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Week:04, Season:1,
2012
Posted on Saturday by PCT
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Follow the Good News
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Scripture：《
Mark 1: 14-20
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14 After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”16 As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 18 At once they left their nets and followed him. 19 When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20 Without delay he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
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Clean for the Luck？
Before Chinese New Year’s Eve, every family is always busy cleaning the house. A brother in Christ once shared the story that after New Year’s Eve, his family was strictly prohibited from cleaning during the New Year’s holiday. Ever since he grew up, his family rarely did the cleaning at home. This is because the action of cleaning will sweep away good fortune and luck from their family. He also said that if the house is so dirty that it must be cleaned, the direction of the broom must be outside in and not inside out so good luck can be kept in the house.
This is generally believed as a tip for keeping good luck. For the Christian family who believes in the King of Kings and declares “Jesus is our Lord”, what is the tip for us to keep good luck？ Isn’t it the gospel of the Lord keeping us blessed？ Should we do the cleaning during the Chinese New Year or not？ What should we get rid of apart from the dust in the house？
Repent and follow the Good News
Mark 1: 14-20 recorded that after receiving the baptism from John the Baptist, the faith of God led people to see “the Heaven open” and to understand that God loves life with sincerity, obedience and purity. To sum it up, God loves the heart which repents deeply and turns to God firmly. Jesus lived a spiritual life after being baptised and accepted the tests in the wilderness for 40 days. He gave us the best model of distinguishing what is the truth of belief in God. He helped us to obey God’s will and he refuted Satan’s temptations. When Jesus conquered the temptations, he talked about the good news as John the Baptist did in Galilee, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
The good news told by Jesus is centred in the kingdom of God. Jesus wants us to give our every moment to God: we practice God’s words in every second so that we can understand the grace and the mission God gives us without focusing our eyes on temporary fame and power. And so that we can see the goal of eternal life builds upon the kingdom of God.
The example set by our Lord Jesus is the model which God wants us to live. What Jesus has done is to tell people the good news and build up the kingdom of God. This reminds today’s church that after baptizing people, it is more important to lead them to the road of repentance and renewal. People can then live with the confidence to follow Jesus and live their life in God. Just like the fresh, the fragrance, the comfort and the confidence we receive after taking a bath each day, the gospel of God will purify our hearts and lead us from dirtiness and lets us no longer be burdened with the customs set by people.
Follow the Lord and restart the life
After John was put in prison, Jesus extended his work and led people to follow him. From the scripture in Mark, Jesus called two sets of brothers---Simon and Andrew; James and John. Jesus asked them to follow him and called them to be disciples. “Disciple” means “student; follower”. The root of this word comes from Latin “dis” (means opposite, delete, and depart) and “capere” (means capture, seize, take); which refers to leave a certain field and follow the ideas of a great teacher or leader. In Christianity, it emphasises Jesus is the great teacher and made people his disciples. The calling of the disciples is to share the mission of the great teacher and to participate in his ministry. The duty of the disciples is to establish a close relationship with the great teacher, obey his commandments and disciplines.
Therefore, the life beginning after baptism is the new beginning! It shows that people are willing to accept the teaching from the Bible, participate in worship regularly, and help with church work and ministry for building up the kingdom of God. In the Christian faith, becoming a disciple is not a state of mind but becoming a positive standard for the social behaviour of belonging to the church. Receiving Holy Communion is a sign and symbol of the practice of discipleship.
Ever since we started to think, to listen, to do and to make decisions, how many times have we determined to tell ourselves and others that, “I am going to be…in the future; I am not going to do… in the future”？ The message of repentance told by Jesus is to believe in the kingdom of God. This message for our generation is to determine to be a good news teller, a gospel family and make our church an evangelical church. The calling from Jesus is a call to positive action.
Rely on the Holy Spirit; Follow the good news
Perhaps all of us carry our own ritual relating to different denominations, social customs, culture, education and other norms, but the Bible shows us that Jesus gave up his heavenly honour and descended as a human to live among us. The purpose of his calling is ask us to behave like him, to live our life as a mission from God --- read His words, follow His path, lead people to the Lord as disciples and walk His truth.
Therefore, the best way to share the gospel is to practice what Jesus has taught us to “love your neighbour as yourself” in addition to build up “friendship” with others. This is the best approach of sharing the gospel to modern people. In other words, one to one is the best way to talk about the good news. The “One-leads-One, Doubling Movement” promoted by PCT expects each of us to influence another person and each family influence another family. Through the calling of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, we may lead our relatives, neighbours, friends, schoolmates, and colleagues to believe in the gospel and enhance further the revival of our church and the renewal of our society.
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For discussion：
1. Share how you started believing the gospel of God and who is the person with whom you would most like to share the good news？ Write down this mission and think about the practical ways to achieve it.
2. Share the social customs which still bother you. What are the impacts and meaning of them to your life？
Please pray for：
1. Pray for your families to offer happily their prayers during Chinese New Year and give thanks for families worshipping together.
2. Pray for your New Year’s holiday and plan a visit with your family to those who live alone or are unwell. Put your prayers into practice.
Prayer：
Lord our God who is watching over us from the beginning to the end of a year, you are never limited by humans nor controlled by us. You are the manager of our time. We worship you with our honest mind. While we are welcoming the New Year to come with your grace, may you give us the wisdom; may our relationship with our families become closer through your immeasurable grace. When we meet others outside our homes, may we live in peace with them. We ask your guidance for our future steps in the New Year. May we work hard to lead people to you as turning to you is the greatest blessing one can have the whole of life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Something you can do：
1. Spend some time considering the needs of the unbeliever and define what helps you/your family/your fellowship/your church to offer this to them.
2. Learn to share the gospel of God in new ways rather than imitate what others have done. Adjust your approaches according to different churches. Coordinate with other fellow workers to spread the gospel into new places.
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