Preaching A Gospel of Repentance

Let's have a prayer. Lord Jesus, we're grateful for how you've led us, guided us on this journey so far. Grateful for what you're doing in our midst. Lord, we have, but Lord, we still lack, and we need you and need your Holy Spirit to come and minister life unto us that we would grow thereby. And I pray, Father, that you would speak by your spirit and not according to the will of man nor the will of the flesh, that you would be glorified in Jesus' name. Amen. I was reading this morning about how Jesus, when it came time for him to begin his ministry, John the Baptist was on the scene and he was preaching. And he came preaching a gospel of repentance, not performing great miracles or great signs, but preaching repentance. And Jesus, in some of his teachings, said there was none greater born of woman than John the Baptist. And so many times we discount the preaching of repentance as just something that happened once, and we get caught up in moving on to the more mature matters. But many of us are still on milk and not solid food. And so we leave the message of repentance and we start filling our heads with theology, with all kinds of good, solid teachings, but we never come into the life that is in Jesus. John Baptist said, I baptize with water, but there's one coming after me. In sandals, I'm not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Ghost with fire. And he said, this fire will thoroughly clean out the threshing floor. And gather the wheat into the barns. I thought of Jesus when he comes to the tabernacle, when the Pharisees are there and they're bringing their sacrifices, the people and they're selling sacrifices and they're performing their religious duty. We never see Jesus getting really upset. We never seen Jesus really getting zeal for his house until he sees the corruption that's in the temple. And we've come to understand that we are in the new covenant, the temple of the living God, as God has said, I will dwell in them. I'll walk among them. I will be your God. You shall be my people. And so when we're born again, not of corruptible seed, but of the incorruptible seed through the word of God, which lives and abides forever, when that word of God takes root in our lives and impregnates us, that Christ being formed in us, there is a process before birth comes. It says in air, while he's a child, he doesn't differ at all from a slave, though he's master of all, or though he can possess all the promises, all the inheritance that is in Christ. But he's under guardians and tutors until the appointed time. And so the appointed time is when faith manifests and one is born, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed. And Jesus in his zeal would come to his house, a natural tabernacle that took some 46 years, perhaps, to build. And at one point he says, tear this temple down. And in three days, I'll raise it up again. Well, people who are naturally minded would say, well, it's taken 46 years to build this. I don't know how long it's taken you to build your temple. For me, it's been 54 years. But you know what? It can't be rebuilt unless it first gets torn down. Because his house shall be called a house of prayer. But you know what? We've made our house a den of thieves. We've sat on our beds and we've schemed how we're going to do this or how we're going to do that, how we can manipulate to get an extra dollar an hour, how we can see about robbing a little of God's glory and taking it for ourselves so people can see us rather than to see Jesus. And many other things. But when Jesus comes, he thoroughly wants to cleanse the threshing floor and gather the wheat into the garner. He wants to burn up that chaff with unquenchable fire. And that is through the power of the Holy Spirit, where the Holy Spirit gives us light on ourselves and we continue on in repenting. It's not a one-time repentance, brothers. It's as he is, so are we in this world. And everyone who desires to come after Jesus, let him also walk just as Jesus walked. And so the bar is not my brother or the bar is not Leonard Ravenhill or Zach Poonen. The bar is Jesus. And you know what? You can set up these ministers on pedestals and on some place and you know what? Pretty soon you'll be taking your pictures and your posters and your snapshots of your favorite pastor and you'll be burning them on that altar. Because who is Paul or who is Apollos or who is Zach or who is Randy or who is anybody else except ministers to whom you believe? And I think they'd all agree on that if they're men of God. We originally set our eyes on men. These are not holy men. These are men created in the likeness of God. Only Jesus is holy. When Isaiah the holy man got a vision of Jesus, he said, you are holy and I am vile. As brother Daniel shared in his testimony, getting light on ourselves, that's the greatest gift. To see ourselves in the light of God's word, in the light of God's holiness. If we want to grow as a people, we need more light on ourselves. I think of the powerful ox that can do a lot of work, but that ox has to take a yoke. If the ox won't take a yoke, the ox will be a wild ox in the field doing what it wants and running all over the place and sleeping with all the cows. But it was created for a purpose and Jesus says, all you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest. He says, take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am humble and gentle. The mighty ox must be yoked with Jesus Christ and we have to learn of him. Otherwise