After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:14-15
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Have you ever wondered what the good news of God (the real Gospel) is about?
“The time has come,” Jesus said.
“The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
In a sermon to the universe, Christ underscores the four imperatives regarding our Kingdom initiation and participation.
1. “The time has come”
In the Greek language, there are two words for time.
Chronos for chronological time; and Kairos for significant time – the moment of truth, the mark of a new era.
A Kairos moment separates the past and the future, and initiates us into a new era.
When we think about making and keeping daily appointments, we think in terms of Chronos time. However, if it was an appointment that would define our lives – a Kairos moment (i.e. the day of marriage, the birth of a child, a final job interview) – and if we missed it, that would be awful, and in some cases, tragic.
When Jesus declared, “The time has come”, He was talking about the Kairos moment which defines a new era which would profoundly and immensely define our lives moving forward – the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God.
Missing this Kairos moment would be catastrophic.
Your moment of decision has arrived.
God’s reign in near!
Heads up! Don't miss it! Your destiny, future and life depends on it!
Have you accepted and embraced the inbreaking of the Reign of God over all Creation?
Do you understand that God’s Reign is absolute, existential and ultimate?
Do you understand that God’s Reign is an eventuality that will come to pass regardless of where your faith and allegiance lie?
Who, or what reigns over you?
Every so often, we hear accounts of North Koreans risking their lives crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to flee tyranny and oppression, for a life of freedom and opportunity.
For them, their choices were filled with hardships and great risks to their own lives, and were made long before the crossings.
The moment they made their choice for a new life was the ‘Kairos’ moment that would change their mentality and appetite for life, and prepare them physically and emotionally for the arduous journey and perils that they must face before fulfilling their dreams of a new life.
For them, though their environment has not changed, the time has come. A new era of freedom and opportunity has become reality to them. This appetite for meaningful life becomes a great motivator for them to make the perilous DMZ crossing, and will continue to motivate them towards their dreams long after they have found safe refuge in the South.
Have you had your ‘Kairos’ moment regarding choosing life under the loving, perfect and eternal reign of GOD through Christ Jesus our Lord?
2. “The kingdom of God has come near.
In this statement after marking the ‘Kairos’ moment for all Creation, Christ announces the Reign of God.
To understand God’s kingdom is to understand that His kingdom transcends geographical territorial reign, and includes God’s Kingship in His Sovereign Reign over the hearts of His people.
The Lord Jesus said, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your hearts.” (Luke 17:20-21)
The present Kingdom of God is found in the hearts of all those who come to Him through Christ Jesus His Son (Ephesians 2:18), and have surrendered our lives to live under the perfect and eternal Reign of our Heavenly Father.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)
We who have believed in Christ Jesus;
We who have received God’s gift of eternal life;
We who should have been condemned to eternal death for our sins, and yet have been saved through Christ Jesus;
We are the Kingdom of God!
God reign through us – His chosen people!
But the day will eventually and ultimately come upon the return of Christ, when we will see God’s Kingdom come, His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
It will happen.
The Berlin wall that ideologically and geographically separated West and East Germany is akin to the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Like their Korean counterparts, tens of thousands of East Germans risked their lives to cross the wall in hopes of a new life of freedom and opportunity. November 9, 1989 marked one of the most joyful outcomes that resulted from the thawing of cold war across Eastern Europe. The wall was no longer guarded. East Germany allowed for the free movement of her citizen across the wall. The wall had come down.
What had been Kairos moments for the East German defectors has finally become fulfilled for all of Germany. Korea remains in our prayers this day. We pray that this Gospel will reach deep into their hearts. And we believe that it will happen for them as it did for Germany to the glory of God our Father. The DMZ will truly become demilitarized, and be dissolved.
It will happen.
‘The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”’ (Revelation 11:15)
God’s Kingdom has begun with Christ’s first coming, and will be fully manifested with His Return.
Christ made the Kingdom of God the focus of His teaching and preaching.
As His church, we must do the same.
To preach or teach any other kingdom is to be unfaithful and idolatrous.
To proclaim the present and future Kingdom of God is to first personally and corporately embrace Christ’s clarion call that the Kairos moment of God’s eternal Kingdom has come, and live under God’s Reign from this moment on.
To live under God’s Reign from this moment on is to make the crossing from the kingdom of self into the Kingdom of God.
How do we make this crossing?
3. Repent!
There are three actions to this one word – a changing of one’s mind; a turning away from the world, and a turning towards God.
