WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.860 Well, good morning again, church. 00:00:01.940 --> 00:00:08.019 Would you turn with me to Mark chapter 1, verses 1, verses 14 through 20. 00:00:08.099 --> 00:00:10.200 Mark chapter 1, verses 14 through 20. 00:00:10.300 --> 00:00:11.939 That's page 785 in the Pew Bible. 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.439 It'll be on the screens as I read it in just a second. 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:18.820 But let me encourage you to actually have it open throughout our time of considering 00:00:18.820 --> 00:00:20.400 this passage together. 00:00:22.940 --> 00:00:27.019 Let me read, and then I'll pray for us. 00:00:27.019 --> 00:00:28.800 Mark 1, 14 through 20. 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:36.539 Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God 00:00:36.539 --> 00:00:39.500 and saying, the time is fulfilled. 00:00:40.259 --> 00:00:41.920 The kingdom of heaven is at hand. 00:00:42.780 --> 00:00:44.320 Repent and believe in the gospel. 00:00:45.939 --> 00:00:49.620 Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, 00:00:50.079 --> 00:00:52.019 casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 00:00:52.019 --> 00:00:57.579 And Jesus said to them, follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. 00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:01.759 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 00:01:02.820 --> 00:01:07.259 And going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother, 00:01:07.640 --> 00:01:09.900 who were in their boat mending their nets. 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:12.859 And immediately he called them. 00:01:13.580 --> 00:01:18.140 And they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:20.500 All right, let's pray together. 00:01:22.840 --> 00:01:28.180 Father in heaven, help us now as we come to this word to do what we just sung, 00:01:28.180 --> 00:01:38.240 to turn our eyes upon Jesus and to see in him our Savior ever true, our good and rightful king. 00:01:40.100 --> 00:01:44.380 We ask all this in his name and by the power of your Holy Spirit, Father. 00:01:44.740 --> 00:01:44.980 Amen. 00:01:44.980 --> 00:01:53.380 Well, perhaps you can think of a time when you were waiting for something big to come. 00:01:54.140 --> 00:02:00.540 I have to confess, every time I place an Amazon order, truthfully, whether it's small or big, 00:02:00.800 --> 00:02:04.439 I get a little excited waiting for that package to show up on my door, right? 00:02:05.159 --> 00:02:11.319 But that's nothing compared to waiting for, say, something bigger like your birthday to come, 00:02:11.319 --> 00:02:15.259 or if you're expecting, you're waiting for the day when your child will come, 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:19.280 or perhaps you're waiting for a loved one to come home from a long trip, 00:02:19.919 --> 00:02:25.939 or perhaps waiting for news about some big event, waiting for something big to come. 00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:30.199 Maybe in your life right now you're kind of waiting for something big, 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:33.759 something bigger than an Amazon package anyway. 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:40.099 I think at the deepest level, I think at the deepest level, 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:43.719 we're kind of all waiting for something big, aren't we? 00:02:44.979 --> 00:02:47.539 I mean, if we pause and we're just quiet for a moment, 00:02:48.379 --> 00:02:57.219 we're waiting for the day when finally, maybe, possibly, hopefully, something will change. 00:02:57.219 --> 00:03:05.439 In this broken world, we all catch ourselves sometimes waiting and hoping for something big. 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:07.419 When will the day come? 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:11.599 When will things finally get put right? 00:03:12.800 --> 00:03:17.579 Not just the little things, but like the whole thing, right? 00:03:18.740 --> 00:03:20.699 When will the world finally get put right? 00:03:20.699 --> 00:03:27.099 And I wonder if those little kind of everyday expectations that we have 00:03:27.099 --> 00:03:32.359 are like little glimmers or little echoes of that deeper human longing. 00:03:34.259 --> 00:03:37.000 You know, at a silly level, I'm waiting for my Amazon package to come 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:39.039 because I'm out of my favorite pens, 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:40.719 and once that package gets here, 00:03:41.060 --> 00:03:45.039 finally, my writing needs will be put right at long last. 00:03:47.139 --> 00:03:49.120 You're waiting for your promotion at work 00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:52.840 because then maybe your financial needs can get put right. 00:03:54.259 --> 00:03:56.060 You're waiting for your baby to come 00:03:56.060 --> 00:03:59.400 because then maybe your desire for a family, for a home, 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:01.439 for a deep love can get put right. 00:04:04.340 --> 00:04:07.659 But maybe, perhaps, something even bigger can come 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:10.620 that will put everything right. 00:04:13.480 --> 00:04:15.560 And you know, if you've ever felt that longing, 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:19.360 the good news is you're in good company. 00:04:20.740 --> 00:04:23.899 One of the great themes or threads or desires 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:28.079 that kind of drives the whole Bible is exactly that. 00:04:28.139 --> 00:04:31.660 It's the hope that the world could be put right again. 00:04:34.180 --> 00:04:35.800 If you start reading the Old Testament, 00:04:35.959 --> 00:04:39.500 you'll see, well, you'll see that things go wrong pretty quickly. 00:04:40.439 --> 00:04:41.680 But then there's a promise. 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:44.819 A promise that one day the wrong will be undone, 00:04:45.340 --> 00:04:47.000 everything sad will come untrue, 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:49.939 and at last sickness, sorrow, and death will be no more. 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:54.300 But keep reading the Old Testament, 00:04:55.019 --> 00:05:00.460 and you'll see that there's a growing wisdom that develops. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:03.800 A growing wisdom that the human problem, 00:05:03.920 --> 00:05:04.780 the world's problem, 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:08.180 is so intractable and so great and so deep 00:05:08.180 --> 00:05:10.699 that humans can't solve it. 00:05:12.740 --> 00:05:15.000 As the last chapters of the Old Testament come to a close, 00:05:15.079 --> 00:05:17.139 we see that if the world is going to be put right, 00:05:18.360 --> 00:05:20.400 then God must be the one to do it. 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:25.759 And as the ages kind of roll on 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:27.519 after the close of the Old Testament, 00:05:27.939 --> 00:05:30.340 the Jewish people begin talking about this hope, 00:05:30.340 --> 00:05:35.500 this longing in terms of God's kingdom. 00:05:35.500 --> 00:05:39.579 That is when God, the Lord, 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:41.100 the world's true king, 00:05:41.720 --> 00:05:42.860 comes to reign 00:05:42.860 --> 00:05:46.300 and comes to put the world right again. 00:05:48.379 --> 00:05:50.199 If you ask many Jews in the first century, 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:53.399 what is it that's going to heal the world? 00:05:53.819 --> 00:05:55.300 What's going to take this broken world 00:05:55.300 --> 00:05:57.259 full of injustice and wrong and suffering and death, 00:05:57.279 --> 00:05:59.100 what's going to heal it once and for all? 00:05:59.139 --> 00:06:00.199 The answer would have been 00:06:00.199 --> 00:06:02.000 God's kingdom. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:08.800 Now listen again to verses 14 through 15 of Mark 1. 00:06:10.699 --> 00:06:11.699 Now after John was arrested, 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:14.399 Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God 00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:15.660 and saying, 00:06:16.759 --> 00:06:17.560 the time's fulfilled. 