Living A Repented Life

Acknowledgment

Prayer

When you give a Black Baptist preacher the mike…Grace to all and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I had been wrestling with which message to bring to you this morning. If God put on Pastor Philip’s heart to invite me again maybe I will get to share another one of those messages. The message for today that reign in my spirit comes from one verse , Repent, then, () turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Considering Lent, I believe God would have me share with you from the subject: Living A Repented Life.

We are in the season of Lent; some churches participate in it and some don’t. The concept behind Lent is that each year, Christians will mimic Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness. Lent is sometimes called the “Great Fast.” Lent is the greatest and most solemn period of fasting on the Christian church’s calendar, starting from Ash Wednesday leading up to the celebration of Resurrection Sunday better known as Easter. Fasting is bringing your body and mind under subjection. Lent is a period in which Christians are meant to give up something of comfort or adopt some spiritual practice that leads to self-examination, repentance from sin, and, ultimately, the renewal of the soul in order to have a greater dedication to God. Many think Lent is about giving up something that is difficult for you to live without such certain food items, electronics, social media, etc. Do you think God cares if you give up something, yet you remain spiritually dry? Lent is a time to turn away from something that is hindering your spiritual growth. Sin do not just hinder your spiritual growth, but it also hinders your relationships, with God and those you love.

However, I find it to be ironic that pastors who address the issue of sin have small congregations while those who do not talk about it have large ones. Awaken Christian Church would you rather have a small church that dives into God’s trues or a mega church that swim in a pack of lies. I believe that many pastors do not talk about sins anymore because they want to increase membership or better yet they do not want to interrupt the cash flow. Therefore, they preach what the bible says, itchy ears want to hear knowing that the members are going to live however they so choose anyway. In fact, pastors nor the members these days want to be accountable or responsible for their actions. But not talking about sin is a disservice to the body of Christ and the gospel how are members going to know that they are sinning if it not talked about. Let’s be clear, there is no salvation without sin and no Jesus without salvation. Why preach if lives are not positively impacted by what you preach. Why come to church if you really do not want to change. The Word of God is supposed challenge you to live a godly life. says, for the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Thus, when you hear the Word of God, you are supposed to be cut. No healing takes place until God operate on you. Moreover, the Lord says in , Come out from among them and be separate. You are the called-out ones…the ecclesia…your life is supposed to represent the life of Christ whose blood restore you unto Himself.

If there is a time that the church and its members need restoration, it is now. We live in a nation where the truth is a lie and lies are the truth; where high crimes are misdemeanors and low crimes are major offenses. We live in a nation where the church folks are dancing with the vile of injustice; embracing hatred and bigotry; and walking the hall of hypocrisy as they water down the gospel to promote their own agenda or to support an administration of fake news and alternative fakes. We live in a nation where church leaders are busy covering up corruption and sexual scandals. Church folks are not following the rules of the Kingdom of God as they profess of doing. A few weeks ago, while I was driving my little guy to school, he asked me daddy how do you feel if God is mad at you. I told him I do not want God to be mad at me, but God will chasten those He love when they have done something wrong. I wanted him to understand that there are consequences for your actions. I have been preaching the gospel for nearly 15 years and I can honestly say there are still areas in my life that are pleasing to God. I want to practice what I preach. Therefore, this message applies to me as well because my greatest desire is to be like Christ, but I am not there yet. But I thank God for His amazing grace…I once was lost but now I am found, blind but now I see. I know I am not what I want to be, but thanks be to God I am not what I use to be for His grace has brought me thus far and His grace will lead me home.