Repentance is far from simply feeling guilty from the discovery of the wickedness of sin, it is an ongoing mourning that we have sinned, and an active resolve to abandon sin and all its accouterments, and live a life under the Reign of God – a life forgiven, redeemed, revived and restored.
Repentance comes when we see that God alone is worthy of our worship and reverence, our obedience and lives.
When Jesus called on Israel to repent, He was calling them to turn away from all false gods and to turn to the true God – the God who could, and world ultimately save them.
However, do keep this in mind.
Strictly speaking, a person does not repent at will; for repentance is a gift from God.
To the sinner, conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon and unnatural things to ever happen. It marks the beginning of the revelation of God – a departure from an unholy paradigm, and an entrance into His holy presence.
Our Lord Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16:8), and challenges our scruples whilst stirring our hearts to make right our relationship with God.
The Holy Spirit’s conviction of our lives of sin causes us to realize that we have wholly and solely sinned against God.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. (Psalm 51:4)
Repentance is the foundation of the Christian life, and brings a person to the point of saying, and believing, “Oh God, I have sinned against You.”
When this happens, the conflict between the kingdom of the world and the Reign of God intensifies within the Christian, out of which the Holy Spirit begins to form Christ is us, the hope of glory! (Galatians 4:19, Colossians 1:27)
The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:10, ‘Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Are you truly sorrowful for your sins against God?
Are you truly repentant?
If you are, be assured of God’s forgiveness through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
‘…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.’ (Titus 2:13-14)
Always remember. Always believe.
4. Believe the good news!
C S Lewis provides us with this insight, ‘As long as he doesn't convert it into action, it does not matter how much a man thinks about his repentance.’
How may we truly become a people that are Christ’s own, eager to do what is good?
We believe the good news!
Conscious repentance is always followed by unconscious Christ-likeness.
True and conscious repentance is the foundation of the Christian life, which the Holy Spirit builds upon to produce a life whereby living in total surrender to the Holy and Perfect Reign of God in the world becomes second-nature - unconscious Christ-likeness.
That is what it means to truly believe – repentance converted into a life utterly devoted to Reign and Will of God.
To believe the good news is to ‘be’, and to ‘live’ the good news that the time has come, the Kingdom of God has come near!
‘Be’ the good news of Jesus Christ!
‘Live’ the good news of Jesus Christ!
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, ’Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
To believe the good news of God, is to live for the sake of Christ alone.
‘For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ (Philippians 1:21)
Do you live for the sake of Christ alone?
Do you live for the sake of God’s Present and Imminent Kingdom?
Do you truly believe the good news of God?
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your finished work on the Cross where You suffered and died as Atoning Sacrifice in my place for the forgiveness of my sins.
God, I acknowledge that I have sinned against You wholly and solely.
I come before You with a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
Please forgive my transgressions and iniquities.
Thank You for forgiving my sins
Holy Spirit, thank You for Your work of revealing to me the presence and love of God, and for convicting me of my sins.
Where I have avoided confessing my sins, or abstained from contemplating my sins, Holy Spirit, I ask that You would stir my spirit and create in me the rightful and passionate yearning for God in my life.
Guide me into all truth (John 16:13) about the world, about myself, and about You, my God.
Holy Spirit, teach me all things, and bring to remembrance Christ’s words to me. (John 14:26)
Grant me the courage, wisdom and strength to repent – to turn from my life of wickedness, and turn towards a life of Righteousness through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Help me make that crossing from the kingdom of self, to the Kingdom of God!
I acknowledge Your Reign in, and over my life.
I declare that You are my God, my King and my Saviour.
Where I am weak, empower me with Your Presence, Purpose and Power.
On this day, I declare that I utterly believe Christ’s message of the good news of God, “The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near.”
I repent of my ways and believe the good news!
Help me become a part of Your Kingdom O God!
Help me live as part of Your Kingdom from this moment forth!
May my life shine for Your glory sake.
May I live for Christ alone.
We thank you and pray all these in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
Mark 1:14-15
Dearly Beloved,
Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Have you ever wondered what the good news of God (the real Gospel) is about?
“The time has come,” Jesus said.
“The kingdom of God has come near.
Repent and believe the good news!”
In a sermon to the universe, Christ underscores the four imperatives regarding our Kingdom initiation and participation.
1. “The time has come”
In the Greek language, there are two words for time.
Chronos for chronological time; and Kairos for significant time – the moment of truth, the mark of a new era.