00:06:18.459 --> 00:06:19.959 The kingdom of God is at hand. 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:23.600 Repent and believe in the gospel. 00:06:25.459 --> 00:06:29.120 Jesus' message was that the reign of God, 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:30.459 the kingdom of God, 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:31.800 the hope of the world, 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:33.040 the healing of the world, 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:35.540 the putting right of all things had arrived. 00:06:36.459 --> 00:06:37.759 The time is fulfilled, 00:06:37.879 --> 00:06:39.139 the wait is over, 00:06:39.560 --> 00:06:40.939 and the healing has begun. 00:06:42.019 --> 00:06:42.819 It's at hand. 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.000 That is, it's pressing down right now 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.300 in this moment. 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:49.959 And Jesus says, 00:06:50.040 --> 00:06:51.579 that's good news. 00:06:51.579 --> 00:06:56.560 And it's not just the good news, 00:06:56.659 --> 00:06:58.500 the gospel of Rome or of Caesar. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:00.719 It's not the good news of any human empire 00:07:00.719 --> 00:07:03.259 or any human endeavor or human striving, 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:05.000 but it's the gospel, 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:06.459 the good news of God. 00:07:08.219 --> 00:07:11.919 God's tremendous, history-changing good news. 00:07:12.519 --> 00:07:14.519 God's kingdom is at hand. 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:15.519 God's kingdom is at hand. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:19.120 So this passage from Mark that we just read 00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:20.779 helps us to understand then 00:07:20.779 --> 00:07:22.339 two very important things, 00:07:22.419 --> 00:07:23.859 and we're going to look at them both together. 00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:27.379 First, in verses 14 through 15, 00:07:28.159 --> 00:07:30.959 Mark helps us to see Jesus' message. 00:07:31.740 --> 00:07:33.519 And then in verses 16 through 20, 00:07:34.019 --> 00:07:35.899 we see Jesus' call. 00:07:36.139 --> 00:07:38.500 That is, how should we respond to that message? 00:07:38.680 --> 00:07:39.639 There's a lot of misunderstanding 00:07:39.639 --> 00:07:41.079 about both of those things, 00:07:41.359 --> 00:07:43.599 but Mark's going to help us to get it right. 00:07:43.600 --> 00:07:44.780 What is Jesus' message, 00:07:45.060 --> 00:07:46.680 and what is Jesus' call? 00:07:46.780 --> 00:07:48.140 How should we respond to that message? 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:51.020 So when we consider first Jesus' message 00:07:51.020 --> 00:07:52.560 in verses 14 through 15, 00:07:52.780 --> 00:07:55.260 we see that ultimately the message of Jesus 00:07:55.260 --> 00:07:56.840 maybe isn't what we expect. 00:07:58.520 --> 00:08:00.420 After all, it's common to think of Jesus 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:02.920 as just one of the great religious leaders, right, 00:08:02.960 --> 00:08:04.900 who came to start another religious movement. 00:08:05.900 --> 00:08:07.680 And what do great religious leaders do? 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:10.120 Well, they come and they give new teaching, 00:08:10.220 --> 00:08:12.080 and they give new instructions to follow, right? 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:13.839 The Buddha came and he taught the four truths, 00:08:13.919 --> 00:08:15.579 and Muhammad brought the five pillars, 00:08:15.800 --> 00:08:18.719 and Jesus, well, well, actually, 00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:21.639 Jesus is quite different. 00:08:22.419 --> 00:08:23.800 He breaks the mold. 00:08:26.219 --> 00:08:27.860 Because his message isn't primarily 00:08:27.860 --> 00:08:29.219 a new code of ethics. 00:08:29.979 --> 00:08:31.659 Of course, Jesus did teach us how to live. 00:08:32.240 --> 00:08:33.439 But the heart of his message, 00:08:33.539 --> 00:08:35.120 the real heart of Jesus' message 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:37.319 wasn't something that you and I should be doing, 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:38.759 but something that God was doing. 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:41.179 God's kingdom had arrived. 00:08:41.500 --> 00:08:42.460 The time was up. 00:08:44.200 --> 00:08:47.100 And that's why Jesus uses the word gospel. 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:50.939 Of course, that's a pretty kind of religious-y 00:08:50.939 --> 00:08:53.000 sounding word today, isn't it? 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:55.240 Gospel. 00:08:56.439 --> 00:08:58.299 But it wasn't in the first century. 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:02.620 In Jesus' day, the word gospel, or good news, 00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:06.480 referred to what messengers proclaimed 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:08.820 when great battles had been won, 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:10.879 or when emperors had been born, 00:09:11.220 --> 00:09:13.860 or when kingdoms rose and kingdoms fell. 00:09:15.779 --> 00:09:18.279 A gospel in the first century wasn't a religious word. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:19.259 It was a political word. 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:20.279 It was a social word. 00:09:20.500 --> 00:09:21.600 It was a word that you would read 00:09:21.600 --> 00:09:23.019 on the front page of the New York Times, 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:24.240 not in your church bulletin. 00:09:26.460 --> 00:09:27.539 It was news. 00:09:27.539 --> 00:09:32.439 So it's quite significant that Jesus' message 00:09:32.439 --> 00:09:34.639 is first and foremost not a dogma or an ethic, 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:35.439 but a gospel, 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:39.079 a message of something that is being done. 00:09:39.259 --> 00:09:40.399 Something is happening. 00:09:40.899 --> 00:09:42.019 God is doing something. 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:45.279 And God is doing something good. 00:09:47.059 --> 00:09:49.099 He's come at last to make things right. 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:50.899 The healing has begun. 00:09:50.899 --> 00:09:56.740 But you see, Jesus' message wasn't just 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:58.840 that God's kingdom had arrived, 00:10:00.419 --> 00:10:04.740 but that God's kingdom had arrived in him. 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:09.340 Now, we'll take the rest of Mark's gospel 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:10.939 for this reality to unfold, 00:10:11.039 --> 00:10:11.980 but we do see it here. 00:10:12.919 --> 00:10:17.399 What is it that starts the inbreaking of God's reign? 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:23.759 It's Jesus when he steps forward and says, 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:25.720 the time is fulfilled. 00:10:27.340 --> 00:10:30.939 His arrival, his proclamation 00:10:30.939 --> 00:10:33.659 is the beginning of God's kingdom. 00:10:35.699 --> 00:10:37.819 And so what Mark wants us to see, 00:10:37.959 --> 00:10:40.159 even at this earliest point in his gospel, 00:10:40.779 --> 00:10:42.879 isn't just that God's kingdom is at hand, 00:10:42.879 --> 00:10:46.360 but that God's kingdom is at hand in Jesus. 00:10:47.399 --> 00:10:51.659 The healing of the world comes through him. 00:10:55.019 --> 00:10:57.039 That is a bit challenging for us today, isn't it? 00:10:57.519 --> 00:10:59.279 We can think of all sorts of things we think 00:10:59.279 --> 00:11:01.879 that need to happen in order for the world to be healed, 00:11:02.299 --> 00:11:03.659 in order for things to be put right. 