Good morning, everyone. Welcome to church this morning, this beautiful Sunday. What a blessing it is from the Lord that every Sunday, again, He calls us to gather together as His people to worship Him. I'd like to welcome all of you who are here this morning, and those of you who are visiting with us as well. We are thrilled to have you with us. May God be praised, and may we be blessed as we worship Him, as we hear God's Word also proclaimed. Also, I'd like to welcome those who are joining us via live stream, and we pray that you also be blessed through that. The Consistory has the following announcements. The Consistory's elders only will meet the Lord William tomorrow evening in the Consistory room commencing at 7.30pm. The congregation is reminded of the Christian Explored Study starting on Tuesday night at 7.30pm here in the church building. So far the announcements, please rise. Let us lift up our hearts unto the Lord. We confess together that our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. Amen. And receive God's greeting, grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. I do apologize for my tickle in my throat. I should be okay through the service, but let's begin by worshiping God and we'll sing together from Psalm 24, verse one and five. ♪ The Lord is King of misery ♪ ♪ The poor and old and the weary ♪ ♪ Rejoice, O Zion, sons and daughters ♪ ♪ For it stands well by His decrease ♪ ♪ He hath built it upon the seas ♪ ♪ And established it upon the waters ♪ ♪ Lift up your heads to our cherished place ♪ ♪ Where ancient gods rise up and wait ♪ ♪ Let Him come in the King of glory ♪ ♪ Who is this King in glory praise ♪ In the next song which we'll be singing, which will be Hymn 16, we'll be singing, O come, O come, O Lord of might, who to thy tribes in Sinai's height in ancient times did give the law in cloud and majesty and awe. This is part of the hymn, O come, O come, Emmanuel, and it refers there to the giving of God's holy law, the Ten Commandments, and that's what I'd like to read to you this morning. I'll do so from Deuteronomy chapter five. And it was indeed on Mount Sinai that God gave this law. It has everything to do with, God's law has everything to do with the holiness of God and our call to live in holiness before God as well. What we're also going to understand then, or so then, is that as we listen to God's law, we're going to be reminded of what sin is, what it means not to follow God's ways. That is also what we need to do, that our hearts might be prepared to listen for and to look towards our Lord Jesus Christ and seek forgiveness in Him. That will also be a focus on this morning sermon. So let me read to you from the Ten Commandments of Deuteronomy chapter 5, beginning at verse 6, where it says, I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, For the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. Observe the Sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work. you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock or the sojourner who's within your gates or the male servant or the female servant that your male servant your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day. unto your father and your mother, that as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long and it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder, and you shall not commit adultery, and you shall not steal, and you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor, and you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, and you shall not desire your neighbor's house, his field, his male servant, his female servant, his ox or his donkey or anything that is your neighbor's. So Father, reading from God's law, let's sing together then from hymn 16 verses 2 and 3 in your book of praise, your hymn book, you'll find first of all the hymns, psalms, and then we have the hymns afterwards. So you can find some page 386, page 386 in your hymn book. We're going to sing stanzas 2 and 3. ♪ O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, O come, ♪ ♪ O come, O come, O come, O come, to Bethlehem. ♪ ♪ In ancient times is given law ♪ ♪ In heaven, majesty and law ♪ ♪ Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel ♪ ♪ Shall come to thee, O Israel ♪ ♪ Down the branch of Jesse's stem ♪ ♪ Bring a thine arm and rescue them ♪ ♪ From heads of hell thy people save ♪ ♪ And give them victory, O the brave ♪ Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel. Let's praise the Lord and ask for a blessing over the service. Father in heaven, we thank you that we can be here this morning and we can come here to worship you. And we can also come here to hear from you, to hear from your word as we read it, as we also hear it preached. Lord, as we begin a short series of sermons on the gospel according to Mark, we pray, Heavenly Father, that you'll bless the reading of your word and also the preaching of it. And we pray, Lord, that as we Just consider these first verses in Mark chapter one, that it might help us also to understand the need for a savior. Because Lord, if we don't understand the need for the good news of Jesus Christ, we certainly would not be searching for Jesus either. And so we do pray that by your Holy Spirit and through what we receive today, that we may seek Christ even more. Lord, we've just heard from your law. the Ten Commandments which you