The kingdom.
Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
When someone says this today, what comes to your mind?
Some loon is spouting the end of the world stuff again. Crazy religious fanatics.
Did Jesus tell us to stand on the street corner shouting that His kingdom is at hand? No. But preaching the kingdom of heaven is truly what it is all about, isn't it? Salvation in Christ, this is the word we are to preach, isn't it? It's the word Jesus Himself preached, salvation. This is the message, the whole message. Our Savior's message, our message.
When John the Baptist preached saying- Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand- what do you imagine those listening to him thought?
Not what we think today that's for sure. John baptized a lot of people, they BELIEVED his message! They were Jews who believed what John was telling them. They repented. They wanted the kingdom of heaven to come. They wanted the promised Messiah to appear. They weren't happy with their lives, and why would they be. They lived under the oppressive thumb of the Roman empire. They were not in possession of freedom to rule their own lives. Yes, they were allowed to practice their religion which was an integral part of their entire lives, but they had restrictions. They had to keep the ruling faction content as much as possible. People don't like living under the thumb of others. People crave freedom. People crave the ability to own their own land, their own home upon that land, to build and to make a living for themselves and their families without anyone holding restrictive reins over them. When people are oppressed they feel that weight. The people of John the Baptist's day felt the oppression. The people of John's day wanted to be free, they wanted to be saved by the Messiah, they wanted the kingdom of heaven to be at hand.
John was preparing the way. John was opening the eyes of the people. People who had been lulled by life into the rut of living day by day hoping but burying that hope suddenly heard one who was voicing the hope and bringing it to the surface. They reached for that hope, they grasp that hope of the coming kingdom when they held tight to John as he dipped them below the surface of the water baptizing them as they repented of their sins.
Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
How many of us are ready for the kingdom that is to come?
Christ Jesus is going to return and there will be people waiting for Him, waiting for the kingdom to come. Are YOU waiting for the kingdom to come? Really waiting for it? Or is it something that is on your mind just occasionally?
We are not told by Isaiah that there will be a voice of one crying in the wilderness, that voice already cried out, that voice was already heard and Christ came! Christ was here! Christ is now in heaven and Christ will come back to take us to heaven with Him!
We are told so much about the kingdom and by the grace of God we will continue to study about this, learning all He would have us to know.
We long to be ready for you, Lord! We want Your kingdom to come! We want Your will to be done!
Please LORD, help us be YOURS, for we are only Yours through YOU and YOUR LOVE!
Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
When someone says this today, what comes to your mind?
Some loon is spouting the end of the world stuff again. Crazy religious fanatics.
Did Jesus tell us to stand on the street corner shouting that His kingdom is at hand? No. But preaching the kingdom of heaven is truly what it is all about, isn't it? Salvation in Christ, this is the word we are to preach, isn't it? It's the word Jesus Himself preached, salvation. This is the message, the whole message. Our Savior's message, our message.
When John the Baptist preached saying- Repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand- what do you imagine those listening to him thought?
Not what we think today that's for sure. John baptized a lot of people, they BELIEVED his message! They were Jews who believed what John was telling them. They repented. They wanted the kingdom of heaven to come. They wanted the promised Messiah to appear. They weren't happy with their lives, and why would they be. They lived under the oppressive thumb of the Roman empire. They were not in possession of freedom to rule their own lives. Yes, they were allowed to practice their religion which was an integral part of their entire lives, but they had restrictions. They had to keep the ruling faction content as much as possible. People don't like living under the thumb of others. People crave freedom. People crave the ability to own their own land, their own home upon that land, to build and to make a living for themselves and their families without anyone holding restrictive reins over them. When people are oppressed they feel that weight. The people of John the Baptist's day felt the oppression. The people of John's day wanted to be free, they wanted to be saved by the Messiah, they wanted the kingdom of heaven to be at hand.
John was preparing the way. John was opening the eyes of the people. People who had been lulled by life into the rut of living day by day hoping but burying that hope suddenly heard one who was voicing the hope and bringing it to the surface. They reached for that hope, they grasp that hope of the coming kingdom when they held tight to John as he dipped them below the surface of the water baptizing them as they repented of their sins.
Mat 3:1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
Mat 3:2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
Mat 3:3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
How many of us are ready for the kingdom that is to come?
Christ Jesus is going to return and there will be people waiting for Him, waiting for the kingdom to come. Are YOU waiting for the kingdom to come? Really waiting for it? Or is it something that is on your mind just occasionally?
We are not told by Isaiah that there will be a voice of one crying in the wilderness, that voice already cried out, that voice was already heard and Christ came! Christ was here! Christ is now in heaven and Christ will come back to take us to heaven with Him!
We are told so much about the kingdom and by the grace of God we will continue to study about this, learning all He would have us to know.
We long to be ready for you, Lord! We want Your kingdom to come! We want Your will to be done!
Please LORD, help us be YOURS, for we are only Yours through YOU and YOUR LOVE!
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