In 1956 the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. described the goal of the boycotts he had led to advocate for desegregation. At a victory rally, he said, “The end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the Beloved Community. It is this type of spirit and this type of love that can transform opponents into friends. I think 68 years ago he knew what I was going to preach on today, because I'm after the exact same result… reconcile & redeem
The etymology of “RE" a powerful prefix directly from the Latin means; a going back to its original place, to make new, to undo, to have again “to turn” rem - that
Redeem—to “receive back by paying the obligation"
Today begins with some reflection, rehearsing, reiterating, repetitiveness and redundancy OK I'm done with the re-words
Matt 3:16&17 NLT After his baptism, as Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and settling on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”
"Great joy" because of what he'd done? No! Who he was, his son!
Matt 4:1-4 NLT Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
And the identity Challenge begins…
Jesus should know his identity, the father said who he was… but the enemy attacks anyway
the enemy wants Jesus in a "Performance trap” & you in one too!
Stones/Bread—"Man shall not live on bread…"
Top/Temple—Foot/Stone “You Shall not test the Lord…”
Mountain/kingdoms—bow/worship “worship the Lord and serve only him"
see it? He wants to position Jesus in a place where he serves him…
He does the same with you, for some it's working… and to that I say "Repent" let me explain…
So Jesus has been baptized, tested & tempted Now Jesus has moved to Capernaum
So what’s the first thing he says to begin his ministry?
Still in Matthew 4:17 NIV From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Repent His very 1st word…
I had such a REligious understanding of REpent
to “repent" was meant
to beat me up, tear me up & make me feel undeserving
Where I should fall on my face, and
recognize what a horrible person I was…
The problem? I'd do all that, cry, run to the altar,
confirm my unworthiness & admit I was a dog!
I’d even promise God that I'd never do again, what I just did again — that I promised the last time I repented that I'd never do again…
And that cycle continued without any freedom or breakthrough
Because my understanding was so wrong
So what does "repent" Really mean? Recall the meaning of “RE”?
Turn around, go back, make new & undo
REPENT—met-an-o-eh’-o = often an emotion causing us to think differently, re-consider — to turn & go a different direction…
my emotion? I’d feel horrible replaying my wrong doing never dreaming I was still in right standing
our emotions should be that of grateful & thankful
knowing that are wrong doing didn't take us out of right standing
When Jesus said "repent for the kingdom is near" he was imploring us, to draw near - not pull away
Jesus said "repent" to takeoff off self-performance issues, the enemy & people have put on us
Examine The context here? In God’s Kingdom you don't have to prove, or perform, to validate who you are
if repent was meant for us to beat ourselves up, then why’d Jesus take a beating for us?
What we need to repent of (turn from) is the worthless worm, dead dog mentality…
Repent & be redirected to the thoughts that God has of you
Our father God’s heart to repent is to redirect you, restore you and to reconcile you to Him
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, (Good to know - no effort/work on my part) who reconciled us (PT) to himself through Christ and gave us (PT) the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
Oh he's committed it to us, but are we committed to it?
It’s Not about us being reconciled, but about us helping others be restored & redeemed
See how the father reconciled our sins? "In Christ, God's not counting" KJV “not imputing their trespasses”
That's not a message that makes people feel bad
Greek says "God's not taking inventory" if there's no inventory, then the warehouse is empty
Yet some of us not only take inventory, we label our sins by category
I used to "remind" people of their sins, but I repented & now I’m committed to God’s message of reconciliation
Which means To be restored by God's divine grace, by making atonement for us
Look at all this…
If you are in Christ — you are brand new you
What's past is past, God did it all — no work to be done…
He brought you and he bought you - the finished work purchased by Christ
To repent, redirects us, to remind us, that He’s redeemed us & restored us
And When you're restored, you're better than before (1967 Candy apple red convertible Camaro)
