Call for Repentance
Witness to the world: Book of Acts • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 46:36
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Separation anxiety?
Separation anxiety?
I think at sometime in our lives we all may suffer from some separation anxiety of some type. But the separation between man and God (Isa59:2) is series, is eternal and being addressed in the second gospel meeting. It calls for faith ad repentance.
2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
Sin’s separate us from God and the sermon message from Peter is pretty impacting.
A little background and some groundwork.
First was the set up, the healing (Act3:1-10)
So giving a man more than what he asked for but exactly what he needed.
This set up for the sermon, just like, well like God orchestrated it!
Can I say that there was faith, leaping, walking, praising, wonder and amazement involved?
Then came the delivery (Act3:11-16)
Don’t be amazed, don’t marvel, know this Jesus whom the God of your fathers sent is who did this in the man
This Jesus you denied and had killed is the one who did it.
It is by faith, faith in His name that this man stands before you now. Look, you see him, you cannot deny it!
Then was the call (Act3:17-26)
Billy Graham once said “if God does not judge America than he needs to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” - well I think he was calling for national repentance and that is what Paul is doing here.
This section is addressed to the Jews, Paul’s countrymen and he never forgets them.
We will look at the call here in just a minute or two but before that one other point will be made tonight.
Then is the response to the call (Act4:1-4)
The sermon, the call, the response, always may there be a response, we pray, hope for a positive response, well, this one had a response and we will have to wait and see the response when we get there.
Call for repentance is what we are talking about tonight and Jesus used some very strong words when it came to repentance (Mt11:20-22)
20 Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you.
Jesus speaking to the Jews, calling the Jews to repentance, our passage today is the same call. And today, the message has not changed a call to repentance for our sins have separated us from our God.
While Paul is calling nationally, the call is really personal too and as we look at this passage may we look at personal responsibility of the people then and people today.
Call for repentance (to repent)
Call for repentance (to repent)
If your phone is ringing you have a choice right? Someone is
calling and you have a choice to answer or not, but it does not change the fact there is a call.
May we look at the passage and then go back, look, read, and let’s discuss
17 “And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. 18 “But the things which God announced beforehand by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled.
19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you,
21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
We will stop there for a few
What did you see, what did you notice, what sticks out to you?
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Conviction (v.17) but not without hope (v.18)
Call to repent; and promise if repent (v.19-21)
Don’t be ignorant anymore (Act17:30-31)
Don’t be cut off anymore (Num15:30-31)
Receive forgiveness (LK23:34)
Grab hold now! Refuge offered (Heb6:18)
God’s grand plan stood before you (Act2:23; Act3:13-16; Act3:17-18)
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Conviction (v.17) but not without hope (v.18)
Hey they thought they were doing right, just like Saul did before Damascus road, they were ignorant, just as their fathers were. but were not left without hope, the prophets of old told what was coming, the Christ and even His suffering.
(expand on that briefly for us today; convicted but not without hope)
Conviction (v.17) but not without hope (v.18)
Call to repent; and promise if repent (v.19-21)
Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the prophesies of old. And in the fulfillment comes to call to repent and a promise. Repent and return, so sins can be wiped away, so the rest, the return the prophets spoke of can still happen and there is full restoration of all things!
Conviction (v.17) but not without hope (v.18)
Call to repent; and promise if repent (v.19-21)
Don’t be ignorant anymore (Act17:30-31)
Ignorant, a word we may hear often but I think I will give the definition so there is no misinterpretation
(Ignorant slide)
Information was available, but not received, or it was ignored. and according to scripture the times of ignorance is passed.
30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Remembering that Paul is addressing Jews who lived under the O.T. laws regarding sin, Sins of omission, sins of commission and sins of defiance as well as sins of ignorance.
Don’t be cut off anymore (Num15:30-31)
Check out this
30 ‘But the person who does anything defiantly, whether he is native or an alien, that one is blaspheming the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 ‘Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken His commandment, that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt will be on him.’ ”
In the O.T. the willful sinners were to be cut off, but in the N.T. Jesus offers forgiveness and God answered prayer instead of delving judgment. He sent the Spirit to empower the church and to convict the lost sinner. So . . .
Don’t be cut off anymore (Num15:30-31)
Receive forgiveness (LK23:34)
34 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
Israel had been ignorant, they were not understanding, they did not have a malicious heart. They would be like the manslayer who sought refuge in the closest city of refuge where they were safe as long as they did not leave the city. They were safe to go home after the high priest died. Our High Priest died so that we too could go home to our heavenly home one day. We are invited to go home when we grab hold by faith.
Don’t be cut off anymore (Num15:30-31)
Receive forgiveness (LK23:34)
Grab hold now! Refuge offered (Heb6:18)
18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
When we grab a hold of the hope, and Jesus Christ is our hope and we do it by faith we have taken refuge in what is offered when we repent and return to God by faith through the blood of Jesus.
