The Gospel of Mark - The Urgent Gospel - Pt 1 - The Gospel begins!
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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GREET EVERYONE-
Good Morning Loved Ones
If I have not had a chance to meet you in person or on live stream; My name is Scott and I am a follower of Jesus and have the privilege of serving Him as the Lead Pastor among the people of Stonewater Fellowship.
INVITES
Baby Bottles
Kairos
Family Meeting
LETS GRAB OUR BIBLES IF YOU HAVE ONE AND
Open it to the Gospel of Mark - Chapter One as we Begin our new preaching series called “The Urgent Gospel” which is ONE part of our walking through the Gospel of Mark verse by verse together.
IF YOU DONT HAVE A BIBLE OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO NEEDS ONE…
PRAYER OVER SERIES
My prayer over this series is that the Holy Spirit of God will bring all of us - In ever increasing ways - into a deeper relationship with Jesus.
That we would know Him!
Not Just know about Him, but know Him, The person who is Jesus.
As a church one of our core values is Jesus.
Which makes sense - if your gonna label your self a Christian assembly of the called out ones.
AKA church -
One of the things or people you should probably value, and maybe value most - is Jesus -
After all He is Author, Originator, commissioner and head of the Church.
We articulate the core value of JESUS - this way
We value, desire, and strive to be a people who are passionate about knowing Jesus –
To support this Core Value we Site- Phil 3:7-10
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
The Apostle Paul writing to the Church in Philippi
Says All his gain, Everything that was to an earthly advantage to Him is NOW loss to him becasue it has taken away from something or someone else.
He says “compared to the surpassing worth of Knowing Christ”
HE has lost all things in this life and counts everything poo poo - SO that He may Gain Christ -
Vs 10 His heart cry - I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection and share in his sufferings.
We value, desire, and strive to be a people who are passionate about knowing Jesus – that Knowing the person of Jesus, as revealed in the Bible, and having a deep, intimate, growing, abiding relationship with Him is the most valuable possession a person can have.
And pursuing this kind of relationship with Him is the highest pursuit a person can be dedicated to.
So my prayer for all of us is that as we walk through the Gospel of mark together we would Know the person of Jesus Christ in a deeper and more abiding way so that all of our lives will produce fruit for His kingdom and HIs glory.
and as a result we would love, serve and worship Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit in the way and with the severity that He deserves to be loved, served and worshipped.
PRAYER OVER MESSAGE
My prayer over this mornings message is that we would come to begin to understand the Urgency of the Gospel.
That the Gospel first came to us with urgency and immediacy and a pleading preparation
An urgency, immediacy and pleading preparation that was ordained and established by God.
and as a result- our hearts, for some of us, would be renewed in the urgency of the Gospel
and for others of us, hear this morning or watching on live stream, I pray that we hear and see the urgency of God to get the Gospel to you -
and in this urgency, in this passion of God for you - Expressed in Jesus
you would surrender your life to HIM.
ENGAGEMENT –
Urgency -
I think in our culture has taken on a pretty bad wrap.
What is interesting is that there is a Christian Book called the “The Tyranny of the Urgent”
The Title of the Book indicates that urgent things are tyrants -
Urgent things control us.
Urgent things force us to do that which is right in front of us and they control our choices.
for that is what tyrants do.
Here is what this particular book promises.
the simplicity and depth of the book is a foundational resource for all who have felt overwhelmed by the responsibilities of each day, week, month and year.
Jesus' own model of work and ministry, a model that is unrushed and focused. From there the book lays out how we can all set and live by priorities in a way that frees us from the tyranny of the urgent.
The booklet offers ideas and illustrations for effective time management to help even the busiest people find time for what's really important.
But here is what is interesting -
Not only do we begin to think that ANYTHING urgent is controlling and tyrannical -
We think EVERYTHING URGENT is controlling and tyrannical and we push away from anything and everything that Controls us or attempts to force us to anything.
and we think that the more Passive and organic and naturally things in our life can occur the higher quality of life we have.
TENSION
The Problem that this creates, when we strive to remove URGENCY from our lives, is we attempt to remove urgency from Everything.
And when I mean everything - It is usually the things of this world -
The priorities of this life that we are mainly focused on that cause the urgency problem in the first place.
and a lot of times - what that turns out to mean in our lives is we do a couple of things.
One - Which is both healthy and maybe spiritually unhealthy -
We eliminate the urgent - WE stop substituting the less important replacing more important.
They Guy who wrote the book actually said - “Your greatest danger is letting the urgent things crowd out the important becasue of the insidious tendency of ignoring the important tasks that do not have to be done today or even tomorrow or even next week.”
So we begin to alter the behavior of ignoring the the important tasks - And that eliminates the URGENT over time.
The Second thing - Because we are so focused on the things in this world that are the cause of the urgent - We never realize that the best possible things in our life that we could ever prioritize are the things of God -
becasue, loved ones - the Gospel comes with Urgency.
BACKGROUND
The Gospel of Mark - is unique in several ways from the other 3 gospels.
