Spring City Fellowship
250720Sunday
Sunday July 20, 2025 10:15AM Service

      • Psalm 150:3NIV2011

  • Somebody Say Amen
  • Lord I lift your name on high
  • Blessed Be Your Name
  • How Great Thou Art
  • Holy Forever
  • I Speak Jesus
  • Healing Rain
  • Lord I Need You
  • I Exalt Thee
  • Our Theme for 2025 is “Live Like Jesus”
    It comes out of a simple desire to follow Jesus - and to learn better what that means.
    We are spending the entire year in the Gospel of Matthew.
    Most of our time in Matthew will be spent examining the way that Jesus describes the renewed life that we have in Christ.
    Over the last several weeks we talked about divine healing, deliverance, forgiveness and being a disciple of Jesus.
    Jesus had twelve men who followed him, literally - they went with him as he travelled around the countryside teaching and ministering to the people.
    A disciple is shaped by the teaching of their teacher.
    And they practice doing what their teacher does so that they become like their teacher.
    We are also being formed in Christ’s image - we are His disciples.
    Jesus’ primary message was one of repentance - that people need to change.
    You may have heard the expression “Keep doing what you are doing and you will keep getting what you are getting.
    Repentance means that you come to a realization that you are headed in the wrong direction and you turn around and go the other way.
    For those of us who have been raised in the church, we may be tempted to see the message of repentance as being for “other people”
    You know - “those people!”
    But in the passages that we are gong to read today, Jesus is not speaking to “those people”
    He is speaking to the people that are following Him.
    First to His disciples.
    Then to those who were at least familiar with the ministry of John the Baptist.
    Lastly, He speaks to communities of people - a more general audience - but those who have witnessed, firsthand, His ministry and message.
    There is no shame in repentance - not at all!
    It is a gift to know that you can make corrections when they are needed.
    Where would we all be if it were not for the fact that we can repent and change?
    Consider the historical reformations throughout Europe, where figures like Martin Luther challenged the status quo of the Church. He emphasized the need for repentance and a return to Scripture, like calling a wayward child home. These movements ignited immense change, transforming societies and restoring faith to its core values. Similarly, Jesus' message of repentance invites us to challenge our complacencies, to seek deeper relationships with God, and live in a way that reflects our faith authentically, sparking transformation in our communities.
    When we read scriptures about repentance, they should cause us to examine ourselves.
    If we are going the wrong way - it means we need to turn around.
    But repentance isn’t something you only do once.
    Repentance is a daily walk with Jesus and becoming like what we see in Him.
    Receiving the message of repentance means regularly evaluating the course of your life to make sure you are in alignment with God.
    We are going to read through Matthew chapter eleven and I dare you to hear these words, not as a message to someone else -
    But as an invitation to you - and to me - to repent and to change.

    Receiving the message

    Matthew 11:1–3 ESV
    1 When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities. 2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
    What is wrong with this picture?
    John Baptizes Jesus and declares Him to be the Lamb of God - the One that the world is looking for.
    John 1:29–30 CEV
    29 The next day, John saw Jesus coming toward him and said: Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 He is the one I told you about when I said, “Someone else will come. He is greater than I am, because he was alive before I was born.”
    That was then, this is now:
    Now John is in prison.
    Now Jesus is spending most of His time in the Galilee region - which, by the way, is not a place to hang out if you want to be popular.
    Everyone, including John, seemed to have the expectation that Jesus was going to be this huge public figure.
    But right now - in the time and in the setting of this story - it is not happening.
    We can easily miss the point of what Matthew is saying because we look back on two thousand years of history and know that there has never been anyone more famous than Jesus.
    John Lennon of “the Beatles” is famous for saying that, at that time, the rock group was “more famous than Jesus.” What history took from that statement is that even John Lennon admits that Jesus is the most famous person that ever lived. He is the standard for comparison.
    Fame is fleeting - the Beatles were a huge fad, but now they are played on “oldies” stations.
    But the Bible is still the best selling book of all time - nothing comes close.
    The point is than no one can know, in the present moment, just how things will look from the perspective of all of history.
    John was a pretty smart guy.
    He was way ahead of his time.
    But he was clueless what it came to the role that Jesus was to play in God’s story.
    When things don’t go the way that we planned, we can get tripped up by it...

