Sermon Notes - Rethinking Our Strategies For Living

Rethinking Our Strategies For Living, Mark 1:14-20
Larry Parsley, Valley Ranch Baptist Church, attended on February 1, 2009

How can a fish want to be caught? The light bulb comes on when we realize Jesus wants to catch us up into a whole new way of life. Jesus preaches (flips on a light) a fifteen word sermon in Mark 1:15. What do those fifteen words mean? What does repent mean? What does the kingdom of God mean?

Remember that the indicative indicates what is true, what reality is like. The imperative is what we need to do because of the indicative. In 2004 Tillie Smith was vacationing with her family in Thailand. She had recently learned about tsunamis in a geography lesson. While on the beach she noticed the water began to look different. She told her dad and others that she thought a tsunami was coming. The light bulb went off for them and many were saved. She acted on the indicative. The indicative was true and, thus, it was imperative to flee. No time to go swimming or make sandcastles.

Jesus comes to us with an indicative. The indicative is an amazing new opportunity that requires an imperative. It requires a bold response. Preachers are notorious for imperatives without indicatives. The imperative makes no sense without the indicative. If Tillie had said, “Run for your lives!”, without the indicative then no one would listen.

The indicative here is that Jesus has drawn near and the kingdom of God has arrived.

The kingdom of God is God’s rescue from the tyranny of evil so we might be free to love God and others. The indicative is the offer of rescue. The imperative is that we repent.

Repentance is not just feeling bad about sin, i.e. feeling like a loser. Godly sorrow is important but that isn’t the base meaning (?).

“…time has come…” – all the preliminaries have been taken care of.

“…kingdom of God is near…” – the rule of God is now accessible to everyone.

“…repent and believe…” – review your plans for living and base your life on this remarkable new opportunity. (?)

Repentance is re-thinking our strategies for living. (?) “I had life figured out and I had these goals and then suddenly something happened and now I am re-thinking m strategy for living based on this new thing Jesus is up to in my life. If Jesus is bringing the kingdom, rescue, and power then I need to re-think some things.” (?)

Life now not characterized by slavery to sin but freedom; characterized by worship instead of self-absorption, characterized by meaning instead of purposelessness. I have to decide if I want to repent based on this new information. (?)

Galilee is a stagnant pond undisturbed. One day a king comes to the pond and throws a net into the water. There is now a new reality in this pond. The fish have to make a decision about this “splash”. Is it harmful or not? What if the fisherman wants to take me to a whole new world? If that is the case I need to re-think some things. What is so great about the trajectory of my life? What if his net could transport me to something better? Repentance is a decision to swim toward the net and re-think our stagnant lives. He “flings” the gospel in the water and dares us to swim toward the “splash”.

David Powlison made this realization when a friend told him, “I love and respect you but what you believe and how you are living…you are destroying yourself.” Ezekiel 36:25-26 described what happened to him. He realized another way.

What does it mean to be “caught” by Jesus? Jesus went fishing for Peter and Andrew while they were fishing for fish.

“…follow me…” – Asked them to jump into the net. It means to “learn from me”. (?) I will show you who I am. You will become “fishers of people”, helping others to follow Jesus. We are inviting people to leave their lonely pond and swim in a lovely sea. (?) Christ invites us to cast the net by not coercing or tricking people into following Jesus. (?)

1 Thessalonians 2:18 talks about what it means to fish for people. Love people so much we share the most valuable thing we possess – the gospel and ourselves. (?) In our culture we often begin by sharing life with people then when the time is right we share with them the gospel. In other cultures I may be able to share the gospel first. (?)

Many of us don’t help Jesus “fling the net” because we are immobilized by our baggage. Jesus says we need to leave the excess baggage. These four left their nets, their business, and their father. We need to re-think our strategy. What direction am I walking in and where is Jesus calling me? What do I need to leave behind on the beach to follow Jesus? Anger, comfort, etc.

For different disciples it is different things. (?) For the rich young ruler it was his money. For the Samaritan woman it was her adultery. For Zaccheus it was his greed. For Nicodemus it was his reputation. What is He calling you to leave behind? What is slowing you down?