Jesus Came

Of the two verses that we dealing with this morning. Mark chapter 1 verse number 9. And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee. And was baptized by John in the Jordan and immediately coming up from the water. You saw the heavens parting in the spirit, descending upon him like a dove. Then a voice Came From Heaven. You are my beloved Son in whom I am. Well pleased. Immediately the spirit drove him into the Wilderness and he was there in the wilderness, 40 days tempted by Satan. And with, with the wild beasts and the angels ministered to him. and then for our text for this morning, verse 14, says now after John was put in prison. Jesus came to Galilee preaching. The gospel of the kingdom of God. And say the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe the gospel. Let's pray Our Father

What a blessing. It has already been to. Be amongst your people and this place. more to be reminded of, Your Love toward us? and the songs that we have, Sing together.

Lord how that you sent your only begotten son. The Lord Jesus.

To die in our place.

And father, what more could we do?

Well, we could do so much more than what we do, but Lord, you call upon us. Being that we are the recipients of your grace to worship you and praise you. And father, as we listen to you speak in your word, I pray that you would help us to listen intently, help us to listen in such a way that we are able to receive the wording in meekness. That we are able through the power of the Holy Spirit to apply the message to our heart. I pray God your blessings upon this time of preaching. We ask all these things in Christ name. Amen.

When we come to our text. Verse 14 reveals really a but we could stay a radical shift. And not only the scene. Being that is shifting from the scene of the baptism and the scenery of the Wilderness where Jesus was tempted by Satan, but there's also a dramatic change in perspective, the way, we are to see things. When I say this, because verse 14 houses John the Baptist and the Wilderness are no longer in the picture. And so again the scenery has changed, but not only, the scene has changed, the perspective has changed. Because now the focus of our attention is no longer on John the Baptist. Now are the focus of our detention centers on the preaching Ministry of the Lord, Jesus Christ. And this is Steven grammatically. As you read these verses and even the preceding versus a grammatically, this is seen by the switch from the usage of the word and that's seen in verse Evan, where it says and he preaches and John the Baptist preached It is also seen in verse number 9 that Jesus came down from Nazareth and he was baptized by John in the Jordan. It is also seen in verse 12 where the scripture tells us immediately the spirit drove him into the Wilderness first 13. And and he was there 40 days until you have this continuation, this continuation with the use of the word. And but you come to verse 14 and it switches Restart off. 414. Now after now, after indicating here, a turning point in the narrative, There's a drastic shift in the story, which really separates verse 14 from the preceding verses. And the preceding versus John, the Baptist ministry was at its peak, right? He was baptizing people, he was drawing people just because of his message, he was the first prophet that the nation of Israel had had in four hundred years or so, people were traveling from Jerusalem to to the Wilderness to hear him preach by the Jordan and they were following him. And listening to his message and being baptized. and so John, the Baptist in the preceding versus his ministry, was at a peak but now, Now, he's in prison. If you know the story. Mark, doesn't go into the details but you can read it in Matthew and Luke. And even John tells us that because John the Baptist called out King Herod for his adultery.

King Herod, put them in prison. I didn't herodias. Herod's wife wanted him, not only in prison, but she wanted his head. And she got what you wanted. John the Baptist head was he was beheaded and placed on a platter but here's the thing, it's showing is showing the end of the old Covenant. It's showing that the old Covenant has come to an end after it says now after the old Covenant has come to an end now with Jesus, the New Covenant begins. Hallelujah for that, the New Covenant begins. And so what is the New Covenant? Weather. New Covenant is the promise that God makes with Humanity that he will forgive sins, he will forgive Sinners and he will restore Fellowship. With those whose hearts are turned to him. And Jesus. Listen is the mediator of the New Covenant and his death on the cross, is the basis of that promise. As the Apostle Paul said we are no longer under the law but we are under grace. Hallelujah for that. This is why the writer of Hebrews says the old Covenant has been replaced with a new and better Covenant. And so in verse 14, we see Jesus, he's been getting his ministries. Beginning, his Earthly Ministry, hear his ministry did not begin at his baptism. No. Now, he made his first public appearance at his baptism as he publicly identified himself with sinful man. Jesus who had no repentance, I had no sins, repent of yet, he had John, the Baptist baptize him. Identifying himself been with Sinners to Jesus publicly identify himself, with sinful Humanity but also at his baptism there he received the Divine stamp of approval from not on the holy spirit of God that descended upon him like a dove. But also the Divine stamp of approval from his father which is father said of his son. This is my son of whom I am well pleased and so here because of that now he has Authority, he's been given Authority. John 5:20 tells us that all authority has been given unto the son from the father. And we see that his authority was displayed. We saw last week at the temptation of Jesus by Satan himself had that he was able to withstand the Temptation Of Satan in person.

