The Repentant Heart (Repentance) | Joy Teh

You're listening to a message to go from X Church. We hope this message

will light up your day today in line with our twenty one day prayer and

fast. I want to share also in line with prayer fasting, okay,

but specifically today I also want to look at I believe what is the meaning

of U turn? So we call it U turn. Okay. So every

year we have a corporate twenty one day prayer and fast. We call it

U turn in X Church. And there's a reason I believe where we call

it uton. So you're all here, know what's U turn? Anyone here

have never U turned before? Okay? So uton can happens when you're working,

it can happen when you're driving. Okay. For me, I U

turn quite a bit right, because I tend to don't know my direction.

Okay. And even in the beginning time, I don't know about you all.

When the waste was first created, then when you first learn how to

use waste, it took me a long time to learn how to use waste.

That's me okay, Okay, So I couldn't understand ways in the beginning,

okay, And I don't use any other app exert ways now okay.

Okay. So um, usually I will still take the wrong turn and I

will have to make a v you turn, So you turn, jes means

while in Bahassa you pushing, you're pushing ballet. Okay, So you walk

in this direction and then you you know you're in the wrong direction. If

I don't make a turn back, I'm going to somewhere else taking Okay,

so I shall go. I want to gop in nine. So I got

to make the U turn my ablravation Bobby day Okay, doesn't matter. Okay.

So we only you turn when we know that we are walking in the

wrong direction, right, okay, So this um last week, I think

last week or the week before, and even the previous homes. We also

if you're part of our homes now in ex church, our homes is our

small groups. Okay. So in some churches they call it cell groups.

Here we call it homes. Okay. So if you're not part of one

homes yet, come and speak to me or any of the leaders here.

We will love to connect you to one. Now. In the recent homes

that we have met, we have learned about prayer and fasting too. Right

now, if you did not learn we did not go to homes, okay,

so it's need to go to homes all right. So just to recap

which I felt, it was a very good lesson that we have learned even

in homes, that there's a unique power and effectiveness when prayer and fasting are

combined right and dedicated to God's glory. So when we have a dedicated time,

dedicated means to set apart time for prayer and fasting, we all know

that when we do this, we pray and fast, we are not trying

to manipulate God right into having to answer our prayer or what we want.

But it is about us tuning into God's will and God's plan. Now we

covered this in homes, okay, So when we pray and fast according to

God's will for us, we will see his miracles and experience his break truths.

Okay. So now, and we also learn even last Sunday, Old

Pinhole shared as well, okay about from Isaiah fifty eight as well. A

type of faster is pleasing unto the Lord, right, So it pleases the

Lord when we fast from a humble, a sincere, and a repentant heart.

These are all in our homes, in our homes discussion as well.

Okay, So we fast and pray not to fulfill a duty, right,

but not to earn something from God. But we pray and we fast because

we desperately need God. Amen. So question to all of us today,

do we desperately need God? Are we in a place where we are crying

out to God? And if I'm sure our answer is yes, it has

to be yes. Right, Why you're here today? Right? So it's

yes, we desperately need God and we are crying out for God. And

that's why we fast and pray with a repentant heart. So today I want

to focus my message on the repentant heart or right, a repentant heart or

repentance because I think we understand also when we come to homes together and in

the past through Sundays we have put prayer and fast. But I think the

posture of having and being now in you turn our twenty one days, right,

it's very important is to approach this time with a repentant heart. So

I'm going to share mainly from two stories in the Bible. Okay, So

one of the first one is from the story of Jonah and the next one

is on the story of a king in Judah that I want to highlight about.

Okay. So we will see how in these two stories are the people

or the king himself has repented and in that process of repentance, how was

his pros, what was the process of and what was the thing that he

did? Okay. So let's look at first of all, the Book of

Jonah. Now we all know the Book of Jonah. Do we know the

Jonah and the prophet Jonah? We learned this in Sunday school or X kids,

right, is a famous story, okay, So just some background in

the Book of Jonah. Now, Jonah was a prophet, okay. So

in the Old Testament, that's a book called Jonah and Jonas a prophet.

And there are only four chapters in this book. Go home, you can

read it. So at the beginning of the book, it was it states

that God was speaking to Jonah and asked Jonah to go to the city of

Niniveh. Now, the city of ninive was the capital of the Assyrian Empire.