00:11:05.799 --> 00:11:07.579 But if at the center of that, 00:11:07.939 --> 00:11:10.159 hope and longing and dream and plan 00:11:10.159 --> 00:11:12.620 is not the Lord Jesus, 00:11:12.620 --> 00:11:18.539 then we've departed from God's own plan and way 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:21.019 of bringing his kingdom and healing the world. 00:11:21.139 --> 00:11:22.460 So, you know, if you would have asked 00:11:22.460 --> 00:11:24.240 a typical Jewish person in the first century, 00:11:24.299 --> 00:11:25.419 as I said, what's going to heal the world, 00:11:25.480 --> 00:11:26.460 they would have said God's kingdom. 00:11:27.860 --> 00:11:29.440 But if you would have asked a Christian, 00:11:29.940 --> 00:11:31.220 whether Jew or Gentile, 00:11:31.860 --> 00:11:33.799 they would have said the same thing with this twist. 00:11:34.240 --> 00:11:36.740 God's kingdom, and it's come in Jesus. 00:11:36.740 --> 00:11:41.279 God has begun to reclaim his fallen world, 00:11:41.460 --> 00:11:42.480 to heal what's broken, 00:11:42.680 --> 00:11:44.519 and he's doing it through his eternal son, 00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:46.360 the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. 00:11:50.180 --> 00:11:51.740 And isn't that good news? 00:11:53.779 --> 00:11:54.279 Why? 00:11:55.519 --> 00:11:57.080 Well, think with me for a second. 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:59.120 Imagine God, 00:11:59.620 --> 00:12:02.040 who he's revealed himself to be, 00:12:02.280 --> 00:12:06.360 holy, just, good, sovereign, mighty, 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:07.920 beautiful beyond measure. 00:12:08.180 --> 00:12:09.259 Imagine God, 00:12:10.100 --> 00:12:12.540 upon whom we all depend for every second, 00:12:13.460 --> 00:12:15.460 coming to put things right, 00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:19.620 taking all the wrong and injustice and evil 00:12:19.620 --> 00:12:23.040 in the world and putting it away once and for all. 00:12:24.420 --> 00:12:26.480 That's a wonderful hope, isn't it? 00:12:27.080 --> 00:12:30.080 Until you stop to think, 00:12:30.980 --> 00:12:35.580 what about my own wrongs and my own injustices? 00:12:37.360 --> 00:12:38.680 What about my own heart? 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:42.520 That yes, more often than I care to admit, 00:12:43.180 --> 00:12:46.860 is so self-centered and at times even evil. 00:12:49.500 --> 00:12:50.940 And then you might start to think, 00:12:51.220 --> 00:12:53.080 God's kingdom, yes, 00:12:53.180 --> 00:12:55.180 it might be good news for the world, 00:12:55.179 --> 00:12:57.979 but is it good news for me, 00:12:58.799 --> 00:12:59.259 a sinner? 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:02.819 When God's kingdom comes, 00:13:02.919 --> 00:13:05.839 how could there possibly be a place for me? 00:13:07.939 --> 00:13:10.500 But consider Jesus. 00:13:11.959 --> 00:13:14.019 Jesus arrives in Galilee. 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:16.339 Now, that's a pretty curious place 00:13:16.339 --> 00:13:17.439 to begin the kingdom, 00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:19.199 to begin the reign of God, Galilee. 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:20.979 After all, think about it. 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:21.720 In the first century, 00:13:22.039 --> 00:13:24.340 Rome was the center of the Gentile world 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:25.120 in the first century. 00:13:25.899 --> 00:13:27.779 Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish world. 00:13:28.779 --> 00:13:31.379 If you were going to start the in-breaking reign of God 00:13:31.379 --> 00:13:32.220 and fix things, 00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:34.139 you think you would start there, right? 00:13:34.920 --> 00:13:35.259 No. 00:13:36.300 --> 00:13:37.560 Jesus begins in Galilee. 00:13:40.060 --> 00:13:41.539 He begins in the margins. 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:44.980 Galilee is just this ordinary place. 00:13:44.980 --> 00:13:48.200 But there, 00:13:48.560 --> 00:13:50.480 that's where Jesus begins. 00:13:51.460 --> 00:13:53.180 Not among the political elite, 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:56.120 not among the religious or the moral elite, 00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:57.940 Galilee. 00:13:59.920 --> 00:14:02.779 But Jesus doesn't just begin His ministry on the margins. 00:14:03.899 --> 00:14:05.399 He ends it there as well. 00:14:07.240 --> 00:14:10.139 Where does the gospel of Mark lead? 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:15.679 Do we see Jesus in a liberating victory march to Rome 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:17.600 to overthrow oppression and injustice? 00:14:18.199 --> 00:14:20.840 Do we see a sort of triumphant march to Jerusalem, 00:14:21.240 --> 00:14:24.199 toppling all the sort of corrupt religiosity 00:14:24.199 --> 00:14:25.240 happening in the capital? 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:27.580 No. 00:14:29.439 --> 00:14:31.879 Jesus' ministry comes to its climax 00:14:31.879 --> 00:14:34.860 on a hill outside of Jerusalem, 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:37.100 surrounded by criminals, 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:40.540 hung up to die on a Roman cross. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:44.379 And we ask, 00:14:45.019 --> 00:14:48.220 is this how God's kingdom comes? 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:52.220 Through the tragic execution 00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:54.279 of a young Jewish man named Jesus? 00:14:55.860 --> 00:14:57.139 Is that God's kingdom? 00:15:00.080 --> 00:15:01.180 But don't you see? 00:15:04.060 --> 00:15:07.000 Jesus wasn't just any young Jewish man. 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:09.600 He was the king of God's kingdom. 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:13.779 And the king knew that if God's kingdom 00:15:13.779 --> 00:15:16.300 was going to be good news for you and me, 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:17.540 for sinners, 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:20.200 then he would have to step, 00:15:20.580 --> 00:15:23.540 not just into the margins of our ordinary life, 00:15:23.540 --> 00:15:25.120 but he'd have to go even further 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:27.120 and step down into the sin 00:15:27.120 --> 00:15:28.240 and self-centeredness 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:30.159 that broke the world in the first place. 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:33.440 He would have to take your place 00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:34.399 at the judgment 00:15:34.399 --> 00:15:36.799 so you could join his place 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:37.620 in the kingdom. 00:15:39.100 --> 00:15:40.419 That's what the king does 00:15:40.419 --> 00:15:41.939 for you and me. 00:15:42.939 --> 00:15:44.919 And that's why it's such good news 00:15:44.919 --> 00:15:46.220 that God's kingdom 00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:48.439 has come in Jesus. 00:15:51.959 --> 00:15:53.120 So do you believe that? 00:15:54.340 --> 00:15:55.959 Do you believe that God's kingdom 00:15:55.959 --> 00:15:58.639 has arrived in Jesus? 00:15:58.639 --> 00:16:01.179 that here lies the secret, 00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:03.819 the answer to the healing of the world, 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:06.600 the crucified rabbi from Galilee, 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:09.379 the risen and reigning Lord Jesus? 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:14.240 That is the very proclamation 00:16:14.240 --> 00:16:16.939 of Christianity from beginning to end. 00:16:16.940 --> 00:16:21.380 And if so, 00:16:22.060 --> 00:16:23.960 if you do believe that, 00:16:24.000 --> 00:16:24.860 how should you respond? 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:26.840 Well, that brings us 00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:28.040 to the rest of our passage. 00:16:28.360 --> 00:16:29.920 In verses 16 through 20, 00:16:30.160 --> 00:16:32.380 what we see is Jesus' call. 00:16:33.920 --> 00:16:35.140 And these verses give us 00:16:35.140 --> 00:16:35.900 a vivid picture 00:16:35.900 --> 00:16:37.360 of what the end of verse 15 means. 