we're going to be useless. It doesn't matter how powerful we are. It doesn't matter how much scripture packs your head. Unless you're broken and you take the yoke and you follow where Jesus follows. Anyone who desires to come after me, let him deny himself. Pick up his cross and follow after him. Are you prepared to pick up his cross or do you want to go where you want to go? I'm going to read something from Isaiah in verse 6. It says, seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near. There's times and seasons in our life when the Lord allows us to draw near to him. As a brother Daniel shared that sometimes our prayers are like a one way phone call. But the Lord desires to have fellowship with his people. He's not hindered because he's not wanting to fellowship with us. But sin has separated us from him. Our pride that reeks to him separates us from him. So he's not listening. And so perhaps he has to like in Proverbs in one, he has to send a calamity to get our attention because when he called we refused. How does he call us? He speaks to us through the word of God. And we don't like certain scriptures and so we'd like to take a black marker and mark some of them out because we have another way worked out. And if we don't want to receive all the word of God, we just want to pick and choose through the word of God. We want to just have our pet doctrines. Then we're not going to become like Jesus. We're not going to experience revival. We won't be conformed into his likeness. We have to take the entire yoke of God upon our shoulders. It says the government is upon his shoulders. If you want to rule in righteousness with Christ, rule in righteousness with Christ, he says you'll be in charge of cities and this and that. We don't have authority even over our tongues, let alone cities. May the Lord help us to get understanding in some things. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call on him when he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts. We have all kinds of thoughts. We have all kinds of ideas. We have all kinds of hopes and dreams and plans. Yet we've not led one person to Christ in our entire life. Yet we're wanting God's will to come along with our will. Say hey Jesus come along with me. I'm going to take your yoke and we're going this way by the way. And please bless me in it. You want to know who said that? Balaam. Balaam said well I can only say what God says and then all of a sudden the the Lord says don't go with them. You cannot only speak what I say. Don't go with them. Their that decision led Balaam to ask and inquire the Lord again when they perhaps brought another wheelbarrow load of cash and sweetened the pot and the the reward was even bigger. He said I'm going to ask the Lord again and you know what? Maybe the Lord will just bless Balaam and give him so much quail it will come right out of his nostrils until he's sick. Not one day but one month of quail until he vomits the quail and it comes out of his nostrils. So much flesh you'll get from the Lord. Not from the enemy from the Lord and that blessing will become a curse unto you. It'll become a sickness unto you. If you will to do his will you'll know concerning the teaching and if it's this is the way walk in it. But if you're full of flesh and your desire is for flesh and pride and to make a name for yourself to be somebody we don't even know the motives and the intents of our heart. But the Lord knows them and if we press through you'll get it. You'll get what you're asking for. It says he granted them their request but he sent leanness into their souls. They were in like a wilderness for 40 years because they grumbled and complained against the Lord give us meat to eat. We want to live for the flesh as well we'll follow God. Brothers sisters the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit is against the flesh. These are hostile to one another so we don't do the things that we please after the flesh. If by the spirit brethren it says in Romans in chapter 8 and verse 12 we're not debtors to the flesh to live according to the flesh. You ever been in debt? It doesn't feel good. You're always feeling this yoke on your back. We want to get free from this thing. It says we're not debtors to the flesh to live according to the flesh. If we live according to the flesh we will die. But if by the spirit with the spirit's help we call on the name of the Lord we put to death the deeds of the flesh we'll live. As many as are led by the spirit of God brothers sisters these are the sons of God and the spirit of God is leading us to deal with the flesh. This is through repentance and rest is our salvation. This is quieting our souls and trust but most of God's people said they are not willing. We somehow find a wonderful lukewarm status where we have this form of godliness but we have no power and as our brother shared we have no fresh stories of the testimony of God. All we have is regurgitated jargon and stories from other people who are experiencing the power of God and we ourselves are religious. Nobody can find any fault with us because we are whitewashed tombs outwardly looking great but inwardly full of dead man bones. He says in verse 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts saith the Lord nor are my ways your ways saith the Lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts for as the rain comes down and snow from heaven and do not return there but water the earth and he makes it bring forth in bud that it may bring forth seed to the sore