The Spirit of the Kingdom Mark 1:1-20
Introduction
God is working today to turn his people inside out, from a Church focus to a kingdom focus. Christ did not teach us to pray “your church come” but “your kingdom come”. The keys of the kingdom build the Church and not the other way around (Matt 16:16-19). The spiritual weakness and pall of death hanging over many Anglican churches is a sign of the absence of the power of God’s kingdom. God’s kingdom is needed just as much today as in Jesus’ day.
The world we read about at the start of Mark’s Gospel is much like ours. The religious hierarchy had lost touch with the needs of the common people who were carrying a sense of spiritual impotence under the heavy burden of keeping the Mosaic Law (Matt 11:28-30; 23:1-4). Small groups of devout Jews[1] were praying earnestly that God would come with kingly might delivering them from enslavement to evil powers as he had redeemed them from Egypt long ago. Jewish zealots instigated armed rebellion against the Romans proclaiming that the Lord alone was King[2].
The spiritual intensity of the time rose to a new level with the appearance of a prophet in the wilderness preaching the kingdom of God (Matt 3:2; Luke 3:2). The masses had had enough of the legalism of the scribes and the cruelty of pagan rule and longing to be ruled by God swarmed into the arid wastelands near the Jordan publicly confessing their sins and submitting to the baptism of John (Mark 1:5). Yet John had another message, ““After me comes he who is more powerful than I….I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”” (Mark 1:7-8).
The Joy of the Kingdom
“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 the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”” (Mark 1:9-11)
Only after the Spirit is poured out on Jesus does he act as a mature adult Son in the kingdom of his Father. “God anointed Jesus…with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.” (Acts 10:37-38 ESV). God was with Jesus in the intimacy of the Father-Son love. ““You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”” (Mark 1:11). Jesus and the Father have moved closer together than ever before because they are about to rule the world together in the power of the Spirit. The signature of the Spirit’s presence is joy.
When his 70 disciples returned from proclaiming the kingdom of God, healing the sick and casting out demons Jesus “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” and gave thanks to the Father (Luke 10:9, 17, 21). Christ’s greatest spiritual joy was to reveal the loving character of God in releasing people from the power of sin, Satan and death (Matt 11:4-5). To see these things is to see the kingdom of God; Jesus testified to his enemies, “if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matt 12:28). In the first church I belonged to people were being saved, healed and delivered from demonic powers, the presence of God was life transforming and we all knew that God was real. These might seem spectacular examples but we all need the power of God for daily living.
Power over Temptation
Straight after his baptism “The Spirit immediately drove him (Jesus) out into the wilderness.” to be tempted by the devil (Mark 1:12-13). The Father would never have taken his Son into the wilderness unless he had been clothed with the power of his mighty Spirit. God our Father has given us his Spirit that we too might resist temptation (cf. Luke 24:49). I have encountered many very painful things in following Jesus but as a very young Christian I had an encounter with the Spirit that overwhelmed with love and joy for hours and which has been an anchor for my life.
Last week a young Baptist pastor shared that he had just taken his first wedding. The groom was 23 with 3 kids and from a family with a long history of alcoholism. Immediately we discussed the command of Paul, “Do not be drunk with wine, that will ruin your life, instead be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18). Only the power of the Spirit can save us from our addictions. My father had chronic pain and used to self medicate with alcohol, guess what imprint this left on my life? The first time I was allowed out of a night by myself I got blind drunk; without the help of Jesus I could easily have become an alcoholic.
There are many addictions amongst the people of God. Roger Wright was sharing with the men the other night he cannot break the hold of chocolate over his life. For health reasons this is not a trivial example. Pastorally I have encountered many Christians, including clergy, addicted to food, alcohol, shopping , nicotine, pornography, slander, gossip, envy, jealousy, anger and lots of other things (Mark 7:22; 2 Cor 12:20; Col 3:8; 1 Pet 2:1). This makes it easy for the world to refuse to believe that God is a powerful King. Every true believer feels bad inside about the things that enslave them; the good news is the power of the Holy Spirit can set you free Gal 5:16-24; 1 Pet 2:19).
It’s Time
When Jesus had defeated the devil’s temptations in the wilderness he began to preach; “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15). When Jesus says “the time is fulfilled” he uses a particular Greek word (kairos) which means a time of opportunity.
I remember a very effective TV ad from 1972 featuring a host of Australian celebrities singing “It’s Time”, this was the year Gough Whitlam rose to power and he rode on the wave of “It’s Time”. Gough has gone to face his Creator, but Jesus’ hour of power is here with us today (2 Cor 6:2). To seek God’s kingdom is to seek every opportunity to testify to Jesus in words and deeds. I was talking to our local MP the other day; she had originally planned to give her Christmas party for supporters at a 4½ star hotel. Then the Lord led her to hold a function in her offices for those who had been bereaved or suffered a major loss in the last 12 months. When I heard this shift from a party for the notables to a celebration for the struggling I knew this was the Spirit of the kingdom of God. I am looking forward to being there and sharing something about the true spirit of Christmas. It’s always time – to reach out to the broken, hurting, sick, sinful and demonised with the good news of King Jesus.
