Mark 1:14-20 follow me

Steven Dunne

Mark • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Good morning Rivertree! It is awesome to be with you today. If you have your Bibles go ahead an open up to Mark chapter 1 and we are going to start in verse 14 in a moment

While you are getting there I’d love to draw your attention back to something Natalie said in the welcome video about tonight.

Tonight at 6:30 we have an amazing opportunity to worship at southside Baptist church with the body at southside. It’s going to be a time of worship, prayer, reading scritpure and taking the Lords supper and we get to do this with southside.

We are all so excited about tonight and want to ask you to be there. It’s going to be increadible.

I know something we probably all share in common is if you are a follower of Jesus you want to be a part of something which can only be explained as a movement of God.

I know i’ve heard stories and even had experiences in which the only way to explain what was happening was in the truth that people became aware of Gods work among them.

Often those stories are told for years after that. I can remember when I first became a follower of Jesus hearing about a church in this city that experienced true revival in the 1980s. How peoples lives where changed forever.

I can remember where I was when I first expierenced Gods saving power.

I have seen first hand what God can do. And I truly beleive that tonight is going to be one of those moments we talk about for a long time.

It would be increadible to see southside filled tonight and to just get to worship together and seek the Lords face as we continue to lean into this idea of paternering together. It is going to be increadible and we want you to be there.

We also are aware even today you might be visiting from southside. And if you are we just want to say welcome. We are so glad to be with you today, to worship with you and I am trusting that Jesus is doing something pretty significant in all of our hearts this morning.

As we continue our study in the gospel of just want to remind us where we have been.

Mark is written by a guy named John mark who is most likely writting down the first hand accoutn that peter gave him

His purpose was to pursude his readers that Jesus was the Son of God.

2 weeks ago we looked at the minsitry of john the Baptist a guy with an awesome beard and a profound message preparing the way of the Lord in the wilderness

then last week we saw Jesus baptism where the father affirmed in Jesus that this was hi s son in whom he was well pleased. It was at Jesus baptism that he identified with us.

we also looked at the temptation how while Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by satan to: Fill in the blank

Jesus didn’t fail

that scene ends with Jesus with wild animals, yet angels were ministering to him reminding us we can be sure in our temptations we are never alone.

so let’s pick up and star reading in verse 14 -15

English Standard Version Chapter 1

14 cNow after John was arrested, Jesus dcame into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, e“The time is fulfilled, and fthe kingdom of God is at hand;5 grepent and believe in the gospel.”

It can be easy to miss and almost a little awkward if we aren’t careful but there is this pretty heavy moment in verse 14

Mark tells us John the Baptist has be arrested. It is a little strange because John has been a really important spiritual leader in the entire nation of Israel at this point and in a few words it seems like he’s not really even part of the story.

I’ll illustrate it this way. It’s like if you are watching a tv show you are really into. And they introduce a new character. And that person seems super important and like they are going to have a huge role. And then all of a sudden that person dies, or is arrested or moves to another city.

You are thinking what Just happened. You have a lot of questions and sometimes because of a writers strike, or just ratings you never get your answers....Thanks(NAME A SHOW)

I think

In reading this you could have so many questions, why was john arrested? What was his crime? Will he even be back in the story?

but it’s at this moment Mark is doing a few significant things.

While Johns ministry and Jesus ministry are very connected Mark is showing us there is a shift in focus. No longer would John need to prepare the way for the Messiah. His work was done. His season of ministry had ended

and now Jesus the one john had spent his ministry proclaiming was here. Mark is intentionally shifting the focus from john to Jesus in this brief moment.

The word arrested is probably really the only connecting point to Jesus in this verse. It’s the same word Mark would use when jesus was arrested. SO once again in a way John is foreshowding what will happen to Jesus.

As Jesus takes center stage at this moment Jesus has launched his mission in the region of Galilee. This would be a major change of scenery form where John was preaching and baptising in the Jordan valley.

Where John was people had to make a special trip just to see him and hear his message. However Jesus is going to where people are. He begins to go to the inhabited areas in his own area.

and Galilee was the center of political and commercial life for that region.

