The Gift of Repentance Part 3

Amen. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 18. Ezekiel 18. And if you’re like, “Well, I don’t even know where Ezekiel is” — it is right after Isaiah and Jeremiah in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 18. This is one of the prophets. We’re going to start at verse 30.

And we have been spending the last couple of weeks talking about repentance. Everybody say, “Repentance.” Well, not just repentance — we’ve actually talked specifically about the gift of repentance. Everybody say, “The gift of repentance.” I don’t know where it came from, or where it got into the church’s mind, that repentance is a negative thing. In fact, a lot of places would avoid talking about repentance or calling for a lifestyle of repentance. But how many of you know repentance is not a burden? It is a gift and a joy. It really is a calling of the Lord Jesus to draw us to Him gently, with grace and mercy, to get us back into relationship, to get us back into fellowship with Him. Amen.

The Lord corrects those He loves

Scripture says the Lord corrects those He loves. How many of you know that when you are a parent and you are raising your children, you’re not just going to let them live and do whatever they want, because they don’t know any better, right? If I am taking my kids to a park, and they’re young, and we’re playing, and we’re on the swing set, and I see them take off and run for the street, I’m not going to let them just run into the road. I’m going to stop them and bring correction and teach them and get on their level and be like, “Listen, this is why we can’t just run into a busy street.” Right? The Lord corrects those He loves. And like a good father, He wants to bring us into a place where we are experiencing life abundantly, where we encounter His presence.

Jesus Himself says, “Repent therefore, and believe, for the kingdom of God is at hand.” And how many of you know the kingdom of God is defined as wherever the King is? You cannot have a kingdom without a king. Amen. And so wherever Jesus is, that is the kingdom. And He’s saying, “Repent.” Why? Because I am available to you. What kind of God makes Himself available to His creation? He is a loving God. Amen.

And so I want to start in Ezekiel chapter 18 this morning, at verse 30, and we’re going to read this out loud together. If you have your Bibles — and I would encourage you to always be bringing your Bibles. It’s one thing to have your phone. It’s another thing to have your Bible, because your phone has these things called notifications. And as soon as you have the intention to get into the Word, all of a sudden a notification pops up, and now you’re out of the Word. Amen.

I don’t know about you, but I have just felt led of the Lord to talk about repentance, and it has been a spiritual battle more intense than I can remember recently. And I’m like, what is going on? Why is there constantly this battle, this grind, for me to come into the presence of the Lord? And the Lord gently reminded me: you have to remember the message that I have given you — that there is a message, a call to repentance. And how many of you know the enemy does not want people to have a lifestyle of repentance? Because when we don’t have a lifestyle of repentance, we’re not living humbly before the Lord. We are living unto ourselves.

Here’s the thing. The devil doesn’t have to make you like him. He has to make you like yourself. And if you like yourself more than you like the Lord, it is actually demonic and deteriorating to your soul. Are you with me?

So really, repentance is a lifestyle. It’s not a one-and-done. And there have been a lot of teachings about the grace of God — and how many of you are thankful for the grace of God? — that there is the grace that gives you position to be heirs of righteousness in the kingdom. Amen. That you are now in Jesus. If you’ve given your life to the Lord, you are sons and daughters of the Most High. But how many of you know your position is secured by grace, but the kingdom of God is to be experienced in your life today? Come on. Did anybody get that? This is very important, because positionally your eternity is secure. Amen. Are you thankful for that?

But we’re to encounter the kingdom, the presence of the King, right here, right now. And the way that we do that is through a posture and a lifestyle of repentance — of actually yielding ourselves to the Lord and saying, you know, I’m not just going to do things my way. I’m not just going to use the grace of God as an excuse to live however I want. No, I need the Lord Jesus right now.

And when we tolerate sin, or we tolerate patterns in our lives, we rationalize our sin. Has anybody ever been there? Don’t raise your hands. You don’t need to raise your hands. We’re not doing that. Where all of a sudden you start rationalizing: oh man, this is just a weakness, or this is a struggle, or this is just the way it’s always going to be. How many of you know that is a lie from the pit of hell? That is the demonic speaking to you and saying nothing can change for you.

