also the sermon is going to be in<\/p>\n
English<\/p>\n
hello everybody hope your weeks have<\/p>\n
been<\/p>\n
well we're starting a new series today<\/p>\n
since we finished Daniel a few weeks ago<\/p>\n
and today we're looking at the gospel of<\/p>\n
Mark now the gospel of Mark is the<\/p>\n
earliest written account of the life of<\/p>\n
Jesus It Was Written around 65 ad about<\/p>\n
30 years after the death and resur<\/p>\n
resurrection of<\/p>\n
Christ and actually many people who were<\/p>\n
around during Jesus's lifetime were<\/p>\n
still around they were still alive when<\/p>\n
Mark wrote this gospel and so they were<\/p>\n
able to verify the claims made in Mark<\/p>\n
and to prevent distortions about<\/p>\n
Jesus but why did Mark write down an<\/p>\n
account of Jesus's life what caused him<\/p>\n
to to write this down before this before<\/p>\n
Mark wrote his gospel the news about who<\/p>\n
Jesus was would be spread through Word<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
Mouth it would be spread<\/p>\n
verbally and as the years grew by there<\/p>\n
were less and less<\/p>\n
eyewitnesses who could prevent against<\/p>\n
untrue stories about Jesus as the years<\/p>\n
grew by people who were alive during<\/p>\n
Jesus's time began to die and so there<\/p>\n
were less eyewitnesses<\/p>\n
around so if someone wanted wanted to<\/p>\n
make up something untrue about Jesus and<\/p>\n
spread it there weren't as many people<\/p>\n
around who could prevent it and say no<\/p>\n
that's not true I was there I knew Jesus<\/p>\n
I knew he didn't fly through the<\/p>\n
air so as time Rose as time went on<\/p>\n
there arose a new danger there was a new<\/p>\n
danger the danger was that people could<\/p>\n
just decide who they wanted Jesus to be<\/p>\n
they could make up Jesus for themselves<\/p>\n
no longer knowing the real Jesus they<\/p>\n
could say things like Jesus said follow<\/p>\n
me and money or Jesus never said that he<\/p>\n
had to be first in our<\/p>\n
lives or Jesus said to forgive but he<\/p>\n
didn't really mean it he knows that<\/p>\n
there are some things in life that we<\/p>\n
can never<\/p>\n
forgive so people were able to make up<\/p>\n
things about Jesus that weren't<\/p>\n
true and so Mark was the first written<\/p>\n
account of Jesus's life to show us who<\/p>\n
Jesus really was to show us who Jesus<\/p>\n
really is not someone who is made up but<\/p>\n
Jesus as he<\/p>\n
is the gospel of Mark tells us who Jesus<\/p>\n
is what Jesus did what Jesus really said<\/p>\n
what Jesus really<\/p>\n
taught so that we can align our<\/p>\n
perception of Jesus closer to the<\/p>\n
reality closer to the reality of who he<\/p>\n
is and we also we also need this<\/p>\n
today if you would not call yourself a<\/p>\n
Christian and you're here today maybe<\/p>\n
exploring Christianity the best place to<\/p>\n
start is<\/p>\n
Jesus is Jesus who he says he is this is<\/p>\n
the fulcrum everything the order of the<\/p>\n
whole world our entire existence depends<\/p>\n
on the answer to this<\/p>\n
question is Jesus who he says he<\/p>\n
is if he isn't well there's no reason to<\/p>\n
follow anything the Bible says but if it<\/p>\n
is if Jesus is who he says it is he is<\/p>\n
and we have no choice but to respond to<\/p>\n
it if Jesus is who he says he is it<\/p>\n
changes<\/p>\n
everything if you're a Christian and<\/p>\n
you're here today maybe thinking oh yes<\/p>\n
I know Jesus I know who he is I know<\/p>\n
he's the son of God let this be an<\/p>\n
opportunity as we go through the gospel<\/p>\n
of Mark let this be an opportunity to<\/p>\n
really know Jesus many of us Christians<\/p>\n
and non-christians alike would prefer to<\/p>\n
meet Jesus on our own terms we would<\/p>\n
prefer a Jesus that isn't so radical a<\/p>\n
Jesus who says I understand you care<\/p>\n
about fitting in with your friends and<\/p>\n
co-workers<\/p>\n
it's okay for you not to talk about me<\/p>\n
when other people are<\/p>\n
around or a Jesus who says you're not so<\/p>\n
bad you don't kill people you don't<\/p>\n
steal from other people sure you're<\/p>\n
prideful sure you get angry easily but<\/p>\n
you're nowhere near as bad as those<\/p>\n