gave on Mount Sinai as you came down upon that mountain in your glory, in your majesty, in your holiness, as you spoke in the midst of fire and smoke in a dramatic way to your people. Lord, you did this to teach the people of your greatness and of your holiness and also of the fact that we cannot possibly come into your presence. We cannot stand before you if even the slightest hint of wrongdoing or sin is still with us. But Lord, you have sent to us Jesus Christ. And so, Lord, we pray that our eyes may be fixed firmly on Jesus Christ. And so that in this way that we may seek the forgiveness of our sins and have the assurance of that forgiveness as well. And in this way that we may come before you into your holy presence and that we can do so boldly even as we fear your holiness at the same time. Father, we pray that you'll bless each of us who is here. We also pray for those who are unable to be with us today. We pray for those who are not here because of holidays, for different reasons. We also pray, Lord, for those who are unwell and also for those who are caring for others. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you'll strengthen, that you'll bless them, that you make all things well with them. and that they too may be blessed by you on this day. And Father, we also do pray for those who choose not to be here today for reasons that are not right. And we pray, Heavenly Father, that they may recognize this and repent, but also have that yearning in their hearts as we need to have that yearning in our own hearts to praise you, to serve you, and to come together with your people. Father in heaven, we pray then for your blessing upon us in this service. And we ask this in Jesus Christ's name. Amen. Well, I'd like to ask you to turn to your Bibles, and we're going to read together from the Gospel according to Mark, Mark chapter 1. We're going to read from Mark 1, verse 1 through to 15. As a church, beginning on Tuesday, we'll be going through sections of the Gospel according to Mark. We're doing that also in connection with a short course called Christian Explored. And it's a wonderful way for us, just as a church, just to focus on the gospel message of salvation in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And also for us just to reflect then on how this gospel message really focuses us in everything that we say and do here in Southern River Church, and also that it is this gospel message that we want to share with others also, those also who may not have that understanding of what it means to be saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. So we're going to begin today with Mark 1-15. Next week, by the way, unfortunately I won't be able to preach from Mark. It is a regular exchange, so we will have another pastor who will be preaching for us next Sunday. But we will be going through Mark 1 today, and this is also what we'll be looking at in some ways on Tuesday evening. This is the Word of the Lord. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in Isaiah, the prophet. Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached, saying, After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and a spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven. You are my beloved son. With you, I am well pleased. The spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness for 40 days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals and the angels were ministering to him. Now, after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God and saying, The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. So far the reading. from Mark chapter 1. Let's sing together from hymn 15, so we just sang from hymn 16, now from hymn 15 verses 1, 2, and 3. ♪ Comfort, comfort now my people ♪ ♪ Speak of peace the saints have taught ♪ ♪ Comfort those who sit in darkness ♪ ♪ I have to Jerusalem ♪ ♪ All the wisdom waits for them ♪ ♪ Tell her that her sins are covered ♪ ♪ And her altar now is uncovered ♪ O'er the herald voices crying, In the desert far and near, Holy moment, here it enters, ♪ Since the King of man is here ♪ ♪ Higher than morning or sunray ♪ ♪ Heav'n prepared for God away ♪ ♪ Where the Lamb is Christ to meet Him ♪ ♪ And the hills fell down to greet him ♪ ♪ Then they strayed while love was broken ♪ ♪ And the rubber blazers flang ♪ ♪ Let your hearts be true and humbled ♪ ♪ As it fits this holy reign ♪ ♪ For the glory of the Lord ♪ ♪ Love on earth, it shall abound ♪ And all flesh shall see that I am dead, that His word is never broken. Well, I'd like to preach to you what we just read from in Mark chapter one. I'll just re-read Mark one, the first eight verses, just so that we can be a little more familiar with these verses. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God, as it is written in Isaiah the prophet, behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John appeared baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and would be baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. Now, John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. And he preached saying, after me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals are not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptize with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. Well, I do apologize for my coughing. I wasn't too bad this morning, so hopefully we'll get through it. Otherwise, I'll see whether or not one of my elders can volunteer, but I think we'll be okay. Well, brothers and sisters in Christ, what makes news really good news? We live in an age which is saturated with information, with 24-hour news cycles, social media platforms and updates, and breaking news alerts pretty much everywhere where you look or from anything that you hear. And most of what we hear in the world is troubling. But wars and conflict, whether it's in Gaza or in Ukraine or in other places of the world, economic uncertainty, political division, natural disasters. And occasionally we hear something more pleasant, a medical breakthrough, the finding of a missing person. There's an amazing story about that, of course, for us over the last couple of weeks, and even maybe a cat or a puppy being rescued from a drain. But how much of this news, even that which is more pleasant, how much of that really is good news? And so much so that it has of such consequence that it fundamentally changes everything. Well, Mark chapter 1 begins In this way, it speaks about that good news. It says, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the son of God. That word gospel literally means good news. And as a result, sorry, and this as the rest of the book of Mark makes clear, this really is good news that Mark is about to tell us. It's good news that transforms lives. It changes destinies and that dramatically alters the course of history itself. It is such good news that this is transformative. It changes everything and everything else pales in comparison to what you're going to hear in this gospel according to Mark. But notice what Mark says this gospel is. This gospel, this good news really is. Verse one, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The son of God. So when Mark is writing here about good news, he's writing about a person. A person who is none other than Jesus Christ, the son of God. But then you get to verse two, and Mark doesn't immediately write about Jesus, does he? And you notice also then that Mark, if you know your Bible is better, Mark doesn't begin this in a way that the other gospel accounts do. We have Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and they are all accounts of that same good news of Jesus. But Mark doesn't, as Matthew and Luke do, he does not begin with the good news about the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem. He does not begin also with speaking about the word becoming flesh, as the Gospel of John describes. But instead, Mark immediately launches into his account about somebody else, not Jesus, but about a strange figure emerging from the wilderness, a man called John. And we know of him as John the Baptist. And the reason Mark had for doing this is that for us to really understand the good news about Jesus Christ, we need to be ready for it. We need to be prepared to hear this good news properly. So turning to the beginning of Mark chapter one this morning, I preach God's word to you under this theme, Be ready to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. Be ready to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. Two points, first, gospel preparation, and second, gospel focus. So as I just mentioned in the gospel according to Mark, we don't have this majestic introduction like we find in the gospel according to John. We also don't find an account of the ancestry of Jesus as we find in Matthew chapter 1. We don't find a description of how he was conceived and born as we find in the Gospel according to Luke. And when you go to Mark chapter 1, you may notice that he's quite abrupt in some ways. He just gets straight into it. Perhaps it's also a reason as to why, when we get to the Christmas season, Mark 1, although sometimes we'll preach from this, Mark 1 isn't the first go-to gospel account. More often than not, we'll go to Matthew, very often to Luke, and also to John, but not so much to Mark. Because he just goes bang, straight into what he wants to talk about. But there's also something here about the whole Gospel According to Mark where you notice this is not just here in just how he starts in verse two, but in a way that this book is written. Now, I'm going to be asking you to read through the Gospel According to Mark over the next month or two. And as you do so, it's good for you to pick up certain things as you go along. And one of the things which you may notice is how often we have this little word immediately. Immediately. We already have this word in verse 10. Then it says, when Jesus came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open, the spirit descending on him as a dove. We also have this in verse 12, the Holy Spirit immediately drove Jesus out into the wilderness. So already there you get this. But you're going to find this word immediately coming through the gospel according to Mark again and again and again. And it gives you this sense of urgency of, and then this, and then this, and then that. And so he wants us really to strain forward towards a great event. of the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, so that we might understand what this gospel, this good news is all about. Now back to verse one, we'll find here also that Mark also starts this abruptly. And here too, he wants to get to the heart of the matter as quickly as possible. Gospel according to