Early in Mark we read about the heart of the preaching ministry of Jesus.
Mark 1:14-15:
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
There are three main points in this message:
- The Kingdom of God is at hand.
- Repent (change your thinking)
- Believe the Gospel (surrender and pledge allegiance to the Kingdom so that you may be saved from self-destruction).
The word ‘Gospel’ was originally a politically charged word referring to a type of announcement, the announcement of the arrival of a kingdom (authority) that brings with it SALVATION from DESTRUCTION.
The word for Kingdom used in Mark1:15 is basileia which according to Strong’s refers to: kingship, sovereignty, authority, rule, especially of God, both in the world, and in the hearts of men; hence: kingdom, in the concrete sense.
Jesus comes to establish His throne in the hearts of His children, so that our thinking may be renewed and so that we can accept the SALVATION from destruction that forms the foundation of the Gospel.
We do not repent from sin – turn away from sin – for God’s sake. God wants us to turn away from sin for OUR sake.
To believe the Gospel is to give over to the rule of God, to allow Him to establish His throne in us.
To believe the Gospel is to surrender to the grace and mercy of Christ, the renewing of our minds through His Holy Spirit living in us, and to pledge allegiance to His cause – to make His desire our desire.
This means emptying ourselves of ourselves, and giving over to Him completely so that Christ may reflect in our actions and behaviour – that we may be living testimonies of His goodness and grace.
Deliverance only comes after repentance. When we empty ourselves, and allow the Spirit of God to come and inhabit us – when we become His tabernacle, He will break every chain.
This is succinctly described in 2 Corinthians 3: “1Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? 2You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.”
Christ is ministered to us, through the impartation of the Word (faith comes through hearing, and hearing through the Word of God), and truth is written on our hearts by the Spirit of the Living God.
To support this, I refer to Matthew Henry’s Full Commentary:
“The apostle is careful not to assume too much to himself, but to ascribe all the praise to God. Therefore, 1. He says they were the epistle of Christ, v. 3. The apostle and others were but instruments, Christ was the author of all the good that was in them. The law of Christ was written in their hearts, and the love of Christ shed abroad in their hearts. This epistle was not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; nor was it written in tables of stone, as the law of God given to Moses, but on the heart; and that heart not a stony one, but a heart of flesh, upon the fleshy (not fleshly, as fleshliness denotes sensuality) tables of the heart, that is, upon hearts that are softened and renewed by divine grace, according to that gracious promise, I will take away the stony heart, and I will give you a heart of flesh, Eze. 36:26. This was the good hope the apostle had concerning these Corinthians (v. 4) that their hearts were like the ark of the covenant, containing the tables of the law and the gospel, written with the finger, that is, by the Spirit, of the living God. 2. He utterly disclaims the taking of any praise to themselves, and ascribes all the glory to God: “We are not sufficient of ourselves, v. 5. We could never have made such good impressions on your hearts, nor upon our own. Such are our weakness and inability that we cannot of ourselves think a good thought, much less raise any good thoughts or affections in other men. All our sufficiency is of God; to him therefore are owing all the praise and glory of that good which is done, and from him we must receive grace and strength to do more.” This is true concerning ministers and all Christians; the best are no more than what the grace of God makes them. Our hands are not sufficient for us, but our sufficiency is of God; and his grace is sufficient for us, to furnish us for every good word and work.”
When the veil was torn, when Jesus gave His last breath, we saw that there was nothing behind the curtain – God was not there – He was, and has always desired to be in our midst, in our hearts. The tabernacle of the Old Testament, just like Noah’s Ark was but a foreshadowing of what was to come through Christ on the cross.
It is interesting to note the closing remarks of the 3rd chapter of the second epistle to the Corinthians. Paul writes regarding the old testament: “12Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech— 13unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as [b]by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Where the law – or ministry of death engraved on stones (v.7) – brought separation between God and man, a veil between the Glory of Him who made the Heavens and the earth, and His children – just as Moses covered his face, and the curtain separated us from the Glory – the Glory of His mercy and grace is revealed in Jesus Christ – the veil is lifted in Christ (v.14). When we turn to God – when we draw near to Him, He draws near to us – and the veil is taken away (v.16) we realize that we can become one with God – we can be united with Him in the Spirit – one with the Father, reconciled through the blood of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – and in this we find liberty. We find freedom.
The day you get into a relationship with God, and start make a commitment to maintain constant, conscious contact with Him, you will know a new freedom. Freedom from sin, doubt, fear, depression, anger, negativity – Jesus sets you free.
As we continue on this journey together, we will look at practical ways of dealing with sin and destructive attitudes in our lives, we will find purpose, meaning and calling in Christ, and we will become ambassadors for His Kingdom.
You have purpose.
You have meaning.
You have a calling.
And we are going to get there. The blueprint is being restored.
Pray with me: Lord, as I come before you now, I give you my heart, I give you my soul – I give you my life. I pray that in the coming weeks you will help me to empty myself of every attitude, every thought, every thing that is not from you, so that You can take up all my space. I surrender – all of who I am to you in this moment, and as I draw near to you, I pray that you will draw near to me. That Your Holy Spirit will fill me. That I will feel your anointing. That I will feel new strength arise from the ashes of my old life. I lay before you all my sins – those that I know of, and those that I might be unaware of, and confess them before you now. I know you have plans of good, not just for me, but also through me. I say Hosanna. Come save me. Your Kingdom come, your will be done In and through me, here on earth as it is in Heaven. I speak healing over my life – over my body over my soul. I pray that you will keep me committed to the choice I make today – a choice to go deeper in my relationship with you, so that you, as the author and finisher of my faith, may write your truth upon the tablets of my heart – not in ink, but through your Spirit. Reveal to me the things I must change. The stumbling blocks in my life. And help me remove them. In Jesus name. I pledge allegiance, and surrender completely to you. In Jesus name, my chains are broken. In Jesus name. Amen.