WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.300 --> 00:00:04.800 You would pray with me Lord as we open up your Word and we talked 2 00:00:04.800 --> 00:00:05.800 about your message. 3 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:10.000 And what you have proclaimed? 4 00:00:11.200 --> 00:00:15.400 Just pray Lord that you would you would be honored that you would be 5 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:19.600 glorified and our hearts and our minds would be 6 00:00:20.900 --> 00:00:21.700 focused 7 00:00:24.900 --> 00:00:27.100 on you our Lord and our King in your name. 8 00:00:27.100 --> 00:00:27.500 Amen. 9 00:00:29.200 --> 00:00:33.800 So this morning I am going to be focusing on one phrase out of our 10 00:00:33.800 --> 00:00:38.400 passage and I think it's a beautiful summary of the message of Jesus. 11 00:00:38.400 --> 00:00:41.900 It simply is I love how this actually goes. 12 00:00:41.900 --> 00:00:47.600 It says and from then on Jesus began to preach these this simple thing 13 00:00:47.600 --> 00:00:53.700 repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near. So Matthew sums up all of 14 00:00:53.700 --> 00:00:58.200 Jesus Proclamation and his message in this one phrase. 15 00:00:58.200 --> 00:01:00.800 And when that be nice if we could some up some of our messages and 16 00:01:00.800 --> 00:01:09.500 just one for phrase. Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near and my goal 17 00:01:09.500 --> 00:01:12.100 this morning is to impress upon us. 18 00:01:13.100 --> 00:01:18.700 The weight and the wonder of that teaching the weight and the wonder. 19 00:01:18.700 --> 00:01:22.900 So first the weight that with the word repent really outside of church 20 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:26.300 circles and let's be honest a slim few church circles. 21 00:01:26.300 --> 00:01:28.900 The word repent is not very common our culture anymore. 22 00:01:28.900 --> 00:01:35.600 And it it's unfortunate that it's not because it carries it carries 23 00:01:35.600 --> 00:01:37.600 a weightiness with it. 24 00:01:37.600 --> 00:01:41.900 And that weightiness one of the aspects of that as it helps us to 25 00:01:41.900 --> 00:01:48.100 recognize that an offense has occurred repentance follows an offense 26 00:01:48.100 --> 00:01:52.000 like there and we're not always good at recognizing the weight of 27 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:52.500 offense. 28 00:01:52.500 --> 00:01:57.000 So so let me give an example on let's just say this morning on our way 29 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.800 in Doctor Utech and I came came driving in and we got it. 30 00:02:00.800 --> 00:02:04.000 Let's just say hypothetically we got a little lost and we we 31 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:10.699 accidentally scraped up our car against Professor Schmitt's car. 32 00:02:10.699 --> 00:02:12.200 Well let say that happened. 33 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:14.100 Hypothetically you can check later. 34 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:21.400 And I'm confessing to you now that Doctor Utech did that. 35 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:26.000 And as I say that it. 36 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:26.700 I'm so sorry. 37 00:02:26.700 --> 00:02:29.400 We are so sorry we scratched up your car. 38 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:33.300 What is the what what is the typical American response to that? 39 00:02:33.300 --> 00:02:34.300 I am so so so sorry. 40 00:02:35.600 --> 00:02:43.500 It's okay, but isn't that interesting because it's not okay. Right, in our 41 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:43.900 culture 42 00:02:43.900 --> 00:02:49.100 we often minimize the weight of an offense but in so doing we also 43 00:02:49.100 --> 00:02:54.300 minimize the weight of forgiveness. I mean real forgiveness comes from 44 00:02:54.300 --> 00:02:55.900 recognizing a real offense. 45 00:02:55.900 --> 00:02:58.100 Yes, it is 46 00:02:58.100 --> 00:03:00.100 it is a big deal that you scratched up, 47 00:03:00.100 --> 00:03:05.300 but that's not okay and I forgive you that's real forgiveness. 48 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:11.600 So when we pull the weight out of repentance of recognizing the weight 49 00:03:11.600 --> 00:03:15.400 of our sin, we're actually missing something profound. 