A Kairos moment separates the past and the future, and initiates us into a new era.
When we think about making and keeping daily appointments, we think in terms of Chronos time. However, if it was an appointment that would define our lives – a Kairos moment (i.e. the day of marriage, the birth of a child, a final job interview) – and if we missed it, that would be awful, and in some cases, tragic.
When Jesus declared, “The time has come”, He was talking about the Kairos moment which defines a new era which would profoundly and immensely define our lives moving forward – the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God.
Missing this Kairos moment would be catastrophic.
Your moment of decision has arrived.
God’s reign in near!
Heads up! Don't miss it! Your destiny, future and life depends on it!
Have you accepted and embraced the inbreaking of the Reign of God over all Creation?
Do you understand that God’s Reign is absolute, existential and ultimate?
Do you understand that God’s Reign is an eventuality that will come to pass regardless of where your faith and allegiance lie?
Who, or what reigns over you?
Every so often, we hear accounts of North Koreans risking their lives crossing the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to flee tyranny and oppression, for a life of freedom and opportunity.
For them, their choices were filled with hardships and great risks to their own lives, and were made long before the crossings.
The moment they made their choice for a new life was the ‘Kairos’ moment that would change their mentality and appetite for life, and prepare them physically and emotionally for the arduous journey and perils that they must face before fulfilling their dreams of a new life.
For them, though their environment has not changed, the time has come. A new era of freedom and opportunity has become reality to them. This appetite for meaningful life becomes a great motivator for them to make the perilous DMZ crossing, and will continue to motivate them towards their dreams long after they have found safe refuge in the South.
Have you had your ‘Kairos’ moment regarding choosing life under the loving, perfect and eternal reign of GOD through Christ Jesus our Lord?
2. “The kingdom of God has come near.
In this statement after marking the ‘Kairos’ moment for all Creation, Christ announces the Reign of God.
To understand God’s kingdom is to understand that His kingdom transcends geographical territorial reign, and includes God’s Kingship in His Sovereign Reign over the hearts of His people.
The Lord Jesus said, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your hearts.” (Luke 17:20-21)
The present Kingdom of God is found in the hearts of all those who come to Him through Christ Jesus His Son (Ephesians 2:18), and have surrendered our lives to live under the perfect and eternal Reign of our Heavenly Father.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)
We who have believed in Christ Jesus;
We who have received God’s gift of eternal life;
We who should have been condemned to eternal death for our sins, and yet have been saved through Christ Jesus;
We are the Kingdom of God!
God reign through us – His chosen people!
But the day will eventually and ultimately come upon the return of Christ, when we will see God’s Kingdom come, His Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
It will happen.
The Berlin wall that ideologically and geographically separated West and East Germany is akin to the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Like their Korean counterparts, tens of thousands of East Germans risked their lives to cross the wall in hopes of a new life of freedom and opportunity. November 9, 1989 marked one of the most joyful outcomes that resulted from the thawing of cold war across Eastern Europe. The wall was no longer guarded. East Germany allowed for the free movement of her citizen across the wall. The wall had come down.
What had been Kairos moments for the East German defectors has finally become fulfilled for all of Germany. Korea remains in our prayers this day. We pray that this Gospel will reach deep into their hearts. And we believe that it will happen for them as it did for Germany to the glory of God our Father. The DMZ will truly become demilitarized, and be dissolved.
It will happen.
‘The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”’ (Revelation 11:15)
God’s Kingdom has begun with Christ’s first coming, and will be fully manifested with His Return.
Christ made the Kingdom of God the focus of His teaching and preaching.
As His church, we must do the same.
To preach or teach any other kingdom is to be unfaithful and idolatrous.
To proclaim the present and future Kingdom of God is to first personally and corporately embrace Christ’s clarion call that the Kairos moment of God’s eternal Kingdom has come, and live under God’s Reign from this moment on.
To live under God’s Reign from this moment on is to make the crossing from the kingdom of self into the Kingdom of God.
How do we make this crossing?
3. Repent!
There are three actions to this one word – a changing of one’s mind; a turning away from the world, and a turning towards God.
Repentance is far from simply feeling guilty from the discovery of the wickedness of sin, it is an ongoing mourning that we have sinned, and an active resolve to abandon sin and all its accouterments, and live a life under the Reign of God – a life forgiven, redeemed, revived and restored.
Repentance comes when we see that God alone is worthy of our worship and reverence, our obedience and lives.
