Repent!

Luke 13:1-3 ESV

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”

The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

The goodness and mercy of God waits for people to repent, and true repentance will produce the peaceable fruit of righteousness for the child of God and is a requirement in the conversion of sinners to saints.

Matthew 3:1-10

New Testament

Repent- to think differently or afterwards, i.e. reconsider (morally, feel compunction): — repent. AV (34) - repent 34; to change one's mind

Old Testament

Jeremiah 3:21-22

21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

Return shuv- turn, restore, recover, converts

So the New Testament describes a change of mind and the Old Testament describes a change of direction, but in both cases, the person is moving away from where they are and moving towards God…

Without the ministry of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for true repentance to take place.

John 16:8-9

8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

But He also convicts believers

Convict- convince, tell a fault, rebuke, with a suggestion of shame of the person convicted, to call to account, show one his fault, demand an explanation

Conviction and repentance are intricately woven together. True repentance requires a moving of the Spirit on the heart of an individual in order for them to feel a compunction to repent.

compunction- a feeling of guilt following doing something wrong

There are actions of wrong, and we have all felt those moments. But what about a lifetime of wrong? I’m talking about all of us when we came to the realization that what we were doing wasn’t working for us anymore.

2 Corinthians 7:10 KJV

For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Does a human have to realize the error of their ways in order to gain new life?

Not just that drugs and alcohol resulted in loss of time, jobs, money and relationships. Or sorrow that the mistakes made in a marriage resulted in loss of family, but what about sorrow over realizing that one had lived their lives in opposition against God.

Do people need to know that?  or does a person just need to ask Jesus into their heart. No need to focus on remorse over breaking God’s commandments or His heart, over sinning against His holiness or His word, just say a prayer that asks Jesus into your heart and everything is good.

Through the years, I have noticed how much effort we place on making it easy for people to get saved. Close your eyes and just raise your hand. Now, I’m going to ask you to take one more step. I’m not trying to embarrass you, but I’m going to ask you to come forward and pray a prayer. And then we get excited. Praise God 20 people made a decision for the Lord today, but there wasn’t one word of remorse uttered to God. Maybe, they repeated the word repent, but they didn’t even know what it meant. You can’t truly believe in your heart if you haven’t repented of your sin. We have to change both our mind and direction.

In order for a person to truly repent, the Holy Spirit has to move on their heart to convict them of sin. One of the problems that church folk can run into is what Jesus warned against religious hearts when He re-quoted Isaiah,

Matthew 15:7-9

7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Again, we try so hard not to embarrass people but maybe that’s exactly what us earthlings need is to be embarrassed. I don’t mean embarrassed in the eyes of the world or under the scrutiny of other believers. I’m talking about the conviction of the Holy Spirit that leads a person to repentance.

Jeremiah 6:10-16 KJV

10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad…, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days. 12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD. 13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. 14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. 15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. 16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

Romans 2:4-5 ESV

4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

He suffers long with us, He is patient, He is kind, and endures with us. The goodness of God spoken of here is directly related to His patience in waiting for us to repent. It’s saying that He is being merciful and giving us time. It’s not saying that He is being so sweet and soft spoken to us that we finally melt in His goodness and wake up one day loving Him.

Instead, it’s saying that His goodness is revealed in His patience. He waits and then when conviction comes and repentance results, the heart is awakened to His goodness and this often results in even more repentance— if nothing else a heart of thankfulness that realizes that it wasn’t worthy of this grace, but God, in His goodness poured it out.

Maybe it was embarrassing it must have been for the sinful woman who broke the alabaster box and wiped his feet with her tears and her hair. If there was embarrassment maybe it was when she pressed through the crowd and heard their whispers. The text doesn’t tell us, but if it was there, I don’t see embarrassment. I only see love and thankfulness that must be fueled by a heart of repentance. She had nothing to protect but her love for Jesus. She was not concerned about what people thought about her. (Luke 7:45-8:1). A truly repentant heart is a truly thankful heart, and it’s hard to embarrass a heart like that!

Sometimes I wonder about the way that we respond to people when we see the Lord touching them. We’re so quick to rush to their rescue. Whether it’s through financial help of some sort or helping them at the altar. I wonder if it’s us that feel uncomfortable and we feel like we have to stop them, so we will stop feeling uncomfortable. Is there any better place that a person could be other than truly broken in the presence of the Lord? Can we not trust people in the presence of the Lord? Can the clay not be trusted in the Potter’s hands?

I’ve seen people crying in the presence of the Lord and then someone comes to help them and say, “It’s okay He forgives you.”

Then I heard the person say, “I get what they were trying to do, and I appreciate it, but I wasn’t done.” We don’t know where they’ve been, what they’ve done. We don’t know what the Lord is saying to them or doing in them.

Somebody said the other day, “I’ve been repenting for 2 weeks over my sin. I didn’t even realize that I had been sinning against God like that” Our first inclination is to try to convince them that they don’t need to do that. Maybe we need to be convinced instead that’s what we all need to do.

I can remember Sister Toot telling me, “Son, you keep coming to this altar and as long as the Holy Spirit tells you to come to the altar keep coming, but if you’ve repented, you don’t have to keep coming up here.”

I don’t know what you feel when you get into the presence of the Lord, but I feel like I want to kneel, lay face first, lift my hands, cry, run around the church, tell Him that I love Him, thank Him for His faithfulness. Thank Him for saving someone like me, thank Him for not leaving me over there. You loved me Lord! You came and you got me Lord! I owe you everything!

Even after He was good to me and loved me, I still didn’t treat Him right. No, you leave me alone if I want to cry and sob in His presence, if I want to repent every week or every service, please let me.

Conviction of the Holy Spirit reveals to a person a need to repent. True repentance results in a broken and contrite heart:

Psalms 34:18 KJV

The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;

and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

Broken- break 115, destroy 9, break in pieces 8, break down 4, hurt 3, torn 2, give birth 1, crush

Contrite-  to collapse (phys. or mentally): — break, to crush, be crushed, be contrite, be broken

Psalms 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:

a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Isaiah 57:15

For thus saith the high and lofty One

that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy;

I dwell in the high and holy place,

with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,

to revive the spirit of the humble,

and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

Isaiah 66:2

For all those things hath mine hand made,

and all those things have been, saith the LORD:

but to this man will I look,

even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit,

and trembleth at my word.

I want to be careful how I say this, but we judge success in church based on numbers and signs and wonders. Let me say this clearly.

Holy Spirit we need you in our services. We earnestly desire Greek burn with zeal for your spiritual gifts. We welcome the healer in this place. The Healer’s in the room, let miracles break out across this place. Who is this king? His name is Jesus. His name is Jesus. He’s the light of the world. There’s freedom in His name”

And people seek after signs and wonders. They fill up auditoriums in anticipation that they will get to see a miracle. But signs and wonders and increase in numbers do not always equate to God’s purposes for man.

2 Peter 3:8-11 ESV

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,

Luke 16:19-31 Rich man and Lazarus

Luke 18:9-14 Pharisee and Tax collector