Why Do I Need To Repent?

Good morning. I pray your week was wonderful. I had a very challenging but great week as last week was my first official week as principal at NEVC. A lot to adapt to and figure out but God is good and is providing everything I need exactly when I need it. All Praise to Him this morning. With that said as I find my routine over the next couple weeks be patient with me. You my congregation and the work of the Lord are my number 1 priority but I also am working through what that looks like with my new schedule and time demands from work.

It’s all good and God is awesome so I will just keep leaning on and trusting Him.

Quick reminder that tonight is our July worship night and my beautiful Bride Melody will be giving her testimony tonight so please make an excuse to attend and worship with us this evening. Worship night begins at 6 pm.

Let’s Pray

Start OBS

This morning officially begin our We Believe sermon series where we will look at what God says we as Christians are to believe. This morning we start with repentance

What is repentance?

Why do you need to repent?

Do you need to repent?

Many have heard it but just write it off as one of those religious terms. Something that preachers preach about and something that is okay to like on Sunday but during the week it has no real bearing on their lives

Outside of the church many have no idea what it is let alone how to do it.

Most people just want I’m sorry to work to relive the shame and guilt of their actions and they also hope that I’m sorry reduces their consequences or removes them altogether.

Repentance doesn’t work that way. Repentance goes far beyond I’m sorry and moves in a complete 180 degree direction in terms of thoughts, beliefs, attitudes and actions and repentance in fact works to make the wrong right.

Much different than I’m sorry. In fact God is not nearly as interested in I’m sorry as He is a repentant heart!

Modern Christianity, mega churches, numbers and money driven pastors don’t really want anything to do with repentance.

The world and satan and society for sure want nothing to do with repentance. Many claim to be saved but have never repented so I believe they then have never been saved.

Repentance leads to salvation. One cannot have salvation without repentance.

Since it is such an important term and truth let’s dive into it

Websters 1828 defines repentance as

Real penitence; sorry or deep contrition for sin, as an offense and dishonor to God, a violation of His holy law.

Penitence is defined as Repentance; pain; sorrow or grief of heart for sins or offenses; contrition.

One thing I love about Websters 1828 is it always includes a sentence to help you see the word used in context. Here is the sentence used for penitence

Real penitence springs from a conviction of guilt and ingratitude to God, and is followed by amendment of life.

Repentance is the true realization of several things

First you realize you have sinned and/or are in fact a sinner, which is why it is required for salvation.....to be saved you have to realize you are lost!!!!!

That sin is a violation of God’s holy law.

That sin required Jesus to die on the cross.

That sin drives a wedge between you and God.

That sin has real life consequences that hurt many people around you.

Repentance is leaving you and your sin and going toward God.

The problem today is most people just want to say I’m sorry and everything be better.

They want their guilt and shame removed as well as their consequences.

They aren’t sorry they sinned and broke God’s holy law they are just sorry that they got caught.

Even worse most people today don’t even bother with the I’m sorry no in fact they just try to justify their actions, words, sin and they feel if they can justify it no apology is necessary as they were just being truthful.

Repentance is the opposite.

You repent because sin hurts others

because of what sin does to God

because sin requires death

because of those things it breaks your heart and drives you to your knees and makes you do a U turn and return to God.

Repentance is a serious truth. A truth that God expects you to not only believe but apply. A true Christian is truly repentant of their sin. All of their sin. All the time.

Luke 15:11-32

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11 He also said, “A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. 14 After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 15 Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one would give him anything. 17 When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I’ll get up, go to my father, and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. 19 I’m no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired workers.”’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I’m no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father told his servants, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Then bring the fattened calf and slaughter it, and let’s celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

25 “Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he summoned one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. 27 ‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’

31 “‘Son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

The story of the prodigal son. If you have grown up in church or went to VBS as a kid or Sunday School you have probably heard this parable of Jesus.

I want to look to this story to help us understand repentance. There is a process to repentance. It doesn’t always go exactly the same for everyone, every time but

Let’s look here at scripture to see what we find. This morning we will look at the prodigal son and glean some lessons from him in terms of repentance

First is repentant attitudes and actions

He stopped to reflect on his current condition vs 17

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Some would say he finally woke up. The Bible says he came to his senses.

This is conviction at work. God through the Holy Spirit enlightens you to your sin and that conviction should always produces repentance in a true Christian.

You wake up.

You come to your senses and what you see around you devastates you.....it breaks you....it destroys you.....satan and the world and society and even your flesh want you to stay there however.

If you are honest you have been awakened,

been repulsed by what was around you yet you refused to repent.

If you haven't been there you will be that is the civil war inside of every Christian between the Holy Spirit and your flesh!

When repentance is at play however that conviction, that waking up, that coming to your senses leads to the next step

He took responsibility for his actions. Vs 18

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Father I have sinned.

He owned it.

He took it.

He admitted it.

This is my fault.

I caused this.

My thoughts and my beliefs and actions are wrong.

This is where you may begin to struggle with repentance.

You wake up....

you come to your senses

and instead of owning it you begin to try and hide what you see.

