So we are in our second week of Advent.
Advent is those four weeks, the four Sundays leading up to Christmas.
It's a time for us to prepare our hearts, to have expectation building for the celebration of Jesus being born.
This entire passage is just about that.
Our text this morning gives us this wild man preacher, John, John the Baptist.
He lived out in the wilderness, he dressed strange, he ate bugs.
And John just ran over established thought.
He upset people.
And it is onto that trail that Jesus came.
And here's how I began thinking about it this week.
There's very, very deep insight here.
If Jesus is this truck right here, if we can show the Ford F-150, if Jesus is a Ford F-150, like mostly mild, but it can it can go off-road, right?
Like it can be a little rough.
Mostly mild, but can get rough.
If that's Jesus, John the Baptist, this is John the Baptist, this next truck.
That's John the Baptist.
That's how we can.
That's seminary level, guys.
Seminary level for your notes.
Right?
John is a monster truck of truth.
He just ran people over.
That's what John the Baptist was.
And John is just shocking people.
He's a very shocking person.
Just shocking people into their awareness of their sin, their urgency, the need they have of God's grace in this coming Jesus.
John's calling them to a whole different kind of repentance than they've been thinking about this.
It's the repentance of the heart.
In verse 3, the word repentance is the word metanoia, meaning a change of mind.
A change of mind.
A better course of life.
Entering a better course of life because inside of you, the inner part of you, has had a change.
About 12 years ago, Christy and I, we were on our five-year anniversary trip.
We had one baby at home at the time, and uh we went to Colorado for this trip for a few days, and I nerded out on the best use of sky miles, and the, you know, the best hotel, the best hike, and all of that.
And I mean, looking back on we had that one baby at home, we're just babies, really, right?
Newly married, and we're on this trip together.
So the hike that I'd researched, I was so excited about it because I over-research everything and stuff.
I'd overly research this hike.
I was so pumped about it.
We start out, and the hike started out above tree line right away.
I'm so just already happy to be in that place.
And it starts on a gravel road, and then it narrows into a trail, and the trail starts switchbacks up a mountain, and the views are incredible, just like distant views, and we're just talking, right?
Like we're talking past like schedule and like the stuff that kind of dominates normal life.
And so we're just talking, and you know, we're talking about our daughter, our one and only daughter that we're so overly focused on, as we all do, on you know, that first little baby, you know, and so we're overly focused, just talking about her, and talking about our family.
And that trail, as we got higher, that trail, it got narrower and narrower.
And then we got to this point, and the trail got so narrow, and there was a cliff, and the the rock jutted out, and there was a cliff, and it was a huge, huge drop, massive drop.
Just a little trail.
We're like, is that the is that the like, is that it?
Is that the trail?
We just stood there looking at it, like maybe we went off trail, like maybe we went off trail.
Like we were just talking, we just we just lost the trail.
Like, are we gonna go around that corner?
Are we doing that?
Is that what we're doing right now?
Are we gonna we're gonna do that?
Because that's what I've always did in the past.
You know, like I thought I was bear gorillas.
I just like went, like, and then you just figure it out.
But now we have this baby at home, and we're talking about it, and we're looking at that.
We don't know what's around the corner, so it's like, yeah, okay, so we do that squeeze, massive drop-off, that's a risk of its own, but we also don't know what's on the other side.
What if we get stuck?
Like, we don't know.
Are we prepared to risk that?
And we sit there and we talk for a while about this conundrum.
Like, are we gonna turn around like chumps?
Right?
We turned around like chumps, is exactly what we did.
Right?
That humble turn.
That humble turnaround.
Right?
That thing you wanted so badly, and then you have to turn around.
Or the way you do it.
Or the thing you said, or the thing you did, or the way you are.
And then sometimes the only way forward is actually to turn around.
Right?
That's what repent means.
Turn around.
Like the better course is to turn.
It's a great image of repentance that we hit the end of ourselves.
We have a breakdown.
Man, breakdown's gonna be so good for us.
As we just get to the end of ourselves, and we have to repent, we have to fall into God's provision for us to say, like, I can't, I can't earn it, I can't work my way out of this guilt, this shame, I can't earn enough righteousness, I can't earn your favor, I can't control my whole life.
Like, I have to fall into you.
And point number one is this is repenting is a turning into Jesus' sufficiency.
It's a turning into Jesus' efficiency.
John says that we need a baptism of repentance, very loaded language at the time.
All around that temple, all around the religious structure.
Religious people are immersing themselves in baptismal pools all around the temple.
In order to go be near to God up in the temple, you had to go through the baptismal pools, dunk yourself enough to go up to the temple to be near God.
Cleanse yourself, then you can be in the presence of God.
