Dear Christian friends:

One year ago, Ronald Reagan became President, the chief ruler in our nation. Before Reagan, Carter ruled for four years, and before him Gerald Ford was President. Presidents and rulers come and go. They are not permanent, but Jesus is King and Ruler forever. His power and His kingdom will never end. Before He was born the angel told Mary, "Your Baby shall rule over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom shall not end." (Luke 1:33) His Kingdom is now and forever.

We are wise if we join Jesus' kingdom and stay members of His Kingdom. In our text Jesus says, "The time has come, God's kingdom is here," The Savior is here! God's grace is here! New birth and new life are here! God's rule is here! Then Jesus tells us what we should do about it.


What should we do about it? Jesus says three things: 1. Repent 2. Believe the Gospel 3. Fish for Men.

First, we should repent of our sins. How does one repent? He confesses that he is a sinner before God and men and that he deserves God's eternal punishment in hell. Many people today refuse to confess that and believe that. They do not believe that they deserve to go to hell. But the Bible plainly teaches this truth, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags." (Isaiah 64:6) "There is not a just man upon earth that doeth good and sinneth not." (Ecclesiastes 7:20) "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one." (Psalm 14:1-3) Jesus suffered as the condemned in hell when there was darkness for the hours from 12:00 to 3:00 pm, Jesus cried out, "My God, My God, Why has Thou forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34) Remember Jesus accepted our sins for us and suffered God's terrible and righteous anger against our sins. We must believe what the Bible says about us that we are sinners and deserve to die eternally.

You have heard of AA, Alcoholics Anonymous. AA has borrowed one of the tools of the Church, repentance. Before an alcoholic can join AA, he must confess that he is an alcoholic. He must stand up before all the members at the meeting and say, "My name is John Doe, and I am an alcoholic." So we Christians, we who wish to join Jesus' Kingdom, stand up in church and confess that we are poor, miserable sinners. Before we come to the Lord's Supper we confess: "0 Almighty God, merciful Father, I a poor, miserable sinner confess unto You all my sins and iniquities with which I have ever offended You, and I rightly deserve Your anger, and eternal punishment." (The General Confession) We also promise God that we will stop our sinning and amend our sinful life. This is repentance. Confessing our sinfulness and turning away from sin. Jesus says, "Repent!"

Secondly, we must believe the Good News. Jesus says, "God's Kingdom is here, Repent and believe the Good News." The Good News is that God loves sinners and accepts them and forgives their sins because Jesus, His beloved and only Son, came from heaven to earth to take our sin and our punishment and suffer that for us upon the cross. The Bible plainly teaches that Jesus, Son of Mary and the eternal Son of God suffered and died for all men's sins. "He died for all." (2 Corinthians 5:15) "God hath made Him to be sin for us, who (Jesus) knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21) "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) This is the Good News of the Kingdom. If you believe it, you have forgiveness of sins and the new and eternal life. That's how we become members of God's Kingdom and remain in it.

But many people fail to believe this Good News for many and various reasons. Some people cannot understand how God can love and forgive sinners. Man hates those who hurt him or do wrong against him. Man seeks to get revenge and punish the wrong-doer. But God is not like man. God says, "My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8) Others are self-righteous and say, "If I sin, I must suffer and pay myself. Nobody can do that for me, Jesus' righteousness is not my righteousness." (George Bernard Shaw) Others think their sins are too great or bad, and God can't forgive such bad deeds. They are like Judas who when he realized his great sin against Jesus despaired and went out and hanged himself.

Don't be like these doubters and unbelievers! Humble yourself before God; confess your sinfulness and believe His great love and mercy which He has shown to you in His Son Jesus, the Savior!

God's Kingdom is here, so repent and believe the Good News! What else? Fish for men!

We read in our text that after Jesus had preached the Good News of God's Kingdom He walked near the Lake of Galilee and saw four fishermen: Simon Peter and his brother Andrew and two other brothers, James and John. Jesus said to them, "Come, follow Me and I will make you fishers of men." And immediately they left their nets and followed Jesus. (verses 16-20) Jesus' disciples are "fishers of men." What does that mean? Many years ago when I was pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church for the Deaf, Minneapolis, Minnesota, one Sunday one of our faithful members, a bachelor, did not come to church, so I asked his friend, "Where is Lyle?" The friend replied, "He went fishing in South Dakota." I was surprised because he never did go fishing. Then the friend explained, "He went fishing for a wife." He went to the South Dakota Convention of the Deaf looking to find a girl friend and maybe a wife.

Well, you know about fishing for fish and about fishing for a wife or husband. But Jesus wants us all to go "fishing" for men. Are you a "fisher of men?"

Yes, God's Kingdom is here! Jesus says to you: Repent, believe the Gospel, and fish for men!

Amen.

Additional sermon information:

The Second Petition - Thy Kingdom Come

What does this mean? The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself. But we pray in this petition that it may come unto us, also.

How is this done? When God gives us His Holy Spirit so that by His holy word we lead a godly life here in time and hereafter in eternity.