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Meet Jesus *Poor Quality Audio*

Carrigaline Baptist Church - Sermons

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  1. that we can talk to you.

  2. We thank you.

  3. So as somebody is thinking about the possibility of venturing

  4. onto the frontier, read the passage.

  5. And let me say that.

  6. Hang on.

  7. I have here an introduction to our gospel,

  8. which I'm going to leave in the back.

  9. And it's just an A4.

  10. And I'm very confident there's some recommended reading

  11. and a couple of books you might like to read along

  12. with this new series in Mark's Gospel,

  13. which you now have in the evening.

  14. And at the back, we're going to be reading it through this fall.

  15. So that's the first thing.

  16. I just want to say that we are starting a new series

  17. looking at Mark's Gospel,

  18. going all the way through to Chapter 8

  19. over the next couple of months.

  20. So please do read that on us.

  21. Read the story.

  22. I think that would be better prepared and engaged

  23. as we come to this study

  24. and look at it on Sunday mornings.

  25. So Mark, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 13,

    Mark 1:1–13

  26. and is going to be...

  27. Great.

  28. Thank you.

  29. Thank you.

  30. Mark, Chapter 1, Verses 1 to 13.

    Mark 1:1–13

  31. John, the round of the first morning.

  32. The beginning of the talk about Jesus Christ,

  33. the self-serving.

  34. It is written in his name, the cross.

  35. I will send my messenger ahead of you,

  36. and you will prepare your way.

  37. Avoid the phone calling the desert,

  38. prepare you to wait for the Lord,

  39. and make a straight path for heaven.

  40. And so John came,

  41. baptizing in the desert region,

  42. and preaching about his Lord,

  43. and the forgiveness of sins.

  44. The whole Judean countryside,

  45. and all the people of Jerusalem,

  46. went to them.

  47. Confessing their sins,

  48. they were baptized by heaven,

  49. and the Jordan River.

  50. John, who I slowly made a camel's hair,

  51. with a letter of death around his face,

  52. and shaped open,

  53. and while running,

  54. and this was his message.

  55. After me would come,

  56. and I will pass it to the night,

  57. the promise of his God,

  58. and I will not let him see the child in my side.

  59. I got tied to him in water,

  60. but he was baptized into the Holy Spirit.

  61. At that time,

  62. he was a sacred path of reality,

  63. and was baptized by the Lord,

  64. in the Jordan.

  65. As he was supposed to look at the water,

  66. he saw a head,

  67. being torn open from a spirit,

  68. deadly woman,

  69. like a duck,

  70. and always came to heaven.

  71. You are my child,

  72. you are my mother,

  73. and you are your obedience.

  74. At once,

  75. the spirit sent the message to death,

  76. and the spirit sent the word,

  77. and he was baptized by faith.

  78. He was written for a battle,

  79. and I chose to have the children.

  80. Thank you so much, Greg.

  81. Well, let's pray,

  82. and ask God,

  83. for his Holy Spirit,

  84. as we look at this.

  85. Father, it is an enormous privilege,

  86. to meet together like this,

  87. in freedom,

  88. having heard this morning,

  89. a glorious word of the apostles,

  90. brothers,

  91. to have your word in our language,

  92. where we can all have a Bible for ourselves.

  93. We thank you.

  94. We pray that we may not treat it like a believer,

  95. taking it as a privilege,

  96. and a responsibility,

  97. to learn well about Jesus,

  98. so that we will be people who are changed,

  99. that we might bring Jesus to the world,

  100. to the nations,

  101. to our community.

  102. Please, by your Holy Spirit,

  103. speak in fresh to us,

  104. to the wonder of who Jesus is,

  105. and what it is,

  106. to meet him.

  107. In Jesus' name we pray.

  108. Amen.

  109. Amen.

  110. Well, that's the verse one,

  111. of Mark's Gospel.

  112. The beginning of the Gospel,

  113. about Jesus Christ,

  114. the Son of God.

  115. In a very short,

  116. I would like to say,

  117. that Mark the author,

  118. is saying,

  119. if we want to know,

  120. about who Jesus is,

  121. why he came,

  122. and what he claims to do,

  123. he didn't fight for us,

  124. to read on in his story.

  125. Now, I imagine,

  126. for most of us,

  127. that's a straightforward assumption,

  128. but for the majority of people,

  129. that is intellectual suicide.

  130. It's a nonsense,

  131. to read a book like this.

  132. Atheists,

  133. like Richard Dawkins,

  134. who wrote a book,

  135. called The God Solution,

  136. conspiracy theorists,

  137. like the author,

  138. Dan Brand,

  139. have made it popular,

  140. for people,

  141. to view the Gospel,

  142. quite far,

  143. but nothing more than,

  144. a legend,

  145. and fabrication.

  146. In other words,

  147. it's a nonsense,

  148. you can't read this,

  149. a lot of serious words.

  150. Let me quote to you,

  151. from Dawkins.

  152. This comes from his website,

  153. and he writes about,

  154. what he thinks,

  155. of the Bible,

  156. and whether we can trust it.

