“Citizens” in the Greek is “sympolites.” Chin said this in his teaching last Wednesday night and I loved this…it was a “way back” moment for me…all we have to do is be “simple-its.” If you’re from Israel, you’re an Israelite. If you’re from Nazareth, you’re a Nazarite…and if your citizenship is in heaven, man you’re a sympolite! I absolutely love that!

Without brilliance it’s impossible to please God. That’s not what the Bible says. Without strength it’s impossible to please God. No again. Without knowledge, without a seminary degree, without juice (mans’ respect) it’s impossible to please God. Without having it all figured out, it’s impossible to plase God. No NO No NO! Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it’s impossible to please God…” God is pleased, and you are pleased with Him, simply with faith. We are saved by grace through faith. We draw near to Him by faith…by faith we prove Him…He is pleased simply with simple faith…my how we’ve complicated things. Well, some of us…I’m just a simple-ite…that’s all I know…keep it simple…citizens of heaven are simply faith-filled…like John the Baptist…

Matthew Chapter 3 Verses 1 – 3

• According to Luke, John the Baptist was the son of Elizabeth and Zacharias. Zacharias was a priest and Elizabeth was a daughter of Aaron and we’re told in Luke 1 that they both were, “righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.” And check this out, John the Baptist was a miracle birth. They were old! And, Elizabeth was barren! But while Zacharias was serving one day in the temple, an angel appeared to him and said, “Fear not, your prayers have been heard and you will have a son. His name will be John and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit!” And I love this about John, the Bible says that he was filled with joy even as a babe in the womb!
• Now I really dig this. This is a loose connection but turn over really quickly to Luke Chapter 1 and look with me at verses 39 – 45. John acts on joy. Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary sings to God. And skip ahead to verse 58. Even the neighbors rejoice! Man I love the ripple effect of even a baby portion of joy! How my heart wishes more Christians would know the Word, know the faithfulness of God, trust Him and humble themselves and know even the smallest baby portion of joy…(so simple)!
• Back to Matthew Chapter 3. John is all grown up now and we encounter him preaching but where is he? In the wilderness. This is a sign, a picture, a symbol, a clue, a revelation even of the spiritual state of Israel at the time. 400 years without a prophet. Silence from God for more than 4 generations! Spiritual famine throughout and the implication is that his message didn’t fit in the city…so he preaches it in the wilderness. And we’ll see in just a minute that folks came to hear him!
• Listen you who trust the Lord and His word (really that’s the same thing). Sometimes you might feel like you are preaching to the trees or to the wind. Preach anyway. Folks will come out of the city. Preaching is not just teaching but it is calling…and the fact is, many/most will want knowledge but some will also hear the call and I believe that is our primary calling. To call people to Jesus! (Ephesians 4 doesn’t say “He gave some to be knowers.”) So even if you feel as if you’re in the wilderness, don’t quit, keep going! The leaders are simply the leaders! And don’t soften the message!
• What was John’s message? Your best life now? God wants you to be healthy, wealthy and happy? No! His message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Don’t dumb down the message, water down the truth…thinking that it’s a means to reach more people and fill more seats. That is not the C4/simple way. A diluted gospel leads to a diluted church. John preaches repentance. Something the church today as a whole knows little of…
• You see, the blessings of God are easily received when openly preached but relationship with God is through faith. Hebrews 6:1 says the most foundational aspects of Christianity, the elementary building block of faith toward God is a solid foundation of repentance from dead works. And yet so many are stumped in their walk and unfamiliar with joy because they desire the blessings of God but have not appetitive for repentance (which most practically lived out means wholesale lifestyle change).
• We mess faith up so much. We preach it means to believe…or to hold to a set of churchy traditions…but Jesus took a child on His lap once. (Matthew 18) His disciples were asking who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven…and Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that unless you become like this child, you will by no means even enter the kingdom of heaven.” Children just trust. Children just grow up. They just change. They just believe. They’re just simple!
• Positive faith movements today falsely teach that if you just want it enough then God will give it to you…but that’s not faith…faith is being heart, mind, soul and strength life-dependent upon God and that implies a heart that is filled with repentance…Paul said, “I die daily.” 1 Cor 15:31. John’s message then, after 400 years of the world lacking good preaching is as relevant today as it was then…Repent, for the kingdom of God is now!

