Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/cbc/sermons/18346/repentance-a-mark-of-a-worshiper-of-the-messiah/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Please take your Bibles and go to the Gospel of Matthew. Gospel of Matthew, chapter 3. If you're visiting with us, that black Bible in the chair in front of you, go towards the back in the New Testament, find page 2 for Matthew, chapter 3. [0:18] The Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter 3. Page 2 in that black Bible. So, Jane, did you know that we were going to read Psalm 51? [0:33] Did I tell you that? That was kind of cool, because her song was Creating Me a Clean Heart, O God. Coinky dink, right? That was cool. Matthew, chapter 3. [0:49] I'm going to read, then we'll do our study. Now in those critical days, John the Baptist came, proclaiming in the desert of Judea, saying, Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near. [1:06] For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, make his path straight. Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair, and a leather belt about his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. [1:20] Hmm. Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan. And they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. [1:31] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, You children of snakes, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? [1:43] Therefore make fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not suppose you can say to yourselves, We have Abraham for our father. For I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. [1:58] And the axe is already laid at the root of the trees. Every tree, therefore, that does not make good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Verse 11, As for me, I baptize you in water because of repentance. [2:11] But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire. And his winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor. [2:26] And he will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the chaff with inextinguishable fire. Verse 13, And Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan to John to be baptized by him. [2:39] But John tried to prevent him, saying, I have need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me? But Jesus answering said to him, Permit at this time, for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness. [2:53] Then he permitted him. And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove coming upon him. [3:03] And behold, a voice out of the heavens saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I have been pleased. In the New York Times, the article was titled, Raising Children Without the Concept of Sin. [3:27] Subtitle, subtitle sentence, My religious fundamentalist childhood was built around the fear of sin. My daughters don't even know the word. It's by Julia Shiras. [3:40] I'm saying her last name right. Hopefully I am, Julia, sorry. She started to talk about how her daughter saw a sign with the word sin on it. And the daughter turned to her and said, Mama, what is sin? [3:54] Listen to what she says. Sin. That tiny word that still makes me cringe with residual fear. Fear of being judged unworthy. Fear of the eternal torture of hell. [4:06] Fear of my father's belt. Raised in Indiana by fundamentalist parents, sin was the inflexible yardstick by which I was measured. Actions, words, even thoughts weren't safe from scrutiny. [4:19] The list of sinful offenses seemed infinite. Listening to secular music or watching secular television, saying gosh or darn or geez. Questioning authorities, envying a friend's rainbow array of Izod shirts. [4:33] This type of shirt you can buy. God was a megaphone bleeding in my head. You're bad. You're bad. You're bad. I had recurring nightmares of malvolent winds tornadering through my bedroom. [4:45] A metaphor I now realize, listen, for an invisible and vindictive God. She says later, after years of living a secular life, I realize that my notion of sin has evolved. [5:00] As a girl, my focus was on gaining admittance to heaven. Now I believe that this life is the only life we'll know. This planet, our only existence. I'm no longer motivated by fear of an unproven hell, but by real world concerns about injustice and inequality. [5:19] To me, the greatest sin of all is failing to be engaged, to be an engaged citizen of the world. So the lessons are about being open to others rather than closed off. Interesting. [5:30] As we stood in line a few weeks ago at the Dickens Fair, I realized that my kids already knew what sin was without ever having been exposed to the unrest religious weights of the word. [5:42] Despite being unchurched, they're empathetic, loving, and kind, and even more, they are fearless. She did have a moral code, her daughter. One she followed, not from obligation, but from her own desire to make the world a better place. [6:00] She wrote this during the time of Christmas, this past Christmas, and her daughter saw a carol strolling by, and she says, she kneels down and goes with her, and then she says to herself, an explanation of sin could wait. [6:15] And that's what it is. That article made me so sad in so many ways. Not just a daughter not knowing about sin, but oh Julia, how your legalistic life was all about legalism, not true sin. [6:44] And where there is no real understanding of sin, there can be no real repentance, which is part of the response of the gospel. [6:55] You repent and believe. And as we come to this part in Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 3, which is bow down and worship the