Repent and Believe

Can you imagine what it would be like to receive news that you had a life-threatening disease?  Maybe you, a close family member, or a friend has been in an accident or has gotten news that they had a terminal illness.  Hearing that bad news would make our hearts sink with hopelessness.  What if at some point after this news you got news that there was treatment or there was the possibility of a cure?  Hearing that good news would make our hearts leap with joy!  What if you or someone you loved were in an accident or had a life-threatening disease and there was treatment or a cure, but no one told you about it?  That would be unimaginably cruel.  If someone had treatment or a cure in a life-threatening situation, they would do anything to make sure the one who needed it heard the news.  And that is exactly why Jesus came . . .

READ:  Luke 4:42-44

Jesus came to preach the GOOD NEWS of the Kingdom!  The reason Jesus Christ was sent to the earth was to proclaim the “good news of the Kingdom of God”.  Good news about Himself, good news about who He was, and good news about what He came to do!  Good news for anyone and everyone who would respond to His message.  How are we to respond to the good news of the Kingdom?

The Kingdom is good news we respond to with REPENTANCE (Mk. 1:15; Mt. 4:17) – Have you ever changed your mind about something?  Changing our mind is hard.  Changing our mind requires admitting that we were wrong.  REPENTANCE is a complete change of MIND or ATTITUDE about something.  I thought A before, but now I think B.  What I think and feel now is different from what I thought and felt before.  In Luke 5:32 Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” In order to be a part of the Kingdom we must make a radical change of mind about our sin.  We must agree that sin is a spiritually life-threatening disease (Rom. 6:23).  We must agree with the God’s standard of what is sin.  We must agree to turn away from sin in the future (Rom. 6:11).  Repentance is more than feeling sorry, it is a decision to turn from our sinful rebellion and turn toward God’s complete rule and reign in our lives.  When we do Jesus said in Luke 15:7, “there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

The Kingdom is good news we respond to with BELIEF (Mk. 1:15) – There are a lot of truths that I am 100% convinced of.  I believe that the sky is blue.  I believe that the sun is hot.  I believe that gravity keeps me from floating off into space.  BELIEF is CONFIDENT TRUST (being convinced) that something is TRUE.  In order to be a part of the Kingdom we must confidently trust in who Jesus Christ is and what He has done.  One of the oldest statements of Christian belief is the “Old Roman Creed”, in use in the 2nd century, which says, “I believe in Christ Jesus (God’s) only Son, our Lord, who was born from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, who under Pontius Pilate was crucified and buried, on the third day rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, whence he will come to judge the living and the dead.”  Jesus said in John 3:36 that, “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.”  It’s that simple, we must be genuinely convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus Christ is God’s Son and that His death on the cross was payment for our sins.  We will never experience the Kingdom unless we are confident that this is true.

CONCLUSION
If you had a life-threatening disease and someone shared the cure with you, would you reject it?  I don’t think so.  In order to become a member of the Kingdom of God we must respond by receiving it with REPENTANCE and BELIEF!  We need to change our minds about our sin and confidently trust that Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin.  This message is the good news!  This message is the purpose for which Jesus came.  Our response to this message results in forgiveness and salvation.  Repentance and belief are not one time decisions, but attitudes and beliefs people of the Kingdom are to live by each and every day.  Have you repented of your sin and are you completely trusting in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for you?

Forgiving King

Creditors want to settle accounts.  I recently had some work done on our house that cost $600.  It had only been about 2 weeks since the work was done, but on Monday I got a call from the company and they politely reminded me of the debt I owed.  I payed the bill, but if I had waited 30 days, or 60 days, or if it had been an amount that I was unable to pay, they would have eventually turned me in to a collection agency and required me to pay them what I owed.  Those who do work or lend money, expect to be repaid and settle accounts with their customers.  How does God handle His account with us?