It was a huge and a very established city. Okay. It was

large and it was prominent in that time. So and it's not it's not

part of Israel, okay. So God has asked Jonah to go out of

his country to an enemy country, right to preach to them. So God

called him to a pagan city and the message it's not that, oh God,

it's gonna bless you, because it's gonna bless you and honor is proclaiming

judgment on the city. So if you were Jonah, would you want to

do that? Okay? Now when we Readiz's that yo Jonah so bad luck

he disobey God. But if you really think about it, right, I

think I would do the same as Jonah would just run away from you God.

Yeah, okay. So emision historians say that Ninive was the foremost city

in the world at that time. It was large, important, and it

was intimidating to go. So Jonah was reluctant. Why because he just get

up? There are many reasons that you know, we can probably predict why

he didn't want to do it. Okay. He was probably afraid, he

was probably saying, and he probably didn't like the people on anyway, there

Assyrians, they are his enemies. Why would I want to go and preach

to them? And Jonah knew his God, he was a prophet, he

knew the mercies of God. And he knew that when people repent right God

were forgiven, so he didn't want them to be forgiven, so he didn't

want Okay, So now, so what did Jonah do? Jonah ran away

from God. So Jonah turned the other way, opposite direction from Niniwe.

He went the other direction to Tashish. So Niniwe was to the east of

Israel. Tashi's was as far as you could go west, Okay, so

it was on the course of what is today's Spain. All right. Now,

in hating to Tarshish, Jonah intended to get as far as a way

from Niniwe. But the main thing he wanted to do was run away from

God as far as he could. Now, So what happened was in chapter

two, God was merciful enough to Jonah and not allowing him to rot in

his disobedience, God gave him another chance. And that's how God gave us

a chance. Sometimes God caused a big fish to swallow. No, okay,

anyway, cut along story. The big fish is to jump the story

really right, What happened was he went on the sheep. There was a

big storm and the sailors at the time was crying out to dear gods.

They were all pagans crying out to the god gouds. The storm was so

huge, the sorm was so scary that the ship was going to break apart.

So what happened was they cried out. And you know what Jonah was

doing at that time, sleeping, just like Jesus Ah. Yes, so

he was sleeping in the boat while the whole storm so on the on the

way to Tarshish. On the boat. It was a big storm, and

he was nicely sleeping. Or the sailors were crying out to God, and

the sailors broke him up. You get up, cry out to your God.

Maybe God will save us. Why they were superstitious at the time.

They all knew, even the sailors who were pagans knew that this storm was

just weird gay and maybe the gods are punishing us. And then they cast

lords, and the lord fell on Jonah and they found out that it was

because of Jonah. That's why they're having they're facing a storm. Cut a

long story short, they had no choice true chow Jonah into the sea,

because by then Jonah was probably repentant already in my fault just rolling into the

sea. So they chew Jonah into the sea, and God caused a big

fish the solo Jonah, and hence Jonah was in the belly of the fish

for three days and three nights. So that is chapter one and chapter two.

Okay, Now where I want to come at is chapter three. So

what happened in the three days and three nights? If you were Jonah in

the belly of a fish, what will you do? Now? Whether he

was repentant at the first day in the bellley, I don't know, but

I felt that he was already repentant at the time when they the soldiers were

asking why are you because when when he admitted that I'm actually a prophet of

God and I actually ran away from God and ideas obey God. If he

were looking at him, why did you do this? Because the storm was

killing them right, So then he said throw me into the sea. By

then I think he's like, it's my fault, It's my fault God.

Okay, he's probably repentant then, So he probably repented throughout the three dais

and three nights. And we can read in chapter two how Jonah. Now

this story also is a story of repentance, but we have no time for

that another day. Okay, So a story of repentance. Jonah repented and

God gave him a second chance. Amen. So now it's a second chance.

Now we're going to read Jonah chapter three, verses one to ten.

So what happened before Jonah chapter three is God caused the big fish to spit

or vomited Jonah out onto dry land. Okay, okay, So God can

do anything right, Amen. So God one once he repented after the three

dais and three nights, then God was vomited back onto dry land. Now

verse one, chapter three, Okay, Jonah to the three verse one.

So now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying,

arise, go to Niniva, the great city, and preached to it

the message that I tell you second chance. This God repeated his same the

instruction to Jonah in chapter three that he said it in chapter one, preached

it to them that I tell you. So Jonah arose and went to Niva

according to the word of the Lord. Now, Niniveh was an exceedingly great

city, a three day journey in extent, and Jonah began to enter the

city on the first day's walk. Now, so when he entered the city,

he cried out and said, yet forty days and Niniveh shall be overturned.

