The Perfect Sermon
Here are some central thoughts gleaned from my sermon this past Sunday. I would welcome any comments
The Perfect Sermon
Jesus’ first public sermon, as recorded in Mark 1:15, is The Perfect Sermon. Here it is and then I’ll explain:
“The time has come. The kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
We all need:
1. We need to have a Vision of how things should be. (The vision must be from God). “Without a vision (from God) the people perish” Proverbs 29:18
This is a vision of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. It is Paradise and Eden restored and much, much more. It is the Peaceable Kingdom, the Way It’s ‘Sposed to Be. Such a vision of limitless love, mercy, forgiveness, justice and peace between all people is from God. It is God’s plan for us all.
2. We need to have a Desire to bring that vision into reality. (The desire must come from our heart…this is Love). “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6
We must really want this! If we don’t, then we don’t want Heaven, either. Why? Because Heaven is exactly what this vision is all about! After all, we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth and it is in heaven.”
3. We need to Realize the Impossibility of bringing that vision into reality by our own efforts alone. (When accompanied by sorrow and regret, this is repentance and confession of sin). “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
This is where virtually every other “religion” and “philosophy” goes wrong. Apart from God, we can do nothing! We can know what is right and good. We can even want what is right and good. We can even “taste” it and see it as though it were “at hand!” But we can’t reach it experience it in its fullness by our own strength alone.
4. We need to Make the Effort to bring that vision into reality anyway….Why? Because it is the right and good thing to do. (This is Faith….the sort of faith that God “credits to us as righteousness”). “Love the Lord your God…..and Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Mark 12:28-34
This is a command from our Lord. It is not optional.
5. We must Know that God will, at the “right time,” bring this vision into reality and establish it forever even in spite of all evidence to the contrary. (This is Hope). “Thanks be to God, who gives us this victory in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I Corinthians 15:57
We are able to put our trust in God because we know Jesus and serve him as our Lord and Savior., It was Jesus, after all, who taught these truths, lived them out in his own life, willingly died on the cross and then rose from the dead to demonstrate that the power of God is with those who Live this Love, who Claim this Faith and who Hold this Hope.
This is what Jesus meant when he said,
1. We need to have a Vision of how things should be. (The vision must be from God). “Without a vision (from God) the people perish” Proverbs 29:18
This is a vision of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. It is Paradise and Eden restored and much, much more. It is the Peaceable Kingdom, the Way It’s ‘Sposed to Be. Such a vision of limitless love, mercy, forgiveness, justice and peace between all people is from God. It is God’s plan for us all.
2. We need to have a Desire to bring that vision into reality. (The desire must come from our heart…this is Love). “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6
We must really want this! If we don’t, then we don’t want Heaven, either. Why? Because Heaven is exactly what this vision is all about! After all, we pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth and it is in heaven.”
3. We need to Realize the Impossibility of bringing that vision into reality by our own efforts alone. (When accompanied by sorrow and regret, this is repentance and confession of sin). “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
This is where virtually every other “religion” and “philosophy” goes wrong. Apart from God, we can do nothing! We can know what is right and good. We can even want what is right and good. We can even “taste” it and see it as though it were “at hand!” But we can’t reach it experience it in its fullness by our own strength alone.
4. We need to Make the Effort to bring that vision into reality anyway….Why? Because it is the right and good thing to do. (This is Faith….the sort of faith that God “credits to us as righteousness”). “Love the Lord your God…..and Love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” Mark 12:28-34
This is a command from our Lord. It is not optional.
5. We must Know that God will, at the “right time,” bring this vision into reality and establish it forever even in spite of all evidence to the contrary. (This is Hope). “Thanks be to God, who gives us this victory in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I Corinthians 15:57
We are able to put our trust in God because we know Jesus and serve him as our Lord and Savior., It was Jesus, after all, who taught these truths, lived them out in his own life, willingly died on the cross and then rose from the dead to demonstrate that the power of God is with those who Live this Love, who Claim this Faith and who Hold this Hope.
This is what Jesus meant when he said,
“The time has come. The kingdom of God is near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
This word from Jesus, when taught to us by the Holy Spirit through our prayerful reading and hearing of Scripture, is, for us, The Perfect Sermon.
This is The Perfect Sermon because it contains all that we need to know in order to receive forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ and to enjoy the Faith, Hope and Love that will be the minimum daily requirements for our spiritual life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Claim the Vision. Desire it in your heart. Confess and Repent of your inability to bring it about without the help of God. Even so, live out the Vision no matter what! And believe in your heart that God, who raised Jesus from the dead, will also one day raise you to eternal life with God in the Kingdom of Heaven.
posted by Bird of Paradise at 2:34 PM
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