Sunday Sermon Matthew 3:1-6 (2)
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There will be a business meeting following to church to approve the budget for this year.
Evening of Worship Thursday February 24 at 6:30pm.
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning!
We are glad that you have joined us to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, one verse at at time, one book at a time.
We have come as far as Matthew 3, so lets pick up there:
Read Matthew 3:1-6
Read Matthew 3:1-6
Prayer
Prayer
Lord Heavenly Father, thank you for this day! A day that we set aside to gather corporately to worship you together. A day that we come to hear from your sacred Word. Your Word says over and over let him who has ears, hear what the Spirit is saying to the church. So please turn our hearts to you so that we can hear and do what you desire for us all. Lord continue ministering to Janice Young and her family with the loss of her younger brother David and please God do the same for his wife and kids. Come now Holy Spirit and speak to our hearts, fill us to overflowing.
~IJN we love you amen!~
Review
Review
“Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
Church, this is an absolutely amazing text!
John is greater that Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. He is greater than Noah and King David. He is greater than Paul and Peter. He is greater that Isaiah and Jeremiah and Elijah and Elisha.
There is none greater than John but Jesus, But God himself church!
And you know what is interesting is that John that Baptist was only in the ministry aa very short time, but Jesus said he is the greatest born among women.
His life was short lived as he was beheaded by Herod, at the request Herodias’ daughter in Matthew 14.
What makes a person great?
I think this is simple:
What makes a person great is that they find what is the most important thing in life and they focus on that.
What is most important to you? Where is your focus?
John found what was most important church and his name is Jesus.
John focused on Jesus, he removed the obstacles in his life that impeded his ability to focus, John did not act like everyone else, he was an odd duck, but his focus was so keen that he pointed everyone he came into contact with to Jesus.
John was odd, he did not dress like everyone else, nor did he eat they same diet as everyone for he ate insects church. He reminds me of a groovy hippie, a man that was not typical in anyway.
He was a PK kid, not a pastors kid, but a priest’s kid.
And he decided to not follow the way of the priesthood, but rather be educated in the wilderness of Judea I am sure by the Lord himself.
Great men have but a few minutes to be great!
And the truth be told is that John’s greatness was short lived.
Last week we also took time out to look at John the Baptist in detail and we learned that he is a type of Elijah.
In fact, later today we we learned that he actually dressed like Elijah.
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
It is crucial for us to understand that Matthew is presenting Jesus as King to his readers.
And is so doing, everything in Matthew focuses on this reality, so as we make our way through this Gospel, keep this in the forefront of your mind.
Let’s not forget that between chapter 2 and 3 that 30 years have elapsed.
During those years we know that Jesus lived in Nazareth and became a skilled carpenter we do not have much on these years about Jesus, but we can speculate that he was an amazing child that grew to be the greatest man that ever walked on the face of the earth.
Have you ever thought of the things that Jesus built and how beautiful they must have been? for the very wood he worked with he created!
If Jesus created beautiful things with wood, just think how much beauty he has created in you, and longs to create even more beauty. in your character and life.
After all church, you are fearfully and wonderfully made and created in His image!
What days is Matthew talking about. Well after further study I discovered this text that helps us to know the days:
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
So the days we are talking about here are during the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pilate is the governor of Judea.
And we know that Pontius Pilate was who had Jesus crucified
In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea,
Here we see John presented as the forerunner of Jesus.
He prepared the way for Jesus' arrival.
The whole passage emphasizes this.
In ancient times, it was common when a king was coming to a city to send ahead of him certain servants, certain heralds, and they had two functions. One of the functions was to announce the king was coming. The other function was to prepare the road so that the travel would be easy. So usually the herald would go ahead with the idea of verbalizing the arrival of the king, and also with a coterie of servants who could fix the road. And since roads in those days were subject to all kinds of pitfalls and hazards and, and broken places, and so forth and so on, this was very important that the king not be delayed, that the king not be injured as he traveled because something was not foreseen. And so a herald went to proclaim and to prepare, to announce the king is coming, and to get the road ready for when the king came by.
Now, you'll notice that this was what John did.
It says in verse 1, "He came preaching,"
Preaching-kerusso- this word means to herald, to announce, and to proclaim.
The word came here ( John Came Preaching) is literally used in the Greek to speak of the arriving of an official.
So John is heralding, he is announcing that the King is coming, the King is coming church.
And note, this is his first coming, but there is a second coming.
Are we heralding the gospel and his soon return.
So what was the message that John was announcing?
and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
In Matthew 3, the word repent is mentioned 3xs, here is verse 2 and in verses 8 and 11.
The focus is on repentance. Why? Because the King is Coming , the King is Coming!
The call for repentance is essential to the message of the gospel.
Someone has even called it "the first word of the gospel".
Someone else has said that there is no Good News without repentance.
After Jesus was baptized by John, he was led into the same wilderness that John was baptizing in and then afterwards he was tempted and at the end of this temptation look at how his ministry starts:
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
How about Peter’s message?
Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
How about Paul’s message?
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,
but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
So what is repentance?
Repent- metanoia- v. — to have a change of self (heart and mind) that abandons former dispositions and results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions.
Our English word came from the Latin word "paenitere", which means 'to regret' or 'to feel sorrow'; and so, to "re-pent" meant to think again upon a sin or a past action, and to feel sorrow for it.