Not eating for 40 days. Jesus has the authority over Satan and that was a sign that he has full Authority. Now in verse 9 and verse 14 You have these two words that where it says Jesus came? Jesus came. He came and verse to be baptized. He came and verse 14 to preach. Someone is very quickly this morning. Just look at these two verses. I want to give you a Labor Day. Special sermon at night can be very long, but I pray that it is a help in a blessing to you. As we think about the fact that Jesus now, we could just stop right there and say glory to God, Jesus came Jesus came it much like the song that we sung just earlier, it was he that came to me, I didn't come to him. And, and so it is true. Even in this situation, Jesus came to be baptized to identify himself a simple Humanity, but he also came to do, what? And this is, our first point, Jesus came preaching. Jesus came preaching. Verse 14. Now, after again, perspective has changed John the Baptist is decreasing in his role in his ministry.

He's put in the prison. He's soon to die. The last prophet. Is gone. Now, Jesus comes to Galilee preaching, the gospel of the kingdom of God. So Jesus comes preaching. At what is preaching? I know that sounds might be a little Elementary, but Do you know what preaching is, Will preaching is?

It means to announce in a formal manner or an official manner by means of a Harold or one who functions as a Herald, it is one who announces one who proclaims it. So Jesus comes and he is making an announcement. He is making a proclamation. We think about that. Somebody has said this, God had only one son and he was a preacher. And God has only but one method of drawing people to his son Jesus and that is through preaching, just one method and that is through through preaching, as matter. Fact, I said it this way and 1st Corinthians 1:18, he said the preaching of the Cross is to them, that perish foolishness, those who lost, don't like it. They think it's foolishness. However to those who believe it is the power of God. So it is a preaching is the heralding is a proclamation of God's word and we think about this that, you know, God could have chosen a multitude of different methods of means of Proclaim his word. He could have. Wrote his words and the heavens. And in the Starry Sky. So you could have wrote his Proclamation, he could have wrote The Gospel According to God in the heavens for all to see. But yet we see here. Has chosen to you sinful, man? Simple man who has been changed by the grace of God man? That has been called to serve as a pastor as a preacher? To be the voice. Of God, through the proclamation of his word. And so preaching is the main that God has ordained. It is the method that God has ordained for the proclamation for the heralding of the good news.

and we noticed that, Jesus painting. Not to me. I am. I see that as something that Jesus did very deliberately. He came, he came on purpose for a purpose. Jesus came out only verse 9 to be baptized, but he came and verse 14 to preach. So, we have this deliberate. Coming of Jesus and me think about it, when we come to a certain place we do so because we were determined to do so right? We had this in our mind that we were going to go to certain place and so we can we listen when Jesus came preaching,

He came, deliberately he came with authority. Not from the authority of men but from the authority on high who gave him that Authority at his baptism and therefore he came preaching with boldness, boldness. My what a lesson this is for pastors and preachers today. The need of the hour. Is for bold creatures to confront the evils of this world. It is not the time to soften the message. It is not the time to back up and to somehow make the message of Christ's, more palatable. Listen to need of the hour is for both creatures to confront, not only the evils of this world, but also we need to go preachers to confront the shallow and man-made Theology of our Dave, and by doing that we must preach the true Gospel of King Jesus. We must understand beloved that. And, you know, this, we need Reformation in our country. We need Revival in our churches and our country, but there will be no Reformation without a cost. You look at the martyrs of all. Those who were those who stood for, what is right, those who stood for what God has said, many of them lost their life. We are here today because of our forefathers.

