An Urgent Message For Today

Mark 6:6-13,30

Into: One look at the news today will tell of the turmoil our world is in and is evidence of the urgent need for the Gospel of Christ Jesus. Today there is more urgency for the Gospel than there was yesterday and if the Lord Tarries another day there will be more urgency for the Gospel tomorrow.

The great preacher F.B. Meyer once asked D.L. Moody, “What is the secret of your success?” Moody replied, “For many years I have never given an address without the consciousness that the Lord may come before I have finished.”

To D.L. Moody the gospel was urgent, to Jesus the Gospel is urgent so I stand here today as though the opportunity to preach may never come again. Can you see the urgency in this text? Travel light and go!

The context of Matthew’s account makes the urgency clear, as Jesus was teaching from village to village He saw the state of people were like sheep without a shepherd, distraught and helpless.” The people had wondered astray and there was no one too guide them. In Greek, “helpless” means to be torn apart and thrown down. They were like sheep facing a ravenous wolf, there end was going to be brutal. Yet, there was hope as Jesus proclaimed “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

Jesus’ intervention was sending out the disciples to pluck man, woman, and child from the fiery pit of hell that awaited them!

Today people are like sheep without a shepherd staring into the face of a ravenous wolf about to destroy them.

CPS: This text is prelude to the Great commission and as Jesus sent the disciples out He has sent us out, the message is urgent and our faithfulness is needed!

I. Like the disciples we MUST call men to repentance

The disciples message was the same message that Jesus preached, the time is fulfilled, the kingdom of God is at hand, REPENT and believe the Gospel.

ILL: Repentance means a change in thinking that leads to a change of direction, it literally means to do a double turn. This world must be warned that they are walking towards the edge of steep cliff and if they don't turn around they will plunge to their death in fiery pits of hell where there is eternal anguish and gnashing of teeth!

II. Like the disciples we MUST minister in the Power of God (Power and Provisions)

A. The disciples ministry

The disciples’ ministry was patterned after the messiahs, not only were His message their message, but His signs were there signs. These gave evidence that the Kingdom of God was at hand pointing people to the Messiah Jesus. We see in chapter 5 Jesus is sovereign over demons, death, and diseases.... The disciples were given the Power of Jesus (authority) as they went out and did the signs that only God could do. They were physical evidence of spiritual salvation! They were not to minister in their own power! Warren Wiersbe once defined ministry as Divine Resources meeting human needs through loving channels to the glory of God. They had the Power of God and the Provisions of God, (They were to trust in the Lord’s faithfulness).

B. Our ministry

Like the disciples we must minister in the Power of God. The Bible teaches you are! a minister! 2 Cor. 5:18 “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.” Jesus has not explicitly instructed us to cast out demons and cure diseases but to make disciples of all people bringing them into the fold of God and He has empowered us to do so.

The Holy Spirit of God

The Holy Word of God

The Love of God (Rom. 5:5)

ILL:The Bible tells us that love can conquer all things. I recall a story of a young boy on the streets of Chicago heading to D.L. Moody’s Sunday School program. In route He passed several Sunday School Programs and one morning he was invited to attend one that he was passing by, after he politely declining the invitation he was asked, “what do they have there that we don’t” he replied “they love a fella over there.”

C. God’s judgement

Like the disciples we will meet hostility and opposition, there will be those who reject Jesus. We must understand that when we encounter rejection that person is not rejecting us but our Savior. God had sent Prophet after Prophet calling Israel to repent but He was rejected, Jesus was on his 3rd teaching tour in Galilee and had been rejected by the religious rulers and those in His hometown, there was a great progression of rejection and the disciples were instructed to shake the dust off their when they were not received, this was a testimony of God’s judgment against them.

ILL: Shaking the dust off the feet is a symbol of defilement that those in Galilee would be familiar with, it was customary to shake the dust off your feet before crossing into Israel from Gentile territory so that the land will not be defiled. However, the soil of Israel is very rich and fertile and its not without work that the dust comes off. Those of us born in South Ga can understand… Red Clay, Hard to get off the soles of your feet, you have to take a stick and pick it out. GOD IS LONG-SUFFERING desiring for none to perish but there comes a time when one can exhaust even the patience of God.

This is not instruction rid yourself of anyone who does not repent and believe in the Gospel but an encouragement to not easily give up them, it was the apostle Paul through divine inspiration that told us; 2 Cor. 5:20 “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

III. Like the disciples we MUST give an account to Jesus (30)

Like the disciples we will stand before Christ to give an account of what we have done on earth then we will be examined under the light and the light exposes all things, nothing will be hidden from Christ so we will have no excuse as to why we did not urgently share the Gospel because we were simply called to be faithful!

ILL: Growing up I loved M.L.B., George Brett was my favorite player, number 5 and third baseman for the K.C. Royals. Elected to the H.O.F. in 1999 he is one of 4 players (Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Stan Musial) to accumulate 3,000 hits, 300 homers, and a career .300 batting average. He got on base 3 out of every 10 at bats, by most standards being successful 30% of the time is not very successful! But when you share the Gospel regardless of the outcome (There are 3, Yes, No, Not Now) you find yourself batting 1.000 because we haven't been called to be successful we have been called to be faithful.

Conclusion: The people of this world are need of a Shepherd and its our faithful responsibility to tell them of the Good Shepherd (Ps. 23)