Acts: Respond to Jesus

Good morning. It's good to see you all. Welcome to Bethesda. Hope

that you have your Bibles with you. If you will turn with me to

the Book of Acts, Acts chapter three this morning, Acts chapter three,

and we're going to start in verse seventeen. In just a minute, Acts

chapter three, starting in verse seventeen, Acts Chapter three, starting in verse

seventeen. We've been in If you've been with us, I hope that you

have been. We've been with into Books of Acts, studying through the Book

of Acts, and we're just delight you're here with us in person, many

watching online and on TV, and we're just it's good to be back in

this morning, back in the Book of Acts. And so we're walking through

the Book of Acts and understanding what the early Church went through. And last

week we worked through Peter's message to the Us in the Temple, and this

morning we're going to finish the last part of that message or that that he

gave to the Jeses this morning. The title of my sermon today is responding

to Jesus. Now as you listen to the today's message, and many of

you are regular attenders here and you've been a part of this series and you

probably remember a month ago, I preach a sermon and acts chatter two and

the title was about responding to Jesus. And you're going to see a lot

of parallels or a lot of similarities in this message and last message a month

ago. And I think the reason you're going to see that is because Peter

is preaching a sermon. And when Peter's preaching the sermon, as he preached

a sermon at Pentecost, there's elements to that sermon. And one of this

elements is the sermon is calling people to respond to the message. So you're

going to see that today and here Peter is really calling on the hearers and

in the temple that day to respond, to respond to Jesus. And so

it's just very simple message this morning. And I hope today that as we

walked through this passage that the Lord will speak to you. Do you know,

as you come into a Sunday morning service and as you've attended here or

you're watching online, you know we all have different roles, different responsibilities.

And as you come here this morning, for Tenner's his roles responsibility to lead

in worship and to play and lead you in the song and make sure you

come in and at the right time, or and stop at the right time.

He has that responsibility. Devin's responsibility to childre's pastor he's back leading our

children's ministry and make sure all the volunteers. Everyone has different responsibility. Your

growth group leader who came in with responsibility of teaching a study this morning to

your class. You our greeters have a responsibility of greeting people as they come

in, or everyone has different responsibilities. Well, you may come in today

and you say, well, pastor, you know, I really don't have

a responsibility this morning. You know, I'm just I'm an attender. I'm

gonna watch your ownline and watch your own TV. I don't really have a

roller or responsibility. On the contrary, I would say to you, you

do have a responsibility, and this morning, I want to want you to

see that. And I really think Peter he's he's you see this in his

messages, And I think it's really important that you understand that. Now here's

a modern marvel that we all are kind of addicted to, Let's be honest,

and that is just the wonderful cell phone. Cellphones are great, right,

I remember my first cellular device was a mounted phone to my car,

right. I don't know if you remember those. Back in the day.

Mine was mounted in My mom told me I could not use it unless there's

an emergency. And then it went from evolved from the mounted fall car phone

we called it to the bag phone, right, you remember the bag phone.

My mom had a backphone though. That was so cool. But it

was like a briefcase, that thing and you'd sit it on the seat and

then you know, it went from there to you know, this block it

like a brick of a cell phone and so things involved. But you know,

cell phones are great. But you know, if you own a cell

phone today, it comes to responsibility. You know what responsibility is. It's

very simple. You have to answer it, yep, very simple. If

you have a cell phone, it comes to responsibility. If someone calls you

on that cell phone, you have responsibility to answer the call. Right,

If someone text you on your phone, you have responsibility. And I'm talking,

I'm telling you my wife and my children are probably about to die,

and my in laws are here in my family members because I am the world's

worst to about responding to text messages at times. But it has a responsibility

even now, iPhone has a thing that you can like put someone's name in

and all bold them and when they read the text messages, it will flash

at them. Right. It doesn't matter if they're bold it or not.

