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The Saviour's Call to the Kingdom of God*

Material Written by James. C. Farley >> SERMON AUDIO
© Copyright 2005 PrincipleDesigns™

Have you ever considered the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? This is, without any doubt, the most important question we at PrincipleDesigns™ could ask you, as a visitor to our site. The Bible says, in Mark 1:15, "...The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel." In this passage, The Saviour's Event and The Saviour's Call are declared by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Your response to His event and call will determine whether you spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell and the Lake of Fire. First, notice that the passage speaks of a time and that it "is fulfilled," grammatically signifying presently and perfectly that the time had arrived. The word "time" in this passage refers to a fixed and definite time. Daniel 9:26, prophesied of this time that would come, saying, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." The time was filled full for Messiah, Christ, to fulfill Daniel 9:26. Christ had already been born and had already lived 30 years by the time He spoke the words in Mark 1:15. Christ's ministry was beginning and His sacrifice on the cross would occur approximately 3 ½ years from that point. So, we've seen His timing ("the time is fulfilled"), which was the beginning of His ministry. Second, consider His Place. The passage in Mark 1 speaks of a place called the "kingdom of God." Frankly speaking, it is our desire that all who read this page would enter into the Kingdom of God. We exhort you to consider the following: The Kingdom of God is seen and entered by being born again. John 3:3, 5, says "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." The Kingdom of God is salvation by faith in Christ. John 3:14-16, "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Hopefully you are now asking questions, such as, "How can I be born again?" and "How can I experience this new life in Christ?" To answer these questions, we need only consider, at this time, The Saviour's Call. He said, in Mark 1, "repent ye and believe the gospel." But what does it mean to repent? Is there an absolute definition for believe? And what is the gospel? In John 14:6, we see His Way, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." The meaning of the word repent is, "to turn." A sinner must turn from their own thinking and their own feelings. They must turn from the god of their own understanding unto the God of the Scriptures. They must turn from self to God. Have you ever told a lie? Have you ever stolen? All mankind has. These are only two examples of how we have broken God's Law and the Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Next, you must come to Him by His Means, that is, pure unadulterated Bible Faith. Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." We need only put our simple trust in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour and Lord. We must not add anything or take anything away from His message of the gospel and indeed from Who He is. Finally, after understanding Biblical repentance and faith, that you must turn to God and have simple childlike faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, consider the following two passages: Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." I Corinthians 15:1-4, "...I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." The gospel is the good news of God, how that Christ died on the cross, shedding His precious blood for the forgiveness of your sins, how He was buried in that tomb, and how He literally and bodily rose from the grave three days and three nights later. Your responsibility is to simply receive Christ and the gospel. Will you receive Him this day?