The first Sunday of the month of Tout 2020

The first Sunday of the Coptic Year talks to us about the personality of St John the Baptist, why St John the Baptist?

He is a prophet who lived between the two periods of the Old Testament and the New Testament, and now we are in the beginning of a New Year.

The Feast of Nowruz is the feast of martyrs, and St John the Baptist is the last martyr of the Old Testament.

Saint John the Baptist testified that the LORD JESUS CHRIST was greater than a prophet and the greatest of women born. Why? Because no one called for repentance, as St John the Baptist called for until all Jerusalem went out to him.

Repentance in GOD’s eyes is the greatest work that a person can do. So this is our topic on the First Sunday of the New Year; Repentance.

Repentance means returning to GOD, and GOD does not desire the death of the sinner because HE loves his return and rejoices over one sinner who returns and repents.

Saint John the Baptist called for repentance, and the LORD JESUS CHRIST preached the kingdom of GOD and performed miracles and signs. They did not hear, were not affected, or changed.

Calling to repentance is one thing and accepting the words is another.

Do you know what the word repentance means? Repentance means changing life. So if you heard a million sermons today and your life did not change, what have you done then? They say: No one reached in the sermon and in the words as Saint John the Bishop of Constantinople, from the power of his words and the interpretations of the Bible and the sweetness of the word for his sermons they named him St John Chrysostom, and when he speaks and you don’t have a piece of paper to write on then write on your hand or on your shirt. If you hear St John Chrysostom preaching for life, and your life has not changed, you have then wasted your time and you have achieved nothing. There are many preachers, books, and sermons and we are not changing……

So what is important is the words that reach me, which are very many, and they are the words of our LORD who spoke through the prophets. The prophets in the New Testament are not those that predict the future. Prophets in the New Testament mean preachers. Prophecy in the New Testament after the LORD JESUS CHRIST means preaching. The word preaching means rebuking oneself, So if we hear the word and it does not affect our souls, we are not changing, and if we are not transformed from life to life, then we have done nothing.

Repentance in the eyes of GOD is that man changes his life, and that man changes his morals, changes his character, changes his behavior and his speech, and changes his appearance and mind. Repentance for some people is that he stands before people and says I am a sinner, GOD have mercy on me, I am a sinner, as the tax collector, and by this, he has transformed from the life of sin to the life of richness and that is it, In fact, this is not practical repentance. Repentance is a continuous change from glory to glory, from grace to grace, and from growth to growth … every day. As a living tree and everyday you see new leaves, blossoms, fruit, and change that happen every day. Repentance is not the moment when a person regrets his sin. This is a small part. If I am committed to sin, I repent of it, change my mind, change my words, change my style, and change is a continuous process that is continuous every day for life. So, every day I should stand in front of the LORD GOD and say Oh LORD, YOU are the (Psalm 113:7) “He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;” ( Psalm 113:9) “He settles the childless woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise the LORD”.