Right. You have a responsibility to respond to a message, you respond to

a call. Well, that's this morning, as we come to this passage

scripture, it's the same responsibility as you come as a here today that when

God's word is spoken, when God's word is taught or preach, when God

speaks to your art, when you read his word, you have a responsibility.

And that is when God speaks or when God's call listen, you have

a responsibility to answer. Just as with your cell phone, whether you get

a phone call or a text message, someone is pursuing or calling you.

And as we come to the word of God, who's the one pursuing you?

Who's the ones calling you? This morning? Through the reading of God's

word, through the study of God's word, who's calling you? When you

read your devotions? Who's calling you? When you hear a message? It's

God Who's calling? Now hear me today. As much as I want to

at times, you know, there's times in our house where you know Brennie's

can't find her phone. That's a common happening in our home. And someone's

calling, you know. And I may go by and I may see the

phone ringing, right, and I may look down, and I might answer

the phone for Brandy. Right. I cannot do that for you. When

it comes to the word of God, God may be speaking to you,

and I cannot answer for you. You have to answer for yourself. All

of us have listened a responsibility. When God calls, we all have to

individually. You have to respond to God's call individually, every one of you.

You have that responsibility. Your mom can't answer God for you. Your

dad cannot answer God for you. Your friend cannot answer God for you.

Your neighbor cannot answer God for you. The person sitting beside you cannot answer

God for you. You individually, whether you're young or old, whether you're

a teenage you're or whether you're in your or whether you're older. You have

to respond to the Lord this morning as we come to this passage scripture,

that's what we see. There's responsibility to respond to Jesus again. Let's just

look at the passage. You're just real quick and understand a few things are

happening in the background here Peter's preaching in the temple just the beginning of this

passage scripture in chapter three. The passage begins with Peter and John going up

to the temple when they see this lame man and they heal this lame man.

And then everyone's wondering, how did this happen? How could this be?

And so as they're leaving Thou or a prayer and they're going out kind

of an open common area, all the Jews come together and they're they're inquiring

about what happened. They're they're waiting to see exactly what how this happened.

And then Peter takes an opportunity to preach, to speak, and as we

looked at last week, he kind of outlines his sermon like in a judicial

case. He first presents like evidence, just like if you watch a court

case on TV, the lawyers will present a testimony right to outline the facts.

That's what Peter does here. He first outlines and that's what we saw

last week. He outlines the facts the testimony of Jesus, and very simple

for Peter. Last week he recounted that Jesus was a servant he would the

servant hood of Jesus. He recounted for the Jews, the suffering of Jesus.

And then lastly, the last fact, the last testimony he gave was

the power of Jesus, the power of Jesus, the change in laymen,

the power of Jesus to change them. And then as we come to this

morning, he wants them to take that testimony the facts about who Jesus is.

Jesus was a servant. He came to serve. He didn't come to

judge. He came to serve. He came to suffer, suffer for them,

suffer for their sins. And lastly, it's of how are Jesus to

change lives. He wants them to take that testimony. And now today as

we come to this last part of his message, now he calls them that

takes that testimony, that calling of the Lord, that word of the Lord.

He wants them to deliberate. And now he calls them the response,

give an answer, what you're going to do with these things. It's very

similar to when Jesus looks to his disciples and say who did the people say

that I am? And they said, well, some say you're Jeremiah,

and some say you're one of the prophets. And what do Jesus say to

them? Now, who do you say that I am? That's the imagery

here. Peter is saying, okay, Jews, now you individually, what

are you going to do with these things? What are you going to do

with this testimony? So let's look this morning. Now he calls them to

respond to Jesus. And let's look get responding to Jesus. Let's stand together,

Let's read God's word together. It's Acts chapter three, and we were

starting verse seventeen. This is what he says. And now, brothers,

I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your rulers. But what

God foretold by the mouth of all the prophet, that his Christ would suffer,

and he thus fulfilled repent. Therefore turn again, that your sins might

be blotted out, and that times of refreshment may come from the presence of

the Lord, that he might sin. The appointed Christ, the appointed for

you, Jesus and whom Heaven must receive until the time restoring of all things

about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses

said, the Lord will raise up for you a prophet like me from your

brothers, and you shall listen to him and whatever he tells you. And

that shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be

destroy rod from the people. And all the prophets who had spoken from Samuel

to those who came out of him, also proclaim these things. You are

the sons of the prophet and the covenant God made with your father, saying

Abraham in your offspring, shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

God, having raised up his servants, sent him to you first, to

bless you by turning every one of you, of you from your wickedness.

