September 21, 2011

Continuing on the vitally important theme of reprentance, it is an inclusive term - all must repent. If you can put your finger on your neck and get a pulse, you are included in that need to repent group.

REPENT is A Decisive Word

The story is told of a shoplifter who writes to a department store and says, "I’ve just become a Christian, and I can’t sleep at night because I feel guilty. So here’s $100 that I owe you."

"Then he signs his name, and in a little postscript at the bottom he adds, "If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest."

"Repent" is a crucial word. "Repent" is a critical word. Repentance is an absolute necessity. It demands decisive action against sin.

When you are diagnosed with a potentially terminal disease and a radical treatment is prescribed, the Surgeon is calling for a decision from you HE IS NOT LOOKING FOR A DEBATE. The sooner you decide the better for you.

It is not a time for distraction or speculation it is time for decisive action. The Surgeon is not interested in discussing medical theories with you or wildly speculating on why some people get cancer and other people don’t, he wants you to commit to dealing with YOUR cancer.

In this encounter with Jesus these men were trying to avoid the issue by DEBATING WITH JESUS – HE DEMANDED A DECISION.

REPENT is A Productive Word

Not too many years ago newspapers carried the story of Al Johnson, a Kansas man who came to faith in Jesus Christ. What made his story remarkable was not his conversion, but the fact that as a result of his newfound faith in Christ, he confessed to a bank robbery he had participated in when he was nineteen years old.

Because the statute of limitations on the case had run out, Johnson could not be prosecuted for the offense.

Still, he believed his relationship with Christ demanded a confession. And he even voluntarily repaid his share of the stolen money!

The cancer Surgery prescribed by your Dr. and the Surgeon he referred you to is for one reason – to produce a result in your life – to extend the quality and quantity of your life! It will take you from illness to health!

The purpose of repentance is to extend the quality and quantity of you life – now AND for eternity!

Repentance is productive because:


1) It proves you understand God’s holiness

2) It proves you understand your hopelessness

3) It proves you understand how to get to heaven.

Conclusion:

Wabush, a town in a remote portion of Labrador, Canada, was completely isolated for some time. But recently a road was cut through the wilderness to reach it. Wabush now has one road leading into it, and thus, only one road leading out. If someone would travel the unpaved road for six to eight hours to get into Wabush, there is only way he or she could leave---by turning around.

Each of us, by birth, arrives in a town called Sin. As in Wabush, there is only one way out--a road built by God himself. But in order to take that road, one must first turn around. That complete about face is what the Bible calls repentance, and without it, there’s no way out of town.

There is only one way out of your sin – REPENT. EVERY SIN MUST BE CONFESSED AND REPENTED OF!

If you do not repent and turn from your sin there is only one outcome – PERISH.

“If we put off repentance another day, we have a day more to repent of, and a day less to repent in”