Mark chapter 1, we are walking with Jesus through the gospel of Mark and you're going to pick up your pace and walk fast because I want you to keep up and mark moves at a rapid pace.
He covers a lot of ground.
He told us nothing about the birth of Christ.
The gospel of Luke tells us most of those details that we have.
He does not speak of the prophecy of Christ.
The gospel of Luke again tells us most of that.
He speaks nothing about the childhood visit to the temple.
You know who tells us that?
Luke.
Luke tells us that.
Mark begins by telling us about the man who baptized Jesus and then telling us of his baptism and of his temptation in the desert.
And I call his time in the desert his seminary experience.
And the reason why I call it that is because of my own experience.
My seminary experience was a time of a way to focus on God's plan and God's preparation for me for ministry.
It worked out that way for me.
Education happens a lot of different ways these days.
But in those days, we had no internet.
And so I got in my Honda Civic, packed everything I had and drove 600 miles from my mom and daddy.
And got to New Orleans.
And about three weeks in went, why Lord?
Why?
Because he pulled me away for a time to plan and prepare to learn.
Six months in, gave me the opportunity to pastor and learn what that process means.
Or begin to learn.
I'm still learning.
So I call it Jesus' seminary experience because before he started his ministry, he went into the desert.
And faced in those temptations a lot of the things that people would throw at him after that.
And he was, he had a plan.
He had prep.
And he went forward with what God's plan was for his life.
But when he leaves the desert, Jesus ministers in Judea and in Galilee and in Jerusalem.
For somewhere between six months and a year.
And none of that is covered in Mark.
As a matter of fact, the only gospel that we have that covers that is John chapter 2 through John chapter 4.
That's where you find Jesus going to the wedding at Cana.
Turning the water into wine.
He goes into Jerusalem.
He meets Nicodemus at night.
He meets the Samaritan woman at the well.
All of that happens.
John records it.
No one else records it in Scripture.
And so that up to a year is considered the year of obscurity for Christ.
Because we know little about it except for a few conversations along the way.
Our knowledge is just not as complete about that.
We do know that during that period, after Jesus' baptism,
that John, the one that baptized him, was arrested.
Sometimes six months to a year after the baptism of Jesus,
John is arrested and he will lose his life in prison.
And now Christ begins his ministry.
And begins calling his disciples to follow him.
And I want you to notice a trend or look for a trend in our passage this morning.
It's in Mark chapter 1, beginning in verse 14, it says this.
Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God
and saying, the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the gospel.
Passing alongside the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon,
casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.
And Jesus said to them, follow me and I'll make you become fishers of men.
And going on a little further, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother,
who were in their boats, mending their nets.
And immediately he called them and they left their father Zebedee in the boat
with the hired servants and followed him.
He says in the beginning of this passage that he is proclaiming the gospel of God.
The euangelion, it's the Greek term, the euangelion of God.
And the reason why I bring that up is because that term became kind of popular with Caesar Augustus
about himself.
It's the euangelion of Caesar Augustus.
He liked to talk about the good news of himself.
And so Mark, about that same time frame, is trying to clarify, I'm not talking about Caesar here.
I'm talking about the real gospel, the real good news, the real euangelion, and that is God.
It's about God.
And so he establishes the difference in that by saying that he came proclaiming the gospel of God.
Now what is the gospel?
Well, the gospel is the proclamation and the demonstration of the good news that Christ has come to save us from our sins
both now and for eternity and that if we'll repent of our sins and we'll trust Christ as our Savior
and live for him from this day forward, for his honor and his glory, we'll spend eternity with him.
Everything will change instantly when you follow Christ immediately.
And that's the gospel, the real gospel.
Luke tells us more.
Mark's very succinct.
He just says that Christ said the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the gospel.
But listen to how Luke describes that scene.
It's in Luke chapter 4 verse 16.
It says this,
And Jesus came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and he stood up to read.
And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him.
He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
For he has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.
And he rolled up the scroll, and he gave it back to the attendant, and he sat down.
And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
And he began to say to them,
Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.
And all spoke well of him,
and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.
And they said,
Is not this Joseph's son?
I want you to get this scene.
It's fabulous.
Jesus went to his home synagogue.
