Metanoia: Jesus’ Invitation Into The Kingdom
(5 minutes)
From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, "Repent (metanoia), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." (Matthew 4:17 NKJV)
"Metanoia. That word means to change the way you think. But we got repent. Repent causes you to look in your past. Metanoia asks you to look into your future. Which one do you think is more likely to come from God's kingdom? Him asking you to look in the past, or Him saying let's look in the future? In the future." (Pastor Tim)
How we think determines how we see and perceive what's going on in our lives. Our thinking shapes our experiences.
Why does Jesus come to the earth and spend so much time saying, "Change the way you think, because the Kingdom of God is at hand?" Well, the 400 years before Jesus came, there was no Kingdom revelation on the earth. The mouths of the prophets were shut, and no one was hearing anything from heaven. If nothing was being heard from heaven's Kingdom for that long, then everyone must have only been experiencing and learning from the only other kingdom that's left: the kingdom of this world.
"So when Jesus shows up and He says, 'Change the way you think, the kingdom of God is available to you,' He's telling them that there are two kingdoms available: His and the kingdom of earth. Begin to become aware of His Kingdom over the kingdom that you have been aware of up to this point." (Pastor Tim)
Jesus is inviting us to become more aware of and more intimate with the Kingdom of God. And to even venture in this direction, we must change the way we think. Jesus is telling us that everything we've learned from our time in the previous kingdom is diametrically opposed to the Kingdom of God. They are completely different. We will have to let go of the one to inherit the other. Both perspectives will not be able to co-exist together.
"Metanoia starts you on the path of learning how the Kingdom operates, what Jesus is trying to teach us, and what He's trying to say. You're going to have to start thinking differently than you thought before. The Kingdom looks differently than you ever thought it looked. The Father's different than you thought He was. The Father's different than you were taught He was." (Pastor Tim)
Metanoia is our first step into relearning who Yahweh is and what His Kingdom is like. Jesus' message is still the same for us today, "Change the way you think, the Kingdom of God is at hand, the Kingdom of God is within you."
The walk we take with Abba today is the encounter that will facilitate the changing of our minds. Through intimate encounters with Him, our perspective will begin to change.
Beloved One, just show up for the walk with Yahweh and let the intimacy pull you in.
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Worship: “I Love Your Presence” by UPPERROOM
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
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