50 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:19.100 There is a weightiness to that. 51 00:03:20.200 --> 00:03:25.900 Repent also and you all I'm sure know this in Greek and Hebrew the 52 00:03:25.900 --> 00:03:30.100 word repent carries with it this idea of movement and especially in 53 00:03:30.100 --> 00:03:34.600 Hebrew to chuva it is like literally like turn around to turn a 54 00:03:34.600 --> 00:03:40.600 different direction and in here, I think we find some of the wonder of 55 00:03:40.600 --> 00:03:41.400 repentance. 56 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:47.800 So if we understand the weight often times with repentance we focus on sin side of it. 57 00:03:47.800 --> 00:03:53.800 The the the weightiness of our greed our lust of the weightiness of our 58 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:54.200 sin. 59 00:03:54.200 --> 00:03:58.100 But really if you think about repentance, it's not just what you turn 60 00:03:58.100 --> 00:04:03.200 away from it also has the aspect of what you turn towards. 61 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:09.200 So with repentance there should actually be a wonder because what 62 00:04:09.200 --> 00:04:12.500 we're turning towards is and it's right here in the passage in the 63 00:04:12.500 --> 00:04:19.600 proclamation of Jesus repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near is here 64 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:24.200 and the kingdom of heaven here means that the King has arrived. So 65 00:04:24.200 --> 00:04:29.200 really if we understand the weight of repentance is recognized in the 66 00:04:29.200 --> 00:04:33.800 weight of our sin and turning away from its a turning towards they 67 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:39.200 drawn towards that they moved by the spirit of God towards the 68 00:04:39.200 --> 00:04:44.400 wonderful awesome great king that we have Jesus. 69 00:04:46.700 --> 00:04:49.800 And it is really interesting at least a me. 70 00:04:49.800 --> 00:04:53.600 How often we take for granted some of the most wonderful things in 71 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:57.000 life that we we just really do when we get used to it. 72 00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.500 we just kind of forget how amazing it is. 73 00:04:59.500 --> 00:05:02.100 Like, I'm sure maybe this will happen to you today at some point 74 00:05:02.100 --> 00:05:05.500 because winter is not over yet still got some punches for us, 75 00:05:05.500 --> 00:05:07.400 especially in the north where I'm from. 76 00:05:09.300 --> 00:05:13.600 I'm sure at some point you are going to be sitting in your living room 77 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:17.500 holding a cup of coffee or tea or hot cocoa. 78 00:05:17.500 --> 00:05:22.200 Whatever your drink might be looking out at a really cold day where 79 00:05:22.200 --> 00:05:22.900 the weather's bad 80 00:05:22.900 --> 00:05:24.200 and the drivings bad. 81 00:05:24.200 --> 00:05:27.200 You might you might be finding yourself kind of complaining a little 82 00:05:27.200 --> 00:05:32.200 bit about man winter is just taken its toll and now just think about 83 00:05:32.200 --> 00:05:36.800 that from another perspective holding your cup of hot cocoa in your 84 00:05:36.800 --> 00:05:42.000 pajamas in your warm house while looking out the door and complaining 85 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:43.500 about the weather like a hundred years ago. 86 00:05:43.500 --> 00:05:45.100 This weather came and people died. 87 00:05:46.400 --> 00:05:50.600 Like somehow along the way you were going to forget that we're sitting 88 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:54.500 in a warm comfortable hot cocoa infused place. 89 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:57.400 Like we miss some of the wonder. 90 00:05:58.400 --> 00:05:59.700 Hey, man with Jesus 91 00:05:59.700 --> 00:06:07.500 there is so much wonder to be had. He came he lived a perfect life and 92 00:06:07.500 --> 00:06:09.500 have to do either even have to come at all. 93 00:06:09.500 --> 00:06:11.600 He gave his life on the cross. 94 00:06:11.600 --> 00:06:13.000 He rose from the dead. 95 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:14.700 That's rather significant. 96 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:21.400 And I wonder how often we take the wonder minute out and we missed the 97 00:06:21.400 --> 00:06:29.200 wonder the amazing the power of that. Repent for our King and he is a 98 00:06:29.200 --> 00:06:31.900 good King is here. A few years ago 99 00:06:31.900 --> 00:06:35.900 a friend who was coming out of the grocery store with her son 100 00:06:35.900 --> 00:06:38.900 and and we don't have Schnucks up in the north. 