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READ: Mark 1:14
CHALLENGE: Walk Your Talk
Vv 14-15 – After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
The context is set as “after John was put in prison”. Let’s recall John’s ministry it was calling out specific sin and inviting people to change. According to the biblical record, John stepped on the Herod’s big toes when he told him that he should NOT have his brother’s wife. Herod made him pay.
Remember when people would come to John and ask, “What should we do to bear fruit in keeping with repentance”? Can you imagine if Herod asked that question? Hey John, “what should be my fruit of repentance”? Stop fooling around with Herodias. How about that?! If you’re serious about God, remove what’s holding you back – your adultery and lust. Apparently, it’s easier to imprison someone than to hear the truth! Herod came to hear the truth, but he didn’t want to truly face change. That’s hard!
After John’s arrest, Jesus heads to Galilee where perhaps he’d find more open hearts and you need an open heart to hear the truth. This is critical.
- JESUS PROCLAIMS
Define the term, “proclaim”. Jesus proclaims a message. He is speaking to people in towns and synagogues and he tells them about the good news of God. Typically the problems that people have is not due to a knowledge problem. They know the right thing but are not following through.
Today, we can find this good news echoing in the pages of our Bibles. We can read the Sermon on the Mount and the stories about Jesus Christ and continue to be benefited by this good news.
His good news is about God! What do you think of when you hear the word, “good”? I think of beneficial. Productive. Useful. Beautiful. Helpful. We use the word, “good”, all the time! We may say that we have a “good” job, or “good” kids, or a “good” spouse, or a “good” friend. They are not just a friend, they are a GOOD friend! In this case, they are important to you, and they’ve been a blessing to your life in some way. They have your back. Can’t be a “good” friend if they have not impacted you positively!
There is “good” news of God. This is a beautiful word. A helpful word. A beneficial word. You will be better off hearing the truth of God than you would be not hearing it. It’s good, beneficial, useful, and helpful. This is God!
It’s sad when people talk of God like He’s boring because nothing could be farther from the truth. Or when people blame God as if He’s a sinister being like some cosmic spider waiting to pounce on a hapless soul who wanders into his web. That’s not God!
Jesus has come from heaven. Jesus is God in the flesh and the self-revelation from the one who knew the most was this – I have good things to say to you! I have information that will improve your life. Good news from a good God. Think about the life of Jesus who did so many great things for other people. He healed people, taught people, directed people, forgave people, and saved people.
Jesus clearly reveals that God is good, but is He? How do we know that? The world is good despite problems. I absolutely marvel that a leafy plant can suddenly shoot up a stem and flowers just come out of it. NO WAY! That’s amazing and good. I can plant a seed and get tomatoes from one seed. We see this miracle all the time. It’s a nearly unexplainable good.
And this is life sometimes with the blessings of God. It’s unexplainable good that God brings into our lives. Jesus told us that God takes care of the birds and he’ll take care of you as well. That’s the good news. He knows every hair on your head – that’s good news. He hears your prayers and that’s good news as well.
The good news makes a powerful impact. Just listening to it. Salvation is also good. I’m glad that my sins are forgiven. I’m glad for the challenge to do better. I’m glad for the hope of eternal life. It’s all good.
And Jesus was talking to all kinds of people with all kinds of problems and the good news could help them as well!
(trans.) Jesus specifically said …
- The time has come
The time has come! The time is now. Why put off our relationship with God for one more day? As the Bible says, today is the day for salvation. It’s time! I love the one verse that says today if you hear his voice, don’t harden your heart. When you hear and realize and see something that God wants you to change, now is the time.
We live in time and it’s important. We could ask this question – what can I do today? What can I do to take a concrete step to do good right now? Sometimes I fear that we put off making changes to our own hurt. We allow the heat of resentment to build in those close to us because we delay important changes. Why put it off? Why isn’t today the day?
The disciples will immediately follow Jesus Christ and that’s important! It’s one of those sayings that we need to repeat. The time is now. What change do you need to make today? Get rid of the drugs. Ditch the porn. Get rid of the temptress’s phone number, unfollow the flirt. Cut ties with the bad influence. Get rid of the gambling app. Pick up your Bible. Just do it and do it today.
The time is now!
