Jesus is...URGENT

The other day something earth shattering happened. My computer got a virus. The thing is my computer wasn’t running slow. It wasn’t struggling to run Microsoft Office. It wasn’t flickering on and off whenever I tried to turn it out.

Nope, I found out that the new computer I received for Christmas had a virus on it from a website I visited.  A “pop up” ad appeared. It had a big warning on it: “You have thousands of viruses on your computer. Click here to download our software now which is the only way to ensure that you’ll get rid of it.”

Do you download things by clicking the “x” in the upper right hand corner? Cause that’s what I did.

Sometimes people tell us things are urgent that aren’t all that urgent.

What about Jesus? How urgent is the message of Jesus?

I. …Not on Our Time.

For King Herod the message of Jesus was not very urgent. He had heard it from John the Baptist and he had kind of liked what he heard at first. He liked that John was helping to “clean up the city” and calling out various people for their immoral sins. Herod wouldn’t have had a problem with that. It made his job easier as ruler easier. (Mark 6:20)

That is until John accused Herod of sin. John told him it was sinful because Herod was living with and sleeping with his own brother’s wife. Not his. He wasn’t married. That was sinful.

Herod didn’t listen. He didn’t find that message very urgent. Instead, Herod had John arrested. He put him in prison. He decided he would much rather continue in his sinful lifestyle. (v.17-18)

As much as Herod didn’t want to listen to John – his woman – desired to listen even more. So when Herod promised to his “fling’s” daughter that he would give her whatever she wanted up to half his kingdom, Herod’s mistress took advantage of this foolishness.

“Ask Herod for the head of John the Baptist,” she said.

Her daughter asked. 
Herod listened.
John was killed.
No one had to listen to John anymore.
No one had to listen to God. 

Now, I imagine that many of you reading this haven't just been accused of beheading someone. (If so, we need to talk.) But isn't it possible that you have done the same thing as John did? Not cutting off John's head, but cutting off God's Word?

It's easy to do. It's easy to tell God's Word to take a back seat. It's easy to say "I'll follow God...later..  

·         ...when they come out with a Bible that doesn’t mention the sin I struggle with.
·         …when I’ve had the chance to experience life.
·         …when I’m older.
·         …when I’m less tired.
·         …when I’m settled down.
·         …when my friends think it’s cool.
·         …when I get a special calling.
·         …when I own my own house.
·         …when that person that I don’t like that much isn’t at church anymore.
          …when I am married.
·         …when I have children.
·         …when the children leave the house.
·         …when I go to the retirement home.

Or, if we're being entirely honest about all of these reasons...

·         …WHEN I WANT TO.

 
Is that how it works? Can you ignore God until you are good and ready? Does God work on your time? Is God cool when you give him a raincheck? 

There is nothing worse than hearing your alarm go off in the morning. I was having trouble getting up really early to work out. So not that long ago I downloaded the “I Can’t Wake Up” Alarm. It plays an obnoxiously loud song and it doesn’t turn off until you complete an array of mental tasks: Answering addition questions, solving word problems, putting a puzzle together. It was working really well too.

Until I discovered a brand new way to turn it off. Take the battery out.

Guess what? That doesn’t stop time from coming. It doesn’t stop the sun from rising. It doesn’t stop the day from happening. The same is true with Jesus. If you ignore God’s message to stop your sin, follow him, and study his Word – that doesn’t stop it from being true.

Bottom line – your unbelief and your sinful lifestyle will not slow down God’s coming!

It’s coming all the same.

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II... On God’s Time.

Look at the words from our Mark 1:15. That verse alone gives us three reasons to listen to Jesus right now!


1.       “The Time has come.” Jesus doesn’t say, “The time is coming,” “the time will come eventually,” or even “Don’t worry you have years until it will be important for you to listen!” It’s a perfect tense. For the people who heard Jesus, the time had come for them to listen.

That was 2000 some years ago. What does that tell you about the importance of listening now?

2.       The Kingdom is near. Literally for the people Jesus talked to the kingdom was very near them. Jesus himself is the one who rules the kingdom of God. Thus – he was literally feet away from them. It was time for them to listen.

Jesus speaks to us today in his Word. Where’s the closest Bible to you now? Listening to this in church? It’s about a foot in front of you. Are you a Christian? Listen to Jesus because Jesus is in you. It doesn’t get much closer to you than that!