Messiah, Jesus, the Messiah King of Israel, today we'll see repentance, repentance, a mark of a worshiper of Messiah. [7:16] quite interesting that on the Lord's Supper Sunday, we have a message about repentance. Kind of gets you, for lack of better terms, in the mood, so to speak, to partake of the Lord's Supper. [7:36] repentance, repentance, a mark of a true worshiper of Jesus, the Messiah King of Israel. I'm putting in a statement for you. [7:55] Repentance is a unique mark of a trustful worshiper of Jesus, the Messiah King of Israel. The kind of person who bows down and worships Jesus, the Messiah King, is a person of repentance. [8:08] And friends, as Christians, it's not a one-time thing. You don't just repent and that's it. I think I repented yesterday about 50 times. At least that's what my wife told me. [8:25] I think she repented too. Anyways, that's a unique mark of a trustful worshiper of Jesus. Repentance. You turn away. [8:37] It's a 180 degree turn. Another statement for you. Jesus truly is God's Messiah King who fulfilled the patterns and predictions of Messiah and also identified with repentant sinners. [8:53] Jesus identifies with us. So as we all partake of this Lord's Supper together, we will partake it with the God-man who identifies with us, repentant sinners. [9:09] I mean, this whole chapter is about repentance. John, the messenger of repentance, giving the message of repentance. He's baptizing people as the sign of repentance. [9:23] You have the religious leaders displaying fake repentance. Jesus, the spirit baptizer, baptizing people because they have repented. And Jesus, the fulfill of Scripture, identifying with those who are repentant. [9:38] repentance, repentance, repentance. If you missed anything about this sermon, don't miss this word. What's the sermon about? If you say that, somebody's going to slap you. It's about repentance. [9:50] Repentance. So let's walk through this. I have different points. Repentance, it's, okay, I don't know how many I have. I didn't number them. I probably should have. It's like seven, six, five, something like that. [10:02] Anyways, here's number one. Repentance, it's messenger and its message. Verses one through four. Repentance, it's messenger and it's message. [10:13] In those days or really at that critical time, Matthew moved out of Jesus infant years into his adult years, his ministry. John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin, he's in the wilderness or the desert of Judea. [10:30] By the way, a desert had a role in redemptive history as a place of refuge, of testing. And notice it says, preaching there, saying, verse two, repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. [10:46] Notice there's two aspects to his message. Two aspects of John's message. First, the volitional command, repent. And second, one writer puts it like this, the eschatological reality. [11:00] The kingdom of God is near. It's come. Repentance means, one writer puts it like this, quote, turning of the whole person from sin to God in obedience to the message of the kingdom, end quote. [11:20] Or you can put it like this, you see your need, need. There's sorrow over your sin. You turn to God, you trust and obey. [11:32] If you're taking notes, you can even write those words down. I put them, I underlined them on purpose. Need, sorrow, turn, trust, obey. That's repentance. [11:44] That's what it's all about. So you can define it. I'm going to define it in other ways throughout the message. So here he comes, the messenger of repentance, giving the message to repent because the reality of the kingdom is here. [12:10] Another way to display it, or to define it, excuse me, repentance was a call to radical conversion from an old way of living life to a new way of living in obedience to God. [12:22] And the sign to display this was baptism. This is why Gentiles are baptized. They were going to become proselytes, going to become Jews. They would actually baptize themselves because there was a change. [12:38] You weren't a Gentile anymore. You were known as a Jew. And we'll talk more about the baptism in just a few moments. But he says, repent, and notice the next aspect, the kingdom of heaven denotes the rule of God, not merely his realm. [12:59] And you'll see kingdom of heaven throughout Matthew's gospel. A few times you'll see kingdom of God, but most of the time he says kingdom of heaven, and he does that to avoid dishonoring the name of God. Remember, he's writing to Jews. [13:10] God is actively doing something, actively ruling. It's something that happens. And it's connected to Jesus. [13:23] Dot, dot, dot. It is Jesus. He is the kingdom. It's all wrapped up in him. The kingdom of heaven is near. That's right. [13:34] Here he comes. There he is. And in John's gospel, he says what? Behold, the Lamb of God. It's near. [13:47] Notice the urgency to repent. God's reign in redemptive history is here, so respond to it. And since the kingdom displays the rule of God, not really his realm, it's dynamic and life-changing, as one writer put it. [14:07] So the response is repentance, confession of sin. Jesus would shortly appear in God's kingdom, so there's a sense where the kingdom is, it's future, that's true, but there's a sense where the kingdom is now because Jesus has come. [14:28] John probably didn't understand it that way, and others. They would understand things that happen, everything all now, salvation and judgment are coming together, but that wasn't how things were going to be. [14:41] Notice verse 3, what happens? Matthew says, this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet. Isaiah chapter 40, verse 3, a fulfillment of scripture once again. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make his path straight. [14:55] So John was the one who prepared the way for Jesus by his preaching of repentance. he would prepare them to receive the Messiah King. Make ready. [15:08] It denotes a road that needs to be prepared so the Lord could travel over it smoothly, as one author put it. And notice he says, make ready the way of the Lord. [15:20] In Isaiah's prophecy, he's talking about Yahweh God. So Jesus is God in the flesh. He's proclaiming the deity of Jesus here. Make the path level for him. [15:32] John was trying to make everything ready for Messiah. When John proclaimed to people to repent because God's kingdom was near, he was preparing the path for Jesus Messiah to come. [15:46] The message and the messenger. And notice he gives us a little bit more information about this messenger. Kind of creepy. Verse 4. Not the kind of guy you, you know, hey, let's go get some coffee, John. [16:01] John himself had a garment of camel's hair. Itchy. Had a leather belt about his waist and his food was locusts and wild honey. Nothing attractive about that guy. [16:13] Yeah, no. Nothing attractive about his attire or his food. Hey, me and him would probably get along in terms of food or diets. His focus was on preaching not looking so cool. [16:31] Same stuff worn by Elijah by the way which makes sense because John the Baptist was the second Elijah. Ate locusts wild honey. [16:41] Lived a simple life. He was nothing elaborate to look at or notice. His attire and diet showed the pattern of his message. He had no concern for clothes or food. [16:53] He was deeply concerned with the deeper things of life because God's kingdom was near. He was raptured by that. [17:07] He was captured by that. And he called Israel and Gentiles to think or live this way too. [17:17] Don't be so preoccupied with the stuff of this world but be preoccupied with the kingdom. That sounds familiar doesn't it? Repentance is messenger and it's message. [17:32] Notice another point number two. Repentance it's sign and it's action. Sign baptism action confession of sins. [17:44] Verse 5 verse 6 Jerusalem was going out to him all Judea all the district around the Jordan large numbers of people from Jerusalem Judea all the surrounding area large numbers were coming to him a prophet was speaking once again God was speaking once again listen listen listen listen verse 6 and they're being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confess their sins interesting baptize baptize means to dip to plunge in the passive it means to be drowned it signified death to a whole new way of life this is why we are baptists we believe in immersion because that's what the word means to be dipped to be plunged under not sprinkled Gentiles were baptized when they wanted to become Jews proselytes but notice something [18:47] John was baptizing Jews now this was a big deal you didn't do stuff like this and they were used to baptizing themselves no John was the one doing it because it was the sign baptism was a sign of repentance a sign that forgiveness has come and he would baptize them notice the end of verse 6 as they confessed their sins as they were confessing their sins see John's ministry was calling Jews and Gentiles to repent of their sins to prepare for the coming of the Messiah King this is why we're baptists and this is why we don't have altar calls we don't have altar call invitation we don't do that how do sinners proclaim that they've responded in repentance how do they do that through baptism not through an altar call altar calls are not even in the Bible it's just tradition that's why we don't do it [20:07] I don't do altar calls it's not in the Bible why do we want to do that why do we want to give people add something in the scripture how do people say that they become a Christian through baptism that's how you do it that's what the Bible tells us that's the sign of repentance repentance it's sign and it's action sign baptism action confession of sins point number three notice repentance it's fakers verses 7 to 10 but when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism he said to them you children of snakes well that's welcoming now many of these religious leaders came out to see John and be baptized by him and yet from John's reactions it's clear that the repentance of the Pharisees and Sadducees was not deep or genuine it was an outward show if one did not truly repent [21:11] John would not baptize them see that let me talk a little about Pharisees and Sadducees because you're going to see them throughout the gospel Pharisee the name Pharisee comes from the word which means separated and that's how they viewed themselves were the separate ones they rigorously adhered to and studied the law carefully they paid close attention to a multitude a multitude of rules and regulations of oral traditions so many oral traditions so many rules and laws most people just gave up trying which is why Pharisees saw themselves as superior the above average Jew that's right that's what I am they paid close attention to outward minutia but they bypass the way to your more important matters Jesus brings us up at least twice in Matthew's gospel learn go and learn what this means [22:17] I desire mercy rather than sacrifice compassion mercy for others really both groups of Pharisees and Sadducees were all about rules they were legalists like Julia's upbringing the Sadducees rejected the oral tradition of the Pharisees except they accepted only written scripture with an emphasis upon the Torah first five books the Old Testament they doubted