- The Kingdom of God Has Come Near
There is this thing that is always there but right now, it’s come near. Near means that it’s close. It’s touching and breaking into this world. When God is on the throne of our hearts and minds, He is ruling there and that’s powerful!
The people were waiting for God’s rule in the world. But God’s rule over the world starts with the individual! I can talk all day long about God and revival. Or that we want God in schools so there should be prayer. How about start with prayer in your home? I want more of God in the government. How about you put God in business ethics and in your words.
If the kingdom of God was near, it meant that it was near them as individuals. Christianity can’t just be about a movement. It can’t just be about what a church does. What are YOU doing? How are you living out the kingdom? As Jesus said, take up your cross daily and follow me. It’s every day that we can improve life and trust God to take care of us.
- REPENT
I didn’t say it, Jesus said it. To repent is to do a 180. You turn from sin and to God. You turn from the bad things and do the right thing instead. It’s a two-step process that requires turning from and turning to.
What you don’t want to do is to go half way. Repentance isn’t just about what you’re not doing. It’s also about what you’re doing to replace a bad pattern in your life.
You don’t just stop lying, you commit to always telling the truth. You don’t stop being angry, you add in patience. You have to replace the negative things that you do with positive things. If you’re struggling with bad thoughts change them out with good thoughts. Every time that negative thought comes into your mind, pray, or read the Bible. Think about something else and don’t allow it to be your obsession.
Too often we clear out a bad habit but don’t replace it with anything else. That’s like tearing weeds out and not planting anything in that space. All that’s going to happen is that you’re going to get more weeds that crowd out the space for good things. Constant summertime battle. When I’m combatting weeds, I fill the space with plants that will compete with the crab grass and weeds to keep it out of there. The more solid plants are growing, the less room for weeds. It’s one of the main points of raised beds.
The same is true of spiritual reality. Repentance does not leave space for evil to regroup and take you somewhere else that’s also bad. You establish godly patterns. You’re putting good stuff in there.
I think of the story that Jesus told about the man cleansed of a demon. The demon went through dry and waterless places and found no rest. What did it do? It went back to the person and found his soul cleaned out and put in order. It invited seven other demons even more evil than the first one. There is nothing in the man’s soul to keep them out. Apparently, God was not in his heart, so this latter situation was worse than at first.
If you’re dropping some bad habits, and cleaning house, but not putting anything back there – it could get even worse. Obviously evil is looking for space. Don’t just empty space in your heart, put something else in there instead.
So, when I’m dropping a bad habit, I am filling space with good patterns. We’re told in Matthew 6:33 to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you as well. So that’s a great place to start! Fill your heart with righteousness. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.
- BELIEVE THE GOOD NEWS
This is so simply stated. Believe. What does it mean to believe something? Is assenting to facts good enough? If you really believe in something, aren’t you willing to put all of your eggs into that basket? You’re all in!
He elaborates about the good news – Believe the good news. Who wouldn’t want to believe good news? If you had cancer and a doctor said it was curable, would you not want to believe that? But to believe would also be to embrace the cure. You would go through whatever protocol was recommended. To believe in the cure is to engage with the cure.
If your car was acting up and they said it was a fuse rather than the engine, would you not want to believe it? That would be good news! And then you would replace the fuse.
Jesus will invite people to follow Him and that’s what true faith is. True faith is not just mouthing words. True faith is seen in motion. As James succinctly told us, faith without works is dead. There has to be actions that back up the statement of faith.
I can say that I love my spouse but what am I doing to show it? A guy might say, “I go to work every day”. Everyone does that so that’s not really THAT special. Important and something we take pride in? Yep! But I would work whether I was married or not, so that’s not the only impetus for work. It’s not like a guy gets divorced and says, “Thank God, I don’t have to work anymore because there’s no one to show love to”.
What are we specifically doing that would communicate and give value to the words, “I love you?” There has to be something that would provide meaning to the words. What things can I do for my spouse that communicate that dedication. Go places? Pitch in? Hold hands? Talk? Be intimate? Get a project done? Love is more than a word or concept, it’s an action that is lived out in real life and real time.
Belief is lived out. I can say that I believe in saving money but then, if I don’t save money, do I really believe it? Especially when making decisions directly contrary to savings. Or do I believe it in any significant or meaningful way?