Let's pray, Father, we thank you Lord for this morning. We thank

you for today and that God you're calling. God, You're speaking to us

through your word, through the work of your Holy Spirit in this room,

to your work Lord, through this series that we're working through the book of

Acts, and say, Lord, today, may we hear. May we

listen for your call. And God, may we not neglecting our responsibility to

respond today. But God, may we consider the testimony of your son Jesus.

May we consider our sin and our need of a savior, and Lord,

may we respond and accordance to your word today. Lord, I pray

today that you would cleanse me. Father. Lord, you know I'm a

simple man. I'm weak, Lord, I'm powerless without you. Lord.

So Lord, I pray that I would decrease and that you might increase through

me. Lord, I pray that you would give me the very words that

you'd have me to say today, and I would speak with clarity and with

power. Lord. That's power from you on high. Lord. We love

you. We thank you, Lord for the power of your word. Today,

in your name, we pray. Amen. He may be seated.

As Peter begins this message, he's really drawing upon them. He lays out

the facts last week, the testimony, if Jesus is the servant of Jesus,

the suffering of Jesus, the power of Jesus is his name. He

really lays out what they've done and why why did they need to respond to

Jesus. Why didn't they to respond to this message? If you go back

and you really see these different things that he points out to them and in

their need and want you see first, why do we respond to Jesus?

Why should we respond to Jesus first, because we've rejected Jesus. We've we've

have a sinful rejection. And Peter outlines this. If you go back with

me to Acts in chapter three, verse thirteen, he says, the God

of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, the God

of our Father, glorified his servant. And listen to the different things of

how he reminds them to things that they have done. So the word.

Listen to these words in whom you delivered over and denied. You deliver it

over, and you denied. Scripture says at birth fourteen. But you denied,

and who did you deny? You denied the holy and righteous One?

So you delivered him up. You've denied him. This idea of denied is

this imagery that he is what holy and righteousness. But you've you've rejected that

he was the Messiah. You've rejected that he was the son of God.

And you in turn have denied that he's sent from God, and that you

said he was a man bringing up treason, that he was a sinner,

that he was guilty. You denied who Jesus is. Listen to what says

and you asked for a murderer, and scripture says in verse fifteen, and

what not only did you deliver him, not only did you deny him,

but what Verse fifteen says you killed him? Verse fifteen says, and you

killed the author of life and whom God raised from the dead. Peter says,

into this, we're we're witnesses knowledge. Did you do it, We

saw you do it. You denied him, you rejected him, you delivered

him to the Romans, and you killed him. Peter wants them to understand

they have a responsibility to respond. They have also a responsibility in their sin.

They're guilty. Nobody made them do it right. They weren't guilty of

a bad situation or just went you know, it wasn't someone else's fault.

They were responsible. He wants them to understand human responsibility. You know,

there's times in our life that we commit sin and sometimes we don't really quite

know what we're doing. In this passage of scripture, Peter outlines of you

were responsible, you did deny him, you did deliver him, you did

kill him, and we saw it. We were with this is to that,

But look at verse seventeen. After outlying all the different things, he

said but listen to what he says in verse seventeen. But and now,

brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your rulers.

He says, Listen, you're guilty. You're a sinner. We saw you

do it. We saw you deny, and we saw you deliver him.