the resurrection they doubted the afterlife but they were aristocratic they had some bling bling they had money and they cooperated with the Romans they liked their little political power their establishment so you can see why Jesus was a threat to that he could take away their power that they had that the Romans gave to them that's why John just comes at them guns blazing you you children of snakes who warned you of the wrath to come why does he say this because they did not really want to repent they only wanted to escape [23:26] God's retribution or wrath they wanted to escape the punishment their deeds deserve but they had no intention of abandoning their evil ways to turn to the Messiah it's like get out of jail card that you win a monopoly use that notice how John how he puts it in verse 8 therefore says bring forth literally make fruits that befits true repentance in fact make fruit that befits repentance now what's John saying is John just telling people be a really good person no John John did not call people to do good deeds he called them to change the whole trajectory of their lives resulting in fruitful living true repentance turning away from pride and arrogance and gossip and slander immorality debauchery stealing those things a holy godly life that's submitting to [24:38] God with joy true repentance means a complete change of lifestyle and if one does not change their lifestyle then one is not truly repentant and John saw them not to be truly repentant else the lifestyle would have showed it and notice what he says here in verse 9 and do not suppose you can say to yourselves we have Abraham for our father all friends here's the heart of Jewish pride Abraham is our father it was unthinkable that one of the descendants of Abraham would not have God's blessing as a matter of fact in the first century it was taught that Abraham was down there at the gates of hell and all those Gentiles are going through Gentile Gentile Gentile oh there's a Jew pluck them out you're not supposed to go down there get them out of here they actually believe that that's exactly what John confronted here they believe they had eternal security just because they were [25:48] Jews but security in God does not rest upon race color or gender male or female no no no it rests upon bowing down and worshiping the Messiah King of Israel before the demands of the all holy all powerful God no one is privileged which is why it has everything to do with trusting Jesus everything to do with that but they justified the refusal to repent because of their forefather and his merits to avail them now don't get us wrong Jews have a wonderful privilege Paul talks about that in Romans to them was given the oracles of God it's a good thing but they fail to see something they fail to see that God does not need them to accomplish his purposes God doesn't need you to accomplish his purposes what makes us think that God is obligated to us that's why [26:53] John says the end of verse 9 God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham God can raise up privileged people even from stones privileged people God can do that nothing special about you as we said earlier a couple weeks ago the gospel is not bound by race gender or even scandal we are all called to bow down and worship Jesus the Messiah King we're all called to do this and notice what he does here again he's still on this still on this whole thing about the fakers verse 10 the axe is already laid at the root of the trees every tree therefore that does not make good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire the seriousness of their situation this is a symbol of destruction of judgment the tomb was imminent but notice he says why is it at the root when was the last time when you cut a tree down you cut it down right at the root you do that last right [27:58] I mean it's like way hard you don't want to go first you cut it down and then you do the roots why did you say the roots here because not only will the tree be cut down but its source of nourishment will also be destroyed there's no hope for them the message still stands repent due to God's rule else like an unfruitful tree you will be cut down and you will be burned with fire look sinners will never get away with their sin never now maybe for a time or a season but be sure your sin will find you out numbers 32 23 I say that to my kids be sure your sin will find you out so any tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire well you sound too harsh I'm just telling you what the text says and not to mention the fact the bad news always comes before the good news there's grace and there's mercy in the [29:07] Lord Jesus Christ why won't you respond then well notice there's a next point that we have repentance its effect verse 11 notice what John says for me I baptize you in water John's practice of baptism was that he did it in water notice it says for repentance literally we would say because of repentance once again by way of reminder baptism was the way one publicly displayed repentance towards God it was an expression of repentance it pointed to a continual life change so you kind of think of it this way water is bad water is evil so when you go under water it symbolizes death I'm going down into death I come up out of the water and now I'm a new person it's not an aspect where water makes you all clean and saves you no water is not good it's bad it presents evil death horridness sin judgment that's what the water represents so when you go under water you die when you come up out of the water you're a whole new person you've changed that's what John's ministry was but notice