But how many of you know Jesus came to bring transformation to your life, to bring sanctification and holiness and purity? Scripture talks about how we’re to be transformed into the image of God. Who is the image of God? Jesus Himself. And that means actively coming before the Lord, humbling ourselves. What that means is we lay down our preferences. We lay down our priorities. When we get comfortable, and we are just kind of going with the flow and going through the motions — in wisdom, and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit — we jolt ourselves out, and we begin to fast. We begin to pray. We begin to get into Scripture. Why? Because my life is not my own. Scripture says, “Do you not realize that you have been bought at a price?” The highest price that could ever be paid was paid for you. The precious blood of Jesus was shed for you.

Turn from, and turn to

So repentance is a big deal. It’s a big deal because — I don’t know about you — I don’t want to just have a religious faith. We talked about how the definition of repentance is to turn away from everything that is not the Lord and to turn to the Lord Jesus Himself. It’s a both-and. Everybody say, “Both-and.” Yeah. Come on. I need your guys’ help today.

You cannot just turn from things and try to modify your behavior, because that turns into religion. It will be a religious life where you’re just following the rules. You’re trying to do everything not to behave a certain way, or not to think certain things, or not do certain things. But in order to have victory over sin in your life, not only do we turn from the things that are not the Lord; we turn to Jesus Himself.

When you behold the Lord Jesus, it is difficult to stay in a place of compromise. For example, if you struggle with pride, it is difficult to be prideful when you stop everything that you’re doing, you get on your knees, you lift your hands to the Lord, and you begin to thank Him for the cross. Do you see?

I’ve had many people ask, “How do I overcome sin in my life? I struggle with the same thing over and over and over, and I do the same things. I don’t see the change. How do I overcome sin in my life?” The answer is very simple: fix your eyes on Jesus. How many of you know He is the one that you need? So a repentant lifestyle isn’t just stop doing these things. It includes that. How many of you know Scripture is very clear there are things that you should not do? I’m going to say it again. Scripture is very clear: there are things you should not be doing. But it’s not enough to just stop doing those things. Stop doing those things and what? Look to Jesus. Behold Him, the perfect one.

And when you do that, the power of the Holy Spirit is poured out into your life. Why? Because you are an open vessel for His glory. And as the Holy Spirit is poured out, guess what? You are not just trying harder. You are living a life that is filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live holy and righteous to the Lord. Are you guys with me? This is the Christian life.

Not a golden ticket

So many believe, oh, I can just pray a prayer, and now I’ve got my golden ticket. That is a dangerous game to play. I said, that’s a dangerous game to play. Maybe you’ve prayed the prayer, and yes, your salvation was given and secured. But how many of you know it’s important not just to be saved; it’s important to live in salvation? Because if you don’t live in salvation, there is a devil, which Scripture says is a roaring lion, that does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And the devil will bring compromise and excuses into your life, all the while slowly hardening your heart to the things of God, to the point where you will actually reject God, and now your salvation does no good. Are you guys with me?

So do not buy into the lie that has been sold in some places that you can just pray a prayer and everything’s good. There is a call to repentance. Everybody say, “Because I have repented, I have the opportunity and the joy of repenting.” Say it again: “Because I have repented, I have the opportunity and the joy to keep repenting.”

Listen, repentance is more needed today than ever before. In fact, things are going to continue — Scripture is very clear — it is going to continue to get darker. We wonder why things are getting more evil. We should not be surprised. Scripture says it will be that way. But not only will things get darker; how many of you know the light will shine brighter? Say amen. And who is that light? It is Jesus, and Jesus in us. But along with the darkness, there are many believers who are confused and unknowingly being taken advantage of, because we don’t continually and humbly come to the Lord. Does that make sense?

A new heart and a new spirit

Okay, enough rambling here. Ezekiel 18. Now, this all started with “open your Bibles.” Okay, Ezekiel 18. Let’s start at verse 30, and let’s read this out loud together. Let’s fill this atmosphere with the Word of God this morning. Okay, ready? Go. “‘Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,’ says the Lord God.” I’m sorry — ready? Go. “‘Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?’”

You know, I’ve heard many believers say that the God of the Old Testament was an angry God. But I don’t know about you — when I read the Scriptures and I read through the Old Testament, I hear the call of a loving father who is calling out to his people, saying, “Why do you choose this? Why do you reject Me? Don’t you sense that I’m trying to draw you to Myself? You don’t need to choose this. Repent and believe. Humble yourselves and come to Me, and” — what? — “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit.” How many of you are thankful that the Lord is so good that He doesn’t just say, “Repent and get down on your knees”? He says, “No, I’m going to give you a new heart and a new spirit.” He’s the ultimate giver. Amen.