It stood at the crossroads of nations of the ancient world. Armies, traders, and diplomats passed through.

some of the greatest battles of the world had been fought there.

It was home to greek, Hebrew and Aramaic people groups. People from Syria and Rome freely passed through there. It was the epicenter for so much.

and this is where Jesus begins to share good news.

and this was it:

English Standard Version Chapter 1

The time is fulfilled, and fthe kingdom of God is at hand;5 grepent and believe in the gospel.”

To declare God has come near. Is to say this is the time. This is the moment. The movement is beginning. God is fulfilling his age long purposes to rescue his people from their sin.

It’s what Paul would echo in Gal 4:4 NLT

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law.

And his declaration was simple, yet profound

He was starting a movement with little to no fanfare whatsoever.

The way Jesus launches is exactly the opposite way we would launch a movement, or a new ministry.

We probably would have a social media campaign, hire influencers, get a marketing company involved and hope it would be succesful

and in some ways it can be surprising this isn’t what Jesus does. He could have started with great teaching, after all he taught as one with authority

He could have proformed miracles

He could have rally done anything he wanted to do. He was God in flesh. All his divine power was available

yet Jesus message Repent and believe the gospel was enough. Though the message seems simple it was profound enough to start a movement we are still experiencing today

This idea so simple yet profound enough to reach into the deepest parts of the human soul and transforms lives.

Often we hear this word repent and we think negative right away. This could do with a bad church experience growing up or even just how it’s been presented to us in the past.

Yet in scripture we are actually reminded that it’s Gods Kindness that leads us to repentance

that When we experience true repentance God isn’t looking to rub our faces in our sin, no he wants to celebrate that.

Jesus is inviting people to have godly sorrow and grief over our sin but to think differently about how we would live our lives.

As we turn from our sin his beauty draws us in. We realize Jesus truly is more attractive than anything else the world has to offer us.

and in a world full of religious law(that no one could ever keep) and false idols Jesus is saying the time to see the kingdom of God is now.

and as people begin to reflect on these truths Jesus doesn’t just invite them to repentance he invites them to believe.

IT’s because true repentance always leads to action. IN other words we can’t truly have a change of mind or direction without that producing some sort of action within us.

It’s what Jesus is inviting people to do when he says not only repent but also believe in the gospel.

People are hearing the good news, they are turning from their sin and now have to decide what to do about that?

The good news is the kingdom of God was near to them and good news was found in the person and presence of Jesus.

And as people throughout Galilee would become aware of what God was doing among them these truths would forever change their lives.

It shouldn’t be surprising to us as Mark introduces us to gospel Jesus was proclaiming in Galilee he gives us a real story to illustrate what this would look like.

Let’s read verse 16-20

English Standard Version Chapter 1

16 hPassing 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 ifishers of men.”6 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.

As Jesus is walking by the Sea of Galilee he sees Simon and Andrew. They where the objects of Christ attention as he choose them to follow him. This truth alone was really special to me this week.

It’s a reminder to me that no matter where we are, what we are doing , who we are with and really even what our lives are about God sees us.

And not only does he see us is is actively working to involve us in His kingdom.

This morning if you feel forgotten, left out, unnoticed just be encourage by this passage God sees you, he knows where you are and he is coming towards you. As you become aware of that my prayer for you is that you would hear what he would say to you and walk in obedience in that

because not only does he see them he begins to speak to them. It’s not really a fancy message, or a profound new truth. In fact what Jesus does is He goes to where they are, he speaks a langue they are familiar with but gives their lives an eternally different significant

He says I see you are fishermen. If you drop your nets and follow me I will make you fishers of men.

It’s always been an intriguing passage right?

Like I have always been fascinated by the fact Jesus says that he will make these guys fishers of men and the just follow him.

There so many things I feel like he could have said that would have made it more attractive to follow him.

Yet he uses this phrase.

I can remember a few years back hearing Francis chan a pastor in California speak at a conference. He was in the process of planting a church in San Francis. and he was doing one of his normal Francis chan things. Like. I don’t really know how we are going to start the church.

I don’t know where we are going meet. But in one of his excited voices he said maybe I’ll just go find some guys fishing and tell them to drop their neats and follow me.