Mark was written in the Greek language. And the very first word in the Greek language here is the word beginning. And so we have here also in our English translation, the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so with this word beginning, we get this understanding of this is how it all started. But I'd like you also to notice there's another Bible book also, isn't there, that starts with this word beginning. And that's in the Old Testament, in the book of Genesis, remember? In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So I do believe there's a connection here because in Genesis we have how God spoke and everything came into existence. Now Mark is telling us about another beginning, about the good news of God making all things new. Now in verse one then, Mark tells in a few words exactly what this gospel is all about. First of all, as I've already explained, he calls it the gospel. And for the first readers of the book of Mark that made this book would describe someone good who was coming into the world. He clarifies this to say that this gospel, this good news is about Jesus, a person whose name means Yahweh, the Lord saves. So there's already the idea of saving, being saved here. And not only that, but it is of Jesus Christ. Now that word Christ is not a name as such. It's a title. It's a description. It actually, in the Hebrew language, it's the word Messiah. And so Christ the Messiah is really the same thing. And here, with respect to Messiah, we understand also, because this is what Christ Messiah means, it means anointed one. So it is the anointed Jesus. He's anointed by the Holy Spirit, and actually that happens later on here in his baptism. He's anointed by the Holy Spirit for a duty, and that is to save his people. And so this Jesus, then, is also the Son of God. That means that he is, and this is the Jesus, then, whom the gospel speaks about, that he himself is true God. And so that's how the gospel according to Mark starts. But then we get to verse two and three. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, by the way, you understand that in the very early days until the printing press, really, which is back in the 1400s or so, 1500s, every single copy of the scriptures was always hand copied. And there's a little bit of discussion as to whether or not the word Isaiah was written here or just as it's written in the prophets. It really makes no difference here. But what we do notice here in verse two is that we actually have a quotation from two prophets, from Malachi and from Isaiah. But let me just read this. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, Behold, I send my messenger before your face who will prepare your way. That comes from Malachi chapter four. And the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And that comes directly from Isaiah chapter 40, chapter 40, verse three. But once again, Just notice then how Mark wants us to begin this gospel. On the face of it, you might say, well, that's not really, from a literary perspective, the most engaging way to begin this good news story. We might have said, Mark, if you want to write something that we're actually going to get gripped by, that we want to hear this good news, you're going to have to either give to us a real snapshot of what's going to happen or else you're going to have to introduce us now to this Jesus as quickly as you can. Who is he? What did he look like? Who was his family? Where did he come from? But there's none of this. Instead, what we have here is we have Mark immediately speaking about somebody else, not even this Jesus. He tells us about a man who came before Jesus and a man that the prophecies of the Old Testament was speaking about. This man, of course, is John, John the Baptist. So why is Mark doing this? It's because he wants us to meet this Jesus, but before we get to meet Jesus, we have to meet him in the right way, and we have to be ready to meet him the right way. And that's what John the Baptist's role was, to prepare the way of the Lord and to make his paths straight. Now, a bit of background for what's going on here. This all happened in approximately the year 26 AD, give or take a year or two. Israel was firmly under Roman rule. And although many of the Jews rebelled against the Romans, those who accepted their lot, they were not doing too badly. For many, when John the Baptist arrived at the scene, life was business as usual. Busy businessmen were loading their money bags with shekels. Their cupboards were filled with clothes. Their tables were decked with fine food. Many of the prostitutes, the other sinners, they'd given up trying to be good and some even enjoyed being bad. Tax collectors were busy developing schemes to grab even more tax and then to hold some for themselves. And the soldiers liked to swagger about. Swagger about and use their position to intimidate and to take things from others by force. Overall, one could actually say that life was pretty normal and for some people rather good under the Romans. There was a whole group in society, an upper middle class who could just lie down on their couches. They could pass around, if that's what they used to do in those days, they could pass around their platters of cheese and of olives and of bread and of meat amongst each other. All the while they had this glass or this tankard of red wine in their