losing their life, spilling their own blood, so that we can have a copy of God's holy word, They were burned at the stake. Reformation Revival will never take place unless there is some cost. No genuine Reformation will ever happen without bold, and courageous people. Who continue to uphold the true gospel of Christ to a lost in a Dying World.

My prayer is that the Lord would raise up. A new generation of God called bold and courageous preachers. And my prayers also that the Lord would strengthen the pastors and the preachers that he has called to continue to be bold and courageous for his glory.

Beloved. Listen, history shows us that the greatest periods of revivals in the greatest. Of reformation the church has ever seen always occurs in conjunction, with the consistent and clear preaching of God's word. I'll listen, if we would see the Holy Spirit, bring renewal to our churches and bring renewal to our country, it will require preachers who are committed to the exposition of scripture.

We don't need popeteers. We don't need comedians in this day. There's as James said, this is not the day that we should be laughing. But rather are laughing, should turn into morning. And our joy into tears. We have much to laments about not laugh about especially behind the pulpit.

So preaching is of utmost importance, because why? So goes, preaching. So goes the church. So goes to church, so goes the family. So goes the family. So goes Society. So goes Society. So goes the nation. and the reason our nation is in the sixth shape that she is in is because you can Pinpoint. When men behind pulpits started watering down the message.

We need bold preachers. In need of the hour. Is from Poland, preaching to Thunder from pulpits by men who have great confidence in themselves, but by men who have great confidence that God's word will always accomplish God's purpose and will never return void. Jesus came preaching was a preacher. You said by the way, what did he preach? Well the scripture tells us he came preaching the gospel. He came preaching of proclaiming the good news of God. What is the good news of God? Remember that, the word gospel means good news of Salvation, the good news of Salvation. You say, well what do you mean the gospel of God? He came preaching and proclaiming the gospel of God. I thought it was the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. well, it is

It is the gospel about the Lord Jesus Christ. But it is the gospel of God in the sense that God is the source of it. He is the source of Salvation. As a matter of fact that phrase Gospel of God is a rather common phrase used in the New Testament. Paul uses it some 6 times in his writings Peter uses it at least once. I Romans 1:1 says this Paul a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ called to be an apostle separated unto the gospel of God.

So when Jesus came preaching, the Good News of the Gospel he's saying that it came from God, the message that we have for the world. Has not originated with us. The message that we preach to the world comes from God. A Richard, Richard uses. Verse this morning. Psalm 37 verse 39 salvation is from. So when Jesus preaching the gospel of God, he's he's naming the source of this good news. Name of the source, the gospel is from God. And so this is why preachers are not called To analyze the culture. Preachers are not call to come up with some new gimmicks for persuading people to come in. No, no, no. Pictures are not called to just create things pragmatically, where the ends justify the means no ride of their call to proclaim the same message that Jesus himself. Preached, the good news of Eternal salvation that comes from God himself. So Jesus came preaching but notice, secondly, Jesus came prophetically. Jesus came prophetically. The good news that Jesus preached. as we shall see Universe 15 contains two statements, And those two statements that will see you in just a moment are followed by then 2X or tations Melissa. Notice the first two statements herein verse 15.

So Jesus came preaching and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. So both of these statements, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand Focus. Then on God's Divine initiative. If Ian on that, this is God's Good Will and God's good pleasure. And it is what God has done with calls them for us to respond to what God has done. Notice the time is fulfilled their inverse 15, the time speaks of a decisive and critical moment in history. The time is the field. Just as with the story of John the Baptist and his work and just as the baptism of the Lord, Jesus Christ, there is a GHIN right here, a strong sense of God's Sovereign control. The time is fulfilled Price announcement that the time is fulfilled indicated that his coming mark, the turning point of Salvation history. I mentioned this earlier, but The time is fulfilled.