We saw him kill you, kill you kill him. You're guilty, You're

a sinner. You did these things. You're responsible for what you have done

against a holy, righteous savior. But then in verse seventeen, but you

but you did it out of ignorance. It's you really have the same imagery

from Jesus himself. You remember on the cross, Jesus cried out. He

cried out several times, but in one time that he cried out, he

said these words that Jesus says, Father, forgive them? What did he

say? For they know not what they do? You know? In this

passage of scripture, he's outlying that there was times they had opportunity that Jews

were not without opportunity of understanding who Jesus was. Jesus through miracles, through

testimonies, through parables, through consportations, even from many things that he said

in the synagog just leading up to the cross, he revealed himself that he

was the Messiah, through the power, through his teaching, through all different

they had opportunity to recognize and accept Jesus as a Messiah. So it's not

that they didn't have opportunity to understand. They rejected him, they did not

believe in him. Here Peter is outlying. You're responsible. You have opportunity,

but you really didn't fully understand. You really didn't fully understand who Jesus

was. Now that hear me, Now that Jesus, you heard those teachings

of Jesus. You saw the power Jesus. Now you saw the power of

his resurrection. And now asked Peter's preaching, you're kind of putting all the

pieces together. You know, I remember hearing Peter. You can imagine if

Jesus were there, And you know what, I remember hearing Jesus thought teaching,

and I just was confused. I wasn't sure that he was really Messiah.

And you know, I remember seeing him do the miracles I heard.

I remember hearing the story of the him raising up Lazarus, but I really

wasn't sure. And you know what I did. I was there and I

was one of the ones who rejected him. I wasn't one of the ones

who denied him. I wasn't one of the ones who delivered him up.

I wasn't one of the ones who killed him. But then he rose again,

and then I started to wonder maybe I was wrong. And now that

they're seeing the power of this land made raise again. And it's the same

type of power they saw Jesus use. And they see the power of Jesus

name name, they're starting to put all the pieces together once again. And

hear what Peter is saying here, Now you have another opportunity to recognize Jesus

is the Savior and to no longer reject Jesus be receiving. You acted ignorantly

in the past, and it was sinful. And even though you were ignorant

in what you've did, it doesn't discount that it was sinful. I remember

as a little boy, the first time I stole something. Confession is good

for the soul. I was. I think it may have told you the

story I was in lunch back then. Mama. You didn't get it every

day, but every once in a while Mama sent a quarter with you to

school, and that quartered first chocolate milk because they just gave you plain neck.

But if you gave a quarter, you could buy a chocolate milk,

and that was that was a treat back then. So I took my quarter

and I went through the lunch line and I paid my quarter and she gave

me my chocolate milk, and I went back to my table set with my

friends and some at some point, you know, you go to the routine,

you just forget, you know. And I looked down and my chocolate

milk was gone, and I thought, oh, I forgot to pick it

up, or I forgot to give it to her. You know, you're

just becausey you've ever done that, you go through the motions, you just

forget what you've done, right, And so I went back and told the

lady that I forgot to get my chocolate milk because I think you gave the

quarter, and then she'd let you go get it out of the thing.

Well, so I went and got one and got another chocolate milk, was

sat down and realized all my buddies were laughing at me. And what they

did was they took my chocolate milk off the plate and hit it. And

then I went away. I'd go get another one. Well, when I

got back, I was like, oh, I stole a chocolate milk.

I didn't mean to Mama, Yeah, I mean, I was so upset

that I I stole a chocolate milk, you know. And they were like,

oh, huge doll it, I can't believe it, you know.

And so they were giving me a hard time about stealing in the chocolate milk.