people it's<\/p>\n
okay but you know a Jesus that we make<\/p>\n
up cannot change us because a Jesus that<\/p>\n
we make up cannot challenge us cannot<\/p>\n
contradict us can't teach us can't lead<\/p>\n
us in fact we can't trust a Jesus that<\/p>\n
we make up why because a Jesus that we<\/p>\n
make up is is just<\/p>\n
us the only way we can be truly<\/p>\n
transformed and renewed the only way we<\/p>\n
can have real hope in life is if we have<\/p>\n
the real Jesus if we encounter Jesus not<\/p>\n
not on our terms but on his terms and<\/p>\n
this is what we have here in the gospel<\/p>\n
of Mark so who ises Jesus Jesus say he<\/p>\n
is let's read the text Mark 1: 1- 20 and<\/p>\n
let's find out<\/p>\n
together the beginning of the Gospel of<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ the son of God as it is<\/p>\n
written in Isaiah the prophet behold I<\/p>\n
send my messenger before your face who<\/p>\n
will prepare your way the voice of one<\/p>\n
crying in the wilderness prepare the way<\/p>\n
of the Lord make his path<\/p>\n
straight John appeared baptized ing in<\/p>\n
the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism<\/p>\n
of repentance for the Forgiveness of<\/p>\n
sins and all the country of Judea and<\/p>\n
all Jerusalem were going out to him and<\/p>\n
were being baptized by him in the River<\/p>\n
Jordan confessing their<\/p>\n
sins now John was clothed with camel's<\/p>\n
hair and wore a leather belt around his<\/p>\n
waist and ate locusts and wild honey and<\/p>\n
he preached saying after me comes he who<\/p>\n
is mightier than I the strap of whose<\/p>\n
sandals I am not worthy to stoop down<\/p>\n
and and<\/p>\n
untie I have baptized you with water but<\/p>\n
he will baptize you with the Holy<\/p>\n
Spirit in those days Jesus came from<\/p>\n
Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by<\/p>\n
John in the Jordan and when he came up<\/p>\n
out of the water immediately he saw the<\/p>\n
heavens being torn open and the spirit<\/p>\n
descending on him like a<\/p>\n
dove and a voice Came From Heaven you<\/p>\n
are my beloved Son with you I am well<\/p>\n
pleased the spirit immediately drove him<\/p>\n
out into the Wilderness and he was in<\/p>\n
the wilderness 40 days being tempted by<\/p>\n
Satan and he was with the wild animals<\/p>\n
and the Angels were ministering to<\/p>\n
him now after John was arrested Jesus<\/p>\n
came into Galilee proclaiming the gospel<\/p>\n
of God and saying the time is fulfilled<\/p>\n
and the kingdom of God is at hand repent<\/p>\n
and believe in the<\/p>\n
gospel passing alongside the Sea of<\/p>\n
Galilee he saw Simon and Andrew the<\/p>\n
brother of Simon casting a net into the<\/p>\n
sea for they were<\/p>\n
fishermen and Jesus said to them follow<\/p>\n
me and I will make you become Fishers of<\/p>\n
Men and immediately they left their Nets<\/p>\n
and followed<\/p>\n
him going on a little further he saw<\/p>\n
James the son of zebede and John his<\/p>\n
brother who were in The Boat mending the<\/p>\n
Nets and immediately he called them and<\/p>\n
they left their father zebede in the<\/p>\n
boat with the hired servants and<\/p>\n
followed him this is the word of<\/p>\n
God have you ever been woken up abruptly<\/p>\n
before you're sound asleep and dreaming<\/p>\n
when suddenly the door to your room is<\/p>\n
thrown open and a bright light shines<\/p>\n
full in your face a voice breaking in to<\/p>\n
your dream world shouts wake up get up<\/p>\n
stop sleeping and then all of a sudden<\/p>\n
your face is splashed with cold water<\/p>\n
it's time to stop dreaming and to face<\/p>\n
the most important day of your life has<\/p>\n
that ever happened to any of<\/p>\n
us have we ever been woken up like that<\/p>\n
before this is what the opening of<\/p>\n
Mark's gospel is like it's a great way<\/p>\n
to start and mark is telling us that<\/p>\n
this is what John the Baptist was like<\/p>\n
to the Jewish people of that time the<\/p>\n
Jewish people had been living under<\/p>\n
Roman rule for a number of years they<\/p>\n
were waiting for a sign from God to<\/p>\n
bring them a leader to lead them against<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
