The Path of Repentance: Finding Life Through Letting Go

Welcome to the Lone Star Church podcast.

Pastors CF and Nicole Rady are here to share the Word of God with you each week, helping you grasp the fullness of God's plan for your life.

We hope you'll be blessed by this week's message.

If you live in Northwest Missouri or Southern Iowa, we invite you to join us in person on a Sunday morning.

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And so Nicole has been teaching on Sunday night leading up to Easter, right, we call this the Lenten season, right, that season where we lead up to celebrating the resurrection of Jesus.

And so I was thinking about today because next week Reverend Joseph Morris will be with us Friday, saturday and also Sunday morning.

So I was thinking about this week, because we're going to have Palm Sunday after that and Resurrection Sunday after that.

God, what is something that would lead with what Nicole's been teaching and going?

And so I want to talk just real quickly about a figure in the Bible by the name of John the Baptist.

So John the Baptist did not attend First Baptist or wherever he got that name, because he baptized people and he had a very specific ministry and a very important ministry in the Bible.

And John taught about repentance.

Right, that was his message, a message of repentance.

And so the word repent or repentance this is what it means.

It means a genuine sorrow for sinning.

A genuine sorrow for sinning, a profound change of heart and mind, a turning away from your sin, but not just turning away from your sin, but turning also towards God.

Sometimes, when we sin, we do a 360 and we're right back in it, but the Bible writes repentance is a 180.

It's a turning away from, but it's not just saying no to sin, it's saying yes to God, amen.

It's realizing there's something to run towards, not just something to run away from.

And so, john the Baptist, we're not going to look at it all, but in Luke, chapter 1, and we're not going to go there, we're going to go over to Matthew 3.

Luke 1 · chapter mention

So Matthew 3 is where we're going to go.

But in Luke 1, john's parents, zacharias and Elizabeth, wanted to have a child.

So Zacharias was a priest, elizabeth was the daughter of a priest, right, she was the daughter of the tribe of Aaron.

And Zacharias is there in the temple one time, worshiping, in fact leading the worship with incense, and an angel comes he says you're going to have a son, you're going to name him John, and he's going to have a great ministry to prepare the way for the Lord.

And so we see they couldn't have children.

They were older folks, just like Abraham and Sarah couldn't have children.

And then God blesses them with a child, a son, told them what to name him, told them what his ministry would be, and even said that he would be baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb.

And if you continue reading there, in Luke 1, when Elizabeth, once she's pregnant, goes to see Mary, her cousin, and Mary had just been told she was going to have Jesus, it says the baby in Elizabeth's womb leapt and was filled with the Holy Spirit from that moment, amen.

And so now we get over to Matthew, chapter 3, and we see him start in his ministry.

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

So this is John, john the Baptist.

It says.

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying listen, this is what he preached.

He said repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

So again he's saying turn away from what you're doing.

Why?

Because there's heaven that awaits you, not just quit sinning, because you're just a horrible sinner and sin's bad.

All those things are true.

Sin is bad and sin leads to death.

Right, the Bible says for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and the wages of sin is death, eternal separation from God.

Right, anyone ever made some bad decisions in your past.

You don't have to raise your hand.

We know you did.

Right, everyone's made some bad decisions in their past.

And when you look at some of those decisions I was talking to someone last night about when I was younger, like in my teens and early twenties.

You look at some of those bad decisions.

You're like boy, that was rough, right, what you had to deal with through those decisions isn't easy and that's what sin leads to.

God said I've set before you this day life and death.

Choose life.

Do you find that interesting?

God says I've set before you this day life and death.

Choose life.

Don't you think it would be obvious that we should choose life?

Right, you'd be like, well, that's pretty obvious.

I mean, life would be better.

But guess what?

We don't always make the best choices in life.

You ever open the refrigerator and you look in and what do?

You?

Got Choices.

Do you always make the best choice?

Right, we have a pantry.

