12/8/19 Mark 1:1-8 “Changing to the Best Life Possible!”

06 Dec 12/8/19 Mark 1:1-8 “Changing to the Best Life Possible!”

12/8/19     Mark 1:1-8        “Changing to the Best Life Possible!”

We like to consider ourselves to be a pretty advanced society.  However, there is one area where we have actually gone backwards.  Usually we cannot go back very far in our family tree because no one has ever kept track of that.  The ancients were different.  Matthew starts his Gospel with the genealogy of Jesus and it covered many generations.  Luke also has an account of this only in reverse order and of Joseph’s lineage. These things are important because they help us to know that Jesus was indeed real.  He had a lineage that could be traced back for centuries.  I would guess that most of us cannot trace ourselves back even 200 years.  So this was quite a feat.  Today’s Scripture is about John the Baptist and why he is important to understanding Jesus.  Let’s look at this passage from Mark and see the relevance it has for us and our lives.

This is one of my favorite times of year.  We have just had Thanksgiving where we can reflect on all that God has given us.  God is good all the time and all the time God is good.  Now is the time to prepare for Christmas.  Of course on the personal level, I also had to prepare for some birthdays.  After these I can sit back and enjoy the season, especially all the programs and events that are happening.  Do you remember a couple of weeks ago when all of these crazy people camped out so that they could be first in line for the after Thanksgiving sales which are now on Thanksgiving?  There have been deaths that have occurred at these frenzies.  These are just terrible reminders of just how broken we are.  They should pass a law where nothing can be on sale on the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving unless it is offered for the same low price on Mon. thru Wed.  Maybe this would slow down our greed a little.  And I also think that most of us realize that these things will be on sale again before Christmas.  Most places have one time only 2 hour sales or 2 day sales that will occur again next weekend.

Anyway, this is the time of year when society is getting ready for Christmas with all their sales and parties.  It is also when we get ready by purchasing gifts for others or starting to buy groceries or baking goodies or volunteering at a shelter.  It is a festive time of year and I think that is good.

In today’s reading we have the coming of John the Baptist.  I would like you to picture this a little bit.  There were no roads in those days where cars could take you to where ever you were going.  If you wanted to go somewhere, you walked.  Mark tells us that the people of the countryside and Jerusalem came out to be baptized by John in the Jordan River.  This would be quite a few miles to walk.  These people were really hungry for some word from God.  It had been 400 years since the last prophet.  They hadn’t heard from God and they wanted desperately to know that they were doing the right things so they walked these miles.

I am sure glad that Jesus came to change the ways that God communicates with us.  We don’t have prophets today in the sense that they had them in the Old Testament.  There isn’t just one man or woman who hears God and then tells the rest of us about it.  I have known people who think they are like that but I really don’t believe too much that they tell me.  And this is because since Jesus came to us, believers have all been prophets in a little different sense.  Thus, generally speaking, if God wants to talk to you, then He will do so directly.  He doesn’t need an Old Testament style prophet to do it.  All you have to do is learn how to listen.

But the big reason that I am glad that we don’t have prophets like of old is that I can’t imagine what would have happened to us if we hadn’t heard from God for 400 years.  It has been roughly 2000 years since Jesus came to us.  Look at all the trouble we have gotten ourselves into with the Holy Spirit in our midst.  We probably would have destroyed ourselves long ago if God had been absent.  We would not have the civilization that we enjoy today if God had not been present.

If we look at the ancient cultures we find that there were no hospitals.  There were no doctors for the common man.  The disabled were required to beg or die.  The prison systems were horrendous.  Governments could hardly even function because of all the lies, deceit and assassinations which might be very similar to Washington D.C.  Christians came along with Jesus Christ and changed everything in this world.  We are responsible for just about all humanitarian concerns.   Atheists get upset when you tell them of all the wonders that we have in this culture are due to Christianity.  They wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for us.

Let me get back to the topic at hand.  The people around Jerusalem are flocking to see John.  But why are they doing this?  John the Baptist was a wild man.  He had been roaming the wilderness.  His diet had been locusts and honey.  It’s funny we don’t have some group today that want these things on our Thanksgiving or Christmas tables.  Also he wore skins made of camel hair.  I don’t know much about camel hair but from what I read, I think that it would be very coarse and especially uncomfortable.  The description of John the Baptist reminds me a little of the description of Legion who roamed the tombs.  Why in the world would anyone cross the street to see him let alone travel miles into the country?

I would like to make a little confession to you at this point.  There are times when I am writing sermons or putting together services when I think to myself, “Why would anyone come to see me preach or do a service?”  I have lived a broken life and it will always be broken.  Then I remember things of my past life.  Thoughts of my unworthiness start to flood my brain.  I have to stop and cast Satan out of my life.  Then I become thankful for what Jesus has done for me.  I realize that I have nothing to do with people watching this or coming on Sunday morning.  We have a hunger to hear about Jesus and God and how the Holy Spirit works in our lives.  This is our hunger.  When I talk with people away from church I begin to realize that this hunger is more like a starvation.

And this is the hunger that those people had so many years ago.  No one in their right mind would come to see John the Baptist.  No one, that is, unless God was doing a work in them.  Once again we see God using the person that we would least expect.

