Appointed to Preach the Gospel
Oral Roberts’s Sermon Notes
“Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in teh try?”
You can hear sermons to suit your fancy by nationally known preachers and teachers on any given Sunday. You can hear about families from Ed Young, constitutional secularism from Albert Mohler, tithing from Gloria Copeland, and attitude from Jimmy Evans. Tim Challies, a young pastor based in Toronto, will even teach you how to age gracefully. These messages might contain some useful proverbs here and there, but what do they have to do with the gospel of God?
Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, a called apostle set apart for the gospel of God which he had promised beforehand by his prophets in holy writings concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord who was made of the seed of David according to the flesh and marked out the Son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness —Romans 1.1–4 (Smythean)
Mark, a man living in or around Jerusalem in the first century who might have been one of the three Marks we read about in the New Testament or someone altogether different, sat down one day and started writing. He didn’t set out to write an autobiography, a book of poetry, a detective novel, or even a comic book. He called it a “gospel.”
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. —Mark 1:1. (RSV)
The interesting thing about this gospel, or “good news” as defined in the Greek, is that Mark didn’t lay out a set of value-ladened principles that we typically hear on Sunday mornings. His gospel starts off with a vagabond Elijah impersonator preaching down by the Jordan River. He calls this man “a voice crying in the wilderness” and marries this man’s message to a Nazarene out of Galilee whom he sees as the very personification of Malachi’s God returning to his temple.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the LORD,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low:
and the crooked shall be made straight,
and the rough places plain:
and the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together:
for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
…O Zion, that bringest good tidings,
get thee up into the high mountain;
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings,
lift up thy voice with strength;
lift it up, be not afraid;
say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand,
and his arm shall rule for him. —Isaiah 40:3-5, 9-10 (KJV)
This gospel is no Hardy Boy novel. It is packed with action of shrieking demons, obdurate Pharisees, remorseful prostitutes, and conniving Judases. And its protagonist is no boy scout either. Family? “You have to hate your mother and brothers!” Attitude? “How long do I have to put up with you?” Tithing? “Sell all you have and follow me!” That voice crying in the wilderness is beheaded. The Nazarene reimagines the Passover and one disciple sells him out while another denies him three times. His prayers that the hour of death might pass from him go unanswered. He is beaten, spat upon, his beard plucked, and a rack of thorns is pounded into his skull. He is crucified, counted as a common criminal as God’s own people mock him. The sky goes black and God even deserts him. “My God! My God! Why have you deserted me?” Aging gracefully? He didn’t make it past 35 and told his followers they weren’t worthy if they didn’t lay down their own lives for him.
The Apostle Paul was one of those followers. He said, “We are killed all day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” He caused riots everywhere he went, so you know he wasn’t preaching family, tithing, or good attitudes. He, in fact, told us exactly why he was the aroma of death to some.
Moreover, brethren, 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: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. . . . Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed. —1 Corinthians 15:1–8, 11 (KJV)
He said, “We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” and “for this gospel I was appointed a preacher.”
What are you expecting to hear this coming Sunday?