I can open up the door to that pantry and there are choices in there.

I could eat a rice cake or I could eat some Doritos.

Choices what is it?

Life or death?

Literally Right, look at what they put in that stuff.

But you think, well, of course you'd choose life.

We don't always choose life.

God says every single day, you have before you what Life or death, good or bad, light or darkness Choose life.

But we know people don't always do that.

So here he says repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

There's something good waiting for you.

If you'll turn away from the junk you're in.

The kingdom of heaven is there.

This says, for this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.

So, like 700 years before he was born, isaiah prophesied the voice of one crying in the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make his path straight.

I mean no, jesus.

It was prophesied.

Jesus would come, the only begotten son of God, the king of kings, the Lord of lords.

But Jesus needed someone to prepare the way for him to come.

And John was chosen.

And John met that challenge Amen.

He answered the call.

He said I'm not here to point people to me, I'm here to point people to Jesus.

And in fact he was the greatest minister of his time, of the day.

He had huge following.

And when Jesus came and Jesus stepped into his ministry, john said quit following me and go follow him.

He said this is what I'm called to do.

I'm not called to build a ministry to myself, but I'm called to prepare the way for the Lord to come.

And he said the way you prepare, that is you've got to repent.

You've got to turn away from what you've been doing, Amen.

Now look at verse 4.

It says John himself was clothed in camel's hair, leather belt around his waist.

His food was locusts and honey.

He would fit right in at Lone Star, amen, just a man's man Got a beard and doesn't care what he wears, and all eat bugs and honey.

You know what that tells us about John.

He really didn't care about natural things.

He was all about the Lord's business.

Like, it doesn't matter what I wear, I don't have enough time to go get a bunch of nice clothes.

I've got to tell people to get ready.

And so that's what he did.

He just went and preached the kingdom and he would tell people look, you go down to verse 11, staying here in Matthew 3, verse 11, john said I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I'm not worthy to carry.

Matthew 3:11

He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire, amen.

John says look, you've got to get ready to receive what God has for you.

But the only way to get ready is you've got to get rid of some things.

It's just like in life.

Right, maybe you want to get new clothes, you'd like to get some new?

Well, you know what you got to do.

You got to get rid of some of the old stuff.

Right, go into the closet, get rid of the bell bottoms, get rid of the leisure suit, get rid of some of the stuff.

Why?

Because there's not room in your life for all that sin and the goodness of God.

Everyone wants the goodness of God.

You ever remember the show Monty Hall, let's Make a Deal.

Those people sometimes they'd open up and they'd be like hey, you won a new washer-dryer, I need a new washer dryer.

You can keep that washer and dryer, or you can choose what's in the box.

But to get what's in the box you got to give up what you've got over here.

Well, sometimes what we know is what was in the box was nothing, something bad.

But here's the thing God says I want you to give up this sin, the junk in your life, so you can receive the kingdom of God, so you can receive the goodness of God, so you can receive everything God has for you, so you can receive eternal life, so you can receive the Holy Spirit living on the inside of you, guiding and directing you, showing you things to come, but you've got to make a choice.

And the thing is, all of life is full of choices.

I told Lucy last night she was sitting on the couch.

I said, lucy, you know what the most important choice in life is?

I said this is the most important choice you'll ever make in your life to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Why?

Because it affects everything else in your life.

I said the second most important choice in your life is who you choose to marry and start a family with.

So those are your two big choices.

We make choices every day and the thing is, those choices all lead to what?

Either life or death.

John says man, turn away from what you're doing, turn away from your sin, make a change in your life.

Not just run away from something, but run towards something.

Run towards what?

Run towards something better.

2 Peter, 3 and verse 9.

Thank you, lord.

2 Peter, 3 and 9.

We're going to look at just a couple more scriptures here.

So Peter says the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but God is long-suffering towards it.

Aren't you glad God is patient towards you, long-suffering towards you?

Why Not willing that any should perish.

God doesn't want anyone to go to hell.

