Foundations of Truth

Guest (Male): Welcome to Foundations of Truth with Pastor Timothy Mann from Providence Church in Ormond Beach, Florida. Psalm 119:105 reminds us, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." Let's join Pastor Tim now as he lets God's word illuminate our lives and guide us into His truth today. This message is from the King and His Kingdom series.

Dr. Timothy Mann: The King and His Kingdom. We're in chapter three, Matthew chapter three is where we are. And we pick up in chapter three, the Gospel of Matthew, verse one. And I'm going to read down through verse 12. The Bible says in those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. And then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan, that is to say the Jordan River, went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clean out his threshing floor and gather wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." We'll stop here. This is God's word.

Prepare the way of the Lord and make his paths straight. That is the prophesied cry of John the Baptist, the Baptizer, the Immerser, echoing through the wilderness here. And if we're honest, and we ought to be, it's a cry we still need to hear today. This same cry: prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Because we live in a world of distractions. Have you noticed that? We live in a world of distractions: busyness, noise, pleasures, entertainment, conflict, division, shallow spirituality, and casual Christianity.

And many people want the peace of God without the presence of repentance. We want renewal without revival. We want the comfort of grace without the cost of surrender. But when a King comes to town, the roads must be cleared. The path must be prepared. And so that's what John, who is the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth, was sent to do. He wasn't the main event, he was the forerunner. He didn't seek attention for himself, he pointed beyond himself. His ministry was brief, but it was very impactful. It was very profound. And his message was clear, it was urgent, and it was challenging. It was not comfortable. His message was uncomfortable.

Before Jesus ever preached a message, before Jesus ever performed a miracle, John stood with fire in his bones and a message on his lips, and that message was "Repent. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." So the Gospel of Matthew here portrays John the Baptizer not just as a fulfillment of prophecy, which he was, but he's a challenge to complacency. His voice might have sounded like it came from the wilderness, but it was aimed directly at the religious heart—everyone, but also for the religious heart.

His call wasn't just for blatant sinners in society. It was for everybody. It was for everyone. It was for the crowds, it was for the insiders, for the churchgoers—maybe we'd say the synagogue-goers back then. It's for us. So let me ask you a question this morning: is your heart, your life, ready for the King? Are you humbly surrendered to the King, or are you still holding on to your own kingdom? Because this passage isn't just about a man in camel's hair, wearing a camel's skin. It's really about the kind of hearts and lives ready to receive the King and His kingdom, the very Son of God who is Savior and Lord.

So let's get a glimpse here in Matthew 3. Put your eyes back on it. Let's get a glimpse here of John the Baptist's ministry, and let's listen to the voice that calls us to prepare the way and shows us how to do so. Verses one through three. What we see in verses one through three is the first thing that we need to turn from sin and prepare your heart for the King. Turn from sin and prepare your heart for the King. That's verses one through three.

In those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea—that's that southern part of the Holy Land—saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying, 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.'" So the call to repentance is not just for the world out there. It's the starting point for every person who would live under the rule of Christ. Matthew introduces John the Baptist, the Immerser—that's what Baptist means, the Immerser—just like we read in verses one and two.

And this was no ordinary message. He's preaching "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This was no ordinary message, and John was no ordinary preacher. He came from the desert, not the temple. His voice was raw and strong and his message was piercing. And the call was simple: repent. Repentance is more than just feeling sorry. In fact, repentance involves changing your mind and changing your direction, turning away from sin and turning away from self and surrendering to God.

And John didn't soften it. John didn't suggest self-improvement. He actually preached a spiritual U-turn, an about-face, a turnaround. And what's the reason for this urgency, for him preaching repent? The kingdom of heaven is at hand. In other words, the King is near. He's coming. And when the King is near, everything has to change. Everything must change.

Matthew, it's interesting, he connects John to Isaiah's prophecy. Verse three here, he says, "For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah." So he is interpreting Isaiah chapter 40, verse three, for us. "For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying..." The prophet Isaiah said, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." That's Isaiah 40, verse three. So Matthew is saying John the Baptist is the son of Zachariah and Elizabeth. John is the fulfillment of that voice. He's the one sent forth to prepare hearts for the arrival of the Messiah, the King.

Now in ancient times, when kings would be coming, they would send crews ahead of their procession to literally clear the road, filling in potholes, leveling rough spots, and removing debris. Well, that's what John is doing here spiritually. He's calling people to remove every obstacle that might hinder their response to Christ. Make his path straight in your life. Prepare the way in your life. Remove any obstacle that might hinder your response to this King, to this Messiah.

Now, there are some principles evident even in these first three verses that we have to take away from this. And I think the first one that just stands out is repentance is the first step toward renewal. You can't fully receive Jesus, you can't fully welcome the King into your life until you've honestly renounced sin. We often want God to work around our issues, don't we? "Why can't you just work around my issues?" That's what we'd like. But instead, he wants to work through repentance.