    Watch out for offense.

    Matthew 11:4–6 ESV
    4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
    What is offense?
    The Greek word is Skandalon - “It scandalous!” - same idea - generally, in terms of the feeling it conveys.
    More literally it means to get “tripped up” or to “fall off the path”.
    Offense, in the biblical sense, basically means you are wrong and either you don’t know it or won’t admit it.
    Remember that next time you get offended.
    People who are offended are usually quite certain that they are right - thus the offense.
    What’s more, they want everyone to know that they are right - and that’s where they often go wrong.
    So where did John the Baptist go wrong - what is he missing?
    He is missing the things that we usually miss when we are offended - the good things!
    John is so focused on what is not happening that he is missing what IS happening.
    Blind people are seeing for the first time!
    ...And that also goes for people who who have literally lost their sight.
    Lame people - including some people who literally can’t function normally - are functioning - -normally!
    You get the idea… John is so focused on this idea that he had of who Messiah would be and how all this would work,
    that he fails to see what is actually working - right in front of him!
    When is comes to repentance, the first thing we need to know is how much we don’t know!
    Do you know what is the problem of ignorance? it is that you can be completely ignorant and not even know it?
    Repentance is coming to the realization that there is something you are missing.
    Something is wrong here!
    I don’t think I’m on the right track anymore?
    I don’t think this path is taking me where I want to go.
    When everything seems to bother you - I’m just sayin - you might want to consider - maybe it’s you?
    That’s taking the first step.

    Beware of wrong expectations.

    Matthew 11:7–10 ESV
    7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
    So now as the messengers for John the Baptist are walking away to give their report. Jesus asks the crowd what they expected to see regarding John.
    When you first went to see John, did you think he was crazy?
    Did you think he was going to be like every other popular figure?
    No, you went to see John the Baptist precisely because he was different.
    You wanted something different - that is why you went after John.
    And that is also why people follow Jesus.
    Not because they want more of the same,
    But precisely because they want something different.
    It’s all about expectation:
    What did you expect when you became a believer?
    What did you expect when you made the decision to follow Christ?
    What did you expect when you came to church this morning?
    Did you expect that everything was just going to stay the same?
    Then why come? You can stay the same by staying home!
    Did you think Jesus was going to make you keep your life the same as what is was - maybe just make it better?
    What could possibly be better about staying the same?
    Lets say I am in the audience of a TV talk show and I get selected for a free makeover. ( The producers are like - we can really do something with that guy!) What if I tell them that they have to cut my hair the same way. Or I like my glasses - don’t touch the glasses! What if when they give me new clothes to put on, I refuse to take the old ones off. How is that going to be a makeover? They would send me back to my seat and get someone else.
    Repentance is never going to happen if life has to conform to your expectations.
    God does not conform to our expectations - He conforms us to His.
    Romans 12:2 NLT
    2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
    That is how we repent - we let God change us according to what he wants, not according to what we want.
    The truth is, I don’t even know what I want.
    I want what is easy - God wants what is right.
    I want what’s comfortable - God wants what is best.
    I want what is going to make my life better now - God wants what is going restore His created order for eternity.
    I can’t possibly expect what God wants for my life because I can’t see what God sees.
    That is why we have Jesus - and other Jesus followers as our example.

    Becoming like the messenger

    Matthew 11:11 ESV
    11 Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
    This is a cryptic statement:
    No one is greater than John
    And yet, everyone is greater than John.
    Do you know what this means?
    It means John the Baptist represents the culmination of one era and the beginning of a new one.
    In other words, everything is about to change - get used to it!
    My Dad is going to turn 90 at the end of this month. He was born in 1935. The Great Depression was still in effect. Unemployment was high, about one quarter of the workforce was out of work. The Social Security Act was passed establishing a system of old-age and unemployment insurance. The Nuremburg laws were also passed in Nazi Germany which institutionalized discrimination against the Jews.
    Elvis Presley was also born in 1935. The board game “Monopoly” was just published, and quickly became a favorite pastime. Paperback books were also becoming a thing, making reading more affordable for people. Life was generally a struggle, for most people who found resilience and joy in the simple pleasures of life: good humor, supportive communities and innovative ideas.
    When I think how much change my father has seen over His lifetime, it reminds me that, at times like these, the only constant seems to be change.
    I can either let that thought terrify me,
    Or I can let it inspire me!