00:16:37.460 --> 00:16:38.660 Jesus says in verse 15, right, 00:16:38.900 --> 00:16:40.400 repent and believe the gospel. 00:16:40.520 --> 00:16:41.320 Well, what does that mean? 00:16:42.060 --> 00:16:43.080 Well, we see it here 00:16:43.080 --> 00:16:44.260 in verses 16 through 20. 00:16:45.159 --> 00:16:46.600 When Jesus comes to Simon, 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:47.519 whom Jesus will give 00:16:47.519 --> 00:16:48.740 the new name Peter a little later, 00:16:48.919 --> 00:16:50.439 when he comes to Simon and Andrew 00:16:50.439 --> 00:16:51.539 and James and John, 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:53.939 he says, follow me. 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:55.919 And what do they do? 00:16:56.860 --> 00:16:57.939 They leave their nets 00:16:57.939 --> 00:16:59.580 and they leave their family 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:01.200 and they follow him. 00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:04.180 Now, let me point out three things 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:05.480 about this call. 00:17:06.420 --> 00:17:09.579 First, Jesus says, follow me, right? 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:12.619 He is the object of the call. 00:17:12.619 --> 00:17:14.939 Without qualification, 00:17:15.419 --> 00:17:16.299 without hesitation, 00:17:16.519 --> 00:17:18.379 Jesus says, follow me. 00:17:19.899 --> 00:17:21.699 And that was very radical 00:17:21.699 --> 00:17:22.519 in the first century. 00:17:22.639 --> 00:17:23.519 It wasn't something 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.599 that other teachers 00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:25.659 or rabbis would do. 00:17:26.519 --> 00:17:27.699 You know, notice he doesn't say 00:17:27.699 --> 00:17:29.219 like all the Old Testament prophets, 00:17:30.019 --> 00:17:30.859 follow Torah, 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:32.219 follow the law of Moses. 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:34.000 And he doesn't say 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:35.019 like everyone says today, 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:36.319 follow your heart. 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:37.619 You know, 00:17:38.779 --> 00:17:39.779 a dream is a wish 00:17:39.779 --> 00:17:40.619 the heart makes. 00:17:41.219 --> 00:17:42.359 Find it and follow it. 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:43.799 Keep navel gazing 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:44.599 until you discover 00:17:44.599 --> 00:17:45.559 your true self, right? 00:17:46.399 --> 00:17:46.939 No. 00:17:48.139 --> 00:17:49.379 Jesus says, follow me. 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:53.439 If you want to be part 00:17:53.439 --> 00:17:54.279 of God's kingdom, 00:17:54.699 --> 00:17:56.819 you must follow me. 00:17:58.379 --> 00:17:59.559 And that means 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:01.939 you must leave something behind. 00:18:03.719 --> 00:18:04.619 Your nets 00:18:04.619 --> 00:18:06.079 and your family. 00:18:06.839 --> 00:18:07.559 If you want to understand 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:08.099 the real meaning 00:18:08.099 --> 00:18:09.479 of Jesus' call to repent, 00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:09.559 repent, 00:18:10.059 --> 00:18:10.700 here it is. 00:18:12.319 --> 00:18:13.200 Repentance, you see. 00:18:13.539 --> 00:18:13.900 Again, 00:18:14.180 --> 00:18:15.860 it's not this sort of 00:18:15.860 --> 00:18:17.220 narrow religious word. 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:18.480 We hear the word repent 00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:19.480 and we think it means 00:18:19.480 --> 00:18:19.980 sort of like 00:18:19.980 --> 00:18:21.559 be sorry for breaking the rules. 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:22.460 Well, it is that, 00:18:22.599 --> 00:18:23.860 but it's deeper than that. 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:26.420 In reality, 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:28.140 repentance is a whole 00:18:28.140 --> 00:18:29.860 life shift 00:18:29.860 --> 00:18:30.579 of allegiance. 00:18:31.799 --> 00:18:32.579 The direction 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:33.660 of your life changes. 00:18:33.660 --> 00:18:37.920 What defines your life 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:38.380 right now? 00:18:39.720 --> 00:18:40.560 Your vocation? 00:18:40.660 --> 00:18:41.040 Your work? 00:18:42.300 --> 00:18:43.120 Your family? 00:18:43.700 --> 00:18:44.240 Your people? 00:18:44.380 --> 00:18:45.040 Your tribe? 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:48.420 I think for most of us, 00:18:48.680 --> 00:18:50.000 it's usually one 00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:50.380 or the other 00:18:50.380 --> 00:18:51.040 of those two things, 00:18:51.060 --> 00:18:51.420 isn't it? 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:52.920 It's either my work 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:53.700 that defines me 00:18:53.700 --> 00:18:54.400 or it's my people 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:55.840 that define me, right? 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:58.439 You meet someone new 00:18:58.439 --> 00:18:59.279 and eventually 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:00.199 they're going to ask you, 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:01.619 so what do you do? 00:19:01.959 --> 00:19:02.119 Right? 00:19:02.199 --> 00:19:02.859 And then you tell them 00:19:02.859 --> 00:19:03.279 your job 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:04.519 or where are you from 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:05.339 or who are you a part? 00:19:05.419 --> 00:19:06.159 What, you know, 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:07.679 what's your people, right? 00:19:09.539 --> 00:19:10.559 I'm a Mets fan 00:19:10.559 --> 00:19:11.919 or whatever, you know. 00:19:14.819 --> 00:19:15.679 Jesus says, 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:17.959 you have to leave them both 00:19:17.959 --> 00:19:19.859 and follow me. 00:19:23.259 --> 00:19:24.519 I'm what defines you now, 00:19:24.939 --> 00:19:25.519 Jesus says. 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:28.439 Now, you might be thinking 00:19:28.439 --> 00:19:29.099 that was easy 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:31.259 for a handful of poor fishermen 00:19:31.259 --> 00:19:32.980 on the shores of Galilee. 00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:34.459 What did they have to lose, right? 00:19:35.539 --> 00:19:35.939 But, you know, 00:19:35.959 --> 00:19:36.659 the reality is 00:19:36.659 --> 00:19:38.779 Simon and Andrew 00:19:38.779 --> 00:19:39.899 and James and John, 00:19:40.240 --> 00:19:40.399 you know, 00:19:40.439 --> 00:19:41.199 they weren't sort of 00:19:41.199 --> 00:19:42.439 poor, desperate fishermen 00:19:42.439 --> 00:19:43.639 with nothing to lose. 00:19:43.919 --> 00:19:44.699 I think that's a pretty, 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:46.939 pretty big historical misconception 00:19:46.939 --> 00:19:47.720 we have 00:19:47.720 --> 00:19:49.599 about these first disciples. 00:19:50.819 --> 00:19:51.079 You know, 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:52.220 when we look at the history, 00:19:52.339 --> 00:19:52.980 we see that 00:19:52.980 --> 00:19:54.139 the fishing industry 00:19:54.139 --> 00:19:55.240 around the Sea of Galilee 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:56.539 was actually this sort of 00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:57.440 thriving business 00:19:57.440 --> 00:19:58.279 in the first century. 00:19:59.120 --> 00:20:00.099 And it wasn't just 00:20:00.099 --> 00:20:01.160 sort of a local trade. 00:20:01.460 --> 00:20:01.559 You know, 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:02.099 you remember, 00:20:02.259 --> 00:20:03.579 in the Greco-Roman world, 00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:04.559 fish was like 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:06.279 the staple food, right? 