Repent the Kingdom of heaven is near
Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and the Son Jesus Christ be multiplied unto you all….Amen!
Repent: Throughout History; … there have been this phenomenon of people misquoting Jesus…… even crowds in Israel when discussing what they actually heard Jesus saying with their own ears… they always misquoted Jesus; they misunderstood, misapplied and misused the words of Jesus…, they did the same to what the Bible Truly teaches about the identity and character of Jesus…
My dear Listener, God never change; it is we sinful human beings who keeps changing; God is the same yesterday, today and forever. With this understanding, let me tell you that Jesus preached in the Bible and granted He is to preach today…. Based on the text for the day, what will He preach?
“What Would Jesus Preach?” Will Jesus Preach what He preached before or will He change?
Today, I am going to direct our attention to the shortest sermon in the Bible and we will discover the answer to the question, “What Would Jesus Preach?”
There is a sermon; recorded by the Gospel writer Matthew; in chapters three and four. This sermon was preached by the two greatest preachers in history.
As usual take your Bibles and let’s find out, who these preachers were.
In (Matthew 3:1-2) He wrote: In those days John the Baptizer came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near”
Matthew 3:2 and Matthew 4:17
The shortest sermon ever preached. Isn’t? “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near“
Now, after Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River, tempted by Satan in the desert, Matthew then tells us that, after hearing that John was put in prison, Jesus went back to Galilee, precisely Capernaum, which is Simeon-Peter’s home town.
Matthew wrote in Chapter 4:17: From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near” There’s that same short sermon again.
In our world today… There are endless wrong interpretation and speculations of the Scriptures. So, I ask, Assuming Jesus is to preach to us today; what topic will He preach? “What Would Jesus Preach?”
Friends: I believe Jesus would preach that same message today as He did preached over 2,000 years ago. I don’t know what you think; but I am convinced beyond all doubts that Jesus will preach Repentance; saying“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.
What comes to your mind when you hear that word…REPENT? What image does the word Repent paint for you? Examine yourselves … and you will see your sins!
The following word: Repent, Repentant, Repentance, Penance, Penitent, Penitence, Penitentiary are all related. If someone truly repents, it means that fellow is truly sorry for what he/ she has done or what he/ she has failed to do.
If I am repentant, it means I regret what I have done, I am contrite, I am conscience-stricken, and I am remorseful.
However, do note that, not everyone in prison is regretful. Same way not everyone who confesses evil deed is sorry. Not everyone who says, “I’ll never do it again,” never does it again. Remember; the spirit may be willing, but our human flesh is weak.
True Repentance
If you want to know what true penitent is; then listen to King David’s confession when Nathan the Prophet; showed the mirror in his face… when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed.
You can read more about that in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12… but
Psalm 51:1-5 is the right place in the Bible to see David’s response. Nathan confronted David with the hard truth… and repentant David said,
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”
Friends:
- That is the kind of expression that comes out of a repentant heart. When Jesus preached repentance, I believe this is the kind of response He expected.
- A very brief and more concise rendition of repentance is found in the story Jesus told about the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee didn’t think he had any sins to confess; so was he was quite pleased with himself and how righteous he thought he was. The tax collector on the other hand, humbled himself and said, in (Luke 18:13). “God, have mercy on me, a sinner“.
Our Culture
In our hyper-broad-based culture, where everything is relative; most especially now that LGBT ideology is ruling the world, even Ghana is being coaxed to accept Comprehensive Sexual Education for financial support. Preaching of repentance is not an easy thing to do.
Friends: It was neither easy in the days of Noah, Moses, Isaiah, or Jesus. Preaching of repentance cost John the Baptizer, his head.
Jesus’ message of repentance annoyed the religious leaders of His days that they plotted to execute Him under the Romans Government.
True repentance is not about compromising and negotiating. Repentance is about coming clean; confessing your sins, making things right, and moving in the opposite direction. Repentance is an about turn. To repent means to “do 180 degrees turn.”
Turning away from
The word repentance; literally means a complete change of mind, a complete change of heart. Repentance is best defined as: “Being sorry enough to stop what you’re doing.”
So far repent is only one part of the shortest sermon ever preached. It continues with the words, “…the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Friends: According to the Bible, the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are one and the same. When John the Baptist proclaimed that the “kingdom of God is near,” he was simply announcing that: In Jesus, who he referred to as the Son of God, the kingdom of heaven had now arrived on earth… (ref: John 1:29).
Thanks be to God that the Kingdom of God: is in person, and the person of Jesus Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, the Savior of the world…
In defining His mission Jesus said; He came “to seek and to save the lost.” Yes, Jesus came for you. Jesus came for me. He came for all people, so that believer will have life and have it abundantly… Alleluia
Once upon a time; Jesus was asked when the kingdom of God would come. Actually People have been asking this question ever since.
In response (ref: Luke 17:20-21)… Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you”
My dear ones: The kingdom of God is a matter of the heart. It is spiritual. It is internal. What we believe about Jesus does matter.
Summary
I ask again…given the chance today, What Would Jesus Preach? To help answer; Jesus will preach saying: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
- Please do say the following prayer after me:
- I believe, I am a sinner in need of a Savior.
- I believe Jesus died for me to pay the price for my sins.
- Jesus rose to life and conquered death,
- I believe He will return from heaven and take me home.
- All this He did for me out of His divine and Fatherly love… Amen!
Please do Share this message of Jesus with everyone who believes.
Amen.
May the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding keep our hearts and minds unto Christ Jesus till life everlasting; Hold on to the Faith that In Jesus, the kingdom of heaven is ours. Amen!