This sermon emphasizes the importance of repentance and turning away from sin towards God, focusing on the message of the kingdom of heaven being within us through righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It highlights the need for Christians to teach and proclaim all that Jesus commanded, including repentance, faith, and seeking the kingdom of God first, rather than earthly blessings. The speaker underscores the significance of the Holy Spirit filling our hearts, enabling us to overflow with God's love and truth to bless others.

Continuing our study on all that Jesus taught. This is based on Matthew 28 verse 20. The neglected part of the Great Commission as I call it. Go therefore into all nations, make disciples, baptize them and teach them to do all that I have commanded you. All that Jesus taught and commanded. It's our responsibility to teach that to those who claim to have given their lives to Christ. We must satisfy the heart of the Lord by bringing people to obedience to all that Jesus commanded and there's very little of that being done today in Christendom and that is the reason why Christians have such a bad testimony generally speaking. That's the reason why there's so much of conflict and lack of love among Christians. Why there's such a lack of humility among so many of God's servants. Why there's so much of sin and the love of money among God's people and even among God's servants. It's because all that Jesus commanded has not been taught diligently by God's servants. So this is what we're looking at in this series and we've already seen a number of things that Jesus commanded beginning with the first words that Jesus spoke after his anointing and baptism and that is to the devil. In Matthew chapter 4 we looked at the importance of hearing God's Word continuously. Matthew 4.4 the need to compare scripture with scripture so that we are not deceived by the devil miscoding scripture and not tempting God by foolishly claiming promises expecting his protection Matthew 4.7 and then learning to worship God in spirit Matthew 4.10. Moving on from there we read that John the Baptist his primary message was as described in Matthew 3 verse 2 repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. He was the last of the prophets to the nation of Israel. He was the forerunner for Jesus Christ who was going to open up the way to a new covenant that God was making with man which would bring people of all nations into a relationship with God as their father and so he his message to the nation of Israel was repent and repent means turn around the best definition of it could be from the military turn military command about turn when a soldier is facing front and the sergeant major or Havildar major in the parade ground says about turn he turns right around and he puts his back to the direction he was facing and looks in the direction to which his back was facing formerly that is the best definition of repent to turn around and we have to turn around in our mind in in English the word repent doesn't express it as clearly in most languages the translation of repent is not very clear but in the Tamil language it's very clear repent is mananthirambal that means the turning of the mind that's exactly what it means and about turn of the mind and that's what John the Baptist was telling the nation of Israel see the nation of Israel was promised a whole lot of earthly things throughout the old covenant there's no promise that they could partake of the divine nature there was no promise of treasure in heaven there was no promise about a heavenly life on earth etc it was all earthly they were promised material wealth and especially in Deuteronomy 28 it's very clear material prosperity physical health number of children their business would be blessed their farming would be blessed their cattle would be blessed and that was the job in those days of the Israelis and they would be very prosperous they would never be in debt and their earthly enemies would all be destroyed they'd be a great nation and they would have a land which is the land of Canaan which was called Israel so all the blessings were earthly and their face was completely set towards the things of earth all the time and John the Baptist came along and said turn around now about turn from this stop facing the things of earth and turn around because now a new kingdom is coming that is the kingdom of heaven where earthly needs become secondary even physical health becomes secondary material prosperity becomes unimportant because God provides us with material necessities and turn around and now God's going to give you spiritual wealth heavenly wealth God's going to give you spiritual children not necessarily physical children and you'll have a spiritual heavenly land to possess not an earthly land primarily so turn around he was telling them because the kingdom of heaven has not yet come it is near at hand it was going to come on the day of Pentecost now we read in Matthew 4 verse 12 that John was taken prisoner by Herod and when Jesus heard this he withdrew from Galilee and he left Nazareth where he had grown up and lived for 30 years and he came and took a house in Capernaum which is beside the sea and then he began to preach from that moment onwards exactly the same message that John the Baptist had preached repent Matthew 4 17 for the kingdom of heaven is at hand John as it were had run the first leg of the relay race and handed over the bet on to Jesus and he took it up and the same message repent when Jesus ascended up into heaven we read that the Apostle Peter took up the bet on then from Jesus hand and preached the same message repent Acts chapter 2 and verse 38 he preached to the people on the day of