hands and swirling around and breathing in the fruity aromas and discussing the local wines over the imported wines that come from other parts of the Roman Empire. These were the people too who could comment idly on the latest fashions and the juiciest gossip that was happening in Herod's court, who was marrying who, and no doubt how you could possibly minimize your tax. And so really this was fairly normal as what life was like in those days. That's not to say, however, that the people of Israel were not religious. To the contrary, Being religious was a really important part of who they were and their identity. On the Sabbath day, a lot of people, not everyone, but a lot of people would make their way to the synagogue. The temple trade also, the temple did a brisk trade in pigeons and in changing money and so forth. And so people would go to the temple for their sacrifices and so forth. Being children of Abraham and members of the covenant community, it was a huge part of their identity. The other thing is that the author did speculate quite a bit about the promise of a coming Messiah. It had been 400 years of silence since the book of Malachi, but they had not forgotten how Malachi chapter four ended. And so they were waiting for Messiah to come. And some of the Jews, they wanted a savior then to deliver them from the Romans. They thought he would help them to achieve freedom on earth. And so he would usher in a new period like Solomon's. There are others, however, who had gone in a different direction. And there along the Dead Sea, there were groups like the Qumran sect. who would live in, people who would live in small communes in the desert and they would purify themselves. Even they'd have special rituals like baptizing and being washed in baths of water and so forth. And then trying to find their own way to perfection. And so the Pharisees and the other religious leaders, they were also there and they tried to become perfect by keeping the law. They actually thought they were doing well. The very idea for them that they were sinners in need of a savior didn't make sense to them. The law and the sacrifices were good enough. So yes, on the one hand, there were people in Israel, many people who would go to synagogue, many people who would follow all these laws and regulations, many who also said, we're waiting for Messiah to come. But at the same time, as a rule, they didn't understand the need for such a savior. They were just looking for someone who would make their life on this earth a little bit better. So life went on. And people thought they were ready, but inside their hearts, most of them were not. It had been 400 years since Malachi had given the prophecy that Elijah would come before the great and terrible day of the Lord. Daily life had dulled their expectation of the coming Messiah, and they failed to see the glory, so the urgency of his coming. As in days of Noah, it was a time of eating and drinking, of marrying and giving in marriage. Then, out of the shimmering haze of the wilderness, there comes a man. And he's dressed in a rather weird way. He's dressed in a rough, simple coat made of camel's hair. And he was someone who had a peculiar diet. He'd eat the food of the wilderness, locusts and wild honey. He was one who was different to those hiding away in the communes. He was one who was different to the Jewish religious leaders like the Pharisees and the scribes who enjoyed indulging in a tasty morsel and a drop of good wine. And his name was John. And his message was direct. Repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. Now there's something about this man, about his looks, about his manner, his urgent call to repentance. It jolted the people. It woke them up. What John had to say and how he acted, it caused them to sit up to take notice. He had the manner, he had the voice of a herald, of someone who'd be walking along before a royal possession and clear in the way and saying, make way, make way for the king. Get yourselves ready. The king is coming. And so as the people of Judea, as I heard this strange man in a coat of camel's hair, a strange sense of excitement and a longing stirred up in their hearts. And then they started to ask each other, could this be the time? 400 years ago, Malachi had said, behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. Is the day of the Lord here? And is this Elijah? And this, of course, they knew his name was not Elijah, his name was John. But he was like Elijah, wasn't he? Clothed in camel's hair, leather belt around his waist, eating locusts and wild honey. Just as Elijah just came from nowhere. And he came into the court of Ahab. He gave his strong message of judgment and so forth. So John the Baptist, he comes from nowhere. And just as Elijah spent many years, a lot of time in the wilderness or so, so did John the Baptist. And John's message is similar to that of Elijah, because he's preaching and telling the people they need to repent, to change. And John's coming. It was. as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Malachi. And not only of that prophecy, but also the prophecy of Isaiah the prophet. Indeed, it says in Mark chapter 2 verse 3, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord and make his path straight. This was a prophecy that the Lord had given in Isaiah 40 to assure the people in exile that the Lord