Repentance is a Superpower | Ps Teejay Davidson

Hey, welcome to the City Point Church podcast.

Thanks for joining us. Every day is an opportunity to

take hold of. So we hope this message inspires

you and build your faith that it helps you have more of a God

perspective for your day. Enjoy.

I'm going. To start with a story, I've got

a good story to tell. You know why it's good?

Because it's a true story. It's a testimony of what God did

in my life. I got saved.

For those that don't know, I got saved seven years ago and praise

God and early on I had this dream and vision that God had

put in me to go to Bible college.

I didn't know what it was. I didn't know it was a

university. I had no idea where I was going.

I just know that God had put this dream and was calling me

into Bible college. Yes, I'd heard about it through

the Grapevine and people would come up to me and say tji see

Bible college all over your life and I thought to myself I might

go check this out. So what do I do?

I asked my wife to sign me up and she signs me up.

I thought I was going to a life group that learned about the

Bible. I had no idea you had a degree

the after that that you would attend and get a degree.

I had no idea that you could become a pastor through it.

I was just going there because God just kept putting dreams in

me. I'd wake up in the middle of the

night and I would dream about Bible college and have visions.

I forgot, I better stop this. I've got to go.

And so I went, went on my merry way.

And I had so much. I didn't have an idea of where I

was and what I was doing. And I seen all these people that

surrounded Bible college and they were saying doctor this and

doctor that. I didn't know that you could

have a doctrine in a different field.

I went home to my wife. I said, I'm perplexed.

I learned that word in Bible college.

There's all these doctors over there.

What are they doing? Is that where all the rich

people hang out? Is that what they do?

And I thought, you only have one doctor.

It's a medical doctor. My wife, she laughed.

She said, DJ, that's so funny. You could have a doctorate at

any field. And I did not know that.

And that was a good start to Bible college.

And anyway, I would attend diligently full time.

And I was only nine months into my salvation going there.

You didn't know a lick of the Bible, hardly even knew Jesus,

just knew that I encountered him and he was real and I was there

and people would begin to speak these words and I never heard

such vocabulary in my life. I was uneducated.

My vocabulary, Larry was about that big.

And I was thinking to myself, what are they saying?

What are these words that are coming out of my their mouth?

So all through the lecture I'd put my hand up.

What does that word mean, Sir? What does exegesis mean?

What does Officer Jesus mean? What is that?

And I'd turn a three hour lecture into an 8 hour lecture.

I even asked one question once. I said I was Hitler, the devil.

I seriously had no idea. And he's like, teacher, I'll

just see you after my class. He was so gracious to me.

Then it got too hard. It got to the point where I had

no idea that you had to do. They started talking about

assignments and they started talking about referencing and

doing all these 2000 word essays.

The only essays I knew was my mates from Mexico.

But here I am and I started doing it on my own strength and

I thought I could do it alone, apart from God.

Let me just give you a say. If you're in Bible college

today, what you will do in Bible college, you'll replicate in

ministry. What you will do in Bible

college, you'll replicate in ministry.

If you think you can get through Bible college without God,

you'll think you can get Bible college.

You think you can get into ministry without God too?

There is no shortcuts like past the rights.

Give a, a word a couple of years ago, two years ago to the dream

team. There is no shortcuts to this.

The anointing is real. You know when you got it and you

know when you're done. So I end up taking off and I

left church for two years and I didn't say a word to the Dean of

the college. I didn't say a word to my

pastors. I just left without notice.

COVID happened and I let I use that as a cover up.

Every excuse. Oh you know, never my fault

until God sent a beautiful couple in this very church to

come save me and my wife from that desert that I put myself in

and my family. I LED my family inside a church

and I let him ride out and God sent 2 beautiful family members

to come and rescue us from our desert and they would walk

through US, walk with us in this journey and bring us back to

church. And God would do a beautiful

work in my heart and I'll come back to church.

And I felt this burning desire and unfinished business to go to

those people and ask for forgiveness and are repented of

what I did to their face. And I went to my Bible college

Dean of the school and I met with him and I thought he was

going to say, TJ, why didn't you call me?