    Rise to the occasion.

    Matthew 11:12–15 ESV
    12 From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come. 15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
    If John the Baptist represents the end of an era and the beginning of a new one -
    What usually marks a change in eras?
    Revolution of course!
    The Kingdom of God is revolutionary!
    If John’s ministry was revolutionary, how much more so Jesus.
    And if Jesus’ earthly ministry was revolutionary, how much more so the church!
    We are still living in the “how much more so” of the Kingdom or God!
    It is time to rise to the occasion.
    I don’t know how close we are to the visible, physical return of Jesus Christ to earth, but I can say for sure that we are closer than we have ever been!
    If you follow biblical prophecy, there are not very many boxes left to check.
    I think that Peter, Paul and the other Apostles looked forward to this day with great anticipation.
    I believe that the prophets were at a loss for words to describe what God reveled to them.
    They used images that were familiar to them (like unicorns, dragons and locusts) because they didn’t have concepts like interballistic missiles, submarines and helicopters.
    Modern secularism often discounts ancient literature as if “they didn’t know anything back then”
    Not true, they engineered marvels such that we still can’t figure out how they did it.
    For as smart as we have become in some areas - we have become dumber in others.
    And one of the ways we have become most ignorant is by not seeing and interpreting our lives in light of what God is doing through history and eternity.
    God has a plan to transform humanity and to restore the earth.
    And that plan was revealed in Jesus.

    Respond to the truth revealed.

    Matthew 11:16–19 ESV
    16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
    I remember the first time I ever shared a prophetic word in the context of a meeting.
    I was about 19 years old and God gave me this passage.
    My mom and Dad were in the same meeting - I had begun attending a different Mennonite church were they were having Charismatic revival meetings.
    I was terrified to say anything, but I had to do something, my heart was pounding so heard.
    My dad told me afterward that he had the very same word come to him, but He silently prayed, “ God this isn’t my church. It’s my son’s church. Give it to him.”
    It was a message of repentance, God was pleading with us to respond to Him.
    It’s a word about our fickle response to Gods revelation.
    Kids will be kids - tell them you want to do something and they are like, “that’s stupid!”
    So you change it up and go with something that you are sure they will like and you get, “that’s so lame!”
    Do you think that as God’s children we ever make Him want to throw up His hands and say, “I just don’t know how to get through to you!”
    That’s because its not on Him; it’s on you.
    God has already done His part - He sent Jesus.
    He has already gone above and beyond to reveal Himself to you.
    You know all about Jesus, most of the world has only heard the message once, if they have heard it at all.
    You have the Bible in your own language and you know how to read it - so do you?
    Do you know how many people would kill or have been killed for that opportunity?
    Not only that, we have Christian books, Christian radio, Christian Television, even Christian plaques, poster and knick-knacks.
    That problem is not that we lack anything with regard to revelation.
    We have only failed to respond fully and appropriately.
    If we really understood and grasped the magnitude of what we believe, the response would be automatic.
    Repentance would not even be a question - it would become a lifestyle.

    Realigning to what you know.

    Matthew 11:20–24 ESV
    20 Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”
    I want us to fully appreciate what Jesus is saying here - this is taunting language.
    What is the local school district? - Springford Rams?
    And who are their biggest rivals? - Boyertown Bears?
    Let’s say Jesus lives in our neighborhood and plays for Springford - but after a mediocre game where we loose, he says, “If I had played for Boyertown, we would have won!
    What is he really saying? - He’s saying you’re not doing your part!
    If everybody was putting forth a reasonable amount of effort....
    If everybody was doing their part...
    If people were responding to what they ought to know...
    ...things would sure be different!
    Words like that should make you want to get up off your butt and do something!
    The point is not that they are better - the point is that you are not living up to your own true potential.
    That is cause for repentance.

    Live in the light that you have.