Now, honestly, but tell you this because in ignorance, I did

not know what I was doing right, because they had taken it all they

different, but it did not discount that I had taken something it was not

mine. And so in that moment, it's kind of like if you're ever

going to the store, you go to Dollar Journal or you something, then

you realize somebody didn't charge you for something you bought. You go out in

the store and you look at your seat and they go, oh, they

didn't charge me, And you have a responsibility at that time. But it

respond to what am I going to do with what I've done? Right,

It's come to the same issue here. Once I have the knowledge of what

I've done against the Holy God, I have a responsibility to do something about

it. And that's what Peter is saying here what I did was wrong,

what they did was wrong. It may have been an ignorance at the moment,

but now you have knowledge of that, you have an opportunity to respond

to what you've done. What's you think about something today in your pass throughout

your life? You've sinned? Scripture says that right for all of sin and

fallen short of the glory of God. Their CEF which child evangel and the

Fellowship, which is a ministry that does good news, club thin elementary school

cluse for kids. And they used and I used to teaching those and they

as you taught a child to what sin is that we used to use these

words sin as anything you think, say or do that makes God unhappy.

Let's think about that in your life today. Okay, let's go to you

just in this last week. Think about what have you thought about? What?

What what has come through your mind this week? And one of those

thoughts have not brought glory to God? Envy, hatred, anger, lust,

doubt. What are those things in your mind this week that you've sinned

against the Holy God? Okay, let's take that another step. Anything we

think, anything you say, think about this week, just this week What

are things that you have said that have not brought glory to God? Have

you cussed? Have you said the Lord's name in vain? Have you gossiped?

Have you said things out of anger or frustration? Have you said things

that were ugly about someone? What are the things that you have said this

week that have not brought glory to God? Okay, let's take that another

step. What are things that you've done? What are things that you've done

this week? There shows that you've watched this week that you've not watched.

There's there's things that you've taken that you should not have taken. There's there's

things that you've done this week. Is there six or morality that's in your

life that's not right? You've been in relationships, it's not bringing glory for

God to the Lord? What have you drunk? Serie, recreational earth that

drugs or anythings that you've done that's not brought glory to God? Now,

what you think about that this week? And what you think about that today

and this last week? What are those things that you have done? Now,

here's what I want you to hear. Now that you have thought through

those things, what you have done of those things this week that have not

brought glory to God? What are you going to do about it? Because

here's the message that Peter is saying to them, right, we all have

sin and fallen short of the glory of God. We've all denied, we've

all delivered, we all have done things against the Holy God. And it's

I resp wantsibility at what we're going to do about the sin that's in our

life. Your mom, your dad, your friend, your neighbor, your

cousin cannot fix your sin issue. You have a responsibility yourself of what are

you going to do with your sin? How should we respond? How did

he call them to respond? Very simply verse as we come to this past

look at verse nineteen. Repent therefore and turn again, that your sins might

be blotted out. How should we respond to the non sin in our life?

How should we respond to how we've rejected Jesus and done things that have

not brought glory to him? Very simply today, repent, repent. You

come to me this morning, you say, Pastor, I real little I

have a role in in this church this morning. I'm just in the worship

service. Maybe I have responsibility to seeing and raise my hand, if the

Lord moves or do whatever. No, you have a responsibility. As God

speaks to you about sin in your life, you have responsibility to recognize the

sin and a repent of sin. And here's the thing that we kind of

make it. This is one of the things we kind of make a mistake.

And as Christians, we make repentance as a one time think. That's

just repentance is just something when I do when I just when I first get

saved, yep, I get saved, I put my faith in Jesus or

a pent No, repentance is something that a Christian should do daily. And

here that's what peters calling them to repent. And as the Lord is bringing

to your mind sin that's in your life, you have responsibility to repent of

that sin. What does repent? Repent means changing direction, changing one's mind.

Listen to the imagery, he says, repent therefore and turn again.

