Meet Jesus *Poor Quality Audio*

[0:00] that we can talk to you. We thank you. So as somebody is thinking about the possibility of venturing onto the frontier, read the passage.

[0:11] And let me say that. Hang on. I have here an introduction to our gospel, which I'm going to leave in the back.

[0:25] And it's just an A4. And I'm very confident there's some recommended reading and a couple of books you might like to read along with this new series in Mark's Gospel, which you now have in the evening.

[0:36] And at the back, we're going to be reading it through this fall. So that's the first thing. I just want to say that we are starting a new series looking at Mark's Gospel, going all the way through to Chapter 8 over the next couple of months.

[0:53] So please do read that on us. Read the story. I think that would be better prepared and engaged as we come to this study and look at it on Sunday mornings.

[1:06] So Mark, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 13, and is going to be... Great. Thank you. Thank you. Mark, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 13.

[1:24] John, the round of the first morning. The beginning of the talk about Jesus Christ, the self-serving. It is written in his name, the cross. I will send my messenger ahead of you, and you will prepare your way.

[1:36] Avoid the phone calling the desert, prepare you to wait for the Lord, and make a straight path for heaven. And so John came, baptizing in the desert region, and preaching about his Lord, and the forgiveness of sins.

[1:48] The whole Judean countryside, and all the people of Jerusalem, went to them. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by heaven, and the Jordan River. John, who I slowly made a camel's hair, with a letter of death around his face, and shaped open, and while running, and this was his message.

[2:05] After me would come, and I will pass it to the night, the promise of his God, and I will not let him see the child in my side. I got tied to him in water, but he was baptized into the Holy Spirit. At that time, he was a sacred path of reality, and was baptized by the Lord, in the Jordan.

[2:21] As he was supposed to look at the water, he saw a head, being torn open from a spirit, deadly woman, like a duck, and always came to heaven. You are my child, you are my mother, and you are your obedience.

[2:33] At once, the spirit sent the message to death, and the spirit sent the word, and he was baptized by faith. He was written for a battle, and I chose to have the children. Thank you so much, Greg.

[2:49] Well, let's pray, and ask God, for his Holy Spirit, as we look at this. Father, it is an enormous privilege, to meet together like this, in freedom, having heard this morning, a glorious word of the apostles, brothers, to have your word in our language, where we can all have a Bible for ourselves.

[3:19] We thank you. We pray that we may not treat it like a believer, taking it as a privilege, and a responsibility, to learn well about Jesus, so that we will be people who are changed, that we might bring Jesus to the world, to the nations, to our community.

[3:44] Please, by your Holy Spirit, speak in fresh to us, to the wonder of who Jesus is, and what it is, to meet him. In Jesus' name we pray.

[3:58] Amen. Amen. Well, that's the verse one, of Mark's Gospel. The beginning of the Gospel, about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

[4:14] In a very short, I would like to say, that Mark the author, is saying, if we want to know, about who Jesus is, why he came, and what he claims to do, he didn't fight for us, to read on in his story.

[4:31] Now, I imagine, for most of us, that's a straightforward assumption, but for the majority of people, that is intellectual suicide. It's a nonsense, to read a book like this.

[4:44] Atheists, like Richard Dawkins, who wrote a book, called The God Solution, conspiracy theorists, like the author, Dan Brand, have made it popular, for people, to view the Gospel, quite far, but nothing more than, a legend, and fabrication.

[5:02] In other words, it's a nonsense, you can't read this, a lot of serious words. Let me quote to you, from Dawkins. This comes from his website, and he writes about, what he thinks, of the Bible, and whether we can trust it.

[5:17] This is what he says, good Christian scholars, of the Bible, including the top, Protestants, and Catholic scholars, will tell you, that the Bible, is full of life, even if they're new, as you can see.

[5:37] And here's the truth, many of the books, of the New Testament, were written by people, who lied about their identity, claiming to be, a famous apostle, like Peter Paul, or James, knowing so well, they were someone else.