Pentecost repent and you'll receive the gift of the Holy Spirit which is the kingdom of God within us now it had come John the Baptist and Jesus had only said it was going to come it's at hand it's near once Jesus said the kingdom of God is in your midst referring to the fact that in Christ the kingdom of God was already present but it wasn't present in the people around him that would happen only on the day of Pentecost when those 120 who were waiting for the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God came and fill them the kingdom of God came within them and then that is the kingdom they proclaim the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of God which is not physical healing it's not material prosperity as unfortunately is being preached by a lot of Christian preachers today that is a deception let me tell you plainly that is not the kingdom of God the kingdom of God we read in Romans 14 and verse 17 what Matthew calls the kingdom of heaven is called the kingdom of God in the other Gospels for example when John the Baptist preached that the kingdom of heaven is at hand the same thing is quoted in the other Gospels as John the Baptist preaching in the kingdom of God is at hand mark chapter 1 verse 15 you compare mark chapter 1 verse 15 where John the Baptist is quoted as saying the kingdom of God is at hand and so repent with Matthew chapter 3 and verse 2 where he says repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand and it becomes clear as crystal that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are the same thing though some Christians try to make a distinction between them because they haven't studied the scripture properly so the kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven what is it in Romans 14 and verse 17 it says the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking it's not anything earthly it's not prosperity it's not healing it's not earthly blessing at all the kingdom of God is the kingdom of heaven and it's primarily righteousness the righteousness of God himself first imputed to us when we receive Christ as our Savior and Lord and then imparted to us from within by the Holy Spirit where the righteousness of God becomes manifest in our life and peace and inward peace primarily given by the Holy Spirit freedom from anxiety fear tension discouragement gloom bad moods etc and an outward peace with all men where we refuse to fight with people for anything and joy and inward joy that delivers us completely from discouragement and depression in the Holy Spirit so this is the kingdom of God it's an inward thing the kingdom of God is within us it's the life of Christ coming within through the Holy Spirit this is the kingdom of God this is the kingdom of heaven it's the life of heaven here on this earth inside our hearts and that's what Jesus was preaching is the very first message he preached repent in the Matthews gospel that's what we read is the very first thing that he preached repent for the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God is near and this is what has already come on the day of Pentecost and that we should be now proclaiming as not as something that is near but something that's already come in fact Jesus made that clear in Mark's gospel in the gospel of Mark when Jesus was speaking to some of the people he said to them in Mark chapter 9 and verse 1 he said to the people standing in front of him truly I say to you there are some of those who are standing here not all but some who will not die until they see the kingdom of God come with power so some of you standing here he said would die before that day but there are some standing here who will not die there were old people there and younger people there and he was saying that some of you will not die till you see the kingdom of God come with power now obviously that's not referring to the second coming of Christ when the glory of God will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea no that day is in the future and there's nobody who heard Jesus speak there who's alive today so he's not referring to that he's referring to something else that would happen in the lifetime of some of those people standing in front of him when they would see the kingdom of God which they hadn't seen till now till then which no one on earth had seen till then when did that kingdom of God that Jesus referred to here come with power the answer is in that word power Jesus used that word power again before he ascended into heaven he told his disciples in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8 you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and ten days later we read they did receive that power and that was the fulfillment of Mark 9 verse 1 some of the people who heard Jesus had died before the day of Pentecost but some others who were standing there were alive when the kingdom of God had come to earth on the day of Pentecost so when we compare scripture with scripture we find this is the kingdom of God that we are to proclaim and Jesus said especially in relation to the last days in Matthew 24 and when the disciples asked him about the second coming he said one of the things he said was in Matthew 24 and verse 14 the question they asked was when will these things be what will be the sign of your coming in the end of the age Matthew 24 verse 3 and he said many things and one of the things he said was in verse 14 of Matthew 24 this gospel of the kingdom what is this gospel of the kingdom now many of us have heard a gospel of the forgiveness of our past sins and praise God for that but about this gospel of the kingdom of heaven the kingdom of God on earth in people's hearts the kingdom of heaven heaven coming and dwelling in