God doesn't want anyone to go to hell.

God doesn't want anyone to go to hell, not willing that any should perish, but what that all would come to him.

How, through repentance.

God says I just need you to repent, I just need you to turn away from it.

It's like being on this precipice and here it is.

There's this gateway that leads to heaven.

There's this gateway that leads to hell and God says I really want right he gateway that leads to heaven.

There's this gateway that leads to hell and God says I really want right.

He's there and he's like come on, come on, come on, come on to heaven, come on to everything I've got for you.

And yet people still choose death.

People still choose why?

Because they just can't give up.

They can, but they choose not to give up.

Some of this junk in their life can, but they choose not to give up some of this junk in their life.

You know there are people that drink themselves to death, people that eat themselves to death Right, they know it's not right.

Smoke themselves to death?

They know it's not right.

I've seen people on oxygen smoking cigarettes.

They know it's not right.

I know people that are going to have to have lung transplant.

They know it's not right.

I know people that are going to have to have lung transplant.

They know it's not right.

I know there's things like that in our own lives that we know is not right.

We've got to just give it up.

Yeah, but, pastor, I don't want to give that up, because what's going to fill that?

God will fill that space in your life.

All would come to repentance.

That's his will in your life.

All would come to repentance.

That's his will for your life.

God wants you to come to repentance and right.

We know 1 John 1, 9, listen to this.

I'm going to read this real quick and then we're going to finish over in Romans and Acts.

But 1 John 1, 9, it says If we confess our sins, god is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The Bible says look, I mean verse 8, think about this verse 8, it says if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

But if you'll confess your sin, god is faithful.

Everybody say God is faithful To do what he's faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

I like verse 10.

John says if we say that we've not sinned, we make him a liar, and his words are I've never sinned.

No, everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Everyone on this earth sinned, except Jesus, the only one.

And so the Bible says look and I've heard someone say this before we really don't.

We no longer.

After Jesus' death, burial and resurrection, we no longer have a sin problem on this earth.

Why?

Because Jesus took care of sin.

He took it all upon himself.

What we have is a communication problem of getting people to realize Jesus took care of your sin.

People do still sin, but the sin has been paid for.

That debt's been paid.

We just got to get that message to people.

And then people have got to get to the point where they realize I need to choose that that's the better choice.

In Romans, chapter 2 and verse 4, listen to what it says in Romans 2, 4.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

It's talking about repentance.

And how do you get people to a place of repentance?

You know how we usually think of how we get people to a place of repentance.

We tell them how bad they are.

Hey, nicole, let me just tell you how bad you are.

And if I keep telling you how bad you are, maybe you'll decide to change your ways.

We've done that within the church.

People just come in and we're like, hey, you're all horrible sinners, you need to quit sinning.

Is that the truth?

Yes, should we teach on sin?

Yes, should we teach.

It's bad and you need to quit?

Yes, but look at what Paul says.

He's actually talking about people judging other people.

Again, a problem that should not be in the church but is Because he's writing to Christians here and if you read the first three verses, that's what you see.

He says Aren't you glad God is good.

Forbearance and long-suffering again, his patience, not knowing what that, the goodness of God, leads people to repentance.

You know what's going to lead someone to come and receive Jesus as their Savior.

You tell them how good God is.

You know why a lot of people don't come to God and repent?

They think he's angry with them.

People are like God's not happy with the way you're living.

Is that true?

Yes, he's not.

You ever thought to yourself God's not happy with the way you're living.

Yeah, the enemy wants to twist that to the point where it's not just that he's unhappy with your choices, but he's mad at you as a person and you don't deserve the enemy will tell you you don't deserve God's forgiveness.

I'm going to tell you right now there's people sitting in this room, there's people watching this online that you've heard that thought in your mind and it did not come from God, it came from the enemy that you don't deserve his forgiveness.

You don't deserve what God has for you His goodness, his mercy, his grace.