I want to look at Isaiah 55:6 and 7. It says, “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him.” Does this sound like an angry father? No. This sounds like a loving father. “Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Say, “Thank You, Jesus.”

Whatever holds your attention

So when we’re talking about repentance, we’re talking about turning away from all that is not God and turning to the Lord. Repentance is not just to think differently about certain subjects. Repentance is not just to agree doctrinally about a certain faith, or about Christianity itself. While the renewing of the mind is a part of the sanctification process — and how many of you know there is a renewal of the mind that takes place when we put our faith in Jesus? Say amen — repentance is not just a change of mind. It is a shift at the core of who you are, where everything in you is saying, “No, I cannot do this anymore. I cannot be about this life anymore. I can’t just excuse it. I can’t just keep coming up with reasons. No, I need to turn myself and adjust my front and adjust my focus and put it on Jesus.”

And so we don’t just turn from our behaviors; we turn to the Lord. I briefly talked about this last week, but the reason this is so important: number one, He’s worthy. Amen. He is the worthy one. He deserves our attention. But number two, whatever you give attention to will hold your intention. I’ll say it again: whatever holds your attention will have your intention. If you constantly turn from sin, but you only give your attention to sin, you actually strengthen the sin in your life, because whatever has your attention will have your intention. But if we turn from our sin and we turn to the Lord and we give Him our attention, how many of you know He becomes our intention, right? Whatever holds your attention will hold your intention.

And like I said earlier, the devil doesn’t need you to be into him. All he needs is for you to be into yourself. That’s why, when Peter tells Jesus, “Jesus, You don’t need to go die on a cross,” what did Jesus say? He said, “Get behind Me, Satan.” And He continues, He says, “Your thoughts are not the thoughts of God, but of man.” This tells me that the human thought process outside of the Lord always gravitates towards darkness.

One of the most foolish things that we can do is think that every thought that goes through our minds is either truth or right — that there is no room for discussion. And the darkest that I can find myself is when I’m most into me, or ruled by me. And so one of the signs of a life of true repentance is that my life is yielded to the Lord.

I love how Isaiah 55 says this in verse 7. It says, “Let the wicked” — what? — “forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” How many of you know, when your thoughts are laid down at the altar of Holy Scripture, you know repentance is kicking in? Listen, if we had it our way, we would find ourselves in a pit.

I was just looking at some reels, and there was this reel of this guy that was helping a rabbit get out of a trap, right? He was trying to free it. And so he’s working, he’s trying, he’s doing his best, and all of a sudden he gets the rabbit free, and the rabbit, because it’s scared, runs and does all this, and it goes right back into the hole. Right? We so often think that we know what is best. But how many of you know God says, “My thoughts are higher than your thoughts. My ways are higher than your ways”? Scripture says, “Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” And yet we think that we can come to a point in life where we know better than God — where, no, I actually think what Scripture actually meant here was this.

And we begin to use Scripture as evidence, or a rationalization, for how we’re living, rather than what God actually said or intended. And how many of you know manipulating Scripture for your own agenda is demonic? It is wicked to the core to take the eternal Word of God and manipulate and twist it for one’s own agenda or purposes, right? Isn’t that what Satan did? Satan used Scripture to tempt Jesus, but he manipulated and twisted it in a way that was outside of the heart of the Father.

And so when we are about ourselves, or consumed with self, that is when we become most dark. But Scripture says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.” How many of you can say it is a good thing to lay your thoughts down at the altar of Holy Scripture? It doesn’t mean that there won’t be scriptures where you read things and you’re like, I don’t feel like that’s the way God should be. I would encourage you: don’t close your Scriptures. Ask the Lord, “Lord, would You show me what You’re saying? Would You help me to see what You see?” How many of you know He is a holy God? Come on. How many of you know He is a holy God, and in Him is no darkness?

