Sermon: "A Call To Repentance"

A call to repentance

  What is repentance? Repentance is,   “to change, or to turn”. Once a person hears the gospel and is convicted of his way of living is wrong, he/she must change their ‘present’ behavior.  Repentance is not just a feeling either- it’s a heart change. Repentance brings fruit into your life, if you really are repenting for a sin in your life, there will be fruit showing you changed. Have you fully repented for your sins? Or have you just put off asking for Gods forgiveness or just blocked them off and put a wall up?
I think a lot of times in the American culture, we are so busy and caught up- doing things that we really don’t need to be doing. We don’t need to be going to every party or every event. We get so caught up doing things, and get so side tracked from God. There are times that we sin and think nothing of it, we just go on with our days saying, “oh I will repent later” Or “I will go pray later” but it really never happens. It just begins to pill up, and then after awhile you feel so overwhelmed and don’t know what to do with your self.  Our generation needs to start being more obedient to God and the Holy Spirit. We never hear the word repentance much anymore; it’s just like a word that’s just disapered from religion these days. It’s almost as if, in the churches now we have a: “just believe, accept Christ, you will be saved kind of attitude.” Which shouldn’t be what we are striving for, we should be in the puriest form reflecting Christ image. I want to live a pure and holy life in front of my savior. Not one where I just cover things, up and hide them in the darkness.  Taking care of the root issue (sin) right when it happens before it turns into something bigger is the best way to deal with things. What happens is, that when you don’t take care of things right away, the devil leaves a stronghold in your life, and has a hook on you that you leave so the devil can still have access to you because you haven’t taken care of your sin. So what we need to do is stop giving the devil access to our lives, but asking God for forgiveness right away and turning from that sin so that the devil has know footholds in our lives, so we don’t have to uproot covered up sins that should have dealt with along time ago. “You can enter God’s kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate it wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only very few find it.” (Matthew 7.13&14) Even though we me be “saved” it still doesn’t mean that we will make it to heaven. God doesn’t want us to just go through an easy life having a “free will” because we really don’t. God wants our lives to reflect the bible and Him.
  Let’s take a look at some stories in the bible that talk about repentance. A lot of the Old Testament prophets were called to bring judgment and repentance to their people, and to their land. Amos for one was not really considered a prophet in the eyes of others but in Gods eyes he was.  Amos told Judah to repent of their sins and that God would bring judgment to that land if they didn’t. But they didn’t listen and their hearts were hardened to what God was saying because the land was cursed from their sins which  they didn’t repent of.” When your hearts are hardened, your eyes are blinded and your ears are closed from the word of God and it’s very hard to hear from Him.” (Matthew 13.14&15) God told Amos to go to the land one last time and give a call to repentance, and that if they didn’t repent - there would be, famines, earthquakes, floods, disease, and plagues. “Therefore, I will bring upon you all the disasters I have announced. Prepare to meet your God in judgment, you people of Israel!” (Amos 4.12) God is serious when He asks you to repent for your sins. That is just one out of many stories in the bible about repentance.
  I do believe that right now, the hour we are in. That God is asking/seeking serious people. That we don’t have time to dilly dally around. He wants us to repent and to move forward with our walk with God. The time is NOW. America right now is in great need of serious people who will rise up, and deliver a message of repentance to the people. There is so much darkness in western Washington right now and deception.  Look at 1 Timothy 1.8-11, 4:12. It talks about how deceived people really are, and that they are living in their flesh even though they are Christians. Right now God is just waiting, he wants us to go out and tell these people about repentance. He is giving us HUGE warning signs now- and that’s how much he loves us, to warn His people before He wipes us out. I know that’s deep but it’s the truth. Look at the times- and what it says in the book of Revelation.  In the book of Revelation it talks about two end times harvest, (Revelations 14.14-20) 1. The harvest of souls (14.14-16) 2.The harvest of sin (14.17-20). With that harvest of “sin” we can change that with our message of repentance to the deceived people in the “last days”. Their hearts will be so hardened by what’s going on in the world and from people falling from the church. But it’s never too late- we just need to respond NOW, and go out and do our parts. That’s why it’s so serious to repent from your sin and not put it off till it gets too late.