would bring them back out of captivity and they would return to the promised land. But now Mark informs us that this prophecy ultimately pointed to a greater fulfillment when God would send a herald to get his people ready so they might come out of the wilderness of sin and be drawn to seek forgiveness and restoration in Jesus Christ. And so Mark tells us that's how the gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ begins. With John the Baptist, the herald of the great king, preaching the wilderness and calling people to see Jesus for who he really is. People, get ready. The king is coming. And John comes with this message that's sharp, it's curt, it's to the point, you need to repent and so be baptized. And that's a message that had to be obeyed immediately, no pussyfooting around, no smooth and greasy preaching to tell people that everything's okay, that God loves you just the way that you are, that there's no need to change. But this is a message that demands a response. And for us too. At the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we too need to have an understanding that we need this good news. We need this Jesus. And you know, this is also part of the reason, it's not the reason, it's part of the reason why we, in church, we also very often hear the Ten Commandments, God's law. Because we need to understand God's holiness and our sin and our sinful nature. You know, when Mark quotes Isaiah 40 verse 3, prepare the way of the Lord and make his path straight. The paths that are being referred to here are ultimately our own hearts and our lives. Our hearts and our lives must be focused on the right direction so that we understand the need for a savior and that we are ready to receive the salvation that the Lord had come to bring. Now, it seems as though there are many people today who don't understand this. Many people today think about Jesus in a way that the consumers think about a product. We want to know what he can benefit, how he can benefit us, how he can improve my life, how Jesus can help me with respect to my health, my wealth, my happiness, my security right here and now. I want to know how I can name it and so claim it. But John the Baptist, he cuts through all of this and he's just got this stark message. And his message is outside of Jesus Christ, you are a sinner who stands condemned before a holy God. You need to repent. And that applies to us just as much as it applies to the people of Israel in the days of John the Baptist. And so this morning, I'd like you to just reflect on this and ask yourself and to examine your own heart. How is this with you? Do you know your own need for the gospel of Jesus Christ? Or have you, like those comfortable religious people in the days of John the Baptist, grown accustomed to the thing, to the idea that You're basically a good person that you don't need Jesus in this way. You see, the gospel is only good news to those who recognize they desperately need it. And I don't say these things to discourage you, but like John the Baptist, I say them so that you might truly understand and appreciate what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. A person who doesn't know they're sick won't appreciate it when the doctor says, here, here's the medicine you need to get better. A person who doesn't know that they are lost will not really value being found. A person who does not understand that they are condemned will not treasure being pardoned. And you see, this is why Mark begins his gospel story with John the Baptist. The good news of Jesus Christ requires gospel preparation. That brings me then to my second point, which is gospel focus. When John preached in the wilderness and called the people of Israel to repent, he drew enormous crowds. People came from all over Judea to hear him preach and to be baptized in the Jordan River. And his message was compelling. He cut through the smokescreen of their daily lives and he pointed them to the true state of their hearts. And as more and more people came to be baptized by him, John could have built a movement around himself and established a following and creating this new organization, a new cult. But John's focus was never on himself. His preaching was about someone else. This is verse seven and eight. And he preached saying, after me comes he who is mightier than I. The strap of his sandals are not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. So here he's saying, this one who's coming, which of course is Jesus, is so great that I'm not even worthy to be the lowest servant or slave in his presence. You see, that was the job of the lowest servant, to untie one's sandals and to wash someone's feet. And John says, I can't even do that. Now notice also he speaks about baptism. Just in brief, the baptism of John is not exactly the same as our baptism today. John's baptism was a baptism of preparation to demonstrate the need to be washed clean and to look forward to the true cleansing that was to come. When we are baptized, we are baptized into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Our baptism points us to the finished work of Jesus, of his work, of his death and his resurrection, of his ascension to heaven. And so what John could only point forwards to, Jesus can now give to us in full, which means our baptism is so much richer than John's. And because he brought us salvation