June 5th | Repentance
The last few weeks we’ve been talking about how to raise the banner of Jesus in our life…how to honor him with our life. Is it clear to others that Jesus is most important?
This week we talked about something that we can do that might be the single most powerful way not only to draw attention to Jesus but to give people hope: Repentance. Repentance is a turning away…a change of mind or direction…a leaving behind of something to pursue another.
In Matthew chapter 10 Jesus sends out the Twelve with instructions to preach, “The Kingdom of Heaven has come near.” Implying that people will need to repent in order to embrace and experience it. In fact, Mark records the same incident and states that, “They went out and preached that people should repent.”
For the Christian it is not only a turning from sinful ways, but a turning from false gods to the True God. The Bible calls false gods, idols. Those, sometimes even physical, handmade icons, that demand our attention, time, energy and resources instead of God. Idols are this things in life that drive us or lure us to forget God. Idols are those things that, either intentionally or not, take a central position in our life instead of God.
In our westeren culture idols take a less visible but equally powerful form like security, approval, success, and family. Sometimes we even fail to realize how much time, energy and money we pour out for a false sense of security, a fickle supply of approval and a fleeting run of success. Each, and many others, could be described as little gods promising what only God can truly provide, all the while eroding rather than strengthening our lives.
It is these idols that need to be at the core of our repentance. We are destined to repeat the same mistakes and sins as long as we only repent (as good as it is) of the superficial infraction, like lying, and ignore the deeper idol, like approval…which is at the root of why I lie. Another example might be bragging. I should apologize for bragging, but I must also repent of my seeking of value from other than God. When God says you are worth everything to him, why look elsewhere? And when we do, it certainly indicates a lack of faith and trust in God’s word.
But how does repentance honor Jesus and offer hope? First we need to understand what hope Jesus offers and there may be no better description than that in Isaiah 61:1, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners…”
When/If people can believe that, they can have hope for their broken dreams, relationships and bodies. They can have hope that they can find relief and escape from their addictions and cycles of anger, bitterness and depression. What we must do is live in the spirit of the words of Peter who wrote, “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” -1 Pe 3:15
He said, essentially, raise the banner of Jesus in your life…honor Jesus…give others a glimpse of Jesus by being able to articulate, from the depths of your heart, the hope that YOU have in Jesus. In a simple manner of speaking that means to be in touch with your own sinfulness and turning to idols and the grace and mercy of Jesus when we confess it.
Maybe the most powerful thing we can do for Jesus in this lifetime is with great joy and confidence in His mercy and grace while equally brokenhearted at our thoughts and actions, to confess and apologize to people in our life who we’ve sinned against…lied to, remained angry with, failed to encourage, refused to share, looked to for approval, hurt with our selfish obsessions, gossiped about, etc, etc, etc.
When people see Christians sacrificing their own polished image; humbling themselves to admit wrong and ask forgiveness; hearing how Jesus doesn’t condemn; seeing grace and mercy; while hearing of the ongoing healing in your heart and freeing from selfish cycles… THEN, and maybe only then, can they actually have hope for their own heart and captivity.
Lose your life through repentance and be healed…and maybe, just maybe, someone else will find healing and freedom too in Jesus…not to mention eternal security.
What is repentance? What are some ways that have been a change of direction in your life since you have come to know Jesus?
What are ways that you seek approval of others?
What might be idols in your life? (things or pursuits that replace God)
What holds you captive?
Why do we repent?
How can our repentance honor Jesus?
Do you share Jesus by how good you are or how Jesus loves you in your messed up…ness…. Have you ever asked forgiveness to a non believer and seen Jesus use that in your life and in their life?