00:20:06.420 --> 00:20:07.240 Everyone ate fish 00:20:07.240 --> 00:20:07.960 all the time. 00:20:08.019 --> 00:20:08.720 It's how they got 00:20:08.720 --> 00:20:09.339 their protein. 00:20:10.620 --> 00:20:11.339 And fish 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:12.400 from the Sea of Galilee 00:20:12.400 --> 00:20:13.539 were exported 00:20:13.539 --> 00:20:14.440 and prized 00:20:14.440 --> 00:20:15.019 and valued 00:20:15.019 --> 00:20:16.000 as far south 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:16.700 as Alexandria 00:20:16.700 --> 00:20:17.279 and Egypt 00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:18.160 and as far north 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:18.759 as Antioch 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:19.200 and Syria, 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:19.599 which were two 00:20:19.599 --> 00:20:20.380 of the biggest cities 00:20:20.380 --> 00:20:21.579 in the Roman Empire. 00:20:21.579 --> 00:20:23.159 So the fishermen 00:20:23.159 --> 00:20:24.199 on the Sea of Galilee 00:20:24.199 --> 00:20:25.419 were actually competing 00:20:25.419 --> 00:20:26.740 in an international 00:20:26.740 --> 00:20:27.939 Mediterranean market 00:20:27.939 --> 00:20:28.980 and by all accounts, 00:20:29.240 --> 00:20:30.179 they were pretty successful 00:20:30.179 --> 00:20:30.759 at it. 00:20:32.299 --> 00:20:32.500 I mean, 00:20:32.579 --> 00:20:33.339 consider Zebedee 00:20:33.339 --> 00:20:33.859 right here, 00:20:34.139 --> 00:20:35.099 the father of James 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:35.639 and John. 00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:38.179 He has hired servants 00:20:38.179 --> 00:20:38.980 working for him. 00:20:40.919 --> 00:20:42.059 These aren't poor fishermen 00:20:42.059 --> 00:20:43.159 living hand to mouth. 00:20:47.279 --> 00:20:48.480 So what were Andrew 00:20:48.480 --> 00:20:48.960 and Simon 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:49.839 and James and John 00:20:49.839 --> 00:20:50.799 walking away from? 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:54.099 They were walking away 00:20:54.099 --> 00:20:55.059 from a thriving 00:20:55.059 --> 00:20:56.240 family business 00:20:56.240 --> 00:20:57.700 in a culture 00:20:57.700 --> 00:20:58.379 where family 00:20:58.379 --> 00:20:59.079 meant everything. 00:21:01.539 --> 00:21:02.379 In other words, 00:21:02.419 --> 00:21:02.879 they had everything 00:21:02.879 --> 00:21:03.359 to lose. 00:21:06.980 --> 00:21:08.279 So why did they do it? 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:10.759 What would make them 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:12.099 drop everything 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:13.599 and follow Jesus? 00:21:15.980 --> 00:21:16.460 Well, 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:16.960 we know from 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:17.879 John's Gospel 00:21:17.879 --> 00:21:19.700 that they had met 00:21:19.700 --> 00:21:20.079 Jesus 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:20.799 and even spent 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:21.500 some time with him 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:22.439 before this encounter 00:21:22.439 --> 00:21:23.039 in Galilee. 00:21:23.879 --> 00:21:24.779 So Jesus wasn't 00:21:24.779 --> 00:21:25.659 a totally unknown 00:21:25.659 --> 00:21:26.519 quantity to them. 00:21:27.619 --> 00:21:28.480 But still, 00:21:28.619 --> 00:21:29.319 this moment 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:29.980 right here 00:21:29.980 --> 00:21:30.539 on the shores 00:21:30.539 --> 00:21:31.179 of Galilee 00:21:31.179 --> 00:21:31.779 while they're at 00:21:31.779 --> 00:21:32.299 their boats 00:21:32.299 --> 00:21:33.259 and with their family 00:21:33.259 --> 00:21:33.699 and working 00:21:33.699 --> 00:21:34.299 on their nets, 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:35.500 this is the decisive 00:21:35.500 --> 00:21:35.960 moment. 00:21:36.220 --> 00:21:37.139 Why did they go? 00:21:38.419 --> 00:21:39.339 What was it 00:21:39.339 --> 00:21:39.960 about Jesus 00:21:39.960 --> 00:21:40.699 that they were willing 00:21:40.699 --> 00:21:41.539 to leave everything 00:21:41.539 --> 00:21:42.460 and follow him? 00:21:42.460 --> 00:21:46.440 Well, 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:47.460 I think that question 00:21:47.460 --> 00:21:49.120 is exactly 00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:49.779 the question 00:21:49.779 --> 00:21:51.319 that Mark wants 00:21:51.319 --> 00:21:51.960 his readers 00:21:51.960 --> 00:21:52.940 to be asking. 00:21:54.000 --> 00:21:55.259 What would make 00:21:55.259 --> 00:21:56.920 four ordinary, 00:21:57.460 --> 00:21:58.400 prosperous men 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.640 drop everything 00:21:59.640 --> 00:22:01.120 to follow this Jesus? 00:22:03.039 --> 00:22:04.400 Aren't you curious? 00:22:06.100 --> 00:22:07.400 Don't you want to see 00:22:07.400 --> 00:22:08.500 what they saw? 00:22:08.500 --> 00:22:12.119 And Mark's Gospel 00:22:12.119 --> 00:22:12.960 takes us 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:13.799 on a journey 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:14.980 where we can do 00:22:14.980 --> 00:22:15.720 just that, 00:22:16.279 --> 00:22:17.920 to see in Jesus 00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:19.279 what they saw. 00:22:20.220 --> 00:22:21.460 So if you're wondering 00:22:21.460 --> 00:22:22.299 what would make 00:22:22.299 --> 00:22:23.559 people leave 00:22:23.559 --> 00:22:24.839 their job 00:22:24.839 --> 00:22:25.740 or leave 00:22:25.740 --> 00:22:26.519 their family 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:28.019 and follow Jesus, 00:22:28.279 --> 00:22:29.259 you need to stay 00:22:29.259 --> 00:22:29.720 tuned 00:22:29.720 --> 00:22:31.140 and keep reading. 00:22:31.140 --> 00:22:35.220 But I like 00:22:35.220 --> 00:22:35.620 what Jerome, 00:22:35.700 --> 00:22:36.300 the church father, 00:22:36.360 --> 00:22:36.960 has to say 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:38.080 about this passage 00:22:38.080 --> 00:22:38.700 writing in the 00:22:38.700 --> 00:22:39.740 fourth or fifth century, 00:22:39.780 --> 00:22:40.240 I think it is. 00:22:40.280 --> 00:22:40.640 He writes, 00:22:41.640 --> 00:22:42.660 there must have been 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:44.120 something 00:22:44.120 --> 00:22:46.400 divinely compelling 00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:48.560 in the Savior's 00:22:48.560 --> 00:22:49.240 guileless 00:22:49.240 --> 00:22:50.320 countenance. 00:22:50.840 --> 00:22:51.940 There must have been 00:22:51.940 --> 00:22:53.100 something divinely 00:22:53.100 --> 00:22:53.700 compelling 00:22:53.700 --> 00:22:55.160 in the Savior's 00:22:55.160 --> 00:22:55.940 guileless 00:22:55.940 --> 00:22:56.920 countenance 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:57.900 that persons 00:22:57.900 --> 00:22:59.620 merely upon 00:22:59.620 --> 00:23:00.480 seeing him 00:23:00.480 --> 00:23:02.160 could trust. 00:23:03.980 --> 00:23:04.660 Just 00:23:04.660 --> 00:23:05.660 one 00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:07.279 real look 00:23:07.279 --> 00:23:08.440 at Jesus 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:10.599 is what it takes 00:23:10.599 --> 00:23:11.480 to trust him. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:15.360 Now, 00:23:15.420 --> 00:23:15.940 will you literally 00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:16.500 have to quit 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:17.160 your job 00:23:17.160 --> 00:23:18.059 and abandon 00:23:18.059 --> 00:23:18.700 your family 00:23:18.700 --> 00:23:19.640 to follow Jesus? 00:23:21.019 --> 00:23:21.660 Some of you 00:23:21.660 --> 00:23:22.200 might be thinking, 00:23:22.460 --> 00:23:22.980 I kind of don't 00:23:22.980 --> 00:23:23.680 like my job 00:23:23.680 --> 00:23:24.400 and my family 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:24.900 annoys me. 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:25.559 I would love 00:23:25.559 --> 00:23:26.539 to quit everything 00:23:26.539 --> 00:23:27.160 and follow Jesus. 