[5:57] Contemporary speaking, that is a lie, and a book written by people, that we lied, and write his identity, is a forgery. Now, Richard Ruhl, is a professor at Oxford, and people make serious, and money says, or listen to somebody, like Dan Brown, and his view of the book, many of the people, he says, the gospel, of the products, of man, not of God.

[6:24] Man created it, as a historical record, of two months of life, and as it evolved, through countless, translations, additions, and revisions. So modern views, opinions, which have us believe, that we cannot take, the gospel apart, seriously.

[6:42] It's all made up, in all lines. of the people, of the people, of the people, of the people, which raises the question, but where do we have, to be a mark, and concerning, over the next couple of months, can we actually trust, what mark has written?

[6:55] Is this actually, a reliable record, about the person, who's writing? Can we read this, that's true? Well, I am persuaded, that we can.

[7:07] Let me say, three things, very quickly. First, Mark draws, all of his material, from an eye witness, somebody who is, actually there, and witness, in the light of Jesus.

[7:20] Back in, 138, there was a bishop, who called, to hide. And in his writings, which were said to, he records, that Mark, was a secretary, and a translator, for Peter, one of the first followers, of Jesus.

[7:36] And he wrote, accurately, all that Peter, remembered. And as we read, through the gospel, of the gospel of Mark, we'll see that, Peter's not going to be, mentioned in the most. But something seems, to happen, in which Peter, is not present.

[7:51] He's done all, the nature of events, that are going on. So the gospel of Mark, is certainly, the Bible, as account, of Peter. Second, the content, of Mark's gospel, will it too, counterproductive, to be considered, gladiaries, or fabrications.

[8:11] Peter is, consistently seen, as he reads, through the new sentence, as the first, and primary, Christian leader, of the church. Yet, as he reads, through Mark's gospel, he is portrayed, as he is a failure, of people, setting up, and making mistakes.

[8:27] In fact, in chapter 14, Mark's words, read in great detail, how Peter, denied Jesus, and cursed him, in public. Now, we have to ask, the question, why would anybody, who is wanting, to promote, such a teaching, and encourage people, to follow Jesus, why would they, highlight, the spectacular, failures, of their most, prominent, readers?

[8:53] It seems, that Peter, has been laid, to Mark, as honest, and truthful, accounts, with them. Which suggests, that, all the truth. And third, as you read, through the gospel, of Mark, there is too much, detail here, that is to be, considered fiction.

[9:11] For example, in Mark chapter 4, you know the story, well, it's like, Jesus, a camp, and storm. But a report, therefore, is that, Jesus was asleep, on a cushion, in the third, proposal.

[9:24] Now, that information, is necessary, for us to know, about, what you're trying, to do in the game. But the detail, is so intricate, where they, and David, what he was taken on, that it concludes, that there were, I would have friends, who recorded, everything that they, saw, and heard.

[9:45] And this is what, makes the gospel, of Mark, reliable. It's a piece, of literature, that's not just, put together, as a couple. It's true, and we can trust it.

[9:58] All of this, is evident, that Mark, gospel, is a revival, record, and it, instantly, is the gospel, of Jesus Christ. So we can read it, knowing, it's going to get, the picture, of the need, of the need.

[10:12] Now, that's all, by way of introduction, we don't want, to get, false, and, it's just, historical, evidence. This is, as the first, verse, tells us, is good news, for us today, because that's, what the word, gospel means.

[10:28] Good news, Christ, something that happens, and it's all found, in the person, of Jesus Christ. So let's see, what Mark has to say, to us, about Jesus, and why, is it good news?

[10:45] Again, let's read, verse one. The beginning, of the gospel, about Jesus Christ, the son of God. His introduction, is carefully shown, a character, to show us, that this is, history shaping, world impact, there has been, an intervention, into the world.

[11:08] Now, there's two things, that point to that. First, one of the most, famous rulers, of the Roman Empire, was the Emperor, of Augustus. He was there, at the time, of Jesus, born in the first, of the Roman Empire.

