THE MARK SERIES PREACHING OF THE SERVANT Mark 1:35-39 STUDY (9) Rev (Dr) Paul Ferguson Calvary Tengah Bible Presbyterian Church Shalom Chapel, 345 Old Choa Chu Kang Road, Singapore 698923 www.calvarytengah.com 6 May 2012
During the years prior to the Reformation, papal authority, ritualism and impersonal relics had replaced the preaching of the Word of God. Many of the established clergy, did not preach at all. If there was preaching, it was usually a simple homily weaving in the sayings of the Church Fathers and folk stories. Often these were in Latin, which most of the people could not even understand. The Reformation returned to the Apostolic pattern with a revival of biblical Christ-centred preaching from the pulpits in the common vernacular. It swept across much of Europe by anointed preaching coupled with the printed word, especially the Bible. R.L. Dabney wrote, All the leading Reformers, whether in Germany, Switzerland, England or Scotland were constant preachers, and their sermons were prevalently expository. He went on to say, We can assume with safety that the instrumentality to which the spiritual power of the great revolution of the Reformation - was mainly due to the restoration of scriptural preaching. No longer would ritualistic sacraments be seen as the primary means of edifying the saints and saving sinners. To illustrate this principle, the pulpit was raised and placed in the centre of Protestant churches. The Communion Table was also placed underneath to show the subordination (and regulation) of the sacraments to the preaching of the Word. We live in a time when preaching has been downgraded or eliminated from many churches. However, that is not the biblical view of preaching. Christianity has always been a preaching religion Throughout the Bible, preaching is given a central place. Here in Mark 1 we see another example of this truth. The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated here the: (1) PRIMACY OF PREACHING (2) PRE-REQUISITES OF PREACHING (1) PRIMACY OF PREACHING Now in this passage we must understand the context of what went before. Jesus Christ had preached in Capernaum in the synagogue; He then healed Simon Peter s mother; and then that Sabbath evening a great number of diseased and demon possessed people arrived at the door of the house. Christ manifested His great power before them in healing. The next day His disciples found Him at prayer and we are told in v37 that they informed Him, All men seek for thee. In other words, you are now popular this is a time to make a big name for yourself. Let us capitalize on this perfect opportunity. We can capture this whole region for you. Surely this is the leading of God! This was a test of the humility of Christ and the obedience of Christ to the express will of His Father. Would He go back to Capernaum where great crowds would praise Him for His healing powers? Would He let people lead Him or the revealed will of His Father? Christ replied, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. In this one sentence, Jesus Christ established the primacy or centrality of preaching in His earthly ministry. The same pattern by the Head of the Church is set forth for us to follow in our church. Jesus came to this world to exercise a preaching ministry to the lost. He made this clear, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Mark 2:17). The way sinners are called to repentance is by preaching. That is why He declared that the Isaiah 61 prophecy related to His preaching ministry in the synagogue at Nazareth, The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach 2
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18). Christ came primarily to exercise a preaching ministry. The great signs and wonders He did only verified His authority. But people were not saved by the miracles but through responding to the preaching. Saving faith comes through the Word of God, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Rom. 10:17). Why is preaching so important? You can heal the body but that only lasts for this lifetime. The soul will last for all eternity. The greatest need of the soul is to be cured of the sickness of sin. Christ put this principle in practice and left Capernaum for other preaching points, He preached in synagogues throughout all Galilee (v39). He turned down the opportunity for personal fame because He wanted more to hear the preaching of the gospel of saving grace. Not only did Jesus Christ build His public ministry on preaching, but the Apostles planted and established churches through preaching. Paul points out, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1 Cor. 1:21). This record alone is its best defence. It is still all about preaching for the church. Pastors today cannot heal the sick or cast out demons, but they still can preach from the same book with the same authority! I do not argue over the importance of preaching because I am a preacher, but because God says that it is important! The apostle Paul underlined this truth by a series of rhetorical questions in Romans 10, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? (Romans 10:13-14) The Methodist founder, John Wesley knew the value of Biblical preaching from holy men. As an old man of 87, Wesley cried. Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God.such alone will shake the gates of hell, and set up the Kingdom on Heaven upon earth. PREACHING What is preaching? The Greek word translated preach in Mark 1:38 is the word that means heralding or proclaiming out. The herald was the messenger of the king who was charged to accurately proclaim the king s message. This herald was not free to speak what he desired. When a preacher heralds out the message of God word, he speaks with the very authority of God. Look at what Christ said about the seriousness of despising faithful preaching, He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me. (Luke 10:16) Now, if preaching of God s word is so essential, then it logically follows that so must hearing of the Word of God. God s people need to be under the preaching of the Word of God regularly in Sunday Worship services, Bible studies, and Family worship. However, they must be willing to not only to hear the word, but they must be willing to obey the same word. SERVICE or PREACHING? - Service for the Lord in other areas cannot take the place of being under the Word of God. It is the Word of God that controls and 3