READ:  Matthew 18:21-35

The currency that we relate to God with is our love and obedience.  When we are obedient (righteous), our relational account balance with God is positive.  When we are disobedient (sinful), our relational account balance with God is negative.  According to Romans 3:10-12, we are all constantly making withdrawls from our account with God, “none is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no on seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” From the day we are born, we are accumulating an immense debt of sin toward God.  And yet, God the King has limitless FORGIVENESS toward sinners who ask for MERCY!  To what extent does God mercifully forgive us of our sin?

God mercifully forgives us of a DEBT we could NEVER repay (Mt. 18:24-27) – A single talent in this time was valued at 6,000 drachmas, the equivalent of about 20 years wages.  In modern terms, if a laborer earns $15 per hour, at 2,000 hours per year he would earn $30,000 per year, a single talent would equal $600,000.   Therefore, “ten thousand talents” represents an incalculable debt of approximately $6 billion dollars!  The debt of sin we owe to God is astronomical and not anything we should ever imagine being able to pay back.   

God mercifully forgives us of MORE than we even know to ask for (Mt. 18:26) – In spite of the servant’s unpayable debt, he does not ask for forgiveness, he asks for “patience”.  He mistakenly thought what he needed was more time to “pay everything” he owed to the king.  The king knew that being repaid was impossible, so instead of giving him patience, he “released” and “forgave” him of the debt.  If we could really understand the amount of debt our sin creates between us and God we would be shocked.  It is foolishness to think that we could ever repay our debt of sin to God.  To think that we could ever do enough to make up for our sin against God is absurd.  We are at the mercy of a great King, and the good news is that He mercifully forgives!

Our willingness to extend MERCY and FORGIVENESS to OTHERS reveals whether or not we have truly received God’s merciful forgiveness in our own lives (Mt. 18:21-22, 32-35) – A hundred denarii in this time was equivalent to 100 days wages.  In modern terms about $12,000.  This is still a large amount, but miniscule compared to the debt the servant owed the king.  In the sermon on the mount in Mt. 6:14-15 Jesus says, “if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”  Being released and forgiven of such a large debt by God should create within us the ability to release and forgive others of the tiny offenses done to us by others.  If we find it impossible or difficult to release or forgive others of sin against us, we may need to ask ourselves whether or not we have truly experienced the merciful forgiveness that God offers to all those who ask for it.

CONCLUSION

Forgiveness of sin is the greatest part of being in God’s Kingdom. Colossians 2:13-14 says, “(we) who were dead in (our) trespasses and the uncircumcision of (our) flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside by nailing it to the cross.”  God has done more than just release and forgive us of what we owe, Jesus Christ paid our debt with His own life!  Have you experienced the cancellation of the record of your debt of sin by believing in Jesus’ death on the cross for you?

Generous King

What am I going to get paid?  I’m sure that’s a question that I asked a lot as a kid.  Whether it’s mowing the lawn, cleaning our room, or getting a babysitting job, we want to know the wage we are going to get paid for our labor.   Before we put in time or energy into work, we negotiate what we feel is fair to receive in return.  We may get to a point where we are mature enough not to ask the question out loud, but that does not hide the fact that the question is still going through our mind.  We selfishly want to receive what we deserve for the work that we do!

READ:  Matthew 20:1-16

A denarius in this time was the common amount of one day’s wage.  The typical work day was 6:00am (zero hour) to 6:00pm (twelfth hour).  In this parable, the master hired laborers for his vineyard in 3 hour intervals.  Those hired at 6:00am worked for 12 hours and those hired at 5:00pm worked for 1 hour.  The controversial element in the parable is that each worker received the same wage for the day.  And not unlike any of us, those who worked the longest and the hardest “grumbled” at unfairness of their wage.

What is controversial to those who are comparing themselves to others is good news to those who are simply glad to do the work.  Whether we realize it or not, it is good news that God does not give us what we deserve.  If God gave us what we deserve, none of us would want to receive the wage we have earned!  The wage we receive for laboring in God’s Kingdom is a pure gift of His goodness and grace.  In fact, when we labor for the Kingdom, God gives us much MORE than we could ever earn or deserve.  Those who WORK in the Kingdom without expectation of what they will receive in return will be GENEROUSLY rewarded by God the King!  How does God determine the wages for our labor in His Kingdom?

