(4/28) I’m so glad that you are here with us today, because we’re going back in time to the beginning of Jesus ministry. If you’d like to follow along, turn to the gospel of Matthew, and we’re going to look at chapter four. This is the start of Jesus ministry, as he begins to declare to the people that the kingdom of God is near. And begins calling people to follow him as he demonstrates that he has all authority over sickness and disease.

I don’t know if you’ve ever encountered this, maybe it’s just me, but sometimes the hardest part in life is just getting started on something. And for me I’m a person who has deeply ingrained routines, daily habits, things that are repeated over and over and over. And so, these things shape us into who we are.

The thing about starting something new, whether it’s a new job, a new diet, a new exercise program, but whatever it is, it is often uncomfortable and awkward at the beginning. For many of us, that is enough to encourage us to stay in the comfortable world of what is familiar. But what I love about Jesus’ ministry is that he just starts, he jumps right into it, and steps out into his calling.

Let’s go to verse twelve of Matthew chapter 4,

"When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he returned to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali—to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah" (Matthew 4:12-14).

"Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:15-16).

"From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 4:17).

Matthew echoing the words of the prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as the light. He says,

"The people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:15-16).

And so, Jesus comes to us living in darkness, living in the land of the shadow of death, and two thousand years later our condition hasn’t changed. I think most of us would have to agree that we are living in a dark time right now. In fact, whenever you look at the news, there is nothing but deep darkness, hopelessness and despair.

After last week’s attack on Israel there are growing concerns about the availability of bomb shelters in Jerusalem as they are trying to celebrate the Passover. All the while the people are still mourning the devastating losses from the attacks last October but there is hope.

A passage that comes to mind is from Isaiah in chapter sixty, verse one, which says,

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples" (Isaiah 60:1-2).

And so, when we speak about darkness, we are simply talking about the absence of light. In other words, just as cold is the absence of heat, darkness is the absence of light. And so, when Isaiah speaks of this thick darkness, he is referring to the emptiness or the absence of the goodness and love of God in the world. But all of that is about to change because Isaiah says,

"Into this darkness, the people have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned" (Matthew 4:16).

Now, for many of us we thought COVID 19 was bad, but in hindsight we recognize it was just like the waves at the ocean, wave after wave keep crashing on the shore, one thing after another after another keeps coming into our lives. And so, as soon as one problem disappears another one comes crashing into our lives, because darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people.

But it is into this darkness that a light has dawned, Jesus is the solution to the darkness. He is the source of light through whom we can see the love and goodness of God. And so, it is the presence of Jesus that dawns inside our hearts and minds and makes us into new people.

We see that clearly demonstrated in Jesus’ life, ministry, and teaching. In fact, in John chapter eight, he said,

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in what? Darkness. They will never walk in darkness, but will have what? The light of life" (John 8:12).

You see, the presence of Jesus is the only solution to removing the darkness from the heart of man and changing it into light. Only Jesus can take a lost and sinful heart transforming it and disinfecting it from the consequences of sin and the effects of darkness.

That’s why you can’t legislate morality, because righteousness can never be obtained through the law. And so, we can make more rules, but they won’t make us better, they will just reveal the darkness. In fact, a good illustration of this would be the children of Israel, because no sooner did God give them the law, giving them the Ten Commandments, did they break them. In Exodus chapter 32 the Bible tells us, that when Moses was a long time coming down from the mountain, the people grew impatient and said to Aaron,

"Come, make us gods who will go before us" (Exodus 32:1).

Aaron told them to gather all of their gold earrings and bring them to him. Then he made an altar and declared that the next day would be a festival to the Lord.

"So, all the people took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron. He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf" (Exodus 32:3-4).

The people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, but soon their festivities, their singing and dancing, led to immorality.

Moses was still on the mountain when God told him to go down because the people had become corrupt. Moses interceded for the Israelites, pleading for mercy, and as a result God did not bring disaster on his people. But there would be consequences, and so when Moses had come down the mountain he stood at the entrance to the camp and said,

"Whoever is for the Lord, come to me" (Exodus 32:26).

The Levites who were the priests and servants of God responded as a group and they gathered around Moses. The Lord then commissioned them to destroy the sinful and rebellious idolaters throughout the camp.

"The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand of the people died" (Exodus 32:28).

And so, there were devastating consequences to them rebelling against God, but I want you to notice that after Jesus came into the world, the people who were living in darkness now have another option. Jesus came into the world, he came into the darkness, and he began to preach,

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near" (Matthew 4:17).

And then, after three years of ministry, Jesus went to the cross where he suffered and died. Those people who had been stuck in the kingdom of darkness have seen a great light, because Jesus made the kingdom of heaven available to those who believe in him.

