The King, His Kingdom, and His Call

Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel."  Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."  And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. - Mark 1:14‭-‬20 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

We started the book of Mark with the ministry of John the Baptist. He's seen as a strange figure... Wearing camel hair, living in the wilderness. But John wasn't looking for attention, he was trying to highlight Jesus.

The kingdom of God

Often when we hear of the kingdom, we think of the future. Perfect fellowship with God, a perfect world, perfect peace among all people. The fully restored world of the future. Jesus says in this passage that the kingdom is here. The kingdom of God came with Jesus. So which one are we to think of? Biblically, we believe it's both. The kingdom of God is both already and not yet. Here, the world is being restored. Healing is happening. Dead people resurrected. But not completely. Not all was restored. The kingdom is in the works.

This should bring us to work towards change. Sin has been defeated. The hope for change is real, even though it will not be fully accomplished till Jesus returns. We fight injustice knowing that Jesus will bring justice.

Knowing the kingdom is not yet, it should make us approach change in our lives with hopeful realism. We are free from sin. We know that sin is not part of who we are. Change happens very slowly. We are not slaves to sin, but it's presence is definitely felt in our lives. 

So what does hopeful realism look like? We should think of it as a person walking up stairs with a yo-yo. The rollercoaster of conviction and failures/setbacks are real. We definitely have highs and lows, but the trajectory is progress.

The call is the King

To enter the kingdom of God is repent and believe the good news. Acknowledge our sin, believe Jesus' life,  death, and resurrection, and accept. More than just mental acceptance, we are following a person. It is more than just lip service. It is a relationship with the person of Jesus.

Three attitudes of Jesus followers

1) They followed when He called. This is total submission and true recognition of Jesus as King.

2) They followed no matter the cost. These people were fishermen by trade. They had a solid job. They were not poor.

3) They followed wherever He would lead. No plan, no details. He called, they came. Jesus doesn't give a game plan. So then, why? Because they trusted in Jesus.