people's hearts this is going to be preached in the whole world not that the whole world will receive it very few will probably receive it maybe only one or two percent but it'll be preached for a witness to all the nations and then the end will come I'm greatly encouraged by that that before Christ comes there's going to be a proclamation of this gospel of the kingdom what is that we saw in Romans 14 17 a gospel of righteousness in the Holy Spirit peace in the Holy Spirit joy in the Holy Spirit there are very few proclaiming it most people are still proclaiming only the forgiveness of sins which is a very good first step to me it's like the cleaning of a cup if my little boy comes to me and says daddy can you give me a glass of milk and he gives me a dirty cup a picture of our hearts what I do first is clean the cup I wouldn't pour milk into that dirty cup I would take that cup and clean it thoroughly and then what's the purpose of that I don't give him an empty cup after that I fill it with milk and then give it to him so when we come to Christ the first thing he does is clean up our hearts like clean the inside of the cup and does he leave it like that no he fills it with what with the righteousness of God the peace of God and the joy of God through the Holy Spirit this is the gospel and if we only offer the truth that Christ will clean up the heart and clean up the cup we are offering people an empty cup and that's why so many Christians are thirsty they're not satisfied because they're going around with this empty cup which may be clean but it's empty what's the use giving my son an empty cup that's clean saying son you gave me a dirty cup here it is clean is that all God gives us that'll be frustrating my son will say hey dad I wanted some milk do you hunger and thirst for righteousness the trouble is that a lot of Christians are not hungry and thirsting for righteousness and that's why they go around with a clean empty cup you know the difference between the old covenant and the new covenant can be pictured like this the gift of the Holy Spirit who brings the kingdom of God to earth and that is if you think of a cup that's placed upside down on a table and you pour water on that from a jug you pour water on it a picture of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit this is how it was in the Old Testament times the water flowed the Holy Spirit was upon people and flowed out around them and blessed probably thousands and millions of people there were two million people in the wilderness who Moses the anointed servant of God led but the inside of Moses heart was dirty he couldn't overcome anger and got so angry once he broke the tablets of stone which God had written with his own hands you know what the new equivalent of that today would be it'd be like tearing the Bible that's what Moses did God's Word he had gotten his hands he broke it it's like tearing the Bible today imagine a man getting so angry and tearing the Bible whatever may provoke you to anger you shouldn't dare the Bible but Moses did it because the inside of his cup was dirty the but the blessing flowed from him to bless multitudes David was an anointed person but the inside of his cup was dirty he could kill Goliath but when he saw Bathsheba he fell into sin the inside of his cup had adultery it was like that with Samson and Gideon and so many other people in the Old Testament the Spirit of God was upon them even the great John the Baptist the Spirit of God was upon him from his mother's womb but when he was in prison he had doubt even about Christ are you really the Messiah even though he'd heard a voice from heaven he had unbelief because the inside of his cup was not filled with faith but on the day of Pentecost what the Lord did was he turned this cup right side up and poured the Holy Spirit inside the cup the heart and then then it would overflow and bless people like in the Old Testament and much more than the Old Testament but it would be from the innermost being and that is the kingdom of God flowing out from within us this is the kingdom that Jesus prophesied would come on the day of Pentecost that's why Jesus said in the last day of the great feast in Jerusalem in John 7 and verse 38 he said as the scripture has said from his innermost being will flow rivers of living water that would not happen that could not happen before the day of Pentecost that's why it says in John 7 39 this he was referring to the Holy Spirit who those who believed in him were not received for the Holy Spirit was not yet given that means not given in this way till Jesus was glorified Christ had to die and rise again and present his blood before the father only then could the hearts of men be cleansed in the Old Testament people's hearts were not cleansed Psalm 32 one says their sins were covered they were forgiven Psalm 103 verse 2 & 3 but their hearts were not cleansed today my sins are not covered but cleansed see if your sin is only covered it's like putting a sheet over our sins and then lift up the sheet and still see your sins the blood of bulls and goats could never cleanse people's hearts and that's why God could not put the spirit within people the kingdom of God could not come within people in Old Testament times but now that Christ has shed his blood and ascended to the father every sin of ours can be cleansed if we confess it to the Lord sin that is not confessed will not be forgiven people ask me what is the sin that cannot be forgiven I said the sin that you don't confess whatever sin you don't repent of and they didn't don't confess will never be forgiven but if you repent and confess every sin can be cleansed in the blood of Christ however great it may be so with God turns the cup right side up and