  157. This is what he says,

  158. good Christian scholars,

  159. of the Bible,

  160. including the top,

  161. Protestants,

  162. and Catholic scholars,

  163. will tell you,

  164. that the Bible,

  165. is full of life,

  166. even if they're new,

  167. as you can see.

  168. And here's the truth,

  169. many of the books,

  170. of the New Testament,

  171. were written by people,

  172. who lied about their identity,

  173. claiming to be,

  174. a famous apostle,

  175. like Peter Paul,

  176. or James,

  177. knowing so well,

  178. they were someone else.

  179. Contemporary speaking,

  180. that is a lie,

  181. and a book written by people,

  182. that we lied,

  183. and write his identity,

  184. is a forgery.

  185. Now, Richard Ruhl,

  186. is a professor at Oxford,

  187. and people make serious,

  188. and money says,

  189. or listen to somebody,

  190. like Dan Brown,

  191. and his view of the book,

  192. many of the people,

  193. he says,

  194. the gospel,

  195. of the products,

  196. of man,

  197. not of God.

  198. Man created it,

  199. as a historical record,

  200. of two months of life,

  201. and as it evolved,

  202. through countless,

  203. translations,

  204. additions,

  205. and revisions.

  206. So modern views,

  207. opinions,

  208. which have us believe,

  209. that we cannot take,

  210. the gospel apart,

  211. seriously.

  212. It's all made up,

  213. in all lines.

  214. of the people,

  215. of the people,

  216. of the people,

  217. of the people,

  218. which raises the question,

  219. but where do we have,

  220. to be a mark,

  221. and concerning,

  222. over the next couple of months,

  223. can we actually trust,

  224. what mark has written?

  225. Is this actually,

  226. a reliable record,

  227. about the person,

  228. who's writing?

  229. Can we read this,

  230. that's true?

  231. Well,

  232. I am persuaded,

  233. that we can.

  234. Let me say,

  235. three things,

  236. very quickly.

  237. First,

  238. Mark draws,

  239. all of his material,

  240. from an eye witness,

  241. somebody who is,

  242. actually there,

  243. and witness,

  244. in the light of Jesus.

  245. Back in,

  246. 138,

  247. there was a bishop,

  248. who called,

  249. to hide.

  250. And in his writings,

  251. which were said to,

  252. he records,

  253. that Mark,

  254. was a secretary,

  255. and a translator,

  256. for Peter,

  257. one of the first followers,

  258. of Jesus.

  259. And he wrote,

  260. accurately,

  261. all that Peter,

  262. remembered.

  263. And as we read,

  264. through the gospel,

  265. of the gospel of Mark,

  266. we'll see that,

  267. Peter's not going to be,

  268. mentioned in the most.

  269. But something seems,

  270. to happen,

  271. in which Peter,

  272. is not present.

  273. He's done all,

  274. the nature of events,

  275. that are going on.

  276. So the gospel of Mark,

  277. is certainly,

  278. the Bible,

  279. as account,

  280. of Peter.

  281. Second,

  282. the content,

  283. of Mark's gospel,

  284. will it too,

  285. counterproductive,

  286. to be considered,

  287. gladiaries,

  288. or fabrications.

  289. Peter is,

  290. consistently seen,

  291. as he reads,

  292. through the new sentence,

  293. as the first,

  294. and primary,

  295. Christian leader,

  296. of the church.

  297. Yet,

  298. as he reads,

  299. through Mark's gospel,

  300. he is portrayed,

  301. as he is a failure,

  302. of people,

  303. setting up,

  304. and making mistakes.

  305. In fact,

  306. in chapter 14,

  307. Mark's words,

  308. read in great detail,

  309. how Peter,

  310. denied Jesus,

  311. and cursed him,

  312. in public.

  313. Now,

  314. we have to ask,

  315. the question,

  316. why would anybody,

  317. who is wanting,

  318. to promote,

  319. such a teaching,

  320. and encourage people,

  321. to follow Jesus,

  322. why would they,

  323. highlight,

  324. the spectacular,

  325. failures,

  326. of their most,

  327. prominent,

  328. readers?

  329. It seems,

  330. that Peter,

  331. has been laid,

  332. to Mark,

  333. as honest,

  334. and truthful,

  335. accounts,

  336. with them.

  337. Which suggests,

  338. that,

  339. all the truth.

  340. And third,

  341. as you read,

  342. through the gospel,

  343. of Mark,

  344. there is too much,

  345. detail here,

  346. that is to be,

  347. considered fiction.

  348. For example,

  349. in Mark chapter 4,

    Mark 4 chapter mention

  350. you know the story,

  351. well,

  352. it's like,

  353. Jesus,

  354. a camp,

  355. and storm.

  356. But a report,

  357. therefore,

  358. is that,

  359. Jesus was asleep,

  360. on a cushion,

  361. in the third,

  362. proposal.

  363. Now,

  364. that information,

  365. is necessary,

  366. for us to know,

  367. about,

  368. what you're trying,

  369. to do in the game.

  370. But the detail,

  371. is so intricate,

  372. where they,

  373. and David,

  374. what he was taken on,

  375. that it concludes,

  376. that there were,

  377. I would have friends,

  378. who recorded,

  379. everything that they,

  380. saw,

  381. and heard.