They knew him.
And he takes up the scroll,
and he reads Isaiah.
I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, I believe.
But Isaiah,
there's two prophets that really stand out.
One of them is Elijah.
Elijah's kind of the prophet of prophets of sorts.
But there's things written about Elijah, but Elijah didn't write them.
But Isaiah wrote extensively.
His prophecies are extensive.
And it is not only the largest book of prophecy that we have in Scripture,
but it is the most popular.
It was in the first century,
and it's well known today.
But they really thought a lot of Isaiah.
And so for him to speak of Isaiah,
and to read from Isaiah,
he's got everybody's attention.
He reads Isaiah,
and then he says,
I am fulfilling this Scripture now.
And he drops the mic.
I mean, it's that kind of moment, folks.
It is.
And they were amazed.
And they were affirmative.
And they were blown away.
And they were thinking,
this is our hometown boy.
Listen to him.
That's Joseph's son.
And then he started talking some more.
And by the time Jesus got done speaking in the synagogue,
they wanted to kill him.
But he kept ministering to them and around them.
All Mark says about that is that Christ said,
the time is fulfilled.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent and believe in the gospel.
Listen, he's very succinct.
If Mark was preaching today,
you'd get out early.
But he's not.
He then passed by the sea.
And he calls Simon and Andrew.
Now, what Mark does not speak of
is the ministry and the teaching
that Christ did over the months
that are not covered.
And the reality is,
in John 1,
it tells us that Simon Peter
and his brother Andrew
spent a day with Jesus
before he walked by the lake that day.
And so they knew him.
And they knew he was the Messiah.
They were familiar with him.
And then one day,
while they were busy doing their jobs,
he walked by.
And when he walked by them,
as well as James and John,
the sons of Zebedee,
when he walked by,
those four men's response
are a great example for us
to know how to respond
when Jesus walks by,
when Jesus speaks to us.
And I want you to get that today.
When Jesus walks by,
respond immediately.
Immediately.
I'm always struck by the immediacy
of their response.
Both Simon Peter and his brother Andrew
dropped what they were doing
and followed Jesus immediately.
Now, there's a difference
in delayed obedience
and immediate obedience.
If you leave here today
and you are driving toward a traffic light
and it turns yellow
and you intend to obey,
but you delay,
you're going to do one of two things.
One is you're going to goose it,
all right,
and hope you beat the red one
and you probably won't.
Or either you're going to stop too late
and you're going to stop
in the middle of the intersection,
okay?
I'll confess,
I've done both,
all right?
But the reality is
delayed obedience
is the same as disobedience
because that's not what they intended
when they put a red light there.
If my children were told
to make up their beds
when they were growing up
and four hours later
their beds were not made,
that's not delayed obedience.
That's disobedience.
And the reality is
when God convicts us
about doing what we're doing
and we continue to do that,
even if it's just for a little while longer,
that's not delayed obedience.
That's disobedience.
It's disobedience
and it does not honor God.
When God tells us
to act
and we wait a while on it,
that's disobedience.
And the reality is
when you read God's Word,
and I read God's Word
every morning,
usually chapters
of God's Word,
and I'm looking
for one verse.
God, give me one verse today
where you speak volumes to me.
Help that to be inspiring
for other people as well,
but Lord, more importantly,
speak to me
through that.
Show me
what you'd have me to know.
And
God gives me a verse.
I keep digging
until I find it,
but
very seldom
do the lights cut on
and
my heart palpitate
and
I just feel like
that my whole day
has been changed
because
He's revealed something
to me I've never seen.
And I pray daily
and I ask God
to give me direction
and guidance
and I ask it for my family
and I ask it for this church
and I
pray over the matters
that are dealing
with,
you're dealing with
in your life
that you bother to share
and
very seldom
is there something
that just seems
earth-shattering
that I've got to get up
and go do
immediately.
But it happens.
It happens.
And there's times
when God gives me
a passage of Scripture
it just burns
in my heart
as if before
the foundations
of the earth
and before I was
ever thought of
by anybody else
except God
that God had established
that I would read
that verse that day
for what was going on
in my life
at that time.
And when you have
one of those
type moments
you need to pay
attention to it.
when God speaks
to your circumstances
not generally
but specifically
you need to respond
immediately.