God generously gives to each and every one of us what is RIGHT (Mt. 20:4) – Being a part of God’s Kingdom involves work.  When we put faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation, God “hires” us to labor on behalf of His Kingdom.  We are laboring as fishers’ of men to make disciples.  Our labor for the Kingdom is not just a “side job”, it is to be our life’s work.  We can be confident that the reward we will receive for our work will be sufficient.  We will not be lacking.  We can fully trust God that He will give us what is “right” for any amount time and effort we invest in His Kingdom.  By selfishly demanding what we think we deserve for our time and effort we miss out on the tremendous wage God wants to give.

God CHOOSES to give, not based on what we DESERVE, but on His GENEROSITY (Mt. 20:14-15) – God determines wages for His laborers very differently from anything we could ever understand.  God does not measure our contribution to the kingdom by comparing it with the accomplishments or sacrifices of anyone else.  The wages God gives to His laborers is based solely on His gracious “choice” to be “generous”!  We need to realize how amazing it is that God does not choose to pay us a wage based on what we deserve.  In fact, the good news for us is that God chooses to give us so much MORE than we could ever earn or deserve.  We should be careful not to compare our labor for God’s Kingdom to someone else.  Comparing ourselves to others will cause us to grumble about what we receive, and worse, to falsely believe that God has wronged us somehow.  This selfish labor will earn us last place in God’s Kingdom.  In contrast, we should selflessly labor for God knowing that He will graciously give us above and beyond anything we could ever earn or deserve.

CONCLUSION
Do you call yourself a Christian or are you laboring in God’s Kingdom with any motive of what you will receive in return?  Colossians 3:23-24 says, “whatever you do, work heartily for the Lord and not for men, know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.”  Knowing the generous character of God we are free to serve Him with everything we’ve got and without comparison because we know God will  generously give us what is right, which is much more than we deserve!

Just King

I hate weeds.  Weeds wreak havoc and ruin a beautiful yard if not eliminated.  I made an effort to eliminate some weeds in my yard a few weeks ago by purchasing what I THOUGHT was a chemical which would only kill weeds.  Turns out, after zig zagging around my yard spraying weeds, that I also killed every inch of grass along with the weeds.  Now my yard has several large zig zag patterns of dead weeds . . . and grass.  From this experience I learned that when grass and weeds grow right beside one another, you have to be careful how you go about eliminating weeds in case you destroy the grass as well.

Our world is full of “weeds” (evil people).  Read the news on any given day and we are confronted with the harsh reality of all the evil that exists in the world.  Murder, violence, bullying, stealing, lying, abortion, divorce, . . . these are all examples of evil that happens in our world and in our own lives every day.  With all these weeds of evil growing everywhere, we might struggle at times wondering, “where is God?”, “why does He allow such evil?”, or “is He powerless to do anything about it?”  Be assured, God hates weeds more than we do, and He has plans to get rid of them, just not in the way or in the time frame that you might expect.

READ:  Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

God the King is the MAKER and OWNER of this world and He will make sure that everyone receives JUSTICE!  According to Matthew 13:24 and 38 the world in which good and evil exist is “HIS”.  That one little possessive pronoun communicates that God is the maker and therefore the owner of the world that you and I enjoy and live in every day.  At the same time, there is a real enemy that exists in God’s world (the devil), but make no mistake, He is fully in charge of His world and His Kingdom.  How do we make sense of our experience in the world?

God allows GOOD and EVIL to exist TOGETHER beside one another in His world (Mt. 13:25-26, 30, 38) – We should not be surprised at evil in our world.  We should not be shocked when we hear about bad things that happen.  We should not become discouraged when we feel like we are surrounded on all sides by wickedness.  Our King is allowing good and evil would exist side by side in this world.  Matthew 5:45 says God, “makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.”  The sun and rain God provides which allows good wheat to grow is the same environment which allows evil weeds to grow as well.  The frustrating part is that evil weeds are right next to us and they impact our personal lives.  It is our personal experience with evil that creates within us a desire for justice!  We want someone to eliminate the evil and make things right.  There is good news for all of us who want justice in this world!