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:27.860 Sign me up! 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:28.200 Right? 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:28.279 Right? 00:23:28.279 --> 00:23:31.059 Well, 00:23:31.099 --> 00:23:31.379 no. 00:23:32.359 --> 00:23:32.839 You know, 00:23:32.859 --> 00:23:33.579 more often than not 00:23:33.579 --> 00:23:34.139 in the Gospels, 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:35.019 Jesus tells people 00:23:35.019 --> 00:23:35.799 who trust in him 00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:36.740 to go home 00:23:36.740 --> 00:23:37.779 and tell your family 00:23:37.779 --> 00:23:38.319 and your hometown 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:38.960 how much I've done 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:39.339 for you. 00:23:40.980 --> 00:23:42.119 The point here 00:23:42.119 --> 00:23:43.319 is that work 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:44.019 and family, 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:44.920 vocation 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:45.720 and tribe, 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:46.839 however you define it, 00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:48.200 they don't have 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:48.740 our ultimate 00:23:48.740 --> 00:23:49.839 allegiance anymore. 00:23:50.299 --> 00:23:50.859 They aren't 00:23:50.859 --> 00:23:51.639 our identity 00:23:51.639 --> 00:23:52.279 anymore. 00:23:53.139 --> 00:23:53.960 And that means 00:23:53.960 --> 00:23:54.759 if we have to quit 00:23:54.759 --> 00:23:55.539 our jobs to follow 00:23:55.539 --> 00:23:55.839 Jesus, 00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:56.339 we would. 00:23:56.339 --> 00:23:57.899 And if we have 00:23:57.899 --> 00:23:58.679 to leave our social 00:23:58.679 --> 00:23:59.699 tribe or our social 00:23:59.699 --> 00:24:00.079 network, 00:24:00.159 --> 00:24:00.619 we will. 00:24:01.439 --> 00:24:02.539 He gets the priority 00:24:02.539 --> 00:24:03.720 over everything else. 00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:06.559 That's real repentance. 00:24:08.439 --> 00:24:09.480 And that's what it means 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:10.299 to follow Jesus 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:12.039 and enter God's kingdom. 00:24:14.980 --> 00:24:15.959 But notice the second 00:24:15.959 --> 00:24:16.959 thing about this call. 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:18.179 Notice that Jesus says, 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:18.939 follow me 00:24:18.939 --> 00:24:20.579 and I will make you 00:24:20.579 --> 00:24:20.980 something. 00:24:22.259 --> 00:24:23.459 I will make you 00:24:23.459 --> 00:24:24.220 become 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:25.720 fishers of men, 00:24:25.720 --> 00:24:26.180 he says. 00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:27.880 Now of course 00:24:27.880 --> 00:24:28.579 Jesus is using 00:24:28.579 --> 00:24:29.839 an obvious wordplay 00:24:29.839 --> 00:24:30.900 on their profession 00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:32.279 but there's also 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:33.120 a subtle allusion 00:24:33.120 --> 00:24:34.100 here to the Old Testament. 00:24:34.860 --> 00:24:35.860 Earlier in the service 00:24:35.860 --> 00:24:36.620 we read from 00:24:36.620 --> 00:24:37.519 the prophet Jeremiah 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:38.700 where Jeremiah 00:24:38.700 --> 00:24:40.319 looks ahead 00:24:40.319 --> 00:24:42.240 to when God 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:43.220 is going to judge 00:24:43.220 --> 00:24:44.079 and save 00:24:44.079 --> 00:24:44.680 his people 00:24:44.680 --> 00:24:45.559 and even extend 00:24:45.559 --> 00:24:46.059 his kingdom 00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:46.940 to the Gentiles. 00:24:47.600 --> 00:24:47.960 And what does 00:24:47.960 --> 00:24:48.759 Jeremiah say? 00:24:48.920 --> 00:24:49.360 He says, 00:24:49.700 --> 00:24:50.279 the Lord through 00:24:50.279 --> 00:24:50.940 Jeremiah says, 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:51.839 I'm going to send 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:52.880 out fishers 00:24:52.880 --> 00:24:53.680 and I'm going 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:54.120 to send 00:24:54.120 --> 00:24:55.100 out hunters 00:24:55.100 --> 00:24:55.960 and I'm going 00:24:55.960 --> 00:24:56.540 to gather 00:24:56.540 --> 00:24:57.240 them all in. 00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:01.480 So you see, 00:25:01.560 --> 00:25:02.040 the call 00:25:02.040 --> 00:25:03.440 to follow Jesus 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:05.200 isn't a call 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:06.660 to mere 00:25:06.660 --> 00:25:08.000 observation. 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:10.560 Following Jesus 00:25:10.560 --> 00:25:11.280 isn't about 00:25:11.280 --> 00:25:12.100 becoming a mere 00:25:12.100 --> 00:25:13.140 spectator 00:25:13.140 --> 00:25:14.160 to the work 00:25:14.160 --> 00:25:15.040 of God's kingdom. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:17.040 It's about 00:25:17.040 --> 00:25:18.220 becoming a participant. 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:21.000 with this new 00:25:21.000 --> 00:25:21.600 identity 00:25:21.600 --> 00:25:22.559 comes a new 00:25:22.559 --> 00:25:22.940 mission, 00:25:23.100 --> 00:25:23.860 a new purpose, 00:25:24.160 --> 00:25:24.860 a new reason 00:25:24.860 --> 00:25:25.480 to get up 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:25.940 in the morning. 00:25:27.620 --> 00:25:28.380 Peter and Andrew 00:25:28.380 --> 00:25:29.039 and James and John 00:25:29.039 --> 00:25:29.799 they were presumably 00:25:29.799 --> 00:25:30.740 really good 00:25:30.740 --> 00:25:31.559 at catching fish. 00:25:32.180 --> 00:25:32.740 That's what got 00:25:32.740 --> 00:25:33.559 them up every morning 00:25:33.559 --> 00:25:34.539 probably a lot earlier 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:35.059 than you and I 00:25:35.059 --> 00:25:35.720 get up in the morning, 00:25:35.799 --> 00:25:36.019 right? 00:25:38.640 --> 00:25:39.400 But now 00:25:39.400 --> 00:25:42.079 it wasn't going 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:42.559 to be about 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:43.799 bringing fish 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:44.860 from water 00:25:44.860 --> 00:25:45.680 to land. 00:25:47.079 --> 00:25:47.819 Now it was going 00:25:47.819 --> 00:25:48.200 to be about 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:49.019 seeing people 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:50.159 brought from 00:25:50.159 --> 00:25:51.000 death to life. 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:53.419 Seeing men 00:25:53.419 --> 00:25:53.859 and women 00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:55.299 lost under 00:25:55.299 --> 00:25:55.720 the curse 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:56.220 of the fall 00:25:56.220 --> 00:25:57.119 come to know 00:25:57.119 --> 00:25:58.159 that God's kingdom 00:25:58.159 --> 00:25:58.960 had come in Jesus 00:25:58.960 --> 00:25:59.759 and that forgiveness 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:00.359 and new life 00:26:00.359 --> 00:26:00.939 could be found 00:26:00.939 --> 00:26:01.359 in Him. 00:26:03.000 --> 00:26:03.359 You see, 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:04.480 every follower 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:05.019 of Jesus 00:26:05.019 --> 00:26:06.220 is also 00:26:06.220 --> 00:26:07.099 a minister 00:26:07.099 --> 00:26:07.599 of Jesus. 00:26:09.000 --> 00:26:09.879 God has 00:26:09.879 --> 00:26:10.639 good works 00:26:10.639 --> 00:26:11.139 prepared 00:26:11.139 --> 00:26:11.980 for you 00:26:11.980 --> 00:26:12.559 to do. 00:26:14.339 --> 00:26:15.240 God wants 00:26:15.240 --> 00:26:15.639 you to not 00:26:15.639 --> 00:26:16.399 just enjoy 00:26:16.399 --> 00:26:17.039 His forgiveness 00:26:17.039 --> 00:26:17.940 and grace 00:26:17.940 --> 00:26:19.359 but to join 00:26:19.359 --> 00:26:20.019 the mission 00:26:20.019 --> 00:26:20.639 of advancing 00:26:20.639 --> 00:26:21.379 His kingdom. 