And when Jesus
looked at them
and said
come follow me
they went.
they responded
immediately.
Second thing
is they put
Christ first.
And that's what
we must do
is put Christ first.
It is easy
to put something
else before Christ.
It is natural
for us to do that.
It's human nature
for us to do that
but beyond that
we're born into sin
and even if we
wasn't born into sin
we were sinners.
We'd have messed up
if we weren't born
into sin
but we are born
into sin
so we're better
at messing up.
So now we've got
a nature about us
as well as a sin
nature about us
that is contrary
to what God
would have us to do.
It is natural
for us
to put God
second in our life.
We can come up
with all kinds
of reason
to put Christ off
instead of
put him first.
And they could have too.
They had stuff
in their lives as well.
They were busy
as a matter of fact.
At the time
he came by
they had businesses
and they had assets
in that business.
And Simon and Andrew
left their nets.
James and John
had a family business.
I think it was called
Zebedee and Sons
Fish Supply.
They had people
working under them
in their boat
which means they had
a decent sized boat
as well.
They had it going on.
And they left it
and they went
with the Lord.
Most Christ followers
don't have to give up
their job.
And there's evidence
that these men
continued fishing as well.
But if so
they never let that
get in the way
of their service
to the Lord.
And the reality is
some people
don't want to make
any changes
in their lifestyle.
I mean God
I want to be obedient
but I don't want you
I don't want to change
a thing.
I've got my plans
and I don't care
to change them.
Let me tell you
something.
You follow Christ
it'll change your plans.
He'll disrupt
your circumstances.
He'll change your plans.
Don't wait
to be obedient
because you want
to get things
in your life
straight first.
I've got news
for you.
You're never
going to get
everything straight.
It's life.
You're not going
to do it.
And if you're
putting off
being obedient
to God
until you get
all your ducks
in a row
your ducks
will waddle
away
on a random
basis
and you'll never
get it straight.
When God
reveals to us
the moment
that he does
we must
immediately
follow Christ.
Thankfully
he takes us
as we are
and he makes us
and molds us
to be
what he wants
us to be.
Listen
these men
could have blamed
it on their family
as well.
They could have.
That happens often.
I mean it does.
Either spiritual
decisions are
based upon family
or they're
blamed upon family.
It happens
so very often.
But I want to
be clear about
something.
It is not
your spouse's
fault
that you're not
living for the
Lord.
It's not.
Yes they
influence you
no doubt
about that
but it's not
their fault
if you're not
living for the
Lord.
and
it's not
your kids
difficulties
that have
kept you
from being
everything
that God
wants you
to be.
There's only
so much
you can do
to direct
somebody else's
life
and God
entrusts you
with a number
of years
to do your
best to do
that.
But I got
news for you.
It's not
your kids
difficulties
that keep
you from
being everything
that God
would have
you to be.
And don't
blame it
on a poor
example
from a
parent.
If you
are grown
and choose
to live
in sin
it's not
your parents
fault.
It's not.
Listen
and I
realize
I was
blessed
by godly
parents
got godly
parents
and I
realize
I have
a step
up
because of
that.
I get
that.
But if
you were
raised
with
sorry
examples
do not
follow
in that
legacy.
Don't
do it.
Start a
new
legacy.
Start
something
new.
The next
generation
is at
stake
folks.
Christ
enables
us
to be
different.
And if
you're in
your 20s
or in
your 30s
and you're
still more
concerned
about what
your mom
thinks about
your life
direction
than what
God thinks
about your
life direction
you're aiming
in the wrong
direction.
You need to
follow what
the Lord
would have
for you
to do.
Zebedee
was left
in the
boat
with his
servants
by his
sons.
Did he
agree with
James and
John's
direction?
I don't
know.
There's
evidence
they didn't
ask him.
They just
went with
what God
wanted.
Folks
go with
God.
He'll
take care
of your
family.
He may
help you
reach your
family for
Christ.
They could
have said
Jesus I
can't go
I'm worried
about my
family.
But they
didn't.
Jesus I
can't go
I'm worried
about my
business.
They
didn't.