Romans but they weren't expecting a<\/p>\n
prophet telling them to<\/p>\n
repent some people thought John the<\/p>\n
Baptist was mad but here he is splashing<\/p>\n
cold water all over them telling them to<\/p>\n
get ready for the greatest moment in<\/p>\n
Jewish history the greatest moment in<\/p>\n
world<\/p>\n
history what is that greatest moment<\/p>\n
well we see it in the opening verse of<\/p>\n
this book the beginning of the Gospel of<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ the son of God what we see<\/p>\n
in this chapter are three things we<\/p>\n
learn about the king we learn about the<\/p>\n
king's call and we learn about the<\/p>\n
king's cost so Mark opens with the<\/p>\n
beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
the son of God and here mark is telling<\/p>\n
us something amazing about who Jesus is<\/p>\n
he is the<\/p>\n
Christ this word Christ might not mean<\/p>\n
very much to us<\/p>\n
today in fact some of us here might<\/p>\n
think Christ is Jesus's last<\/p>\n
name but what Christ actually means<\/p>\n
originally is Anointed one the anointed<\/p>\n
king Jesus is the king what does this<\/p>\n
mean well he's the son of God in the<\/p>\n
next few verses Mark tells us of a<\/p>\n
prophecy he<\/p>\n
says as it is written in Isaiah I will<\/p>\n
straight this is a prophecy from Isaiah<\/p>\n
40 that says someday God himself God<\/p>\n
himself will come to<\/p>\n
Jerusalem it says say to the towns of<\/p>\n
Judah here is your god see The Sovereign<\/p>\n
Lord comes with power and he rules with<\/p>\n
a mighty arm what Isaiah 40 is saying is<\/p>\n
one day God himself will come to<\/p>\n
Jerusalem and before he does he will<\/p>\n
send a messenger to prepare the way for<\/p>\n
him and here he is Mark says that this<\/p>\n
messenger is John the<\/p>\n
Baptist which means that Mark is saying<\/p>\n
that Jesus is God himself Jesus is The<\/p>\n
Sovereign Lord spoken of in Isaiah<\/p>\n
40 God himself the Creator The Sovereign<\/p>\n
ruler and judge over all the Earth the<\/p>\n
god of the Old Testament Yahweh himself<\/p>\n
has come to Earth in the form of Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ this is what Mark is saying Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ is the<\/p>\n
king God himself God himself the all<\/p>\n
powerful allmighty infinite and<\/p>\n
invulnerable and transcendent<\/p>\n
has now become vulnerable and knowable<\/p>\n
in the form of a<\/p>\n
human God is so loving and so intent on<\/p>\n
our Salvation that he did The Impossible<\/p>\n
and he broke through the wall between<\/p>\n
Perfection and imperfection and became a<\/p>\n
human it is the history shattering world<\/p>\n
view altering hope inducing life<\/p>\n
transforming event in history that<\/p>\n
everything for one what this means is is<\/p>\n
that unlike every other religion that<\/p>\n
says you have to do something to get to<\/p>\n
God in Buddhism and Hinduism you you<\/p>\n
have to have your good deeds outweigh<\/p>\n
your bad deeds in Islam in order to<\/p>\n
reach the Divine you have to refrain<\/p>\n
from doing evil to do good works to have<\/p>\n
a contrite heart to feed the needy and<\/p>\n
orphans quoting directly from the<\/p>\n
Quran Christian<\/p>\n
is the only religion that says instead<\/p>\n
of you having to find God God himself<\/p>\n
became human in order to come find<\/p>\n
you what's this is called the doctrine<\/p>\n
of the<\/p>\n
Incarnation God became human in Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ if we really believe this if we<\/p>\n
really dwell on this and sit with it it<\/p>\n
really does have the power to change our<\/p>\n
hearts and our lives how's that well for<\/p>\n
one<\/p>\n
it can completely transform our reason<\/p>\n
for<\/p>\n
living every one of us has something<\/p>\n
that's driving us we all have a reason<\/p>\n
for why we wake up in the morning there<\/p>\n
is something in our hearts that<\/p>\n
motivates us and drives us and one very<\/p>\n
common motivation that I think we all<\/p>\n
can relate to is<\/p>\n
fear the fear of not being good enough<\/p>\n
