Mark 1 verses 1 to 8

Mark 1 verses 1 to 8.

So another Christmas approaches. Another season of goodwill and celebration. 

Lots of preparations. Lots of food to buy, decorations to put up.

Lots of over excited children and perhaps lots of stress for some of you as you try to get everything ready in time.

And then the day itself. Presents everywhere and Christmas lunch. Time with family or perhaps a time when you feel lonely. And then probably too much to eat, repeats on telly and its all over for another year.

And you can be left feeling a bit hollow and disappointed. Was that it?  All that effort and expense - and puff – now it’s over and time rolls on and another New Year approaches.

Perhaps in life generally you see time passing by - and if you’re honest – deep down, you feel a bit empty – and you wonder - is there more to life than this?

Well, if that is how you feel, perhaps this morning’s reading from Mark’s gospel about John the Baptist can offer you a glimmer of hope – and the possibility that there is indeed more to life than just existing.

So firstly, who was John the Baptist? Well, John was a herald. He was the person chosen by God to tell the Jewish people that their Messiah was coming.

The Messiah was the person promised to the Jews by the Old Testament prophets – the one who would be a saviour and liberator of the Jewish people.

The Messiah would be a leader anointed by God, descended from King David, who would usher in a time of freedom and peace.

We need to bear in mind that there hadn’t been a prophet in Israel for 400 years before John the Baptist came on the scene.

So when John appeared in the desert telling the Jewish people that they needed to repent and be baptised because one greater than he was coming, there must have been great excitement and speculation in Israel.

And indeed many people did flock to John to be baptised and to have their sins symbolically washed away in the river Jordan.

But then when Jesus came, many of those who had responded to John’s call to be baptised - failed to recognise their Messiah.

Although he performed miracles and cast out demons and raised the dead, many 

Jewish people remained unconvinced that Jesus was the one they had been waiting for all these years.

Why was this? Well it was because they were expecting a worldly king – a strong warrior like political figure - someone like King David - who would drive out the Romans and make Israel a great nation again.

They were expecting a worldly king who would sit on an earthly throne. They didn’t understand that the Messiah would be a heavenly king who would establish his kingdom in people’s hearts and lives.

And they failed to see that the purpose of John’s the Baptist’s call to repentance and baptism was to prepare people’s hearts to receive Jesus as their heavenly king.

Jesus explained to the Jewish people – my kingdom is not of this world - but the majority failed to understand his meaning.

They were so focussed on this world and the here and now – that they missed the coming of their King.

And thus it is today. Where people are focused very much on this world – on earthly things, their careers and hobbies, on success or status or achievement  – they can remain blind to the significance of Jesus - and blind to the importance of eternal things.

Even though as Jesus said – his kingdom is close at hand – close by – as it is this morning in this church - people can miss out on finding a living relationship with him and the fulfilment and peace that this brings - not to mention the vital importance of finding forgiveness and reconciliation with the God who created them

So, how can we find a living relationship with Jesus and then what things can we do to sustain and develop that relationship and this is what I’d like to look at briefly this morning.

I think the starting point for finding a relationship with God is coming to a realisation that being focused on the world alone doesn’t bring us fulfilment.

That even though we may be fairly comfortable and successful, actually deep down if we’re honest - there’s an emptiness and pointlessness to life without God.

You see although we may not realise it – we were actually created by God to enjoy a relationship with Him and until we find that relationship there will always be a certain emptiness and restlessness within our hearts.

Jesus said that he came to bring life in all its fullness. Life outside a relationship with him is two dimensional. Our bodies and souls will be alive – but spiritually we are dead – and cut off from relationship with God.

Life in relationship with God is 3 dimensional. God brings us spiritually alive and we can start to function as the people He created us to be.

Having acknowledged our spiritual hunger – we then need to look in the right place for that hunger to be filled. There are all sorts of religions and spiritual paths on offer – but Jesus said – no one comes to the father except through me. 

He is the only one through whom we can find a relationship with God.

He is the only one to have carried our sins in his body on the cross and to have died and been punished in our place – so that we could go free.

Jesus also said I am the bread of life. He is the only one who can truly satisfy our spiritual hunger.

We can look in all sorts of places for our spiritual hunger to be satisfied but ultimately only a relationship with Jesus will fulfil us.

I tried a bit of Budddhism at University and quite liked the Bahai faith – but ultimately by God’s grace I came to realise that Jesus really is – again as he claimed to be – the way the truth and the life.