In other words, it’s available to them if they want it enough to repent of their sin. And that’s what we saw happening in Jerusalem after the resurrection, when the Holy Spirit had come, Peter preached and those who accepted the message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day (Acts 2:41).

And so, I want you to notice this, under the law at Mount Sinai three thousand people died; but through the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, three thousand people were saved.

Many years later the apostle Paul described it this way,

"The Father has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-14).

In other words, when Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven has come near, he meant that it is available right now. And that is such great news, because it’s not almost here, he doesn’t mean that it is coming soon, but that it is here, it’s available right now, and all you have to do is decide that you want in.

And so, we have a choice today, we can remain in the kingdom of darkness, or we can enter into the kingdom of light. Let me ask you a question, which kingdom do you find yourself living in? The Bible says that the kingdom of darkness is identified by sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed… Anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language (Colossians 3:5-8).

On the other hand, the kingdom of light, or the kingdom of heaven, is identified by the qualities and characteristics of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and over all these virtues is love, which binds them all together in perfect unity (Colossians 3:12-14).

And so, the kingdom of God is available to you if you want it, the solution is at your fingertips, and the answer is Jesus. He is alive and when we follow him, he leads us into the kingdom of God, because it’s not just something "up there" that we experience when we die. The kingdom of God is something near, it’s right here, right now, and we can live and experience it in this life.

The way we get there is simply by following Jesus one step at a time. Let’s go back to Matthew chapter 4 and I want to show you this in verse eighteen.

"As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him" (Matthew 4:18-20).

"Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him" (Matthew 4:21-22).

In this passage of Scripture, we see Jesus walking along the shore when he calls his first disciples. His invitation was simple, "Come, follow me" and he says the same thing to us today.

Some of you may be wondering, follow him where, or why should we follow Jesus?

And his invitation is to follow him out of darkness and into the kingdom of light. And so, the reason why we follow Jesus is because every kingdom has a king, and Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of lords. Not only is he the King, but he is full of love and mercy, and he has all authority and power to forgive us of our sins.

In fact, the early church called him, "Lord" which means "absolute authority." We saw this last week in Acts chapter four when the church was praying together. They said,

"Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them" (Acts 4:24).

And in the same way, when we call upon him and say, "Lord Jesus" we are confessing that Jesus has all authority, absolute authority over everything including yourself.

And so, back to the question, "How do we follow Jesus out of darkness and into his kingdom?" Jesus answers that question in Matthew chapter seven, he said,

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matthew 7:24).

In other words, it’s a two-step process, you listen to Jesus and then you do what he says. Last week we talked about the word of God and prayer and the simplest way to listen to Jesus is to read your Bible. But then you pray and listen because Jesus said,

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish" (John 10:27-28).

That’s a great promise of Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In other words, what he taught then, he teaches now, but his words are even more relevant today than they ever were, because the Holy Spirit teaches us that when Jesus returns,

"We will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we be changed" (1 Corinthians 15:51-52).

And so, we want to be ready, so we need to listen and hear what he is saying, but then we need to put his words into practice. We need to do what he says because Jesus is Lord, he is the absolute authority, and he knows what is best for us. And so, we are following him, we are doing our best, because this is the best way for us to live. And we will fail, we stumble and fall, we mess up, but then we simply get up and try again.

That’s where the grace of God comes into play, because where sin increases, God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

And so, when we are weak, then we are strong, because the Holy Spirit will help us obey and give us the power to live as sons and daughters of God.

Jesus doesn’t expect perfection from us, only our best effort, that’s why he said, "Everyone who hears my word and puts it into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock" (Matthew 7:24).

And so, he’s not talking about perfect obedience, he simply asks for our faith. That we would believe and put forth some effort, because without effort faith is dead. "In the same way," the Holy Spirit tells us, "faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).

But I assure you that anyone who lives out the teachings of Jesus will find themselves living a radical countercultural lifestyle. To put our faith in Jesus and love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. To love our neighbors as ourselves. To love our enemies, picking up our cross, and following Jesus. This is all radical stuff that anyone can do if they listen to Jesus and relying upon the Holy Spirit do what he says.

That is how life is lived in the kingdom of God. We follow him step-by-step, listening to him, and doing what he says, because this is our way out of darkness and into the light. The kingdom of God has dawned in the midst of the kingdom of darkness. It’s available for all of us, but the question is, do you want it?

Church, I hope you can feel that. I hope you have a hunger for the things of God, that you feel a longing for more grace, for more of his presence? You see, you are the church, you are the body of Christ, and therefore you are the light of the world. And so, let’s approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Today, if you will come boldly, if you will come to Jesus, come to the good Shepherd, you will find the grace to help you in your time of need. He will satisfy you completely because he is our good Father, he whispers his love to you in the darkness, the light has dawned and you’re never alone.

Read past sermons by Pastor John Talcott