In God’s Kingdom, everyone will receive their just PUNISHMENT or REWARD (Mt. 13:30, 39b-43) – There are consequences for everything in life.  When we do what is good, good things happen to us.  When we do what is evil, bad things happen.  The consequence of being a child of the evil one is being gathered outside the Kingdom and thrown into a “fiery furnace.  In a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”  The consequence of being a child of the Kingdom is being gathered inside the Kingdom and welcomed into the “barn” of God’s eternal presence.  We may see and experience many injustices in this life that seem to go without consequences, but we can be sure of this, no one who will escape God’s justice.

CONCLUSION
An important question to ask is, “am I wheat or am I a weed?”  Am I a son of the kingdom or a son of the evil one?  Make no mistake, God will eternally punish or reward us depending on which one we are.  Why doesn’t God just eliminate weeds?  2 Peter 3:9 says that God is, “patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”   God isn’t eliminating weeds just yet, because He is patiently waiting to transform them into wheat!  Being transformed from a weed into wheat involves repenting of the evil we have done and putting faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.  Is it you God is patiently waiting for to repent?

Kingdom Contradiction

Anthony Webb was a contradiction. "Spud", as he was nicknamed, is a retired professional basketball player who is known for winning the NBA slam dunk contest in 1986.  Despite being one of the shortest players in NBA history at 5’7” tall, “Spud” defeated his 6’8” teammate and defending dunk champion Dominique Wilkins, by soaring nearly 4 feet in the air on each of his dunk attempts.  He defeated Wilkins with two perfect 50-point scores in the final round.  To many, “Spud’s” small stature contradicted the amazing things he was able to do on the basketball court!

The Kingdom of heaven is a contradiction.  On the surface it appears small, unimpressive, unnoticeable, and to many completely invisible.  Jesus Christ, who came to establish God’s Kingdom is a contradiction Himself.  Isaiah 53:2 says about Jesus that, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”  He was born in poverty in a manger in Bethlehem.  He lived a simple life as a carpenter.  His closest companions were fisherman, sinners, and tax collectors.  During His ministry He served the unwanted and outcasts. His life ended suffering the punishment of a criminal on the cross.  There was nothing outwardly impressive about Jesus, and yet, He is undoubtedly the single most influential person in the history of the world.

READ:  Matthew 13:31-32

Just like Jesus, the KINGDOM of GOD produces UNEXPECTED results!  The people of Israel were not expecting an insignificant beginning to the Kingdom of God.  The Jews expected a Messiah to come who would establish a powerful earthly kingdom.  Comparing the Kingdom of heaven to a tiny, insignificant seed would have been a disgrace, bringing confusion and disbelief to Jesus’ listeners.

God’s Kingdom seems SMALL and INSIGNIFICANT (Mt. 13:31-32a) – A single mustard seed is usually about 1 to 2 millimeters in diameter and are colored from yellowish white to black.  It takes hundreds of mustard seeds to weigh a single ounce.  Although the mustard seed is not the smallest seed in existence, it was the smallest seed of all agricultural plants in Israel.  Jesus used the, “smallest of all seeds” to show that God’s Kingdom seems miniscule, hardly noticeable, and unimpressive.  In our culture, characteristics like humility and servanthood are considered small and insignificant.  In God’s Kingdom, these small and insignificant acts possess all the potential God needs to produce unexpected results.  We must have faith and trust in God that He will use these characteristics in our lives to make a big difference in His Kingdom and in eternity.

God’s Kingdom grows into something LARGE and SUBSTANTIAL (Mt. 13:32b) – A tiny mustard seed planted in the ground eventually grows to the height of a small tree approximately 8-12 feet.  Large enough that a bird can make a nest in its branches.  It is miraculous that something so small can turn into something, “larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree.”  In this life, along-side all other cultural ideologies, philosophies, and religions, God’s Kingdom won’t appear impressive, but will eventually be revealed in eternity to be larger and surpass them all.  Don’t be deceived by other cultural ways of life that seem to offer more than the Kingdom of God.  What they have to offer is false and empty of true meaning and significance.  By sowing small seeds of the Kingdom with our lives, God will produce the unexpected results of an enormous spiritual harvest.

