Those of you who regularly listen
to these broadcasts of Echo of the Truth, you will recall that
a few months ago, I spoke to you quite extensively about the
first chapter of the Gospel of Mark, which is the second book
of the New Testament. Today, I would like to begin
to speak to you about the second chapter of this same Gospel. Let me read to you the first
two verses, of this chapter 2 of the Gospel of Mark. Here is what
we read. A few days later, Jesus returned
to Capernaum. He was told that he was at home,
and he gathered together a large number of people that the space
in front of the door could no longer contain. He announced
the Word to them. Perhaps the Lord had come to
the city to seek rest after His tour in the countryside, but
He did not find this rest. For as soon as He had arrived,
we see that the crowd went home and gathered around His door. I would like to emphasize a few
teachings that we can learn from the reading of these two verses. First, we notice the crowding
of the crowd. We see this in verse 2. We read,
These people could, if they wanted to, have waited for the beautiful
Sabbath to hear the Lord Jesus speak. Because we know, by reading the
life of the Lord Jesus, that he was used to going to the synagogue
on the Sabbath day. And there, frequently, he would
take the floor to teach the crowd. So, this crowd, I say, could
have reached the Sabbath day to hear the teaching of the Lord
Jesus or to be healed. But they did not. Why? Because
they were in a hurry. The things that interested them
could not wait even the Sabbath day. We have here a very important
teaching, an example that we must follow. An example that
shows us the priority that we must give to the things of God. Because, you know, our life is
short. Maybe we have a few more years
to live. Maybe a few days, or maybe only
a few hours, who knows? And you do not know if next week
you will have the opportunity to listen to the next episode
of Echo of Truth. So it is very important that
we take care, from now on, even today, of the state of our soul
and of our salvation before God. I know that very often young
people say, but I am only 15, or 20, or 25 years old, depending
on the case. I have all my life ahead of me. When I have enjoyed life, then,
later, in a few years, I will think of converting and I will
change my way of living. But no, my friends, this is not
possible. Remember that you do not do a
favor to God when you come to Him in repentance and faith,
It is He who does you a favor by receiving you as His child. Today is the time of salvation,
as the Bible tells us. And we have it in chapter 6 of
the 2nd epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. We read, here is
now the favorable time, here is now the day of salvation. Come today. The second thing
that we want to emphasize in this passage that we are looking
at today, Mark 1, verses 1 and 2, is the place where these people
met the Lord Jesus. We see in verse 2 that it was
in front of the door of the house where he lived. This underlines
the teaching of the New Testament that there is no very special
place where we must meet God. I know that in the Old Testament,
that is, before the coming of the Lord Jesus, the Jewish people
had to meet the Lord first in the tabernacle, then in the temple
where there was a very holy place. But at the time of the death
of the Lord Jesus, the New Testament tells us that the veil of the
temple, that is, the veil that separated the holy place from
the very holy place where God resided in a very special way,
was torn in two, from top to bottom, that is, it was a divine
work, and from that moment on, there was no more holy place
where people had to meet the Lord. Today, we can meet the
Lord anywhere. I know that there are people
who think that there are very holy places, or that there are
holy cities, where they can go, or even they must go, if they
want to meet God. But it is contrary to the teaching
of the Bible. You can meet the Lord where you
are now, in front of your radio station. You don't have to go to a church,
whatever it is. You don't have to go to a priest,
to a holy man. You can, while listening to your
radio, lower your head, and in a prayer of repentance, and in
an act of faith, to receive the Lord Jesus as Savior and Lord
in your life. This is precisely the conversion
that we speak of very frequently in these programs. Conversion
is not something that is given to you by a man. It is not something
that you deserve from God through your good works. No, conversion
is a radical transformation that takes place in those who, as
I told you, come to the Lord Jesus in repentance and faith. Thus, I exhort you today, wherever
you may be, to come to this prayer of repentance and this act of
faith to receive the Lord Jesus. for Savior and Lord. He alone can forgive you of your
sins. He alone can give you the salvation
of your soul. The third thing that I would
like to emphasize in these two first verses of Mark, chapter
2, is what Christ gives to these people who gather around his
door. We see at the end of verse 2
that he announces the word to them. What was this Word that he was
announcing to them? It was the Word of God. And today,
we have this Word of God in the Bible. But then, these people
who gathered around the door of the Lord Jesus, they had other
needs, didn't they? There were certainly sick people
there who needed physical healing. There were probably also people
who were hungry and who needed something to eat. But on this
occasion, the Lord announces the Word to them, because it
was the most important thing they needed. Perhaps some of
the people who were in this crowd were disappointed that the Lord
Jesus had not healed them or that he had not given them something
to eat. And this is perhaps also the
case for many people who listen to me today. What do you expect
from God? You say, but I am sick, I need
healing, or I need a better house, I need more money, I need a bigger
harvest. And when you come to God, it is to ask Him and to
give you all these material things. But through these broadcasts
and through the reading of the Bible and the faithful preaching
of the Word of God, God gives you what you need most, that
is, the announcement of the Gospel of Jesus Christ by which you
can have the salvation of your soul and eternal life. So listen to the message of the
Word of God that we announce to you today. You are sinners
before God. God offers you, in Jesus Christ,
the salvation of your soul if you come in repentance and faith. So, do it now. We are always
very happy to receive letters from our listeners. If you have
a problem, or if you think that we can help you, write to us
and we will be very happy to answer you. Here is the address
to which you must write. Echo de la vérité, boîte postale
505, 71322, Chalon-sur-Saône, ça s'écrit C-H-A-L-O-N, France.
Je vous répète cette adresse. Echo de la vérité, boîte postale
505, 71 322 Chalon-sur-Saône, France Compagnie des ailes, j'ai du
sang aujourd'hui. Jusqu'à part de la légende, j'ai
du sang aujourd'hui. Car d'un pôle à l'autre pôle,
ouvre l'âge à deux paroles. Jesus.