Just means that he is proclaiming God's judgment that in forty days the whole

city on ninive will be destroyed. Okay, So he's telling them, if

you don't repent, God is going to destroy your city verse five. Okay,

So which I want to draw us to our attention. Now, so

the people on Niniveh believed God, so fast the hostel whom straight away the

people on Niva believe God in verse five, proclaimed a face and put on

sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to

the king on Niniveh, and he, the king also arose from his strone,

laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes.

And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Niniwa by the decree

of the King and his nobles, saying, let neither men nor beasts hurt,

nor flog taste anything, to not let them eat or drink water,

but let men and beasts be covered with sadcloth and cry mightily to God.

Yes, let everyone turn from his evil way and from the violence that is

in his hands. Who now this is from the king of Minivea, Okay,

who can tell if God will turn and relent and turn away from his

fierce anger so that we may not perish? Verse ten. Then God saw

their works day that day turned from their evil way, and God relented from

the disaster that he had said he would bring upon them, and he did

not do it. Okay. So this is my focus actually not really on

Jonah earlier on, but even in Jonah. Jonah's life itself, there's a

story of repentance as well. But here we see an evil and pagan city

of Niniveh. They were evil enough like Sodom and Gomorrah that God wanted to

pronounce judgment upon them, and God was insistent to send his Profet Deare to

warn them first. But God, in his mercies, warn the people on

Niniveh first, true the profet Jonah. And even if Jonah disobeyed, he

made it happen that he will still go out of the mercy of God again,

because God loved the people on Niniveh. Right yep? So can it

as we see here now the word repentance is not found in these verses,

right, not found. But if we understand the meaning of repentance and what

you turn is all about, it really isn't just a word. It's not

something that yeah, it's something that we do. Okay. So if you

see here there were some things that the people did and the king did all

right, Yeah, and we noticed certain words that were used. So it's

not just what's spoken, but it's what we do, okay. Okay.

So in verse five, which I want to highlight to you, okay,

the people of meny way, first of all, they believed God. They

proclaimed a face, and they put on set cloth. All right, So

repentance begins with believing God. Church, do we believe God today? They

as a pagan city, believe that when God pronounced a judgment, He's going

to do it. And they don't not even issue likes, they're not even

the people of God, and they believe in the power of God. Do

we believe that? Church? Do we believe in our God? As we

believe him and his word, we have the power to transform our lives as

He wills. We can do many other things that looks like repentance. But

if it doesn't start with first of all, believing and trusting God. It

is just useless works of the flesh right now, and we can't believe apart

from the word of God. So again, faith comes from hearing and hearing

the word of God. So any real revival, personal revival and repentance will

always start from the hearing of the word of God, the preaching of the

word of God, and of course the doing of the word of God.

Amen. Amen. So the people first believe, and then repentance also means

doing something. What are the people of Ninivay did at the time? They

proclaim a fast, and that's what we are doing. We proclaim a twenty

one day prayer and fast corporately. Why because we want to seek the Lord.

We want to set apart time to seek God, right, okay.

So but for them they will proclaim a judgment and they mourn. They mourn,

and they put on said claude. So it's a form of mourning rights

as though someone died, right, okay, And the least of them to

the greatest, the King himself, they mourn. So basically, if repentance

is anything, it is not business as usual. So if we are carrying

on our lives as per usual. Even in this twenty one day prayer and

fast, it is not repentance at all. Repentance will means something has to

change. Now. So the people at the time, when they put on

sydcloth, that means they cannot they don't wear their normal clothes, right.

So basically sad clothe is a thick cost cloth, all right, and normally

made from goat's hair. So putting it on just means that the people have

to take off their normal clothes, take off their comfort and their pleasures,

right, and to put on something else. So something has to change as

well, and we have to do something different as well, even in this

twenty one day praying fast. Amen. Now in verse eight we see again

the verse just now, okay, now what happened in verse eight. Let

when the king proclaimed right, it says, no one and no beast need

can eat or drink anything, but let them be covered with sydcloth and cry

mightily to God, and let everyone turn away from their own evil ways.

The king acknowledge first of all that they stay sin and they were evil.

Right, So repentance means you acknowledge your sin and you cry mightily out to

God. It means coming to God again with a certain seriousness of the state

that we are in. Do we know the state that we are in?

It's God revealing the state of our hearts to us even during this time.