I can’t let anyone know about this.

No one else struggles with this sin so I have to keep it secret.

It would cost me too much if people know what I did.

You may begin to make excuses for your behavior.

You try to minimize things.

Instead of owning it you return to it because it is easier and much less painful to return to the sin instead of owning and repenting of the sin

I spent 25 years in a prison running from my sin instead of owning it.

It cost me so much the biggest thing it cost me was a true intimate relationship with Jesus.

25 plus years of shame and guilt and lies and hiding and drinking and running.

All of those things were gone in an instant....

the instant I owned my sin.

The instant I admitted my sin.

The instant I took responsibility for my sin by truly taking it to Jesus!!!!

He decided to change the direction of his life vs 18-20

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The path he was on was horrible and because he owned his sin......he decided that path was now unacceptable.

He said no matter what I am going home even if I am just a servant in my fathers house I am going home.

Many never get here because they refuse to own their sin.

Maybe you own your sin but refuse to change because you make excuses

That is just the way I am

You don’t understand anxiety and depression and worry

Depression and addiction run in my family it is all I know

I have tried before and failed I am doomed to be a failure

These are so heartbreaking to hear.

Jesus is bigger than those failed beliefs. You choose your sin because you refuse to change

Repentance requires change.

There is no way around it.

I hear people say all the time....

I believe in Christ.

I have accepted Christ.

I am saved

but their life and thoughts and actions and beliefs are exactly the same or in some cases even worse and more worldly than before Jesus.

That is not repentance.

Repentance is a 180 degree turn toward God. Period. There must be change!

He publicly apologized and acknowledge his sin vs 21

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Father I’m sorry. I sinned against heaven and you

I want you to understand something

you can’t repent of something that you refuse to apologize.

You may say or think or believe things like this

That person deserved it

I have too much to lose to apologize

They aren’t even sorry so I will not apologize

You don’t know what they did or said

There is no way to fix it so why bring up the pain of an apology

Christians, church folk say this one

I admitted it to God why bring it back up with that person

You can’t repent without publicly acknowledging and apologizing for your sin.

Notice this was to his father’s face. Publicly doesn’t necessarily mean from the street corner or in the paper or on Facebook no it just means going to that person not hiding behind a text or a computer go to them in person if at all possible

How does God respond to your repentance

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The first thing we see in this scripture to show us how God responds is in the father in vs 20

He is waiting for you to change

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God desires that you repent so much more than you will ever realize.

He loves you and wants a true relationship with you.

He is waiting for you to repent and come home.

The Father saw the boy coming because everyday he was waiting for him to return.

This was a well to do man.

His son told him that he wished he were dead in fact according to custom the father was dead to the son.

That is what demanding your inheritance before the father dies is truly saying

Despite all of that

HE WAS WAITING.

GOD IS WAITING FOR YOU

Make today the day God no longer has to wait on you because today is the day you repent

He has compassion on you vs 20

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The Father was standing waiting and finally sees his son and he is moved with compassion.

He didn’t care what his son did

He didn’t care that just a few months ago his son said I wish you were dead

He didn’t care that the money he gave his son was gone

He didn’t care that the family name was run through the mud

NO

He had compassion on his son and ran to meet him.

This again was a major no no in the culture.

It was undignified for a wealthy man to run but he had compassion on his son....

his son was dead but is now alive…

he ran to meet him because he had compassion.

God is standing waiting to run to you to wrap his arms around you to show you His compassion.....

He wants to restore your righteousness vs 22

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The father put the family robe back on his son. Today you might think so big deal. It was HUGE deal back then. He was restoring him back into standing as a son

The son left the family for good according to the culture.

When he demanded his inheritance and took it and left he was dead to the family and the family dead to him.

That relationship was destroyed....much like your relationship with God when you sin but the father restored him.....returned him to proper family standing just like God does you through the blood of Jesus

He wants to restore your authority vs 22

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Back in this time authority was proven by a family ring with the fathers seal on it. The father was saying this is my son and anyone who sees this robe and ring will know he belongs to me and represents me and has the same authority that I have

God wants to restore you to a child of God. Jesus says all authority in heaven and earth was given to Him and he freely gives that to those who truly accept him

He wants to restore your ministry vs 22

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Sandals were required back in the day. I can’t walk across my back yard without shoes on let alone walk miles on dirt or gravel or rough paved roads. The sandals would take care of the sons feet and allow the son to go and do the fathers work

God wants you to minister to others. He wants you to go and do His work and he wants to restore your ministry

All the son wanted was to be a hired hand but that is not what the father did.

NO the father fully restored him back into full standing as son.

Repentance is so important because it unlocks the door to being fully restored back to God and becoming or being restored back to a child of God with all of the benefits and power and responsibility that comes with it.

I don’t know where you are but you do and God does and if you have struggled to repent today is the day.

If God is talking to you right now. Those aren’t butterflies.....those aren’t nerves…that is God saying son or daughter I want to restore you wont you repent?!?!?!?!??!!?

Come.