Is saying and Jesus is saying that the old Covenant has passed. The New Covenant, the New Covenant of Grace has begun. And so what we see here, when Jesus says the time is fulfilled, is that God has his own Sovereign timetable. Amen. God has his own Divine watch. And listen how to make how many, you know, that his Divine watching our watches, not the same, right? But his timing is always correct and so we see that God has his Sovereign timetable. He has his Divine watch that he uses marking significant moments in history. We think about the usage of the same word in Galatians. 4:4 were Paul explains. When the fullness of time, came God sent forth his son into the world, same usage, their major moment in history in the fullness of time, I sent forth his son into the world when the time was right? According to God's timetable God, sent the Lord Jesus to be born in Bethlehem.

And listen, blow the same thing with Jesus ministry. Hear the same thing is true with Jesus Ministry. Jesus ministry took place. According to God's Sovereign, timetable. Okay. Jesus came preaching on God, the father's schedule, everything was going according to God's plan. And when Jesus came starting his ministry, this was the hours for which the world had long been waiting. It was a most significant most significant moment in Earth's history up to this point. Only to be surpassed by the desk. And resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. when Jesus paying in the full penalty for seeing to provide salvation, for all, who would believe When Jesus says, the time is fulfilled, Jesus says, God is now feeling a feeling the time of the beginning of his ministry with great importance.

I time is the pill that centuries centuries old prophecies have reached their fulfillment.

I didn't notice the second phrase, the second statement, the kingdom of God is at hand. The kingdom of God is near. The word Kingdom there. Is a word that means kingly rule, kingly rule our sovereignty or rain. it's about the fact and pointing out the fact that someone someone raining rather than about the geographical area of a realm It's about a rule rather than a ramp until the reign of God has come. This is what he saying, the reign of God Has Come how in King Jesus. Now the spirit is coming up at this point, the spirit is going to come and he is going to Enfield all believers after Pentecost. Yet the ultimate consummation of all things, await the return of the son of man. So that this is why we pray to this date. That kingdom come thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven until the kingdom. Of God is both here, presently.

But it's not here yet, completely. Okay. Still building his kingdom. The king is raining, and He is building his kingdom, and one of these days, it will be completed in. Jesus is going to rain here on this Earth. And so knowing this, the Messiah King has appeared the kingdom of God has drawn near that's what he saying. And so, it is in the person of Jesus Christ. Men are confronted, head-on with the kingdom, with the rain of God. So the question is this, what should be our response? Knowing that the King has has come and He is building setting up his kingdom. What is our response will? Jesus gives us to commands and this is my third point. Jesus came not only preaching in prophetically. Jesus came pronouncing, became pronouncing. He came articulating, he came vocalizing this message. What was his message? Well, verse 15 tells us and saying the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand repent and believe the gospel. I saw the First Command the first response that we should have knowing that the King has come and he said hang up his kingdom The first command is to what repent. Jesus is saying that those who are confronted with the kingdom of God must repent. Now, what is repentance repentance is having a change of mind? Having a change of mind that lead to a change in Behavior. That's what repentance is. And listen to me repentance. Is is both a rational decision. Is a logical decision. The most logical decision you can make is repent and come to Jesus. Access logic, why? Because the King has appeared. And you need to repent and you need to make that decision a rational. Logical decision. But it's also a willful act. It's a willful act. When you come to that logical conclusion. That rational conclusion, then you will make a willful act to repent.

Now, repentance is certainly a associated with turning away from wrong attitudes? Wrong words. Wrong, deeds and work, but it's much more than that. It's much more than that. We must not narrow down, its meaning to such a point. To where we try to find it by having some emotional sense of guilt. That is identified, and acted upon a one particular time event in your life. No, listen repentance. As a Believer. Is that the believer is really living in the state of repentance always turning from seeing always turning to God, Repentance has a much wider connotation, again, it's turning around, having a change of mind. That brings about a change of Direction. It is the Turning Away from one's own path and turning to Jesus the Messiah King and maybe the best way to put repentance has, is this having a change of heart? How to get a change of heart? You change your heart and change your life.