And repentance is more than just emotional. In fact, it doesn't even have to be emotional necessarily. Repentance is more than emotional, it is directional. It's not about how bad you feel, although you might. Good Holy Spirit-inspired conviction is a good thing. It's not about how bad you feel, it's actually about where you go next. Where you go next. So are you turning to Christ, or are you just regretting where you've been? There's a difference. Are you turning to Jesus, or just feel bad about where you've been?

I think another truth that's evident in this passage here, these first three verses, is that you must prepare space for the King. You have to prepare space for the King. Many hearts are just too crowded to receive Jesus—crowded with pride, crowded with self-righteousness, crowded with hidden sins and old wounds and shallow religion. And so if you want the King to reign in your life, the path must be cleared. Gotta clear the path. Make straight his path. John's voice wasn't eloquent, but it was faithful, and it cut through the noise.

Before Jesus ever began his public ministry, God sent a man with a passionate heart and a bold message to challenge the people about their sin and awaken them to their need. And I will say to you this morning, that message still matters today. The path to profound transformation in your life and in your family and in this church begins with repentance. That's where it starts. A clear heart, a surrendered will, a willing spirit.

So be honest with yourself this morning. Is there anything in your life that's cluttering the path for Jesus? Is there anything in your life that's an obstacle for the path of Jesus into your life? What needs to be brought out of hiding? What needs to be cleared away? Because before the King arrives, the path must be made straight. And the Spirit still sends that voice into our wilderness, calling us to repent and prepare.

Well, how else do we prepare the way? Look, verses four through six really shows us something that's very evident. Verses four through six shows us that we must live a life that reflects our message. Live a life that reflects your message. Live a consecrated life that reflects your message. After introducing John's message, Matthew now describes John's appearance and his impact. Verse four, he says, "Now John himself was clothed in camel's hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey."

Now to modern ears, that sounds strange. It sounds downright weird. In fact, it sounds even extreme. We wouldn't want to be around this guy, most likely. But Matthew is telling us something important here, and that is that John's life matched his message. His life matched his message. John dressed like a prophet. His clothing actually echoes the description of Elijah in 2 Kings chapter one, verse eight, where it calls Elijah a hairy man with a leather belt. I hope you do know this is not just a fashion choice. It's a prophetic symbol, it's a prophetic signal.

John is stepping into the role of someone who speaks on God's behalf and calls people to return to covenant faithfulness, to repent. His diet: locusts and honey. That really just shows his very simple wilderness lifestyle. John the Baptist was off the grid before that was a thing. He's out there living off the land. John did not eat at Herod's table. He wasn't in with the political system like the Sadducees or even the Pharisees.

He didn't eat at Herod's table, he's not enjoying the comforts of Jerusalem. In fact, he's quite separated from the system. He's dedicated to the Lord and he's free from the seductions of the world. It's not even a temptation in his life. He's free from the seductions of the world. His life wasn't about attracting attention to himself, although it did—that wasn't his motive. It was all about preparing others for someone greater.

And look at how the people responded. Says then Jerusalem, all Judea—now Matthew's using a bit of a hyperbole kind of phrase here, not literally every single person, but it seemed like there was such an impact, it was overwhelming that we would say everybody showed up. Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around Jordan went out to him and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. Verses five and six. But John's dedicated life, his consecrated life, gave weight to his words.

His authority did not come from a religious institution. He didn't have a religious institution. He was outside of the religious institution. Didn't come from that. It came from a life fully surrendered to God. And people flocked, not for entertainment, but for awakening. For awakening. So here's what's evident: My life should give credibility to my message. Your life should give credibility to your message. John's lifestyle was actually aligned with his preaching. Oh, he wasn't perfect, but he was consistent.

So if you claim this morning, if you claim to follow Jesus, then my life must mirror what I say I believe. If you claim to follow Jesus, your life has to reflect what you say you believe. Your words actually lose power when an authentic life doesn't back them up. I think another principle that is evident here is that consecration, dedication we might say, isn't about being strange or being weird, but it is about being set apart.

It's about being set apart. John didn't wear camel's hair and eat locusts to be unusual. He did it to obey. His lifestyle was not trendy, it was prophetic. Now, you don't have to live in the wilderness to be set apart. You don't have to wear camel's hair, you don't have to eat locusts and wild honey to be set apart. You don't have to do those kind of things, but you do need to stand out from the world.

How? I need to stand out from the world in my values, I need to stand out from the world in my purity, in my moral purity. I need to stand out from the world in my priorities, and I need to stand out from the world in my surrender. You do have to stand out from the world, even though you don't have to live in the wilderness. A consecrated life really creates a longing for genuine transformation when somebody sees a legitimate, dedicated believer.

People came to John not because he entertained them, but because he carried spiritual credibility, he carried spiritual authority. And so if you want to influence others for Christ, if you want to have a credible witness and a credible testimony in your home, with your family, if you want to influence others for Christ at your workplace or even in your church, then it won't be through performance. It won't be necessarily through how religious or how spiritual you might sound on any particular moment, or what you put on social media or text them.

