20240707 Repent, the Kingdom of God is Near¶

Welcome¶

Good morning, my name is Clifton Bartholomew, and I am a local preacher here at UMC.

It is always so good to share with you all. Welcome again to any visitors and to all our online guests as well.

I always like to say before I preach that I am a teacher by training and so I am very used to being interrupted. If anyone is brave enough to raise their hand and ask a question or give an input, it is warmly welcomed.

Introduction¶

Jab 1 - the world needs more adults¶

I am 33 years old this year and I think that I am old enough to call myself an adult. Would you agree? At what age do we become an adult? 30? 40? One thing that I have to say about being an adult, is that adulting is hard. Often at times, it can feel like the world can conspire against you, the plumbing in your house always breaks in the same month that your car breaks down. It is hard raising children. It is hard working on meaningful projects.

But I would say that the world needs more willing, hardworking, upstanding adults. People who take on difficult tasks, shoulder responsibility, stand up for the truth, be good husbands and wives, good teachers, employees, good leaders and politicians. Is that not the kind of people we are called to be by God?

But for those who are willing and wanting to make an impact in the world there are often two things that I see that hinder their effectiveness.

Jab 2 - the effect of oversized sense of importance¶

The first is the effect that an oversized sense of self importance can have. When we believe that everything hinges on us. When we believe that the outcomes are dependent on our efforts.

I remember feeling so deeply responsible for the success of the youth program at our church. For almost a year there was no growth in numbers and I felt like there was something wrong with me. Why was I not improving the youth at our church? Who else here has felt church guilt?

When we believe that the outcomes of God's work is up to us, firstly, we are delusional, secondly it messes with our minds. We are not God. We cannot put our identity in the outcomes of the task at hand.

Jab 3 - the effect of undersized sense of importance¶

The second is a drastically undersized sense of self importance. Where we feel that we have nothing to offer and that no-one would even notice if we did not come in to work the next day. "Who am I that I should think that I can make any difference?", they say.

When we believe that we are not good enough to be used by God, firstly we are delusional, secondly it messes with our minds. We have a divine spark inside each and every one of us. That is power.....

Right Hook - guilty, small timid Christians have no impact¶

I fear that many of us focus too much on what we can/should be doing rather than on who we are as Children of God. This misplaced identity makes us feel guilty, small and timid.

Guilty, small, timid Christians do not spread good news or heal the world.

Let's get into the readings we have today and see what they have to offer.

Explanation¶

Teaching Point 1 - bringing repentance to the world¶

There is an urgency in Jesus message to his disciples. Central to Jesus message was the coming of the kingdom of heaven and his call to send his disciples out to baptize and bring the world to repentance.

Soon. It is coming. We need to be ready. We need to get the world ready.

In the reading today we see that Jesus sends his disciples out. He say to them, "Take nothing with you, go into the surrounding areas and heal the sick, cast out demons and lead people to repentance".
This is an echo of the great commission that Jesus gives all his disciples after he was raised from the dead: "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."
And is similar to the first words that Jesus speaks in Mark: "The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!".

What is being said here?

Teaching Point 2 - definitions¶

In order to understand these things, let us look at the definitions of a few concepts:

Firstly what is the "Good News" For me, good news means exciting news. If I win the 50% discount on a family trip which enables us to stay longer together, that is good news. What is the exciting thing that Jesus is wanting to convey? The good news that he wants shared? We may each have a different version of the good news, but currently, the news that I am excited to share with others is, what it is like to have a relationship with God and the hopeful vision of the kingdom of God as it continually grows and betters the world.
What is repentance? This word has grown to focus heavily on the negative connotation of confession of sins or being remorseful for the things we have done. But the actual meaning of Hebrew "Teshuvah" is to return, as in a turning back to something that you have strayed or looked away from. And the meaning of the Greek "Metanoa" is to changes one's mindset.

Repentance then is to stop thinking or living one way and start living or thinking in another. Or simply living in a new way.

Healing and casting out of demons We all have different experiences with healing. Some of us have experienced the healing power of God, others have prayed endlessly for God's healing and never received it. But we know what healing is and we know that healing leads to better living. We may all having different understandings of what we believe demon possession to be. But the mechanics of how or if we believe that demonic spirits possess people is not too important here. What we can all agree on is that people have spiritual maladies that cause them to do things that they have no control over. Think about the alcoholic who knows how damaging their drinking is and doesn't want to do, yet is still compelled to drink. Less obvious are the ways in which we let our anger posess us or our greed.

Healing and casting out of demons is the active role we play in mending these spiritual maladies.

Baptism Baptism is the symbolic act of choosing repentance. It is the dying to my old way of living and living in the way of the kingdom of God.

Teaching Point 3 - our duty as disciples¶

So what can we take a way from these readings. Jesus has a role for his disciples, to share with others the hopeful Good News of the kingdom of heaven and to help people change how they live to align with the principles of this kingdom.

We are to go out and cast out the ways of living that are possessing people to be selfish, consumeristic. We are to go out and heal the hurt, pain and guilt that oppress many people. We need to bring about living an upstanding, truthful life, a life of loving others, standing up for what is right, caring for the poor, giving up greed. This is the world God wants us to live in. Jesus sent his disciples out to help the world repent, change its ways, see the good news, the hopeful news, the inspiring news.

Application¶

I want us to be people who help align the world with the kingdom living. I want us to be strong, courageous, active Christians that bring about healing in the world. I want us to be Christians who live in the good news.

The two maladies that I spoke about earlier, an oversized or undersized sense of importance, prevent us from being able to do this. They cause us to focus so much on our own performance that we stop being effective.

Here are some thoughts on how we can overcome these. Maybe you will have something to add?

Action 1 - dying to self¶

Firstly, find a way to move from a sense of responsibility towards a sense of participation. A sense of dying to the oversized sense of importance. We need to stop worrying about our performance, what we can/can't do and start participating.

John 12.24

And we don't need anything to start! Jesus says to his disciples, take nothing just a staff, no money, no bread, not even and extra shirt. Just go. Start.

And Jesus doesn't care whether they succeed or not! He says if you are accepted, great! You will change lives. If not, dust off your feet and move on.

Action 2 - take authority¶

Secondly, find a way to remember who you are. Finding a sense of importance within the body of Christ. Within you, you carry the divine spark.

When Jesus sends the disciples out he gives them authority over the evil spirits. God is entrusting you with removing the veil from the eyes of those around us.

You have authority to make decisions, to stand up, to speak out, to do.

Will it always work? NO! Jesus was rejected so often. That doesn't mean failure.

Action 3 - discover the good news¶

Lastly, find the pearl. Two great parables of Jesus are the merchant who finds a flawless pearl and the wanderer who finds a field with a treasure buried in it. Both sell everything that they have in order to buy it.

If you had to share good news about being a Christian with a friend, what would you be excited to share? Do you have a sense of what the Good News is for you?

And it is okay if you don't have anything! Then you start there. It might be the place that you need to start at before worrying about changing the world. Maybe you need to start with allowing God to change you.

Some question to think¶

Where are you focusing too much on performance and not just participating?
Is there anywhere in your life where you think you need more than you do to just start?
Should healing the world be a priority for you now? Or should a focus on self-healing be the priority?
What would it take for you to believe in the absolute importance of your involvement in building Gods kingdom?
Is it time to dust off your feet and move on from someone who is not accepting your efforts?
Have you discovered the good news? What brave questions should you be asking if you do not think you have?

One Liner¶

Guilty, small, timid Christians do not spread good news or heal the world.