You have a change of heart, you have a change of nature. And those things happen. We Begin then to follow the lord Jesus. So there is the command of repentance. I didn't notice the second command that Jesus gives. And that is believe in the gospel. Believe in the gospel and I'm just say that repentance. And belief. Always go together. They always go hand and hand. and so when one encounters, the kingdom of God, repentance is complemented by belief in the gospel. And so repentance, really notes that we turn from sin. and then our belief then highlights what or whom we turn toward To both repent and believe our presence imperatives. You are to repent and believe we are commanded to live in a state of repentance and we're commanded to live in a state of faith and trust.

This call is not to a momentary. One-time decision that has little if any lasting effect.

And the misuse of this repentance. Has really caused a lot of problems with people making a one-time emotional decision. Maybe at the end of a service, they may shed tears and may have all kinds of emotions but thirty years goes by than ever been in church. They have not a care one for the things of God, and you talk to them. You said, hey, have you ever trusted Christ will? Yeah, I remember when I was a kid and I went down the front and I shed tears as well. Do you care anything about God now? And what are the fruits of it?

Virtually none. We misuse the word repentance, as being this one-time acts and then you can do do with the police. No, that's not scriptural. Not at all. This is a life-altering change. Life-altering change. This is a radical transformation of Life orientation you could say. A king has arrived, the Lord, Jesus. The Messiah King has arrived who rightly demand that we follow and radically Obey him.

And that obedience should be seen throughout the entirety of our life. I'm not saying that, there could be Seasons to where we backslide. But here's the point, Jesus said, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me.

So, there may be a time of backsliding, but there's always going to be a time of repentance. Because we are life-long with pincers. That's what a Christian is. A lifelong, repenter, a lifelong believer,

Constantly trusting in Christ. We're constantly trusting putting our faith in Christ and not in ourselves. This is why we are to preach the gospel to ourselves and rehearse the gospel to ourselves each and every day.

But we see.

This is the unchanging and uncompromising message. Invasion of the Eternal kingdom of God.

This call that goes out.

Is it called that has been initiated by God himself?

And that, my dear friends is a gracious call. And listen, it is always gone who initiates? And it is always us who must then respond. Andrew the basis of Jesus called to repentance. And Faith was the announcement of God's initiative and bringing the kingdom near.

God initiates. The call we respond. Call Jesus. 2000 years ago. Worcester, repent and believe in the gospel. That same call. Goes out to each and everyone of you today. Repent. And believe the gospel again there. They complement each other, they go hand-in-hand, you cannot have true repentance without having true belief. You cannot have true belief in Christ and not repent. Go hand-in-hand just having a mental intellectual, knowledge of who Christ is is not going to save you. You can have a mental intellectual knowledge. That Jesus Christ is Lord. And you can spend an eternity in hell. The demons Cried Out, Jesus. We know that you are the Messiah. But there's no repentance. To look at your life. And measure up your life by the word of God. Do you have the characteristics of those who have been saved? Are you a lifelong? Repenter, are you a lifelong believer? To the call of Jesus to repent, and believe goes to us as well. And I'm just a haraldur, I'm just a proclaimer of God's word. So do you believe that? If you do believe, it's a call to repent.

Do you repent? Have you repented then if you have than it is a call to believe? That's what we shall see next week. Our repentance and our belief. Causes of Theon. To willfully, follow Christ. Willfully. Drop Barnett's. Leave our business. Radically changing. And following the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah. 45 + 22. God said turn to me and be safe. Turn to me. Not your good works. You don't have any Not to baptism. That doesn't save you. Not to church membership. Turn to God. That's repentance.

And be safe. Have you turned to him and repentance and faith? Let's pray together.