Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is Near…and It’s Here

Have you ever looked for something all over your desk, kitchen counter, or workbench with no success only to see it magically appear right where you were looking one minute before? When your eyes are opened, it can be truly frightening.

That’s kind of what the Kingdom of Heaven is like.

• Matthew 3:2 – John preached, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
• Matthew 4:17 – Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”

The message was to change your ways—or you’re going to miss something huge! Turn around; there is an amazing reality breathing down your neck and you don’t even know it!

But what does the Kingdom of the Heavens look like? In Matthew’s Gospel, the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” occurs 32 times in 28 chapters. Take a walk with me through these first 9 chapters of Matthew and see what the Kingdom is like.

Matthew 5:1-12. It is a Kingdom …

• where the poor are wealthy
• the sad are happy
• the peaceful conquer
• the hungry are filled
• those willing to show grace are given grace
• the visionaries are the ones who see reality
• those working for peace are in God’s family
• and the losers win

Matthew 5:13-16. Kingdom citizens are salt and light to a world of rotten darkness.

“Kingdom citizens are salt and light to a world of rotten darkness.”

Matthew 5:21-48. The Kingdom of heaven is filled with people who have a heightened sense of the motivation behind their sins. The heart of murder is anger. The beginning of adultery is lust. A liar is marked by how much he tries to sound honest. Revenge is best served upside-down in the form of irrational generosity.

Matthew 5:43-48. Kingdom people love those who hate them. They bless those who persecute them.

Matthew 6:1-18. Good deeds like giving and fasting are best done without anyone knowing except the Father. They pray that the Kingdom will come. They pray God’s will be done on earth just like it is in heaven. Can I even imagine what that would be like in my own life if I consistently prayed that and meant it? I might end up being mature and complete—perfect—as my Heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 6:19-34. Kingdom people have their hearts on things above. They don’t hoard stuff for the sake of security in this life. They live life with an open hand toward others with what they’ve been given. As a result, their eyes are open—full of light and certain of what is real. They have no worries about things like tomorrow, food, clothes, income, retirement, or money markets. It doesn’t mean they just sit around and wait for God to do everything for them. It just means they are content—not anxious for what they don’t have.

They see God feeding birds and know God will feed them. They see God clothing the flowers of the field in beauty and splendor and know that God will provide covering and warmth for them.

“Kingdom people have their hearts on things above.”

The priority of a Kingdom citizen is God’s agenda for His Kingdom. We seek this first. If we are anxious over how God will provide for us in the basics, we show we do not trust our King and are seeking to build a kingdom of our own making. If we don’t trust God to provide food and clothes, how will we ever seek after Him for deeper truth, love, purpose, and following the mission He has given us? So we don’t worry about tomorrow because we’re focused on Him, His agenda, His righteousness.

Matthew 7:1-5. Kingdom people know where they’ve come from—the sins that have been forgiven them. So they look with understanding and grace on others who struggle. They are mindful of their own present struggle with sin to the point they are patient with others who have relatively minor flaws.

Matthew 7:7-12. Kingdom people are promised audience with the Father-King. They are invited to continually ask things of the Father, always seek the things of God, and perpetually knock on the gates of heaven—and their prayers will be answered.

Matthew 7:13-14. The Kingdom is made of people who walk the narrow path that leads to life. They can sniff out fake followers by discerning the results of their actions. And they continually build on the words and teachings of Jesus—not just listening, not just knowing, but doing and following through.

Matthew 8:1–9:34. The Kingdom is a place where outcasts are welcomed with compassion and healing. Where those on the outside are sometimes the ones who are examples of fresh faith. If you are a part of the Kingdom of Heaven, you’ll eventually have dinner with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob along with a multitude of others from the east and west.

“The Kingdom is a place where outcasts are welcomed with compassion and healing.”

In the Kingdom, those tormented by Satan are freed, and wholeness of mind and body can be realized. The King Himself carries your sin on Himself in order to free you of it.

If you stick around in the Kingdom long enough, you’re bound to experience things that will blow your mind. Like the stilling of a stormy sea, the freeing of men filled with demons, or the restoration of one who couldn’t walk. You might see a woman freed from suffering. In the Kingdom of Heaven you will see sinners forgiven, the lost found, and those who were rejected by outwardly religious people will be welcomed. And one day, we will see the resurrection of millions of children who have had their lives taken from them by war, famine, disease, hunger, a pregnancy cut short by an abortionist’s knife.

But you will never see or take part in any of this unless you do one thing.

Repent. Repent!

Repentance makes one ready to respond to and receive the Kingdom of God. Repentance is the mind and heart change that allows us to see the Kingdom we’ve been missing.

What do we repent from? Rewind the tape and repent through these scriptures in the Gospel of Matthew. The very words that described to us a Kingdom will show us what we need to turn from in order to take part in the Kingdom.

• Repent of pride and self-sufficiency, arrogance and folly, distraction, divisiveness, and too much comfort.
• Repent of darkness and bland spirituality. Repent of being afraid to let your light shine. Or repent of shining it brightly so others see how “spiritual” you are.
• Repent of a heart full of murderous anger that is too good at holding grudges.

“Repentance is the mind and heart change that allows us to see the Kingdom we’ve been missing.”

• Repent of a heart full of lust and adulteries that leads to unfaithfulness.
• Repent of a heart that lies and plots ways to take revenge on those who hurt you.
• Repent of feeling justified when hating those who hate you.
• Repent of giving, praying, fasting, or any other spiritual activity if your motivation is to be seen by other people in order to impress them.
• Repent of prayers that are repetitive and empty, and for an unforgiving heart.
• Repent of storing up for yourselves treasures on earth because you don’t trust God to provide for your basic needs. Search your heart for those places that worry over having food, money, or possessions. Repent of worrying about losing the stuff you have. Repent of worrying about tomorrow.
• Repent of those times you look at someone else and condemn them for the way they look, dress, speak, or act. Pray for the humility to see your own sin clearly in order to remove it—so that you can help your brother or sister remove their sin.
• Repent of timid, weak, and safe prayers.

Repentance makes one ready to respond to and receive the Kingdom of God.

Unless you repent, you’ll never see the Kingdom, much less enter it.

Some assume repentance won’t accomplish much. You doubt God will receive you, that He’s not willing to forgive. If that’s you, then cry out, “Have mercy on me!’ just like those two blind men in 9:27. He will pull you aside, get face to face with you, and ask you the same question that He asked the blind men: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” And with all the faith you can muster, you can give the answer they gave: “Yes, Lord.”

“Unless you repent, you’ll never see the Kingdom, much less enter it.”

The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t just near anymore—it’s HERE. If you take another look at those descriptions of the Kingdom, you’ll recognize many of them taking place in our own midst. By repenting of all those sins I mentioned before, we are made ready to respond to and be ushered into the Kingdom. And by doing so, we are in some way involved with building it.

According to Matthew 9:37-38, the Kingdom needs men and women who are dedicated to its advance. The King of this Kingdom calls for His subjects to look on this world of suffering and love others as their King has loved them. It calls for people who will look on the masses who are harassed and helpless—like sheep without a shepherd.

If you are a Kingdom citizen, then you, by default, should desire that Kingdom’s growth. You are interested and invested in this Kingdom’s impact of the world. And our King calls for us to pray to Him in order to raise up more people for this great Harvest.

Imagine looking out on a full field of ripe wheat and all you have is a sickle in your hand. You’d be praying for help too. Start where you are, and get to work.