CONCLUSION
Jesus Christ is like a mustard seed.  His life may have seemed small and insignificant, but after He died and was buried in the ground, He resurrected and grew to reveal Himself as God.  He is “big enough” to carry our burdens.  He is “big enough” to carry our hurts and pain.  And ultimately, He is “big enough” to carry all of our sin.  Just like the birds can make their home in the branches of a mustard plant, we can make our eternal home in the person of Jesus Christ.  Is Jesus Christ small and insignificant or large and substantial in your life?

Kingdom Valuation

What is it that you treasure?  What is it that is of greatest value to you?  For some of us, what we treasure most is a physical possession (eg video game system, iPod, car, etc).  For others, what we treasure most is a relationship (eg, popularity, boyfriend, girlfriend).  For some, what we treasure most is an activity or accomplishment (eg, football player, band member, etc).  Our culture often dictates what we treasure.  If we don’t value the things that our culture values we are made to feel strange, different, or weird.  This unwanted pressure makes us quick to treasure and value what our culture treasures and values.

And yet, we cannot blame our culture, we treasure or value whatever is most important in our own selfish and sinful hearts.  Imagine a throne in our hearts and whatever or whoever sits on that throne rules and reigns in our life.  Whatever or whoever that is gets the most and the best of our time, money, and attention.  Whether we realize it or not, we choose what or who sits on the throne in our heart.  Because it is extremely important what or who sits on the throne of our heart we must ask, “What does God consider treasure or valuable?”

READ:  Matthew 13:44-46

In this parable, Jesus reveals to us something that is truly worthy of being the highest treasure and of greatest value in our lives.  The KINGDOM of GOD is to be the greatest treasure in our lives!  What is the Kingdom?  When Jesus began His ministry He immediately started talking about a Kingdom.  In Matthew 4:17 Jesus said, “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”  The Kingdom Jesus is referring to is God’s RULE and REIGN in our lives.  He was talking about Himself sitting on the throne of our hearts, because we have placed Him there, and executing His perfect will.

It was this Kingdom that Jesus was referring to when He taught His disciples to pray in Matthew 5:10 that His, “(Father’s) Kingdom come, and (His) will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”  Jesus wants us to be a part of His Kingdom culture.  A culture where God’s rule and reign is the highest treasure and the greatest value in EVERY aspect of our daily lives.  How valuable is God’s Kingdom?  What is it worth?

God’s Kingdom is worth EVERYTHING that we possess (Mt. 13:44, 46) – As a teenager my first big purchase was a $300 stereo system.  I was willing to part with a large amount of my hard earned money because I valued music.  It was a tough decision, but I remember thinking it was worth it!  In trying explain to those who were listening to Him about how valuable the Kingdom is, Jesus said it was worth selling, “ALL that (they) had”.  Not some, not most, ALL, EVERYTHING!  According to Jesus (the creator of all that there is to enjoy), there is nothing in this life valuable enough that is worth holding onto if it means losing out on possessing the Kingdom.  We can confidently, and without hesitation, invest everything in the Kingdom of God because it is worth it.  

God’s Kingdom is our source of inexpressible JOY (Mt. 13:44) – What would it mean to hit the “jackpot of joy” in your life?  Being the MVP of the World Series or the Super Bowl?  Being in a relationship with the perfect guy or the perfect girl?  Many of the ways that we might answer that question, what we are really talking about, is happiness and not joy.  Happiness is temporary and joy is eternal.  When God’s Kingdom is our treasure and of greatest value in our lives we experience an unexplainable, unfading, eternal joy that cannot be taken away.  The only way to experience true lasting joy is if God’s Kingdom is our treasure and of greatest value to us.