Preaching the Kingdom
Jesus preached “the kingdom of God has come near” and gave testimony to the power of God in his own ministry; “the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” (Matt 11:5 ESV). When people see these sorts of things happening they know that God is a loving and powerful King. This is far more normal than the spiritual state of the Church in Australia today (Acts 14:3; 1 Cor 12:7-11; 1 Thess 1:4-6; Heb 2:3-4 etc.). Cf. stories from friends of mine who travel to other nations. The message of the nearness of the kingdom of God is a wonderful one, but Jesus’ next words are deeply challenging; “repent and believe in the gospel”.
Repentance means a radical change of direction, from self-rule to God-rule. To stop running your own life and submit to God’s kingdom rule goes against every natural human tendency.
This world teaches us that change comes through our own strength of will; whether it is the power of positive psychology, or the attitude that used to be on my sister’s fridge, “When the going gets tough the tough get going”. To follow Jesus and experience his power we must die to self-reliance, an old saying points us in the right direction; “If Jesus is not Lord of all he is not Lord at all.” (x2)
People try to run their own minds, and the result is often depression and anxiety, run their own marriages, families and finances; the results spread from mediocrity to disaster. We naturally prefer to run our own lives because we do not accept Jesus’ next words; “repent and believe in the gospel”.
We do not believe in the good news of the coming of God’s powerful kingdom reign; we do not believe that in Jesus God has revealed himself as a Father whose greatest desire is to fill our lives with the fruit of his kingdom. Paul hits the nail on the head when he says, “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Rom 14:17). We prefer our own pleasures rather than the joy of God’s presence, we put our own family ties before the family of Jesus, we settle for our own ambitions before the coming of God’s kingdom. I wanted to be a scientist but the Lord rebuked this direction, I wanted to do my doctorate overseas and again he steered me on another path – despite the well meaning counsel of other Christians. I remember stepping down from lecturing some time ago and being quizzed by a Christian leader about where I would find a steady source of income. Within a week I had been offered a position by a Christian businessman. Jesus warned us not to be anxious about the material dimensions of life then added a great promise; ““Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and everything else will be yours as well”” (Matt 6:33). This promise is very much on my mind because a few days ago it became plain that my old car was in urgent need of retirement, by the end of the week the Lord had provided a 5 figure sum to purchase another vehicle. Not everyone is called to embrace my lifestyle, but every Christian is called to put Jesus kingdom before their own priorities. This is the secret of the presence of spiritual power. The final section of Mark 1 challenges us to join with Jesus in promoting the kingdom of God on earth.
Made to Minister
Jesus said to some ordinary fishermen, ““Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.”” (Mark 1:17-18). The primary calling of everyone who accepts Jesus as King is to follow him. Follow him in our marriages, families, friendships, working lives and through the church. He will fulfil his promise to make us “fishers of men” in the same way the Father gave him power to fish for men, through the gift of the Spirit. Every time I think about an old song calling us to be “fishers of men” I can sense the joy of the Lord. To fish for Jesus in the work of his kingdom is a matter of outstanding joy. I remember many years ago coming back from an evangelistic conversation with a young man so excited by the presence of God’s kingdom (he later became a Christian) that I ran into a traffic island and wrecked two wheels on the car. A very small matter compared to Christ’s delightful promise, ““Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”” (Luke 12:32). If you know the joy of working with God in the things of his kingdom you want to be, deeply desire to be, are thrilled to be a fisher of men. We are however confronted with a great problem.
Conclusion
We can only pass on what we have first received. The Father gave the Spirit to Jesus to bring in the power of his kingdom by healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding the hungry, delivering people from demonic powers and pronouncing their sins forgiven. This is now our ministry (John 14:12); but most of us have started our natural and spiritual lives crippled. Who here has had a father or mother that passed on to them the power of the Spirit of God? In relation to the history of ordained ministry in this parish when has there been pastors ministering in the undeniable power of the Spirit of God’s kingdom. Nothing is more important than the presence of the kingdom of God – the Anglican Church has badly failed you by failing to minister in the power of the kingdom. The Father wants to change this; he wants to see Jesus set free by the power of the Spirit in his Church. Before I bring a concluding message to the whole Church I need to challenge some individuals.
Are you sure that at death you will awake finding yourself with Jesus in his heavenly kingdom? If you have never personally accepted Jesus as King of your life it’s time to do so today.
The Lord has been deeply challenging me about my own need for much deeper spiritual growth and where he is taking us all. When I was suffering severely from demonic oppression as a new Christian God spoke with unusual clarity from a scripture[3] which is the basis of the prophetic assurance I am about to bring. A spiritual tidal wave is coming that will immerse St Mark’s in a Spirit of love and of power and of self-control. When Jesus does this the reality of the kingdom of God in our midst will be undeniable and his special calling on us to be a church family of extraordinary love will be realised.