of not proving ourselves the fear of not<\/p>\n
being<\/p>\n
enough fear can drive us to have<\/p>\n
inordinate need for<\/p>\n
control it can drive us to hold on to<\/p>\n
our money it can drive us to be people<\/p>\n
Pleasers it can drive us towards working<\/p>\n
late and long hours in order for us to<\/p>\n
have status or achievement so that we<\/p>\n
can feel that we are good<\/p>\n
enough fear is one of the biggest<\/p>\n
motivators and fear is what happens when<\/p>\n
we are<\/p>\n
unable or unwilling to trust<\/p>\n
God but the<\/p>\n
Incarnation that God himself became<\/p>\n
flesh means that God himself Has Come<\/p>\n
Close God has come to us he has given<\/p>\n
himself to us and so now it's possible<\/p>\n
for us to live not from fear but from<\/p>\n
gratitude and<\/p>\n
confidence it is possible to live from a<\/p>\n
heart that know knows that we have God<\/p>\n
and that we can trust God and what that<\/p>\n
does is it demolishes our<\/p>\n
fear and in its place we can have<\/p>\n
gratitude knowing that we have God and<\/p>\n
that God has come to us because he knows<\/p>\n
that we could never reach him he knows<\/p>\n
that we can't get to him and so he came<\/p>\n
to<\/p>\n
us it gives us a whole new reason for<\/p>\n
doing everything the Incarnation the<\/p>\n
fact that God became came flesh gives us<\/p>\n
tremendous hope for the present that God<\/p>\n
himself is with<\/p>\n
us when Mark quotes the prophecy in<\/p>\n
Isaiah he's saying that the ancient hope<\/p>\n
of Israel the ancient hope of Israel<\/p>\n
that God would one day send a king to<\/p>\n
make all things right again and that<\/p>\n
this king would Heal the World of all<\/p>\n
the death and disease and Brokenness<\/p>\n
Mark is saying that that King that King<\/p>\n
is Jesus and that King has<\/p>\n
come so who's the king it's<\/p>\n
Jesus have you ever thought about Jesus<\/p>\n
in this way<\/p>\n
before that he is not just the one you<\/p>\n
trust in to forgive you of your sins but<\/p>\n
that he is your<\/p>\n
king do you think of Jesus as your king<\/p>\n
the one to whom that we owe<\/p>\n
everything that that's who he<\/p>\n
is and so that we see that in response<\/p>\n
to John's preaching all the people are<\/p>\n
confessing their sins and being baptized<\/p>\n
Mark tells us that John proclaims<\/p>\n
repentance for the Forgiveness of sins<\/p>\n
and then later in verse 14 after Jesus<\/p>\n
himself is baptized we see Jesus's first<\/p>\n
words in<\/p>\n
Mark we see Jesus's first<\/p>\n
sermon he says<\/p>\n
the time is<\/p>\n
fulfilled the kingdom of God is at<\/p>\n
hand repent and believe in the<\/p>\n
gospel and then we see Jesus Calling to<\/p>\n
Simon and Andrew telling them follow me<\/p>\n
and I will make you Fishers of<\/p>\n
Men what we see here is we see the<\/p>\n
king's<\/p>\n
call and what is extraordinary about<\/p>\n
this call is that during those days<\/p>\n
rabbis and teachers did not go after<\/p>\n
their students<\/p>\n
they did not seek their students out<\/p>\n
it's similar today to how if you want to<\/p>\n
go to university in Thailand you have to<\/p>\n
take exams to see if you're able to go<\/p>\n
to the university that you want to here<\/p>\n
you seek out we seek out the<\/p>\n
university but what Jesus does here is<\/p>\n
unheard of he calls the<\/p>\n
disciples he goes after<\/p>\n
them and what is Jesus's main<\/p>\n
message the kingdom of God is at hand<\/p>\n
repent and believe the<\/p>\n
gospel now the gospel if you've been<\/p>\n
coming to gra City for any amount of<\/p>\n
time you will have some familiarity with<\/p>\n
this<\/p>\n
word what does gospel<\/p>\n
mean it means good<\/p>\n
news during this time during Mark's time<\/p>\n
the way that this word gospel was used<\/p>\n
was it referred to a life-changing<\/p>\n
history shap shaking event not just any<\/p>\n
old news in those days it was used to<\/p>\n
refer to a<\/p>\n
victory does anyone know how the first<\/p>\n
marathon<\/p>\n
started any any runners over<\/p>\n
here there's actually a place in Greece<\/p>\n
called<\/p>\n
marathon and in 490 BC when the Persians<\/p>\n
invaded Greece there was a great battle<\/p>\n
that took place called The Battle of<\/p>\n
