The Kingdom of Heaven

Researcher Christian Smith's book, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, concludes that many young American adults have a faith characterized by "moralistic, therapeutic deism." According to this view of God, if we live good lives and if we're kind to others, then God will provide "therapeutic benefits" to us like self-esteem and happiness. Other than that, God is not involved much in our world.

This view of God has a profound effect on prayer. Smith found that American teens personally prayed frequently; 40 percent prayed daily or more, and only 15 percent said they never prayed. However, their motivation for prayer largely focused on meeting their own needs. Some of the teens interviewed said: "If I ever have a problem, I go pray." "It helps me deal with problems. … it calms me down for the most part." "Praying just makes me feel more secure, like there's something there helping me out." "I would say prayer is an essential part of my success."

But Smith also found that many young Americans' prayers lacked any sense of repentance or adoration. Smith writes, "This is not a religion of repentance from sin." Again, Smith concludes that this "distant God" is "not demanding … because his job is to solve problems and make people feel good. There is nothing here to evoke wonder and admiration."

But is Christianity a religion of repentance. You bet it is. It is through faith and repentance and understanding of the need for repentance that we will see the wonder and admiration of the living Father in heaven.

Matthew 4:12–17 NLT

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

The grass withers the flower fades but the word of our God stands forever.

A Great Light

Repent

The first thing we will look at today is the significance and importance of the ministry of Christ beginning in Galilee. Second, we will see how the light magnifies the glory of the gospel of Jesus and the wonderful gift of repentance.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to continue in delusion and deception in the worship of God, it is the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the scriptures that will cause us to see the great light that will dispel the darkness and bring us into His marvelous light.

I. A Great Light

-A great light has come to the darkness.

A. Matthew is showing us that the arrest of John the Baptist is what prompted Jesus to go to Galilee. There would have been much heat in the areas where John the baptist would be ministering. And with the growing popularity of Christ, in that John wrote that Jesus was even baptizing more than even John at the time, the move would avoid what Hendrickson called a premature crisis.

B. Some would assert that Galilee was governed by Herod as well so what difference would that make. The real issue at hand was not necessarily the heat from Herod but the heat from the religious leaders at the time. John did publically rebuke Herod so it did become a personal beef, but the real direct enemies would have been the religious leaders who John rebuked constantly. The gospel of John shows that Jesus was growing in popularity to the dismay of the religious leaders. The heat accompanying John’s arrest then would cause unrest and a premature crisis. And for the decree of God, there is an appointed time for everything.

C. Jesus stopped off at home first and then Matthew said he went on the Capernum. This would be the setting of most of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee which was a town of about 10,000 people mostly Jewish but resided some Roman officials. Interesting that Capernum would essentially be the hub of Jesus’ ministry and his own hometown would not. We will see why… Jesus makes it clear when he returns to Nazareth.

Matthew 13:57 NLT

And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”

D. Then Matthew sets up the main point of this passage by showing the early land allocations given to Zebulon and Naphtali. In the first century, much of these borders did not carry much significance. It was all Roman anyway. But Matthew points out the border to bring a clearer connection to the phenomena of fulfilled prophesy. Another piece to confirm the Bible’s claim that it is the very breath of God. This all happened to fulfill what was declared by Isaiah. Matthew gives us an abbriviated quote of

Isaiah 9:1–2 NLT

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.

E. This is a promise that the Lord had given through Isaiah which is understood to be one of the coming of the Messiah. Again, this is showing us all that not only is Jesus the one the Bible was pointing too, it also shows that the Bible’s prophesies are true and come to pass. Jesus is the Christ and the Bible is the Word of God. We can trust Christ and we can trust the Word of God.

F. And we see the hand of God doing something here that does indeed bring wonder and awe. For centuries this part of the land suffered much political and military aggression by the likes of Assyria who deported many from this land and the planting of others form other lands. This led to a confused and darkened area subject to the corruption of morality and religious practice influenced by much paganism. Confusion in the sense that would be given to the northern kingdoms and the samaritans of the time… false religious influences cause the many to think that they are worshipping God when they are not. The great deception of the Devil. Is this even possible? Shane how can a person worship God and still follow other gods.