And when we are in the world and we are walking about this earth — we’ve been saved. We are redeemed. We are new creations. But how many of you know there’s darkness all around, and we pick things up? It is why it is so important for believers to be in the Scriptures every day. I’m going to say it again: it is important, if you are a believer, to be in Scripture every day, because everything that this world says is counter to His Word. And it’s not always obvious. Sometimes you’re like, oh, that sounds nice. “Follow your heart. Follow your dreams. Do whatever you want to do. Whatever is true for you.” Have we all heard some of those things? But Scripture says, “Who can trust the heart? The heart is deceitful above all things.” You see, if we don’t know these things, we buy them hook, line, and sinker. But we need to know what His Word says.

And when we come to the Holy Scriptures and we say, “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done. Lord, I don’t want to just keep doing things my way, or put You in some sort of box where You have to conform to my image. No, I want to be conformed to Your image. Lord, I open my heart to hear Your voice. Speak to me through Your Word” — do you see the power that’s there? Do you see the power that’s there?

I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had — pastoral counseling conversations — where someone comes to me and says, “I have a need. There are things that are going on in my life.” So we meet, and I begin to bring Scripture, because how many of you know, if I just bring you my opinions, that’s not going to go very far? Come on. If you meet with me, I’m going to remind you: this is what the Word says. And I bring the Word, and I am met with, “Yeah, but.” And at that point, I start to count down the minutes until that meeting is over. Because if we don’t have a heart posture that says, “Lord, search me. Show me, Lord. I want to know who You are, Lord. Help me to see the things that I don’t see. Help me to see how You see” —

And how many of you know that only happens when we humbly come to the Word of God and we say, “Lord, Your Word is life”? How many of you know all things were created by His Word, right? Not only were things created by His Word; all things are held together by His Word. Meaning the very existence of who you are — the fact that the molecules and the electrons and the protons and all these things are held together — it is only by the power of His Word. And who is the Word? Jesus, Creator of all things, in whom all things were made and for whom all things exist.

So when we come to the Lord and we say, “Lord, I don’t like that,” how many of you know that is an indicator that there is not a lifestyle of repentance? Because a lifestyle of repentance says, “Lord, I need to get lower. Lord, I need less of me and more of You. Lord, I need to decrease so that You can increase. Lord, I’ve tried to do it my way, but my marriage is falling apart. Lord, I’ve tried to do it Your way, but I feel like I’m just drifting further and further from You. Lord, not my way. I must decrease so that You can increase.”

Breaking the bonds

You see, there’s this attitude that is rising up in our world that says, “I just don’t want to be told what to do.” In fact, there are many people that would even come to church and would say that I’m their pastor, but really, when it comes time for, “Hey, I think there’s an adjustment that needs to be made,” or “I think you should really pray about this,” all of a sudden it’s like, “Don’t tell me what to do.” The world does not like to be told what to do.

Psalm chapter 2. In fact, let’s turn there. Psalm chapter 2, verse 1. Is this okay this morning? Psalm 2, starting at verse 1, verses 1 through 3. It says, “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’”

Not only is there a devil that wants to take you out; how many of you know there are people, and the world actually actively participates and partners with the devil, to destroy God’s will and plan for your life? There is an attitude in this world that says, I do not want to be told what to do. I don’t want to be told by God how I should live my life. And it is demonic. It is evil to the core. Don’t tell me what to do with my life — except we reject the one who actually breathed life into us. And so there is this thing that is growing in our culture that says, don’t tell me what to do. And so at the highest level of unrepentant culture, there is this attitude that says, I can do it my way.

Even from the wording — it says this: “Let us break Their” what? Everybody say it: “Their bonds.” What does that mean? Those things that are holding them to the Lord. Let’s break those things. The world seeks to break the things that God has set in place in your life to hold you to Himself. That’s why the lie comes in that says, hey, you don’t need to go to church every week. You can be a Christian and just go Christmas and Easter. You’re good. And we begin to negotiate all these things. What does that mean? The devil is trying to break the bonds and the cords. Scripture says, do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together, as is the manner of some, but gather together all the more as you see the day approaching. This world will actively try to destroy the bonds and the things that are holding you to Him.

And the world would say it’s negative. God is just trying to control you. He’s just trying to get you to do what He wants. But we actually see in Hosea — another prophet, when he’s calling the nations to repent — that these bonds and these chains are referred to as the loving cords of Him pulling Himself to us. And so what the world would say is God’s trying to hold you back, God is saying, no, I’m loving you and trying to draw you to Myself. The world would say He doesn’t want you to have any fun. He doesn’t want you to experience life. But how many of you know that’s the origin of sin and the root of pride?

