Do We Really Need to "Repent"?

The second of three posts on the Kingdom being "Near" and "Now"...

Memory Verse

From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."   Matthew 4:17 (NIV)

Reflection

I find it very interesting that when Jesus or John the Baptizer talked about how near the kingdom was, they often cited the need to "repent".  Yet, when I think of how far we have to go to experience and extend the kingdom of heaven here on earth, fulfilling Jesus' prayer of Matthew 6:10, I don't find the correlation with the need to repent to be surprising.

Matthew 6 is one of the great chapters in the Bible on the kingdom.  In the 10th verse, we hear Jesus pray "your kingdom come...on earth as it is in heaven."  Then in the 33rd verse, Jesus tells us to seek this kingdom first.  Throughout the rest of the chapter, Jesus is telling His disciples (and those of us who say we want to be His disciples) what we should or should not do to see that kingdom of heaven come to earth.  Consider the following...

• Vs 1:  Be careful not to practice our righteousness in front of others.
• Vs 2:  When we give to the needy, don't announce it.
• Vs 6:  When we pray, go into the room and close the door.
• Vs 14:  Forgive other people when they sin against us.
• Vs 16:  When (not if!) we fast, do not look somber.
• Vs 19:  Do not store up treasures on earth.
• Vs 24:  Do not serve both God and money.
• Vs. 25:  Do not worry.

How many of us can look at that list and not appreciate the need to repent from our current behavior?  Is it any surprise that we see so little of the kingdom of heaven among us?

With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can bring more of the kingdom of heaven to earth, but it will start with repentance, and the list above is where Jesus is telling us to start.

Questions to Consider

1.  Of the eight verses listed above, which one is the most difficult for you to repent from?

2.  Are you relying on the power of the Holy Spirit to help you repent from the items listed above and help you experience and extend more of the kingdom of heaven to earth?

Action Steps for the Week

1.  Identify at least one item in the eight listed above and write down your "repentance plan".

2.  Given that "repentance plan", now identify how you can extend more of the kingdom of heaven to earth.  (As an example, if your "repentance plan" focused on vs 19 and you planned to stop buying so many things you don't need, identify how you could use those funds to proclaim the kingdom to the poor, especially the 2+ billion people living on $2 or less per day.)