Thoughts on Repentance

Thoughts on Repentance

Ac 17:30-31 "God overlooked people's ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. 31 For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead."

“The two great graces essential to a saint in this life are faith and repentance. These are the two wings by which he flies to heaven. Faith and repentance preserve the spiritual life as heat and radical moisture do the natural.” Thomas Watson

It is not sinning that ruins men, but sinning and not repenting, falling and not getting up again. Matthew Henry

When most people hear the word “REPENT” they think of a guy standing with a card board sign with the words written in marker that reads “REPENT THE END IS AT HAND.” In kind, most of us relegate to the subject of repentance to the craziness of a homeless man. But maybe we should change the sign? Let’s put it on a billboard or lighted marquee, with this message, “REPENT THE BEGINNING IS AT HAND.” For if we will repent, we will experience the beautiful life God has for us now and in eternity. When Jesus saves us and regenerates {makes us alive when we were dead spiritually} only then can we turn our lives over to him. True repentance brings us into the new life that God has for us. It is a sign that we are right with him. In 1 John 3:9 says, “The person who has been born into God's family does not make a practice of sinning because now God's life is in him; so he can't keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him-he has been born again.” TLB

Wow, a new life that controls you. It is better than the old life controlling you. It is not that you never sin; it is that you do not keep sinning. You whole life you will be made up of changing, confessing your sin and falling forward, not backwards. Getting better. Romans 6:20-23 { message version} backs this up by saying, “ As long as you did what you felt like doing, ignoring God, you didn't have to bother with right thinking or right living, or right anything for that matter. But do you call that a free life? What did you get out of it? Nothing you're proud of now. Where did it get you? A dead end. But now that you've found you don't have to listen to sin tell you what to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God's gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master.”

Repentance is not turning over a new leaf. It’s trading a new life for an old one. God does not want you to change by yourself, he wants to change you. Yes, he will let you “own it” but he is the one that give you the ability to change... I meet so many people that feel like they cannot come to “church” or small group unless they change first.

If you need surgery do you operate in yourself? NO, you have to go to the surgeon, lie on the table and let him do the work. God is the great physician he can remove any tumor of sin. He also does amazing heart transplants. Repentance is an undeserved gift from God {Acts 11:18}. It is the way in which God allows us to turn form things he hates to do things he loves. Don’t be afraid of repentance. Repentance is when you empty yourself; it is medicine and cure for the sin sick soul. Repentance will cause you to cry and weep over you former lifestyle. Your deep love for God will cause a deep desire to please him. Godly tears are kept in a bottle (Ps. 56.8).

Titus 3:3-8 says, “It wasn't so long ago that we ourselves were stupid and stubborn, dupes of sin, ordered every which way by our glands, going around with a chip on our shoulder, hated and hating back. But when God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in, he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously. God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us back our lives. And there's more life to come — an eternity of life! You can count on this.”

Do you see the contrast of the past life with the new one? Are you where God wants you to be? When you see what God’s word says about sin and our lifestyle how does it make you feel? Does it make you want to say God help me! Do you look at your life compared to what it should be in God’s eyes? It makes me feel helpless and hopeful. If feel helpless because I cannot forgive my sin or change on my own. Hopeful because I know God wants to help me, forgive me and change me unconditionally. Eph 2:12-13

Says “…and you lived in this world without hope and without God. But now, in union with Christ Jesus you, who used to be far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” {GNT} We are now in union, close to God because of the cross of Jesus.

I am not talking about what I think, what your family thinks. I am talking about what God thinks. When you realize that your life is not lining up to God purposes, when you are sick of living a way that displeases Christ. That is the Holy Spirit is dealing with you kindly. He is telling you, pray to me. Turn to me. Repent. Draw close to me and I will draw close to you.

Repentance is a radical life change. The scriptural idea of repentance is a change of mind, heart, and ways. It is a dying to what you want and living for what God wants. Repentance is an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It is giving up one's will to God in deep humility. Deal with it. Turn to God in prayer. Thomas a Kempis said, “We often do a bad act, and make a worse excuse.” No more excuse let’s turn to God.

Repentance is not a popular message in our self-help age. Matthew Henry said, “Some people do not like to hear much of repentance; but I think it is so necessary that if I should die in the pulpit, I would desire to die preaching repentance, and if out of the pulpit I would desire to die practicing it.”

People do not see themselves often as sinners and in need of a savior. The see themselves as faulted filled in need of a break. Hey, nobody’s perfect! That’s true. But we cannot make excuses for our sin. We must bring them to the foot of the cross of Jesus. Now then, look at his bruised and broken body and the blood streaming down his face. Look into his eyes of love and realize just what your sin cost him. It cost him his life. Should it cost you your life? What do I mean? Live for him that does for you. Repentance is where that begins.

As for this preacher I feel as Matthew Henry, I want to practice it and preach it. If we radically alter ourselves, we will radically alter our world.

