In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” Matthew 3:1-2 NIV
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 is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:14-15 NIV
This was the first command of John the Baptist and the Lord
Jesus:
Repent!
Repent means to change the mindset, the life focus, from one
direction to a completely different direction.
The means to true change is a change of mindset!
According to dictionary.com, this is a paraphrase of the definition
of mindset:
“A fixed mental disposition that predetermines
interpretations and responses to situations.”
Fixed. A firmly
placed focus.
Because it is firmly placed, it determines two things before
they occur:
How one perceives situations
How one responds to situations
John and Jesus commanded people to change what their minds
are fixed on: themselves!
They commanded people to stop focusing on their wills, and
instead focus on God’s will. This is the
kingdom of God. When Christ came, God’s
kingdom came. When the Spirit came, the
kingdom came. Those who want to be citizens of God’s kingdom must change their
minds. A king’s will is law. Not the
will of the people. Not the mind of the
people.
Those who want a new beginning must do one simple
thing: stop fixing their minds on their
wills. For example, if a man’s mind was
fixed on making as much money a possible in 2012, then this predetermined his
interpretation and responses to every situation as follows: Would this situation make me as much money as
possible? If yes, he did it. If no, he did not. If a woman’s mind was fixed on getting as
much attention as she could get, she interpreted and responded to every
situation according to how much attention she gained.
They must change their mindset for 2013. Their minds must be set on God’s will, which
predetermines their interpretations and responses to situations as
follows: Is this situation according to
God’s will? If yes, they engage. If not, they disengage.
Charles Finney taught this well. Imagine two women: both work, to buy books, to go to seminary,
to become missionaries, to win souls for Christ. From observing them, they seem to have the
same goals in mind, until their ultimate intentions are revealed. One woman wants to win souls because this will
gain her recognition. The other wins
souls for the glory of God. It is the
ultimate intention that determines the worth of every action.
This ultimate intention—this mindset-- must be changed.
This is repentance.
This
is the new beginning of the New Year.
Amen.
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