The time has come

The time has come

SCRIPTURE:

After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:14-15

OBSERVATION:

The imprisonment of John the Baptist serves as the catalyst for Jesus to begin His public ministry, and the Lord starts off in Galilee, the North of Israel, proclaiming the good news of God. And the essence of this good news was basically based on four things – the time has come, the kingdom of God has come near, Repent, and Believe.

Firstly, we look at “the time has come”. What time is Jesus talking about? Earlier at the wedding of Cana, Jesus told his mother Mary, “my time has not yet come”. Later, reading the Scripture from Isaiah concerning proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor, He declared “today, this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing!” This time in fact, referred to the coming of the Messiah that the Jews were all looking forward to as prophesied by Isaiah. As Jesus opened the eyes of the blind and healed the sick and set captives bound by demons free, He indeed showed everyone that He was indeed the prophesied Messiah, the Savior! Not understood by the Jews however, was that this was also the time that the Son of God would come and died as the ultimate sacrifice to bring salvation not only to the Jews, but to all the world for anyone who would believe in Him.

Secondly, the kingdom of God has come near. With Jesus walking on the earth, God Himself had come nearer to the earth like never before. As He performed miracles and healed the sick and turned people to God, God’s kingdom began to be established. Later, the disciples that He trained, except Judas Iscariot, went on to establish His church on earth, which has spread across the whole earth to every continent and almost every country. Wherever the church operates, proclaiming the kingdom, healing the sick, and building up disciples, God’s kingdom operates!

Thirdly, Jesus said the same as John the Baptist – Repent! The Greek Word means to change one’s mind. Change our mind from what to what? The natural man seeks his own pleasures, his own ambitions, his own glory. His approach is basically short term, instant gratification. The spiritual man seeks again God’s kingdom, God’s glory, God’s will. He looks long term, willing to suffer and abstain from the temporary pleasures of the wall for eternal reward. We must change our minds from the natural man’s mindset which puts self first to the spiritual man’s mindset which puts God first.

Finally, Jesus said believer the good news! What is the good news? It is that salvation is available to all who believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. We need to bear in mind here that believe is in the present tense, as in we must continue to believe in Jesus as Savior and Lord. It is not a one time experience that guarantees our salvation no matter what we do thereafter. After we believe, we must continue in that salvation, to continue in that mindset of putting God first above the things and pleasures of the world. If we deliberately turn back to a lifestyle of sin, and still hypocritically claim we continue to believe, we deceive ourselves. Even doing successful ministry does not prove our salvation for many in the last days will say to Jesus “Lord, Lord, didn’t we do this and that in Your name”, but He will say to them “I never knew you, you workers of iniquity”. Only those who do the will of Father God will enter into Heaven, and God’s will is never for his children to persist in sinful living.

Does this then mean that Christians do not sin? No! We do continue to sin, as long as we are on earth. However, our passion, our desire is always to please God, to please Jesus. When we sin, we come to God earnestly asking for forgiveness, and asking Him to help us change, and gradually, we are able to overcome by His help. Area by area, the Lord enables us to gain victory over strongholds in our life, and we draw closer and closer to the likeness of our Lord Jesus.

Some would regard pursuing righteousness and holiness as trying to be justified by works but this is wrong! We must be certain that in ourselves, in our own effort, we can never be justified by what we do. Salvation is a free gift that comes from God through Jesus Christ to those who believe in Him. However, to believe in Jesus means after receiving His salvation, to follow Him, and let Him work with us to change us to conform to His likeness and also to serve Him in His kingdom. All work that we do only has value to God where it is initiated and empowered by Him in us. To not avail ourselves for God to work in us shows we don’t really believe in Him. If we believe Him we will take seriously what He says.

Imagine there is a flood, and there is a lifeboat, and the captain shouts, “Jump in, this is the only boat that can save you.” So we jump in. However, on the lifeboat, the captain says “Follow my instructions carefully. Otherwise, you can be thrown off the lifeboat.” Now, if we ignore the captain’s instructions, what does it show? Can we only believe the captain that the boat can save us but don’t believe his instructions how to stay in the boat? Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life”, but He also said “Every branch that does not bear fruit will be cut off and thrown into the fire”. Can we believe Jesus is the way for salvation but don’t believe what He said about how an unfruitful Christian can be cut off? So to believe in Jesus for salvation unto His eternal kingdom also means to believe that being in His kingdom means to seek God’s will first in our lives.

                                    

APPLICATION:

Just like in the time of Jesus when He walked the earth as the Son of Man, our time of salvation is also now. Where, there is a tugging in our hearts that tells us we need to receive Jesus, it is the gracious call of God. We cannot come at all, unless God calls, but when God calls, we have to respond, we have to answer. We have to cry out “Thank You, Lord, for dying on the cross for me. Thank You, Lord, that my sins are forgiven. I choose to follow You, Lord, from this day on. Come into my heart as my Lord and Savior, Lord Jesus. Help me grow like You more and more day by day. In Jesus name, Amen.

The Word of God says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. “Call upon” here doesn’t just mean to call out the name of Jesus. It means to submit one’s self to acknowledge Jesus as Lord. If a person is not willing to follow Jesus as Lord, he cannot receive the Lord’s salvation.

John the Baptist said “produce fruit in keeping with repentance”. We are to keep in repentance, to turn away from evil towards God, towards Jesus. Elsewhere in Scripture, it is written, whoever confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.

We must never take salvation for granted, but ensure we keep in repentance, and faith in Jesus as Savior and Lord. As long as we sincerely believe we desire God’s will first in our lives, we have full assurance of salvation and love. However, if we find ourselves more interested in the world and sinful pleasures, we should greatly fear the One who is able to throw both body and soul into hell.

PRAYER

I thank You and praise You, Lord, that You called me, and enabled me to know the joy and mercy of Your great salvation. May I never take Your precious salvation for granted, but constantly check my heart to ensure my priority is to do Your will. I entrust my soul to You, Lord Jesus. Let every thought, every word, every action be acceptable to You, I pray. When I do fall, for there is no one who does not fall, cause my heart to quickly return to You in repentance, and I thank You that You forgive and do not treat us as our sins deserve. May Your name be praised forever O Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.