 I truly believe we can picture

we have a description

of what this world was meant to be

As we look into the beginning of the Bible

            We see an amazing contrast to what we see today

We see utter perfection

We see the world in harmony

As matter of fact

When you really look into it

death did not enter the world

Until the fall

until the original sin committed by Adam

As a matter of fact let me read just a few verses

Of what the world used to look like

And trust me when you really understand this

            When you really allow this to sink in

            The promises of the Bible hit different

Really ask yourself

What motivated the apostles even to the point of death?

What has motivated the believers throughout the centuries to allow themselves to be martyred?

What has been the one consistent teaching?

The king is here

And His Kingdom

            And His rules are coming with

Turn with me real quick to Isaiah 11

            Just want this to really hit home

Isaiah 11:1–9 NLT

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. He will delight in obeying the Lord. He will not judge by appearance nor make a decision based on hearsay. He will give justice to the poor and make fair decisions for the exploited. The earth will shake at the force of his word, and one breath from his mouth will destroy the wicked. He will wear righteousness like a belt and truth like an undergarment. In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all. The cow will graze near the bear. The cub and the calf will lie down together. The lion will eat hay like a cow. The baby will play safely near the hole of a cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without harm. Nothing will hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain, for as the waters fill the sea, so the earth will be filled with people who know the Lord.

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I believe  this is what we have to look forward to

I believe this is what Jesus promised us

And I know I talk about this often

But its because I believe this with all my heart

This is our guarantee our promise

Paul mentioned this over and over

The pursuit of the prize

He was a slave to the Gospel

Surrendered it all just to catch a glimpse of God’s glory

He had to have it

He became obsessed with it

He was willing to suffer and die for it

Are you willing?

Do you fully understand the Gospel

Do you know what the promises of God really are?

Are His promises for you to prosper and benefit in every way in this life?

Or is His guarantee

His stamp of approval

Set on your eternal home?

Revelation 21:3-4

Revelation 21:3–4 NLT

I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

and move on down a few verses

Revelation 22:3 NKJV

And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him.

You know I remember a long time ago

I was sitting in a sermon

listening to my dad

For those of you that don’t know

My dad has been a pastor for 40 years

He runs a church called Open Door Fellowship

street church

work with people of all types of issues

I remember the last time I was there I was reminded

Reminded by the smell of people that hadn’t showered

Reminded by the smell of alcohol

Reminded by the look on peoples face

Reminded by the hardships that you could tell had over taken their lives

            I remember thinking

That THIS IS WHERE JESUS WOULD BE

If Jesus were on this earth right now he would be sitting in that church

with those that are often pushed aside

That aren’t appreciated

That are shunned from every day life

That is where Jesus would be

But as I hear Mark open up this book with the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ

I see a promise

I see a hope

I see a change

I see a world that was once filled with sin

Now filled with people who know God

People who want to be with God

People who desire to serve God

People who live by and breathe by His Word

It’s a promise of A world where perfection is the norm

            Where peace is the norm

A world where God is with us

As we close today

I want to ask you all a favor

I want to ask you all not only to walk out of here

focused on joy that this first verse brings

But I also want you to focus on the reaction to the Gospel

that so many have shown throughout history

I want you to focus on the devotion

That so many of the faith showed, even to the point of death.

This is the Good News that Jesus the Messiah had come

I want you to focus on the point of Mark’s opening line

            And the point of His Gospel.

Do we not realize that Mark wrote this magnificent book

            With a purpose in sharing Jesus to the world?

And Jesus, our Savior, our King, our High priest,

            Commanded us to Go and tell the world about Him

            To tell the world about the Good News

Jesus literally said GO

Go to the world

Preach the Good News

Tell them about me

Tell everyone

It’s a point that we as believers simply cannot ignore

Because the simple realty is that there is still a great many people

            That do not know Jesus

            There are still millions that have never heard the Good news

******

Mark 16:15NKJV

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature….

The command is clear!

Go into the world and preach the Good News

Jesus has come

The Kingdom is here

The promised Messiah

The Good News!

If you’re at home I hope you said Amen!

that is the announcement mark is making

This is He

This is who we have been waiting for!

Look I get it,

Its difficult in this day and age

If I could encourage you today to do one thing,

Get in the Word of God

Get in the Bible

Read the Word for yourself

And tell the world about Him…

            Tell the world the Good news

Lets pray…