Gospel Proclimation and Partnership

Mark 1:14-20 Gospel Proclamation and Partnership

Introduction

Good morning Redemption Church, and friends. It is good to be with the saints of the Lord this morning. We come together today as a church to worship and celebrate the risen Christ. If you are new to Redemption church my name is Noah Toney, and I am the pastor here. Today is special, we have many friends with us this morning, some new and some old, so today is going to be a little bit different from usual. Currently our church on Sunday morning is going though the Psalms. Our current sermon series is called “Summer in the Psalms,” it is our goal to return each summer and study 10 Psalms a year verse by verse. The Psalms are beautiful and refreshing for the soul. Today we were spoused to be in Psalm nine. However, as we have had a mission team this week, I have noticed a recurring theme from the week and from the whole summer. That theme is proclamation and partnership.

Over the last 10 weeks we have had 6 mission teams from all over the country that have come to Redemption church to serve us and our community. And it is fitting that we end our summer of missions teams with the saints from Cuyahoga Valley Church. On Friday morning, we went down town and I cast vision for a the outreach team and then we went and prayer walked though Beckley. As we were leaving down town, Mark form CVC said something to the effect, that he wished that everyone else could hear the vision behind Redemption church. This got me thinking about our own people, I know that our people know our vision statement, because we say it every Sunday after the benediction, but the more I thought about it, the more i realized that our church has doubled since the last time I preached though our vision statement. So my plan today, is to take us back to the beginning of Redemption Church.

At Redemption Church we exist to proclaim the gospel and make disciples for the glory of God. This is our vision statement and every word is deeply intentional and foundational for the life of our church. This statement is made up of three clauses, that are each pillars of our church. We exist to proclaim the gospel- The key word is gospel proclamation. What would it look like to proclaim the gospel in our houses, at our dinner tables, at our places of work, in our city squares, in our schools, to our friends and family. If we were to live out this radical gospel proclamation, it could be transformative for the city of Beckley and for the kingdom of God.

We exist to make disciples- a disciple is someone who has confessed repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. When someone becomes a disciple, they commit their lives to follow Jesus by walking in faith and obedience. Everyone who is a true Christian is a disciple of the master. We go where he calls, we do what he asks, we sacrifice when he requires it, we love as He loved and we pledge our total allegiance to Christ above all.

For the Glory of God-This last clause is the most important because we gather for no other reason than to give glory and honor to the God who is worthy of our affections. God alone is our savior, God alone is the perfecter of our faith. God alone is building his kingdom. And one day the glory of the Lord will fill the earth like the water fills the sea. So in whatever we do and in whatever we say, let it be for the Glory of God

If you have your bibles please turn with us to Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-20

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.”

Pastoral Prayer

Context of Mark 1:14-20

The reason I chose this passage is because I believe that it strikes right at the heart of Redemption Church's vision statement: we exist to proclaim the gospel and make disciples for the glory of God. This passage is so rich. Just these few verses are a declaration of God's plan and method for ministry for his people. A quick note about Mark's gospel, if you are a man or woman who is more concerned about doing things or action than you are concerned about words or explanations. Then you are in luck because marks gospel is for you. Mark contains the fewest words of Jesus, but it contains many many miracles and much of his deeds. There is a pastor joke that says that after you read Mark's gospel, you should be out of breath because Mark's favorite transition is immediately. This quick tempo is where we pick up. Jesus has been born, baptized, and tempted all in the first 13 verses.

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,”

Verse 14 starts out by telling us that Jesus’ public ministry began at the conclusion of Johns ministry. Our English Bible reads “Now after John was arrested,” but the more literal translation “ is handed over.” This is important because Mark is going to use that same verb again in the same way John the Baptist was handed over, so shall Jesus be handed over. It reminds me of Jesus’ words to his disciples in John 13 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him” In the same way that the world handed over the messenger, the voice crying in the wilderness, how much more will the world reject the author of the message.

Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God

This is an amazing passage this is so rich that books of exposition could be given to describe what this would have been like. Notice the location- Galilee. This is such a small detail but it gives me great hope for church planting. In every church planting strategy book ever, they always say, “Start in the city and work out,” or what about church planting real-estate “location, location, location.” I mean, every book I ever read about church planting in my undergrad or in seminary makes a giant fuss about finding a hub of people and planting churches. And I don’t want to discredit this because it is a model that we see adopted by the apostle Paul and by Peter and many other apostles. But where did Jesus first proclaim the gospel? Where did he choose to start his ministry? It says Galilee. And let me tell you, Galilee in the ancient world was either by reality or perception, just like many parts of West Virginia. Galilee was a small fishing town on the far northern side of Israel. In ancient Israel, Jerusalem is in the south, and the farther north you go away from the capital of Jerusalem the farther away you were standing and the more you would be perceived as less intelligent, hick, in our terms, redneck, or bumpkin. Galilee had the same reputation; in fact when Jesus was calling his first disciples, Nathanael asked Phillip, “what good can come out of Nazareth, if to tell you anything Galilee is farther north and more remote than Nazareth?

Why do I make such a big deal about this? Because even 2000 years later, the world and for many places the church still thinks this way. Last year, Matt Harvey went down to the church conference, and we were a highlighted church. At this event they had over 500 churches represented, mostly pastors. We were a highlighted church, meaning that they select a limited number of churches. They took a few hours and asked all 500 churches represented to go and sit at the table with a new church plant that was highlighted and learn about ways that they could help and support. We were next the a table from Boston, and one from Charlotte and one from New Orlans, one from Chicago. Out of the 500 churches represented only 2 churches from South Carolina came to hear about the work God was doing in WV. Every other booth, full of people.

Application: We need godly churches at every corner of this earth. We need churches planted in the city, we need churches planted in the suburbs, we need churches planted in the small towns, and we need churches planted in the most remote places on earth where people gather. Jesus loves these hills and hollers, Jesus loves those who live in the plains of Kansas, He loves those who live on the farthest Islands in the pacific. Let us pay any price to see the gospel go forward to the four corners of the earth. Let us learn ministry from the master of ministry, Jesus himself.

What was Jesus doing in Galilee?

Proclaiming the gospel of God-

The word “proclaiming” in greek is one of my favorite greek words. Kyrusso it means to preach. It is the public and authoritative proclamation of God's word and truth. Jesus went to Galilee to Preach. I want to draw a point the importance of proclaiming the gospel.

Mark tells us Jesus’ first mission of first importance to him was the public proclamation of this gospel of the God! Surly, Jesus accomplish a lot of miracles while he was in Galilee. Mark tells us so, but What was Jesus’s primary task at hand? What was the one thing that stood above the rest? Jesus was devoted to the proclamation of the gospel. Above miracles, above healings, above all of the other reasons he was in Galilee. If anyone is thinking, “ok, Preacher, some of us are meant to proclaim the gospel, and some of us are meant to live honorably so that those around us might see the gospel.” I will concede that God blesses everyone in different ways but have you ever heard the famous quote “preach the gospel use words if necessary.” This is a common phrase and the heart behind it is true, live your life in such a way that you are adorned with the gospel. But this is not the way of New Testament ministry, in fact you have to speak the gospel. You have to use words, either verbally or written down to communicate the good news of Jesus’s death, burial and resurrection. Does not Paul himself say, “

“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

We learn this from Paul, and we also see this from Jesus himself

Mark 1:32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him. 35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may proclaim there also, for that is why I came out.”

In a nutshell, Jesus has the sick and the weary literally searching the streets for him and waiting for him to come to heal them, and what does he say, “let us go on to the next towns that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out”

Why would the Lord of Glory, this great king, turn away from healing the sick and the lowly waiting for him? I don’t understand Jesus. Why would you leave the poor and the powerless in front of you? Because he did not come here to heal men so that they might just die again. Jesus did not just come to bring Lazarus to life from the grave so that he might die again. For that would be pointless and vain. But when Jesus went into his own home synagogue and he picked up the scroll, he read from Isaiah 61 saying, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;”

why would we starting a food pantry, without telling people about where they can find the bread of life, or what is the point of digging wells in Africa if we are not going to tell them about a well that produces everlasting life that bubbles up from the depths of our souls, why would we start hospitals in the jungle if we are not going to tell of the great healer who heals more than our body who restores our soul.

Jesus in his infinite glory and wisdom, has chosen the primacy of proclamation as the supreme method of gospel advancement. If we are to be in gospel work, we are to be gospel proclaimers.

This leads to the second point of my sermon, the message of proclamation.

What was the substance of Jesus’ preaching, we know he preached and we know that it is of first importance but what is the message that Jesus preached? Look at the text

“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.”