  382. And this is what,

  383. makes the gospel,

  384. of Mark,

  385. reliable.

  386. It's a piece,

  387. of literature,

  388. that's not just,

  389. put together,

  390. as a couple.

  391. It's true,

  392. and we can trust it.

  393. All of this,

  394. is evident,

  395. that Mark,

  396. gospel,

  397. is a revival,

  398. record,

  399. and it,

  400. instantly,

  401. is the gospel,

  402. of Jesus Christ.

  403. So we can read it,

  404. knowing,

  405. it's going to get,

  406. the picture,

  407. of the need,

  408. of the need.

  409. Now,

  410. that's all,

  411. by way of introduction,

  412. we don't want,

  413. to get,

  414. false,

  415. and,

  416. it's just,

  417. historical,

  418. evidence.

  419. This is,

  420. as the first,

  421. verse,

  422. tells us,

  423. is good news,

  424. for us today,

  425. because that's,

  426. what the word,

  427. gospel means.

  428. Good news,

  429. Christ,

  430. something that happens,

  431. and it's all found,

  432. in the person,

  433. of Jesus Christ.

  434. So let's see,

  435. what Mark has to say,

  436. to us,

  437. about Jesus,

  438. and why,

  439. is it good news?

  440. Again,

  441. let's read,

  442. verse one.

  443. The beginning,

  444. of the gospel,

  445. about Jesus Christ,

  446. the son of God.

  447. His introduction,

  448. is carefully shown,

  449. a character,

  450. to show us,

  451. that this is,

  452. history shaping,

  453. world impact,

  454. there has been,

  455. an intervention,

  456. into the world.

  457. Now,

  458. there's two things,

  459. that point to that.

  460. First,

  461. one of the most,

  462. famous rulers,

  463. of the Roman Empire,

  464. was the Emperor,

  465. of Augustus.

  466. He was there,

  467. at the time,

  468. of Jesus,

  469. born in the first,

  470. of the Roman Empire.

  471. Now,

  472. when he was born,

  473. this inscription,

  474. was made,

  475. to chisel it,

  476. to a dove,

  477. to be found,

  478. by a cardiologist.

  479. And listen carefully,

  480. to what he says.

  481. The first day,

  482. of the gospel,

  483. in Purodunus.

  484. March for the world,

  485. the beginning,

  486. of good news,

  487. through the coming.

  488. Now,

  489. isn't that extraordinary?

  490. It's almost identical,

  491. to have March about,

  492. the coming of Jesus.

  493. Look at verse one,

  494. the beginning,

  495. of the gospel,

  496. about Jesus Christ,

  497. the Son of God.

  498. You see,

  499. the people,

  500. of the Roman Empire,

  501. aren't hearing,

  502. about the birth,

  503. of Augustus.

  504. They anticipated,

  505. here comes a new king,

  506. a new ruler,

  507. who's going to bring,

  508. about faith,

  509. and freedom,

  510. and victory.

  511. And that's exactly,

  512. what March is,

  513. communicating to us here.

  514. He borrowed language,

  515. of the people today,

  516. to communicate,

  517. to those people originally.

  518. But it makes sense,

  519. to us today,

  520. if we read it,

  521. that Jesus Christ,

  522. has intervened,

  523. into the world,

  524. God's kingdom come,

  525. to restore,

  526. this broken,

  527. and disordered world.

  528. He'd come to rescue us,

  529. he'd come to free us,

  530. he'd come to bring peace.

  531. Now,

  532. of course,

  533. Jesus,

  534. is nothing like,

  535. the emperor government.

  536. He was merely,

  537. his man.

  538. Look what it says,

  539. verse 1,

  540. Jesus is the son,

  541. of God.

  542. A title of divinity,

  543. he is nothing,

  544. as a God himself,

  545. in human form,

  546. who has intervened,

  547. and has,

  548. has been,

  549. in,

  550. into,

  551. our world.

  552. and the second thing,

  553. that means,

  554. to learn from this,

  555. is that Mark's introduction,

  556. is also,

  557. very similar,

  558. to the first book,

  559. of the Bible,

  560. Genesis.

  561. Do you remember,

  562. the first verse,

  563. of Genesis,

  564. what does it say,

  565. in the beginning,

  566. God.

  567. And Genesis,

  568. records,

  569. that the earth,

  570. was formless,

  571. of the tension,

  572. there was disorder,

  573. there was chaos,

  574. but God intervened,

  575. and he brought,

  576. order,

  577. and design,

  578. to the world.

  579. He created,

  580. the world,

  581. into nothing,

  582. that was very good.

  583. Now,

  584. that Mark,

  585. starts in the gospel,

  586. and he's wanting,

  587. us to make,

  588. these connections,

  589. he says,

  590. the beginning,

  591. of the gospel,

  592. he says,

  593. it's not around,

  594. the world,

  595. it's been,

  596. ordered,

  597. there's chaos,

  598. and all,

  599. needs to be,

  600. put right,

  601. and God,

  602. intervenes,

  603. through Jesus Christ,

  604. not to create,

  605. the world,

  606. but to renew,

  607. the world,

  608. to bring about,

  609. a new creation,

  610. into the lives,

  611. of people.