cleanses us in the blood of Christ and pours the Holy Spirit within us first so that it strengthens us to do God's will and then it flows out from us to be in words and actions so that we can lead other people also to do God's will like we've done it first so it flows from our innermost being if it doesn't flow from innermost being it's an old covenant type of ministry and in order to come to this life the first step as we read in Jesus words all that Jesus taught is in Matthew 417 repent is the first word turn around turn around from your seeking for the things of earth turn around in our case not only that from sin we don't have to overcome sin before we receive the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit comes in to help us to overcome sin so we don't put the cart before the horse the horse is in front of the cart I can't give up sin and then say Lord give me the Holy Spirit I say Lord I need the Holy Spirit to be able to overcome sin but I can turn around from sin that means my attitude is one of giving up sin that's all that God's asking you do you have an attitude where you want to give up every single thing that's dishonoring to God in your life it may take you some years before you actually overcome them it doesn't matter make sure your attitude is always one of repentance where I've turned around from my old way of life it's through repentance and faith in Christ that we come to the starting line of the Christian race Hebrews 12 verse 1 and 2 says the Christian life is like a race and I can come to the starting line only if I've repented the message of repentance and turning around from sin is the message that's lacking in Christendom today how many gospel messages do you hear on repentance how many songs look at your hymn book for example any hymn book and see how many songs there are of repentance in those hymn books hardly any you'll find a lot of songs about believe believe what believe believe for example there's a well-known song to God be the glory great things he has done and one of the lines in that song says the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives I disagree with it supposing there is a man attending a meeting a complete wretched sinner who doesn't know anything about the gospel and he comes there and listens to that song the vilest offender he says yes I'm the vilest offender he acknowledges that and he hears the vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives he says oh that's all I got to do just believe in Jesus I believe in him as a son of God he died for my sins is he forgiven not if he's not repented so the vilest offender who repents and believes now many people say well that's the meaning of truly believe but that's a theological explanation which that unconverted godless sinner doesn't know he must be told he has got to repent and that's what the Apostle Paul made Peter made it clear on the day of Pentecost repent and that's what Paul said he preaches everywhere in Acts chapter 20 he says I preach Acts 20 verse 21 two things repentance and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ repentance towards God not towards prosperity and healing no it's not I'm turn not turning away from sickness to healing I'm not turning away from poverty to prosperity no that is a false gospel that's being preached today it says here I'm repenting towards God from everything that was against God in my life and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ the same thing Paul says when he writes to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians and chapter 1 he says we the Word of God came to you and you have turned to God 1 Thessalonians 1 in verse 9 you have turned or repented towards God away from idols to serve a living God what is an idol an idol is anything that takes the place of God in your heart it could be your health it could be your wealth it could be your job it could be your house it could be your car it could be your wife it could be your children it could be anything that takes the place of God in your heart like Isaac took the place of God in Abraham's heart and God had to tell him to get rid of that idolatry turn to God from idols that's repentance turn to God from everything that prevents God from being up first and uppermost in your heart that is the meaning of seek the kingdom of God first and his righteousness and our earthly necessities Jesus promised in Matthew 6 33 will be added to us you can be absolutely sure that you will never lack earthly necessities even if you never become a millionaire thank God for that he will make sure your earthly necessities are added to you if you seek God's kingdom first this is the way every Christian should live it's a very sad thing today when Christians think that material prosperity and physical healing are the marks of God's blessing that cannot be true because there are a lot of non-christians who have a lot more material prosperity and a lot more physical health than even spiritual Christians that itself proves that that's not the gospel but they don't have freedom from sin like a true disciple has so repent is the message that Jesus proclaimed first and that we need to keep proclaiming teach them to do all that I have taught what did he teach turn around from sin turn towards God and open your heart to the kingdom of heaven that your mind is set now on things above on the things of God righteousness peace and joy in the Holy Spirit let us pray heavenly father as we bow before you we pray that the truth and reality of these words that we have just heard may become a personal possession in the days to come that it will not be just knowledge in our minds but sink into our hearts that the kingdom of God will be there we pray in Jesus name