The first clause is probably my favorite greek phrase in the entire bible, “kerusso eungellion theo” Proclaiming the gospel of God. The word gospel means good news, Jesus was proclaiming the good news of God, which he tells us what it is in the next clause “the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; Repent and believe in the gospel”

“The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of god is at hand” This word fulfilled is a very cool word it is a word picture for a full cup or a glass that is so full that it is starting to run over the edge. Luke uses this word to describe Jesus’ birth, at the moment when a mother's water has broken and it is time to deliver. Jesus was proclaiming that the time had come, and all of redemption history was pregnant at this very moment. All of the hope and longings of the Jews and all people all the way back to Adam and Eve were being fulfilled in their presence. All of God promises in the OT to send a messiah; from Genesis 3:15 the promise for the seed of the woman to crush the head of satan, God’s promises to David that he will have a son who will sit on the throne and his kingdom shall reign forever and ever and ever. All of the hopes of the poor and powerless longing for justice in the gates, all of these promises were filling up the cup and it was starting to run over. All the hope of those who have been enslaved by sin or by addiction. Jesus Christ announces that the day has come and that God's Kingdom is at hand. God's Kingdom has been revealed through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. To use another analogy a king, when he would return from a military campaign in a foreign country, would send a herald several days ahead of the army so that the town might be ready for his entry. John the Baptist was the herald who was announcing the kingdom to come, But when Jesus preaches he was preaching that the Kingdom is here. God's righteous rule has come to the earth in the person of Jesus Christ. Those who are broken the time has come to be restored, those who are sitting in darkness, the great light has dawned. Those who are weak, the time has come to be strengthened.

God's kingdom is at hand now. What are the conditions to be apart of this better kingdom?

“Repent and believe in the gospel”

Jesus has announced that God's kingdom is here, so it would be easy to expect his first words to be “love thy neighbor” or “let us overthrow the Romans and reclaim Israel.” Nor were his first words “the Pharisees are right and the sadducees are wrong” in fact, his words are much harder “repent and believe in the gospel.” These are the conditions of the kingdom, repentance and faith.

We love the second one, belief, but we get really uncomfortable anytime we hear the first one. We hate the R-word. But notice which one Jesus starts with; he starts with Repentance. Repentance is turning away from sin and turning to Christ. It is a humble and contrite heart before the lord that recognizes and confesses our shortcomings and treasons against our great king. Faith (belief) is when we grab hold of God's promises and confess his great worthiness and the sufficient to save us.

These are the conditions of the kingdom and they are unmoving; repentance is an evidence of faith and faith wills repentance. They are both sides to the coin of regeneration. Anywhere you see one without the other is a counterfeit or fraud. The Bible is clear. This is the gospel that Jesus preached, He preached a gospel of repentance and faith. Period.

Christianity is an incredible paradox. Christianity is the most inclusive religion in the world, and the most exclusive religion in the world. Or I could say it differently, Jesus is the most inclusive savior in the world, but is also the most exclusive savior. The message of the gospel is for everyone, all are welcome. All who are broken, all who are wounded, hurt, suffering, all who have been delt a bad hand. The gospel goes out to all men and women alike, it goes out to scoundrels and calls them to become saints, it goes out to murderous adulters and calls them to be the bride of Christ, it goes out to the incarcerated calling them to freedom in Christ. The gospel goes forth to those enslaved by addiction, or enslaved by any other number of sins and shames. The gospel goes forth to the rich, it goes to the middleclass, it crosses all boundaries, the gospel goes to all skin colors, it goes to all languages. Jesus is mighty to save, anyone who will come to him in repentance and faith. He will save the convicted criminal hanging on a cross, Jesus is mighty to save the drunkard enslaved by the bottle, Jesus is mighty to save the broker who is enslaved by greed. Jesus is mighty to save all who come to him. Jesus is the most inclusive, if you turn to him he will not deny you. Do you want to know how I know? Because in my hour of need, Christ did not deny me. Our church is full of people who when they called upon the name of the Lord, he saved them.

But at the same time, Jesus is the most exclusive savior. He saves those who worship him though repentance and faith. The invitation to follow Jesus is free, faith is free. But if you want to follow Jesus it will cost you. Come as you are, in whatever shape you are in, but when you follow Jesus it will be costly. Just as Christ carried his own cross, if you come to follow Jesus you must bear your own, you must fight the good fight. you must walk with him every day, morning by morning you must meet him and do as he asks, when and where he calls we must follow. Faith in Jesus is free, but following Jesus will cost you everything.

Thus far we have look at the importance of proclaiming the gospel-which is the importance of the public and vocal proclamation of the Gospel, above other means of ministry.