[11:24] Now, when he was born, this inscription, was made, to chisel it, to a dove, to be found, by a cardiologist. And listen carefully, to what he says.

[11:36] The first day, of the gospel, in Purodunus. March for the world, the beginning, of good news, through the coming.

[11:48] Now, isn't that extraordinary? It's almost identical, to have March about, the coming of Jesus. Look at verse one, the beginning, of the gospel, about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

[12:00] You see, the people, of the Roman Empire, aren't hearing, about the birth, of Augustus. They anticipated, here comes a new king, a new ruler, who's going to bring, about faith, and freedom, and victory.

[12:15] And that's exactly, what March is, communicating to us here. He borrowed language, of the people today, to communicate, to those people originally. But it makes sense, to us today, if we read it, that Jesus Christ, has intervened, into the world, God's kingdom come, to restore, this broken, and disordered world.

[12:37] He'd come to rescue us, he'd come to free us, he'd come to bring peace. Now, of course, Jesus, is nothing like, the emperor government. He was merely, his man.

[12:47] Look what it says, verse 1, Jesus is the son, of God. A title of divinity, he is nothing, as a God himself, in human form, who has intervened, and has, has been, in, into, our world.

[13:05] and the second thing, that means, to learn from this, is that Mark's introduction, is also, very similar, to the first book, of the Bible, Genesis.

[13:19] Do you remember, the first verse, of Genesis, what does it say, in the beginning, God. And Genesis, records, that the earth, was formless, of the tension, there was disorder, there was chaos, but God intervened, and he brought, order, and design, to the world.

[13:39] He created, the world, into nothing, that was very good. Now, that Mark, starts in the gospel, and he's wanting, us to make, these connections, he says, the beginning, of the gospel, he says, it's not around, the world, it's been, ordered, there's chaos, and all, needs to be, put right, and God, intervenes, through Jesus Christ, not to create, the world, but to renew, the world, to bring about, a new creation, into the lives, of people.

[14:12] Now, when we take, these thoughts together, we can see, that this is, an intervention, that means, the world, is never going, to be the same again. A new world leader, a king, comes from God, to restore, this broken world.

[14:30] Now, this intervention, was no action, just as creation, was no action. It's all been, planted, and hurt, by God. People like, Isaiah, the prophet, thousand years earlier, wrote about it.

[14:42] Look at verse 2. The Isaiah, the prophet, wrote about Jesus, and he said, I will send my messenger, ahead of you, who will prepare your way, a voice of God, calling in the devil, prepare the way, unto the Lord, and make this, great platform.

[15:00] So God, has planned, for Jesus to come, he planned, to intervene, he planned, to rescue us, and to restore us. And Mark, in the next second, very beginning, with God, that Jesus Christ, is God, long awaited, from that king, who has come, to put right, our broken lives, and to put right, our disordered world.

[15:27] What an amazing event, putting right, our broken lives, and putting right, our disordered world. God, that's what Jesus, is coming, or if he has come, we need to be prepared, to meet him.

[15:49] And that's what John, wrote on, was to prepare people, to meet him. Look at verse 4. And so John came, baptizing, in the desert region, and preaching, a baptism of repentance, for the forgiveness, of sinners.

[16:07] Repentance, and baptism, is the way, people, were preparing, themselves, to meet, Jesus, who was coming, to them. And John, like the better, because he was the last, of a great long life, spoke about, the need to repent, before God, and the Lord's Son, to retain.

[16:26] Because it was a matter, of unordewing, you have to be prepared, to meet him. Now the help of us, have done this, we need to look back, at where these two quotes, in verses 2 and 3, come from.

[16:40] The first quote, comes from Malachi. So I want, to jump back, to Malachi. The last book, in the Old Testament, so you don't have, to go back too far. You've got Matthew, Mark, in John, and before Matthew, is Malachi.

