• Sometimes it is because of business
• Sometimes it is because we want to relax in a different environment
• Sometimes it is to visit relatives
• Sometimes it is because we want to see the beauty of other places
Illus: A man and his wife were driving their Recreational Vehicle in Florida, and they came near a town spelled Kissimee.
They noted the strange spelling and tried to figure how to pronounce it –
• KISS’-a-me
• Kis-A’-me
They grew more perplexed as they drove into the town.
Since they were hungry, they pulled into a place to get something to eat. At the counter, the man said to the waitress, "My wife and I can't seem to figure out how to pronounce this place. Will you tell me where we are and say it very slowly so that I can understand?"
The waitress looked at him and said: "Buuurrrgerrr Kiiiinnnng."
We all have traveled to some unusual places with some unusual names.
Illus: For example, these are real names of towns in the U.S:
• Caress, West Virginia
• Flirtation, Colorado
• Kiss Me Quick, South Dakota
• Deception Creek, Arkansas
• Yum Yum, TN
• Ding Dong, TX
• Do Stop, KY
• Goon Dip Mountain, Alaska
• Grasshopper Junction, Arizona
• Monkey's Eyebrow, Arizona
• Santa Claus, Ga.
It is a lot of fun traveling and visiting these places. We go to these places for many reasons. When the Lord went to a place, He had a purpose in going there.
Jesus had a very specific purpose in coming to the earth on which we live.
The Word of God let’s us know why he came here. He came to SEEK AND TO SAVE THE LOST!
In John 4:4, when the Lord Jesus had the encounter with the woman at the well, the Word of God says, “And he must needs go through Samaria.”
Notice the word “needs” go through Samaria.
WHY DID THE LORD SAY THIS? Because there was a woman there that needed to be saved, so he said, “I NEED TO GO THERE!”
Wherever the Lord Jesus went, He went to seek out the lost.
In Mark 2, this particular passage makes this amply clear. In this passage we see why the Lord Jesus came to this earth to live.
Let’s look at the ministry of Christ in this passage of scripture. We see a number of things to consider, such as:
I. THE LORD’S FAME
Look at verse 13, we read, “And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the multitude resorted unto him, he taught them.”
While we look at FAME as something that everyone desires; there are those who will tell you that FAME can ruin your life.
Illus: Before he died, Elvis Pressley said that he never had a life to live and enjoy like the normal person. He could not:
• Go shopping
• Go to community activities
• Go and get a haircut
When he did go out in public, he had to disguise himself in fear of the flock of young women who would run up to him and literally begin to tear his clothes off so they could have a souvenir.
(Humor: Pick out someone that can take a joke and say, “Bill Brown says he has the same problem!”)
Elvis said he had to live like a prisoner under house arrest because of his fame.
The Lord Jesus’ fame had begun to spread, and it was causing some problems for Him.
Because the Lord knew that FAME could be a problem, he gave specific instructions to the leper He had healed in chapter one. We read in Mark 1:44, “And saith unto him, See thou SAY NOTHING TO ANY MAN: but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing those things which Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.”
The Lord Jesus had given specific orders that he was not to tell anyone what Jesus had done for him, knowing it would increase His fame and limit His ministry.
BUT DID THE MAN OBEY HIM? No, look at verse 45. We read, “But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.”
The Lord had to leave town and begin to minister in desert places, and still the Bible says, “They came to him from every quarter.”
Everyone knew who he was! Everyone!
Illus: A once-popular singer goes to a retirement home to give a concert for the residents. When he enters he expects applause and requests for his autograph, but no one seems to remember him.
• Finally, the old singer asks one of the women, "Don't you know who I am?"
• The old woman looked at him with a very sincere expression on her face and said, "No, but if you can't remember, ask the nurse and she'll tell you."
WHY WAS THE LORD JESUS FAMOUS? The Bible tells us that HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD!
One way to attract people to you is to go about, “doing good.”
Illus: I have a friend who is very talented and a lot of folks know he is a really good handy man.
When he first moved to the community, he helped some folks out of kindness. Then he discovered something: IF YOU ARE WILLING TO HELP PEOPLE, THEY ARE MORE THAN WILLING TO LET YOU HELP THEM!