TJ could have helped you and I could have done this and I could

have done that. But I walked out of that meeting

feeling so uplifted. I felt like $1,000,000 that I

promised myself I'd never walk into Bible college and somehow

walked out of that meeting and said sign me up again.

So I titled this message, Repentance is a superpower.

Repentance is a superpower. It's freeing.

It's freedom. Man.

When I got my first taste of true repentance, I was hooked.

I couldn't believe it. I was carrying around this

weight for so long. I would toss and turn, even on

my bed in the desert season, wondering about the people that

are wronged and how I wronged God.

But all it took was a moment of repentance that released me from

the trap and from the snare and from the chain of unrepentance

that led my heart to become hard.

Repentance is a superpower, and for so long I wondered that

word. I always wondered what is

repentance because for me, from the outside in, I always assumed

repentance had to do when it was like when you got in trouble by

your parents. You've been a bad boy, naughty,

bad times. Or associated repentance with

hell condemnation because the way I've seen some people preach

on it, Repent now you go on to hell.

OK, fair enough. But repentance in the Bible is

so beautiful and that's what I want to highlight the beauty of

repentance. See it's biblical meaning is in

the Old Testament is to turn, to return, to turn back to God.

And in the New Testament it says it like this, to change, to

change one's mind, one's thinking, to change your

thought. See, we make repentance and

think about it. This big thing that has to

happen. Like Jonah and Nineveh, where he

went there and he preached and he told them what God had told

him, and they threw on sackcloth and ashes and they went into a

time of fasting. That is amazing.

But repentance can be as small as this.

Oh, I never seen it that way. And you've changed your mind and

you're thinking according to the word of God, the truth that He's

given you. There's been so many times.

Thank you for that bell. There's been so many times where

I have spoken to an elder in this church and I believe one

way wholeheartedly and they've gone on.

TJ, that's just not true. But I said, yes, it is.

They're like, no, it's not. It's in your word.

And I would go home and I'd read it because I want to know for

myself. And I'd go to my word and I'd

see that they were right. And I'd have a change in my

thinking and a change in my thought pattern around that,

which changed my action. It changed my belief around what

I believed. And that's transformation,

right? But nobody attributes that to

repentance. We all give that word

transformation, and it deserves it too.

Such a big praise party. But seldomly do we realize that

repentance is the vehicle and road in which we come to that

place of transformation. We can ask our brothers and

sisters today, especially if you're discipling somebody, what

is your prayer life like? We all know that question.

Everyone knows that question. What is your prayer life like?

But the question is this. That I think is equally

important. What is your repentant life

like? What is your repentant life

like? Have you kept up to repentance,

beloved? But, TJ, what are you telling

me? I thought our sins are forgiven.

Yes. They're forgiven eternally from

condemnation. We're forgiven from eternal

death. But don't stay in that place

where we think we've graduated from repenting.

Because that place leaves you stuck.

That place robs you from transformation.

It's a continual process. See the Apostle Paul says this

in Acts 26 verses 20. If we can go there in our Bibles

Acts 26:20

or take notes today, he says I preach first to those in

Damascus who knows Paul, man, come on then in Jerusalem and

through it all Judea and it also to the Gentiles that what all

must repent of their sins and turn to God that all must

repent, not some, not a not a few, not the ones that have come

to Christianity that all must repent and turn to God.

And here's a key and prove they have changed by the good things

they do. Man, there's proof around your

repentant life. You know, John says it this way,

The the John the Baptist, he says produce fruit by keeping up

to repentance. Who's ever made that connection

with repentance and producing fruit?

Are you kidding me? By by keeping up to repentance,

that means there's something producing in our life and that's

fruit. Maybe sometimes we we feel like

we have going through an unfruitful season or an

unfruitful time. Maybe it's time we got back on

that place where we're like God. I, I live a life of repentance

to produce fruit in my life. Proof.

The evidence is transformation, but how we get there is through

living a life of continual repentance.

See, repentance is not about bringing you down and for your

demise, but Christ to lift you up and lift you up and edify you

and bring you to a a place deeper in relationship with Him

and transformation. No longer you think that way.