Marathon the Greek were outnumbered but<\/p>\n
Against All Odds they defeated Persia<\/p>\n
and they<\/p>\n
won and in order to let everyone know<\/p>\n
about the victory there was a runner who<\/p>\n
ran from the battlefield to Athens to<\/p>\n
let them know the good news the good<\/p>\n
news that goes something like this we<\/p>\n
have fought for you and we won and now<\/p>\n
you are free you are no longer slaves<\/p>\n
you're<\/p>\n
free the gospel is is something has been<\/p>\n
done for you an event has taken place<\/p>\n
and it forever changes our<\/p>\n
status something has happened outside of<\/p>\n
us something has happened in history and<\/p>\n
because of this because of this thing<\/p>\n
that has happened you are changed<\/p>\n
forever hear this carefully the gospel<\/p>\n
is not good<\/p>\n
advice the gospel is not I'm going to<\/p>\n
change my life I'm going to be a better<\/p>\n
person I'm going to come to church I'm<\/p>\n
going to read my Bible I'm going to<\/p>\n
spend time with God I'm going to give to<\/p>\n
charity I'm going to serve I'm going to<\/p>\n
do good<\/p>\n
things it's possible to do all of those<\/p>\n
things that I just said every single one<\/p>\n
of those things and to not believe the<\/p>\n
gospel that that is not the gospel the<\/p>\n
gospel is something has been<\/p>\n
done something has happened completely<\/p>\n
outside of our control outside of your<\/p>\n
control outside of my control this is<\/p>\n
the life that Jesus lived and died for<\/p>\n
you so that you may be<\/p>\n
saved I've said this before but if<\/p>\n
someone asks you are you a Christian and<\/p>\n
you respond or think to yourself I'm<\/p>\n
trying to be I'm trying to be a<\/p>\n
Christian if you say that if we any of<\/p>\n
us say that we don't understand the<\/p>\n
gospel because the gospel is not about<\/p>\n
what we do it is not not about what we<\/p>\n
do it's not about what we do for God it<\/p>\n
is about what God has done for us in<\/p>\n
Jesus Christ and if we understand the<\/p>\n
gospel if someone asks us are you a<\/p>\n
Christian you'll have so much confidence<\/p>\n
yet humility it will be an unshakable<\/p>\n
confidence because it is about what<\/p>\n
Jesus has done for you and yet yet you<\/p>\n
will be humble knowing that wow Jesus<\/p>\n
did this for for me for me of all people<\/p>\n
wow the Son of God had to live and die<\/p>\n
me when you hear advice about someone<\/p>\n
telling you the way you should live you<\/p>\n
should be honest set a good example to<\/p>\n
people around you you should help people<\/p>\n
out when they ask for it how does it<\/p>\n
make us feel how do we feel when we hear<\/p>\n
good<\/p>\n
advice often times it feels crushing<\/p>\n
doesn't it sure it might feel<\/p>\n
inspirational but it's also crushing<\/p>\n
like a burden is placed on us here is<\/p>\n
the checklist and we have to do all<\/p>\n
these things to feel that we're<\/p>\n
okay that's good advice believing the<\/p>\n
gospel is completely different it feels<\/p>\n
as if the burdens have been lifted and<\/p>\n
have fallen off of us we are no longer<\/p>\n
slaves we are free because of what Jesus<\/p>\n
has done for us do you believe<\/p>\n
this that you are free not because of<\/p>\n
anything that you have done but because<\/p>\n
of everything that Jesus has<\/p>\n
done the gospel is that God accepts us<\/p>\n
not because of our own actions but<\/p>\n
because of Christ's actions not on the<\/p>\n
basis of what we have done or<\/p>\n
performed but on what Jesus has<\/p>\n
accomplished in history for<\/p>\n
us so the king's call is to repent and<\/p>\n
believe the gospel but there's something<\/p>\n
else here is what<\/p>\n
if we look at Jesus's words in verse<\/p>\n
15 we'll also notice that he says the<\/p>\n
kingdom of God is at<\/p>\n
hand why does he say<\/p>\n
this why does he link repenting and<\/p>\n
believing the gospel with this idea<\/p>\n
about the kingdom of<\/p>\n
God well for one we've seen that Jesus<\/p>\n
is the king and so it's only<\/p>\n
fitting for a king to be king of a<\/p>\n
kingdom but this idea of<\/p>\n
the kingdom of God also links us back to<\/p>\n