through his death on the cross, We now have forgiveness of sins and through the power of the Holy Spirit we become joined to the body of Christ as the new people of God. John the Baptist knew this and that's why he understood that his role was to decrease what Christ might increase. Ministry was preparation. Jesus' ministry was fulfillment. John offered symbolic cleansing. Jesus would give real cleansing. John pointed to a future kingdom. Jesus would declare that the kingdom of God is here. And so it was that after John was arrested, that Jesus went into the Galilee and proclaimed the gospel of God. And when Jesus began his public ministry, his message echoed the message of John the Baptist. This is chapter one, verse 15. Jesus said, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Notice it's pretty much the same message, but it's now spoken by the one who could actually deliver what this message proclaimed. And now this needs to be our focus as well. When we share the gospel with others, We need to recognize just exactly what we're doing here. We need to see that actually when we want to share the gospel with other people, that we are heralds of the King, of Jesus. And our message is effectively the same as this message in Mark 1, repent and believe the gospel. Jesus said, It's at the end of Mark chapter 16, verse 15, 16, Jesus said, go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And so what this means for us also is that when we go out, this is the message that we need to tell. We need to focus on a message that is as clear as it is direct, a message about Jesus Christ, the son of God, who came to save sinners from their sin. And so as we begin this short series of sermons on the book of Mark, the question I want to leave you with today is, are you ready to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ? Have you been prepared by understanding your sin and your need for a Savior? Is your focus properly aligned on Christ and His finished work? You see, this is really important. As Christians and as church in Southern River, we love also to speak about our desire to speak to others about sharing the gospel, about telling other people about the wonderful things we have here as a church in Southern River. And this is right, and this is appropriate, and this is good. This is what it's all about to be Christ Church in many ways. But before we can even begin to tell others This gospel message must first come to us that each one of us, first of all, understands with clarity and precision, not just our own personal sin, but that we who are broken by that sin might look to Jesus Christ and find in him the complete forgiveness of that sin. and the joy of a new life in Christ and by the power of God's Holy Spirit and to say that this is who I am now in Christ. If you don't start with that, you're not gonna be in a position to tell others about who Jesus is or what the gospel is all about. And that's why it's so important also for us to never let go of this or to think, oh, that's something of the past. And now let me go into more finer and detail things. No, let's keep that focus on the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ for ourselves and then in how we speak to others. I mentioned earlier that Mark's gospel moves with urgency from beginning to end. He wants us to clearly see who Jesus is. what he's come to accomplish. But first, let's just say this in conclusion then, we need to understand why we have to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in the first place. The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ is an awareness of our sin and of the forgiveness that Christ came to give. We must understand our need for the Savior. We must meet our Savior with repentance, with sorrow for sin, the desire to change our ways. We need to see that Christ came to save us from our sin and to set us on the right path. Over the next few weeks or some Tuesday evenings, as we journey through Mark's gospel together, we will see Jesus in action, teaching with authority, performing miracles, confronting opposition, and ultimately going to the cross and then rising from the dead. But it begins here, in his first verses of Mark, with John's call to repentance and faith. Make sure that this message is written on your heart. Be prepared to receive the good news. Keep your focus on Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and on his completed work. And you too will discover that this really is the best news, good news that you could ever hear. Amen. Let's respond and we're going to sing together from hymn 18, hymn 18 verse 1 and 3. Israel, for He has come to set us free. In David's house the Lord has raised salvation's poor for all to see. He, through his prophets remembered, Said he would save us from our flood, From all discord and hate us. He that supports our fathers' faith through shame, doth in his love bring them, bring them, as can the earth, his fortune and prowess. promise of our sins, will be forgiven, scepter made. Here from on high, in temple loud, will bless us with glorious day. On it before our very eyes, the radiant morning sun will rise to shine on us forever. Well, let's praise the Lord. Father in heaven, we pray that for each one of us who is here, that the gospel of Jesus Christ, son of God, might always be the best news we could ever hear. That it might