and bread to the eater so shall my word be God's word we want to hear his word if we don't hear his word our prayers are going nowhere so shall my word be that proceeds forth from my mouth it shall not return to me void it will accomplish what it was sent out to accomplish and it shall prosper in that thing which i sent it so then you shall go out with joy and then you shall be led forth with peace the mountains and the hills will break forth before you and with singing and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands if we don't hear from Jesus then all of our doing will be in vain he said to the Galatians they began in the spirit they had a touch from the Lord and then they became religious they became dead man's bones they were observing days and months and seasons and years and Paul says I have doubts about you I'm worried about you I'm concerned that my labor for you Galatians was in vain we cannot perfect ourselves in the flesh we need to be led by the Spirit of God these are the sons of God and the Spirit of God will bring conviction but in our doing it doesn't make us righteous just because you burnt your crucifix and you burnt some books you can be full of pride in your heart and want to be seen and heard by men but God wants us to be humble humble humble and that happens when we don't speak just words with great sounding symbols but that we have the love of God in our hearts it says in 1 corinthians 13 though I speak with tongues of men and angels yet have not love I sound like gongs and sounding brass we have not yet learned the ways of the Lord let every man be slow to speak and quick to hear there's something else goes along with that slow to anger for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God we can come so far and then you know what we come to a place in our hearts where our hearts become proud through anger frustration bitterness resentment and God allows it to manifest we have to repent of it because the other side of it is a stumble it's it's confusion it's division it's not from the Lord we have to allow the Holy Spirit to harness us to subdue us and to make us like Christ because we can't change ourselves I was reading a bit in Matthew 5 this morning blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven brothers poor in spirit doesn't mean poor in wallet you can have someone who has no money in their wallet and they can be proud in spirit I've seen it time and time again people think they deserve but you know it doesn't matter how much you have or don't have we get tested with much or with little we get tested but to be humble in spirit it's not the extra dollar an hour that's going to make you happy it's more blessed to give than to receive but when you're truly humble in spirit then God can reward you Jesus begins his teaching saying blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted you need to learn how to mourn to be remorseful when we get light on ourselves say Lord I was proud again and allow some tears to shed from our face and say Lord Lord I can't change myself I don't know why I keep saying those things I don't know why I keep getting angry I don't know why I am the way I am sometimes I have yes you've done the good work but Lord I need more I want to become like you so that I can be an exact image of of Jesus Christ on the earth that people would see the love of God in and if I'm angry with them they will not know the love of God and I want to I want to mourn over my sin not with worldly sorrow but with godly sorrow there's two types of sorrow worldly sorrow leads to self-pity saying you know what I deserve better and nobody cares about me well God you don't even care about me and all the things I'm going through why are you allowing me to go through this worldly sorrow you can have shed a thousand crocodile tears your heart will never be feel peace you'll get a little peace because you cried out and you'll have to cry again and tell your psychologist all your problems over again of how hard you've had it in life that's self-pity that's a low form of pride but godly sorrow blessed are those who mourn where they shall be comforted that's repentance it's a lifestyle of repentance brothers sisters as we walk with God as we understand and come to know God we can see the holiness of God and we are able to see our imperfections and how could he love me a sinner condemned unclean how marvelous and how wonderful is his love toward me the further I walk with God the more I'm able to see my frailty and my weakness my uncleanness that I have but yet Lord is still loves me and somehow I repent and I get times are refreshing from the Lord and he changes me and I see that I'm not the same way as I was but you know what if you stop walking with the Lord and you come to a place where you've come far enough you're going to find that all these evil things that once were in part of your life will come and overtake you again those things that he once set you free from will all of a sudden creep back into your life and bring you back into bondage because we're no longer engaged in walking by the spirit we somehow have come so far and no further only God can say that that the sea can come so far and not further not us as believers we have to keep going with God when the river begins to trickle out of the threshold of the temple and it begins to widen and goes from ankle deep and keeps going we have to keep going with God brothers we can't say well you know I'm a little too scared to go where one must swim because I'm