Genesis where Adam and Eve were in the<\/p>\n
garden links us back to the beginning of<\/p>\n
history in the garden Adam and Eve were<\/p>\n
in Paradise there was no death no<\/p>\n
disease the relationships with each<\/p>\n
other with god with nature with<\/p>\n
themselves it was all perfect it was a<\/p>\n
perfect world it was a perfect world<\/p>\n
without sin and God was the king but<\/p>\n
then what<\/p>\n
happened in Genesis 3 we see that Adam<\/p>\n
and Eve chose to go their own way to be<\/p>\n
their own Kings in other words what we<\/p>\n
see is<\/p>\n
self-centeredness and I don't think we<\/p>\n
have to look very hard to see that every<\/p>\n
single one of us that we have gone the<\/p>\n
way of Adam and Eve we have let<\/p>\n
self-centeredness rule Our Lives that's<\/p>\n
why our driving motivator is fear<\/p>\n
because we are are concerned with<\/p>\n
ourselves we're concerned with not being<\/p>\n
good enough we're concerned with not<\/p>\n
being enough we're concerned with being<\/p>\n
perfect we're concerned with having<\/p>\n
control or Comfort or power and so we<\/p>\n
use our money to get our our money and<\/p>\n
our resources to get what we want to get<\/p>\n
what we<\/p>\n
desire or self-centeredness centeredness<\/p>\n
also Al causes us to be people Pleasers<\/p>\n
we care about what people<\/p>\n
think we're very helpful we're unable to<\/p>\n
say no and draw boundaries why because<\/p>\n
we want to be liked and accepted and so<\/p>\n
we compare ourselves to those around us<\/p>\n
to see if we measure up to see if we're<\/p>\n
good enough Thailand's beauty industry<\/p>\n
generated about $6.3 billion do just a<\/p>\n
few years ago that represents almost 25%<\/p>\n
of asan countries total<\/p>\n
sales one article says that Thailand is<\/p>\n
primed to become Asian's Beauty Hub<\/p>\n
there have been several studies that<\/p>\n
explore social media use and narcissism<\/p>\n
with conclusions that say social media<\/p>\n
leads to<\/p>\n
self-centeredness rather what I think is<\/p>\n
social media only just exposes our<\/p>\n
innate<\/p>\n
self-centeredness in January of this<\/p>\n
year over<\/p>\n
70% 70% of Thailand's population had<\/p>\n
social media accounts that's about 52<\/p>\n
million<\/p>\n
accounts self-centeredness is one of the<\/p>\n
primary motivators of our lives today<\/p>\n
just like it was with Adam and Eve and<\/p>\n
there's nothing more miserable than self<\/p>\n
tenderness right being absorbed with<\/p>\n
ourselves how am I doing how am I<\/p>\n
feeling how are people treating me am I<\/p>\n
proving myself are people disrespecting<\/p>\n
me am I being treated<\/p>\n
justly why do we have wars why do we<\/p>\n
have family breakdown why do we have<\/p>\n
relationships exploding it's because of<\/p>\n
self-centeredness when we decided to be<\/p>\n
our own Kings everything fell apart<\/p>\n
psychologically physically socially<\/p>\n
spiritually it all fell<\/p>\n
apart but the good news of the Gospel of<\/p>\n
the kingdom of God is that Jesus the<\/p>\n
King has come to make all things right<\/p>\n
to restore us to restore the world to<\/p>\n
make it perfect to make everything all<\/p>\n
right and when we come under the healing<\/p>\n
kingship of<\/p>\n
Jesus everything begins to<\/p>\n
heal Revelation 21:22 says that under<\/p>\n
Jesus's kingship<\/p>\n
there will be a day where death is no<\/p>\n
more disease is no more it is the end of<\/p>\n
suffering no more pain no more crying or<\/p>\n
Mourning it is the new heavens and the<\/p>\n
new Earth this is what the kingdom of<\/p>\n
God is and Jesus<\/p>\n
says it has<\/p>\n
begun this is what Mark is about verse<\/p>\n
one the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus<\/p>\n
Christ it's only the beginning<\/p>\n
doesn't that sound amazing wouldn't you<\/p>\n
want<\/p>\n
that now one last<\/p>\n
thing notice that when Jesus Calls the<\/p>\n
first four<\/p>\n
disciples they immediately leave their<\/p>\n
Nets and their father and they follow<\/p>\n
Jesus now we know from the gospels that<\/p>\n
the disciples did fish again we also<\/p>\n
know that they continued their<\/p>\n
relationship with their parents they<\/p>\n
never they didn't just just ignore their<\/p>\n
parents for the rest of their lives but<\/p>\n
the point here the point that Jesus is<\/p>\n
making is I want priority over your<\/p>\n
career I want priority over your family<\/p>\n
I want priority over everything I must<\/p>\n
be number one in your life Tim Keller<\/p>\n
puts it this way resembling Jesus<\/p>\n
pleasing Jesus serving Jesus and knowing<\/p>\n
Jesus must become the Supreme passions<\/p>\n
of Our Lives According To<\/p>\n
Jesus everything else comes<\/p>\n
second if we claim to follow Jesus and<\/p>\n
yet we're ashamed or scared of what<\/p>\n
other people might think if slash when<\/p>\n
they know about what we believe what<\/p>\n
does that say about how we view<\/p>\n
Jesus we claim to follow Jesus yet<\/p>\n
ignore choose to disobey what he teaches<\/p>\n
what does that say about how we view<\/p>\n
Jesus<\/p>\n
Jesus says I must come first everything<\/p>\n
else is second that's what it means to<\/p>\n
follow Jesus Jesus is saying I will not<\/p>\n
be used if there are any conditions on<\/p>\n
our obedience or following Jesus if we<\/p>\n
say that Jesus I'll obey you<\/p>\n
if I'll obey you if things go right if<\/p>\n
my family is okay if things are okay<\/p>\n
with my career if we say I'll Follow You<\/p>\n
Jesus if<\/p>\n
our real master what we actually worship<\/p>\n
is actually just whatever is on the<\/p>\n
other side of that if because that thing<\/p>\n
is what we're really after and we're<\/p>\n
only using Jesus to get to our<\/p>\n
goal if we're going to follow Jesus<\/p>\n
Jesus must be the goal Jesus is the true<\/p>\n
King Jesus is the true king that we have<\/p>\n
been looking for and everything else the<\/p>\n
cost of following Jesus is<\/p>\n
everything but there is nothing better<\/p>\n
than<\/p>\n
this what Jesus promises is beyond what<\/p>\n
anything or anyone else can promise it<\/p>\n
is a wonderful<\/p>\n
Journey look at what he does with his<\/p>\n
disciples he tells them I will make you<\/p>\n
become Fishers of Men as they follow him<\/p>\n
as they're in the process of following<\/p>\n
him he is going to transform them he's<\/p>\n
going to change them<\/p>\n
fishes of men now we might think we know<\/p>\n
what this<\/p>\n
means in biblical imagery the sea and<\/p>\n
water is actually a place of chaos and<\/p>\n
death and darkness and coldness that's<\/p>\n
what the sea represents in the Bible it<\/p>\n
represents the kingdom of this world and<\/p>\n
darkness and what makes it chaotic is<\/p>\n
self-centeredness what Jesus is saying<\/p>\n
when he says I will make you Fishers of<\/p>\n
Men is I will make you you someone who<\/p>\n
knows how to draw people out of the<\/p>\n
kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of<\/p>\n
Light have you ever met someone who is<\/p>\n
so content and so happy so full of light<\/p>\n
that you can just tell that they aren't<\/p>\n
thinking about themselves at all they're<\/p>\n
not thinking about how to use you<\/p>\n
they're they're only just thinking about<\/p>\n
you have you ever met someone who just<\/p>\n
serves you who isn't worried about<\/p>\n
what's in it for them or how you view<\/p>\n
them rather they just just just care<\/p>\n
about<\/p>\n
you CS Lewis says that if you meet a<\/p>\n
humble person probably all that you will<\/p>\n
notice is that they were cheerful and<\/p>\n
intelligent and they took a real<\/p>\n
interest in what you had to<\/p>\n
say someone who is truly humble isn't<\/p>\n
thinking less of themselves they don't<\/p>\n
put themselves down but they're just<\/p>\n
thinking of themselves less and someone<\/p>\n
who is like that someone who has been<\/p>\n
healed of their own self<\/p>\n
self-centeredness can now turn around<\/p>\n
and begin to draw others into the light<\/p>\n
of serving God and serving<\/p>\n
others following Jesus is a wonderful<\/p>\n
Journey that completely transforms us as<\/p>\n
we follow<\/p>\n
him look at what the disciples became<\/p>\n
look at Simon also known as<\/p>\n
Peter a hot-tempered<\/p>\n
fisherman who often times spoke and<\/p>\n
acted before he<\/p>\n
thought Peter the same guy who vowed to<\/p>\n