Matthew Chapter 3 Verses 4 - 6

• Jerusalem, all Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out to him…you know they had been watching him all his life. Many knew that his birth was miraculous. He was famous. Turn quickly again to Luke Chapter 1 and look specifically at verses 65 and 66. What had happened with his well know father, what had happened with his aged mother, was legend, man…and so when word spread that John was preaching…they all came…
• Again, even his appearance told a story…the story of the spiritual state of God’s people…that the prophet of God was without proper platform, proper clothing and proper provision…everything about John sent a message…everything! And the same goes for you. I wonder do you know the details of your own message? Extremely few do…because the details are only revealed by the Word of God…
• And folks came confessing…getting right with God…throwing off weights of guilt and John baptized them! Now this was new! Ritual bathing is found in Judaism for example to clean oneself after coming in contact with a corpse but baptism associated with confessing sin, totally new. But I love this…bathing to be able to enter the temple was an external washing…THE Temple is about to come on the scene. God is about to tabernacle with man…and so John introduces a cleansing of the heart…and so John shocks the culture man and the region was buzzing! So here come the buzzards…

Matthew Chapter 1 Verses 7 – 12

• Whoa! That’s some powerful preaching man! And John lays it out so clearly! But one thing he says that I want to key in on and point out is that when Jesus comes, the baptism is with fire. Fire burns. It purifies. It resets. And this is the thing that so many reject…the purification that accompanies faith through repentance. But man, that’s where it’s at. There’s no faith without it! That’s where you find the joy, the peace…the freedom and release man…is in the humbling of yourself…the humbling of you heart, soul, mind and strength…to God…only through repentance…wholesale lifestyle change as you submit your life to God and trust His word! That is the elementary things of being a Christian folks…it’s just lost today.

Matthew Chapter 3 Verses 13 – 15

• Why was Jesus baptized? Jesus tells us. “For thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” What does that mean? I don’t really know. HA! But when you break down Jesus’ response in the Greek what I find is that Jesus was saying, “To display what should be done in the display of righteousness.” And I love how a small detail about what He says. He uses the word, “Us.” Do you see that?
• Jesus was relating to mankind…even identifying, partnering in a way with His creation…not just showing Himself to be the Eternal God but also the leader of all men. I love that. Not only leading us in the way we should go…giving us an example but also totally endorsing John’s ministry and message.
• And don’t miss John’s awesomeness either. “Jesus this doesn’t make sense. I don’t get it. I don’t agree with it. I’m uncomfortable. This is totally crazy.” Didn’t stop him. Jesus said, “Will you suffer? Just do it.” John laced up his Nikes. And look at the revelation that leads to…(as it will in your life as well).

Matthew Chapter 3 Verses 16 – 17

• This is such a powerful and important scene because in this short verse set…this record of a momentary occurrence, we have the Trinity revealed. Jesus in the water, the Holy Spirit descending and God the Father speaking from heaven. An undeniable encounter with a mystery truth, that God is One. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
• There is no more glorious revelation to be had than to glimpse the magnificence and otherness of God. How does John get there…by faith. Trust, obedience, repentance, loyalty, humility, suffering in the flesh…love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…
• And not only does John see this, but remember, Jerusalem, Judea and all the region around the Jordan was there. Even the haters. The joy of one tiny little baby we saw earlier causes the rejoicing of the city…and now we see the crazy psychotic faith of the grown man bear witness to the King unlike any other King…in the presence of an entire region and even his enemies…I love that! God is able to do more than we know…if we will simply trust Him. If our approach to knowing God is to be a simple citizen of His kingdom!