Prepare Him Room – Advent Week 2 – Matthew 3:1-12

Repent is the word of Advent! Repentance is not just turning from our sin but turning to the greater love of God! John the Baptist’s life teaches us in order to receive Jesus we must first repent! 

Date: December 11, 2022
Series: Advent

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Pastor’s Comment

Thank you so much for listening in here at West Side. We often say that we love the word of God because it points us to the son of God. We hope these messages encourage you and equip you to love Jesus more. We also want you to be apart of a local church, we believe these messages are only supplemental, being apart of a local church is essential. Blessings.
Jason G Jordan

Lead Pastor, West Side Church

SERMON NOTES

Advent Week 2- Matt 3:1-12 

REVIEW> The Word “Advent” simply means, “the arrival of”. The Church has historically set aside the four weeks leading up to December 25th to prepare for the arrival of Christ. 

        1. We look back to see what God has done. 
        2. We look around to see what God is doing.
        3. We look ahead to see what God will do. 

We said last week, that we are looking at the life of John The Baptist over this Advent season to help us better understand and prepare. This was the big idea we learned last week… 

REIVEW > Advent reminds us to never confuse God’s silence for absence.

ILL> Fun Fact, wayyyy back in the day I worked at J.C. Penneys. I started as a janitor and worked my way up to the shoe department manager! Ya boy could sell some shoes! 4 on the floor! Then one day we had a managers meeting and the store manager said, in a few months our Executive Manager will be stopping by… this isn’t the district guy, this is the guy that that guy reports to! I heard stories about him, he loved suits and he loved shoes! They give you a two week period of when he will stop by, not the day.  We spent months tiding up the store. We lived on pens and needles for those two weeks! We rearranged things and got the store ready to receive him….  HE came by, dressed super nice, wore a size 14 shoe, great guy. Ya boy passed with flying colors. But I will never forget to day that our store manager came in… “He’s here! He’s here! He’s here!” 

CONTEXT> That’s exactly like what John the Baptist did in our verses today, he is preparing people for the arrival of the Messiah. In our verses today, we get the full picture of John the Baptist. You get the man and his message. Remember, John The Baptist is technically the last of the OT prophets, which is why he is dressed that way. Also, he is out in the “wilderness” which has a lot of significance and is also an act of rebellion to government at the time. There is one thing that I want to focus on today… 

*ILL> This time of year, you get Christmas cards, letters or see advertisements in general that a lot of times have certain words on them that are associated with Christmas.. shout some of those out!

CONTEXT> Yeah… None of those would be in a Christmas card for John The Baptist… only one word John Associaties with the coming king…. REPENT (Show Christmas repent Pic)

Repent:

      • μετανοέω (metanoeō) means “to change ones mind and to change direction” 
      • Repent was the first word of John the Baptist’s gospel (Matthew 3:1-2). 
      • Repent was the first word of Jesus’ gospel (Matthew 4:17 and Mark 1:14-15). 
      • Repent was the first word in the preaching ministry of the twelve disciples (Mark 6:12). 
      • Repent was the first word in the preaching instructions Jesus gave to His disciples after His resurrection (Luke 24:46-47). 
      • Repent was the first word of exhortation in the first Christian sermon (Acts 2:38). 
      • Repent was the first word in the mouth of the Apostle Paul through his ministry (Acts 26:19-20).

Big Idea > John The Baptist teaches us that to receive the King and his kingdom, we must repent.

  1. Repentance is turning from sin. 
        • “bear fruit in keeping with repentance….” What does this mean and what does this look like? 

3 Marks of Genuine Repentance: (*Credit to Ryan Hugely)

    1. A Change of Mind– I think differently about my sin. 
    2. A Change of Heart– I feel differently toward my sin. 
    3. A Change of Direction– I act differently in regards to my sin. 

*Use white board to show two paths from REGRET! 

Ruin<Repeat<Resist<Rationalize<REGRET>Responsibility>Repentance>Restitution>Resolution

2) Repentance is turning to Jesus. 

        • “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand….” Do you see the “and” there! It’s so important! 

APP> You can only remove a lesser love by replacing it with a greater love. 

*ILL> The old readers digest story about little suzy and her gumboil machine necklace. Dad ends up giving her a real pearl necklace. 

APP> Jesus demands from us the very same thing that he gives to us, everything. 

Big Idea > John The Baptist teaches us that to receive the King and his kingdom, we must repent.

Application: 

        • In preparation of Christmas, what is the Spirit calling you to repent of?
        • When is the last time you confessed your sin to a fellow brother or sister in Christ?