That was just my introduction. I will start off this message with a few questions: who are you comfortable with in sharing your deepest sin? Do you keep all your flaws to yourself? Have you committed every area of your life to God? Pastor Phil one mistake many pastors make is holding onto of their garbage because they are too afraid to share their sins with anyone in fear of damaging their reputation. But says, therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The book of Acts contains the call to repentance. If you were to scan chapter 3, you would witness a miracle and a sermon: the miracle make way for the sermon, to confirm the doctrine that was to be preached, and then the sermon to explain the miracle to strengthen a person who is broken. The miracle was the healing of a man that was lame from his birth, when Peter preached word the lame man got up and walked causing him to praise and worship God. Acts chapter 3 demonstrate the direct comparison of the physical and the spiritual life. Sin causes all of us to lame from birth by being dead in our transgressions, resulting in us to being broken people. But it is your brokenness that God is after. Repentance is the path where your brokenness is made whole. But you cannot repent unless you hear the Word of God. When the spoken Word of God apprehend you causing you to repent then you are delivered from all unrighteousness.

Repentance is also one of the central themes of the gospel. John the Baptist had one message, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Jesus’ mission focused on this one statement, I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Several times in the letters to the churches in Revelation, repentance is called for in order that believers and churches might bring their lives into greater conformity to the will of God. Individual believers, as well as churches, must constantly engage in self-examination, allowing the Spirit of God to point out areas where change is needed. We have a habit of withholding that rightly belong to God, which is ourselves. How can God enter your life if you do not let Him in? I know you to go church, but it does not mean let God in or only in certain rooms.

An African preacher once told this story: there was a man who own a two-story house. One day he heard a knock at his door. When he opened the door, there stood Jesus. He invited Jesus in and gave Him a room on the top floor. That night the man heard another knock at the door. When he opened the door, the devil rush in and attacked the man. The man started crying to Jesus for help as he wrestled with the devil. He was able to kick the devil out of his house. The next morning the man asked Jesus why he did not come to his rescue while I cried for help. Jesus said you only gave me one room in your house. The man told Jesus that He could have the entire second floor. That night the man heard another knock at the door. When he opened the door, again the devil rush in and attacked the man. The man started crying to Jesus for help. Again, he was able to kick the devil out of his house. The next morning the man asked Jesus why he did not come to his rescue while I cried for help. Jesus said that you only gave me the second floor of your house. The man told Jesus that He could have my entire house. That night there was a knock at the door. Jesus opened the door, the devil said I am sorry I got the wrong house. Just as God given you all of Him, He demands all of you. God has created you and me for Himself. , Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. Repentance is about letting God in.

Arrogant and pride keeps God out and keeps you from looking at the real you. Repentance is the conversion that comes from contrition in the soul allowing humility to reign. But you and I have a habit of trying to hide from God like Adam and Eve. I remember playing hide & seek with Micaiah for the first time. It is impossible to hide from God, omnipresence and omniscience. Why hold onto something that God already know and see so you mind as confess and repent. What is repentance? In its biblical sense repentance can be said to have occurred when you have been convicted of the reality of your personal sinfulness, reject and renounce that life of sin, and turn from self to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance is an essential element in your salvation story. Repentance is more about a change in lifestyle embracing and recognizing your mortality because one day you will come to that crossroad where you will stand before the judgment seat of God. Do you want to hear well done my good and faithful servant or depart from Me for I never knew you? Therefore, what is your response to God who has laid down His life for you? gives us a concise description of the essence of your response to God. It reads, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. The call to repentance is a call to absolute surrender to the purposes of God.

Surrender is a war term. You war every day with the flesh and the spirit. You and I have a tendency of losing the battle because we often succumb to the flesh. The flesh is you desires. states that each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Surrender implies giving up all your rights to the conqueror. God is the great conqueror who conquers you to bless and love you. Surrendering to Him means you set aside your own plans and eagerly seek His. In this declaration in indicates that there are three things in which you have surrender to God to be fully alive: your body, your mind, and your will.

You respond to God by discipline (you) body and bring it into subjection for in , do you not know that your (body is the temple) of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your (body). Why? Because your body must be kept holy so to be fit for the indwelling of the Spirit of God. You can no longer use your body for sinful pleasures because your body now belong to God. Therefore, you cannot desecrate His temple, defile it, but offer it up for His glory. You must yield your body as “instruments of righteousness” for the Holy Spirit to use in the doing of God’s work.