2 Kings 17:33 NLT

And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came.

G. The deception. So bad that Galilee was seen as the apitomy of darkness. The people who come from this part of Palestine are described as people sitting in darkness and those sitting in the land of deaths shadow.

Dr. William Hendrickson writes, “Sitting in darkness and in the land of the shadow of death indicates a condition of danger, fear, and hopelessness, a pining away, with no human help in sight.”

H. And here we have the figurative use of the word darkness which in the scriptures is alludes to that of deception. People that are in darkness are seen as those who are deluded and deceived.

Ephesians 4:18 NLT

Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.

2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT

Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

I. And the delusion and deception in our day and age continues in great degree. It is absolutely phenomenal just what is out there and how fast it is spreading. One of the huge deceptions that is common in our land. So common place that we just don’t spot it anymore. It is the Gallelian belief that we worship the living Christ but actually do not. We see it with politicians, we see it with celebrities, we see it with musicians, we see it with preachers even. Many many people deluded by this. A adult video tik tok OF star who is worth now 23 mil for doing these videos believe that it is God’s will and God is pleased that she got all this for what she did. So many still practice unrepentant sin in life and still believe that they have life and life more abundant just because they go to church. One politician who is known for great immorality believes that he is a christian with life in Christ simply because he said the sinners prayer and prays to him everyday. Does he not know…

Proverbs 28:9 NLT

God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.

J. Do we not know that how we worship God is as important as that we worship God. Nadab and Abihu was instructed to offer the fire of inscence to the Lord, but they did not offer the right kind. Instead they offered strange fire and they were killed by the living God. They Israelites were worshipping the God that freed them from Egypt with the golden calf. It was not the wrong God but they worshipped the right God the wrong way and was judged. Let us not be deceived. But Shane how are we supposed to know … we know because of the great light.

K. The promise of God was to bring a great light to what was known as the darkest place in the land. By the grace and mercy of God did He do the most unexpected thing. He brought the light into the darkest of regins. And why not… it was a great light that He brought. No kind of darkness no matter how great could eclipse the brilliance. I want you to see how great this is… I’m sending my king to the greatest of Goliaths. To the despised, sorely afflicted, and largely ignorant masses of Galilee, the deluded, the deceived, a mixed Gentile-Jewish population, did he send his Son. It was in and around Galilee that Jesus spent most of his incarnate life on earth.

L. Jesus grew up here. Here also that he traveled from village to village on his errands and missions of mercy, his mission to bring comfort and healing, and above all else seeking to save the lost. Here it was that he walked the shores and preached to the crowds. It was in this general region that he gathered around him a band of disciples. It was from this northern portion of Palestine that his words of life and life more abundant, beauty of salvation, of admonition and consolation, were carried far and wide. Light did indeed come into the darkness.

II. Repent

-The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

A. Light did indeed come into the darkness but something extraordinary happened.

John 3:19 NLT

And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.

B. This is the insanity of sin. It actually cause us to prefer the darkness rather than the light. It causes us to say ignorance is bliss. We think that it is ok for us to just cover our eyes and the monsters will go away. The light is great, but the sin is great to. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous no not one. There is no one on earth who always does good and never sins. We are all by nature children of the devil.

C. Sin even tire to delude us into believe that there will be no punishment for us in the future. The delusion tries to get us to believe that there is no judgement coming for us. There delision tries to convince us that there is no hell. The delision tries to convince us that even if there is a hell you are not going there. The wages of sin is death. And the wrath of God will be manifest in hell. Seperation with the covenantal love of the God yet face to face with His wrath. The Bible says it is a terrible thing to fall in of the hands of the living God. It is the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth reserved for the devil and his angels.

D. The great light shows us this. The great light shows us the truth and power of the law of God. It shows that the light is great and sin is great to, but that the grace of God is greater. Yup. There is salvation for us today. The truth from the God who cannot lie. The promise of God that is Yes and Amen. The truth is… Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus cane into this world to save sinners.

E. The promises of God continue… Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Confess your sins and he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Acts 26:17–18 NLT

And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’