Can I tell you there's not a person in here that does deserve it, but Jesus made you deserving because he took your sin upon himself.

Jesus deserved what All the blessings, all the goodness of God but he chose to give that up so we could get that, and he took what we deserved upon himself.

Amen, Amen.

I'm going to finish in Acts 2, verse 38.

Acts 2:38

Thank you, lord.

Acts 2, verse 38.

Acts 2:38

This is the day of Pentecost, right?

We know they were all in one place and one accord.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came.

They all started speaking in other tongues, spilled out into the streets, right?

And then Peter starts teaching.

He starts quoting the prophet Joel.

This is that which is spoken by the prophet Joel right, that God would pour out his spirit on all flesh.

And then he gets to this point in his sermon and you know it's a good sermon and the Holy Ghost is moving, because they went from a church of 120 to a church of over 3,000 in one day.

That is church growth, amen.

And this is what Peter said to these people.

They're all gathered there and he says repent, turn away from, turn towards God, turn away from the devil, turn away from your sin, turn away from those evil acts, turn towards God, repent.

Let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins, the forgiveness of your sin, and when you repent and turn away from what, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

So what does Peter do?

He links turning away from with turning towards.

He says repent, leave, and then what?

You'll receive something.

Everyone wants to receive something, but you know what the problem is Too many Christians have their hands full with all the junk of their life and they have no room for what God has for them to receive something.

But you know what the problem is Too many Christians have their hands full with all the junk of their life and they have no room for what God has for them to receive.

God says just dump the junk, just get rid of it.

My wife is so good at that in our lives she really is.

I've had to learn.

There's some things in my life I'm like you hold on to and it's like why are you holding on to that?

All that's doing is taking up space where something good that God wants to bring in your life can't be.

Amen, repent, turn away from why?

So you can receive everything God has for you.

We're not asking people to give up their fun.

We're not asking people to give up their life, right as far as just you've got to die to get there.

No, you've got to die to yourself and you've got to give up some things.

You've got to crucify your flesh.

But the thing is, god's not asking you to give up this so that it'll be bad in your life.

He's asking you to give up that so it can be good in your life, amen.

So here, he's asked you to give up that so they could be good in your life, amen.

So here's what we're going to.

We're going to stand our feet.

Uh, I'm, I'm going to ask him turn down the lights and uh, actually grace.

If you want to come, this is what I I want to do.

We're just going to take a few moments.

I am, I am your pastor.

I'm not your priest.

Jesus is your priest, right?

And there are some things at times and you can do it now, you can do it at home later.

And there are some things at times and you can do it now or you can do it at home later.

I believe there are some things that we all right could look at and say I need to repent, I need to turn away from some things in my life, and all God is looking for is a repentant heart.

All God is looking for is for you to humble yourself to him.

It's not about coming forward and tell me anything.

It's about telling him something.

You don't have to do it loud enough so that people can hear.

You can do it just between you and him.

But I believe thank you Lord.

I believe there are some of you that the enemies try to convince you're too far gone.

You've done too much bad in your life to ever get right with God.

Well, that's a lie straight from the pits of hell.

The blood of Jesus will wash you and cleanse you white as snow.

So whatever that is in your life, like I said, you can do it right now, you can do it later, but but all of us need to make some decisions to turn away from some things that have kept us.

God hasn't kept the good things from you just because he's holding them back.

You've held them back because of your lack of repentance in certain areas of your life.

Well, god, we repent today.

We let go of those things.

Today, we endeavor with the strength of the Holy Spirit and the direction of your word, god.

We thank you.

We have the ability to turn away from those things.

Thank you, father.

Thank you for tuning in to the Lone Star Church podcast.

We hope this week's message strengthened your faith in God's Word.

Remember, if you live in Northwest Missouri or Southern Iowa, we invite you to join us in person on a Sunday morning.

For more information about us, visit our website at lonestarchurchorg or follow us on Facebook, instagram or YouTube.