The spiritual weakness of the evangelical church is the result of the man-centric evangelistic efforts that have been cute and clever but not true to the Scripture. A lost person can decide to believe in Jesus Christ if they think by doing so, God will make their life better. But, to be born again requires the supernatural work of God that will change a person’s life forever. And, as Jesus told Nicodemus, to even perceive what life is like in the Kingdom of God, one must be born again.

In the “beatitudes,” Jesus said the first two requisites to being born again are:

To be “poor in spirit,” i.e., emptied of all religious pride.
To “mourn over our sins,”, brokenhearted over the way we dishonored God;

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: Life in the Kingdom of God # 4

Many religions view the Sermon on the Mount as a list of ethical standards by which Christians should live. In that regard, they claim that poverty in itself is a virtue, and the absence of material possessions or the lack of financial resources reveals one’s faith in God. Some even take a vow of poverty to prove their faith and their trust in God’s provision.

However, Jesus used the term “poor in spirit” to describe those who are utterly destitute and completely helpless to provide their own way into the Kingdom of God. In Jesus’ day, a person in such physical need would be so ashamed of his position in life he would cover his face while he held out his hand and begged for help.

Jesus said this describes those who will be allowed into His kingdom; those so poor in spiritual things they beg God for His mercy and grace. We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: Life in the Kingdom of God # 3.

Two-thousand years ago, God spoke His final word of warning to all mankind. That “Word” was Jesus of Nazareth, and that “warning” was: “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” In His first sermon, Jesus made it clear that He had not come to remove the Roman government from power and restore the sovereignty of the nation of Israel. Neither had He come to purify the Jewish Religion of its legalistic hypocrisy. Jesus said He came to inaugurate the new Kingdom of God, and to call out those who would inhabit that kingdom for all eternity.

Beloved, rather than wasting our time trying to repair our broken government, or trying to restore our failing churches, we need to be preparing those we love to enter into the Kingdom of God, for it is soon to be revealed

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: Life in the Kingdom of God # 2”

Jesus began His earthly ministry with this proclamation. “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  True repentance includes our sorrow for having sinned, our confession of that specific sin, our shame over having participated in that sin, our new hatred of that sin, and finally, a complete turning away from that sin.

Even the mature saints still deal with the appeal of sin every day, and yes, they will fall for Satan’s lies in many ways. So, the issue is not whether or not we sin and continue to fall short of the glory of God, but what we do about it when we do!  If we can sin and not weep over it, where is the evidence of our repentance? If we can go on sinning and try to justify it before God in some selfish way, where is the evidence of our conversion?

Many in the church are convinced about the life and ministry of Jesus, but they are not converted in their way of life, and therefore they are not being conformed to the image of Christ. A counterfeit conversion is one with no death to self, no submission to the Lordship of Christ, no taking up the cross daily, no obedience to Christ, and no fruit of repentance. There is nothing but shallow feelings and the repetition of worthless religious activities.

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: Life in the Kingdom of God.”

“If you walk in the kingdom of darkness, you are only adding to the darkness. If you march with the armies of the wicked, God cannot use you to defeat them. In fact, the one who would win the world must come out of the world, and be rejected by the world, to be trained and equipped to live in the world, but not be of the world, so God can send them back into the world to draw others out of the world. That’s the Great Commission; and it hasn’t changed since Jesus said it 2,000 years ago. We must reignite the fires of evangelism in our homes, our families, our neighborhood, our workplace, etc., not swearing over the sin and darkness we are living in, as if we had no part in it, but sharing the glorious gospel of the Kingdom that is soon to come, and preparing those we love to live in it.” 

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Preaching of the Kingdom.” You can prepare by reading Matthew 4:17-25.

According to biblical researchers, Jesus walked 21,525 miles during His 33 years on earth, including 400 miles from Egypt to Nazareth, 18,000 miles from Nazareth to Jerusalem and back, and 3,125 miles during His three years of ministry. 

However, the longest mile Jesus walked was through the City of Jerusalem with the top beam of the cross upon His shoulders, to Calvary, and to the cross, for US!

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Proclamation of the Kingdom.” 

Those who teach the Christian life is about health, wealth, and happiness are not only belittling the cross of Christ; they are discounting the countless lives of those who have been martyred for their expressed faith in Jesus as their Savior. 

The evidence a person has been born again is that they are immediately attacked by Satan in ways they never experienced before and from sources they never expected. It is called “spiritual warfare,” a battle that will not end until their physical death. However, as the Apostle Peter said, “think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1 Peter 4:12-14)

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Temptation of the King.”

Leonard Ravenhill once said, “If John the Baptist were to come back today, he would not be crying in the wilderness, but a voice crying in the church, “repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”  Why? Because the Church Growth Movement failed Christ’s Church in two ways.

First, it failed to keep the Church faithful to the Scripture. Just think of the many different translations and paraphrases of the Bible that have been published in the last 50-years. Chart that with the decrease in the lack of biblical knowledge, the dumbing down of doctrine, and the absence of a cohesive theology among the majority of church members.
Second, it failed to provide TRUE growth to the Church. Not only are most churches not increasing in size, but those that are expanding are doing so at the expense of other churches. More than 80% of the adults counted as new members are transplants from other churches.

 According to a recent report by CBN, more than 4,000 churches closed their doors in 2020, and over 20,000 pastors left the ministry. While some of that is due to the onset of Covid, the fact that the attendance has not returned after two years indicates a much deeper problem – i.e., perhaps they were never truly saved.

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Coronation of the King.” The subtitle might be “The biblical basis for baptism!”

Repentance is not required for salvation; it is the essential evidence of salvation.

Unless there is evidence of genuine repentance before a person is baptized, not only will their baptism not mean much to them, but the full meaning and purpose of baptism is lost for the Church and Christianity.

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The Results of Repentance.”

Just as God prepared the world for the first coming of our Savior, so is He working all things together for His soon return. We may not think so, but everything is working exactly according to His divine plan, design, and desire, and in the fullness of time, God will send forth His Son.

Beloved, since the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us 2000 years ago, there has not been a fresh word from God, and there will not be, because God has already said all that needs to be said for a lost man to be saved. The next fresh word from God will be the visible return of Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

We will explain this further in our next sermon in this series – “Behold the King: The King is Proclaimed.”