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REPENT!

For The Kingdom of Heaven is at Hand

Matt. 3:1-6 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (NIV)

What is the "Kingdom of Heaven?" "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you and you cannot observe it," Jesus said!

Luke 17:20-21 And when he was demanded of them , he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.(KJV)

God established it in Adam and Eve; but they defaulted in their trust. He re-established it after the flood in Abraham, who believed God and obeyed Him!

Rom 4:3 For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.(KJV)

Israel knew what the Kingdom of Heaven was or so they believed. It meant that they were the "Chosen Ones", the children of Abraham for God called Abraham to set up His kingdom on the earth. God had established this kingdom in Abraham; repeated it in Issac and Jacob; showed His grace and protection in Joseph, by sending him on ahead of them into Egypt to prepare food for them. He displayed His power over this world in Moses by bringing Israel out of Egypt with might and great glory with the "Cloud of His Presence," by defeating the Egyptians as he drowned them in the Red Sea. He gave Israel His Law on Sinai, the Law which they served every day of their lives. This Law, which they kissed as it came past them in their synogogues each Sabbath, as they do to this very day! God had honored their labor on the Tabenacle by covering it with His Cloud and talked to their leader "face to face."

He led them for forty years in the wilderness and fed them with angel’s food. He made their clothes last all those years; and all their enemies to have no power over them. He, also, gave them the land of their enemies as an inheritence forever! The Israelites felt that they, above all people, knew what the "Kingdom of Heaven" was! God had established it in them! Yet, John warned them that being a child of Abraham was not enough for them to hold on to. They must repent of their sins! He shows that in:

Matt.3:9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham (NIV)

Luke 1:5-20 John was the son of Zackarias, a righteous priest of Israel, whose wife was a decendant of Aaron, who prayed for a son while serving in the Temple. An angel appeared to him by the right side of the Altar of Incense and told him that God had heard and answered his prayer.

John was a Nazarite, chosen from his mother’s womb! He could neither eat grapes nor drink wine. He must not touch a dead body and he must not let a razor touch his head. He was a prophet with the power and spirit of Elijah. John knew that he was not the Messiah; but, only a "voice crying in the wilderness" John was aware what it would cost him to preach the gospel of the kingdom, for he said, "that he must decrease and that Jesus would increase."

John 1:24-28 Now some Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, "Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" "I baptize with water," John replied, "but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.(NIV)

John 3:26-30 They came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan-- the one you testified about-- well, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him." To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ but am sent ahead of him.' The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. (NIV)

The Pharisees were confused because John said that the "Kingdom" was to be established and that they must repent of their sins and be baptized for the remission of those sins. They did not feel that they had sinned because they were careful to keep all of the Law as they understood it!

Matt.3:7-12 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (NIV)

The Pharisees and Sadducees couldn’t understand why he told them to "bring forth fruits worthy of repentence!" What more could they do than they were doing? They kept the Law and honored it above all else! They went to the Temple to pray four times a day instead of once at the evening sacrifice. They tithed their sheep and goats, their bulls and heifers, their grains and seeds of all kinds, even the smallest! They gave their tithes and offerings to the priests, as well as alms, to all those in need. All men knew that they did because they made sure of that! They fasted twice a week! What more did they need to do that they were not doing? And, above all, what did they need to repent of?

Pride!!....Pride in who and what they were!

Israel, particularly the Pharisees, had begun to honor the Law more than the Lawgiver! They obeyed the Law out of necessity instead of Love. They gave to the poor; but they didn’t care for them and couldn’t feel their pain! They did these things out of their abundance and not as a sacrifice! Do we, like they, obey only out of a feeling of obeying the Word; or do we act out of love as He did?

If we only have two coats, would we be willing to share what we have with those who do not have any; or, would we hold on to it in case something happened to the other one? We might give to someone, if they were a close friend of ours or a member of our family. Who knows until we are faced with that question, how we would react? If we only have food enough for our family, do we try to help those who do not have enough for their’s? Do we even try to find out, or do we say, "The Lord will supply all your needs in Christ Jesus?"

Do we not know that we are Jesus’ hands to supply the needs of others, if we can? Do we know that we are not just to quote scripture to them and expect others to help those we choose not to? We are to be like Jesus, giving to others and not just keeping all His blessings ourselves! Are we any better than the Pharisees were in their day? I am afraid that we are not in many ways!

Luke 3:10-14 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely-- be content with your pay."(NIV)

He told the publicans, who were the tax collectors to exact no more than was appointed unto them. He told the soldiers to do violence to no man, nor accuse any falsely, and to be content with their wages. Do we ever have a problem in these matters, especially in the area of our wages? Do we ever get offended because someone new is receiving the same wages as we are, who have been on the job for years? I have! How we need to remember Jesus’ words to us about contentment!

The people wondered if John was the Messiah; but he told them plainly that he was not! But in verses 15 and 16 he says that Messiah is coming soon and his fan is in his hand. He will gather the wheat into His garner but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable!

Luke 3:15-17 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (NIV)

Isa. 40:10-11 Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shephard: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. (KJV)

Jesus came to John to be baptized in the Jordan. John tried to stop him because he felt that Jesus should baptize him instead!

Matt.3:12-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?" Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."(NIV)

John immediately recognized him as the Messiah and told his deciples to follow Jesus

John 1:29-34 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is the one I meant when I said, 'A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel."

Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.(NIV)

John 1:35-37 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.(NIV)

JESUS CAME! Receive Him!

Jesus is coming! Are you ready?

Do you have know or unknown and unconfessed sins in your life?

Are you loving others and working for Him each and every day?

Are you looking for His coming or will it catch you unaware?

REPENT, FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND!!