what he says here but he was coming after me is mightier than I his successor was mightier greater in power and strength so much greater [30:26] John says I'm not fit to remove his sandals this was a job for menial servants or slaves come slave take off my sandal this was John's humility he says even the service I'm not worthy but Jesus ministry was one of salvation and judgment salvation the Holy Spirit and salvation the winnowing fort we'll look at that in a moment because he says he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire John's baptism was in water Jesus baptism was in the Holy Spirit and fire now don't think of it this way Holy Spirit happy okay good fire oh bad judgment no don't think of it that way they go together Holy Spirit is good and so is fire it represents the cleansing I'll put it on the screen for you this repentance would affect the promised gift of the Holy Spirit this baptism in the Spirit goes with fire which represented purification and cleansing not judgment judgment comes in the next verse verse 12 here he's saying the Holy Spirit is going to [31:38] Jesus is going to baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire is going to be a purification a cleansing it's going to make you true real genuine change your whole life but notice repentance its future outcome look at verse 12 here's the judgment and his winnowing fork is in his hand he will thoroughly clear the threshing floor he will gather his wheat into the barn but he will burn up the chaff with inextinguishable fire John's referring to harvest time for Olivia Donnie you probably know about this you're a farmer all the farmers out there yeah what's happening grain would be threshed then winnowed I have to read this because I'm a city boy it was separated from the husk by thrown into the air with a fork and then a shovel the grain which is heavier would fall to the threshing floor but the chaff would blow away so notice he says the fork is in his hand that's imminent the judgment will not be delayed the wheat will be gathered in a barn but the chaff was swept up and then burned the wheat are those who are right with God the chaff are those who have not truly repented and notice he says the fire is inextinguishable it's eternal now the harvest is once is complete once the wheat is gathered and the chaff is burned up wow what a picture of judgment oh wait it's not supposed to be about hellfire and brimstone well I got to preach what the text says you know what I'm saying the time to say it again is now if you do not repent you will face judgment from the [33:37] Messiah King and Israel the Lord Jesus if you're here and you're not a Christian I implore you repent and put your trust in Jesus put your hope in Jesus your faith in Jesus Christ alone and he will save you he will bring you forgiveness cleansing you of all your sins last point what number is this 53 53 wow you take a lot of notes there buddy you're preaching next week repentance it's identifier 13 through 17 repentance now we come to this part the identifier of our repentance the one who identifies with us is the Lord Jesus Christ repentance it's identifier and I have this statement which I think I had it up here earlier but I'll put it up again Jesus truly is God's [34:37] Messiah King who fulfilled the patterns and predictions of the Messiah and also identified with repentant sinners notice notice verse 13 and 14 then Jesus arrived from Galilee to Jordan to John to be baptized by him but John trying to prevent him saying I didn't be baptized by you and you come to me here he comes arrives on the scene the kingdom has arrived he's going to undergo the baptism ministered by John and John says no way no offense Lord but are you crazy you should baptize me I'm the sinner here not you what am I baptizing you for now did John already know Jesus was the Messiah no he probably didn't know that not yet not until he as John's gospel says not until the spirit pointed out and the voice then he knew that was Messiah he knew that was the son of God but [35:41] John did know that Jesus was greater than him he knew that he had greater authority than him he knew that but notice what Jesus says verse 15 but Jesus answering said to him let it be so now let us get on with the baptism now buddy let's do it and notice his statement for in this way it is fitting it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness us meaning John and Jesus fulfill all righteousness what in the world does that mean and it means this and I agree with the guys who other writers who said this fulfill in this sense in that Jesus fulfilled the biblical patterns and predictions of Messiah at his baptism both [36:43] John and Jesus would fulfill scripture by introducing Messiah to Israel that's how one author put it which he does it right in other words it's him here he is is Messiah the righteousness that the prophets envisioned came to fruition in Jesus at his baptism in that he proclaimed and exemplified that righteousness this was a key event unfolding who this Messiah would be who he was and who he would be and what he would do what would he do he would identify with sinners he would identify with the repentant he would identify with us so [37:45] Jesus possibly had in mind Isaiah 53 11 which says this as a result of the anguish of his soul he will see it and be satisfied by his knowledge the righteous one my servant will justify the many as he will bear their iniquities maybe that's what Jesus had in mind he would identify with sinners he would proclaim and exemplify in himself that very righteousness of God another way to put it as the sermon of Yahweh