[16:54] I want to go back, to the first few pages. And the smart ones, among you, will be saying, well, in a sense, we're going to, it is written, an Isaiah's prophet, so why are we going, to Malachi?

[17:05] Well, let me explain, that to you, looking at me. Isaiah was considered, the chief of the main, prophet, and very often, all the other, prophets, were grouped, under Isaiah's, so just generally, meaning, it was talked, Isaiah's, and all the others, were included, underneath him.

[17:22] So, we're going to, Malachi chapter 3, and verse 1, and here he quotes, because he wants us, to go back, and bring forward, with us, all the information, that's contained there, and he quotes, verse 1, revival, the messenger, and the covenant, who you desire, will come, says the Lord, according to Joshua.

[17:59] The applications, today, Jesus, in coming. Look at verse 2. But who will endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?

[18:15] For he will be like a refiner's fire or a laundry soap. Jesus is coming today as a refiner. As somebody who's going to come and purify, somebody who's going to come and clean, he's going to remove all that's wrong.

[18:35] And he's going to come and fight. Verse 5. So I will come near thee for judgment. I will be equipped to testify against your horsewars, your adulterers, your murderers, against those who do not labor in their wages, who oppress the widows, the fatherless, and the pride aliens of judgment, or people from outside coming in.

[19:04] Now it's a hardening question in verse 2. Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he is here? And Mark is now telling us that Jesus has come.

[19:18] He is appearing. And because of the people's rebellion in this day, no one could stand guiltless or faultless before God's promised kingdom in the coming center stage.

[19:30] It was serious murder because he was coming from Jordan and all else. And who could stand? And look at the very end of verse 5.

[19:42] Of Malachi 2. Look at the very last line. You see what it says? But did not fear me, said the Lord Almighty.

[19:54] But how did they not fear? He was coming as a refiner, as a purifier. How did they not fear? Well, hold that clause.

[20:06] And let's go back to the other quotes from my Bible, which I've received in my Bible, Isaiah chapter 40. Mark chapter 1 verse 3, quotes, Isaiah chapter 40.

[20:23] And we'll get an answer. Isaiah chapter 40. We're going to read it up to verse 1. We're close to Isaiah chapter 3, but we're going to read it up to verse 1, by 5, 4.

[20:38] So we're thinking, Jesus is coming. He's coming as a refiner, as a purifier. How did they stand as he's coming? But he says, don't fear.

[20:49] How did they not fear? Well, we're in chapter 40 verse 1. Comfort, comfort my people, said your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed.

[21:04] That her sin has been paid for. That she has received from the Lord's land and juttled for all her sin. And then they quote, a voice of one calling in the desert and tears away for the Lord.

[21:19] Do you get the connection? They do not need to fear because their sins have been paid for. The promise came with coming to Israel with the promise of judgment and justice.

[21:34] He was going to put everything right. He was the purifier, the red wire, the cleaner. But it comes to the offer of forgiveness.

[21:46] That's the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the good news that justice is going to be done in the world. But people can also be forgiven. Now if we are to avail of the saints for Jesus, we must also be people who would respond with repentance and baptism.

[22:05] Look at verse 5. Let's go back to Mark's gospel. And we'll say amen. Mark's gospel chapter 1. It says in verse 5, as all the human beings come to us and all the people of Jerusalem find taxing.

[22:18] Jesus is coming. The refinerers are coming. The purifiers. They have to be ready. They have to be prepared. What do they do? The rest of verse 5, they were confessing their sins and they were baptized by John in the Jordan River.

[22:33] You see, people who are prepared to meet Jesus are tempted and were baptized. It wasn't about going out today and presenting yourself as perfect.

[22:44] Jesus is coming, putting on your best clothes and presenting yourself as such a good person and how you're better than everybody else. No, he says, I want you to come in directly as you want.

[22:56] With all your left and all your failures and all your upset. And just confess yourself. Don't hide it. Let him see you as you are and seek his forgiveness.