going to lose control and I like to be in control of my future God is not interested in what we have God is not interested in what we attain in the flesh those things Paul says that were gained to me you know what was gained to Paul a Pharisee among Pharisees born the eighth day of the tribe of Benjamin you know that he was according to the law blameless the guy had such a holy outward life but inside he was dead as a post he never knew Christ these he counted as done he counted all things as loss for the excellence of knowing Jesus we want to come to know him and if you want to come to know him you're going to know the power of his resurrection along with the fellowship of his sufferings you know when he was on the earth he didn't really have any friends he had some disciples we didn't really have any friends he had his father if you want to walk with God you want to be a preacher you want to be someone that God calls and uses for his glory you're going to be a lonely man and until you come to a place where you realize that Jesus is enough you're going to struggle but when you can come to say Lord you were a lonely man you were a man of sorrows acquainted with sufferings Lord you were a man who was afflicted or you were a man who went through many troubles and you cried out to your father night and day sometimes with loud cries and tears and God heard him because it was God in the fear when you come to settle that decision in your heart and say God I'm okay with it then God will begin to work blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth let it be your prayer Lord make me meek not weak but meek when you're meek you'll be strong you can go to the gym and do your exercise and if you're proud you'll never be strong but if you're meek if you identify with the lowly if you come under the the the vilest offender and if they repent and believe and you come alongside them and you kneel next to them on the sidewalk that is meekness Jesus would associate with anyone he was not ashamed to allow the prostitute to weep on his feet and wipe his feet with her hair in front of those brothers who seemed to be something who were judging him completely he was not ashamed to be there to allow God to do a work in that woman's heart he didn't hinder it brother if you want to be effective in the kingdom of God you've got to become meek Lord make me meek that I might be a vessel of mercy to exercise mercy on those who deserve judgment because I myself have deserved judgment so many times and you've shown me so much mercy I want to learn what this means this year Lord meekness blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled you know there's a testimony of Jesus that says that he loved righteousness and he hated wickedness and as we begin to self-analyze ourselves and do stock of where we're at in our walk with God we begin to realize that there's things that we love that God hates we have to come to a place that we hunger and thirst for Jesus and when we get a glimpse of Jesus and we understand and we start walking with Jesus the things that he loves we need to come to love and the thing that he loves we need to loathe may the Lord help us so that we become sanctified and useful to the master do you love the things Jesus loves do you love those things that Jesus loathes we know that he loves humility and brokenness and contrition we know that he loves sinners and especially when they repent he loves it he leaves the 99 who have no need of repentance righteous ones and he will go and seek and save that which was lost if he should find it and bring it back into the flock of the lost sheep of the house of Israel the dead sheep of the house of Israel the lost son that had left the father's house the dead son who is alive again who needed not a washing of the robe as it said blessed are those who wash their robes and keep the commandments of God but needed a new robe who needed a new ring on the finger family ring who needed new shoes on the feet blessed are the feet of them that bring good news may we love truth if we don't become lovers of truth brothers we're never going to come to know Jesus the way we are you know all the disciples didn't know Jesus the same they were all disciples they all had forsook all and followed Jesus but I was reading this week with our brother there and and we were reading about how Jesus had revealed himself to the brothers and then Peter said to the other brothers I I go fishing and they said well we'll also go with you because you know we have to work in this life and this was their trade and so they went back and did some fishing but you know what the Lord never allowed them to have any success it's like going hunting for a week on end and you see all these animals and you miss every shot but you're better than that but if you're the Lord doesn't allow it he doesn't allow it he did not allow them to catch one fish and they were commercial fishermen this is what they were good at and they were no longer good at what they were good at because Jesus had a different calling for them from now on you will catch men but while they were in the boat he spoke unto them and he said children have you any food cast your net on the other side of the boat not your way my way not your thoughts my thoughts my ways are higher than your thoughts and as they cast the net on the other side of the boat the nets were so full but this time they were not breaking and then John I believe it's John it says the one whom Jesus loved he refers to himself it's in the