101 00:06:38.900 --> 00:06:43.000 We have a Byerly's as one of the ones so I came walking out of a 102 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:45.900 Byerly's and if you've ever seen one of those days where the weather 103 00:06:45.900 --> 00:06:49.400 is changing and you can just you just feel it like that. 104 00:06:49.400 --> 00:06:53.400 It was a little like one of those days where I kind of turned green. 105 00:06:53.400 --> 00:06:56.600 Everything is changes a little bit of color and there was this wall a 106 00:06:56.600 --> 00:07:00.700 cloud wall breaking and that they could see the storm coming. 107 00:07:00.700 --> 00:07:04.400 So she walks out the grocery stores has got her son son with her and 108 00:07:04.400 --> 00:07:08.400 her son is nibbling on a candy bar and she looks up and she goes. 109 00:07:08.400 --> 00:07:09.100 Oh my goodness. 110 00:07:09.100 --> 00:07:12.900 It looks like Jesus could be coming back right now. 111 00:07:12.900 --> 00:07:16.600 Just the skies opening up and her son. 112 00:07:16.900 --> 00:07:23.000 Looks up at her looks at the cloud wall looks up at her again. 113 00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:26.400 Because do you think he'll let me finish my candy bar first? 114 00:07:29.500 --> 00:07:36.000 Like how many of us are holding onto a candy bar missing the wonder of 115 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:40.000 Jesus returning like they were waiting for the kingdom to come to King 116 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.200 to come the first time. 117 00:07:41.200 --> 00:07:45.000 We're waiting for Jesus to return the fullness of his promises revealed 118 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:51.900 the fullness of of his glory the fullness of everything and I wonder 119 00:07:51.900 --> 00:07:53.900 we really get the Wonder of that. 120 00:07:54.700 --> 00:07:59.000 I don't know if you've ever had this experience, but that have you 121 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:02.700 ever bought a Christmas present for somebody that you just knew was so 122 00:08:02.700 --> 00:08:06.500 perfect like you knew the moment they opened it they would like they 123 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:10.400 would be blown away because you knew what they wanted even more than 124 00:08:10.400 --> 00:08:11.400 they knew what they wanted. 125 00:08:11.400 --> 00:08:13.900 Like it was just that good of a present. 126 00:08:13.900 --> 00:08:14.400 Have you been there? 127 00:08:14.400 --> 00:08:15.500 I know we don't raise our hands here. 128 00:08:15.500 --> 00:08:17.000 But if you could just going to just give me a nod. 129 00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:18.200 All right got a couple of you. 130 00:08:18.200 --> 00:08:22.500 Yeah, like there's something really exciting about sitting by the tree 131 00:08:22.500 --> 00:08:28.100 waiting for that particular present to be unwrapped and sometimes I 132 00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:31.400 wonder if Jesus coming back from his perspective, 133 00:08:31.400 --> 00:08:37.100 is it just like you guys don't even know how amazing this is. You guys 134 00:08:37.100 --> 00:08:41.299 you guys preach about and talk about repent for the Kingdom of Heaven 135 00:08:41.299 --> 00:08:44.500 is here is near the king is coming the king is coming back. 136 00:08:44.500 --> 00:08:46.800 Do we even get on the other side of that? 137 00:08:46.800 --> 00:08:49.500 He's like when you are in this is fully revealed. 138 00:08:49.500 --> 00:08:51.900 Oh my goodness. 139 00:08:51.900 --> 00:08:53.200 This is going to be 140 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:57.700 more than you can imagine in my father's house are many rooms. 141 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:00.600 Like I just all those things I go to prepare a place for you like so 142 00:09:00.600 --> 00:09:03.300 so so exciting. 143 00:09:04.300 --> 00:09:06.700 And so I just I just want to 144 00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:08.600 summarize 145 00:09:11.100 --> 00:09:19.700 and impress upon us the weight and the wonder of these words. Repent 146 00:09:19.700 --> 00:09:22.900 recognize our our sin is great, 147 00:09:22.900 --> 00:09:24.300 it really is. 148 00:09:24.300 --> 00:09:28.800 Let's not minimize it let's recognize the price Jesus paid. 149 00:09:28.800 --> 00:09:36.900 Wow, and the wonderment of who Jesus is so that in repenting we turn 150 00:09:36.900 --> 00:09:44.000 towards the one who was who is who is to come. Amen. Amen. 151 00:09:46.300 --> 00:09:47.100 Thank you Jesus. 152 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:48.600 Thank you Jesus. 153 00:09:48.600 --> 00:09:50.500 Thank you Jesus. Amen.