[23:12] It's quite liberating. And let's not be mistaken. Repentance isn't just a one-stop event that you're going to do when you're quite a year old and eating by your bed and eating as you want.

[23:25] Repentance is a life-off program. And the way to demonstrate that life of repentance and the people you are doing may be a claim to say, I'm going to leave this life-off program.

[23:38] They were baptized. And baptism is an external expression of an internal reality. And so the people who are serious about eating Jesus prepared themselves by turning away and turning to Christ.

[23:57] and being baptized was a thing that they were stating clearly to everybody that we are going to live a life of repentance and we are going to follow the Lord Jesus who is coming.

[24:10] Let me just stop there and make some comments around you. Somebody recently came to me and said they once again were baptized. I was delighted by seeing the difference.

[24:24] They want to stay by life of repentance. And they both do that positively to show that this is the way they're going in life. And I want to challenge people here to see what have you first of all ever repented before the Lord?

[24:43] Or is it just something that is something that we have? It's a continual thing. We continually need to come and seek repentance. And maybe you're claiming that you do follow Jesus but this baptism thing well, I'm going to wait until I'm a little bit better and try to do it, done a few more good things and then I'll get to it.

[25:05] But look at it here. Confessor says we're baptized. Think then. Just like that. If you're not baptized and you're saying the end of the following of Jesus and I want you to hear the values of you, why not?

[25:20] What are you doing? It's blatantly clear. And we should be speaking and saying yes, I want to apologize and I want other people to know that that's what I'm about to and I want God's team to know so that they can encourage me and support me.

[25:38] And in a few weeks' time we're going to be doing the studies of the handout and that person who's asked about that will join in on that and wouldn't be bravely if there were somebody else in the room.

[25:50] take it seriously what God's saying. In fact, for attention and means and I to prepare them for something supernatural.

[26:02] Look at verse 7. And this was John's message. He says, after me will come one more powerful in life that's trust of his man who's not worthy to do that.

[26:16] He said, don't look at me. I want you to look at Jesus. He's coming. All I'm doing is preparing the way, getting people ready to meet Jesus. But he's the one who's going to transform you.

[26:29] He's the one who's going to change in your first day. I've baptized you with water, but he's going to come and baptized you with the Holy Spirit. God's supernatural power would come from Jesus and would be poured out upon his people equipping and enabling them to live and experience the new life that he had come to bring.

[26:53] His spirit was going to come and change them from the inside out radically turning them around in their life bringing renewal and restoration so that they could be renewers and restorers of their own community.

[27:05] So preparing to meet Jesus was serious. He was the refiner of the coming, the purifier of the singing, the God of justice.

[27:20] But with the opera begins, so he says, repent and show up serious by being untied to the dead. Now, if we're serious about eating this Jesus, I'm not sure if all of the people here, if they were listening to John, were asking the question, well, how do we know who he really claims to be?

[27:45] Maybe he's just a fraud, a kind of religious guru who is obsessed with power and control because for a lot of kind of wannabe and a fly of one thing around in that time.

[27:57] How do we know that he's real? Well, for the first time. Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and he was baptized by John in the Jordan.

[28:09] Now, is that quite strange because we've just been saying that that's hidden with an outward expression of repentance. So does that mean that Jesus needs to repent? Was he just a rebellion that we are?

[28:22] And he needed to get himself sorted out before he could sort out the ground? No, it wasn't that at all. We know that Jesus was pure of repentance. His baptism was all about identifying with us.

[28:38] So as Jesus comes to be baptized by John up to leave and say, I am one with you, people. I'm not pushing myself upon you.

[28:48] I'm not going to force me to my power on you, making me my servant. I'm going to be one with you to identify with you. I've come to wait your feet into your broken life and into your disordered world.

[29:02] I've come to serve you, not to control you. I've come to be like you so that I can save you. So he won't bend on the power in that sense.