    Matthew 11:25–27 ESV
    25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; 26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
    So right after taunting His own Jewish neighbors with the idea that the Gentiles would probably “get it” when they don’t, something seems to occur to Jesus.
    I imagine Him breaking out in laughter as he says this.
    “God, you are so amazing!’
    You made you gospel so simple that the clever people don’t get it and the not-so-clever people do.
    The people who thing they are really something totally miss it and the people who don’t really think that much get it.
    The people who spend their whole lives trying to figure God out, never do and other people have a God encounter while they are just minding their own business.
    You can’t get to God by trying harder, but you can miss God by not trying at all.
    What if we all just live in the light that we have?
    We don’t expect a child to know or to do grown up things.
    We expect them to be able to do what is appropriate of their age and stage of development.
    In fact we marvel when kids sometimes come out with something really profound for their age, because they can’t possibly know all of the implications of what they are saying.
    They are just speaking the truth as they see it.
    In fact, the more simple the truth, the more profound it can be.
    It’s like any door, it simple to open if you have the key.
    Jesus is the key.
    You don’t need to be able to break the door down - you just need the right key.
    You don’t need to know how the door works - you don’t have to uninstall it and install a new one - you just need a simple key.
    You don’t have to be an expert on faith to be a Christian, you just need to know Jesus.

    Practice simple obedience.

    Matthew 11:28–30 ESV
    28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
    What is this verse doing at the end of a sermon on repentance?
    It does what Jesus intended - to let you know that the gospel is not a message of “Try harder!”
    It’s a message of “I already did it for you and all you need is me!”
    We overthink things.
    When I preach a message about repentance - about turning your life around or even just realigning with God.
    We tend to take that message and think “Ok, how am I going to make this happen.”
    And then we give up because a month later, a week later or an hour later - we fail!
    And then we think that God hates us because we failed Him.
    God knows you can’t do it on your own- that’s why He sent Jesus.
    What you need to do is to start spending time with Jesus.
    Read you Bible, find out everything you can about Jesus.
    Talk to Jesus - Oh, and don’t be surprised if Jesus talks back.
    Just know that the Jesus you hear isn’t going to say anything that Jesus in the Bible hasn’t already said - only the words may be different.
    As you get to know Jesus, try to act like Jesus; actually you don’t have to try that hard, because we already tend to act like the people we admire.
    Just keep admiring Jesus - we call that worship.
    And let the worship do its thing - that’s called transformation.
    See, it’s not supposed to be so hard.
    Though some of us that grew up in the Church probably thought “He’s preaching on repentance - that means guilt!”
    I’m probably not doing enough.
    I should think about God more.
    I should probably be giving more, serving more and studying more.
    You don’t need to anything more except know and love Jesus more.
    More Jesus leads to more of everything else.
    The yoke is a wooden collar that joins two oxen so they can pull together.
    Being in the yoke with Jesus means that He is doing most of the work and your focus is just keeping up with Him.
    The worst thing you can do is try to pull in a different direction.
    And that’s where repentance comes in - repentance is the practice of keeping yourself aligned with what God is doing so that you are helping Jesus to help you.

    Questions for reflection:

    What is the trajectory of your life? Where are you headed in life? What goals or outcomes are most important to you? What do you most want to achieve? And where is God in this picture? Are you expecting God to bless your plans or are you conforming to His?
    What gets you most upset? Who most easily offends you? In what ways are you most easily disappointed? Once again, let’s invite God into the picture. What is God doing in this situation? What would you do different if you were to follow His lead?
    What if repentance were something you did more than once? What if it were something that you did often, even daily. What if repentance was not about feeling guilty for what you didn’t do, but rather working with God or letting Him work through you?

      • Matthew 11:1–3ESV

      • John 1:29–30ESV

      • Matthew 11:4–6ESV

      • Matthew 11:7–10ESV

      • Romans 12:2ESV

      • Matthew 11:11ESV

      • Matthew 11:12–15ESV

      • Matthew 11:16–19ESV

      • Matthew 11:20–24ESV

      • Matthew 11:25–27ESV

      • Matthew 11:28–30ESV

  • Sweep over My soul
Spring City Fellowship
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