Matthew 3:1–6
1Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 3For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said,
“The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
‘Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight!’”
4Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
Focused Thinking:
Why does one choose to preach in the wilderness of Judea?
Was there something significant about the wilderness of Judea?
The wilderness area was south of Jerusalem.
To be 400 years without a prophet is to be in the wilderness again.
The people of God needed another Moses.
What was John the Baptist preaching?
Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
- Repent means to change your mind.
- Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of heart.
- Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change of direction.
- Repent for the King of the kingdom is coming.
Every kingdom has a King.
- Every King is a Ruler.
- The kingdom of heaven (God) refers to God’s reign or rule.
- God’s rule is present in a new way with the arrival of the Messiah.
- God’s people anticipated this to be a physical and political kingdom.
Remember, there hasn’t been a prophet in 400 years.
Without a vision the people perish.
Without the Word of God the people perish.
Without the warning the people perish.
The rule of God had to decrease during this time.
The rule of man had to increase during this time.
Sin had to increase during this time; therefore, they needed to repent.
What does Isaiah the prophet say about John the Baptist?
The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Make ready the way of the Lord,
Make His paths straight! (Isa 40:3)
Personal Application:
John fulfilled this prophecy by preaching repentance.
Repentance prepares us for the Lord.
Repentance prepares us to prepare the way for the Lord.
It is imperative that we rebuild the highways of holiness (Isa 35:8).
I need to dedicate and discipline myself to set aside hours of prayer.
I need to dedicate and discipline myself to set aside hours for the Word.
I need to devote myself to prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6:4).
This year must be the year of transition for me.
There is too much at stake.
I must be closer to the Lord to lead effectively.
I must be more sensitive to the Spirit to lead effectively.
I must be in the Word more to lead effectively.
I must be in prayer more to lead effectively.
Focused Thinking:
4Now John himself had a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5Then Jerusalem was going out to him, and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan; 6and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, as they confessed their sins.
“As they confessed their sins” is a very important part of repentance.
- How can one truly repent without confessing sins?
- How can one truly change their mind without confessing sins?
- How can one truly change their actions without confession sins?
Personal Application:
Where is confession of sin among God’s people?
Where is the preaching of repentance to generate the confession of sins?
We must quit giving people principles without power.
The power to obey the principle is repentance.
If there is no repentance then there is no power to obey.
Confession needs to be specific instead of generic.
- Generic confession never leads to repentance.
- Specific confession leads to repentance.
Interactive Prayer:
Father, forgive me for saying “Why the Hell not?” to the church the other day. I never need to be offensive; I need to allow Your Word and Your Spirit to offend and convict. Help me to channel my passion into prayer and the teaching of the Word. Forgive me for unnecessarily offending others. Forgive me for unintentionally taking the attention off of the point and placing it on me, that was not my intention, but it was the result. Father, I repent of that and pray that I will never use that type of language again.
Father, help me not back away from being a prophet though. I do feel You have called me to preach the Word unapologetically and to challenge people to respond with repentance and faith. Father, anoint me for Your purposes and give me the ability to teach with Your power and authority. Father, give me the ability to write and teach this next series in a prophetic way. Father, please use the Word effectively through me to accomplish Your purposes. Father, change our church through this series, “Forgotten Jesus.” Give us the ability to remember You during this series in a way that moves us to repentance.
I pray that our people will repent of creating and serving a safe God. Father, cause us to see the error of our ways and to be moved by Your Spirit to change. Father, give us the ability to see Your Spirit move in a powerful way. We can’t make this series any other series successful in our own ability. Anoint us and use us to move people to a lifestyle of repentance and faith. Father, do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we can ask or think through this series according to Your mighty power that works in us.
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