No longer you act that way. No longer you believe that way

because the word of God has got inside of you and you've been

transformed in the inside out and no longer will I walk that

way. See, there's some people in here

today that no longer longer do things they did five years ago,

10 years ago. Why?

Yes, because of transformation. But let me tell you, I celebrate

yous today because that comes from repentance, the vehicle and

road. And which got you to

transformation. One of the greatest

illustrations of the beautiful nature of repentance comes from

the story in the Holy Bible about the Prodigal Son.

I could cry here, so it's OK, we can cry together.

But the prodigal son, he thought he had a better way.

He believed the grass is greener on the other side.

Maybe he's seen his father's bank statements and thought he's

holding that here. I need to get me some

inheritance. And quick, why wait?

There's a good life there, there.

All my mates are drinking, all my mates are doing party life.

But I'm missing out here on the farm eating farm food.

I want Mackers and Hungry Jacks like my mates, but Dad's got me

on a strict diet. And maybe he thought, you know

what, Dad wouldn't mind if I took some inheritance early.

I know you're getting old now, but you know I've had enough.

An actual fact, you got your bank statement the other day and

the reason why you couldn't find it is because I was reading it

for two hours. So we off he goes with his

inheritance, but then life happens.

See, The thing is, the inheritance here without Christ

is nothing. But you've got an eternal

inheritance in his name's Jesus, and that never runs out.

You think you can hear on earth and spending on on good times

and spending on on on things that that aren't of eternal they

they lead to brokenness. They lead a down.

Trust me, I've been through everything in life where I've

tasted and I've seen what this world's got to offer and they

give me a piece just for a moment and then he'll come back

and with interest and absolutely rob me every time.

But God's eternal inheritance in Jesus Christ.

You know that he calls you and his his inheritance.

How amazing is that? But the prodigal, he said verses

17, it says when he come to his senses, another version says he

come to his own man. Imagine what he was feeling.

He's he's come broke now he's finished his inheritance.

And he said how many of my father's hired servants have

food to spare? He knows that.

And here I am starving to death. I will set out and go back to my

Father and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and

against you. How many of us have done that

when we've gone to somebody and say, I have not only sinned

against you, but I've sinned against heaven, I've sinned

against God in you. I'll repent for my mistake.

He says, I'll set out and go back to my father and say to

him, Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you.

Verses 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Make me like one of your hired servants.

Don't even give me the position of being to be called son

anymore. So he got up and went to his

father, But while he was still a long way off, some of us can

still feel a long way off. But this is the beautiful nature

about repentance. It's displayed here.

Is that what happens when we come to Father God in a repented

heart and how His response is in the Bible every time.

If you read and read the response of true repentance, you

will see what our God did with that.

It's not for your demise. It's not for your destructions,

but it's beautiful. It's magnificent.

It frees you. And he saw him and he was filled

with compassion for him. And he ran to his son.

That was a cultural unknown in that time.

And he threw his arms around him and kissed him.

That's our Father's response when we repent.

His response is this. And the son said to him, Father,

I've sinned against heaven and against you.

I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

But the father said to his servants, quick, quickly, bring

the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and

sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill

it. Let's have a feast and

celebrate. For this son of mine was dead

and is alive again. He was lost and and now found.

So they began to celebrate. Let me tell you, beloved, when

you come to God in this way, in true repentance, there is a

celebration. God saying, come on my son, come

on my daughter, I want to celebrate you that you've had

this hard position to come to me and now I'm going to transform

you in this area in your life. Our Father is this is his

heavenly nature to when we come to him like this, He will never

turn his back on us no matter what.

True repentance isn't about shaming you for your demise of

destruction. It's about Jesus lifting you up

and restoring you to freedom and a transformation in him.

It's about transforming you, getting into your mind and your

thoughts that one way you were thinking this way, He wants to

get in to those areas in your life.

And I'll use tithing for an example for some of us here

today, and this isn't about trying to put you down, but I'm

saying that when we come into that place and we say, God, oh,

I can't give you that area in my life that that's the area that

God won't work in because you haven't give him permission.