If you do that, then you can enter the presence of God.
And John says, into that context, into that, he says, you need an immersion of repentance of heart.
So not doing something as to earn forgiveness, but admitting that you actually can't do enough.
You need to turn from that.
You can't purify yourself enough.
You need a breakdown, you need an end of yourself to fall into Jesus.
Now, your conversion moment of repentance, right?
That conversion moment, becoming a Christian, that's a conversion moment of one and done.
You've surrendered to Jesus.
You have that if you've given your life to Christ.
But we also, as people of faith, we live in ongoing repentance.
Just a walking in faith by grace and collapsing into Jesus' sufficiency for us today, and then tomorrow, and then the next day.
And none of that's for God's love.
It's all because of God's love.
The prophet right before John was Malachi.
Think about how the Bible's structured.
We get these gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, right before that, it's the Old Testament.
Last book of the Old Testament is Malachi.
And Malachi, another monster truck of truth, Malachi.
Malachi calls out the priests who pollute offerings.
He rips into Judah, who's been unfaithful, and then he says in Malachi 4, verses 1 through 3, for behold, the day is coming burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble.
The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.
Okay, right?
Monster truck.
But for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.
You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
So, that's verses one and two.
So behold, a day is coming.
You're a sinner.
Behold, a day is coming.
So do you go and dunk yourself in baptism pools seven times or enough times in order to be near God?
Do you wake up every day in debt to God?
And if you do enough, all of a sudden you cause him to smile upon you?
Or do you wake up in his favor?
Given to you through Jesus.
It's just a gift.
And it's secure by grace through faith.
Verse 2 is our rescue there that Malachi puts before us.
Shows us our rescue.
Healing is in his wings, his provision.
The Son of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.
It's imagery of Jesus, the Son of righteousness, and his wings of the cross.
Beautiful prophetic imagery.
Our first thought for repentance is usually the turning from wrongdoing.
That's usually the first thought.
Sometimes it's usually just kind of isolated into like a fear-based structure.
Just this week, I was deadly so wrong about two things.
And here's the first one.
So wrong.
Too soon?
For like three, except for like three of you.
Too soon, except for like three very spoiled uh Alabama fans.
Here are things I said this week.
They just can't execute.
I said that this week.
Alabama just can't execute.
I said that.
I said, Saban's getting old.
This week I said, I'm pretty sure Saban has lost his edge.
These are all things I said this week in conversations.
And in his glorious omnipresence, Nick Saban heard me and poured his wrath out on me.
Just poured it out.
Wrath.
And last night I had to repent.
This is also the happiest picture I could find of Nick Saban.
And I'm not kidding you.
I looked.
That's the happiest that he's ever been in his life.
The second thing I was wrong about this week is this right here.
That.
Anybody see that coming?
Did you even know?
Do you know this?
Benefer's back.
Some of you don't know about this.
18 years ago.
Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck.
Some of you weren't even alive.
This was a huge romance in our country.
Benefer, it got a name.
Some of you have been using the term Binifer.
You didn't even know where it came from.
18 years ago.
An 18-month romance.
I didn't think they would get back together.
You didn't.
You don't even care.
But I heard about it this week and I was wrong.
It's a Christmas miracle.
Sometimes we're just wrong.
I got an email address my freshman year of Barrie College.
I told all my friends, this is a waste of time.
Email's never gonna catch on.
Sometimes we're just wrong.
Like we're just wrong.
This idea of turning just out of just out of just out of like fear or or um I'm just wrong and I kind of finally admit it.
That is kind of John the Baptist's framework.
We do have to carry it into Paul and Jesus to work out the full story of repentance.
And so Paul, the New Testament, those key verses, Romans 2, 3 through 4, it builds out the story of repentance for us.
Do you suppose, O man, you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourselves, that you will escape the judgment of God?
Again, you're like, oh, oh.
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Isn't that nice?
Doesn't that build out the story of repentance for us a little bit more?
Point number two, this is not my distinguishment.
Tim Keller came up with this.
Religious repentance begins in fear, gospel repentance begins in love.
That's how the New Testament builds out repentance.
This week I began to think about two different stories we've talked about this year.
The first one is Nicodemus.
John chapter 3.
Remember the story?
Nicodemus seeks out Jesus at night in the dark.
Nicodemus is a religious man.
He's probably well off, well educated.
He's a Pharisee, member of the Sanhedrin.
So he ruled in the religious structure.
He knew religion.
He knew it.
He prayed his prayers.
He attended temple.
I mean, he knew it.
He knew what to do.
But he's having some sort of breakdown, something.
To go want to talk to this Jesus.
So his religiosity wasn't working on some level.
