First 100 Days
Notes
Transcript
So some of you may have heard this term or phrase called the first 100 days.
And if you are unformilure with this phrase it is used to describe the the beginning period of a new leader who recently stepped into their position.
It could be your new boss
It could be referring to the president
it could be referring to if we had a new pastor come to our church.
But the reason why this period gets its own term and why it is such a big deal, is because in the first 100 days the person who just stepped into leadership will typically lay out their agenda for the rest of the time they are in that position.
And this is good but it is also scary.
Because in someones first 100 days they have the ability to get people excited about the future
They have the ability to cause everyone to freak out
They have the ability to make a lot of people leave.
I mean say I just started as the pastor here and I said we are selling the church building and we are going to add on a massive addition to the parsonage.
You guys would probably be a little concerned, because your thinking this is his first 3 months, what is 1 year down the road going to look like.
I mean the first 100 days are really important and today in a way what we are going to be doing is looking at Jesus’s first 100 days, not as a baby, but as he begins His public ministry.
Because today we are in Mark 1:9-15 and in this passage Jesus actually lays out His agenda for His ministry, but also the agenda that He desires for our lives.
and as I mentioned this is the beginning of our new series called “Refocusing” where we are trying to look at areas of our life that aren’t focused on Christ or where maybe areas that could be sharpened
and my hope for us is that as we look at the agenda Jesus lays out for His ministry and our lives, we will be able to regain focus on a few areas of our life that may need to be adjusted.
So turn with me to Mark 1:9-15 starting in verses 9-11. It says this:
9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
So this is the very first thing that the gospel of Mark says that Jesus does:
Because people believe Jesus is about 30 years old at this point
and it says He comes from this small town called Nazareth and He comes to the Jordan River where this guy named John has been baptizing people, and John has actually been preparing the way for Jesus’s public ministry to begin.
And so Jesus comes out of Nazareth and the first thing we see Jesus do in His according to this gospel is get baptized for John.
Which is kind of weird isn’t it? because we believe baptism symbolizes that you are dead your sin and alive in Christ right?
But this is what I want you to get, because there are a few reasons why Jesus is baptized, but probably the main reason is that He is showing exactly why He came.
Because when Jesus gets baptized it says the heavens were torn open, God’s Spirt descends on Him and then a voice comes from heaven saying “You are my son who I am well pleased”
And so whats happening here is God is saying I have sent my son to break into the human experience where the heavens have been torn open.
and Jesus gets Baptized to show look this is what I have have come to do for you.
Because Jesus does not just get baptized but as the later on Jesus does die, but He does not stay in the grave because He is risen.
defreating death and sin.
And Jesus says I did this for you, and because of this I want your life to look like one where you die to sin and come alive in Christ because Jesus paid the ultimate price.
And because of that we are changed
I mean think with me for a minute because have you ever had someone pay for your meal or food?
It feels great doesn’t it?
Because someone took the cost of something you should of had to pay.
But not just that but it impacts people. I read a story in Niles where at Dairy queen they had 100s of people pay for each others meals because once one person did it everyone did.
It changed them where they wouldn’t normally pay for a strangers meal but they did.
But you know thats what God’s grace does it penetrates our heart and changes us to be more conformed to His image.
God wants us to die to our sins and come alive in Christ.
And really that is the building block that everything else is built on because look what happens next in verses 12-13 because it says:
Mark 1:12–13 (ESV)
The Temptation of Jesus
12 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. 13 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.
So the scene shifts a little because it goes from first Jesus being baptized to now where it says God leads Jesus out of the area and into the wilderness for 40 days.
And whenever you see 40 days in the Bible its usually a time frame that God uses to prepare someone.
and so on one hand you have God preparing Jesus, but then it also says that during this time Jesus was tempted by Satan.
and that word tempted by Satan is actually literally translated as “put to the test or to put on trial”
And whenever this phrase is used in Mark it either is for Satan tempting or God testing.
But whats so interesting is in this passage is we see both happening, God is putting Jesus to the test by leading Him to the wilderness but Satan is trying to draw Jesus away from His divinely appointed mission.
And can I just point out what is happening in this passage is happens to us.
Because God will lead you somewhere
But at the same time when God is leading you somewhere Satan is trying to lead you away.
Because when God is speaking and moving in your life and you are at the place God has called you, the enemy wants nothing more then to see you drift away.
When God is speaking and moving in your life
Satan wants to wants to drift you away from that.
When you are serving or and using your God given gifts to build God’s kingdom.
Satan wants you to get discouraged and give up
When your coming to church weekly and get discipled, Satan wants to see that broken.
Because whenever God is moving Satan will try to do anything to ruin it.
Its almost like if you watched the Superbowl a couple weeks back both teams want to win right?
Because the Cheifs wanted to win right?
But so did the Buckaneirs
And because they had Tom Brady the Cheifs got clobbered right?
But you know just like that God want’s you, but we need to realize so does Satan
And if we are not careful Satan will lead us away from God.
Don’t let Satan pull you away, but hold on tight to God.
Look at the next few verses in verses 14-15 because it says this:
Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
So John this guy who has been preparing the way for Jesus gets arrested and this passage says something really interesting that would be easy to skip over because Jesus actually says the time is fulfilled.
Meaning Jesus actually made a realization that John who went before Him had served His role in ministry, however John was now unable to serve how he was,
And you can picture Jesus thinking it is time to offcially launch His ministry.
It is time for Him to move from this place of preparation in the wilderness, to this place where He is actively preaching the Gosepel God has called Him too.
You know Jesus was perfect wasn’t He? and He did this in perfect timing. He knew that it was time for Him to go.
But so often in our lives we actually have this issue where we do not recognize God’s timing.
Because we will get stuck in the preparation stage, and this stage is important,
in fact sometimes it is challenging and can feel like the wilderness because God is convicting your heart and challenging things,
But then what happens is we stay there and soon its not a challenging place but its a place where you are constantly comfortable.
And what happens is God wants us to realize there is a time where we need to transition from being poured into to pouring into others.
From being served to serving.
Can I just be honest this morning? God desires every single one of us to serve wether that is leading, serving, evangelizing, but God has given you a role.
I heard a story awhile ago and it was a man sharing His experience at church.
And He said He remembered growing up and there were all of these saints of the church who would faithfully served God.
And every Sunday they would sit in the front of the sanctuary and worship Him.
And he said whenever they were there I knew things were okay.
They prayed
They served
They ministered
And years went by and one day he looked up and he realized that all the old saints of the church were gone and he was sitting in the front row.
The baton had been passed
You know this morning chances are if you have been here awhile or you have been a Christian for a long time, but have not been serving regularly I can almost guarantee God want’s to pass the baton to you.
And I don’t say this because well it makes my life easier (although that may be partly true)
But I am saying it because of what is said at the end of verse 15, because the kingdom of heaven has come near.
Basically Jesus has come.
Jesus the only hope to rescue people from their sins
Jesus the only hope to help broken families
Jesus the only one who can bring true joy
Jesus the only hope for this world
And we are invited to play a role in delivering this good news to our world.
That there may be brokeness, but we have a God who came down for you where there is hope.
I dont know about you but I want to be a part of that this morning.
Is God asking you to grab the baton this morning, and what would it look like if you grabbed it and ran.
Will you pray with me?