Luke 3:1-12
If I could summarise in a word, and encapsulate in essence, the singular cry of God’s prophet, it would be the word “repent”. This messenger of God was sent by God on a divine mission; he was to be His mouthpiece; he was to be God’s agent to effect change in the hearts of the straying multitudes. He was never called to win popularity contests, in fact, he was for the most part hated and rejected, persecuted, and killed by the very ones to whom he was sent. He confronted the sins of the children of Israel and charged them with breaking God’s laws! He pronounced judgments and spoke of coming calamity. At the heart of his message was a cry of repentance for a wayward people to return back to God in order that they might be healed!!
The burden of this sermon is twofold. First, to show the importance of repentance and second, to discover the nature of repentance. May the Lord bring us all to a place of true repentance!