The Gospel of Mark is the First Biography of Jesus written down in the chronological line of the 4 gospels.
It is estimated that it was written down somewhere between 58 and mid 60’s Ad
which is about 25 -37 years or
Before this first Gospel was written - Here is what is interesting -
When it was written - IF 58-60 as some speculate.
a couple of things had occured -
1- Paul and Peters missionary work had mostly been completed.
Peter was back in Jerusalem, and Paul was either on or about to start His 3rd church planting, disciple making, missionary journey.
2- A number of the other letters of the New Testament were already written and being passed around from church to church.
The Letter of James - Which was passed around was written and had been written for over a decade.
The Letter of Paul to the church's in the region pf Galatia was written and being passed around and was almost a decade old.
The two letters to the Church in Thessaloniki we written and being passed around there they were five to 7 years old.
Paul’s 2 letters to the Churches in Corinth -again 5-7 years old.
and Paul’s masterpiece the letter to the saints in ROME as three to 4 years old.
And both Jewish people had been converted to being Christian
and Gentile people which included
Romans and Greeks and People from Central Asia and Africa has also become Christians.
Some 25-27 years after Jesus resurrection and Pentecost is the time frame of the first Gospel
Well that bring us to the question: Who was Mark? -
Well that was His other name. His first name was John -
Here are some interesting things about John Mark -
in Mark chapter 14 beginning in verse 51 after Jesus was arrested in the Garden - the text says
51 And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
Tradition Holds that this is John Mark.
Some 50 days Later on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit fell and the Church was launched -
That happened in the upper room of a house that was owned by a woman named Mary -
This was John Marks mothers house.
11 years later, in Acts chapter 12, when Peter was arrested by Harrod and was set free from prison -
Peter Shows up at John Marks Moms house where they are having another prayer meeting.
John Mark becomes a traveling companion of Paul and of Peters recorded in the book of Acts.
Tradition Holds that John Mark - Basically wrote down what He heard from Peter when He was traveling with Him.
Marks Gospel is unique -
It is the Shortest of all of the Gospels-
Lightest on some details in some areas and heavier on details than others
Written to non-believing, non-Jewish, Pegan worshiping - others.
What is interesting is that Many will say that John Mark was not and Eyewitness to Jesus.
I think that might be an over statement.
He certainly was NOT a traveling companion of Jesus like the 12 disciples were and some of the women were.
But to say that John Mark, A young man living in Jerusalem at the time Jesus was doing His thing -
Whose mom has the pentecostal prayer meeting in her upper room when the Spirit filled Church was launched.
to think that John Mark never was an eye witness to anything Jesus did or said - I think is a stretch.
I think as a young boy He saw Jesus from time to time, was in the upper room when the spirit fell, and may have even been a part of the 120 that launched the church.
Or at least I think that is feasibly possible.
UNPACKING
It is interesting how it begins .
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
The Beginning - Interesting that this is the First Biography of Jesus written yet it begins with “the beginning”
Mark then goes on the display that the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God had its roots deep in the past.
Indicating that the beginning was a beginning in eternity past.
and He does this by quoting the Old Testament.
Another unique feature of Marks Gospel.
Mark uses the least amount of Old testament quotes than the other three Gospels -
Because non-Jewish people would have no reference to the Old Testament.
However - he anchors the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the past right up front -
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,
“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’ ”
Mark quotes a Prophecy of Jesus - His announcer - From the Prophet Isiah and Malachi.
and in verse 4 He reveals exactly who this prophecy was speaking of and begins to unfold for His audience
Who this “announcer prophecy” was all about and how “the Announcer” He was fulfilling the prophecy of the OT.
4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
John was Baptizing
Proclaiming a Baptism for the forgiveness of Sin -
John the baptizer as He is known - Is preparing the way for Jesus.
What is interesting is - Not only is John the baptizer Preparing - He is also foreshadowing.
You see loved ones - When we come to faith and surrender our lives to Jesus we are baptized, immersed, covered, and indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
This is when, at the moment of our salvation, this is when we receive full forgiveness of our sins -
That is the moment when our guilt for our sin is transferred onto Jesus and his blood washes it completely away.
John was preparing the people for Jesus coming and foreshadowing Jesus salvation.
and this was causing quite a stir.
5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
VERSE6
takes a side note. Verse 6 tells us what John looked like.
and needless to say - Wasn’t the most attractive and appealing look if ya know what I mean.
Listen to this -
6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
Not cover material for GQ magazine if ya know what I mean?
But isn’t it interesting that God uses the lowest to make great of who He is.
and Marks Gospel Records for us that John was preaching.
7 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.
John is preaching of Jesus - Mightier that He is -
THE Someone who John is comparing Himself to and saying “I am not worthy to untie His sandals”
Marks Gospel is Urgent - Marks Gospel is Immediate.
In fact as we walk through this Gospel together you will hear the word Immediate used 40 times in this Gospel.