Everyone laughed......but I was like hmmmm I wonder what would happen.

So at that time I was kind of interested in church planting so I went to Walmart, bought some bait, went down to ditto landing and was like I am going try it. I am going look at some fisherman and ask them to drop their fishing poles and follow me and we would start a church all about Jesus.

You probably figured this out but it didn’t go well.

2 reasons

one I got nervous

2 I gave them bait. I gave them more incentive to keep fishing. It was so bad.

Yet Jesus does this and it works.

and it should surprise us a little because it seems so different then what we might say but it’s also a little surprising he said this because fishing metaphors in the Old testament really had a lot of negative things associated with it.

fishing metaphors are often in connection with Judgement.

Yet now Jesus is connecting a fishing metaphor with something positive. Showing us because of the good news of Jesus he can take words, situations and ideas which use to have a negative connotation and give them new meanings.

and what he is inviting Andrew and Peter into is a life that would be totally different than what they had experienced so far.

He is inviting them to drop their neats, their dreams, everything and follow him.

And as they followed him their lives would be all about people. When he says I will make you fish for men. It was his promise, it was his guarantee, it was not something that was theoretical it was something that was going to happening in them and through them because of the call of Jesus on their lives.

What he means is that you will know spend all your energy, focus, time helping people who are broken, who are lost, who feel hopeless connect with the kingdom of GOd by connecting them to the King.

Jesus is saying I’m inviting you to be a part of what God is doing. And I love their response. Mark sues the word he would use so often in his gospel.

Immediately they left their nets and followed him.

IN other words they had observed enough, they had reflected enough, they had discussed enough, This was the moment of belief

most likely these guys had meet Jesus before. Some of the other gospels give us this picture.

but this is the moment he calls them. Showing us that no one can truly follow Jesus unless he calls them to do so.

And as he calls them his call is so attractive, so irresistible Mark gives us this visual example that they let go of there nets and followed.

It’s a visual illustration of what was going on inside of them. No longer where they going to live their lives for what they might hold valuable. No their letting go of there nets was a visual representation of them letting go of everything to follow Jesus.

This was their moment to act on what God was doing. They were repenting and believing the gospel.

and what Jesus was inviting them into was incredible, it would change their lives, their families their futures, and even impact us today.

it is incredible to pause for a moment and think that something that happened over 2,000 years ago on the shores of Galilee would still be impacting us today.

It is a great reminder to us how much God can do in a moment through one simple act of obedience.

And through their simple obedience in follow the call of Jesus. Mark tells us Jesus goes a little further

and calls James and John to follow him also. They weren’t fishing they were mending their lives. Most likely they were part of the fishing business their family owed.

Yet as Jesus calls them they immediately respond in obedience to Jesu much like Simon and Andrew. Leaving their father, and their family business behind for this moment.

and what they experienced over the next 3 years would truly be more then they could have ever imagined when they left the seas of Galilee.

Jesus would expended their lives. He would take them places they most likely would have never gone. They would hear incredible teaching, experiencing friendship with Jesus, eat meals with him, see the blind sight restored, the lame walk, those with demons freed from their bondage, the dead come back to life

it was more then they could have ever dreamed of

They would have heart break and disappointment also as Jesus would call more people to follow him they had a friend named Judas betray them and Jesus

They watched as Jesus was put on trail, mocked and beaten. During that time some would deny they even knew him

and most likely the darkest day of all was when they saw Jesus crucified and die.

However even in their pain they would see the greatest miracle of all as Jesus raised himself back to life

when of my favorite moments in the gospel is found after the resurecction in

English Standard Version Chapter 21

6 kHe said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple lwhom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, mhe put on his outer garment, for he was nstripped for work, and othrew himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards1 off.

English Standard Version Chapter 21

12 Jesus said to them, p“Come and qhave breakfast.” Now rnone of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and stook the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 tThis was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

It’s amazing right. Like they have seen Jesus 2 times after the resurrection but they’ve gone back to fishing. Maybe it was their failure in leaving him while he was dying. Maybe it was shame.

