Welcome to this new edition of the Weekend Sermon. I am so glad that you decided to read the sermon this week. I hope that everyone has been having a good week.
This week, I've been able to accomplish a lot in writing, and I've had a good week working around the house. I haven't been getting many hours at my other job. I've decided to look elsewhere for more work. Please pray that I will be able to find a good job that will provide enough income and enough hours. Thank you for your prayers.
In other matters, I would like to ask you to pray for those in New Zealand who are still recovering from the terrorist attack. Pray that those who are injured will soon recover.
Continue to pray for those in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi who are suffering as a result of the storm damage. Pray that much needed aid and assistance will reach these nations quickly.
Please remember the nation of Congo in your prayers. The Ebola outbreak is still causing problems there. Pray that those who are sick will recover, and pray that the virus will stop spreading.
Let us all continue to pray for peace in the troubled areas of the world. This week, let us focus our prayers on Yemen, Syria and Libya.
For our prayer focus countries this week, let us pray for those in the nations of Kyrgyzstan and Gambia. Pray that many will hear the good news of the love and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ.
Over the course of the last few weeks, we have been studying some of the teachings of the Lord Jesus. Today, I would like us to focus our attention on the first message that Jesus preached in the Gospel of Mark. Mark 1:15 states, "The time has come," he said. "The Kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news."
First of all, I would like us to examine what Jesus was referring to in the specific context of this message, and then I would like us examine what repentance means for us in our day.
Jesus came preaching that the Kingdom of God had come, so it was time for the people to repent. First of all, what does it mean to repent of something. The Greek word translate as repent in the Bible means to change one's mind about something. It means to turn around and think and act in a different way.
Jesus came into the world to redeem the world and transform the world. Jesus was the Messiah who had been prophesied of for generations. He had come to show the people the way in which they should go. If the people would recognize Him as the Messiah, the Kingdom of God would come in their midst.
Jesus had come to institute a new way of thinking. He had come to institute the values and ways of the Kingdom into the disorder of the world. Jesus fully outlines the way of the Kingdom in the Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5 through 7.
If the people would not come to the way of Jesus, a catastrophe would happen. The nation was going in the wrong direction, and Jesus said later in his ministry that following this wrong path would lead to destruction. He was calling on the people to change direction and follow Him and His teachings.
What does the idea of repentance mean for us? Jesus calls each of us to repent and turn to Him and His ways today. We need a change of mind and a change of direction.
First of all, all people need to change their mind and recognize who Jesus is and what He come to accomplish. We need to recognize that Jesus is God come in human flesh. He came to show us how we are to live in this world following the path of His Kingdom values. Jesus died on the cross to bear our sins in His body. He then rose bodily from the grave defeating the consequences of sin. When we recognize who He is and what He has done, we can turn to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
To repent also means that we must change our minds about our own sinfulness. The Bible is quite clear that all have sinned. There is no one who is righteous. We must change our minds about our thinking that we are good enough or can do enough good works to earn eternal life or the favor of God. We must recognize our sinfulness and shortcomings and know that without the forgiveness of Jesus, we are as lost as can be.
Repentance has evidence. When a person truly repents and turns from sin to the Savior, there is evidence in that person's life. In Luke 3:8, Jesus talks about bearing fruit of repentance. The Apostle Paul gives a clear message about the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit. Those who have truly repented and turned to Jesus will not produce the works of the flesh, but they will produce the fruit of the Spirit.
In Galatians 5:19-21 it states, "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Galatians 5:22-23 states,"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such there is no law."
Have you repented of your sins and turned to Jesus as Savior and Lord. I hope that you have. If you have not, you can turn to Jesus this day.
Even those of us who have accepted Jesus as the Lord of our lives need to ask forgiveness for sins. If you have sinned and need forgiveness, turn to Jesus. The Bible says that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us. All we must do is ask.
When I began this blog in 2011, it was my hope and prayer that someone would read one of these messages and turn to Jesus Christ. If you don't know Jesus, please give Him a chance. Learn more about Him. You will see that He is the way, the truth and the life. He loves you. He wants you to come unto Him.
Next week, the sermon will be posted on Saturday as I have to work on Friday. I will post the verses on Monday. I will post a review on Thursday this week. May God bless you all. Amen.
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