Me believing in exercise and me exercising are two different things. To believe it is easy but to adhere to it, that’s what really matters. It’s where the rubber meets the road and I need to make my beliefs real and live them out. Believing things that don’t impact my life, isn’t actually helping my life. Therefore, faith cannot be theoretical, it has to be practical, meaning, practiced.
To believe in Jesus means to follow Jesus in some meaningful way.
As we define this term, perhaps we can understand the soft Christianity that we encounter at times. Many believe the good news but their path is unaltered. They have a great theoretical understanding but not a practical true faith. They don’t give anything up. They don’t pick up a cross or drop the things that are holding them back. They produce bad fruit. They don’t love but they say they believe in Jesus who is all about love.
It’s more than words – Christianity has to go so much deeper than that. Let’s look and see what this looks like.
- FOLLOW JESUS
Vv16-20 – As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Jesus had a simple request – come follow me. This is what belief looks like. Not that you have to go into full time ministry but that your life is changing and you’re living like Jesus. You’re not following your own desires and appetites. You’re following Jesus Christ.
- Quickly Obey
It was at once. They didn’t hesitate. They didn’t make excuses – they just got after it. Hey guys, come follow me and I’ll make you fishers of men! AT ONCE, they left their nets.
Don’t put things off. When you see important things that you should be doing – just jump in. God will give you the strength and you’ll figure it out. There is no sense hesitating.
- Drop What’s Holding You Back from What’s Best?
Let’s allow the nets to substitute for the world meaning that which is contrary to God. Not the world meaning going out to eat or enjoying music or sunsets. The world as in the stubborn sins that keep us from being close to God and others.
Why did they drop their nets? They dropped their nets because they couldn’t keep fishing and follow Jesus at the same time. Because you cannot hold onto the nets and hand out five loaves and two fish at the same time. You cannot hold onto the world’s ways and God at the same time? Right?
How important was that step of dropping the net? That was everything they knew. That was safety and security and significance. It represented what was most important to them. They dropped that for a higher calling. How important is that? DROP THE NETS! Let go of the world!
When you look at what change is, you have to let go of what’s holding you back in order to move forward. Hebrews 12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
The analogy is running a race and the admonition is to throw off everything that hinders. Tough to run carrying a bunch of weight. I carry as little as possible when I run. I don’t have a camera and a briefcase and a toolbox. I would not run in muck boots unless a grizzly bear was chasing me!
Hebrews says to get rid of the sins that so easily trip us up. What fave sin is weighing us down? You need to throw off everything that hinders. What bad habit muck boot is slowing your down right now? Throw it off!
What sin might you literally need to pitch in order to chase after the spiritual things that matter. Anger? Pride? Bitterness? Greed? Dishonesty? An affair? It could even be fear that’s holding you back. You’re just afraid of leaving what’s comfortable.
I knew a guy who quit following Christ because he was afraid of tithing. I’ve known others who would not give up drinking. What’s tripping you up? Let it go!
The principle is brilliant because and can have an even wider bearing on life. Perhaps you need to watch less TV so you have time to pray. Perhaps you need to spend less time playing video games so you can build good relationships with other people.
Whatever is keeping me from truly following Christ needs to go.
- Prioritize Belief
The disciples left their nets and followed Jesus Christ. That was prioritizing their faith by matching actions.
Let’s say that your desire is to grow old with your spouse and be in love until the day you die. That’s great – what’s holding you back? Perhaps, it’s just something that is preventing you from really building closeness. Maybe it’s your charming disposition.
I’ve seen marriages held back because of work schedules. Well, we’d really get along great if I had another job and was home more. But I can’t do that because I’d rather have a job even though it leads to distance and a lack of peace in my home. It’s priorities. Again, not either / or most times. However, when we can make adjustments that are more favorable to marriage, we should. Prioritize the relationship.
My priority is my family but if I’m drinking or gambling or soaking in porn or never home. OK – well all of that is in the way of truly being connected. How can you talk of love when you’re doing that? You may mean your words but your words don’t mean a thing!
Interesting how that can happen. I mean my words but my words don’t mean anything. Why? Because you’re not prioritizing what you say or the person you’re saying it to!
Walking with God, that will rule out certain behaviors. And sometimes we’re just not willing to put down the nets and prioritize following Jesus! Jesus proclaims a message to you. Repent and believe the good news. And that means we need to drop the nets and follow Jesus.