So whenever God says no to me, how many of you know it’s because He loves me? When I say no to my children, it’s not because I want to hold them back. It’s because I love them and I have their best interest in mind, as imperfect as that is. But how many of you know, as much as I love my children, the Father loves us oh so much more? So when God tells us certain things — how we should live or how we should behave — no, He’s not trying to hold you back. He’s not trying to keep you from your identity. He is our identity.

I don’t walk around saying I’m defined because I’m part French, I’m part Irish — I’m like 30 things. First of all, those things don’t define me. I’m not defined by the color of my skin. I’m not defined by my hobbies. I’m not defined by what I’m good at or what I’m not good at. I’m defined by the Lord Jesus. Whoever is in Christ, behold, he is a new creation. He’s everything.

Pray, read, fast

When you go through life and things start becoming too much about you, I’m going to give you some tips, okay? And these are going to blow you away. When your life starts becoming too much about you — what do I mean by that? When you’re going through life and you’re too comfortable. You might be going to church, you might be singing the songs, but you’re kind of just going with the flow. You guys know what I’m talking about. It is sometimes okay and good to shock ourselves out of that normal pattern or behavior and to put us back at the feet of Jesus. How do we do that? Because if we are to turn from our sin and turn to the Lord, what things can we do to actually position ourselves at the feet of Jesus?

Number one: when you become too much about yourself, learn to pray. And don’t just pray for yourself and give God your wish list. Pray for somebody else. In fact, the ones that bother you and annoy you, the ones that you kind of have a thing with — I don’t really like that person — pray for that person. The one that you had the argument with. The one you had the disagreement with. The one that hasn’t forgiven you. Pray for that person. When you become too much about yourself, learn to pray. Everybody say, “Learn to pray.”

When you become too much about yourself, read the Scriptures. Everybody say, “Read the Scriptures.” Did you know that it’s the only book that exists in the history of the world that, in order to understand it, you must first die to yourself? If you have not chosen to die to yourself, Scripture will not make sense. It is the only book that requires you to die in order to understand. That’s why Jesus was always saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Why? Because there are many who are hearing the voice of Jesus, the voice of God, but they don’t hear. They think they know, but they don’t know. They think they understand, but they don’t understand. And you could say, well, why didn’t Jesus just say it more plainly? Really, Scripture is the only book that requires you to die to yourself in order to understand what you are reading.

Let me ask you this. Just think about it. When is the last time it was a spiritual battle for you to go into your pocket, grab your phone, pull it out, and flip through social media? Is that ever really that difficult to do? Do you ever find yourself making excuses like, man, I should really pull out my phone, but I just don’t feel like it right now? No. But every time the Lord’s calling you to go into His Scripture, there’s a reason why you can’t do it. That’s not just a natural thing. That’s a spiritual thing. And the devil wants to get your attention off of the Lord, onto anything else — even yourself. If I can just get their attention, then I’ll have my way. If I can just get their attention, I can destroy their life.

It’s a spiritual battle to get into the Word. Oh, I’m going to get up in the morning. Six o’clock, me and Jesus time, right? I’m going to get up. I’m going to read my Word. And all of a sudden the alarm goes off. Oh, I can’t. I was so busy yesterday. Uh-huh. Thank you. Right. It’s a spiritual battle. It’s easy to go on your phone. It’s easy to flip through social media and go through those reels. That is a death trap, by the way. Holy cow. I sat down to have my coffee the other day, and I was going through, and I was like, oh, that’s interesting. And I click it, and then all of a sudden it was just one thing after the next, and I look, and my coffee was gone. Do you see how easy it is? It’s a spiritual fight to get in your Scripture.

When you find yourself getting too comfortable, and it’s more about you than it is about the Lord, and you’re more focused on the things and the cares of this world rather than Jesus Himself, what do you do? Pray. What do you do? Read the Word. Number three: fast. Everybody say, “Fast.” You want to die to yourself? Fast. It is a good reminder of just how fragile you are — that it’s really difficult to go more than a day without gratifying your flesh, without feeding your flesh. So when you get too comfy, when it gets too go-with-the-flow, when it becomes more about pursuing the American dream rather than the things of God, I would encourage you: fast and pray and get into the Word.