And what are we doing about it? Are we crying out to God for

the state of where our hearts are at? And it's personal, because it's

between you and God. You God will reveal to you. Now. Making

excuses and justifying reasons for our sin is really not repentance at all. So

basically excuses and repentance just cannot come together. If you want to repent,

we just cannot make excuse us. Right, So repentance or you turn means

changing your mind and turning from our previous ways, as we can see even

in the people and the King of any Amen. So I hope we learned

something here from the King and the people of Nive. And the beautiful thing

is the God. They God hear their cry. Yes he did. He

relented, of course later or even read the history, God did pronounce judgment

all right on the people of a Serial, but God gave them time.

God prolonged and God was merciful to them. Amen. So that is the

first story that I want us to look to today, which is in the

book of Jonah. Now I want to turn us next to another story about

the about King Manasy. All right, who is one of the kings of

Judah. Are we good church? Are you still with me? Yes?

All right, Come, let's move on, all right, okay, So

bearing in mind what we learn from the people and the king of Ninive and

how even a pagan city, a pagan nation can can come back to the

Lord. Amen. Amen, Now let's look into Mana. Say, have

you heard of King Manasay? He's one of the kings in Judah. Now,

Mana say, was the son of one of our better kings of Judah.

The king has a kaya all right? Now, if you read Kings

and chronicle, sometimes it's quite a sad one, oh, one after another,

deep evil in the sight of the Lord, deep evil in the side

of the law. And suddenly, oh did what was right in the sight

of God? Oh, thank you Jesus. Sometimes he said that. So

from David and Solomon onwards, it's like that, one king after another then

died, buried with the fathers, and the son became the king. And

then we read, you know, so one of the better kings has A

Kaya. Yeah, his son is Mana Say. But sadly and clearly,

Mana Say was one of the worst rulers over the kingdom of Judah. And

I'll tell you why. Okay. So sometimes we wonder, Ah, the

dead's so good, how come the son La Dada okay, Lah David?

Like that, how comes Solomon Dada? Okay? But again, it doesn't

mean that we shall not not train up our children right in the way that

he should go. Okaya had the godly figure in his life. He's dead

to follow, but he has to make his choice. Amen, Okay.

So looks like he lived in defiance of his father's faith, all right,

for most part of his life. Okay. Now, let's because of time,

we will not read the exact scripture, but I'm going to highlight to

you why Manase was one of the worst kings okay in Judah. So there's

some specific sins of Mana Say that was listed in the Bible in Second Kings

twenty one cross reference to Second Chronicles to the treat So I've listed a few,

actually not that few, it's actually ten okay. So follow me all

right, church, and I'll tell you why I'm sharing with you all days,

okay. So Mana say opposed the reforms of his father, Hazekaya al

right, basically Hazekaya the king Okay, before him, the kings were all

evil as well. But he made reforms and he brought back again he destroyed

the altars of the false worship and idols, and he reformed to the land

of Judah to worship the Lord, our God. But the sun again brought

back the terrible idolatry back into the land. Manase did not want to imitate

his godly father in state. He imitated Israel in state, okay, the

worst kings of Israel, which is actually Ahab all right, So it's very

similar. He's sin to the sin of Ahab, all right. So he

embraced state sponsored worship of Bail and Ashira. Basically that marked the reign of

King Ahab in Israel. So it was bad enough for him to follow and

to allow the idol worship in Judah. But worse still, he corrupted the

worship in the temple itself and made the Temple of God into a place of

all idol altars. Right now, So he did not only bring back all

forms of idolatry. He also brought in new forms. Now, at that

time, the Babylonan Empire was rising in the influence and they were attracted to

astrological worship. And Manasa, the king of Judah, also brought in this

astrological worship where they worship the sun, the moon and all right, okay,

in Judah as well. Now, Manasa sacrifice his own sons to the

Canaanite god Mola, okay, because they believe in the walking through fire and

offering of children to the gods. Okay, So he offered his sons before

in the fire. He practiced so saying, witchcraft, sorcery, he consulted

mediums, and now basically he invited direct Satanic influence into the land of Judah.

He even set a calf image to the idol she has made in the

house of God, as I mentioned, and that idol was Ashira, the

Canaanite godless of fertility. Basically, this god is worshiped to virtual prostitution in

the temple of God itself. As I say, so, I feel we're

Goliah. Okay, but this is it. I need to tell you that.

So in second Kings, so you will see in chapter twenty one.