When Jesus called on Israel to repent, He was calling them to turn away from all false gods and to turn to the true God – the God who could, and world ultimately save them.
However, do keep this in mind.
Strictly speaking, a person does not repent at will; for repentance is a gift from God.
To the sinner, conviction of sin is one of the most uncommon and unnatural things to ever happen. It marks the beginning of the revelation of God – a departure from an unholy paradigm, and an entrance into His holy presence.
Our Lord Jesus teaches us that the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16:8), and challenges our scruples whilst stirring our hearts to make right our relationship with God.
The Holy Spirit’s conviction of our lives of sin causes us to realize that we have wholly and solely sinned against God.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. (Psalm 51:4)
Repentance is the foundation of the Christian life, and brings a person to the point of saying, and believing, “Oh God, I have sinned against You.”
When this happens, the conflict between the kingdom of the world and the Reign of God intensifies within the Christian, out of which the Holy Spirit begins to form Christ is us, the hope of glory! (Galatians 4:19, Colossians 1:27)
The Apostle Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 7:10, ‘Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Are you truly sorrowful for your sins against God?
Are you truly repentant?
If you are, be assured of God’s forgiveness through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour.
‘…while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.’ (Titus 2:13-14)
Always remember. Always believe.
4. Believe the good news!
C S Lewis provides us with this insight, ‘As long as he doesn't convert it into action, it does not matter how much a man thinks about his repentance.’
How may we truly become a people that are Christ’s own, eager to do what is good?
We believe the good news!
Conscious repentance is always followed by unconscious Christ-likeness.
True and conscious repentance is the foundation of the Christian life, which the Holy Spirit builds upon to produce a life whereby living in total surrender to the Holy and Perfect Reign of God in the world becomes second-nature - unconscious Christ-likeness.
That is what it means to truly believe – repentance converted into a life utterly devoted to Reign and Will of God.
To believe the good news is to ‘be’, and to ‘live’ the good news that the time has come, the Kingdom of God has come near!
‘Be’ the good news of Jesus Christ!
- Represent God.
- Be His ambassador in love, grace and mercy.
- Be God’s Kingdom in the world today.
‘Live’ the good news of Jesus Christ!
Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, ’Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
- To ‘live’ the good new of Jesus Christ is to utterly trust in the Lord with our lives and destiny, and to unreservedly forsake any dependence of our own abilities and efforts, and any dreams of earthly achievements.
- To ‘live’ the good news of Jesus Christ, is to live our lives all for the sake of Christ, and the good news of God.
- To ‘live’ the good news of Jesus Christ, is to be utterly convinced that the Reign of God is indeed upon us.
- To ‘live’ the good news of Jesus Christ, is to follow Christ passionately and live in His Way, Truth and Life.
To believe the good news of God, is to live for the sake of Christ alone.
‘For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ (Philippians 1:21)
Do you live for the sake of Christ alone?
Do you live for the sake of God’s Present and Imminent Kingdom?
Do you truly believe the good news of God?
Shalom.
Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven,
Hallowed be Your Name.
Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done; on earth, as it is in heaven.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your finished work on the Cross where You suffered and died as Atoning Sacrifice in my place for the forgiveness of my sins.
God, I acknowledge that I have sinned against You wholly and solely.
I come before You with a broken spirit and a contrite heart.
Please forgive my transgressions and iniquities.
Thank You for forgiving my sins
Holy Spirit, thank You for Your work of revealing to me the presence and love of God, and for convicting me of my sins.
Where I have avoided confessing my sins, or abstained from contemplating my sins, Holy Spirit, I ask that You would stir my spirit and create in me the rightful and passionate yearning for God in my life.
Guide me into all truth (John 16:13) about the world, about myself, and about You, my God.
Holy Spirit, teach me all things, and bring to remembrance Christ’s words to me. (John 14:26)
Grant me the courage, wisdom and strength to repent – to turn from my life of wickedness, and turn towards a life of Righteousness through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Help me make that crossing from the kingdom of self, to the Kingdom of God!
I acknowledge Your Reign in, and over my life.
I declare that You are my God, my King and my Saviour.
Where I am weak, empower me with Your Presence, Purpose and Power.
On this day, I declare that I utterly believe Christ’s message of the good news of God, “The time has come, the kingdom of God has come near.”
I repent of my ways and believe the good news!
Help me become a part of Your Kingdom O God!
Help me live as part of Your Kingdom from this moment forth!
May my life shine for Your glory sake.
May I live for Christ alone.
We thank you and pray all these in the Name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.