They stood
on their
own two
spiritual
feet and
they served
the Lord
and I'm
going to
tell you
God
honors such
as that.
Put
Christ
first.
Third
thing you
need to
know is
this.
Don't
expect all
the details.
You're
not going
to get
them.
You're
not.
These
men didn't
get all
the details.
You know
what they
got?
Follow
me and
I'll
make you
fishers
of men.
That's
what they
got.
They
knew they
were
surrendering
to the
Lord.
But they
didn't know
what that
would entail
but they
went.
And they
were
fishermen.
They
knew how
to fish.
They
didn't know
how to
gather
crowds
together.
They
didn't
know how
to preach.
They
didn't
really know
how to
share.
They
didn't
know how
to lead.
They
didn't
know how
to heal.
They
didn't
know how
to feed
masses of
folks.
They
had never
done that.
They
knew nothing
about that.
They
knew how
to fish.
But they
were willing
to surrender
to the
Lord and
to a
relationship
in which
he would
show them
how to
minister.
How did
he do
that?
I want
you to
get this.
He
showed
them
through
what
they
knew
best,
fishing.
He
met
them
where
they
are.
Even
in this
passage he
tells them
I will
make you
fishers
of men.
You may
not know
what he
meant by
that.
They
knew what
he meant
by that.
He
would
teach
them
how to
catch
people
for the
cause
and the
kingdom
of
Christ.
He
would
teach
them
what
they
needed
to
know.
He
would
teach
them
how
to
have
faith.
Where
did
he
teach
them
how
to
have
faith?
On
the
lake.
On
the
same
lake
that
they
worked
on.
He
taught
them
there
in
the
midst
of
the
storm.
He
met
them
where
they
were
and
taught
them
what
they
needed
to
know.
When
he
fed
the
5,000
and
their
families
in
Mark
6,
they
didn't
get
it.
What
did
he
do?
He
came
to
them
in
the
midst
of
a
storm
on
the
water
and
taught
them
not
to
be
afraid.
He
taught
them
about
the
power
of
his
presence
through
a
storm.
Where
did
he
teach
them
that?
In
a
boat
in
their
territory.
!
What
they
knew
when
he
had
a
crowd
he
taught
them
how
to
speak.
When
he
sent
them
out
he
taught
them
how
to
go
out
when
they
had
other
questions
he
taught
them
through
everyday
examples
and
when
they
still
didn't
get
it
when
they
were
wondering
among
themselves
and
asking
questions
among
themselves
he
either
heard
them
or
discerned
it
in
his
heart
or
both
he
responded
!
They
didn't
wait
for
all
those
details
before
they
surrendered
and
let me
tell you
something
we
don't
need
to
either
we
don't
need
to
wait
until
we
get
all
the
details
of
what
it
means
to
serve
the
Lord
in
that
capacity
because
we're
not
going
to
get
all
those
details
we're
going
to
take
it
day
by
day
by
day
we
just
have
to
trust
him
and
the
good
news
is
he's
more
worthy
to
be
trusted
than
anybody
you've
ever
met
you
can
trust
him
he
loves
you
cares
for
you
wants
the
best
for
you
wants
to
use
you
mightily
he's
worth
it
trust
him
but
don't
expect
all
the
details
now
as
a
guy
who
can
ruin
a
vacation
by
mapping
it
out
to
such
details
that
takes
some
wrapping
your
head
around
for
me
but
the
reality
is
I
didn't
know
the
hairpin
turns
that
I
went
through
a
couple
of
months
ago
and
I
don't
know
what
they
are
next
I
have
no
idea
and
you
don't
either
so
what
do
we
do
a
breath
at
a
time
a
minute
at
a
time
a
day
at
a
time
we
just
trust
the
Lord
we
respond
to
him
immediately
we
follow
his plan
for our
lives
and we
we
trust
him
don't
expect
all the
details
and if
we'll do
that
we will
be used
mightily
say we're
used
mightily
I love
Acts
chapter
4
verse
13
God
is using
Peter
and John
mightily
and they
stand before
the council
of the
elite
and they're
filled with
the spirit
of God
and they
speak boldly
and they
speak clearly
and they're
standing before
the Sanhedrin
and they're
standing before
the high
priest
and they're
standing before
Caiaphas
I mean
listen
these are
fellows
who are
trained
in the
law
and know
the letter
of the
law
and what I
mean by that
is religious
law
they knew
the Torah
the first
five books
of the
Bible
they knew
it like
the back