Maybe it was the fact they just didn’t really know what else to do.

but once again we see Jesus pursuing his own. They eat breakfast together and at the end Jesus looks at Peter and says these words

English Standard Version Chapter 21

15 When they had ufinished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, v“Simon, wson of John, xdo you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed ymy lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, z“Tend ymy sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him athe third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, byou know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed cmy sheep. 18 dTruly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, eyou used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show fby what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, g“Follow me.”

I love it. Jesus is inviting peter once again to repent and believe the gospel.

His reminding peter of his promise. Saying when I called you on the beaches of Galilee 3 years ago I told you your life would be all about people.

and know it’s time to believe this promise and trust that what I have started I am committed to carrying out in you.

and then in an amazing way Jesus looks at him and says Follow me.

MAN! How amazing that would have been. But that’s exactly like Jesus. How often does Jesus remind us of what he is doing . and that he’s at work and what his promised in the past he is faithful in the present to fulfill.

and When we get to the letter Acts about how the church started we see Jesus promise fulfilled. His disciples would spend the rest of their lives for the sake Jesus and the sake of others.

It truly was incredible. These same guys who once where just living pretty ordinary lives on the shores of Galilee where know doing extraordinary things for God

They were proclaiming the same message Jesus did

They told people the good news about Jesus and told them to repent and believe this good news

and the world was forever changed.

and the exciting thing for me this morning is the truth that those of us who have responded to that same call.....to follow Jesus are part of the movement still.

His kingdom is here and it’s moving and Jesus invites us to be a part of his work.

And it’s something at rivertree we want for every single follower of Jesus. To experience the joy it is to share good news with people who are far from God

to be a part of spreading his kingdom throughout the world and in our city.

it’s why one of our mission marks is this questions:

When is the last time I introduced Christ in a conversation with someone?

It’s a great question right?

and it’s not a question we ask to produce guilt or shame in anyones lives. It’s a question we should ask ourselves because Jesus has promised to use us to help people who are far from him come to him.

He has promised those who have followed him. Those of us who have repented and believed the gospel that he will make us fish for people.

It’s what he said he is going to do in us and through us.

So if it’s hard to ask that question maybe today is a moment to change course and believe what Jesus has promised he will do through us.

I get it right. Rivertree is a great church. We have seen God do so much. We heard amazing testimonies on baptism Sundays, and we see God working through our missions partners in profound ways.

and in reality it’s exciting. Who doesn’t want to be part of something like that.

but if we aren't’ careful we can miss out on how God might use us in the kingdom. We can see how he’s at work in other people and use other people and think tha’ts enough.

it’s probably something we have in common with the disciples. They had seen jesus 2 times since the resection but they went back to fishing.

They just needed to be reminded that wasn’t their primary purpose anymore.

that’s why we ask the question. Because if it’s been a long time we can just rest and trust in the fact that Jesus wants us to tell people about him.

If we are following him we get to participate in inviting others to follow him

and I promise you this as you introduce Jesus into your conversations you won’t retreat it.

IN fact I believe he will do more then we could ask or imagine in our families, neighborhoods, work places and even this city if we are willing to leverage our life for the sake of the kingdom.

and when this happens I believe we could see something really special in the city.

The reality is this. People form all over are coming to Huntsville, we read articles about how Huntsville is one of the best places to live, downtown continues to be awesome,

we even have a sports team named the trash pandas

the reality is this God is bringing people to Huntsville and as he brings people to Huntsville he invites us to share good news with these people.

who knows. Some people think they are coming for a job, or a career, or relocation but God is bringing them because he loves them and he will put them right in our circles so we can share Jesus with them

there’s people in New hope, OXR, HC, HSV, madison who have been here for a long time. They think they have been forgotten but could it be that God would use us to remind them he sees them

Engagement story

I still want to see that.

I’d love to see that together

Let’s pray

Music

invitation 2

maybe as you were in this room you felt God calling you to repent and believe the gospel…maybe it started awhile back but today is the day. You let go of whatever you are holding onto and you follow him.

if that’s you we will have some people up here at the end of service who’d love pray with you

for the rest of you. Make much of Jesus this week and tonight I’ll see you at southside!

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