Pastor Mike : THE FINAL COUNTDOWN : A Ministry of CHRIST-LIVES MINISTRIES

As we learned in Mark chapter 1, Jesus began His very public ministry in Capernaum. He entered the town and began preaching about the Kingdom of God. In that chapter, Jesus also demonstrated His great power. He cast out demons and healed diseases of every sort. From Mark 1:32, we learn that Jesus must have healed nearly every sick person in that town!

        His miracles eclipsed His message! The people flocked to Jesus to see what He would do next. Each miracle left them hungry for more. To escape this frenzy, Jesus and His four disciples left Capernaum and began a preaching tour through Galilee, 1:38-39.

        That preaching tour is over, and Jesus and His men return to Capernaum. This town was an important place in the life and ministry of the Lord Jesus. Capernaum served as the northern headquarters for His ministry. It was here that He put His great healing power on public display. It was here that He preached in power. In Capernaum, Jesus Christ made His very public claims to be the Messiah here. But Capernaum had a problem!

        This city valued the miracles more than the message or the Messiah. They wanted the spectacular and rejected our Lord’s offer of salvation. As a result, Jesus later pronounced a curse upon this city, Luke 10:13-15. (Ill. Those who have received much from the hand of the Lord and rejected it will face the greater judgment, Luke 12:48. Ill. I would rather go to Hell from anywhere than from a pew in a Bible-believing Baptist church!)

THE CHOOSING OF THE TWELVE

The ministry of Jesus is in full swing. The common people of the area follow Jesus because He preaches the Word of God in power and works miracles for God's glory. The religious leaders hate Jesus because He refuses to play by their rules and because He exposes them for the hypocrites they are. Our Lord’s days are filled with ministry and things are happening at a hectic pace.

Here we see how Jesus chose his apostles.

THE PREACHING POWER, AND PASSION OF THE AMAZING SERVANT

LET’S START OUR LESSON BY READING FROM GODS WORD

Mark 1:21-39

King James Version

21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

23 And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out,

24 Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.

25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and come out of him.

26 And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried with a loud voice, he came out of him.

27 And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.

29 And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue, they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.

30 But Simon's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and anon they tell him of her.

31 And he came and took her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them.

32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.

33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.

34 And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.

35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.

36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him.

37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee.

38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.

39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.

Intro: Mark is in a hurry. He is constantly moving the action along. He uses words like “straightway”, v. 21; “immediately”, v. 28; “forthwith”, v. 29; and “anon”, v. 30. These are action words. They picture events as happening one right after the other.

Mark is attempting to focus on the main thrust of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark tries to picture Jesus as a Servant; One Who moves from task to task as He does everything in His power to accomplish His Father’s mission for His life. Mark is leading us to Calvary and on to the empty tomb. He wants to picture Jesus as the Suffering Servant Who gave His life to redeem His people.

As we continue to move through the Gospel of Mark, we are observing Jesus as He begins His earthly ministry. His coming was announced by John the Baptist, v. 7-8. Then Jesus appeared and submitted to baptism, v. 9-11. Jesus was baptized, not to cleanse Him of any sin, for He had no sin to be cleansed of. Jesus was baptized to publicly accept His Father's mission to be the Savior of the world. As soon as He was baptized, Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God for service, and Jesus heard the voice of His Father acknowledging Him as His Son and approving of Him in every way.

Of all the personal encounters of the Lord Jesus, I think this is my personal favorite. In this passage, Jesus displays His love for the lost sinner and He shows would be witnesses how to go about the business of sharing the faith. One sure way to learn how to tell others about Jesus is to watch the way the Master Himself did it.

Lets read from Gods word!

5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Based on a sermon by one of my professors, Dr. John Piper,

II Corinthians 4:16-18

DO NOT LOSE HEART

Intro: Did anyone come here today hoping, praying, longing, for someone to sing something, pray something, or preach something that would strip all your hope away?

• Did anyone come here hoping to be discouraged?

• Did anyone come to the show today hoping that someone would knock all the wind out of your sails?

• No! Nobody came here that way today.

Nobody came saying, “Please hurt me. Please strip away all my motivation for serving the Lord. Please discourage me. Please defeat me.”

• We came here looking for the opposite, didn’t we?

• We came here looking for encouragement, seeking hope, desiring to be motivated to greater things in the Lord.

• We came here looking for help.

• If I told you there was a secret that would allow you to have hope in this world, would you want to know what it was?

• In a world that is so filled with hopelessness, discouragement, and defeat, if I told you that I knew a way you live your life every day and not “lose heart”, would you refuse to hear me tell you that secret?

• Of course not! That is why we are here.

Let’s read from the Word of God!

WHO WE LEAVE OUT OF THE NATIVITY

Intro: To understand this message, let us first read from God’s Word.

2 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

For most people, Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. Christians celebrate as we think about God sending His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ into the world to die for our sins. It is a time for family gatherings and large, delicious meals. It is a time for trees, tinsel, lights, and Christmas tunes. It is a time for giving and receiving. It is a time when we all stop and reflect on the reason why we have the season in the first place. It is a time for thanksgiving, and appreciating the people in our lives who are the most precious to us.

Mark 1:9-11

THE BAPTISM OF THE SERVANT

This passage records the first appearance of the Lord Jesus in the Word of God since He was seen in the Temple at the age of twelve. All we know of the next eighteen years of His life are summed up by Luke like this: “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man,” Luke 2:52. Those silent years of the life of Jesus were years of mental, physical and spiritual preparation for His work as Messiah and Savior.

We are told in verse 8 that Jesus came “in those days”. Why did Jesus choose this time to make His identity and mission known to men? He came now because the time was right. John the Baptist had blazed the trail as the forerunner of the Lord. John the Baptist’s crowds were large and his ministry was at its very apex. Jesus came at this time because John had completed his work and the time for him to decrease had come. Jesus came because it was God’s appointed time for Him to be revealed.

As you know, when you open your New Testament, the first four books you encounter are the Gospels. The word “Gospel” means “Good Tidings” or “Good News” and these four books are designed to give mankind the heavenly good news concerning Jesus and Who He is. These four books paint for us a clear portrait of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of the Gospel writers approaches Jesus from a different perspective and each presents Him in a different way. Matthew presents Jesus as The King of the Jews. Luke presents Jesus as The Son of Man. John presents Jesus as The Eternal Son of God. Mark presents Jesus as The Servant Son of God.

The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the four Gospels and deals mainly with the ministry of Jesus. Mark does not focus heavily on the words of Jesus; his emphasis is the works of the Lord. Mark shows Jesus as the King Who came to serve others.

The Rich Man and Lazarus

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”