The Message of Jesus Pt. 1

Announcements:

YOUTH CAMP is TOMORROW! We’re meeting at 7 A.M. (getting on the road right away…) so please come ready to travel.

NEXT WEEK is our LAST WEEK LEADING the youth group…we’re bumping youth to 6 p.m. and we’ll have food... and we won’t kick you out exactly at 9.

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INTRO: I’ve been THINKING a lot ABOUT what to SHARE with you all as we’re NEARING the END of this TIME TOGETHER. I don’t want to share just anything.

So as I was THINKING and PRAYING about this, I thought there WOULDN’T be anything BETTER than the MESSAGE JESUS himself PREACHED when he was traveling during his ministry on earth.

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TEXT:

Mark 1:1–15 (ESV)

1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

MARK BEGINS right away by ESTABLISHING that JESUS was The SON of GOD, the Messiah and that what he was WRITING was the GOOD NEWS/GOSPEL about Jesus...

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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,’ ”

4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

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.

JOHN the BAPTIST came as the one who was PROMISED HUNDREDS of YEARS BEFORE.

His MISSION was to PREPARE the WAY for JESUS, he did this by CALLING people to REPENTANCE and BAPTIZING them.

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6 Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

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.

8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

JESUS SAID at one point that there is NO ONE GREATER than JOHN the Baptist out of EVERYONE who has been BORN. He was the GREATEST PROPHET.

UNWORTHY TO UNTIE JESUS’ SANDALS…SLAVE WORK!

HOW GREAT IS JESUS…GREATEST PROPHET ISN’T WORTHY TO UNTIE HIS SANDALS!

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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.”

Again, JESUS’ IDENTITY VERIFIED. He wasn’t just a good man or a prophet, he was the MESSIAH sent from HEAVEN. He was not created but was with God from all eternity

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.

When JESUS became a man, he had to UNDERGO TEMPTATIONS just as we all do. He was tempted for 40 days but NEVER SINNED..

More importantly, JESUS is known as the “2ND ADAM” in contrast to the 1ST ADAM who SINNED in the GARDEN and BROUGHT DEATH into the world, JESUS OVERCAME temptation in the wilderness.

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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.”

Big Idea: Jesus’ message was for people to turn from their previous ways and submit to the will and way of God.

Focus of message today: what did Jesus say?

He was proclaiming the Gospel of God.

1. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand

2. Repent

3. Believe.

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Discussing the kingdom:

Def: “This doctrine describes the rule of God over his creation as king, including how the rule is exerted and structured and what its ultimate purpose is.”

GOD = KING....where his WILL is DONE.

Jesus casting out demons = kingdom drawing near, conquering kingdom of darkness...

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It is an “ALREADY, BUT NOT YET” thing.

INAUGURATED, NOT CONSUMMATED --- UNTIL 2ND COMING

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Part of the LORD’S PRAYER is “YOUR KINGDOM COME, your will be done”

1ST IN OUR LIVES…THEN CREATION

CHRIST IS COMING, TURN TO HIM...

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One of the BIGGEST TRAGEDIES in the MODERN CHURCH is that so many PEOPLE THINK they can just ADD JESUS to their EXISTING LIFE…

ADD AS A SUPPLEMENT...

JESUS CAME - TURN WORLD UPSIDE DOWN…OUR LIVES TOO.

JESUS = NOT AN ADDITION…BUT A TRANSFORMATION.

MEMBER OF KINGDOM = SUBMISSION TO HIS WILL.

SEEK HIS RULE & REIGN IN LIFE. HE’S BOSS/KING/LORD.

Jesus’ message was so hard for people to hear, but for those who heard it and believed they were never the same. The same can be said for us today.