Sermon Tone Analysis

As we introduced last Sunday, our theme for 2020 is “Complete in Christ.”

If we are complete in Christ, it would seem appropriate then that we take the opportunity to learn about Him - about Christ.

This morning, as introduction, we are going to consider the subject, the author, and the audience of the Gospel of Mark.

The Subject of Mark

The central character of the Gospel of Mark is Christ.

Jesus Christ is the Gospel; He is the Good News!

Each of the Gospels portray Christ in a slightly different way.

Matthew portrays Christ as King and the Promised Messiah.

Luke portrays Christ as the Son of man.

John portrays Christ as the Son of God.

Mark portrays Christ as the Servant of God.

Of all of the portraits of Christ, that are painted by the Gospel writers, the portrait that is painted by Mark is perhaps that portrait that we can - or should - most relate to.

This is a Time magazine cover from 2013.

The title story is, “Millennials: The Me, Me, Me Generation.”

What millennials are most famous for besides narcissism is its effect: entitlement.

Millennials grew up watching reality-TV shows, most of which are basically documentaries about narcissists.

Now they have trained themselves to be reality-TV-ready.

https://time.com/247/millennials-the-me-me-me-generation/

Probably the epitome of this “me, me, me” is Ethan Couch who, at the age of 16, killed four individuals while driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Ethan’s defense?

“Affluenza.”

Ethan was the product of "profoundly dysfunctional" parents who gave him too much and never taught him the consequences of his actions.

In a world of selfies, self-promotion, narcissists, and egomaniacs, God has called us to the life of a servant.

Jesus Christ, the Son God, serves as our example of a true servant of others!

This was demonstrated by Christ when, in Mark 14:36, the night of His betrayal and the night before His crucifixion, He said...

While we may be able to say, “I’m nothing like Ethan Couch,” can we, on the other hand, say, “I am like Jesus Christ?”

The Author of Mark

God is the Author of the Gospel of Mark.

God is the divine author of all Scripture.

Mark is the human instrument that God used to pen the Gospel of Mark.

The Bible teaches, this preacher preaches, and this church believes that God inspired His Word in the original languages and that He has preserved His Word for English speaking individuals in the King James version of the Bible.

Because of that, the Word of God is our final authority for faith - what we believe - and practice - how we live!

Now, aside from that, let’s take a moment to learn some about the human author of the Gospel of Mark.

He was a Christian.

Are you a Christian?

He wasn’t an apostle.

He wasn’t “special.”

I heard a Christian man complain one time, “Well, since I can’t be a deacon, what else can I do?”

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m bored?” (I’ve heard plenty of teenagers and young people say that!?!?) Do you know what they are really saying?

“There’s plenty to do; there’s just nothing to do that I want to do!”

For a short time, in high school, I worked at Hardees.

The managers had a saying, “If there’s time to lean there’s time to clean!”

Within the local church there are always ways in which you can serve!

I’m sorry.

I’m not trying to upset anyone or offend anyone but, could it be that your attitude is simply, “There’s nothing to do that I want to do?”

Or could there be an even bigger obstacle that is keeping you from serving?

Jesus Christ was very clear in this verse.

No ambiguity whatsoever.

Easy to understand.

“No man can serve two masters.”

If you are having difficulty serving maybe it is because you are trying to serve two masters?

Or, you’re serving the wrong master!

He grew up in church.

His mother’s home was one of the meeting places for the early church.

Statistics tell us that young people, who grew up in the church, are leaving the church.

Now, I’m not going to argue over the “reasons” why young people are leaving church, etc.

What I will say, though, is, if you grew up in church and going to church praise the Lord!

I praise the Lord that I had the opportunity to grow up in a Bible-believing Baptist church!

I praise the Lord that I had the opportunity to attend a Christian school!

Time will not allow me to share the Bible truths that I do not struggle with today simply because I was taught them from a young age!

He had a spiritual heritage.

Aside from having a godly mother, his uncle was Barnabas.

Turn to and read Acts 12:5-17.

Just imagine all that Mark, as a young man, growing up in a godly home, with a godly heritage, in the first century church, heard and experienced!

Mark had spiritual opportunities that others could only dream about.

“It is well to keep in mind that Mark had the facts of his Gospel from Peter and the explanation of his Gospel from Paul.” - J. Vernon McGee

Not only did he have the opportunity to listen to and learn from great men of God, he had the opportunity to go with Paul and his uncle Barnabas on the first missionary journey!

I praise the Lord for my spiritual heritage!

Both of my parents, while not perfect, were saved, and tried their best to instill in me Biblical truth!

I praise the Lord for the great men and women of God who invested in my life!

I praise the Lord for the ministries of great men of God - preachers, and evangelists, and missionaries, that I, through the years, have had the opportunity to experience and learn from!

And, if you have grown up and church and if you have a spiritual heritage, then you have plenty of reasons to rejoice and praise the Lord!

That’s the good.

The next characteristic isn’t so good.

He was a quitter.

Have you ever quit?

Have you ever failed?

Probably, most of us in this room this morning, have failed on multiple occassions; have quite multiple times.

I like this quote that I found:

Failure doesn't define you.

It's what you do after you fail that determines whether you are a leader or a waste of perfectly good air.

Dr. Bob Jones, Sr. once said:

The test of your character is what it takes to stop you!

Did you quit in 2019?

Did you fail in 2019?

What are you going to do about it?

Are you going to let it define who you are or will you heed the testimony of Scripture and get back up again and keep going?!

He was profitable.

Mark went from being an individual that Paul did not care to take with him on a journey to being an individual that was profitable!

He went from being un-useful to being useful!

We should all keep in mind that God used Mark to write his Gospel after he had failed!

After he had quit!

Again, remember...

Failure doesn't define you.

It's what you do after you fail that determines whether you are a leader or a waste of perfectly good air.

Mark is not simply an example of someone who “tried harder” or “became a better person.”

Mark is an example of the grace of God in the life of a believer!

Mark is an example of the maturing, perfecting work of God in the life of a believer.

Although, we do not know how God made the change in Mark’s heart, Mark is an example of on individual who yielded himself to the work of God in his life!

In 2020, it’s not going to be a matter of anyone of us simply determining to be a better person.