I decided this morning since I could not sleep to do some Bible study in the gospel of Mark. This site in particular seemed like a good bible study tool http://bible.cc/ As I was studying Jesus' words, I noticed his first sentence in this gospel starts with "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdome of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:15
Looking at that a little more in depth, we see that Jesus said that the time for his coming was fulfilled. God set aside a time, mentioned in Daniel 9:24-27, when his messiah would come. This was a time in history when it was perfect for the Son of God to come. The Romans had made a universal language that made the telling of the gospel story easier. They had made roads to make it easier to travel and spread the gospel. But, unlike today, most people's hearts were not cold to the gospel and many were open to hearing the message preached. It seems today that for many people they have already decided that the gospel is not for them and they prefer their own way to God's. In fact, most evangelists would tell you that if you do not reach a person when they are a child today the possibility of them accepting Christ is rather remote.
Now that the time is fulfilled, Jesus says, the kingdom of God is at hand. The word "kingdom" is the word basilera. It means the sovereignty, the royal power, the kingdom. The kingdom was at hand. The kingdom and entry into the kingdom was open to them through the person of Jesus. John said, "He came to His own and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name." John 1:11-12. Jesus opened a door to the kingdom that nobody could then shut.
The "kingdom is at hand" is related directly to the "repentance and believe in the gospel". The word "repentance is the word "metanocite" which means to "change one's mind or purpose". It literally means to change direction. That is what many churches neglect to mention. They make it seem that we can love the world and our own direction and plans and add Christ. But, the gospel tells us we must chose whether we go the narrow way or our own way. We must chose to change our direction. God is not the co-pilot. He won't share control of the wheel. We aren't to be a back seat driver either. We either give him control and surrender or we are not truly repentant. Repentance means my purpose is now his and his is mine. It changes the whole reason for our existence and redefines what is important and who is important. It is the reason that we can no longer embrace the world and its defintions which are constantly thrown at us.
This is a life long battle for the believer. To be willing each day to surrender my own will to God's and to do His will and not my own. At times I do not see him at work. His timing certainly is not mine. I am an impatient person to say the least. At times, I think I can handle things and stop praying as I should. God calls the believer and unbeliever to repent and change direction daily. To be willing to trust God to take the wheel and not to make demands from the back seat that God is going the wrong way.