His performance faith wasn't working.
So Nicodemus seeks out Jesus in the dark, probably afraid, and we're gonna get caught by family and friends, might lose his job, might lose his family, his connections, his status, maybe his well-being.
And Jesus says to him, All you have to do, so this religious guy, just trying to do enough, to this religious guy, Jesus says, All you have to do is look upon me.
Can you imagine how relieving that would be?
If you've just been working yourself to death in the world to be enough, or working yourself in the church to be enough.
And then finally you hear all you gotta do is look upon me.
That he is enough for us.
That's unbelievable.
Now imagine Nicodemus at his house, like waiting for it to get dark, like the growing expectation.
It kind of made me think about like playing manhunt or hide and seek in the dark outside.
You're a kid and you got your spot and you know the base you need to run to, but you gotta kind of wait.
You just have to keep waiting, and all that expectations being built up.
I mean, he had Nicodemus had to be juiced up, right?
To leave his house that night.
But he also had to have some expectation that he was gonna be welcomed.
To be received by Jesus, or why risk it?
So he had to be hearing something about this Jesus, that this Jesus receives broken people.
The other story, thought about, I feel like at every tenth sermon we talk about it.
I think about it every week, the prodigal son story.
Luke 15.
Two sons, younger one asks the dad, I want my inheritance now.
Takes it, runs off.
Would have been just crushed the dad.
What an embarrassment.
Young son wanders off, far off country, having a great time without money.
And he is spending it, he's partying, and there's lots of friends when you're doing that.
So friends are all around, the money runs out, parties run out, friends run out.
He's eating the food of pigs, he's longing for the food of pigs.
He's broken, he's at the end of his self.
Luke 15 says, then he came to his senses, meaning he remembered.
He remembered he had a home, he had a father.
Which I think is a beginning of repentance.
Like a belief, kind of like Nicodemus had, that he had to be sitting at his house before he went on that walk to go find Jesus.
That I think I'm gonna be welcomed.
I think I'm, I think I'll be beloved as I am before I get it all together.
That broken down boy, he just maybe the father's gonna take me back, forms that speech.
I've sinned against you.
Not worthy of your son.
Just make me one of your hired ones.
Boy runs home, starts his speech, the father wraps him up in a robe, gives him a ring, starts throwing a party.
Luke 15, 22.
But the father said to his servants, bring quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring the fat and calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
For this, my son was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and is found.
They began to celebrate.
I love the New Living Translation.
It says, and the party began.
Your coming home, your whole faith walk is a party of welcome and grace.
It is a party of you being pursued by God and you pursuing God out of his pursuit of you.
A year ago, when we talked about the prodigal son, we looked at the painting.
Rembrandt, remember this?
Rembrandt, the prodigal, return of the prodigal?
We've looked at it a few times.
And we've all been the boy just broken down, right?
Or you felt like it.
Or you will.
Or you will again.
And church, we we walk in faith by grace of that embrace that you see right there.
And that is ongoing.
That embrace is ongoing.
And we get to ongoingly repent inside of that, collapsing into his provision and his welcome.
And it is not provided because of your strength.
The painting shows us that.
It's a story.
It's not really the painting, it's a story.
It's by the lavish love of God.
Like Brad said last week, it's the lavish blood of Jesus, the heaping on of the blood that's enough for us.
That we don't have to earn our own forgiveness.
The painting gives us the truth of the gospel that the Father is greater than your condition.
Then your doubt or your sin or your guilt or your shame or your background or reputation or your resume.
It's greater than it all.
Remember those two hands?
Remember when we talked about this?
The two hands?
It's just so good.
I have to keep talking about it.
That left hand is larger and more masculine.
That's how Rembrandt painted this.
The right hand is smaller and more tender.
It's an image of God's might and strength has hold on you.
And God's gentleness and care.
He who calls you fully loves you, fully knows you, fully cares for you, fully holds you.
Forever, forever holds you in security.
Last point, and I close with the last point.
The more we come alive to the embrace of the Heavenly Father, the more joyfully we ongoingly repent.
Let's pray together.
God, thank you for your great grace that we get to repent and collapse into Jesus' sufficiency for us.
That we do not live or repent in fear, but out of love.
Thank you for the story of repentance that we get in the New Testament.
Thank you that you have pursued us.
That your arms are wide open for us.
That every day we do not wake up having to earn back favor with you, that we wake up in your favor through the sufficient blood of Jesus for us, that we are pursued by you.
May we pursue you in response.
Help us, God, to trust in greater ways in you.
We welcome your Holy Spirit to comfort us in the ways we need to be comforted and convict us in the ways we need to be convicted, that we may honor you with our lives.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.