Give me Jesus

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.  --Acts 4:12

I love the song "Give Me Jesus" by Jeremy Camp.  Its simple message is a reminder that whatever happens, wherever we are or whatever we are doing, Jesus is our hope.  Whenever the world seems to spin out of control, give me Jesus, for He is my Rock (see Mark 12:10 and 1 Peter 2:7).

The world seems to be in a great upheaval these days.  Men are bitterly divided on what to do about a new disease capable of killing hundreds of thousands.  We seem bewildered about rising unemployment and look to government to help us, but our leaders are at odds with each other on how to proceed.  We seem destined for a "new normal" while everyone longs for things to get back to the way they were.  Sadly, there is no call to prayer or call for revival in the national discourse, because of all the voices clamoring for racial justice or economic security or disease control.

If Jeremy Camp were writing the song lyrics today, it might be "When I'm quarantined...give me Jesus.  When I lose my job...give me Jesus.  When I feel oppressed...give me Jesus."  You see, the words are timeless.  Jesus is all we need.

I have felt impressed recently to being an in-depth study of the book of Mark.  Most of my blog posts  over the years have been topical in nature.  Friend, when you look for a church to join or a pastor to follow, do not find one who preaches topical sermons, no matter how eloquent he may seem.  Instead, look for one that preaches expository sermons, going verse-by-verse through the Bible.  It may not be as exciting, but it will help you grow.  A wise man once said, "Still water runs deep."  Psalm 23 says, "He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul."  If you want excitement, go float the rapids.  If you want to grow, plant yourself beside still waters.  Anyway, God willing, I will endeavor to be more expository in my blog posts from this point forward.

I wanted to begin with the book of Mark for several reasons.  First, it is the shortest account of the life of Jesus, and easiest to read through in one sitting.  Second, it was written by a fellow named John Mark, who was a good friend of Simon Peter.  Now, I can identify with Peter: when he messed up, he did it big.  Peter shows us how we can get in our own way, but that Jesus can still forgive us, still restore us, and still use us for His glory.  Mark did not walk with Jesus while He was here on Earth, but Peter did.  Peter probably could not write--he may have been illiterate, or else he could not write very well--but Mark could.  So we have a gospel account of Peter, the impetuous apostle.  Third, it was written during a time of great political, social, and religious upheaval.  Mark wrote this as a gospel to Rome, and the Roman emperor during the time of his writing was Nero.  Nero persecuted the young Christian church at the time of it's greatest expansion.  He was a despised ruler (sound familiar?), and many thought he was crazy.  In 66 AD there were riots in Jerusalem, and two years later the Roman army besieged the city and set up their general Titus as leader.

Today, we are also seeing riots in the streets.  Churches are being shut down in the name of public safety, while many others feel that this is just a back door attempt to persecute the Church without overtly overturning the Constitution, which guarantees religious liberty.  Many feel that the current American president is bat-crap-crazy.  Many are looking for regime change, not realizing that Ol' Joe, the leader of their party, is no better suited to leading a nation in crisis than The Donald.

Same song, different verse.  The names have changed, but the game remains the same.

In this environment, Mark compiled all of the stories that Peter had told to him, and announced that there was good news, or a "gospel", found in Jesus.

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."

John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  Now John was clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.  And he preached, saying, "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.  I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."  --Mark 1:1-8

Mark begins his story of good news (for that is literally what "gospel" means) with a preacher.  The veracity of this preacher was checked against Scripture.  Let me say that again: John was a preacher, and Mark verified John's message against the Word of God.  You see, there had not been a legitimate prophet of God for about 400 years.  So when John stood up and called for repentance, there was a great response, because people were hungry for a word from God.  Mark referenced the book of Isaiah, making it apparent that this preacher, John, was the one foretold in the Scripture.

Three things about this:  

One, John preached.  There is a lot of talk these days about finding your own way spiritually, but the importance of preachers cannot be emphasized enough.  Paul wrote in Romans 10:13-14, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" 

Two, the preaching was scriptural.  1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 says, "Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast to what is good."  Instead of following preaching that "tickles the ear", we should be like the believers in Berea: "Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so." (Act 17:11). 

Three, the message John preached was of repentance coupled with forgiveness of sin.  Too often today, we hear one message without the other: we are either drilled with the message of sin so often that we fear we may lose our salvation if we are not diligent with our confessions; or we are placated with the message that all is forgiven to the point where sin is not even a worry for us, to the point where sin is not sin, taking out of context the message that nothing separates us from the love of God, so there is no hell because all will end up in heaven.  The fact is that these are two sides of the same coin: sin does separate us from God, or else there would be no need for a Savior; and without turning from that sin and seeking God's forgiveness, we are beyond the Savior's mission, thus we are lost forever.  Grace does cover a multitude of sins, but without our acknowledgement of the price Jesus graciously paid, we have no receipt, no ticket into heaven.

I believe things will get worse in our world before they get better.  I also believe that most people have what I call crisis fatigue.  In our house we have turned off the news, because each day it seems to get worse.  People are hungry for something that will give them peace and eternal security.  The world needs Jesus.  The world needs preachers who will bring the good news with humility, not so much "Look at me" as "Look to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith."  Those preachers need to be tested against Scripture to verify their message.  Finally, the message needs to be one that incorporates equal measures of God's wrath and God's grace.