[29:17] To identify and serve you with Jesus. Verse 10, and as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the spirit being sending down on Jesus like a dove and a voice came from heaven.

[29:33] You are my son who am I done when you I am well pleased. Now this is how we know Jesus is no strong. The Father in heaven confirmed to us that Jesus that's in them who he really is.

[29:52] and I want you to be there. Nobody in the history of the world has received an audible voice from heaven that says you are my son whom I am.

[30:02] With you I am well sold. Nobody's ever heard of that. Except for him. And it's why Mark is drawing a thing. He says I want you to come with me.

[30:15] I want you to be there. That Jesus has been baptized in the right job. And I want you to hear those words from heaven for yourself. You are my son.

[30:29] You are my love. You are my love. I want you to see the spirit descending upon Jesus so that you will know that this is God's long awaited promised king who has come to restore broken life and renew disordered world.

[30:47] in many ways Jesus is commissioned sent by the father empowered by the spirit to go into the world and let the people do the work that you can do.

[31:01] This is God's confirmation that Jesus is the one the children one who is going to entertain the life. But this wasn't going to mean to let him say that opposition is going to come and opposition that followed Jesus all the way through as we meet the religious leaders and reject Jesus and their people who are against him.

[31:29] Look at verse 12. at once the spirit sent Jesus out into the desert and he lived in the desert for forty days being tempted by Satan and he was with the wild animals and the angels attention.

[31:48] Now Satan is aware of God's plan and hurt him. He knows that Jesus had come for a specific purpose to renew and restore things and Satan did out to stop it.

[32:04] He wants his plan to destroy before it even began. Now again just as the start of our gospel kind of runs back to Genesis we're almost all about to Genesis again in three verses.

[32:18] It's not unlike what we see at the very beginning. God created a world that was very good but who was lurking in the background? Who was there in the garden? Satan.

[32:30] He got a hold of the glass and he first married women and he broke them. He crushed them. He tempted them and they fell and they failed and were living with consequences ever since a broken world.

[32:46] Now Satan is out to break Jesus but this time things are different. Jesus has tested for 40 days but he didn't break.

[32:59] In fact Jesus is the one who is going to crush Satan. Jesus would crush Satan and also Satan by his second cross.

[33:10] And Jesus is here on his mission in interviewee coming to the world and no one and nothing is going to stop his plan for restoration not even to tell what Satan is.

[33:20] Satan has a need to happen in the world of charity becomes and charity becomes and each one of us here face a world we live life and are resorters we live with death and disease and decay and broken there's war going on there's corruption going on and injustice there's hurt there's all kinds of things but here the message comes on that Jesus Christ has come he has intervened to put it like this and many of you here this morning have a story to tell about Jesus intervened in your own lives and brought about repressions in your mouth and energy and as we read through large apostles we will relieve

[34:24] Jesus beginning to undo the brokenness to reverse the effect of the curse and you read through large apostles it's full of miracles the sick the sick are healed evil spirits are cast out the poor are fed the storms are calmed the dead are raised and sins are forgiven and minds are being transformed all around you all evidence that Jesus has come to restore and we need faith we are faith but Jesus Christ has triumphed he will restore our disorder lives he will renew his broken world he starts to do it he's doing it in our lives and this is the beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ the son of and a nation who is intervening to put things on earth and it's our hope and our prayer that as we breathe through my love we will breathe this

[35:41] Jesus and be changed and transformed and bring his hope to the nation bless the God we thank you so much for that helpful mark we thank you for the way of which it was written those hundreds and hundreds of years ago mark writing down everything that teacher of that verse so that we today in 2011 in our own language can read the story of Jesus and know that it is true that it is real and that we can actually need Jesus please father would you restore us and renew us help us to see the work that you are about help us to see what you are doing in the world and what you want to do and help us to be on the word help us help us to be deeply and more waiting help us to be content and live lives in the kingdom lives that are showing back through our life lives that go the way of Jesus to become man we ask more amen this is singing of the being encouraging one of us let's come together you