For these Jews, they have denied Jesus, they have rejected Jesus, they

have killed Jesus, they have not accepted him. He's he's asking them to

change from rejection of Jesus, to turn and receive Jesus, accept him as

Savior, accept him as Lord. Believe in his servant, to believe in

what the suffering that he's done for you. Believe in the power that's in

his name. Listen to the imagery. You go to the imagery of this

man. Right. This man is lame. Right, he's broken, and

by Jesus what he has changed. He goes from broken and I'll be able

to walk to walking. Right in verse nineteen, he says, by his

name and by faith in his name has made this man strong. Whom you

see and know that the faith that is in Jesus has given this man perfect

health in the presence of you all. It is the power of Jesus that

brings about what change he's saying here. Put your faith in Jesus and repent

and change. Heard a story. Timothy Keller tells a story in one of

his books. It's called The Unintentional Preacher Preaching Models. He tells a story

about his brother in law. His brother in law never would wear a seat

belt in the car. He people at the time of time would talk to

him about wearing his seat belt, but he never would wear a seat belt.

One day, he was going to pick up tim from the airport,

and he noticed when he picked him up. Tim did knows his brother in

law was wearing his seat belt, and he says, what happened after all

this people talking to you about wearing your seat belt? What happened? What

changed you? He said? I went to visit a friend of mine in

the hospital who was in the car accident and went through the windshield. He

had two or three hundred stitches in his face. And I said to myself,

I better wear my seat belt. He said, do you know that

if you didn't wear your seat belt, you would have you would go through

that windshield. If you had had, you wouldn't go through the windshield,

if you would had an accident, I asked, He said, of course,

I knew that. He says, but I went to the hospital to

see my friend and I got new information. But the information had to become

new. The information got real to my heart and it finally sank down and

effect that the way I live. Here's a message for you some of this

today is this is not a message that some of you've never heard before.

You've had friends, you have loved ones, You've had me, You've had

growth group leaders, you have grandparents, parents, friends who've talked to you

and listen to me and love. I've talked to you about sentence in your

life and you've led you know what they're right if, but it's never led

you to change. You're continuing in the things that's in your life that are

not bringing glory to God. What's it going to take for God to get

your attention to lead you to change? And this story the man saw a

man in the hospital with stitches all over all over him from not wearing his

seat belt, and finally that became like new information to his mind into his

heart that led him to what repentance. Maybe this morning God is speaking to

you in a new way and saying, very simply today, some things need

to change about the way you think, some things need to change about what

you say, and some things need to change about how you're living. It's

very simple today. I can't make you change. That has to be your

decision. Once you see, finally the results are responding to Jesus. I

love the imagery of this passage of scriptures, a beautiful passage. He says,

Repent therefore and turn again, that your sins might be blotted out.

You ever think about in your life, I know, as I get older,

it's getting older and older more and more. Just in a month away,

I have a birthday and will turn another year. As you get older,

you start thinking about things that you did as a teenager. There's things

that you did as a college student, and you're like, oh, what

was I thinking? And you wish you had that Michael J. Fox,

you know, back to the future car and you could go back. You

know, you can read some things that you've done in your past, but

there's just no way you can do that right. Some of the things that

you've done less, be honest, the things that you've done in the past

will haunt you sometimes your whole life. I think of a church member I've

told you about before at a previous church who him and his wife had an

abortion, and he's told me tears in his eyes more times than one,

how much that decision haunted him. And now in his sixties. This man

was in his sixties, and how it's still haunted in that day. And

he would say to me, Pastor, I know God forgives all sin,

but that's a really, really a hard one. The beautiful thing of this

passage is there's things in all of our lives sins like this friend of mine

would share with me that we wish we could go back to time and just

erase from our past. But listen to me, there is no Michael J.

Fox back to the future. Car And as much as you want to

go in your past to erase those things in the past, you cannot.

You as much as you want to today want to raise some things that you've

done this week, you cannot do that. You can't erase the things that

you thought. You cannot erase the things that you've said. You cannot erase

the things that you've done. In this passage scripture, hear me today,

Jesus is saying, what repent, turn away, Turn to me, Turn

to Jesus, and I, Jesus have the power of what to blot out

your sins. The imagery of blotting out that it comes from the word in

the Greek. It literally means to wipe away, to erase, but to

obliberate. The word in the in It came from the in the Greek.