It was written in Second Kings twenty one, verse eleven. He has acted

more wickedly than all the Amal Rights who were before him, meaning the people

of the land that God cutts out right before the issue lights take on the

land in Canaan. He acted more wickedly than them, all right, And

this is a remarkable achievement of evil. The Amal Rights were among one of

the most uh they were. They were famous for their violence, immorality,

and the depraved culture. But Manase exceeded them all all right. And in

verse sixteen, Manase shed very much blood. This is recorded in Second Kings

to Njuana, right, very much innocent blood till the Bible says he had

filled Jerusalem. Okay, he has filled Judres from one end to the other,

right by basically sharing innocent blood of the people of God who choose to

worship God. Right, Okay. So this puts Mana, say, the

King of Judah, in the same spiritual family as A had the famous evoking

the husband of Jezebel. Remember, okay, all right. So under both

of these kings the people of God were oppressed. Okay, the people of

God who really wanted to worship God. They were persecuted, okay, because

they these kings proclaimed state sponsored idology, meaning if you don't worship my idol,

you die account think okay. So the extent of it was so great

that he filled Jerusalem with the blood of his victims. And by Jewish tradition,

they believed that manase was also responsible for the murder of the Prophet Isaiah

as well. Now in Hebrews eleven, when we read the verse, it

says that when they were sorn in two right, they believed that it was

in Manasey's reign that the Prophet Isaiah was murdered as well. And these were

the sins of the king of Manase okay okay. And in Second Kings twenty

one, in verse nine, it says that the whole name, the whole

nation of Judah okay, did not pay any attention. Basically, when the

prophets and anyone were to speak to them, they will pay no attention.

And mana say, the king seduced the whole nation of Judah to do even

more evil than the nations that the Lord has destroyed before the children of Israel.

Okay, okay. So this describes the basic attitude of the people of

Judah at that time. And this king reigned fifty five years as a long

time people okay, he reigned when he was twelve years old, I think,

yeah, okay, long time so, and they paid no attention to

the promises of God, okay. And in addition, the people themselves were

willingly following the king as well, So both the king and the people of

Judah were all attracted to do evil. Right, And in second chronicles,

the Detriver's ten, it was recorded that the Lord spoke to Mana, say,

even in his wickedness, the amount of wickedness that he did, but

God still spoke to him, and but he would not listen. He and

the people were not listen. They rejected the word of God all right.

So because of that, what happened was cut the long story short. The

Lord allowed the Babylonians okay, to come and take the king and the people

of Judah into captivity. So at that only after that the story takes a

turn, okay. And we then see that in the later life in later

years of Mana say that he repented and he returned to God. And that's

what I want to show bring us to today, Okay, Okay, let's

move on. So now we're going to read Second Chronicles, chapter thirty three,

verses nine to seventeen. In these verses, we will see how a

king who has done much evil and much harm to the to the land of

Judah, and to the Kingdom, it's now repenting before the Lord. Okay,

okay, come, let's read verse nine. Very good, thank you

XTV. So Mana say seduced Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more

evil than the nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the children of Israel.

And the Lord spoke to Manase and his people, but they would not listen.

In verse ten, as I say, Therefore, the Lord brought upon

them the captains of the army of the King of Assyria, who took Manasse

with the hooks okay, bound him with bronze fatters, and carried him off

to Babylon. Basically, they hooked him with a nose hook okay. And

they changed him all right, and they brought him off to Babylon. Now

when he was in affliction verse twelve onwards. Okay, okay. Now,

of course, in between white the Bible doesn't tell us what happened to him.

How do you feel? And all those things are you can only imagine

because one verse like that next verse is he repented okay, So just like

the one in Joana, I thought you would. Okay, But when he

was in affliction, and you imagine what affliction means to him? Okay,

Okay, he implored the Lord, his God, and he humbled himself greatly

before the God of his fathers and prayed to him in verse thirteen. And

he received he as in God received his entreaty, hurt his supplication. Okay.

So in the New Living translation, it just means the Lord listened to

him, and the Lord was moved by his requests okay, and brought him

back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then manassee knew that the Lord was God

a man. Isn't it beautiful? Oh? Thank you Jesus? Okay?

Verse fourteen now verse fourteen onwards will show us what did Manase do about it

after he was brought back to the kingdom. So the details we don't know.

All we knew was when doing the time of affliction in captivity, he

must say how to God, God hurt his prayer, and God brought him

back Okay. Now in verse fourteen, when he is back in Jerusalem.

He after this, he built a wall outside the city of David, on

the west side of Gihon, in the valley as far as the entrance to

the of the fish gate, and closed awful and he raised it to a

very great height. Then he put military captains in all the fortified cities of

Judah. Verse fifteen. He took away the foreign gods and the idol from

the House of the Lord, and all the altars that he had built in

the mount of the House of the Lord and in Jerusalem, Praise God,

and he cuts them out of the city verse sixteen. He also repaired the

altar of the Lord, sacrifice peace offerings and thank offerings on it, and

commanded Judah to serve the Lord God of Ariel very good. Praise God.

Verse seventeen. Let's read together. Nevertheless, the people still sacrifice on the

high places, but only to the Lord their God. Let me explain,

Okay, so as we can see U in a short few verses, we

saw the end of his life. Praise God. Even though we reruin,

or we call it we screw up, we can still end well. Amen.

Amen, Praise the Lord for God's mercies, amen or not so?

But we want to see now how in he is a moment of repentance in

the times of his affliction. What did Mana Say do about it? You

can be afflicted, but you can still choose to die in your sin in

all this obedience. But praise be to God that Mana say woke up at

the final tail end better than nothing. Right, that he woke up God,

Why am I here? And he was afflicted? Sometimes God will allow

affliction pain, hooking of your nose and chaining of your hands to wake you

up, isn't it? That was the only way to wake manap But Mana

Say was in that figure of authority because of him, the whole nation of

Judah sin, you understand. So that was that? So severe was his

sin? Okay? So so what did he do? So? First of

all, I have a slight voice just for you to follow me up in

verse twelve. Okay, it says again when he was an affliction, he

implored the Lord. He humbled himself greatly before the God of his Father's question

for us church, when was the last time we really humble ourselves before a

lot? We have to ask ourselves. Now, this U turn is the

perfect time. Let us all individually again, is not in comparison to anyone

else individually? Have we humbled ourselves before God? Or we think that we

are all right? Okay? I think the moment you think all right,

you are not alright. Okay. Yes, yes, the more you think

I'm all right, You're not all right? Okay? Have we humbled ourselves

before God? All right? Okay? So he humbled himself greatly, the

Bible says, greatly before the God of his father's Finally he is acknowledging the

heritage that he had from his father. So it has been said that God

speaks to us in our pleasures, right, but he shouts to us in

our pains. So if you're going through some pain, some disappointment, now

something that ah, why is it? Like Dan? Maybe God is shouting

something to you now all right? And manasay finally listen to God's shouting through

his affliction. So the word humblet reminds us that the essence of Mana,

says Sin, was pride. So a lot of us we have to deal

with this, even in I believe in prayer and fast. The issue of

pride will have to be dealt with as well. Okay. So and the

phrase that says that he acknowledged the gods of his father, because I think

he grew up in total defiance of his father. His father was a godly

king, and the father feared God. And maybe some of us they also

need to hear this, that they are spiritual fathers in our midst that you

have in your life. Are we walking in obedience to our earthly for those

of you teens and below your adult age where you are still under the authority

of your parents, in obedience and authority to your earthly fathers and to your

spiritual fathers as well, all right, because that is also one of his

sins now. And then inverse the thin what else did Mana say? Did

Mana say? Prayed to him? So we are in a season or praying

right now, and I hope that we're not just fast thing. We must

be praying. Amen. And the last verse said in verse the Thing says,

then he knew that the Lord was God. I'm sure he knew the

Lord was God. Hello, Israel and Judah. What you mean by you

don't know the Lord your God? Sometimes it's like you all come to church

every Sunday. Why we know, I know God, But it's that realization.

Do you know that the Lord your God is your gods? That realization?

All right? Okay? So and God answered his prayer, restoped him

to the throne, and he again have that personal revival. It is a

personal revival for Mana say, he knew the Lord, he's God for himself.

Right, So I think some of us, and if you're here seated,

you're never given your heart to God, and you don't know this God

as your Lord, your God. Later we'll give you a chance to respond.

Amen. Amen. And the next three verses, verses fourteen to sixteen.

Right, it's the verses that Mana say took action. What are his

actions if you read again, actival, if you helped to put up verse

fourteen, not my slight by fourteen? After this he built I want you

to see the verbs here. He built a wall outside the sea of David,

and later on he put in Captain's and a verse fifteen, he took

away foreign gods and the idols. And he can't stem out these other verbs.

Next verse verse sixteen, thank you axtvt, your excellent xcvit. He

also repaired the altar of the Lord. He sacrifice peace offerings, and he

commanded to that. Now, can you see a sequence here? Now?

Now we put up my slight. Now, first of all, there needs

to be a rebuilding and a removing of things that needs to be removed.

Is a something in our lives today as we are seeking God doing this ulton

paran fast, Let's ask God this question. So these are things that we

can pray and ask God. What God, It's there some things that needs

to be removed. Now I know it's not literally an altar, not literally

a foreign God, but there might be some gods. Okay, we'll get

to that inner in our hearts lurking there that takes God's place in our hearts

that distract see you all the time from your quiet time, from reading God's

work. It could be your pillow, you could be your wife, could

be your children. Okay. What I mean is that things that will distract

us from giving our whole attention and devotion unto God or right your work.

Okay, okay, So that needs to be things that will removed away and

rebuilt again. So he rebuilt this wall now the war outside the city,

just because at that time he didn't really care a lot about the security of

Jerusalem. But when he came back, he cared about his city, and

he cared about the people and the kingdom of Judah. He took away foreign

gods and the things that do not should not be in the city, and

he repaired the altar. And the altar signifies the place of worship right and

the place of sacrificed. So before you can come and worship and sacrifice to

God, there might some things that God to be set right. Church.

Okay, are there things that need to be set right in our lives?

And even as we offer the peace and the thank offerings to God, it

will be pleasing to him. And then he played his role as king and

he commanded the whole land of Judah to worship and to serve the Lord,

our God. Amen. Amen. So these are just some steps to show

us in the Bible. The true repentance right will look like this. And

it seems to be to me from Jonah, in the Mini Way, in

the city of Niway, and in Jerusalem. That repentance. It's not just

something we say and we think it's something we we do, all right,

it's something we do. So may the Lord speak to all of us today

on what are the things that we need to do? Okay, what are

the actions? So there's always action involved in repentance. Okay. However,

the said part is that by the time he repented, it was a little

too late, all right, to change the nation of Judah at that time,

all right. So now when this in the vast verse, in verse

seventy, he says that the people still sacrifice on the high place basically means

places for pagan worship. So at the time, there are two different types

of high places, Okay. One is to the is the altar of the

pagan gods. But one is they worship God, our God, the True

God, but at the place of the pagan worship. So the people at

that time they still worship wherever they want, They sacrifice wherever they want,

okay, okay. And it's as though it was for how many years fifty

five years Manase reigned, okay, so maybe at the last one or two

years of his life, so maybe about fifty years, the nation of nation

of Judah was already into idol worship, a right, so it was a

little too late whereby he couldn't immediately stop or change this part so it seems

that the people were hardened in their ways, okay, and as a whole

they did not follow Manasei's example of repentance okay. And the effect of the

evil of Manase had did in his entire life, it's probably had a greater

impact than his late in life repentance, although that was still repentance, okay.

But what was worse is that if we read on in chronicles, all

right, it was actually stated that finally in the final destruction of the Kingdom

of Judah, the name of Manase King Manase was mentioned, okay, in

chapter twenty four, the second King's verse three, it was said that it

was due to the sins of Manase that brought the final destruction of Judah.

Even after many years Manase had died, Okay, it was still alluded to

him that it was a sin that he caused the whole of nation of Judah

to sin. But it's wonderful when people are moved to repentance late in life,

isn't it. And some of us we experienced that maybe with our parents

or grandparents right or when we see those of more advanced in age and even

in their later life, they give their hearts to God. Halleluah. That's

a beautiful one. But I think the message to us is that the longer

we live in disobedience like manase, the more consequences of sin right are likely

to face. God forgives us. But the consequencers sometimes is there, right,

and it's another So this is another reason to repent sooner or later?

Kay, people, okay, don't don't rate so long? All right?

So church, here we look at two stories already we look at examples from

the Bible of kings and even the people nations right repentance, repenting. So

I look at this both of the stories, and it looks like it's a

lot to do with idolatry, right, repenting from idolatry. So here,

I know we don't have idols in our house, whether we not. Don't

be a gay yeah, or some batoon here you know or there or um

not, like we go and worship in the author and all. But what

does it mean? So what are we? What are we to repent from?

Today? And that's something we have to ask the Lord today. And

I pray the Lord or speak to our hearts, okay, but I can

only think for me myself, right, maybe not loving the Lord with all

my heart, so mind, and strength. That is idolatry love for the

world and the things of the world. And I preach these also sometime ago,

and sometimes our heart right deceives us, right, yeah, not walking

in the spiritual heritage of our fathers or spiritual fathers. As I mentioned earlier

on. So God used captivity and what comes with captivity, scorn, cruelty,

degradation and everything in the hands of enemies to bring King Manas to a

place of true repentance. Okay. So again, sometimes God uses our affliction,

our pain, our disappointment, our laws sometimes to bring us to that

place. Amen. Amen. So I'm going to draw to a close right

now, all right, okay, So even as we close, let us

remember again the beautiful part about these two stories, yes, is that in

both stories God heard their cry. Amen. God heard the cry of the

king and the people of Niniwe, and God forgave them they were an evil

city. And as you heard, Now, why not I come back to

why I had to tell you all the specific sins of King manasay, to

show you and to tell you how goodly and how disgusting I felt. So

discussed so that it was why not? But yet our God is so merciful

and so gracious that even in the abundance of the sin that Manase had committed,

and when he cried to God, when he sincerely come before God,

implored the mercies of God and repented. God forgave him. Amen, and

God gave him a second chance. Event so did God's mercy reached Mana say

yes, And God's mercy reaches us today as well. Amen, Amen,

and hallelujah. So so I want to again show us Second Chronicles the tetree

verse the Tin. So I just want to again highlight again how beautiful and

how awesome the love of God is for all of us. In Second Chronicles

the retreat verse the Tin, and he prayed to him. Mana sapred to

God, and God received his entreaty, hurt his supplication, and brought him

back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. And then Mana say knew the Lord was

God. Amen. Amen. And in Jonah chapter three, verse ten,

I just want to repeat these verse again. Then God saw their works,

whose works? These were the works of the king and the people on niniway

at the time when they put on side cloth, when they repented before God.

They turned from their evil way, and God relented from the disaster that

he had said he would bring upon them, and he did not do it.

So God gave them a second chance, and God will give us a

second chance to And I also want to bring to us our attention to Second

Chronicles, chapter six Versus thirty six to thirty nine. Now, so earlier

on, as we can see, in the time of Solomon, God already

promised. God already promised us. So we can read this, okay,

When they sin against you, So this is the prayer of Solomon when Solomon.

This is fast forward before the time of Manase, right back to the

time of Solomon, when Solomon built the Temple of God and he dedicated the

temple, and he was praying. This is a part of the prayer of

Solomon. Okay. So when at that time, many years before, Solomon

prayed, when they sin against you, for there's no one who does not

sin, and you become angry with them and deliver them to the enemy.

And that's exactly what happened to King Manase and Jerusalem. And they and they

take them captive to a land far or near. Yet when they come to

themselves, okay, in the land where you, where they were carried captive,

and we panned, and make supplication to you, in the land of

their captivity, saying we have sinned, we have done wrong, they have

committed weakness. And where they return to you with all their heart and with

all their soul, in the land of their captivity, where they have been

carried captive, and pray towards their land which you gave to their fathers,

the city which you have chosen, and towards the temple which I built for

your name. This is Solomon praying. Then here from heaven your dwelling place,

their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive your

people who have sinned against you. Solomon, many years ago already prayed this

prayer that when the time come later down in the years, because that time

Israel was like the most famous nation, right he was reached and they would

have peace, and they were powerful, and he built a temple. It

was all everything was running nice and smoothly. But Solomon prayed this that in

years to come, if my people sin against you, God, but when

they cry out to you in their land of captivity, God, hear their

prayer and save them. And that's what exactly God did. So I just

want to show us that God is a promise god. Amen. And he

heard the prayers maybe of our forefathers many many years ago. And sometimes we

are here today because someone prayed for us. Maybe someone in your lineage prayed

for you, and that's why you are here, You and I are here

today, Amen, Amen, hallelujah. And I have two more verses to

encourage us before we close. Now, So even as we draw to a

close, as we come, I think it's something that all of us can

respond to today, right, we can all respond. So I want to

remind us in first John chapter one, verse nine, it's one of my

favorite verse as well, that it says here if we confess our sins,

he is faithful and He's just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from

all unrighteousness. Amen. Amen. And in some hundred and twenty nine,

verse twenty three to twenty four. And I want to close with this,

search me or God and know my heart. Sometimes you don't know what to

pray, right God, Search me or God and know my heart. Try

me and know my anxiety and see if there is any wicked way in me,

King David, pray and lead me in the way Everlasting. I pray

that this will be your prayer as well. That doing this U turn.

During this time of seeking the Lord or prayer and fasting, we will pray

that the Lord will search our hearts, speak to us, show us halleluh,

and lead us into the everlasting Way. Amen. We hope you've been

blessed by this message. For more information on our church, please visit X

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that this week is going to be a good week ahead for you. God bless