But as time went on, more and more people in the community needed some kind of work around their house, and they began to call on him for assistance.
He confided to a friend, that he had a very serious problem. People were tying up all his time fixing their houses and it made it difficult to find time to fix his own.
The Lord Jesus went everywhere ASSISTING people, and the Bible says they were coming from ALL DIRECTIONS to get help from Him.
HE WAS FAMOUS FOR GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD. Now some folks are famous for other things!
The Lord was known for his love and compassion. He went about “doing good.”
But also notice that when the crowds came from all directions the Bible says, “HE TAUGHT THEM.”
The Lord Jesus never missed an opportunity to PREACH THE WORD TO THE CROWDS THAT CAME OUT TO HEAR HIM!
If the Lord were here on earth today, He still would be taking advantage of every opportunity that came across His path.
We live in a wonderful age. Never before have Christians had such wonderful opportunities to spread the gospel of Christ as they do today.
For example:
• We have the Internet to spread the gospel
• We have printing presses to spread the gospel
• We have the radio to spread the gospel
• We have television to spread the gospel
• We have microphones so we can talk to large crowds in spreading the gospel
We have all these things at our fingertips to reach millions with the gospel.
Never in the history of mankind have we had so much to spread the gospel with as we do today.
I am sure that if the Lord Jesus were here today on this earth, He would be taking advantage of every one of these things to get the gospel out.
But many today are using these things only for their own selfish gain.
Illus: We have televangelists whose only reason for being on television appears to be to raise money so they can be on television next week to raise more money.
To hear some of these fellows, God will not heal you unless you write a check out for $50 or a $100 and send it to them.
Illus: An elderly couple was watching one of those television preachers on TV one night.
The preacher faces the camera and announces, "My friends, I'd like to share my healing powers with everyone watching this program. Place one hand on top of your TV and the other hand on where your body ails you, and I will heal you."
• The old woman placed her hand on her body and the other hand on the television set.
• Her old husband walks up and places one hand on the television and one hand on his body.
This seems to irritate his wife and she said, "Ernest, he's talking about healing the sick, not raising the dead."
There is a lot that could be said, and perhaps should be said, about these hucksters that are primarily supported by people who do not know the scriptures.
But what needs to be said in this sermon is that these phonies are going to give an account to God. They had an opportunity to preach the Gospel of Christ, and spent that valuable time preaching a bunch of nonsense to promote themselves and to raise millions for themselves each year.
When the Lord Jesus got a crowd together, HE PREACHED THE WORD OF GOD TO THEM. He never missed an opportunity to share the Word of God, nor should we.
Did you know that there were those who heard Him preach the Word of God, and later they died and went to a Devil’s hell? They heard the best preacher who ever preached a sermon, and it did them no good.
Illus: They were not like Rev. Bill Smith. He said that in his senior year of ministerial studies, he preached part-time in a small local church. Six months passed and none of his professors had come to hear him. Finally, his faculty advisor agreed to attend one Sunday.
After the service, he shook his hand and said, "That was a very warm sermon."
His delight was short-lived as he continued. "You know what the definition of warm is, don't you?" he asked. Before I could respond, he answered, "Not so hot."
(San Francisco, California. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare.")
We all have heard some warm sermons, but they heard the very best preacher that has ever preached on this earth, and some of them heard Him and they went back to their old ways.
How about you? The Lord Jesus has come to SEEK AND TO SAVE THE LOST! Are you willing to come to Him today!
Why? Because it is not enough to hear the Word of God, we have to hear it, believe it and receive it.
The Lord spoke to a man called Levi. We will have more to say about him this evening. He heard and listened to Jesus. Look at what the Bible says about how he responded.
Look at verse 14, we read, “And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.”
Are you willing to rise up from your seat today and follow the Lord Jesus?
Conclusion:
We have looked at:
I. THE LORD’S FAME
We will look next at:
II. THE LORD’S CALLING
III. THE LORD’S ASSOCIATION
IV. THE LORD’S ATTITUDE