I don’t know where you are on your spiritual journey at the moment. Perhaps you’re just awakening to the spiritual hunger that is in you. Perhaps you’ve tried a few spiritual paths but haven’t yet found what you’re looking for.

My advice is to seek Jesus. Read the gospels and pray. Share your thoughts and share your heart with God. Tell Him how you feel. Tell Him you’re looking for Him. Seek Him.

Remember that Jesus said seek and you will find.

Perhaps some of you here this morning are intellectually convinced by Christianity but somehow your faith seems a bit dry and lifeless.

You hear of having a living relationship with God but that isn’t really your experience.

Well first of all I’d ask do you really want God in your life? Are you really hungry for a relationship with Him?

Or are you a bit wary of what He may ask of you? Are you a bit worried of what others might think if you became a Christian?

You see, God really does want to come and live in your heart and life – because He loves you. You are extremely precious to Him, but He comes to those who truly want to know Him – who are sincere in their desire to find Him.

And this is the essence of repentance. John the Baptist called people to repent – because repentance prepares people’s hearts to receive God.

God can only make his home in a repentant heart – a humble heart that truly acknowledges its need for Him.

And repentance isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision we make. To repent means to change one’s mind.

Lord up to this point I’ve gone my own way in life - but from now on I want you to be the Lord of my life. Forgive me for all that is past. Come into my life and help me to live in a way that is pleasing to you.

And when we truly repent God comes by His Holy Spirit – the spirit of Jesus - to live in our hearts and lives.

I love the Christmas Carol O little town of Bethlehem which describes how God comes into our lives.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in be born in us today. No ear may hear his coming but in this world of sin – where meek souls will receive him - still the dear Christ enters in.

Now some of you may have truly repented and invited Jesus into your life – but you are disappointed because frankly you don’t really feel any different.

You were expecting spiritual fireworks but nothing much happened and you feel a bit disillusioned.

Well Christianity is fundamentally about a relationship with God – and like any relationship – if it’s going to be a healthy relationship we need to put time and effort into it.

As with human relationships – it’s easy to lose touch with someone and for a relationship to go cold.

And it’s the same with God. We need to put aside time daily to pray and to read our bibles. The bible says come close to God and He will come close to you.

The more time and energy and effort we put into our relationship with God the closer to Him we’ll be.

So Jesus may already be in your life – but perhaps you’re leaving your relationship with him on the back burner – and the knowledge of the kingdom of 

God which has been planted in you isn’t growing and flourishing.

It’s easy to get distracted from our walk with God by worldly concerns and being busy. But there are no shortcuts. Being a disciple of Jesus means being disciplined in our spiritual habits – and feeding and maintaining the relationship we’ve found.

We can choose to feed that relationship or to starve it. And our relationship with God will determine our fruitfulness.

The deeper our relationship – the deeper the soil will be – out of which fruit can grow.

Most importantly once we’ve said yes to a relationship with God - as Campbell said a few weeks ago when he preached on Romans chapter 7 – we need to rely on and be open to the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Jesus – helping us and filling us day by day.

We can’t live the Christian life unless we are filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Just as a kite can’t fly without wind – we need the Holy Spirit to be continually blowing through our lives – both in order to know God’s presence with us, and to live in a way that is pleasing to God.

If you want more of God in your life – if you want to be more aware of His presence with you and more fruitful, ask God to fill you with his Holy Spirit.

Campbell or I would be very happy to pray for you – or you may prefer to pray to God yourself.

And of course each day we can say little arrow prayers to God asking Him to help us or strengthen us or guide us as we journey through life.

So another Christmas approaches and no doubt we will all be getting various gifts from loved ones. Some of these may be what we really wanted and some not – although of course even if we don’t really like them we’ll still probably say something like - thank you so much – it’s just what I needed.

But the greatest gift of all awaits those who genuinely seek it – the gift of eternal life, the gift of salvation and forgiveness and a relationship with the living God.

Just as Jesus was born in humble circumstances 2000 years ago – so today He longs to be born in our lives if only we will humble ourselves before him and confess our need for him.

Why not this Christmas use the words from O Little Town of Bethlehem and turn them into your own personal prayer.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem descend to me I pray. Cast out my sin and enter in be born in me today.

And if we’ve already invited Jesus into our lives then we must put time and effort into our relationship with Him and ask to be filled with his Holy Spirit – the spirit who makes our faith real and alive and who brings the life and power of heaven into our hearts.

May the living God bless you and your loved ones this Christmas. Amen.