He's a gentleman. He wants to get into that part

of your life and transform you and take you to a higher level

and bless you with His blessing and give you his favor.

But when we come before and say, you know what, God, I haven't

let you in in that part of my life.

I'll ever haven't let you into that part of my mind.

I haven't let you into that part of my heart.

But here I am, Father God. I repent, but not only do I

repent, would you teach me and show me and strengthen me in

this area? You don't do it alone.

There is a Father that's running after you today, and maybe you

come to church today and this is your first time.

And I thank you so much for coming to church and being in

this great church. The Father's been running after

you for a long time, and there's no mistake that you're in this

place today. This is who Father God is.

There is a robe, there is a ring, there is new sandals and a

celebration for you. All that take up the name of

Jesus and call upon His name, Whoever believe in Him and put

their faith in Him will not perish.

You will receive eternal life and that's the good news today.

There is joy and repentance. It's not for your destruction,

but for your transformation. Repentance is a superpower.

See Edwin Lewis Cole said this about the prodigal.

I love this quote because he picked up on a pattern about the

prodigal son. And the pattern of the prodigal

is this rebellion, ruin. And in the middle of repentance,

reconciliation, restoration, he rebelled, come to ruin, he

repented, was reconciled and restored back to his father.

Let me tell you today, maybe you've tasted this world for way

too long and the world is giving you nothing but grief and you've

been living life the same way for 1520 years and it hasn't

worked out for you. And you keep trying and trying

again. But let me give you this today.

Have you tried Jesus? Have you tried Jesus?

Have you put Jesus on? Have you give Jesus?

You'll have you. Have you wanted to say, you know

what, God, I'll give you my life.

See how that works out for you and keep coming to church and

fellowship and see how your life gets transformed and changed.

That's repentance right there, where you turn away from the old

way of living, turn away from the old man.

And he said he'd put his spirit in you and he'd make you a new

creation, a new person. You can't even help it.

You can't even earn it. He just does it.

I remember one guy said to me today, a while ago, was down at

the Bribie Island jetty, I just love to talk to people.

And I was evangelizing to him, giving him the gospel and the

good news. And he said, how'd you change,

mate? And I was like, hey, hook, line

and sinker, ask me that again, brother.

You know, you just bait them. You bait them into those

questions, man. I'll tell you what, it's not my

favorite thing. It's awesome.

Let me tell you. I changed and he took a step

back and he was fairly offended at what I said.

And he said, what do you mean? No, no, that was all you, you,

you did that. That's what you did.

And, and, and let me tell you, you've worked hard for that.

Don't you dare. And I said, I understand where

you're coming from, but the truth is this.

I tried everything, brother. Everything.

Every single thing. I tried it and it didn't work.

And I tried Jesus and it worked. Jesus, the name of Jesus.

He's the only one. He's the one that transforms

you. He's the one that gets inside of

you and transforms you. He's the one.

He's the one. He's the one.

He's the one for this community. He's the one for your family.

He's the one for your friends. Come on, Jesus, He's the one.

He's the one. There's no way I could have done

that on my own. He's the one I'd help all along.

Just like that Bible college story, I end up coming back to

that place. Two years, 2 1/2 years, I stayed

in that place and I finished only because of Christ and the

Spirit that he's given me. And I remembered and he

strengthened me. And I said, oh, that's right,

God, this isn't for me to take over myself.

This isn't my ministry. This isn't my mission.

I had a moment of repentance that led me into transformation.

You know how freeing that is. People talk about addictions and

they say, you know how bad that is.

Yeah, fair enough. But those addictions turned into

something now where I'm addicted.

I can't wait to get in His word. I can't wait to get into prayer,

man. I'm addicted to the presence of

God. How much more can we be addicted

to freedom? Man, I'm fully sold out to

freedom. There's so many old Search my

heart. Oh Lord, why was David saying

that? Search me so I can repent, so I

can transform God search what's in me that I can't see so I

could repent and transform so I can change the way I think so I

can change my belief system, so I can change what I what I

thought was true, but I was deceived, but only by the word

of God that you've brought in a sword that cut me going in.

