Series: Draw Close to God Through Repentance

Title: The Purpose of Preaching

Text: Matthew 4:12-23

Once there was a man who had a nagging secret, a secret which was overwhelming him with guilt.

In accordance with James 5:16, he went to his priest to confessed his sins.

He admitted that for years he had been stealing building supplies from the lumberyard where he worked.

"What did you take?" his priest asked.

"Enough to build my own home, my son’s home, my two daughter’s homes. And our cottage at the lake."

The priest said, "This is very serious, I shall have to think of a far-reaching penance."

As he thought and prayed, he thought that what this man needed was a silent retreat, time for his parishioner to examine his soul and repent of his sins.

So he asked, "Have you ever done a retreat?"

He said, "No, Father, I haven’t, but if you can get the plans, I can get the lumber."

He wanted relief from his guilt; he wanted absolution, but he didn’t want to change; repentance was the farthest thing from his mind.

When you truly look to Jesus, you will want to repent, you will want leave behind your sinful ways.

Anglican Bishop Festo Kivengere was bishop of the Diocese of Kigezi in Uganda in the 1970s during the tyrannical and bloody rule of Edi Amin.

He wrote two powerful books on faithfulness and forgiveness, I Love Edi Amin and Revolutionary Love.

In his book, Revolutionary Love

[He tells of a tribal] chief [who] was holding court [with] his elders...

...A man arrived who was well known to be a pagan and wealthy in cattle. His servants had eight fine cows they were driving along. All the elders turned to look at them appreciatively.

The cattle baron greeted everyone, and then said,

"Your Honor, I have come for a purpose."

The chief answered,

"Fine. What are these cows for?"

"Sir, they are yours. I have brought them back to you."

"What do you mean, they are mine?"

"Well, sir, when I was looking after your cattle, I stole four of them when I told you we had been raided. These four are now eight. I have brought them to you."

"Who discovered this theft?"

"Jesus did, sir. He has given me peace and told me to bring them."

(Quoted from Revolutionary Love by Festo Kivengere 13)

This man not only wanted relief from his guilt, but his faith was genuine enough that he could not help but truly repent.

This is the kind of repentance our Lord Jesus Christ wants and expects from you and me, repentance which results in changed behavior.

Biblical preaching calls for repentance; it calls for change.

Biblical preaching calls for you life to:

2...not conform any longer to the pattern of this world,

but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

Romans 12:2 (NIV)

According to Matthew chapter three, John the Baptizer came preaching in the Judea Wilderness, saying,

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."
Matthew 3:1-2 (NIV)

From our reading this morning from Matthew chapter four, Jesus came preaching same thing,

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near."

Matthew 4:17 (NIV)

When Jesus first sent out his apostles to preach during his earthly ministry, they followed his lead. According to Mark chapter six,

12They went out and preached that people should repent.
Mark 6:12 (NIV)

 

After Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension, on the Day of Pentecost,

Peter preached the Good News of Jesus to the crowds. At the end of his long sermon, the people asked,

"...What shall we do?"

Acts 2:37 (NIV)

Peter said,

38..."Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Acts 2:38 (NIV)

In the very next chapter, again Peter said,

19Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Acts 3:19 (NIV)

Over and over again, we see that repentance – changed behavior – is a central theme to preaching the Gospel.

Unfortunately, in recent years American Christianity has tended to focus on Jesus as Savior, to the exclusion of Jesus as Lord.

Jesus died and rose again for the forgiveness of your sins, for your healing and wholeness. Jesus is your Savior.

But it is your repentance – your changed behavior – which makes Jesus your Lord.

Repentance is not a one time event; it’s a life-long life-style, to continue more and more to make Jesus truly Lord over every area of your life.

As Jesus said in Matthew chapter three,

8Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Matthew 3:8-10 (NIV)

A peach tree produces fruit every year until it dies.

An orange tree produces fruit every year until it dies.

An apple tree produces fruit every year until it dies.

The same is true with those who have made Jesus the Lord of their lives.

If you are not producing "fruit in keeping with repentance," then Jesus is not your Lord; he is not your Master.

People will know you by your fruit.