In ancient times they used we use pen and paper, and the pen that

we use soaks into the paper, right, So that's why we have to

use white out right even our pencils engrave into the paper, and even if

you race, if you still look real close, you can see the imprint

of that pencil into the paper. And the old times they had ink that

did not soak into the paper, and so if you wrote something by mistake,

you would take something and just wipe away the ink and it was gone.

It was as if it was never ever written. In the beginning,

the imagery that Jesus is saying here, listen to this is beautiful. Repent

come to me, and what Jesus says, I have the power to listen

to this, to wipe it away, to totally erase the sins of your

past. Think about that today. There's not one of you in this room

that does not have a sin that you wish you could go and redo,

or a race, and you cannot do it. But there is a man

named Jesus, and he has power to erase your sins of the past.

Here's the message for you today, and it's a call to respond. What

called her to repent, come to Jesus that he might erase your sins.

So can I just encourage you today repent? Why? Because through Jesus he

will what he will cleanse you from your sins. He will raise wipe away

your sins. Who will raise your sins? They had second reason why should

we repent today is because there's a restoration. Listen to what says, repent

therefore, verse nineteen, turn again that your sins might be blotted out,

and that times of refresh refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,

and that he might sin, that he might send Christ appointed for you.

Jesus. You know. I remember when I was a teenager. My parents

separated when I was a young boy. I was like fourteen, and that

was really hard for me. It was really angry, really mad and my

parents, in particularly my dad. I was really angry at him. I

remember so much. I was so angry with him. I wanted to remove

my name. I didn't want to be Barbie anymore, so angry at him.

And I remember at sixteen I got my life turned around. I was

saved, I think at fourteen. But at sixteen I started playing games and

really started living for the Lord and living my life for the Lord. And

one of the first things that Lord put on my mind that I had a

problem with. Sending issue that I had a problem with was bitterness, bitterness

and anger towards my dad. And youth pastor called me to repentance and told

me that Jonathan, it's time to forgive your dad. And I did not

want to do that. I was angry, and through just God working in

my heart, I finally came to a place where I could forgive my dad.

You see, because of the sin of my parents. It really was

the relationship that was broken between me and my father, and because of that

relationship was not right. Because of sin, there had to be forgiveness before

there was restoration. Do you understand that? And so I remember, as

a seventeen year old boy, I think maybe sixteen. I think I told

you the story before. We had a youth service on a Wednesday night and

we asked all the parents to come to this service and we write letters to

our parents called a tribute. Well I was I wrote a letter. In

my tribute, I wrote to my parents. My parents still have this letter

as I asked them to for forgiveness, forgive me from holding bitterness. And

then that letter I told my mom and my dad that I forgave them.

That Wednesday night, I stood before the whole group of eighty teenagers and parents,

and I read my letter and publicly before them and peers and my parents,

I asked them for forgiveness. Were the first time I forgave my parents.

Let me tell you what happened in that moment when I forgave that sin,

that issue between my dad, a relationship once was broken, was restored,

and that began at sixteen years old. That began a re new relationship

with my father like I'd never had before. Can I tell you that is

just a glimpse of what happens in our life when we have sin with the

Holy God, when we sin against the Holy God. Listen, the relationship

is broken. You may not you may still have a relationship. You may

be saved, you may have a relationship with the Lord, but the relationship

is not where it needs to be. And the reason why it's because there's

sin that you've committed against the Holy God doesn't change from him being your God

and your savior. It's kind of like parential relationship with my dad. Right,

our relationship was broken, but it didn't mean that he still wasn't my

father. He was my father, right, and nothing would change I could

do that. It changed that even if I won't change, my name is

still my dad. Right. It's the same thing with you and the Lord.