And yes, it hurts sometimes, but brothers and sisters, let me

tell you, we not allow that sword of the spirit, which is

sharper than any other sword, to have its time to come out and

heal. So many of us don't give the

opportunity of the Word of God to heal.

It's the only sword I know that cuts and heals at the same time.

But so many will get in this, let it cut their heart and stay

in that place and allow God. We've got to allow God to let

the washing of the world, let the healing of the world, let

the transformation and the renewing of the mind as the band

comes up, Oh God, God's magnificent.

He's wonderful. Repentance is beautiful.

Maybe repentance has had a bad shade, but the more I read the

word, the more beautiful and wonderful and freeing it is.

It's not for your demise. Repentance is for every

Christian. Repentance should be in a daily

lifestyle, quick and ready to repent, to turn away.

And I know even for me, there's things that I don't know right

now, and I'll be honest with you that I'm waiting for God to

come, waiting and waiting. I do this every day.

God, I shouldn't have thought like that.

I'm sorry. But repentance is more than a

good sorry. It's about your faith in action

that leads to repentance, that leads to transformation.

The proof on your life that something has taken place in

your mind, in your heart, is that you've actioned towards God

and allowed that transformation to happen.

We no longer can sit in limbo and linger and stagnant.

There's areas in our life that God wants in all the time

because He wants to free you, would set you up into a higher

place and edify you, would lift you up a life of repentance.

I've given 3 scriptures here that will help us practice this

way of living. One of them is a lifetime verse

for me. Number one.

Romans chapter 2 verses 4 in the new King James Version says

Romans 2:4

this. This is Paul speaking the

apostle. Or do you despise the riches of

His goodness, forbearance and long-suffering ready, not

knowing that the goodness of God lead you to repentance?

That's different. The goodness of God leads you to

repentance. And another version that says

kindness. So hold up.

It's not shame that leads me there.

It's not guilt that leads me there.

It's not condemnation that leads me there.

What is it? It's His goodness and His

kindness. So when you're in that moment

and you've come to God and you're, you're standing in

repentance, celebrate and be overjoyed that his goodness has

LED you there, that his kindness has LED you there.

Oh God, how exciting is that? So instead of being Lord and

focus on your sin all the time, one big key God give me in a

revelation he give me was that I had trouble overcoming some

addictions when I first come to Christ.

You know that scripture fix your eyes on Jesus.

It didn't say fix your eyes on your sin.

It says fix your eyes on Jesus and instead of focusing on my

sin and focusing, I turned and I repented and I turned to God and

I said, oh God, you're magnificent, You're wonderful.

You're the one that strengthens me.

You're the one that's put your spirit in me.

Father, I know that my sin is great.

Forgive me and help me and teach me.

I need you God and I'll keep focusing on you.

Like Pastor Andrew Stagg says, what has got your attention has

got you. What grabs your attention, grabs

you. What's grabbed you today,

Church, What's captivated you today?

Is it Christ or your sin? What do we focus on?

I'm not trying to say sweep it under the carpet, come to God

honestly and truthfully, but fix your eyes on the author of life.

Fix your eyes on Christ. Fix your eyes on Jesus, on

Jesus, on Jesus, on Jesus. That's the key there.

Be excited that His goodness and His kindness has LED you to that

place #2 in Joel chapter 2 verses 13 in the NIV says this.

Joel 2:13

Rend your heart and not your garments.

Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and

compassionate. There's that word, compassionate

again, slow to anger, abounding in love, and He relents from

sending calamity. Rend your heart and not your

garments. He's saying here there's no

substitute for your heart, Rend your heart.

Don't rend your time for a substitute for him.

Don't rend your money for a substitute for him.

We're not coming to him and trying to substitute, but he

said just give me your heart, rend your heart to him.

Offer it up to him for him to do a deep work and and partner with

God work with him so many times. I want to God to ZAP me.

He ZAP me all right, ZAP me with truth and conviction.

Get up. I want to partner with you TJ in

relationship. It's going to be hard.

They're going to be tough times, but I'm with you.