00:26:24.359 --> 00:26:25.059 A Christian 00:26:25.059 --> 00:26:25.799 who doesn't 00:26:25.799 --> 00:26:26.519 serve 00:26:26.519 --> 00:26:27.079 and minister 00:26:27.079 --> 00:26:27.539 is sort of 00:26:27.539 --> 00:26:28.279 like a kite 00:26:28.279 --> 00:26:29.519 that never flies, 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:29.980 right? 00:26:30.899 --> 00:26:31.740 What a shame 00:26:31.740 --> 00:26:33.599 to be stuck 00:26:33.599 --> 00:26:34.279 on the ground 00:26:34.279 --> 00:26:36.339 when you could 00:26:36.339 --> 00:26:36.799 be feeling 00:26:36.799 --> 00:26:37.420 the wind 00:26:37.420 --> 00:26:38.720 carrying you 00:26:38.720 --> 00:26:39.059 up 00:26:39.059 --> 00:26:40.159 into the sky 00:26:40.159 --> 00:26:40.759 and clouds. 00:26:42.440 --> 00:26:43.099 That's where 00:26:43.099 --> 00:26:44.000 God is calling you. 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:45.000 God is calling you. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:47.960 The call of Jesus 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:48.579 is the call 00:26:48.579 --> 00:26:49.299 to join the work. 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:51.420 Of course, 00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:52.140 Peter and Andrew 00:26:52.140 --> 00:26:52.819 and James and John, 00:26:52.880 --> 00:26:53.299 they probably 00:26:53.299 --> 00:26:54.119 didn't understand 00:26:54.119 --> 00:26:54.940 all this at first, 00:26:55.059 --> 00:26:55.319 right? 00:26:55.700 --> 00:26:56.640 And they certainly 00:26:56.640 --> 00:26:57.980 were not ready 00:26:57.980 --> 00:26:58.440 for it. 00:26:59.480 --> 00:26:59.680 Ah, 00:26:59.740 --> 00:27:00.579 but notice carefully 00:27:00.579 --> 00:27:01.559 what Jesus says. 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:02.519 He says, 00:27:02.779 --> 00:27:03.700 I will make you 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:05.880 become fishers of men. 00:27:05.980 --> 00:27:06.119 Now, 00:27:06.140 --> 00:27:06.740 I have to confess, 00:27:07.059 --> 00:27:07.619 as I was studying 00:27:07.619 --> 00:27:08.859 for the preaching 00:27:08.859 --> 00:27:09.640 this week 00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:10.480 and I read that verse, 00:27:10.539 --> 00:27:10.759 I thought, 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:11.819 that is a clumsy 00:27:11.819 --> 00:27:12.440 translation, 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:13.140 right? 00:27:14.019 --> 00:27:14.379 Certainly, 00:27:14.460 --> 00:27:14.759 we could have 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:15.240 cleaned that up 00:27:15.240 --> 00:27:15.619 a little bit 00:27:15.619 --> 00:27:16.000 and made that 00:27:16.000 --> 00:27:16.519 a little smoother, 00:27:16.640 --> 00:27:17.180 but actually, 00:27:17.900 --> 00:27:19.259 as I got into it, 00:27:19.480 --> 00:27:20.259 it's a really good 00:27:20.259 --> 00:27:21.319 translation of that verse, 00:27:21.759 --> 00:27:22.980 even though it sounds 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:23.819 a little strange. 00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:25.319 I will make you 00:27:25.319 --> 00:27:27.920 become fishers of men. 00:27:29.259 --> 00:27:30.220 In other words, 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:32.660 Jesus is promising here 00:27:32.660 --> 00:27:34.740 that along the way 00:27:34.740 --> 00:27:35.859 of following Him, 00:27:36.740 --> 00:27:38.099 He will make them 00:27:38.099 --> 00:27:39.319 what they need to be. 00:27:39.319 --> 00:27:41.379 He will make them 00:27:41.379 --> 00:27:42.960 become what they need 00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:44.519 to be in order to do 00:27:44.519 --> 00:27:45.359 the work He's called 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:45.939 them to do. 00:27:47.779 --> 00:27:48.980 The call of Jesus 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:50.259 is a call to follow 00:27:50.259 --> 00:27:51.980 and become. 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:54.799 So, 00:27:54.859 --> 00:27:55.240 if you're thinking 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:56.039 that you're not ready 00:27:56.039 --> 00:27:57.519 to follow Jesus, 00:27:58.399 --> 00:27:59.200 you're not ready 00:27:59.200 --> 00:28:01.159 to follow Him 00:28:01.159 --> 00:28:02.899 and join the mission, 00:28:03.799 --> 00:28:05.279 if you're thinking 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:05.839 you're not ready, 00:28:05.939 --> 00:28:06.119 well, 00:28:06.779 --> 00:28:07.339 you're right. 00:28:07.339 --> 00:28:09.559 no one is ever ready 00:28:09.559 --> 00:28:10.539 to follow Jesus. 00:28:11.480 --> 00:28:12.480 That's why He says, 00:28:13.179 --> 00:28:13.699 follow me 00:28:13.699 --> 00:28:15.679 and I will make you become. 00:28:17.399 --> 00:28:17.879 So, 00:28:17.980 --> 00:28:18.619 trust Him. 00:28:19.619 --> 00:28:20.419 Put your life 00:28:20.419 --> 00:28:21.199 in His hands 00:28:21.199 --> 00:28:21.679 and He 00:28:21.679 --> 00:28:22.859 will make you 00:28:22.859 --> 00:28:23.559 become. 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:26.539 To be sure, 00:28:26.599 --> 00:28:27.500 He will use all sorts 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:28.019 of means 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:28.759 to get you there. 00:28:29.879 --> 00:28:30.980 He'll use the means 00:28:30.980 --> 00:28:31.439 of worship 00:28:31.439 --> 00:28:32.240 and community 00:28:32.240 --> 00:28:33.039 and His Word 00:28:33.039 --> 00:28:33.919 and He'll use the means 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:35.220 of His Spirit 00:28:35.220 --> 00:28:36.340 and prayer 00:28:36.340 --> 00:28:37.660 and He'll even use 00:28:37.660 --> 00:28:38.060 the means 00:28:38.060 --> 00:28:38.580 of suffering 00:28:38.580 --> 00:28:39.259 and trials. 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:41.240 But the promise 00:28:41.240 --> 00:28:41.860 stands, 00:28:42.519 --> 00:28:43.279 I'll make you 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:44.100 become. 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:46.259 So, 00:28:46.320 --> 00:28:46.720 you don't need 00:28:46.720 --> 00:28:47.380 to clean up 00:28:47.380 --> 00:28:48.000 your act 00:28:48.000 --> 00:28:49.200 or get your life 00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:49.720 together 00:28:49.720 --> 00:28:51.240 before you follow Jesus. 00:28:52.000 --> 00:28:53.080 It's His job 00:28:53.080 --> 00:28:53.960 to do the cleaning 00:28:53.960 --> 00:28:54.880 and the changing. 00:28:55.259 --> 00:28:55.720 What you need 00:28:55.720 --> 00:28:56.140 to do 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:58.120 is let down 00:28:58.120 --> 00:28:58.660 your nets 00:28:58.660 --> 00:29:00.400 and follow Him. 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:04.220 But lastly, 00:29:04.320 --> 00:29:05.240 notice one more thing 00:29:05.240 --> 00:29:06.780 about this call, 00:29:07.060 --> 00:29:08.000 this call 00:29:08.000 --> 00:29:08.519 to enter 00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:09.140 God's kingdom 00:29:09.140 --> 00:29:09.720 and this call 00:29:09.720 --> 00:29:10.940 to follow King Jesus. 00:29:11.400 --> 00:29:12.500 It's also a call 00:29:12.500 --> 00:29:14.220 to a fellowship. 00:29:15.940 --> 00:29:16.720 Jesus knows us 00:29:16.720 --> 00:29:17.280 and calls us 00:29:17.280 --> 00:29:18.280 individually by name. 00:29:18.340 --> 00:29:19.000 Isn't that wonderful? 00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:20.040 Simon, 00:29:20.280 --> 00:29:20.580 Andrew, 00:29:20.800 --> 00:29:21.140 James, 00:29:21.300 --> 00:29:21.560 John, 00:29:21.660 --> 00:29:22.460 we're known 00:29:22.460 --> 00:29:23.460 and we're called 00:29:23.460 --> 00:29:24.240 by name 00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:25.259 but we join 00:29:25.259 --> 00:29:26.340 something bigger 00:29:26.340 --> 00:29:27.100 than ourselves. 00:29:28.420 --> 00:29:29.100 Following Jesus 00:29:29.100 --> 00:29:30.240 means following Him 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:31.799 alongside others. 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:33.799 There's no such thing 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:36.000 as a lone ranger Christian. 