You respond to God by changing the way you think, everything starts with the mind. You can no longer conform to the pattern of this world that enticing you to follow ungodly behavior. But you must be transformed by the renewing of your mind, which is the bedrock of your thoughts. You can no longer thinking on carnal things but think on whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely ( )—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy. If you have a readjustment in your thinking you will have a readjustment in behavior. When your mind is renewed you are able to soar to a new altitude because you now have spiritual attitude. This transformation will cause you to look at things from a spiritual standpoint. Footnote: if the world controls your thinking, you are a conformer; if God controls your thinking, you are a transformer. Your mind controls your body, and your will controls your mind.

Finally you response to God by surrendering your wills for His will. Many people think they can control their will by willpower. The ultimate good for the German philosopher Frederich Nietzsche was to will power whereby people can take matter into their own hands, thus they become empowered and self-sufficient; no need for God. By his own theory, he should have had the power to will himself back to good health and to a sound mind. In fact, he had to depend on others to take care of him due to a health condition. It is only when you yield your will to God that His power takes over and gives you the willpower that you need to be victorious. Repentance is the starting point of a commitment to a new way of living and thinking that transforms your heart and mind from being carnal to being spiritual.

A repented life is the sum total of the Christian experience. A repented Life does not mean a perfect life, but it is trying to live life to its full potential. A repented life is the best sign that you are growing into the character of Jesus. When you live a repented life, you won’t only mimic Jesus’ 40 days fast during Lent season, but you mimic the way He live. When you live a repented life, you deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Jesus; follow His commands, receive His doctrine, submit to His authority. You subscribe to Him with an implicit faith and obedience so to let His laws govern all your actions, and let His counsels determine all your ideas. When we live a repented life, you become are a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. When you live a repented live, you have the desire to live a sober and consecrated life.

When you live a repented live, you rest in the presence of the Spirit of God and is guided by His wisdom. When you live a repented life, you acquire a deeper intimacy with God and for His greater good. When you live a repented life God create in (you) a clean heart, ( ) and renew (in you) a right spirit. When you live a repented life, the kingdom of heaven has come near. In other ords, heaven comes down to you. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. When heaven is near the peace rules your heart giving a peace of mind even in the midst of a storm. When you live a repented life, you worship God in Spirit and in Truth. When you live a repented life, you live a new life under the covenant of God principles because you exchanged the old sinful nature for the new righteous nature. The result of this transformation is that you will be able to please God by doing His will.

When you live a repented live, you rest in the presence of the Spirit of God and is guided by His wisdom. When you live a repented life, you acquire a deeper intimacy with God and for His greater good. When you live a repented life God create in (you) a clean heart, ( ) and renew (in you) a right spirit. When you live a repented life, the kingdom of heaven has come near. In other words, heaven comes down to you. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. When heaven is near the peace rules your heart giving a peace of mind even in the midst of a storm. When you live a repented life, you worship God in Spirit and in Truth. When you live a repented life, you live a new life under the covenant of God principles because you exchanged the old sinful nature for the new righteous nature. The result of this transformation is that you will be able to please God by doing His will.

This leads to a time of refreshing. How refreshing it is to know that your sins are forgive freeing you from your internal guilt and given hope for a better tomorrow. How refreshing it is that you yoke is broken and your burden is light. How refreshing it is to be delivered from weariness, misery, hunger, thirst, loneliness, darkness and restlessness. How refreshing it is to be clothed in dignity and robed in integrity. How refreshing it is to serve the God who answers your prayers. How refreshing it is that God’s Spirit comforts you and His word encourages to hold on and not give up. How refreshing it is that God has endow you with the Holy Spirit where living water flows from your belly. How refreshing it is that you are on fire for the Lord standing in boldness, confident, and power to endure the fiery darts of the enemy. How refreshing it is to have a close relationship with God and dwelling in His presence. How refreshing it is to that through Jesus Christ you are glorified, justified, and sanctified to be a part of God’s holy and eternal family. How refreshing it is to know when this life is over you will be able to walk into the Promised Land.