It is not sinning that ruins men, but sinning and not repenting, falling and not getting up again. Matthew Henry

When my boys fall down they often would stay down and cry. I would say, “Get up Son your all right. Don’t stay down.” Why? Because you Father’s right here when you fall. Reach up your hand and say pick me up! Get up when you fall. When you sin, brush yourself off and get up. Tell God you’re sorry. Please change me Lord. That will please God and show you just how much God loves you. Proverbs 24:16… for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.” NIV

Even the righteous fall down but they don’t stay down. Look up and see God’s hand extend to help you up. It’s time to repent.

Your Pastor, Mike Gibney

Listen to this: Song I repent by Steve Green http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPlRHlTjmwg

I messed up!

I messed up!

Ps 9:7 God holds the high center, he sees and sets the world's mess right.

I bet that subject in the email got your attention!

Have you ever used the expression, “What a mess I made?” Have you ever felt like your life is a mess? We recognize there are things that happen to us in life that we cannot control. These things can make life messy. But what about when you do something that messes up your life? How do you handle it? I want to help you through your “mess ups.”

Let’s face it, if you have not already made a mess sometime in life, you will.

Now, I am not making light of bad decision making and irresponsible behavior. But even with the best intentions of making your life better or even helping someone else you make a mess. I have learned, “good intentions never make up for bad direction.” You may have heard “the road to hell is lined with good intentions.” It is sad, but true. When we see our life going in the wrong direction there is only one answer. We need to turn it around. However, we are broken people in a broken world. Who among us has never messed up? It the very reason we needed a Savior.

It is so easy to give people advice when they mess up. It is easy to point the finger to the obvious and say, “Well you should have done this!” It is easy to tell people when they mess up “Don’t expect God to get you of this one” and “there are consequences to your decisions!” Well, alas, it is true. Some “messes” people make is getting into dead-end jobs or getting into bad relationships or marriages. Maybe you messed up you and your family’s finances. You got into to college and got caught up in the wrong crowd and failed some courses. The list is endless of mess ups.

But who knows what God will do? I don’t want to take away from correction or good advice. God know we need it and need to love rebuke. But Proverbs 25:20 also says, “Singing light songs to the heavyhearted is like pouring salt in their wounds.” In other words, when people are depressed because of the messes of life and we are insensitive, it does much damage. What if God want to rescue you out of trouble? What if he allowed this to show you how powerful he is to deliver you?

Don’t be hopeless and in despair. God specializes in cleaning up messes. He uses even our mistakes and problems for good and to make us like Jesus.

First, when you mess up… look up! Time to pray! “I run for dear life to God, I'll never live to regret it. Do what you do so well: get me out of this mess and up on my feet…” Ps 71:1-2 Also in Ps 30:1-3 he says,” I give you all the credit, God — you got me out of that mess, you didn't let my foes gloat. God, my God, I yelled for help and you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, gave me another chance at life when I was down-and-out.” When you mess up it is not time to run away from God, it is time to run to him.

Second, remember God forgives us and can clean up the mess: Ro 3:24”…Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ.” God does not want you to remain in you mess. God’s grace and love will restore us and change our lives. Only Jesus can do this!

Third, when you mess up, God gets in the mess with you and sets it right. Romans 8:3 “God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn't deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all…”

There was a young man who had ruined his life. He plunged into alcohol and drug abuse and was homeless. His family searched for him everywhere. Finally they found him laying in the gutter on a side street, out cold. He was covered with his own filth; he reeked and was a complete mess. Yet his mother grabbed him and cradled him in her arm and wiped away the filth! Why? Because that’s her child, nothing else matters. She is going to take him home.

When you are in you mess God often enters it, cradles us and cleans us up. God can make it right, let Him!

Last, “We know all things work together for the good…to make us like Jesus!” Everything that happens in our life God will use to make us like Jesus. God uses the mess out of our life to form us into whom we should be.

I like this story: Benjamin West was just trying to be a good babysitter for his little sister Sally. While his mother was out, “Benjamin found some bottles of colored ink and proceeded to paint Sally’s portrait. But by the time Mrs. West returned, ink blots stained the table, chairs, and floor. Benjamin’s mother surveyed the mess without a word until she saw the picture. Picking it up, she exclaimed, “Why, it’s Sally!” And she bent down and kissed her young son.

In 1763, when he was 25 years old, Benjamin West was selected as history painter to England’s King George III. He became one of the most celebrated artists of his day. Commenting on his start as an artist, he said, “My mother’s kiss made me a painter.” Her encouragement did far more than a rebuke ever could have done.”

We, like Benjamin with the nest of intentions try to do our best. But we make a mess. Isn’t it nice for some to come along and see that we really meant to do right, even if we made a mess?

I want to encourage you today! God see your intentions and how you messed up and he still loves you. Maybe this bit of encouragement will cause you to paint a better painting next time. God can turn you life around and make it a work of art the king Jesus will be pleased with.

Your Pastor, Mike Gibney