3.       “Repent” and “Believe.” These are imperative directives of Jesus. He doesn’t say “repent” later. He doesn’t say “believe” later. He implores you to repent and believe right now!

Why wait? Do you really want to continue going on a path farther away from God? Do you really want to continue feeling guilt associated with sin? Do you really want to stay away from the peace, the joy, and the confidence of God’s love that come with the knowledge of sins forgiven?

In another part of Scripture Jesus tells the parable of a very rich man. He was so rich that he didn’t have time for God. He was too busy buying fancy suits and investing his dividends to make even more money. In fact, he was so rich that he decided to build himself a huge barn in his backyard. It was like his own bank in which he’d store all the riches that he had collected.

When he finished, it he partied! It was done. His “urgent work” of collecting things and stuff” was done.

Then God came to the party. “You fool!” he said, “This very night your life will be demanded of you.”

Do you understand the urgency? Repent. Believe. The time has come. The kingdom of heaven is near!


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III.                …God’s Time…is the Best Time for You!

Now maybe you’re wondering. Why does God care so much? Why does God want me to follow him now? Why can’t he wait for a time that’s better for me? I don't go around sticking my nose in my neighbor's business and telling them there's a better way to spend his time than playing video games all the time -- so why should God care about what I do? It's my business. 

The answer is simple. God cares for you. And following God on God's time is the best thing for you!

Take a look at verse 15 again. Jesus went about preaching the good news.

Do you know what the good news is? The good news is…

….that when you were too distracted by the urgency of worldly things to follow God, Jesus was not.
…that as death was sneaking up on you to take you to hell, he urgently confronted it to take you to heaven.
…that as the bodies of all humans rested without any urgency in the grave, Jesus came back to life early in the morning – to urgently spread his message that in him I have life!

I’ll tell you the truth – the urgency God expresses is for YOUR Benefit! Not God’s. Here are three reasons why believing on God's Time (right now) is of great benefit!

1. God Loves You Urgently! This is why he came to earth. It's why he keeps calling out to you. It's because he knows the struggles that life brings when you depend on things and people that don't even have you on their priority list. 

But God placed you as number one. He died for you! Come and revel in that love. 

2. God Wants You to Punch your Ticket to Heaven...before it's too Late! Scripture says the the end of time will come like a thief in the night. God doesn't want you to miss it. The only way to heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior. 

I don't know any stats on how often people die in this world, but I do know that it always seems like, "it could never happen to me." How foolish! Repent and believe now for the confidence of heaven. 

3. God Wants You to have Peace Now. Why wait? Why wait to hear that God loves you? Why wait to know that you are forgiven? Why go through life nervous and frightened that God is against you? 

Repent and believe in Jesus – God will not be slow in responding. God says to all who turn from their sin: “You are forgiven!” He rushes to say “You are mine.” He quickens his Spirit to speak to all believers “You will be in heaven!”

It’s very interesting that in direct contrast to the actions of Herod, chapter 1 tells us about a few fishermen. Guys who found their livelihood in hard work. Men who needed to find fish, clean fish, and sell fish so that their families could eat.

Look at verse 17 Jesus said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

Their response? Verse 18 At once, they left their nets and followed Jesus.

URGENCY.

Then Jesus meets some others. Verse 20 Without delay, he called them.

Their response? They left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.

URGENCY.

Their urgency in following Jesus is impressive. They realized Jesus was greater than work. They realized Jesus was greater than money. They realized Jesus was greater than their family!

God is calling you to abandon work, money or family. These things are not bad. In fact, they can be very good. But God is calling you to place Jesus as the highest priority. To order your life and make him Number One!

Will you delay? Or will you follow without hesitation? All it takes is the next step. 

Because if these disciples were serious about following Jesus, they couldn't just say, "I'm following you." They had to literally put one foot front of the other and follow him from town to town. 

They needed to take the next step. 

What's your next step? For all of us it's different. Maybe your next step is contacting me by email to talk more about Jesus. Maybe you are ready to be baptized into his name. Maybe you come to church once in a while and now is the time to make it an every week affair. Maybe you are ready to join our church. Maybe you are ready to get involved in Bible class. Maybe you need to leave behind that sin that has been gnawing as your souls. 

Everyone's steps are different, but everyone's step is the same. Follow Jesus!

The time has. The Kingdom is near. Believe and follow Him. Amen.