CONCLUSION

Missionary Jim Elliott said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”  There is nothing in this life that is worth holding onto if it means missing out on being a part of God’s Kingdom.  According to Jesus Christ, giving up anything and everything this world has to offer in order to possess God’s Kingdom is the richest and most valuable way you can invest your life!  Have you discovered the treasure of God’s Kingdom in your life?  Is God’s Kingdom the most valuable thing that you possess?  

Guarding Our Heart

The new movie “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is about a team of super heroes who are defending the earth from a highly advanced artificial intelligence named Ultron and his robot armies who are out to exterminate the human race.  In the final climactic scene of the movie, all 8 Avengers are in a united explosive effort to prevent Ultron from accessing a detonator that would release a meteor to earth and destroy humanity.  The Avengers use all their strength and abilities to valiantly defend the source of what would be the destruction of humanity.

We have an enemy who is making every effort to gain access to our heart and destroy us.  1 Peter 5:8 says, “be watchful.  (Our) adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him”.  Satan’s point of attack in our lives is our heart.  If Satan’s target is our heart then what are we supposed to do?

READ: Proverbs 4:23

Since we have an ENEMY who wants to DESTROY us, our heart must be valiantly DEFENDED!  Just like the Avengers put every effort into defending the detonator from their enemy, we must put every effort into defending our heart from our enemy.  The words “keep” and “vigilance” combine to communicate the idea of being a watchman on guard defending a fortress against an enemy.  This is no casual security guard or a mall cop, but a soldier at war. What are some ways Satan tries to access our heart that we must defend?

We must valiantly defend our heart with our EARS (Proverbs 17:4) – Do you remember hearing a cuss word for the first time?  It’s always a bit unnerving when your child comes home from school and tells you about what they “heard” at school whether a cuss word, a crude joke, or a lie.  It’s unnerving because any evil that we hear has the potential of taking root in our heart.  Why?  Because hearing about wickedness and mischief awakens our sin nature.  According to Proverbs 17:4, an evildoer “listens” to wickedness and a liar “gives ear” to a mischievous tongue.  Our sin nature’s ears are “tuned in” to evil.  Our choices of what we allow our ears to hear in music, conversation, and media is one way to defend our hearts from Satan’s attack. When we choose to hit the “mute” button on wickedness and evil the sin nature of our heart is deafened.

We must valiantly defend our heart with our EYES (Ps 101:3) – The word “worthless” means wicked or morally objectionable.  We are bombarded by “worthless” images in our world today.  Our culture gives us unlimited access to graphic violent, crude, sexual, and perverted visual content.  Psalm 101:3 says that we must choose to “blind” ourselves to anything “worthless” by not intentionally putting anything wicked or evil in front of our eyes.  Our choices of what we allow are eyes to look at in magazines, movies, and internet sites is another way to defend our hearts from Satan’s attack.

We must valiantly defend our heart with our MIND (Phil 4:8; 2 Cor. 10:5) – “Get your mind out of the gutter”.  That’s a phrase that we hear when our thinking is evil or wicked.  There are simply thoughts we must not allow to enter or stay in our minds.  Philippians 4:8 provides us with a standard for what we should allow to enter into and stay in our minds, “whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellence, or worthy of praise.”  2 Cor. 10:5 tells us what to do with any other wandering thought that enters into our mind, we are to, “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”  Any and every thought that wanders through our mind must captured and brought (or dragged) into the presence of Christ.  It is Christ, then, who makes the decision as to whether the thought is allowed to stay or go.  If a thought is something that Jesus would want us to think about, keep it, if a thought is not something that Jesus would want us to think about, reject it . . . that way it never has a chance to impact our heart!

CONCLUSION
Are we on watch valiantly defending our heart against Satan?  If not, we are like superheroes who sit idly by and do nothing to defend ourselves against the enemy.  Our hearts need guarding.  If we are not watchful with our ears, our eyes, and our minds, Satan WILL enter unhindered and devour our heart and our entire life with it.  It’s time to be watchful, resist him, and guard the most important part of who we are . . . our heart!