Rend your heart every day before you look at your phone, before

you start your day here. I am God, for you to use a

living vessel, A chosen instrument.

Start speaking identity over yourself.

Beloved. I'm loved today, brother.

Almighty God, I rend you my heart.

God. Thank you, father #3 Revelation

2, verses four and five. I love this Scripture.

This is my lifelong Scripture because I know what it was like

to fall out of the love of God, and I know what it was like to

be restored in His loving arms in repentance.

And here's a key here. It says, yet I hold this against

you. He's talking to the Ephesus

church, but it applies to us today.

You have forsaken the love. You had it first.

I've done that. I've forsaken the love I had at

first when I first got saved, man, I remember being so

overcome by His love. I knew that there was a God.

I knew Jesus was real in that moment.

Just one touch, one revelation, I knew and I was overcome by His

love. I never knew a love like that,

but that was immense, that was intense, that was supernatural.

I've never felt love like that from a human being, ever.

But that love of God, and I still can't comprehend it.

I still can't fathom, and I'm good with that, His depth of his

love. But for us, some of us, maybe

the love has gone cold. And here's a real key for you

today. Maybe you, you have you just

saying God, I don't know where you are anymore.

I can't feel you anymore. I, I used to remember being in

your presence like that and I would feel you in a certain way,

but I can't even remember the last time I spoke to you.

I feel empty. This verse is for you.

Verses 5 is a real key here. It says consider how far you

have fallen. There's a consideration of how

you how far you have fallen. If that's you today, you look

back from your salvation and you consider how far you have walked

away from the living God. He never walked away from you.

Just like Adam and Eve, when they sinned, where did they go?

They went hid. Men and women, brothers and

sisters, children of God have been hiding from God ever since.

They've been hiding from God the shame, the condemnation that the

world tells them that the enemy comes in and deceives God,

saying consider how far you have fallen ready, repent, Consider

how far you've fallen. Repent and watch this.

What does it say up there? And do the things you did at

first. Do you remember when you first

got saved, what you did? Do you remember how long you

spent in your word? Do you remember how long you

prayed to the living God? Do you remember how excited you

were when God encountered you and when you knew the love of

Christ and there was nothing else that could compare?

And man, you just couldn't wait to get home after work and be

and sit with Jesus. And you couldn't wait after

being having such a long day to go to life group and share and

listen to the brothers and sisters and have fellowship.

You couldn't wait to church and and praise, worship Him in

spirit and in truth. Oh man.

But life gets in the way and it tries and, and and this

decreases and prayer decreases and our tanks start to empty and

the enemy comes in and he starts to deceive.

He tell you lies. He tell you who you you are when

God is saying something totally different and he's telling you

who you are in here. He's saying I'm made in you.

You're made in my image, that you are loved.

It says if you do not repent, I'll come to you and remove your

lamp step from its place. And it can feel like that.

Oh man, I know what it's like to to live in darkness after I've

encountered God. I know what it's like to feel

the love of God grow cold in me. Man, it's the worst knowing God,

but knowing that you keep walking away from him, walking

away from the only source of goodness, the only source of

love. He doesn't remove himself from

you like you see in the prodigal son.

Every time you you repent and say I'm no longer walking this

way. I've had enough.

I've come to my senses. Oh God, I repent.

I repent because I know you're good.

This world ain't going to give me the love that you have.

This world isn't going to speak over me like you do.

I'm turning away from that whole way.

Oh Jesus, and I'm turning towards you right now and I'm

making a decision right now. Consider, repent, and do the

things you've done at first. Like I said this morning,

there's some things that I have too have put down when I when I

first encountered Christ and now it's time for me to pick those

things back up. Church.

It's time that we get excited about being in the presence of

God. It's time that we get excited

about coming to church again. Oh, it's time that we get

excited about being with Jesus and telling him and letting him

wash over you. It's time that we invite that

family member. It's time that we no longer

stand in line in shopping center and not tell the person next to

us about the hope in which we hold, about the living hope in

which we carry, and about the Holy Spirit in which you have

been filled all. Its time.

You don't do it on your own, it's with Him.