It means “to turn around.” It means “to be converted.” It means a change of opinion. A change of purpose. A change of direction. A change of mind. A change of will.
John Broadus says, "Wherever this Greek word is used in the New Testament, the reference is to changing the mind and the purpose from sin to holiness. It implies sorrow for sin, but that's not what it means. It means to turn around.”
It implies sorrow for sin, but that's not what it means. It means to turn around." It is 2 Corinthians 7 that talks about godly repentance, godly sorrow, that turns you around, and that's what John was saying. He wasn't just saying, "I want you to feel sorry for your sin." He was saying, "I want you to change from sin to holiness. You will never have the kingdom. You will never have the King until you turn around." The message really could be better translated, "Get converted. Get converted."
"Repentance" certainly involves a change in the way we think and feel. But it also involves a change in action.
Repentance is essential to having a relationship with Jesus Christ because He is the Savior from sin. Many people seek to come to Jesus and cling to their sins at the same time; but this isn't possible.
We have to "change our mind" about our sin. We have to call our sin what it is. We have to confess it and submit to the forgiveness that Christ purchased for us at the cross. We have to actively turn away from sin in repentance. And change our behaviors church.
For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise.
Church, let us not forget that God had not spoken for 400 years at this point and the first words that he says is Repent!
You know what Repent means in Hebrew?Teshuva
It means to return or come back church.
In Jewish thought, the purpose of repentance is to go through a transformation, not just to be sorrowful church.
Judas was sorrowful for what he had done, Saul had sorrow for what he had done but did not repent!
So we can have sorrow for our sin and not repent.
He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.’ ”
Here we see Matthew quote the radical prophet Isaiah and he is giving us a word picture here church.
It is crucial for us to realize that this text is mentioned in all the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Which should tell us that this text is really important.
So, what is the significance?
When Isaiah spoke this to Israel, he was saying that they were to remove any obstacles from the coming of the Messiah’s path through the repentance of sins.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare 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 brought low; The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
These verses reflect the custom of some eastern monarchs to send heralds before them to clear away obstacles, to straighten crocked roads and valleys, and to make level hills for the monarch arrival church.
An illustration might be when the president of the United States shows up in Portland or Seattle and all the preparations that go into this.
God extended mercy and grace over and over through his prophets and then one day things went silent.
This silence lasted 400 years church and then John the Baptists shows up and speaks for the Lord repent.
There are some of you here today that have not heard God speak for a day, a week, a month, or a year.
Notice that John was in the wilderness, which was actually a desert .
A desert is a place of drought and even famine.
But notice that the text here says prepare the way of the Lord!
John is not saying go out and clear US 12 or I 5, but rather clear the highway to your heart.
Remove any and all obstacles that are stopping you from being sold out for the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Kingdom of Heaven and The kingdom of God are synonymous.
What obstacles do you have in your life? What do you need to repent of ?
God is so loving, even after 400 years of silence, he came to them, as he comes to us today.
That word voice in Hebrew means to call aloud, noise, or even thunder. Therefore, when Isaiah and John spoke this is what a voice that sounded like thunder in the desert.
Church, sometimes God has to get us to the quietness of the wilderness and desert so we can hear his voice. The busyness of life and the voices of this world will and its distractions, and our sin will quiet the voice of God.
John was a radical and I would say somewhat of a hippie.
How would you receive John?
Now John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey.
He dressed like Elijah in 2 Kings and he ate locusts and wild honey.
The locusts would be crushed and cakes would be made of them, while the honey did not come from Andy’s, but rather would be found by search in different places.
‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you. Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you.
Locusts were kosher and John ate them, sorta like caviar, or escargot (snails).
There are actually countries that treat grasshoppers and other insects as a delicacy, in fact, my wife and I seen cooked grasshoppers for sale at a local market here in Milton.
John did not dress like everyone else, nor was his diet like others.
Jesus said, do not worry about what you will eat or what you will wear and John did exactly this.
He lived a humble life.
His focused was not on looking good or eating of the world’s delicacies, but rather on the living God.
His diet and dress made a statement to all who would meet him.
How does ours?
Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
Note that Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went to him.
John did not go to them, the Jews, they came to him.
Sometimes you have to get the man out the city, to get the city out of the man!
Note that John was baptizing in the Jordan and they were confessing their sins.
Baptizing was somewhat foreign to the Jews, however when a gentile wanted to become a Jew they were immersed in water for a cleansing.
The Jews however, but they did practice ritual cleansing in aa Mikvah.
A Mikvah was something like a hot-tub, carved out of stone and there was 5 steps down into the water and there was a water inlet and a water outlet and the water was called living water.
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”
John’s baptism was unto repentance and Jesus’s was one of the Holy Spirit and of fire.
The picture of baptism is one of going down in the water and dying and be raised in the newness of life.
It means an outward sign of an inward grace.
It is a command that we are called to follow church. So if you have never been baptized and the Lord is calling you home or you would like to recommit you life to him. Please reach out to me after service.
Repentance is part of salvation, note that when John was baptizing then they were confessing their sins.
God is speaking to us all church Come Back, repent!
Let us remove all the obstacles from our lives.
Prayer
Prayer
Benediction
Benediction
And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
THE LORD BLESS YOU!
YOUR MISSION STARTS NOW!