And I firmly believe that this is the hunger we have today.  We have so many people searching for themselves.  They are searching for the truth.  And of course they are led the wrong way by all the cults and pagan religions of the world.  Even some of our main line denominations are leading us astray.  No one wants to hear the truth of Jesus Christ because it is so hard and yet it is too easy.  So many people have done things wrong in their lives that they feel that they need to do a lot of work to make up for all the bad that they have done.  They cannot accept that they don’t have to do any work at all.  All they have to do is confess, repent and ask Jesus to live in their hearts.  It is that easy.  The hard part is to admit to yourself that you are a sinner.

A couple of weekends back, we got to visit with my classmates a little.  One of the ladies told me that she had never heard coming to Jesus like this until she became an adult.  There is a generation in this country that was never taught how to accept Jesus.  There may be some of you here today would tell me the same thing.

And this generation that didn’t hear the truth about Jesus Christ is now in charge of just about everything.  It is no wonder this country is so messed up when many of our leaders don’t know the first thing about being a Christian.  Sometimes I have to shake my head when I hear of our leaders supporting legislation that is absolutely against the teachings of God and yet they proclaim to be Christian, when in fact they only proclaim this so that they can be reelected.

John the Baptist is preparing us for Jesus.  He is showing us the way by telling us we have to repent.  He is telling us that we have to confess our sins.  Then we will be baptized.  These are the basics to becoming a Christian.

I have heard people tell me that they think that this is work, this confessing and repenting is work, so our faith is based on works.  Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is not works.  This is the process of believing.  Once you believe, and I mean really believe and not just pay a little lip service to God, once you really believe in Jesus with your whole heart, soul and mind, then these other things just come naturally.  Many people in this country (70-75%) say they believe in God and that is it.  For the most part they stop there and they don’t believe with their whole heart.  There is no repentance and there is no confession.  And what we end up with is a whole lot of people who may be in big trouble when they die.

Most of us know what confession is.  You need to be telling God about your sins on a continual basis.  I sometimes think that the confessional that the Catholics have might be a pretty good idea.  However, we do get a little mixed up on repentance.  Many people think that this is the feeling sorry and badly about the sins we have committed.  This is part of repentance but only a small part.  Repentance means for us to turn away from our sin.  It means to start a new life.

You hear stories of this all the time.  Some of you are those stories.  When I finally decided to quit thinking that there was a God and started to really believing in God and Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, my life changed.  I had repented.  I started a new life.  I would never, ever go back to the old life.  Some of us have these dramatic experiences and others have more gradual conversions.  It doesn’t matter how you get there.  It just matters that you do get there.

And why does all of this happen?  Why did I suddenly feel different?  Why did I change my life?  John the Baptist gives us the answer in verse 8.  He says “I baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  It is right here where Christians have some trouble.  Every denomination has their way of being baptized and they feel that their way is the only right way.  There have been wars fought over baptism!

I will be the first to tell you that I don’t really know what being baptized with water does for us.  We can read in the New Testament in several places that we are supposed to do this.  It is part of our sacraments and it is important.  But I don’t know what it does.  I do know that the Holy Spirit works through baptism but just how He works, I don’t know.

I also know what being baptized with the Holy Spirit does.  It changes lives.  It is like being shot with the biggest shot of adrenaline you can have.  It is energizing.  It is freeing.  I will never forget what it felt like when the Holy Spirit first entered me.  I will never forget the wonderful feeling of calmness, of peace that I had the first time I confessed my sins to Jesus and He took them away.  He took them all away.  There were none left.  There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of first knowing Christ.

Finally we can also read that John the Baptist was not worthy of tying Jesus’ sandals.  There was not a man or woman in the Bible who was worthy of this.  There is not a man or woman in the world today who is worthy of this.  But the Good News is that we are all worthy of this because of the work that Jesus did on the cross and His resurrection.  And when you believe as John has just told you, then you can have it.  You can have it all.

Remember this as you go into the world doing the ministry of Christ.  Tell people that there is no better feeling in the world than knowing Jesus.  It is far, far better than any feeling you get with alcohol or drugs.  It is better than any other religious feeling.  It is the best feeling because it is the feeling of Jesus Christ in you.  It is to be truly at peace.  And to be totally honest with you, it doesn’t get any better than that.

Our country needs a revival like what John the Baptist did.  Our communities need revival.  But we can’t have it unless we practice real repentance.  Patrick Morley once stated our problem like this.  “We believe that we can add Christ to our lives and not subtract sin.  It is a change in belief without a change in behavior.”

If there is anyone here today that believes in Jesus but hasn’t changed their behavior, then do so today.  Do so by confessing your sins and repenting, changing your behavior, and asking Jesus into your life.  I guarantee that you will experience a freedom that you have never had before.  It is the absolute freedom that you get from being obedient to Christ.

Jesus loves you so much that He has made it very easy for you to follow Him.  When Christ died on the cross, He died for all of us.  He died for all of your sins, not just some of them.  Jesus did all the work.  All you have to do is believe with all your heart, soul and mind.  I would much rather spend my life basking in the love of Christ than any other place.  You can to if you just ask.  Thank you Jesus for your tremendous love and your even greater amount of patience. And thank you for first loving us. Let’s pray.