Right, just because you sin, if you're if you have a relationship

with Jesus and you've been saved, right, it doesn't nothing breaks that,

nothing can take your other Lord's hand. But it doesn't mean that relationships right

with the Lord. Does that make sense? Sin can what create division between

you and the Lord? Not a right relationship? When we ask for repentance,

listen and we ask for forgiveness of sin, Jesus what wipes away that's

in and listen, there's a restoration of relationship with the Lord. So here's

the reason why today you say to me, pastor, what is my role

today in coming to church is to hear God's call, hear God's call about

the sin of your life, and to respond with Lord, I need to

repent because today Lord, there's some things in my life I can't clean up

that God, I needs you to cleanse. And secondly, Lord, because

I want my relationship with you to be right. I want my relationship with

you to be restored. Lord. Our relationship has been distant, Lord,

and it's not you that's moved as me that's moved. Lord, today,

Lord, I want to ask for you to forgive me, and Lord,

I want to repent that you might wipe away my sin today, that we

might be restored. Listen to the imagery that times. Listen to this of

refreshing may come. Listen to this from the presence of the Lord. Who

would you say today? Who in here today said today? You know what?

I really want? A refreshed presence of the Lord in my life today.

I think everyone in year this room would want that today? How does

that come? By confession and repentance? Lastly, and I'll be preaching all

day if I don't stop. The last reason why we are to repent is

to avoid judgment. There are those, and let's make no doubt about it,

there are those who don't have a right relationship, have opportunity now after

opportunity, knowledge of their sin, but still have never cg They continue to

live a life of rejection of Jesus, and Jesus says to them, if

you do not repent, if you do not receive me, there will be

judgment. Listen a way, he says in this in verse twenty three.

And it shall be that every soul listen to this who does not listen.

It shall be that every soul does not listen to the prophet to that prophet

shall be destroyed from the people. You can imagine God calling, God calling,

God calling, and they continue to deny, deny, deny, deny.

There's coming a point where God's going to judge rejection. In this passage

scripture, he says, judgments coming for those who don't repent, who do

not receive Jesus. And then we'll close with this, and we asked the

band, you can make your way up. George Whitfield in the past and

a journal. George Whitfield was a pastor, was a was a pastor evangelist.

He was on his first George voyage to Georgia and the ship that he

was on, the cook, had a bad drinking problem. The cook was

reproved for his drinking and his other sins that he had in his life.

But he, you know, he just continued to boast about the wickedness in

his life. And he made this this statement, classic statement, classic response

among people. Oh well, you know, what's not my time right now

to get things right. I tell you what, though, I'm going to

continue to live the way I'm living. But when it comes to the last

two years of my life, Yeah, that's when I'll repent. That's when

I'll change. Yeah, Preacher, I hear what you're saying. I need

to change. I need to repent of my drinking. But I got plenty

of time. And when I get to the end, Yeah, that's when

I'll get things right with Jesus. He would say that to them that that

day, on that voyage. Within six hours of him making that statement,

he died six hours. He'd have years left, he had hours left,

and one last mute of God's call ended in his judgment. The reality is

today, all of us here, we do not know how much time we

have left on this earth. Today, Today God is calling. No more

putting off, no more delaying to another day. The day is the day

of salvation. Today. Today is the day that God wants to clean.

Today's a day that God wants to restore. Today's a day that you must

respond. Will you pray with me? Father God? We pray today,

Lord, there is a movement in this room today or we feel your presence,

we feel your power in this place. Lord. We proclaim Lord that

there is power in Jesus today, that God you came to suffer for our

sins. You came that you might wipe away our tears, our sins.

You came that you might restore our relationship with you, said Lord, I

pray today that there would be people that send a sound of my voice,

who are watching online or watching in person. Today and today there would be

those who would respond to your call to repent, to change. I pray

to be those that right now would ask you for forgiveness, Lord, forgive

me I am a sinner. And Lord, they would proclaim they'll sin to

you God, a holy God, and they would turn from those things today,

no more playing games, no more waiting till another day. Today,

Lord, I pray they'd be those who would repent and return to you.

Father, Lord, we love you. I thank you, Lord for your

message to day, lead us to respond. In your name, we pray Amen,