  612. Now,

  613. when we take,

  614. these thoughts together,

  615. we can see,

  616. that this is,

  617. an intervention,

  618. that means,

  619. the world,

  620. is never going,

  621. to be the same again.

  622. A new world leader,

  623. a king,

  624. comes from God,

  625. to restore,

  626. this broken world.

  627. Now,

  628. this intervention,

  629. was no action,

  630. just as creation,

  631. was no action.

  632. It's all been,

  633. planted,

  634. and hurt,

  635. by God.

  636. People like,

  637. Isaiah,

  638. the prophet,

  639. thousand years earlier,

  640. wrote about it.

  641. Look at verse 2.

  642. The Isaiah,

  643. the prophet,

  644. wrote about Jesus,

  645. and he said,

  646. I will send my messenger,

  647. ahead of you,

  648. who will prepare your way,

  649. a voice of God,

  650. calling in the devil,

  651. prepare the way,

  652. unto the Lord,

  653. and make this,

  654. great platform.

  655. So God,

  656. has planned,

  657. for Jesus to come,

  658. he planned,

  659. to intervene,

  660. he planned,

  661. to rescue us,

  662. and to restore us.

  663. And Mark,

  664. in the next second,

  665. very beginning,

  666. with God,

  667. that Jesus Christ,

  668. is God,

  669. long awaited,

  670. from that king,

  671. who has come,

  672. to put right,

  673. our broken lives,

  674. and to put right,

  675. our disordered world.

  676. What an amazing event,

  677. putting right,

  678. our broken lives,

  679. and putting right,

  680. our disordered world.

  681. God,

  682. that's what Jesus,

  683. is coming,

  684. or if he has come,

  685. we need to be prepared,

  686. to meet him.

  687. And that's what John,

  688. wrote on,

  689. was to prepare people,

  690. to meet him.

  691. Look at verse 4.

  692. And so John came,

  693. baptizing,

  694. in the desert region,

  695. and preaching,

  696. a baptism of repentance,

  697. for the forgiveness,

  698. of sinners.

  699. Repentance,

  700. and baptism,

  701. is the way,

  702. people,

  703. were preparing,

  704. themselves,

  705. to meet,

  706. Jesus,

  707. who was coming,

  708. to them.

  709. And John,

  710. like the better,

  711. because he was the last,

  712. of a great long life,

  713. spoke about,

  714. the need to repent,

  715. before God,

  716. and the Lord's Son,

  717. to retain.

  718. Because it was a matter,

  719. of unordewing,

  720. you have to be prepared,

  721. to meet him.

  722. Now the help of us,

  723. have done this,

  724. we need to look back,

  725. at where these two quotes,

  726. in verses 2 and 3,

  727. come from.

  728. The first quote,

  729. comes from Malachi.

  730. So I want,

  731. to jump back,

  732. to Malachi.

  733. The last book,

  734. in the Old Testament,

  735. so you don't have,

  736. to go back too far.

  737. You've got Matthew,

  738. Mark,

  739. in John,

  740. and before Matthew,

  741. is Malachi.

  742. I want to go back,

  743. to the first few pages.

  744. And the smart ones,

  745. among you,

  746. will be saying,

  747. well,

  748. in a sense,

  749. we're going to,

  750. it is written,

  751. an Isaiah's prophet,

  752. so why are we going,

  753. to Malachi?

  754. Well,

  755. let me explain,

  756. that to you,

  757. looking at me.

  758. Isaiah was considered,

  759. the chief of the main,

  760. prophet,

  761. and very often,

  762. all the other,

  763. prophets,

  764. were grouped,

  765. under Isaiah's,

  766. so just generally,

  767. meaning,

  768. it was talked,

  769. Isaiah's,

  770. and all the others,

  771. were included,

  772. underneath him.

  773. So,

  774. we're going to,

  775. Malachi chapter 3,

    Malachi 3 chapter mention

  776. and verse 1,

  777. and here he quotes,

  778. because he wants us,

  779. to go back,

  780. and bring forward,

  781. with us,

  782. all the information,

  783. that's contained there,

  784. and he quotes,

  785. verse 1,

  786. revival,

  787. the messenger,

  788. and the covenant,

  789. who you desire,

  790. will come,

  791. says the Lord,

  792. according to Joshua.

  793. The applications,

  794. today,

  795. Jesus,

  796. in coming.

  797. Look at verse 2.

  798. But who will endure the day of his coming?

  799. Who can stand when he appears?

  800. For he will be like a refiner's fire or a laundry soap.

  801. Jesus is coming today as a refiner.

  802. As somebody who's going to come and purify,

  803. somebody who's going to come and clean,

  804. he's going to remove all that's wrong.

  805. And he's going to come and fight.

  806. Verse 5.

  807. So I will come near thee for judgment.

  808. I will be equipped to testify against your horsewars,

  809. your adulterers, your murderers,

  810. against those who do not labor in their wages,

  811. who oppress the widows, the fatherless,

  812. and the pride aliens of judgment,

  813. or people from outside coming in.

  814. Now it's a hardening question in verse 2.

  815. Who can endure the day of his coming?

  816. Who can stand when he is here?

  817. And Mark is now telling us that Jesus has come.

  818. He is appearing.

  819. And because of the people's rebellion in this day,

  820. no one could stand guiltless or faultless

  821. before God's promised kingdom

  822. in the coming center stage.

  823. It was serious murder because he was coming

  824. from Jordan and all else.

  825. And who could stand?

  826. And look at the very end of verse 5.

  827. Of Malachi 2.

  828. Look at the very last line.

  829. You see what it says?

  830. But did not fear me,

  831. said the Lord Almighty.

  832. But how did they not fear?

  833. He was coming as a refiner,

  834. as a purifier.

  835. How did they not fear?

  836. Well, hold that clause.

  837. And let's go back to the other quotes

  838. from my Bible,

  839. which I've received in my Bible,

  840. Isaiah chapter 40.

    Isaiah 40 chapter mention

  841. Mark chapter 1 verse 3,

    Mark 1:3

  842. quotes, Isaiah chapter 40.

    Isaiah 40 chapter mention

  843. And we'll get an answer.

  844. Isaiah chapter 40.

    Isaiah 40 chapter mention

  845. We're going to read it up to verse 1.

  846. We're close to Isaiah chapter 3,

    Isaiah 3 chapter mention

  847. but we're going to read it up to verse 1,

  848. by 5, 4.

  849. So we're thinking,

  850. Jesus is coming.

  851. He's coming as a refiner,

  852. as a purifier.

  853. How did they stand as he's coming?

  854. But he says,

  855. don't fear.

  856. How did they not fear?

  857. Well, we're in chapter 40 verse 1.

  858. Comfort, comfort my people,

  859. said your God.

  860. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem

  861. and proclaim to her

  862. that her hard service

  863. has been completed.

  864. That her sin has been paid for.

  865. That she has received

  866. from the Lord's land

  867. and juttled for all her sin.

  868. And then they quote,

  869. a voice of one calling

  870. in the desert

  871. and tears away for the Lord.

  872. Do you get the connection?

  873. They do not need to fear

  874. because their sins have been paid for.

  875. The promise came with coming to Israel

  876. with the promise of judgment and justice.

  877. He was going to put everything right.

  878. He was the purifier,

  879. the red wire,

  880. the cleaner.

  881. But it comes to the offer of forgiveness.

  882. That's the gospel of Jesus Christ.

  883. That's the good news

  884. that justice is going to be done in the world.

  885. But people can also be forgiven.

  886. Now if we are to avail

  887. of the saints for Jesus,

  888. we must also be people

  889. who would respond

  890. with repentance and baptism.

  891. Look at verse 5.

  892. Let's go back to Mark's gospel.

  893. And we'll say amen.

  894. Mark's gospel chapter 1.

  895. It says in verse 5,

  896. as all the human beings come to us

  897. and all the people of Jerusalem

  898. find taxing.

  899. Jesus is coming.

  900. The refinerers are coming.

  901. The purifiers.

  902. They have to be ready.

  903. They have to be prepared.

  904. What do they do?

  905. The rest of verse 5,

  906. they were confessing their sins

  907. and they were baptized by John

  908. in the Jordan River.

  909. You see,

  910. people who are prepared to meet Jesus

  911. are tempted and were baptized.

  912. It wasn't about going out today

  913. and presenting yourself

  914. as perfect.

  915. Jesus is coming,

  916. putting on your best clothes

  917. and presenting yourself

  918. as such a good person

  919. and how you're better

  920. than everybody else.

  921. No, he says,

  922. I want you to come in

  923. directly as you want.

  924. With all your left

  925. and all your failures

  926. and all your upset.

  927. And just confess yourself.

  928. Don't hide it.

  929. Let him see you as you are

  930. and seek his forgiveness.

  931. It's quite liberating.

  932. And let's not be mistaken.

  933. Repentance isn't just

  934. a one-stop event

  935. that you're going to do

  936. when you're quite a year old

  937. and eating by your bed

  938. and eating as you want.

  939. Repentance is a life-off program.

  940. And the way to demonstrate

  941. that life of repentance

  942. and the people you are doing

  943. may be a claim to say,

  944. I'm going to leave this life-off program.

  945. They were baptized.

  946. And baptism is an external expression

  947. of an internal reality.

  948. And so the people

  949. who are serious about eating Jesus

  950. prepared themselves

  951. by turning away

  952. and turning to Christ.

  953. and being baptized

  954. was a thing

  955. that they were stating clearly

  956. to everybody

  957. that we are going to live

  958. a life of repentance

  959. and we are going to follow

  960. the Lord Jesus

  961. who is coming.

  962. Let me just stop there

  963. and make some comments

  964. around you.

  965. Somebody recently came to me

  966. and said they once again

  967. were baptized.

  968. I was delighted

  969. by seeing the difference.

  970. They want to stay

  971. by life of repentance.

  972. And they both do that

  973. positively to show

  974. that this is the way

  975. they're going in life.

  976. And I want to challenge

  977. people here to see what

  978. have you first of all

  979. ever repented

  980. before the Lord?

  981. Or is it just something

  982. that is something

  983. that we have?

  984. It's a continual thing.

  985. We continually need to come

  986. and seek repentance.

  987. And maybe you're claiming

  988. that you do follow Jesus

  989. but this baptism thing

  990. well,

  991. I'm going to wait

  992. until I'm a little bit better

  993. and try to do it,

  994. done a few more good things

  995. and then I'll get to it.

  996. But look at it here.

  997. Confessor says

  998. we're baptized.

  999. Think then.

  1000. Just like that.

  1001. If you're not baptized

  1002. and you're saying

  1003. the end of the following

  1004. of Jesus

  1005. and I want you to hear

  1006. the values of you,

  1007. why not?

  1008. What are you doing?

  1009. It's blatantly clear.

  1010. And we should be speaking

  1011. and saying

  1012. yes, I want to apologize

  1013. and I want other people

  1014. to know that that's

  1015. what I'm about to

  1016. and I want God's team

  1017. to know so that they

  1018. can encourage me

  1019. and support me.

  1020. And in a few weeks' time

  1021. we're going to be doing

  1022. the studies of the handout

  1023. and that person

  1024. who's asked about that

  1025. will join in on that

  1026. and wouldn't be bravely

  1027. if there were somebody

  1028. else in the room.

  1029. take it seriously

  1030. what God's saying.

  1031. In fact,

  1032. for attention

  1033. and means and I

  1034. to prepare them

  1035. for something supernatural.

  1036. Look at verse 7.

  1037. And this was

  1038. John's message.

  1039. He says,

  1040. after me

  1041. will come one

  1042. more powerful in life

  1043. that's trust

  1044. of his man

  1045. who's not worthy

  1046. to do that.

  1047. He said,

  1048. don't look at me.

  1049. I want you to look at Jesus.

  1050. He's coming.

  1051. All I'm doing

  1052. is preparing the way,

  1053. getting people ready

  1054. to meet Jesus.

  1055. But he's the one

  1056. who's going to transform you.

  1057. He's the one

  1058. who's going to change

  1059. in your first day.

  1060. I've baptized you

  1061. with water,

  1062. but he's going to come

  1063. and baptized you

  1064. with the Holy Spirit.

  1065. God's supernatural power

  1066. would come from Jesus

  1067. and would be

  1068. poured out upon

  1069. his people

  1070. equipping

  1071. and enabling them

  1072. to live

  1073. and experience

  1074. the new life

  1075. that he had come to bring.

  1076. His spirit was going

  1077. to come and change them

  1078. from the inside out

  1079. radically turning them

  1080. around in their life

  1081. bringing renewal

  1082. and restoration

  1083. so that they could be

  1084. renewers

  1085. and restorers

  1086. of their own community.

  1087. So preparing

  1088. to meet Jesus

  1089. was serious.

  1090. He was the refiner

  1091. of the coming,

  1092. the purifier

  1093. of the singing,

  1094. the God of justice.

  1095. But with the opera

  1096. begins,

  1097. so he says,

  1098. repent

  1099. and show up serious

  1100. by being untied

  1101. to the dead.

  1102. Now,

  1103. if we're serious

  1104. about eating

  1105. this Jesus,

  1106. I'm not sure

  1107. if all of the people

  1108. here,

  1109. if they were listening

  1110. to John,

  1111. were asking the question,

  1112. well,

  1113. how do we know

  1114. who he really claims

  1115. to be?

  1116. Maybe he's just a fraud,

  1117. a kind of religious

  1118. guru who is obsessed

  1119. with power and control

  1120. because for a lot

  1121. of kind of wannabe

  1122. and a fly

  1123. of one thing

  1124. around in that time.

  1125. How do we know

  1126. that he's real?

  1127. Well,

  1128. for the first time.

  1129. Jesus came from

  1130. Nazareth in Galilee

  1131. and he was baptized

  1132. by John

  1133. in the Jordan.

  1134. Now,

  1135. is that quite strange

  1136. because we've just been

  1137. saying that

  1138. that's hidden

  1139. with an outward expression

  1140. of repentance.

  1141. So does that mean

  1142. that Jesus needs

  1143. to repent?

  1144. Was he just a rebellion

  1145. that we are?

  1146. And he needed to get

  1147. himself sorted out

  1148. before he could

  1149. sort out the ground?

  1150. No,

  1151. it wasn't that at all.

  1152. We know that Jesus

  1153. was pure of repentance.

  1154. His baptism

  1155. was all about

  1156. identifying with us.

  1157. So as Jesus

  1158. comes to be baptized

  1159. by John

  1160. up to leave

  1161. and say,

  1162. I am one with you,

  1163. people.

  1164. I'm not pushing

  1165. myself upon you.

  1166. I'm not going to

  1167. force me to my power

  1168. on you,

  1169. making me my servant.

  1170. I'm going to be

  1171. one with you

  1172. to identify with you.

  1173. I've come to

  1174. wait your feet

  1175. into your broken

  1176. life and into

  1177. your disordered world.

  1178. I've come to serve you,

  1179. not to control you.

  1180. I've come to be like you

  1181. so that I can save you.

  1182. So he won't bend

  1183. on the power

  1184. in that sense.

  1185. To identify

  1186. and serve you

  1187. with Jesus.

  1188. Verse 10,

  1189. and as Jesus

  1190. was coming up

  1191. out of the water,

  1192. he saw heaven

  1193. being torn open

  1194. and the spirit

  1195. being sending down

  1196. on Jesus

  1197. like a dove

  1198. and a voice

  1199. came from heaven.

  1200. You are my son

  1201. who am I done

  1202. when you

  1203. I am well pleased.

  1204. Now this is how

  1205. we know

  1206. Jesus

  1207. is no strong.

  1208. The Father

  1209. in heaven

  1210. confirmed to us

  1211. that Jesus

  1212. that's in them

  1213. who he really is.

  1214. and I want you

  1215. to be there.

  1216. Nobody in the history

  1217. of the world

  1218. has received

  1219. an audible voice

  1220. from heaven

  1221. that says

  1222. you are my son

  1223. whom I am.

  1224. With you

  1225. I am well sold.

  1226. Nobody's ever heard

  1227. of that.

  1228. Except for him.

  1229. And it's why

  1230. Mark is drawing

  1231. a thing.

  1232. He says

  1233. I want you to

  1234. come with me.

  1235. I want you

  1236. to be there.

  1237. That Jesus

  1238. has been

  1239. baptized in

  1240. the right job.

  1241. And I want you

  1242. to hear those

  1243. words from heaven

  1244. for yourself.

  1245. You are my son.

  1246. You are my love.

  1247. You are my love.

  1248. I want you

  1249. to see the spirit

  1250. descending upon Jesus

  1251. so that you

  1252. will know

  1253. that this is

  1254. God's long

  1255. awaited

  1256. promised king

  1257. who has come

  1258. to restore

  1259. broken life

  1260. and renew

  1261. disordered world.

  1262. in many ways

  1263. Jesus is commissioned

  1264. sent by the

  1265. father

  1266. empowered

  1267. by the spirit

  1268. to go into

  1269. the world

  1270. and let the people

  1271. do the work

  1272. that you can do.

  1273. This is God's

  1274. confirmation

  1275. that Jesus

  1276. is the one

  1277. the children

  1278. one

  1279. who is going

  1280. to entertain

  1281. the life.

  1282. But this

  1283. wasn't going

  1284. to mean

  1285. to let him

  1286. say

  1287. that

  1288. opposition

  1289. is going

  1290. to come

  1291. and opposition

  1292. that followed

  1293. Jesus

  1294. all the way

  1295. through as we

  1296. meet the religious

  1297. leaders

  1298. and reject Jesus

  1299. and their people

  1300. who are against

  1301. him.

  1302. Look at verse 12.

  1303. at once

  1304. the spirit

  1305. sent Jesus

  1306. out into

  1307. the desert

  1308. and he

  1309. lived in the desert

  1310. for forty days

  1311. being tempted

  1312. by Satan

  1313. and he was

  1314. with the wild

  1315. animals

  1316. and the angels

  1317. attention.

  1318. Now

  1319. Satan

  1320. is aware

  1321. of God's plan

  1322. and hurt

  1323. him.

  1324. He knows

  1325. that Jesus

  1326. had come

  1327. for a specific

  1328. purpose

  1329. to renew

  1330. and restore

  1331. things

  1332. and Satan

  1333. did out

  1334. to stop

  1335. it.

  1336. He wants

  1337. his plan

  1338. to destroy

  1339. before it

  1340. even began.

  1341. Now again

  1342. just as the

  1343. start of

  1344. our gospel

  1345. kind of

  1346. runs back

  1347. to Genesis

  1348. we're almost

  1349. all about

  1350. to Genesis

  1351. again

  1352. in three

  1353. verses.

  1354. It's not

  1355. unlike what

  1356. we see

  1357. at the very

  1358. beginning.

  1359. God created

  1360. a world

  1361. that was very

  1362. good

  1363. but who was

  1364. lurking in

  1365. the background?

  1366. Who was there

  1367. in the garden?

  1368. Satan.

  1369. He got

  1370. a hold of

  1371. the glass

  1372. and he

  1373. first married

  1374. women

  1375. and he

  1376. broke

  1377. them.

  1378. He crushed

  1379. them.

  1380. He tempted

  1381. them and they

  1382. fell and they

  1383. failed and were

  1384. living with

  1385. consequences

  1386. ever since

  1387. a broken

  1388. world.

  1389. Now Satan

  1390. is out to

  1391. break Jesus

  1392. but this

  1393. time

  1394. things are

  1395. different.

  1396. Jesus

  1397. has tested

  1398. for 40

  1399. days

  1400. but he

  1401. didn't

  1402. break.

  1403. In fact

  1404. Jesus

  1405. is the

  1406. one who

  1407. is going

  1408. to crush

  1409. Satan.

  1410. Jesus

  1411. would crush

  1412. Satan

  1413. and

  1414. also

  1415. Satan

  1416. by

  1417. his

  1418. second

  1419. cross.

  1420. And Jesus

  1421. is here

  1422. on his

  1423. mission

  1424. in

  1425. interviewee

  1426. coming to

  1427. the world

  1428. and no one

  1429. and nothing

  1430. is going

  1431. to stop

  1432. his plan

  1433. for restoration

  1434. not even

  1435. to tell

  1436. what Satan

  1437. is.