book of John you can read it he recognized the voice it is the Lord nobody else recognized the voice why did John the one whom Jesus loved recognize the voice because he had spent so much time reclining on Jesus chest would you become one that would want to be so close to Jesus that when he whispers in your ear in the midst of the loudness and the busyness of the day and the machinery all the action and the chainsaws and everything going on the equipment and you pick it out it's the Lord my sheep hear my voice they follow me Simon Peter full of zeal was the one who threw off his garment and plunged into the sea to see Jesus but John was the one who recognized the voice how shall they hear without a preacher brothers to be a preacher to preach repentance the greatest calling of the prophets not to tell who's going to be your wife or not to speak of a famine coming or that there's going to be some nuclear bombs but to preach repentance no greater preacher born among women than John the Baptist but he said one in the kingdom of God is greater than me because he will see Jesus in a greater revelation and carry about all the fullness of the measure of the stature of God in the Holy Spirit may the Lord help us to get understanding in these things that we would become new covenant preachers new covenant ministers ministering life not the ministration of of condemnation ministry of the spirit that we would be able to lead people to Christ not to ourselves not to our gathering but to Jesus that we ourselves as we would see Jesus fixing our on Jesus that people would follow us as we follow Christ and if we seem to fall short in anything that they would press on and keep going may we have that heart for the lost may we have that desire to see Jesus high and lift it up to see the name of Jesus lifted up not to lift up men not to puff up men but to puff up the name of Jesus to exalt the name of Jesus praise the name of Jesus we could go on and on but I'll finish here the scripture says eye has not seen nor ear heard nor entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared for those who love him but then Paul writes God has revealed them to us by his spirit and my question for you is this morning has God revealed to you the things that God has prepared for you has he given you a glimpse and a vision into what the future holds for you it's available for us to know it and to see it in the mind eye of the spirit Abraham saw a city far off whose builder and maker is God yet he died not having received the promise of it has God spoken some of this vision to you I think of the man who was in the temple waiting for the Christ to come and when he laid his eyes on him he said I can die now in peace for I've seen the Lord this Anna was in the temple there and she was praying in prayers night and day and when I read her testimony I feel like a failure as a Christian I said Lord this woman without the power of the Holy Spirit without the new covenant is so faithful and so prayerful and yet you know we can't pray for an hour we can't pick an hour out where we're going to get together and seek the Lord in repentance and find some rest and pray for the power of God but this woman could do it night and day and when she saw the Lord she was so joyful we need that brother sisters we need the Lord to come and show us give a revelation God wants to reveal his will for you to you who has known the mind of the Lord except the spirit of the Lord and the man who carries his spirit nobody knows the secrets going on in your life except you and the Lord and you're the one who can repent of those secrets you're the one who can confess your sins you're the one who can bring them to the light you say if a man walks in the light as Jesus is in the light we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin many times we're not hearing the voice of God because we're not willing to come to the light the Holy Spirit has his finger on something and we've been resisting the Holy Spirit just like those Pharisees and when Stephen stood up he said you stiff neck and hard hearted you always resist the Holy Spirit brother sisters let's not resist the Holy Spirit anymore when the Holy Spirit puts a conviction let's obey quickly Abraham was a man of faith he was the father of faith and when God said put your eyes and set him to go to the mountain that I will show you and sacrifice him there to me he didn't ask his wife he didn't see what his wife thought about it he wasn't so concerned about her opinions anymore but he knew the voice and when he came to know the voice he set off early the next morning to say Lord I will obey you I love you more than anything and I trust you brother sisters let's finish here trust in the Lord with all your heart don't lean on your own wisdom your smartness your psychology and all your understanding and all your ways acknowledge him this word is the final authority not what men say the Holy Spirit is the one who will lead you and guide you into all truth not what man says religion is dead our relationship with Jesus Christ is what's going to save you when the Spirit says this is the way walk in and follow in his footsteps and if he causes you to put an Isaac on the altar and surrender all that you have all that your inheritance that you've attained for some 46 years of your life you surrender it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ I'll tell you after two days he'll revive you and on the third day he'll raise you up with Christ in Jesus name may the Lord help us