of their
hand
they were
steeped
in it
they were
proud of
themselves
in a lot
of ways
and Christ
goes after
them in
his ministry
but I don't
want you to
discount how
dedicated
these men
were
to what
they knew
of the
Word of
God
I mean
they
they knew
it
well
they were
the road
scholars
of the
day
they were
the
PhDs
in
Bible
and
fishermen
stood up
in front
of them
and said
in Acts
4 verse
12
and there
is salvation
in no one
else
for there
is no
other name
under heaven
given among
men
by which
we must
be saved
and I
want you
to listen
to the
aristocrats
respond to
that
it says
in verse
13
now when
they saw
the boldness
of Peter
and John
and perceived
that they
were uneducated
common men
they were
astonished
and they
recognized
they had
been with
Jesus
what in the
world are we
waiting on
God speaks
to our hearts
and lives
about a matter
in our lives
that we need
to deal
with
we need
to respond
immediately
whatever that
concern is
they drop
theirs
we need
to drop
ours
and leave
it behind
and follow
Christ
immediately
and the
difference
their decision
for Christ
made in
their lives
was absolutely
tremendous
it makes a
difference in
our lives
how God
used them
quite honestly
they found
meaning
they found
purpose
they made
a difference
listen
they are
legends
for Christ
why
because
Jesus
walked by
and they
just said
okay
and dropped
whatever they
had
and trusted
him
with the
next move
they
selflessly
surrendered
their lives
to God
immediately
and they
followed him
what in the
world are we
waiting on
what's holding
us back
if you're here
this morning
and there's
never been a
time when
you've
surrendered
your life
to the
Lord Jesus
I didn't
ask you
if you've
joined a
church
I didn't
ask you
if you've
been baptized
I didn't
ask you
if you
raised your
hand when
nobody was
looking or
you repeated
a prayer
after somebody
I ask you
if there's
never been
a time
in your
life
when you've
submitted
your life
to Christ
and said
from this
day forward
to the
dear Lord
I don't
want what
I want
what you
want
I want
you to
save me
take away
my sins
I want
you to
know
today's
the day
of salvation
and I
believe
that if
you feel
any inkling
of that
it did
not come
from you
because
scripture
says
that we're
dead in
our
transgressions
and sins
the reality
is that
he has
sparked
that within
us
and all
we must
do
is exactly
what they
did on
the side
of that
lake
and that
is respond
immediately
to what
he'd have
for us
to do
and trust
him
we're
going to
stand and
we're going
to sing
in just a
moment
if you've
never
given your
heart and
life
of the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
the
wisest
decision
you'll
ever
make
maybe
the
quickest
decision
you'll
ever
make
the
most
life
changing
decision
you'll
ever
make
is to
come
give
your
life
to
Christ
and I'd
love to
guide
you
in
obedience
is
disobedience
obey
Christ
in that
matter
maybe
you're
here
and God's
drawing
you to
First Baptist
Church
and you
know
that's
what God
would have
you to
do
follow
the
Lord
in that
but listen
for the
rest of
us
is there
something
in your
life
that God's
been making
fully aware
to you
you need
to deal
with
and he's
knocked on
your heart's
door
or he's
he shook
your
conscience
again
maybe
again
there's a
stronghold
in your
life
that you
need to
lay down
before the
Lord
and say
from
this day
forward
I want
to respond
to you
immediately
to put
you
first
me
second
everybody
else
behind
you
first
do what
you'd have
me to do
I don't
have to
know all
the details
I don't
have to
know how
it's all
going to
work out
I'm just
going to
trust you
God
I give
you who
I am
and ask
you to
change
my life
help
me to
be
obedient
every
step
of the
way
delayed
obedience
is
disobedience
do
what
God's
telling
you
to
do
heavenly
father
I love
you
and I
thank you
for your
love
for us
and I
ask
right now
dear
God
that
you'll
lead
us
to a
point
of
obedience
with boldness
as can
only come
from you
in Jesus
precious
name
amen