00:29:36.140 --> 00:29:37.319 We have to do this 00:29:37.319 --> 00:29:38.079 together. 00:29:40.579 --> 00:29:42.079 And when we do it together, 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:43.640 following Jesus 00:29:43.640 --> 00:29:44.380 as our King, 00:29:45.940 --> 00:29:46.519 then it's like 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:47.259 the mustard seed 00:29:47.259 --> 00:29:49.120 that Jesus mentions 00:29:49.120 --> 00:29:50.240 in Mark chapter 4. 00:29:51.900 --> 00:29:52.539 Jesus said, 00:29:53.920 --> 00:29:55.299 with what can we compare 00:29:55.299 --> 00:29:56.440 the kingdom of God 00:29:56.440 --> 00:29:58.279 or what parable 00:29:58.279 --> 00:29:59.380 shall we use for it? 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:01.460 it's like a grain 00:30:01.460 --> 00:30:02.279 of mustard seed 00:30:02.279 --> 00:30:03.839 which when sown 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:04.380 in the ground 00:30:04.380 --> 00:30:05.000 is the smallest 00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:05.900 of all the seeds 00:30:05.900 --> 00:30:06.359 on earth. 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:08.440 Yet when it's sown, 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:09.819 it grows up 00:30:09.819 --> 00:30:10.900 and becomes 00:30:10.900 --> 00:30:12.599 larger than all 00:30:12.599 --> 00:30:13.599 the garden plants 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:14.519 and puts out 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:15.359 large branches 00:30:15.359 --> 00:30:16.759 so that the birds 00:30:16.759 --> 00:30:17.279 of the air 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:18.519 can make nests 00:30:18.519 --> 00:30:19.539 in its shade. 00:30:20.400 --> 00:30:21.120 The kingdom 00:30:21.120 --> 00:30:22.120 starts small 00:30:22.120 --> 00:30:24.000 and then it grows 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.400 and then it becomes 00:30:25.400 --> 00:30:26.019 a place 00:30:26.019 --> 00:30:27.240 of shelter 00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:28.180 and shade, 00:30:28.619 --> 00:30:29.640 a place of healing 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:30.500 and a place 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:31.059 of home. 00:30:33.900 --> 00:30:35.559 So according to Mark's gospel, 00:30:35.740 --> 00:30:36.700 according to Jesus, 00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:38.559 what we're waiting for 00:30:38.559 --> 00:30:39.960 is here. 00:30:40.640 --> 00:30:41.599 It's here 00:30:41.599 --> 00:30:42.759 in Jesus, 00:30:42.839 --> 00:30:43.319 the crucified 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:44.079 and risen Lord. 00:30:45.359 --> 00:30:46.119 And of course, 00:30:46.180 --> 00:30:46.799 it's here 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:48.039 oftentimes 00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:49.440 in a seed. 00:30:50.440 --> 00:30:50.779 Right? 00:30:51.660 --> 00:30:52.259 God's kingdom 00:30:52.259 --> 00:30:52.639 in Jesus 00:30:52.639 --> 00:30:53.420 one day 00:30:53.420 --> 00:30:54.420 will come in fullness 00:30:54.420 --> 00:30:55.039 and then the glory 00:30:55.039 --> 00:30:55.359 of God 00:30:55.359 --> 00:30:56.180 will cover the earth 00:30:56.180 --> 00:30:56.940 like the waters 00:30:56.940 --> 00:30:57.559 cover the sea 00:30:57.559 --> 00:30:58.119 and that day 00:30:58.119 --> 00:30:58.940 is still in the future 00:30:58.940 --> 00:30:59.639 but already 00:30:59.639 --> 00:31:01.079 that kingdom 00:31:01.079 --> 00:31:01.759 has begun. 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:04.519 The fall 00:31:04.519 --> 00:31:05.379 is starting 00:31:05.379 --> 00:31:05.960 to set in. 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:07.139 Winter is passing 00:31:07.139 --> 00:31:07.740 and the signs 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:08.119 of spring 00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:08.559 are starting 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:09.240 to spring up 00:31:09.240 --> 00:31:09.619 so come 00:31:09.619 --> 00:31:10.399 and follow him. 00:31:10.940 --> 00:31:11.579 Mark says, 00:31:12.680 --> 00:31:13.619 let down your nets 00:31:13.619 --> 00:31:14.799 and follow him. 00:31:14.859 --> 00:31:15.559 He's not looking 00:31:15.559 --> 00:31:16.379 for polish 00:31:16.379 --> 00:31:17.359 and prestige. 00:31:17.599 --> 00:31:18.160 He's not looking 00:31:18.160 --> 00:31:19.440 for perfect people 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:20.599 because there are none 00:31:20.599 --> 00:31:21.859 he's calling you 00:31:21.859 --> 00:31:24.459 right where you are 00:31:24.459 --> 00:31:25.240 right there 00:31:25.240 --> 00:31:26.159 in the ordinary. 00:31:27.639 --> 00:31:28.959 Come and follow me. 00:31:30.259 --> 00:31:31.119 Come enter 00:31:31.119 --> 00:31:31.779 God's kingdom. 00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:33.240 Come join 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:34.039 God's reign 00:31:34.039 --> 00:31:36.359 and let the healing 00:31:36.359 --> 00:31:36.740 begin. 00:31:38.299 --> 00:31:39.419 Let's pray together. 00:31:47.059 --> 00:31:48.000 Our Lord Jesus 00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:48.659 as we pause 00:31:48.659 --> 00:31:49.279 and take a moment 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:50.000 before you 00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:53.680 we ask that you 00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:54.079 would soften 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:54.500 our hearts 00:31:54.500 --> 00:31:54.920 to you 00:31:54.920 --> 00:31:55.680 and to your call. 00:31:56.660 --> 00:31:57.480 God some of us here 00:31:57.480 --> 00:31:58.460 have heeded this call 00:31:58.460 --> 00:32:00.220 many years ago 00:32:00.220 --> 00:32:01.180 and we continue 00:32:01.180 --> 00:32:01.779 to heed it 00:32:01.779 --> 00:32:02.539 and we thank you 00:32:02.539 --> 00:32:03.200 that that is not 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:03.900 because of our own 00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:04.819 wisdom or grace 00:32:04.819 --> 00:32:05.440 or strength 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:06.200 but because of your 00:32:06.200 --> 00:32:07.319 grace and Holy Spirit. 00:32:08.380 --> 00:32:09.259 Lord renew in us 00:32:09.259 --> 00:32:09.940 that sense 00:32:09.940 --> 00:32:11.880 to let down 00:32:11.880 --> 00:32:12.400 our nets 00:32:12.400 --> 00:32:13.380 and to even 00:32:13.380 --> 00:32:14.240 leave our family 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:15.579 and follow you. 00:32:15.579 --> 00:32:18.079 Father for those 00:32:18.079 --> 00:32:19.000 who are feeling 00:32:19.000 --> 00:32:20.059 the tug of this call 00:32:20.059 --> 00:32:21.839 but are perhaps 00:32:21.839 --> 00:32:22.339 unsure 00:32:22.339 --> 00:32:25.159 would you help them 00:32:25.159 --> 00:32:26.119 to see in the face 00:32:26.119 --> 00:32:26.579 of Jesus 00:32:26.579 --> 00:32:27.899 one who can be trusted 00:32:27.899 --> 00:32:30.839 and who has gone 00:32:30.839 --> 00:32:32.059 to the very uttermost 00:32:32.059 --> 00:32:33.159 to love them 00:32:33.159 --> 00:32:33.939 and bring them home. 00:32:33.940 --> 00:32:36.980 O Lord 00:32:36.980 --> 00:32:39.140 we pray 00:32:39.140 --> 00:32:39.640 that your kingdom 00:32:39.640 --> 00:32:40.259 would come 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:41.720 in and through our church 00:32:41.720 --> 00:32:42.559 for Jesus' sake 00:32:42.559 --> 00:32:42.920 Father. 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:43.380 Amen. 00:32:43.380 --> 00:32:43.480 Amen. 00:32:43.480 --> 00:32:43.539 Amen. 00:32:43.539 --> 00:32:43.680 Amen. 00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:44.820 Amen. 00:32:44.820 --> 00:32:45.360 Amen. 00:32:45.360 --> 00:32:45.920 Amen. 00:32:45.920 --> 00:32:45.960 Amen. 00:32:45.960 --> 00:32:47.700 Amen. 00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:52.000 Amen. 00:32:52.220 --> 00:32:52.600 Amen. 00:32:52.600 --> 00:32:56.000 Amen. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:56.700 Amen. 00:32:56.700 --> 00:33:03.539 Amen.