No, it will actually be, if you want to have influence for Christ with your family, with your neighbors, with those all around you, it'll be through integrity. It'll be through a life that's actually aligned with God's truth. And if your life is aligned with God's truth, that's a life that God can use powerfully. I think there's a hunger in our world for authenticity. I do believe that. I think people are tired of surface-level religion. I think that's why we saw so many of the younger generation turn away from the church.

What they saw at home, on the job, was surface-level religion. People are tired of that. People aren't looking for polished performers. They're looking for people who are the real thing, whose walk actually matches their talk. That was John. What about you? What about me? Is your life reinforcing the gospel, or is it contradicting it? Are your private decisions in line with your public confession? Is your influence built on image, or is it built on real surrender in your life to the Lord?

The impact here of John's ministry didn't come from charisma, it didn't come from cultural relevance. It actually came from a consecrated heart. It was a life that said, "I belong to the Lord." And that's what God will still use today. Not perfection, but surrender. Not outward polish, but inward holiness. So let me ask you: what part of your life is God calling to be more fully his?

Where is he calling you to live with greater conviction? Where is he calling you to live with greater simplicity of faith? Where is he calling you to live with greater courage? Because if you want to prepare the way for Jesus in the lives of others, you actually have to start by living a life that reflects him. Well, what else can we see here to prepare the way for the King? Verses seven through ten.

"But when he saw many of the Pharisees..." The scene shifts abruptly here. "But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, 'Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance. And do not think to say to yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father," for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.'"

So John the Baptist now confronts this new crowd: the religious elite. And I don't know if you could tell just by reading it, John's tone is unapologetically bold. This isn't seeker-sensitive preaching here. He calls them a "brood of vipers," poisonous, deceptive offspring of snakes. You're a bunch of snakes! And these were the respected religious leaders of the day. They were like the Bible scholars, the pastors, and the deacons. They were seen as holy by the average person.

But John exposes their spiritual rot. The issue wasn't that they came, it's why they came. They weren't coming in repentance. They were showing up as spectators. And knowing them, they probably showed up to judge or to co-opt the movement and say, "Well, we're the ones doing this." And John wasn't impressed by their titles, he wasn't impressed by their robes, he wasn't impressed by their positions. Instead, he said, "Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance."

So just by the fact of what John just preached, we come to know and understand that true repentance always produces fruit. It changes attitudes, it reforms behaviors, it leads to humility and confession and obedience. And John said basically, "I see no evidence of that in you." And he goes on to say in verse nine, "And do not think to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father,' for I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones."

See, this is the heart of the issue for them. The Sadducees and the Pharisees were trusting in their heritage, their Jewishness and their religion. They were trusting in their heritage, not that their heart had been changed by genuine repentance and they were now willing to trust in the coming King. No, they assumed that because they were physical descendants of Abraham, they were spiritually secure. John destroys that illusion. Listen, God is not impressed by heritage.

God is not impressed by ancestry. Being religious doesn't make someone right with God. External tradition without inward transformation is hollow. And then John offers a very chilly warning, verse ten. "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." The time for pretending is over. The judgment is not just on the surface, it's aimed at the root. Because God is looking for real fruit: repentance, holiness, surrender.

And where there is no fruit, there is no life. So there are some truths here that we need to come to grips with right here. Religious activity cannot replace a repentant heart. Just showing up at church—and I want you to do that—but just showing up in a worship service, knowing the right words, or even being a part of a professing Christian family, that doesn't mean you're walking with God. That doesn't mean you're in right standing with God. Repentance must be personal, and repentance must be ongoing.

Don't confuse tradition with transformation. Also, true faith in Christ bears fruit. If Christ is really in you, there should be evidence: love, humility, obedience to God, sacrifice, and holiness. Fruit is not perfection, but I tell you what, it is direction. There's a trajectory. So maybe this morning, we should just ask the Holy Spirit to show us where our life is bearing fruit and where it's not. Where is my life bearing fruit, and where is it not? Lord, show me.

And listen, outward appearances do not fool God. Man looks at the outside and we make all kinds of evaluations and judgments based on the outside, but God sees the heart. Oh, you can wear the right clothes—at least what everybody thinks is the right clothes—you can say the right things. You can even be in leadership, obviously. You can even be in leadership and still miss the kingdom. John's warning is pretty sober.

His warning is basically unless there is repentance, unless there is fruit, judgment will come. John's words are sharp, but at the same time, they're gracious. How? Why? See, I've just reached the point in my life and my ministry and preaching, I believe clarity is kindness. When I'm clear, I'm being kind to you. You don't have to walk out of here trying to read between the lines or beating around the bush. Clarity is kindness. It's gracious. John's words were sharp, but they were gracious. Why were they gracious?

Well, because they're a wake-up call. The religious leaders here had grown very comfortable and self-righteously content in their rituals and in their traditions and in their religion. But you need to remember this morning that comfortable confidence without genuine conversion is deadly. Comfortable confidence in your religion without genuine conversion is eternally deadly.

Guest (Male): Thanks for listening to Foundations of Truth with Pastor Timothy Mann from Providence Church in Ormond Beach, Florida. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Until next time, keep building your life on God's eternal truth: the Bible.