What is also interesting is that Marks Gospel is the ONLY Gospel that declares that it is representing “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
In Marks Urgency - and in His immediacy -
As Mark is Writing down the things he has heard from Peter probably since He was a young boy
HE Begins with this Scene of John the Baptizer Preparing the hearts and minds of people for,
Who John would declare “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”
But the part of the narrative we are in right at this moment is before Jesus shows up.
And in this scene - there are Additional things that John the Baptizer is saying, and Other people he is confronting,
HE is doing this to live out His calling to Prepare the hearts and minds of the people around Him for the coming of the one who is so much greater than he is.
The Other Gospels record for us that as John is Baptizing people he is preaching -
“Repent, meaning (turn to and surrender to God) for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
People would ask him questions:
“What shall we do? in other words how do we repent - HOW do we surrender to God’s will?
How do we turn to God and what are we turning from?
John would reply: If you have two tunics share with someone who has none
IF you have food share with those who do not!
John was confronting the selfishness in all of us.
The Tax collectors and Roman Solders came to be baptized and have their sins forgiven.
They would cry out “what shall we do?” How do we repent - What do we need to turn away from and what do we need to surrender to God?
John replied to the Tax collectors: “DO not collect any more than you are authorized to” IN other words - Don’t cheat people and skim additional profits for yourself.
To the Solders John Replied: Do not extort money from people by threat or false accusation.
in other words Stop the extortion and blackmail.
In these exhortations John was addressing the Greed and lust of eyes and flesh that is in all of us.
John Continues to both the tax collector and the solder and says: Be content with your wages.
In other words: Be content with what God provides.
The Religious leaders come to confront John as He is baptizing -
When John Sees them - He confronts them -
He issues a warning to them - Calls them a “brood of vipers”
What that means is he was calling them the “offspring of snakes”
and this was a great insult - Because to them the snake was another term for satan -
He was calling these religious leaders “off spring or children of the devil”
He actually ask them a question of curiosity he was wondering if they wanted forgiveness for their sins?
Who warned you to flee from wrath of God to come? John Asks.
John then warns them
to do something
Something that Jesus himself will reiterate
John’s warning- bear fruit in keeping with repentance!
Then John does something that Jesus himself will do with these religious.
John will preempt their thinking that they have it all covered and don’t need to repent
Matthew 3:9 “And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.”
And then he tell them why, why they must not think their religiosity has them all covered
Matthew 3:10 “Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
The very same thing jesus will say later in his time of teaching! When Jesus talks of bearing fruit and if not being cut and thrown into the fire.
Then John concludes with the promise of salvation when Jesus comes
Mark 1:8 “I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.””
THE GOSPEL CONNECTION
What is interesting about this part of Marks gospel it this is the beginning of the gospel
This is the reflection of the gospel
This is the foreshadowing of the gospel
John will later proclaim “Behold” meaning “look there He is”
There is the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”
This is the Good News of Great joy -
Jesus came and took away our sin.
He took it away our sin by becoming sin even though he had no sin in him or about him.
And Because he lived a morally perfect life He became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God.
And in all of that the immense, limitless and unending love of God was on public display for all the world to see and know about.
And Mark has recorded for us - In a very urgent and immediate way there is a response that is required -
A response that is compelled by the Phenomenal love of God.
Repent - turn away from the natural tendencies we all have -
Turn to God Surrender all things to Him.
Repent and allow this response of repentance - This response of surrendering to God produce change in your life.
Change of bearing fruit in keeping with repentance -
Repentance - Surrendering to God is never a once and done thing
For those who claim Christ -
Surrendering to God is an ongoing, ever deepening, continual intentional response to the love of God that is one display on the cross as the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world.
Part of that fruit that we can see and hear in the life and writings of john Mark who wrote the Gospel with His name on it.
Is that to John Mark the Gospel and the Response to the Gospel was Urgent.
The Apostle Paul would call it “of FIRST importance”
ENCOURAGEMENT - As Jason and the Music Team Comes and Our Prayer Team Comes
Imagine with me the Impact our lives would have for the kingdom if we stopped looking at the Urgency of the Gospel as something that seemed part of the Tyranny that we were encouraged to reduce.
What if the the Gospel became THE urgent thing in our lives -
What would our schedules and our agendas and our priorities look like if the Gospel was as Immediate to John Mark?
How are we preparing the hearts and minds of those in our life for them to See Jesus?
What if, Just like John Mark, We avoided all of the pre-ancestorial lineage of Jesus like the other gospels write about -
and we Just lived a life that said in both word and in deed “Behold” Here is Jesus -
Who loves you so much that He can take away your SIN and make you right with your creator.
WHAT if That good news of great joy was so immediate and so urgent in our lives that we devoted ourselves to the quest and adventure of living out the words “He is greater and He will baptize you with His Holy Spirit”
and WHAT IF the thing that we prioritized by eliminating the tyranny of the urgent of wordly concerns was the Gospel of Jesus Christ that is so urgently needed in our world today?
Imagine the purpose meaning and Value our lives will have as prepare the way of the lord our of the love that God has for the world.
PRAYER TEAM
