Sermon Notes - So, Will You Follow Christ?

So, Will You Follow Christ?, Mark 1-16
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended April 11, 2010

We have now heard of Jesus’ life, according to Mark, and we are now more accountable for what we have heard. We must be “doers”, not just “hearers”, who delude themselves. James 1:22-24

What a waste if we don’t change and look more like Him. The only reason we would spend so much time on Mark comes from Romans 8:29. The only reason is so that we would be conformed to Him, to look like Him day to day.

The Gospel of Mark teaches us that being a Christian is both trusting in the death of Christ and embracing the life of Christ. Those who want to “come after Jesus” must choose to “follow Jesus.” Our life is to be modeled after His. This is what Jesus meant when he said, “…repent and believe…” in Mark 1:15. Repent – turn from your old ways and follow me. Believe – trust in my death for heaven.

What is the picture of Christ we are to follow and emulate?

1. Jesus is the Christ who calls –

Jesus is always calling people, believers or not, to respond. Mark 1:15, Mark 1:17, Mark 1:20 and Mark 1:38.

Preaching always calls for a response. Preaching is not just communicating truth. Mark 2:14 and Mark 2:17.

He even calls His followers to greater service and commitment. Mark 6:36 (calling them to have more faith). Mark 9:35 (calling them to be truly great in the kingdom of God).

He is always calling people. He knew people would spend eternity in Hell. He knows true greatness and true life. He always calls people to embrace true life.

We are to call people to Him.

2. Jesus is the Christ who invests –

He could have stood above us and called, but His ministry was incredibly relational. He met with them and got into their lives. He showed them things and spent time with them. Mark 1:32-34 (He stayed all night casting out demons. The whole city was there.)

He invested in the crowd but He also invested in the disciples. Mark 3:14 (“…so they might be with Him…).

He even gets more specific and invests more in Peter, James and John. Mark 5:37 (they were the only ones He brought Jairus’s house.), Mark 9:2 (they were the ones who saw the Transfiguration), and Mark 14:33 (they were with Him in Gethsemane.)

He was constantly pouring out His life for others. We know things are better “caught than taught”. If we are to emulate Him we must do the same. It isn’t a matter of our personality or if we enjoy it or not. It doesn’t matter if you are called in this area, we are called to follow Christ, not our personality.

We are to invest in people for Him.

3. Jesus is the Christ who battles –

He doesn’t walk around the battles. He is aggressively waging war against all those who oppose the Gospel.

He battles the demons throughout. Mark 1:21-28 and others.

He battles the religious institution. Mark 3:4-6 and Mark 7:1-23.

He battles the misconceptions of the disciples. Mark 8:32-33 (Peter had a misconception about who the Messiah was.)

Why was he aggressively and actively battling? Jesus is light, in a world that is dark. There is no way they won’t conflict. He has to be ready to engage in battle.

The battle for us begins with us. The Spirit is leading us to Christlikeness but the flesh is leading us the other way. We must wage war against our flesh and our mind. As you advance the kingdom of Christ you can be sure you will have other battles as well. He was not passive but aggressive.

We are to battle against the things God hates for His glory.

4. Jesus is the Christ who cares –

We see He genuinely and deeply cares for people on every page of Mark’s Gospel. He listens. He stops. He heals. He touches. He looks people in the eye. Mark 10:45 is a statement of purpose for Him.

He always seems to care for the people no one else cares about. He cares for those the world ignores. Mark 1:40-41 (a leper), Mark 2:1-12 (a paralytic), Mark 3:1-6 (a man with a withered hand that the Pharisees were using to accuse Him), Mark 5:1-13 (a demoniac and a woman with a discharge of blood that was mistreated and unclean), Mark 7:24-30 (a Syrophoenician woman of a race that was considered “dogs”), Mark 8:22-26 (a blind man) and Mark 10:17:31 (the most caring thing He, and we, could do is tell him the truth) among many.

He demonstrates He cares in His actions. He is the embodiment of Psalm 34:18. This is the Jesus we are called to follow.

We are to care for the people the world ignores for His glory.

5. Jesus is the Christ who sacrifices –

We really don’t need any other examples besides the Incarnation and all the limitations and sacrifices involved there. His life is a living sacrifice for the glory of the Father and the salvation of mankind.

He doesn’t ask us to do anything He doesn’t do Himself. He asks us to take up our cross – like He did. Mark 8:34. He is asking us to follow Him in a life of self-denial and self-sacrifice. This is the foundation and essence of what it means to follow Him. We are saying no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit. We are repenting everyday.

It is about self-denial all the time. When you want to be alone but someone needs help. When you don’t want to talk but God has placed a witnessing encounter in your path.

We didn’t see sacrifice just in His death – His whole life was one of self-denial and sacrifice. We need to embrace self-denial and choose by faith to walk like Jesus walked.

We are to sacrifice all for the glory of the Father and the salvation of people.

We’ve seen what He demands. The question is will we by faith follow Him? We can’t just decide to be more like Him because, apart from regeneration, we can do nothing good. Faith and ongoing repentance are the hallmarks of following Him.

If we claim to be with Him we must walk in Him. 1 John 2:5-6 is how we know we are saved. A past decision is not necessarily a good indication of our salvation. The greatest proof is not that you look like Him but that you want to look like Him.

Follow Jesus Christ fully, practically, aggressively, and daily. Each day choose to follow Jesus Christ in calling people to Him, investing in people for Him, caring for people that the world ignores, battling against the things God hates, and sacrificing all for the glory of the Father and the salvation of mankind. These are not abstract principles; these are practical ways in which we must follow Christ. Following Jesus in these practical ways is the essence of what it means to be a Christian. We do all this in gratitude for what He has done for us.

We might love to look at Christ but not desire to look like Him. We have to choose to look like Him not just at Him.

NOTE: These are my notes, taken as I listened to the sermon live. Any errors, misunderstandings or misinterpretations are my responsibility entirely and not the fault of the preacher.