never leave Jesus yet abandon him in his<\/p>\n
last moments but because of Jesus<\/p>\n
because Jesus transformed him Peter<\/p>\n
became one of the great pillars of the<\/p>\n
church in Peter's last moments he died<\/p>\n
as a martyr Standing Tall and brave<\/p>\n
Jesus transformed him or look at Thomas<\/p>\n
another one of Jesus's disciples he was<\/p>\n
given the nickname doubting Thomas and<\/p>\n
yet at the end of Thomas's life he takes<\/p>\n
the gospel to India and he is martyred<\/p>\n
there he dies for what he believes in he<\/p>\n
dies for Jesus he has been rescued from<\/p>\n
the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom<\/p>\n
of Light so much so that even death<\/p>\n
could not take him away from Jesus he<\/p>\n
was so confident and sure of his hope in<\/p>\n
Jesus Jesus transformed<\/p>\n
him this ordinary group of people<\/p>\n
because they followed Jesus Jesus<\/p>\n
transformed them into some of the most<\/p>\n
remarkable and dynamic people the world<\/p>\n
has ever known Fishers of<\/p>\n
Men now if Jesus can do that with them<\/p>\n
imagine what he can do with you and<\/p>\n
me Jesus says follow me and he takes us<\/p>\n
on the Journey of a<\/p>\n
lifetime he says I want you to obey me<\/p>\n
don't turn to the left don't turn to the<\/p>\n
right but put me first always do my will<\/p>\n
keep praying keep obeying my will stick<\/p>\n
with me don't give up and go through<\/p>\n
everything that will happen to you in<\/p>\n
life sometimes he takes us to places<\/p>\n
that seem like a dead end things that<\/p>\n
don't make sense but look at Jesus he<\/p>\n
went to the greatest dead end and that's<\/p>\n
how we save the<\/p>\n
world and this is the key following<\/p>\n
Jesus has a cost but what Jesus promises<\/p>\n
is far beyond anything else this world<\/p>\n
can<\/p>\n
offer and the only way to do this the<\/p>\n
only way to follow Jesus it's by<\/p>\n
believing the gospel we have to see that<\/p>\n
everything Jesus has called us to do he<\/p>\n
himself has already<\/p>\n
done Jesus calls James and John to leave<\/p>\n
their father in the boat and follow him<\/p>\n
and when you see that when we see that<\/p>\n
we also have to see that Jesus Christ<\/p>\n
already left his father's throne in<\/p>\n
heaven<\/p>\n
why later he's going to lose his father<\/p>\n
in a much deeper and painful way on the<\/p>\n
cross why it goes back to the gospel<\/p>\n
something has happened in history a<\/p>\n
battle has been fought and Christ has<\/p>\n
won Jesus has set us free we are no<\/p>\n
longer slaves slaves to our own<\/p>\n
self-centeredness slaves to<\/p>\n
sin on the cross Jesus Christ defeated<\/p>\n
the dark powers of sin and death and of<\/p>\n
this world and by his resurrection he<\/p>\n
has already began remaking the world and<\/p>\n
healing the world the King has come<\/p>\n
and if you give yourself to him if you<\/p>\n
believe in him trust him obey his<\/p>\n
teachings don't turn to the left or to<\/p>\n
the right but Walk With<\/p>\n
Jesus there's no telling what he can do<\/p>\n
with you he is the king our hearts have<\/p>\n
been longing<\/p>\n
for Christ's kingship will not crush us<\/p>\n
it is the only thing that will set us<\/p>\n
free the King has come let us rejoice<\/p>\n
let's pray<\/p>\n
Lord Jesus we thank you Lord there's<\/p>\n
there's no way we could ever be Greatful<\/p>\n
enough for what you've done in our<\/p>\n
lives Lord we pray that you would meet<\/p>\n
us today in the ways that we need to be<\/p>\n
met by you we thank you that you are our<\/p>\n
King Lord Jesus help us to see the<\/p>\n
beauty and what you've done help it to<\/p>\n
help us to see your beauty Lord so that<\/p>\n
we may let go of the things we're<\/p>\n
holding on to and to walk into your arms<\/p>\n
pray this in Jesus name<\/p>\n
amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20231024","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=A3e-kXDEJ-w","video_id":"A3e-kXDEJ-w","video_duration":"37:35","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":533,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/532\/revisions\/533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}