Mark 1:14  Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Mark is a shorter account of events that took place during the 3 1/2 years of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Here we already learn that John the Baptist has been cast into prison. We read more details of this event in Matthew 14. John was a faithful and bold servant of God. He was not a politician. He did not put his finger to the wind to see what people were thinking and then speak in such a manner as to please them. There are many professing Christians that are like that. They want to identify as Christians, but they want to keep their lost neighbours and acquaintances happy with them, so they adjust their speech to try to please them.
John had some disciples who believed what he taught. He did not have a large following. He was concerned about being cast into prison and what would happen to him. However, he was not concerned to the degree that he would change what he believed. John had godly convictions.
Due to the fickle nature of mankind, God knew that both John and Jesus could not keep preaching and teaching in the same country at the same time. Most of the people were not able to accept the truth from two different people and accept them as working for the same cause. The devil is very good at seeking to cause division among those who trust in God.
We see a unifying factor within New Evangelicalism/ecumenism. That is due to the fact that that entire movement is under the direction of the devil. It claims to know God but their god is not the God of the Bible.
Of course, we know that Jesus Christ is God. That was not well-known while Jesus was on earth. God had declared this to be true, and Jesus had also both declared and demonstrated this to be true. John the Baptist had also taught that Jesus Christ was God and the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world.
John was not a hindrance to the work of God. It was the fickle nature of the people that was the problem. John was a very high profile person in history. God gave him that place. John had already declared that Jesus must increase and he must decrease. He likely did not expect his decreasing to come in the way that it did. Wicked humanity demonstrates its true nature in very cruel ways at times.
Jesus came into Galilee, which was in the northern region of Israel. There He preached the kingdom of God. There was no competition, nor contradiction between John and Jesus. Both were sent to preach to the nation of Israel. The kingdom of God was in reference to the long awaited coming of the Messiah to set up His kingdom on earth. The truth of that message is that the kingdom of God must first be established in the heart of the individual, before it can be set up on earth.
Jesus was teaching the people that He had come to establish the kingdom of God. In His first coming, He presented Himself as the Messiah/Saviour of the world. In His second coming He will establish Himself as the Messiah/Saviour/King of the world. He will rule with a rod of iron and there will be no resistance allowed to His kingdom. He has the right to do that because He is the Creator and the Saviour of mankind. Not all will appreciate His rule, but they will not be allowed to form a coalition against Jesus until the end of the Millennium.
In verse 15 we see that the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus was on the earth when He made this claim. He knew He was/is the King. He was standing in their midst. They could have received Him and crowned Him as King then and there. However they refused to accept Him as their Saviour and Lord.
The key to believing the gospel of the kingdom of God is repentance. Repentance is turning to God and in so doing, turning away from all else. God enables the repentant person to submit to Him and trust in Him as THE provider of salvation. Jesus taught that He was and is the Saviour of this kingdom. The repentant person may have tried many different things to find peace in their soul and heart. They may have tried alcohol, cigarettes, other drugs, rock music, pornography, etc. They may have gone to a psychiatrist to try to get help. All they can do is prescribe pills to mess with the mind. Psychiatry is designed as a false science to fight against the truth. It is quite popular in our wicked world because most people do not want to know the true God.
The purpose of preaching is to proclaim the truth with conviction. The preacher is not suggesting a possible solution. The preacher is proclaiming THE solution to man’s problem. Man’s problem is sin. He may be poor, he may be sick. His root problem is sin. When that problem is addressed Biblically, then the other problems can be addressed.
We have many deceivers who preach a prosperity gospel. President Trump has been trained in that lie all of his life. He believes that lie. His chosen “pastor” is a strong proponent of that lie. His main message in making America great again revolves around materialism. Yes, he wants a stronger military but it is all so that the U.S. will be powerful and protect and grow its wealth. He is working harder in this term to achieve that goal, but he will not succeed.
The book of the Revelation points out that Babylon will come crashing down in a day. That is in reference to the political/economic/religious system that will be well established at that time. We are moving in that direction now. Our leaders are working to transform the world into a one world system.
Jesus Christ came to show us that the “one world system” must revolve around Him as the Messiah/Saviour/King. That is the case in heaven and it will be the case in the new heavens and the new earth. Until that time, that situation can and should be true for the born again Christian. Due to the “old man” who tries to interfere with God’s will, that will not be completely true in any true child of God until he or she enters heaven.
The duty of the preacher is to teach what the conditions of the kingdom are. They begin with repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. When a person believes the Gospel, everything else will change in accordance with that belief. There will be a change of heart which will be demonstrated in a change of life.
Too many professing Christians are struggling with knowing peace in their hearts and lives. They are scrambling to find a way to soothe their guilty conscience and never finding it because they are refusing the only way of knowing God’s peace. A few people grow so weary of that fight that they surrender to God and are truly born again. They then learn how to have that peace in a greater way.
God’s will is that all would know His peace. If you are desiring peace today, turn to God in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour and Lord. Don’t pretend. Don’t imagine. Believe what the Bible declares and know His peace. We are here to help you know God’s peace. I am not the author of peace. God is the Author and Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. We need to know Him, not just in a moment of time, but in a lifelong pursuit from the day of salvation. That is the purpose of a true local church.
Pastor Bartel