How many of you know the best way to live the Christian life is not to run from sacrificial opportunity, but to run to sacrificial opportunity? Nobody got it. I don’t think anybody got it, because I didn’t hear anything. One of the best ways to live as a Christian isn’t trying to avoid sacrifice and do the bare minimum to be with the Lord. The best way to live the Christian life is to run towards sacrifice. Because listen, you only get one life to actually make sacrifice to the Lord. Once eternity comes and you’re with Him, you don’t get to make sacrifice again. Why? Because you will want nothing more than to be with Him.

It’s not a sacrifice when it’s easy. It’s not a sacrifice if it doesn’t cost you something. It’s a sacrifice when you’re saying, no, I’m rejecting those things, and I’m choosing to spend time with the Lord Jesus today. So when you become more about yourself, and you become too full of self, and you begin going with the flow, and all of a sudden your heart is starting to drift towards the things of the world, and you’re believing some of the things that the world is saying, and you’re listening to the world more than you’re listening to Jesus — how many of you are thankful the Lord’s given us things to get right back on track? Pray. Read the Scriptures. Fast. Somebody say amen.

Repeat this after me, and we’re going to close: “My thoughts must be yielded to the Lord.”

Let’s go ahead and stand. I’m going to read these scriptures as we close our time. I apologize; we went over. Just bow our heads, close our eyes. Let’s lift our hands to the Lord. Lord Jesus, we thank You for Your Word. Lord, we thank You. Your Word is life, Lord. And we don’t want to just leave here with some good ideas or some cool strategies, Lord. We want to receive Your Word. We want to know You, Lord. You are the one who changes us. You’re the one who lifts us up, Lord Jesus. You’re the one who meets us in our moments of need. And so, Lord Jesus, we call on You, and we ask for more of You.

Come on, just begin to call on the name of Jesus. Say, “Jesus, I need You. Jesus, I love You. I want You. I want more of You, Lord. Thank You, Lord.”

I want to read these scriptures to you. Luke 15:7 says this: “I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.” I don’t know about you, but I can only imagine what a church would be like if it was so filled with the love of God that people would run to repent, because they found a well of the love of God while repenting.

Acts 2:38 says, “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” Say, “Thank You, Jesus, for Your Spirit.”

Acts 3:19 says, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Does anyone want their sins blotted out? Does anybody want times of refreshing? How many of you know it happens in that order? You want times of refreshing? Then let your sins be blotted out. There is no true refreshing that comes apart from the forgiveness and the salvation of Jesus. Repentance is not only necessary; it is a privilege. Amen.

Acts 17:30 says, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now” — everybody say, “Now” — “but now commands all men everywhere to repent.” How many of you know Jesus has already come? He doesn’t need to come again, and He doesn’t need to die again. It is finished. And now is the time to come to the Lord and say, “Lord, I give everything to You.” Scripture says now is the time of salvation. Seek the Lord while He may be found.

I repent today

I’m going to ask, with every head bowed and every eye closed and with our hands lifted to the Lord: if you are here and you’re feeling like the Lord is calling you, and He’s saying, you’ve lived too long for yourself. You keep trying to do it your way. You keep trying to find gratification and joy outside of Me. But I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord. And so if you are here and you have not given your life to Jesus, or if you are here and you have been living for yourself, and you are saying, I need to repent; I need to turn from those things and I need to turn to the Lord Jesus — if that is you, I’m going to ask that you look at me and lift your hand and say, yes, I need to follow Jesus. Just lift your hand. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Let’s do this. Everybody lift your hand. Come on, church, let’s say this: “Heavenly Father, wash me in the blood of Jesus. Cleanse my soul. Forgive my sin. I repent today. I turn from my wicked ways, and I turn to Jesus Christ. Thank You, Jesus, for Your death, for Your blood, for raising from the dead. Today I repent and turn to You. I give my life to You. Receive it, worthy one.” Say it again: “Receive it, worthy one.” Say it again: “Receive it, worthy one. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

Amen. Can we thank the Lord this morning? Thank You, Lord. We worship You. Thank You for Your Word. Thank You, Lord. Isn’t the Lord wonderful? How many of you can sense the love of the Father today? Amen. It’s what we need. It’s what we need.

Transcribed from the message recording and lightly edited for reading.