not be news that we hear and then just put to the side. Or news that we get excited about for a short time, but then just the business and the worries and The humdrum of daily life gets in the way, but that this might be good news that transforms each one of us, that changes us from the inside out. So this might be that which drives us and which causes us to live, to worship and to witness. So Lord, we pray for your blessing upon your word, which you would hear again this morning. And we pray, Lord, for your blessing upon your word, but not only here as it is preached, but in other places also throughout this country, in other parts of the world. And also where our missionary pastors are preaching at this time, also in Papua New Guinea. Lord, we pray for your blessing upon the work there. We thank you that our pastor, David Pohl, continues to recover from his illness. And we could anticipate that he'd be able to preach today. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you will continue to bless him as he does recover and recuperate. And we do also pray for your blessing upon our pastor, Ryan De Jong, as he has been teaching at the Bible College this month. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you'll bless him and his family if they've moved down to Port Moresby for a month, and Lord, we pray for your care over them there. We do pray, Lord, for your ongoing blessing and care upon others who are there also. We pray, Lord, that you'll bless them in their task too. And Father, we also pray that there, too, that the same messages we need to hear and spread here might be happening there, too. Father, we thank you for our church and for the blessings which we have here. We do pray, Lord, for your blessing over the concessory. We pray to strengthen our elders, myself as pastor, our deacons as well, in the task which you give to us to do. We also pray then for your blessing over a meeting which is to be held tomorrow. Father, we also pray for your blessing of our classes meeting, which is to be held this coming Friday. And we pray, Lord, that through the blessing that we have, that we are part of a wider bond of churches, that this may also aid and assist in the governance of each local congregation also. And so we pray that through these classes that we may be a blessing also to other churches in our region. Father, we also pray, Lord, for our senior members in our congregation. We pray that you'll care for them. We do pray for those who are feeling the effects of illness, whether they are younger or older. We pray, Heavenly Father, that you'll continue to comfort and to strengthen them and bless them in all things. Also those, Lord, for whom maybe their mind is not as strong as it used to be when they were younger. Lord, we pray that they too, that they may continue to have a joy in coming before you and worship you and bless us also as we care for each one of us here. Father, we do also pray for our brother Fred Deek. We pray that you also bless him now that he's concluded the main part of his treatment for his cancer. Lord, as he keeps getting his The hormonal supplements are so, Lord, we pray that you'll also comfort and strengthen him. We also pray, Lord, that the treatment he's received may have the desired effect. And Father, we do thank you that we know how you do bless us in our personal and public prayers about this for him, but also for others as well. Father, we also pray that you'll grant your blessing upon our brother Potter who celebrates his birthday tomorrow. We thank you, Lord, for your care upon him. also in his life and for all that you have given to him and to us through him as well. We also pray, Lord, for schoolchildren, the congregation. We thank you that you were indeed with those who went to Sydney and to Canberra over this past week, that they could arrive home. Lord, we pray that it may indeed have been a blessing to all those who could join in with that. And Lord, also as school begins later on this week, we pray for your blessing upon that as well. Father in Heaven, we do pray for your care upon us now, and we also pray for your blessing upon the thank offerings we give to you, for our regular contributions, but also for the collection which we seek to give now for the work of Mission of Papua New Guinea. May your name be praised through all of this. Father, we ask all this in Jesus' name. Amen. As is custom, we have a collection this morning, and that is for the work of mission in Papua New Guinea. And after the collection is taken up, we'll sing together from Psalm 98, verse 1 and 3. We'll do the standing, but after the collection's been taken up. All right. His song I sing, Almighty what beauty has done, His right hand and His arm are slowing, ♪ The victory for Him have won ♪ ♪ The Lord has blessed us with salvation ♪ ♪ His righteousness as He may know ♪ ♪ He has revealed to all the nations of the world ♪ ♪ Let justice teach its promise bright ♪ ♪ Let all the earth with glad rejoicing ♪ ♪ Burst into song to praise the Lord ♪ ♪ With joyful blasts of holted trumpets ♪ ♪ Let him be worshipped and adored ♪ ♪ Joined in the praise and humiliation ♪ ♪ Make music with the harp and sing ♪ ♪ Shower forth your joy in celebration ♪ Lift up your hearts and to the Lord's receive the blessing of the Lord and go in peace the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen