THE CHRISTIAN’S NEVER-ENDING ADVENTURE
Jesus Calls Us - Mark 1:14-20
During your lifetime and mine on this earth, few and far between have been those adventures we wished would never end . . .
And yet, as disciples of Christ our everlasting Lord, we have been loved with an everlasting love, and called to an everlasting joy because we have been saved with an everlasting salvation - gifted to us by God our Father who is from everlasting to everlasting!
A never-ending adventure is what Jesus Christ promised to all who accept his invitation, “Come, follow me”; and by his death and resurrection, the Son of God guaranteed fulfillment of that promise.
A never-ending adventure – one which begins in the here and now, and continues in the hereafter – is our Lord’s promise to “whosoever believeth in him”. And the great thing about the Good News is: Whosoever means me!
“I am happy today, the sun shines bright, the clouds have been rolled away, for my Savior said, ‘whosoever will’ may come with Him to stay.”
Our never-ending adventure with Christ begins with each of us in the same way it began with each of those disciples who encountered him in the flesh. Jesus “called” them . . . Jesus calls you and me . . . Jesus calls anyone who is willing to give his life for the Cause of Christ. “Whoever wants to save his life will lose it.”
Jesus called you and me out of sin into salvation. We responded to his call when we repented of sin, accepted him as Savior, and confessed him as Lord. In responding to his call, we were “born again” (spiritually).
By virtue of our second birth, we “lost” our “bent” toward sinning . . . and we gained a second nature – a new “bent” toward living a Christ-centered life in a self-centered world. “The love of Christ constrains us!”
We were baptized to symbolize death to ‘our old nature” bent toward sinning, and resurrection to “our new nature” bent toward Christ-centered living.
Today, knowing whom we have believed and where we are headed, none of us would exchange our never-ending adventure with Christ for anything this world has to offer. Why? Jesus changed everything!
No one I know (or know of) questions the influence of Jesus on culture and history. Yet, for the disciple of Christ, he is so much more. He is God’s supreme revelation of himself - Son of God sent to bring God’s “good news to all people”.
To tell His story was the purpose of the Apostle Peter’s “son in the faith” Mark in writing the Gospel According to Mark: “This is the story of how Jesus Christ, the Son of God, brought the good news to men” (Mark 1:1).
Mark picks up the gospel story 30 years after the birth of Christ – telling us how John the Baptist set the stage for Jesus’ ministry by going around the country preaching repentance, and baptizing those who repented (Mark 1:2-8).
Mark was such an astute writer – having sat at the feet of Peter . . . spent a lot of time with his uncle Barnabas . . . personal friend Timothy . . . served with the Apostle Paul and spoken of by him as “a most useful servant to me”.
Why did Mark begin his gospel with the preaching of John the Baptist? He wanted folks to understand that prophecy was being fulfilled before their very eyes, that they were witnessing history in the making - the transition of preaching power from the one who prepared the way to the one who is the Way.
Having told briefly about the events that paved the way for Jesus to launch his ministry on earth, Mark then tells how Jesus set it in motion – Mark 1:14-15 . . .
How significant that Jesus began his ministry after John’s imprisonment but away from Jerusalem - in the farming and fishing regions of Galilee!
Jesus took up where cousin John left off – going into out-of-the-way places, preaching repentance as the first step in establishing God’s kingdom . . . recruiting the repentant from among ordinary folks engaged in their ordinary tasks to become his extraordinary disciples.
Don’t you know that our Lord’s strategy of striking out on his own without the advice and consent of the Jerusalem hierarchy rubbed them the wrong way!
Those “powers that be” were still seething with anger from John preaching that one mightier than they was on the way, but now they were besides themselves; how dare this nobody from Nazareth proclaim a new kingdom to be established by farmers and fishermen!
Did Jesus not realize that, for that very reason, his cousin John had been arrested and imprisoned, later to be executed!
Yes, Jesus knew His mission would not set well with the hierarchy; but He also knew that the Father had sent Him on a mission --- “rescue the perishing, care for the dying, snatch them in pity from sin and the grave” - a punishment no one has a chance of escaping apart from repentance toward God plus acceptance by faith of God’s Son as Savior.
“How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” The answer, pure and simple: We shan’t! Thus, “The time has come”, declared Jesus, “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.”
To spread the gospel, Jesus himself went into Galilee, calling all people out of sin into salvation, calling all who repented to become His disciples, and calling some of them into His service for helping Him establish and build God’s kingdom – Mark 1:16-20 . . .
Who were the people chosen by Jesus to be His first followers? Commoners, ordinary working class folks, who labored hard to make a living for their families – the kinds of folks we honor on Labor Day!
Why do you suppose Jesus chose not to enlist helpers from the elitist classes of his day – the wealthy ruling class, the highly educated aristocracy of Jerusalem? Would you agree – We hold this truth to be self-evident?
Highly significant that our Lord ventured into regions where folks were busy going about their daily tasks . . . when Jesus called them to a much greater task! These folks were ready! Thus, Mark’s message to us: Be ready when the Master calls!
Notice the logical progression with which Mark told the story of how the ministry of Jesus took shape:
*Jesus recognized John’s preaching as an indication that it was time for Him to emerge from obscurity, to go forth to accomplish the task for which He had been sent into the world.
*Jesus was baptized to signify His obedience to God’s Will . . . *He received God’s commendation and approval for the task ahead . . .*Jesus was tested to prove He was capable of dealing with God’s enemies . . .
*Jesus put together His team of ready, willing, able devotees . . .
*He launched God’s campaign to win the hearts, minds and souls of all who would repent, believe He is the Son of God, and receive Him as Savior and Lord.
Review your life of devotion to the Lord, and you will see the progression:
You recognized . . . You were baptized . . . You received approval . . . You proved yourself worthy . . . You stood ready, willing and able . . . You teamed with others . . . You set your sight on doing whatever needed to be done, whenever, for as long as . . .
And now, You have come apart to rest not on your laurels but in the Lord . . . and then, You will receive that commendation of all commendations, “Well done!” Be glad Jesus interrupted your life and invited you to follow Him on an adventure that has had a life-changing impact on your life and on others as well!
Folks: Following Jesus has been, is now, and forever shall be for me and I hope for thee the greatest adventure any of us could ever have dreamed of or hoped for! I am thrilled, filled, spilled! Are you? My cup runs over! Does yours? I can hardly contain my enthusiasm – translated from “entheos” - meaning “God In Us” to be spread to others! As you go, spread your entheos! Amen!
