Mark 1:14-20

Mark 1:14-20

1. Position yourself to hear God

2. Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3. Pull out the spiritual principles

4. Pose the question

5. Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 1:14-20(NIV)

Jesus Announces the Good News

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!”

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

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.

Paraphrase

• John was put in prison (see Mark 6) and Jesus went to Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.  He called men and women to repent and believe the Gospel.
• Jesus picked ordinary men doing an ordinary job to follow Him
• They left their fisherman jobs immediately to follow Jesus, there was no delay
• These men were going to be fishers of men not fishers of fish from now on

Principles

• I am an ordinary person also but God works through the ordinary person if they are willing to be submissive to His will
• I need to be obedient to His calling and act on it.  This is not passive but active.
• Jesus would train the fishermen to be fishers of men and He trains us throughout our life if we seek to live a life for Him

Pose the Question

• Do I have an urgency to share the Gospel and teach truth about Jesus to those who don't know Him
• Do I respond immediately to God's calling on my life?
• Do I truly believe that God will work in and through me for the extension of His Kingdom

Plan Obedience

• Praying that I will be truly obedient no matter the cost.  

Mark 1:9-13

1.Position yourself to hear God

2.Pore over the passage and paraphrase the main points

3.Pull out the spiritual principles

4.Pose the question

5.Plan obedience and pin down a date

Mark 1:9-13 New International Version (NIV)

The Baptism and Testing of Jesus

9 At that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”


12 At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, 13 and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted[a] by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.


Paraphase

• Jesus was baptised by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and the spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove.
• God spoke to His Son and expressed His love and pleasure for Him.
• Jesus was in the desert for 40 days being tempted by Satan but he was not alone as angels attended to His needs

Principles

• Jesus had the Holy Spirit come upon Him. That same Holy Spirit is in ever believer.
• God speaks to us at different times assuring us of His great love
• Jesus experienced desert times and so can we. The enemy seeks to tempt us in different ways and yet we are not alone in those times.

Questions

• If I truly believe that the same Spirit that was in Christ is also in me then how should my life look? Do I trust Him to do a work in and through me?
• Do I live my life believing that God loves me more than anyone else ever could?
• How do I manage spiritual dryness or wilderness moments in my life? Do I trust God through them and rely on Him to see me through?

Plan Obedience

• To remember that I don't do life alone but have the Holy Spirit within me to guide, counsel and teach me what I need to know.

Introduction to our study in Mark

Our time in Mark will be slightly different to our time in Judges.  We will be taking smaller chunks of scripture and delving deep.  However, due to this I hope to be posting more often.  We will be using a Bible study method by Priscilla Shirer to do that.  Priscilla Shirer is a Bible study teacher and speaker from the States and you can check her out at http://www.goingbeyond.com/ if you are interested.

Priscilla Shirer uses the 5 P's of Bible Study.  This is explained below from her website at Going Beyond.  As I said we will be using this method as we work through the Gospel of Mark.


AS YOU BEGIN YOUR TIME WITH THE LORD EACH DAY

1. Position yourself to hear from God. Engaging in the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude always assists in hearing God through the Scriptures.

AS YOU LOOK INTO THE PASSAGE YOU ARE STUDYING

2. Pore over the passage and Paraphrase the major points. Take time to fully engage in each verse you read. Don’t just skim over it; meditate on it. Then paraphrase what you’ve read from each verse either in your workbook or a separate journal.

3. Pull out the spiritual principles. Close your Bible and look at the paraphrases you’ve written down. For each one, record the spiritual principle that it is designed to convey. Is there a command to follow? Is there a promise to heed? Is there an attribute of God revealed?

4. Pose the question. For each of the spiritual principles you’ve pulled out, form a personally directed question. In your daily living, are you following the command, heeding the promise, depending on that attribute of God? As you ask yourself questions from the text, you will find a divine dialogue begin to develop as the Holy Spirit brings answers, conviction, and challenge.

5. Plan obedience and Pin down a date. Consider what God would have you do as a result of the conversation you’ve had with Him and then plan to obey Him. If possible, pin down a date so that you can remain accountable.