After the end of World War II, reporter Clarence Hall followed American troops throughout Okinawa.

Most of the villages in Okinawa were rundown and unappealing.

Hall said,

"...by contrast, this one [village] shone like a diamond in a dung heap. Everywhere we were greeted by smiles and dignified bows. Proudly the old men showed us their spotless homes, their terraced fields... their storehouses and granaries, their prized sugar mill."

Hall said that he saw no jails and no drunkenness, and that divorce was unknown in this village.

What caused the difference?

He was told that an American missionary had come there some 30 years earlier. While he was in the village, the missionary had led two elderly men to Christ and left them with a Japanese Bible.

These new believers studied the Scriptures and started leading their fellow villagers to Jesus.

Hall’s jeep driver said,

"So this is what comes out of only a Bible and a couple of old guys who wanted to live like Jesus."

The greatest proof of God in this world, is a changed life.

As Christian band DC Talk says in their song What if I Stumble,

The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today

Is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips

Then walk out the door and deny him by their lifestyle.

That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.

 

In our reading from Matthew 4:16, Jesus quotes a Messianic prophesy about himself from Isaiah chapter nine. He said,

16the people living in darkness have seen a great light;

on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."

Matthew 4:16 (NIV)

When Jesus comes into your life, His light exposes the dark corners of your heart.

When you climb into an attic with a powerful flash light, it’s amazing the junk you’ll find.

Ten years ago we bought the house we now live in. It took me several years to find, then clear out all the junk left behind by the previous owners.

Blobs of cement.

An old broken TV antenna.

An old rust heat-exchange unit.

Broken boards.

The list goes on and on.

When Jesus comes into your life, His light exposes the dark corners of your heart, where old sins linger:

One by one, he expects you to identify them and then remove them, to repent, resulting in changed behavior.

 

The truth is, accepting Jesus as your Savior is easy, but submitting to Jesus as your Lord and Master will cost you everything.

Back in the 20s and 30s Al Capone was notorious for bootlegging liquor, prostitution, and smuggling in Chicago.

If anyone stood in his way, they were intimidated or gunned down.

The main reason the Feds had such a hard time convicting Capone was because of his skillful lawyer – "Easy Eddie."

Capone compensated Eddie extremely well:

He received a huge salary.

He was given a mansion on a beautiful estate. It covered an entire city block in Chicago.

He had servants, cars, you name it, he could afford it.

Eddie wanted his son to have the very best, but even more importantly, he wanted him to be a better man than he was.

He tried to teach his son right from wrong, but with his involvement with Capone, it just wasn’t possible.

One day, he left behind his life of luxury and worldly security, and went to the police. He agreed to testify against Capone.

Eddie repented; he radically changed his behavior:

Not only for his own soul.

But for the sake of his son.

Within the year, Easy Eddie was gunned down in Chicago.

He gave his life, so that he could give his son a holy and honorable life.

Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine. The poem read:

The clock of life is wound but once,

And no man has the power to tell

just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour.

Now is the only time you own.

Live, love, toil with a will.

Place no faith in time.

For the clock may soon be still.

 

Eddie’s son Butch went on to become a World War II war hero.

Butch was a navy pilot who single handedly took on a whole squadron of Japanese planes to protect his aircraft carrier, even though his fuel gage was on empty.

He took down five Zeros, and miraculously survived.

For his heroics Butch became the first Naval Aviator to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Eddie and Butch’s last name was O’Hare.

Even though Eddie was associated with the most notorious gangster in American history, through his repentance, his son’s name lives on in honor.

O’Hare International Airport was named after Eddie’s son.

http://www.mindconnection.com/library/factfile/ohare.htm

John called for repentance.

Jesus called for repentance.

The holy apostles called for repentance.

Today, pastors all over the world call for repentance each and every Sunday.

The Ugandan cattle baron listened, repented, and bore fruit.

The Japanese village listened, repented, and bore fruit.

Easy Eddie listened, repented, and bore fruit into the next generation.

Week after week as Noland and I call for repentance:

Are you listening?

Are you truly repenting?

Are you bearing much fruit, and proving to be Jesus’ disciples? (John 15:8).