The true hope is Jesus, our only hope for heaven is through Jesus and that was via the cross and the blood where the divine meets man and man has the way, the truth, and now responsible for it.
God gave free will, in the garden and until today it has not changed. God does not force man to take refuge in the Christ, but offers it. God gave the prophesy through the prophets and Jesus fulfilled it.
Means of the call
Means of the call
The delivery method, the vehicle, that the call is received. Look how Peter puts it before us now.
21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 “Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to Him you shall give heed to everything He says to you.
23 ‘And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days.
25 “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you?
This section could start back in (v.19)- repent and be converted, but as you know scripture links itself so there is some overlap here and that is OK.
The crime has been announced (sin) the evidence presented (God’s standard set and man falls short). Nature of sin developed (we all fall short) now comes the mean to the call, or the offer of the pardon to the guilty sinner (vv.19-26)
From prosecution to the defence team to lead to the pardoning judge.
Goal was to bring the people and the nation to repentance.
It had to start with the need to repent
Then how to repent, what to do (Act2:38, 5:31; 17:30 and 2Cor7:10)
Personally one must repent (Act2:38)
Repent each one of you . . .
Paul’s desire was national repentance then (Act5:31)
Obey God rather than man so that the Prince and Savior would grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
Reason to repent (Act17:30)
Times of ignorance has passed as mentioned before.
Repent without regret (2Cor7:10)
Ever seek forgiveness because you were caught?
We often feel sorry when we get caught, but godly sorrow, well look at what Paul says about that.
10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Commentator Warren Wiersbe says this.
“true repentance is admitting that what God says is true, and because it is true, to change our mind and our actions regarding sin and about the Savior.
Repentance was nothing new, and it is a gift from God (Mt3:2; Mt4:17; Act11:18)
John in the wilderness preached it, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand.
Jesus preached it, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
Peter preached it to the Jews (Act2, and our passage today) and then to the Gentiles too and look at the result.
18 When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.”
Remember that in our passage, a call for repentance is to the Jews and now we see they accept and know that the Christ came for repentance for the Gentiles too!
This gift, repentance, was available to all who receive by faith and apply, first personally then hopefully nationally.
Call to repentance leads to conversion (Ps51:13; Mt18:3)
God has communicated regarding conversion in the prophets of old.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.
David when convicted and converted was then going to converse with others so that they too could be converted.
Jesus said that it was necessary to be converted to enter the kingdom of heaven.
3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Repentance and faith are inner-linked (Act20:21)
21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, the preaching was for Jews and Gentiles about repentance and faith. Repentance (change of heart, mind, direction) is needed and to have saving faith, obedient faith in Jesus Christ.
Means to the end is Jesus!
Jesus is the means to the ends, repentance brings obedience and through the blood of Christ there is forgiveness of sins and a time of refreshing is coming.
Jesus the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen12:1-3)
Leave you country, your people to a place I will show you and you I will make you a great nation and in you all families of the earth will be blessed (James paraphrase)
Fulfilled so Gentiles too would be saved (Gal3:6-14)
Abraham was accounted righteousness by faith, God knew, that the Gentiles would be declared righteousness by faith too, fulfilling the Abrahamic covenant
It started with the personal before the national (Act3:26)
26 “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
Started with the Jews and radiated out from there, and it was a call for repentance, a turning, a converting!
All this leads to the response to the call.
Response to the call
Response to the call
The call is made, the reason is made clear, the promise has been spoken, the results are sure, but still there is the response that has to take place.
1 As they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them, 2 being greatly disturbed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead.
3 And they laid hands on them and put them in jail until the next day, for it was already evening. 4 But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand.
What do you see, what do you notice, what sticks out to you in this response?
Some responded by belief (v.4)
Notice it says that the number increased to 5000, so an addition of about another 2000 souls!
Some were disturbed (v.2)
The disturbed are named the Sadduccees and they would be greatly disturbed for they do not believe in resurrection.
Some were taken into custody (v.3)
OK, so it was Peter and John, the proclaimers who were taken into custody.
Some practical truths from this passage.
God is long suffering with lost sinners
The Gospel has both bad and good news
The way to reach the masses is one sinner at a time
Best defence of the truth; a changed life
Watch out, if God blesses you, Satan wants to steal it!
(Encouragement slide 1- In the name of Jesus)
Back in Act3:16 it says
(Not on a slide and leave it that way)
16 “And on the basis of faith in His name, it is the name of Jesus which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all.
it is all about faith in the name of Jesus, for there is power in His mighty name. There is salvation in no other name, and you have assurance of your salvation in His name!
Jesus is the name that can change all things, starts personally and can change in our community, in our state, in our nation and all throughout the world to all those who believe!
Remember how it started with you.
Encouragement (Encouragement slide 2 - Put on Jesus) prayer (exit slides)