  1438. Satan

  1439. has a

  1440. need

  1441. to happen

  1442. in the

  1443. world

  1444. of

  1445. charity

  1446. becomes

  1447. and charity

  1448. becomes

  1449. and each

  1450. one of us

  1451. here

  1452. face

  1453. a world

  1454. we live

  1455. life

  1456. and are

  1457. resorters

  1458. we live

  1459. with death

  1460. and disease

  1461. and decay

  1462. and broken

  1463. there's war

  1464. going on

  1465. there's corruption

  1466. going on

  1467. and injustice

  1468. there's hurt

  1469. there's all

  1470. kinds of

  1471. things

  1472. but here

  1473. the message

  1474. comes on

  1475. that Jesus

  1476. Christ

  1477. has come

  1478. he has

  1479. intervened

  1480. to put it

  1481. like this

  1482. and many

  1483. of you

  1484. here this

  1485. morning

  1486. have a

  1487. story to

  1488. tell about

  1489. Jesus

  1490. intervened

  1491. in your

  1492. own

  1493. lives

  1494. and brought

  1495. about

  1496. repressions

  1497. in your

  1498. mouth

  1499. and

  1500. energy

  1501. and as

  1502. we read

  1503. through

  1504. large

  1505. apostles

  1506. we will

  1507. relieve

  1508. Jesus

  1509. beginning to

  1510. undo

  1511. the brokenness

  1512. to reverse

  1513. the effect

  1514. of the curse

  1515. and you read

  1516. through large

  1517. apostles

  1518. it's full of

  1519. miracles

  1520. the sick

  1521. the sick

  1522. are healed

  1523. evil spirits

  1524. are cast

  1525. out

  1526. the poor

  1527. are fed

  1528. the storms

  1529. are calmed

  1530. the dead

  1531. are raised

  1532. and sins

  1533. are forgiven

  1534. and minds

  1535. are being transformed

  1536. all around you

  1537. all evidence

  1538. that Jesus

  1539. has come to

  1540. restore

  1541. and we need

  1542. faith

  1543. we

  1544. are

  1545. faith

  1546. but Jesus

  1547. Christ

  1548. has triumphed

  1549. he will

  1550. restore

  1551. our

  1552. disorder

  1553. lives

  1554. he will

  1555. renew

  1556. his broken

  1557. world

  1558. he starts

  1559. to do it

  1560. he's doing

  1561. it

  1562. in our

  1563. lives

  1564. and this

  1565. is the

  1566. beginning

  1567. of the

  1568. gospel

  1569. about

  1570. Jesus

  1571. Christ

  1572. the

  1573. son of

  1574. and

  1575. a

  1576. nation

  1577. who

  1578. is

  1579. intervening

  1580. to put

  1581. things on

  1582. earth

  1583. and it's

  1584. our hope

  1585. and our

  1586. prayer

  1587. that as we

  1588. breathe through

  1589. my

  1590. love

  1591. we will

  1592. breathe

  1593. this

  1594. Jesus

  1595. and be

  1596. changed

  1597. and transformed

  1598. and bring

  1599. his hope

  1600. to the

  1601. nation

  1602. bless

  1603. the

  1604. God

  1605. we thank

  1606. you so

  1607. much

  1608. for that

  1609. helpful

  1610. mark

  1611. we thank

  1612. you for

  1613. the way

  1614. of which

  1615. it was

  1616. written

  1617. those

  1618. hundreds

  1619. and hundreds

  1620. of years

  1621. ago

  1622. mark

  1623. writing

  1624. down

  1625. everything

  1626. that

  1627. teacher

  1628. of

  1629. that

  1630. verse

  1631. so that

  1632. we

  1633. today

  1634. in 2011

  1635. in our

  1636. own

  1637. language

  1638. can read

  1639. the story

  1640. of Jesus

  1641. and know

  1642. that it

  1643. is true

  1644. that it

  1645. is real

  1646. and that we

  1647. can actually

  1648. need

  1649. Jesus

  1650. please

  1651. father

  1652. would you

  1653. restore

  1654. us

  1655. and

  1656. renew

  1657. us

  1658. help us

  1659. to see

  1660. the work

  1661. that you

  1662. are about

  1663. help us

  1664. to see

  1665. what you

  1666. are doing

  1667. in the world

  1668. and what you

  1669. want to do

  1670. and help us

  1671. to be

  1672. on the

  1673. word

  1674. help us

  1675. help us

  1676. to be

  1677. deeply

  1678. and more

  1679. waiting

  1680. help us

  1681. to be

  1682. content

  1683. and live

  1684. lives

  1685. in the

  1686. kingdom

  1687. lives

  1688. that are

  1689. showing

  1690. back

  1691. through our

  1692. life

  1693. lives

  1694. that go

  1695. the way

  1696. of Jesus

  1697. to become

  1698. man

  1699. we ask

  1700. more

  1701. amen

  1702. this is

  1703. singing

  1704. of the

  1705. being

  1706. encouraging

  1707. one

  1708. of us

  1709. let's

  1710. come together

  1711. you