We have looked at the Message of Proclamation- being the gospel of the kingdom, repentance and faith in the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now we are to look at the effect of Proclamation-

16 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.

When the gospel is proclaimed, disciples are made. The gospel will bear fruit, God has promised that his kingdom has come, the time is fulfilled now; let us make disciples. See the model that is laid before us, Jesus enters an area and proclaims the gospel, and disciples are made.

This happens many many times in the gospel of mark, it is a distinct pattern. That maybe just maybe, we should follow as a model of ministry.

In verses 14-15 Jesus proclaims the gospel in Galilee

In verses 16-7 The disciples Simon and Andrew follow him

In verses 18-19, James and John follow him.

Later in chapter one, Jesus goes to Capernaum and teaches in the synagogues and the news of him and this gospel is so great that Jesus has to leave early in the morning.

Gospel proclamation- Disciple-making.

We also know from chapter one that Jesus healed a leper in verse 40 but by verse 45 the leper is proclaiming the gospel so much that Jesus must flee this city also. Gospel proclamation and dispel making. Chapter 2:13 Jesus was teaching from the sea shore and by verse 14 He has called Levi to follow him and be a disciple, a tax collector! Boom Gospel proclamation/ Disciple-making. That is just Jesus in the first two chapters of Mark; imagine if I was to read all of the places where we see Gospel proclamation and disciple-making. Time does not permit it.

Final point: the product of proclamation:

We know from the other gospels that Jesus performed a miracle when he called these men to follow him, but I want us to read this passage with blinders on for a second. What is Mark trying to tell us about the calling of Jesus? Mark does not mention any miracle, he only mentions these few words of Jesus “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men”

First, It is incredible to me that Jesus even gathers disciples. That seems like such a great hindrance? No leader can get 12 men in a room and have them all be perfect agreement on anything. Jesus was capable of accomplishing his purposes without his disciples. Jesus didn't have to have 12 men to do anything, Just like he didn't consult anyone before he created everything that is from nothing. But what is incredible is that Jesus chose to do ministry with other people. Jesus preached the gospel, and called his disciples. In the same way, the disciples might not have always agreed on everything, but they all knew that Christ was in charge and that they were working for him. In the same way, Redemption Church is not the center of the universe, we do not want to build our Kingdom, we want to build the kingdom and this only happens when we work together. This is why we are so thankful for CVC, we are thankful for Brians safe-house, we are thankful for Northgate baptist church and all of the other churches who have come to serve along side us.

What is mark trying to communicate to us? At the very beginning of this sermon, I mentioned that Mark is a man of little words and a lot of action. Thought his whole gospel, He only records snippets of Jesus’ dialogue. Here are a few examples: this whole story about Jesus calling the disciples, Jesus only says “follow me and I will make you fishers of men” then latter in chapter one mark tells another story of a demon-possessed man who breaks out in protest to Jesus and the only words that Jesus uses is “be quiet and come out of him”. Mark tells another story in chapter 4 they are at sea and Jesus is asleep, the disciples are thrown into panic by the crashing waves and the winds, and when Jesus arrises, the only words he says are “hush and be still.”

What in the world is mark doing with all of these one-liners of Jesus? Mark is showing the absolute and sovereign power of the words of Christ. When men and women hear the gospel, it is a calling that pierces the soul, it causes a dramatic transformation! Repentance and faith look like obedience, it looks like the obedience of the disciples leaving their nets, and at the very words of christ, even the demons flee in willful obedience, at the words from Jesus’ lips the raging Sea and ocean bow in obedience to the king of Glory.

Lastly, Jesus intends his disciples to work together to make more disciples.

It is incredible to me that Jesus even gathers disciples. That seems like such a great hindrance? No leader can get 12 men in a room and have them all be perfect agreement on anything. Jesus was capable of accomplishing his purposes without his disciples. Jesus didn't have to have 12 men to do anything, Just like he didn't consult anyone before he created everything that is from nothing. But what is incredible is that Jesus chose to do ministry with other people. Jesus preached the gospel, and called his disciples. In the same way, the disciples might not have always agreed on everything, but they all knew that Christ was in charge and that they were working for him. In the same way, Redemption Church is not the center of the universe, we do not want to build our Kingdom, we want to build the kingdom and this only happens when we work together. This is why we are so thankful for CVC, we are thankful for Brians safe-house, we are thankful for Northgate baptist church and all of the other churches who have come to serve along side us.