empowers our service. God has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3) in His Word. We are commanded, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (1 Pet. 2:2). The case of Mary and Martha illustrates this wonderfully. Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus feet, and heard His word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:38-42) Mary chose to sit under the Word of God at the feet of Jesus and was commended for it. The Master pointed out to Martha that this one thing is needful for every believer. Sitting under the preaching of the Word of God is not optional for the spiritual health of a believer. Service in other areas cannot compensate for it. Mary was simply putting into practice the truth of Deuteronomy 8:3, that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. The devil is cunning enough to encourage us to even do good things like serving in ministries in order to keep us away from the best things for our spiritual health. All too easily the pressures of life can overcome us and get our focus in the wrong places. Some people think preaching is not significant and point out that they forget much of the sermons that they have heard. However, that does not mean that they have a limited impact. Many years ago The British Weekly published this provocative letter, It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3,000 of them. To my consternation, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister s time might be more profitable spent on something else? This letter created somewhat of a storm. The final exchange was a letter from one man. He wrote, I have been married for 30 years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals - mostly my wife s cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet... I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago. There is much truth in that. Avoiding sitting under the word of God, leads to spiritual malnourishment and makes us vulnerable then to spiritual diseases! (2) PRE-REQUISITES OF PREACHING Preaching requires a holy man filled with the Spirit of God. There are two essential elements in preaching: FIRST ELEMENT 4
The first element is prayer. We are told that before Christ began to preach that the next day, And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. (Mark 1:35) Despite the incredible busy schedule of ministering to others, Christ made time to pray. Early in the morning when everyone was asleep the Lord slipped away to commune with His Father. No doubt, it was to thank His Father for the blessings of the previous day and plead for guidance and power for the future. If Christ was the Son of God and felt the need to pray for thanksgiving, guidance, and power, how much more should we! Prayer is not optional it is a necessity! More prayer more power! Less prayer less power! That is the divine equation. It is no surprise that the Lord had such power and authority in His preaching when His prayer life was so disciplined. SECOND ELEMENT The second element is to preach the Word of God. We noted that in Luke 4 Christ did not teach man s opinions but God s word when He stood in the synagogue to preach. The apostle Paul also charged Timothy to, Preach the Word. (2 Timothy 4:2a). The preacher must not preach his ideas, the latest fads or entertain by stories or by recounting the latest current events. No! The preacher must declare the infallible Word of the living God. The Lord condemned those who substituted God s words for man s opinions, For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men (Mark 7:8). The simple maxim sums this up well, Preaching is about God! Preaching is from God! Preaching is for God! Many people are looking for false teachers who tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear! All over this land today there are false preachers seeking to make people feel comfortable about their sin. But we are called to deliver God s message to people! Pastors are told to feed the sheep not flatter the sheep! You can have crowds flock to your church, write bestseller books, have millions download your messages, be applauded by millions, but if God is not pleased with your message then a preacher has failed. The preacher must always preach with the knowledge that God is watching, that God is noting his sermon, and that God will judge the preacher for his sermon. In these solemn words of warning, the apostle reminds Timothy, I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. (2 Timothy 4:1-2). If preaching God s word is so vital and is such a solemn duty, then the preacher must be trained properly to do so. He must give himself to preparing for that task. The pastor must not devote the majority of his time in administration, raising funds, visiting people, organising tours etc. But he must be primarily a man of prayer and the word of God. Paul urged Timothy to give himself to this task as a urgent priority, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15). The apostles made this principle clear in the early church in Acts 6. A division broke out over how the church took care of the needs of widows. Rather that 5
takeover this administrative duty, the apostles declared, Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. (Acts 6:2-4) It was not that taking care of the material needs of widows is an insignificant or to be despised task. But it is a task best left to others so that those called to preach and teach within the church can concentrate on preparation for that vital duty. Every preacher should be primarily judged on his faithfulness to that task. CONCLUSION (1) The Lord Jesus Christ established the primacy of preaching for His church by His words and His example. The apostles followed in His footsteps. Let us do likewise in our church. There are many important ministries in a church but there are none as important as the ministry of the word and prayer. God desires authoritative, commanding preaching from the Bible spoken with the love of Christ flowing through the preacher for the hearers. (2) Preaching the Word and hearing the Word are essential for God s people. Every member s duty here is to listen to God s word and then obey it in all of his or her lives. How are you doing at that? Are you willing to submit to God s Word in every corner of your life? (3) Any church that faithfully preaches God s Word will invariably have to swim against the prevailing tide of public opinion. Truth is not established by weight of numbers or the status or education of those who advocate a particular position. The eternal Word of God establishes it. Many times God s people have had to stand in a minority or even alone. Paul stood alone on the belief that Jesus is Lord at the Temple of Atemais when tens of thousands defiantly cried in opposition Great is Diana of the Ephesians for two hours (Acts 19:34). Luther stood alone at the Diet of Worms in 1521 declaring that the number and weight of the opposition would not move him. He stated, my conscience is captive to the word of God. Here I stand I can do no other. May God help me. Amen. Let us do likewise. We can be faithful or popular but we cannot be both! 6