Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Mark my Words


Mark 1:1The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

Pastor JJ is starting a new series on the gospel of Jesus Christ, according to Mark and points out that from the very first verse it is clear that in the presence of the “good news” of Jesus, we are in the presence of the Son of God. Jesus’ teachings are above all other teachings, as the rabbinic teachers quoted preceding Rabbis, but the Christ spoke directly from God the Father. Sin does not define us; Christ does. Jesus has the power and has commissioned us to a ministry of power and authority from above to spread the gospel. But instead of spread the “Good news” to the world, far too often we only go where we feel comfortable. It took persecution to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Persecution that Jesus overcame at the cross and we are raised with Him to have a relationship with the Divine Messiah of God.

Mark 1:14 Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,  and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

The Lord summed up calling as “don’t wait to clean yourself up first or join a church membership before, but repent now, immediately, trusting and believing in the gospel truth that we are saved by grace through faith in the saving work of Jesus on the cross for our sins. Now is the time because the kingdom f God has arrived and is within our reach for our eternal souls.

Mark 1:17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”

Three attributes of the “faithful fisherman for Christ”: (1) One that “trusts in Him”. Believe, confess and follow Jesus. We are “people of faith” because God is “real”. Do we have limits on God and tell Him where to go? No, He is Lord of our life. One that is teachable. Have we got it all figured out? The more I learn about God, the less I know, because as I study the Word of God and walk life’s path in relationship with the Lord, I realize just how infinite He truly is and how little, I, the finite man knows about our infinite Creator God … so be teachable. (3) One that is “task oriented”. Not one who is prone to distractions, but managed and supervised by God. “Learn, be changed, follow and spread the Word” is my motto. Don’t be deceived by the God-rejecting world system or “taken in” by worldly wisdom, but with godly wisdom have a vision and passion that is focused on Jesus’ mission and grow. (4) One that doesn't take faith lightly. For the faithful “fishers of men”, mark my words – “the fishing is always good”.

In Christ, Brian

7 comments:

child of God said...

Hi Brian,

What a good encouraging post!

Out to the streets we need to go and spread the Word of God.

I desire to do this yet I am such a shy person that I find it difficult to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger. I tend to leave tracks around the places I have been instead of trying to strike up a conversation. But I know that when the time is right, the Holy Spirit will give me the words to say and hopefully one day He will release me from this fear of man.

Thanks for sharing this.
Blessings,
<><

Frank E. Blasi said...

To Brian,
An excellent post.
And I also thank you for following my blogs. God bless.

To Child of God,
Thanks for your honesty in admitting your shyness. Join the club!
I believe that the Internet is a Godsend for us to share the Gospel using technology to send a message of God's grace to every reader.
God bless.
Frank.

Brian Ray Todd said...

Hi Child of God. I think that the difficult part of sharing the gospel is not the gospel message. The fear lies in the unknown reception and response of those we witness to, especially the negative responses. As Frank says "your Blog on the Internet is a gospel sharing tool". But so are the evangelical christian gospel tracts great witnessing tools. We never want to put limits on the ways that unbelievers can be reached, nor the Holy Spirits ability to reach anyone, at anytime with any means to presenting the gospel. When having a conversation on the gospel, we have to remember first why the gospel is needed and who needs the "good news" truth of Jesus Christ, and then know that a witness is some who tell what they saw, heard and know ... "their story in their words". I understand the fear that you speak of, and it is my prayer that the fear of the reality of tormented unrepentant souls in eternal damnation of the "Lake of Fire" will replace the anxiety, apprehension and trepidation of rejection with the honest aspiration of salvation and glorification. There is a world of people who need to hear us today. Blessings sister.

Brian Ray Todd said...

Thank you Frank for all that you do for the Lord and your fellow man with your ministry. Each of us have been gifted with our own unique gifts and perspective to give our views and comments to issues and concerns. I appreciate yours. Blessings.

child of God said...

Frank, thank you for your encouragement! The internet is a wonderful place to share God's Word. :)

Brian, I believe you are right in saying, "The fear lies in the unknown reception and response..." Since I am not great at making a conversation grow, I am not able to handle the cold stare response or a lull in a conversation. Tracks are great because they really say it all but I still desire to personally share God's Word with those who come across my path.

Thank you for sharing and praying, "it is my prayer that the fear of the reality of tormented unrepentant souls in eternal damnation of the "Lake of Fire" will replace the anxiety, apprehension and trepidation of rejection with the honest aspiration of salvation and glorification." I will think about the depth of this statement and trust in the Lord to fill His promise of Luke 12:12 "for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say."

Blessings,
<><

Ken said...

Hi Brian,
It can be a scary thing to share the Gospel with someone. Many things run through our minds. But every time I had the opportunity to share Jesus with someone, I walked away blessed. It is like joy overflowing when someone listens to what I have to say. But still, fear of man keeps me quiet way to much.
Thank you for sharing this vital message and may God bless you,
Ken

Brian Ray Todd said...

Child of God and Ken. Are we any different than the Apostle Paul, who wrote in Ephesians 6:19-20, "Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. The Holy Spirit can and does work with every effort that we put forth in the name of Christ for the purposes of the kingdom of Heaven. May Paul's request and prayer be ours also. Thank you for the great comments.