he would identify with sinners being seen as one of them specifically in the process of salvation which he would bring to them he pointed to the need of the people they needed him that's why he got baptized and that's what he means by fulfill all righteousness and then notice what happens you have the trinity involved here the triune [38:59] God verse 16 after being baptized Jesus immediately went up immediately from the water two main events happened after his baptism the heavens were open and the voice the heavens were open what does that mean who knows definitely the divide between this world and the spiritual world had briefly stopped but you see this statement in heavens open you see it in a lot of apocalyptic type visions in scripture but it says the heavens open and then it says and he saw the spirit of God descending as a dove or pigeon coming upon Jesus so if he's a dove then Jesus is the true ideal Israelite because in Hosea the book of Hosea Israel was likened to a dove but he's trying to say why this happened this event he truly is the son of [39:59] God who would be empowered by the spirit for ministry so heaven is open the spirit comes upon him and then second notice it says verse 17 and behold Matthew he loves that word behold behold behold behold behold look look look look look look look he's so excited hey hey hey he drinks caffeine and coffee in the morning hey look look look behold a voice out of the heavens God's voice spoke endorsing and approving of Jesus this is my beloved son a special relationship with the father he had not a biological relationship but an eternal relationship a strong relationship of affection and love and no more silence God was now speaking and he spoke in his son for 400 years God was quiet for 400 years [41:00] God was silent nothing was said the last prophet spoke and then God did not speak at all but now he says I'm speaking and now I'm speaking in my son he's the suffering servant he's the true messiah and he is my son notice again endorsing approving with him I have become well pleased he truly loved his eternal son who truly brought the father great delight in what specific way his baptism baptism these words point us to first isaiah chapter 42 verse 1 and secondarily psalm chapter 2 verse 7 both you see the father suffering servant messiah servant but also the son of god and so this this baptism jesus baptism was a crucial occasion for the father to display his deep pleasure in his son it displayed this special relationship and that jesus also identified with god's repentant people with us he's made like one of us in every way so the eternal messiah son fulfilled all righteousness and then the father gave his endorsement and then the father gave his loving approval of his son should we not also respond just like the son does in obedience to have worshipful trust in our father that's the sign of a true child of god is it not as i said earlier so i say again repentance is a unique mark of a trustful worshipper of jesus the messiah king of israel the kind of person who bows down and worship jesus the messiah king is a person of repentance what a great way for us to transition into the time of the lord's supper for us to proclaim this gospel truth and to feel it to see it feel it to touch it even to taste it the gospel not that the bread becomes his body or the juice becomes his blood no no no we don't believe that these things don't do anything to you but they remind you of the gospel they remind you these things don't do anything to you they remind you of what jesus has done for you the work has been done forgiveness is given you are love so the father says this is my son this is my daughter in whom I am well pleased now you might say hey I'm not a member here though look if you come from a church of like faith and practice and you've been baptized by immersion partake of the lord's supper with us you're welcome to join us if you're not a christian no we don't think you should partake of this watch observe the gospel we also would advise you if you have something against someone maybe it'd be better for you not to partake of the lord's supper maybe wait the next time go and try and reconcile with that person first and then partake of it with us this is a way for you a tangible way for you to remember the gospel and the fact that jesus identifies with us and to once again renew your repentance lord i repent i turn from my sin and i put all my trust in you jesus you're the only one that can save me and in you [45:01] i have forgiveness of all my sins let's pray we do we remind ourselves of this gospel truth lord jesus we thank you that you identify with us we're sinners and yet you are god man identifying with us and dying on our behalf your love for us is just amazing jesus there's no one like you renew once again our passion our desire our love for you renew once again our hatred how much we despise and we loathe our sin not that this these elements will cleanse us but reminds us of the cleansing that you have done and so we come as we sang a few moments ago a broken and a contrite heart you won't turn away we come to you with contrition we come to you with brokenness we come to you in repentance take these few moments ponder think allow your mind to dwell on the things of the gospel maybe read through some of your notes maybe read through portions of [46:45] Matthew 3 or other parts of the bible that remind you of the gospel let your mind dwell in these things and after a few moments we'll have the guys come and they'll pass out the bread to us just have some time of silence for you to think and ponder to the good vivre with them we