The purpose of the Church.
People have all kinds of ideas about churches and why they should exist. If we were to survey people in churches and ask them, "What is the main purpose of the church, or why does the church exist?" we will get a number of answers. People start churches for all kinds of reasons that miss the biblical point.
Many would suggest, for example, that the purpose of the church is fellowship. It's a place to make friends, to provide activity for the family, to enjoy friendships, to enjoy spiritual activities together, recreation, cultivate relationships, to work together in families, and raising children, etc. And sort of hang out together until death or the rapture.
Characteristics of true repentance.
True repentance is a gift of God. Acts 5:31.
Repentance follows Godly sorrow. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10.
Humility accompanies true repentance. Job 42:1-6.
A hatred of sin accompanies true repentance.
Ezekiel 36:26-31.
Shame accompanies true repentance. Jeremiah 31:19.
True repentance necessitates a verbal confession. Hosea 14:1-2.
True repentance leads to action. Acts 26:20
A Clear Understanding of the Gospel is needed for repentance.
The R’s of Repentance.
Realize
Regret
Resolve
Reform
Reveal
Restitution
Release
Receive
Realize or Recognize. (Acknowledge your Sin)
Remorse & Regret. (Grief Over Sin)
Resolve. (Change Your Mind)
Reform. (Change Your Lifestyle)
Reveal & take Responsibility. (Confession)
Release. ( Forgive others)
Receive. (Receive forgiveness)
Restore or Restitution. (Make Amends If Possible)
1.True repentance is a gift of God.
2 Timothy 2:24-26.
And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
God owes us nothing.
Job 41:11.
Who has first given to me, that I should repay him? Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine.
Everything belongs to God and even our ability to generate income comes from Him.
1 Chronicles 29:13-14.
And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18.
Beware lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Let us look at what God gave in the person of Jesus Christ so that we could be granted Repentance.
He gave up His Glory.
John 17:4-5.
I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do and now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
Hebrews 2:9.
But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
B. He gave up His divine power and knowledge as part of the God-head.
John 5:19.
Jesus gave them this answer: Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Matthew 4:1-3.
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.
He gave up His divine power and knowledge as part of the God-head.
Matthew 26;53-54.
Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?
Mark 13:32.
But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
He gave up His reputation.
Philippians 2:7.
Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
1 Peter2:20
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.
He gave up His reputation.
Born in a stable.
Brought up in Nazareth.
Called a child of fornication.
Accused of been a Samaritan and demon-possessed.
Called Beelzebub the prince of demons.
Called a glutton and a wine bibber.
Called a law-breaker.
E. He gave up basic needs for the sake of ministry.
Matthew 8:18-20.
When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.
Jesus replied, Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
He gave up His life on the cross of Calvary.
John 10:17.
The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.
God still continues to give to us on a daily basis.
Romans 8:32.
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
1.True repentance is a gift of God.
The Lord offers us
this gift which cost Him everything.
Freedom from
the penalty of sin.
Freedom from
the power of sin.
Freedom from
the presence of sin.
1. True repentance is a gift of God.
Acts 11:18.
When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.
Acts 5:31.
Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Saviour, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.
2. Repentance follows Godly sorrow.
2 Corinthians 7:9-10.
Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance.
For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us.
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
2. Repentance follows Godly sorrow.
Psalm 51:1-5.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; So, you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
3. Humility is the foundation of repentance.
James 4:6-10.
God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Submit yourselves, then, to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
3. Humility is the foundation of repentance.
James 4:8-10.
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Humility is not about wealth, or position in society.
Pride is a problem with the entire human race.
Deuteronomy 8:1-3. (The Israelites were slaves)
Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.
Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
God can humble us if we are unwilling.
If we are not willing to humble ourselves the Lord has a way of getting our attention and that is by changing our circumstances for the worse.
Jeremiah 25:1-11.
The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. So, Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all those living in Jerusalem:
For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.
They said, Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made.
Then I will not harm you. But you did not listen to me, declares the Lord, and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.
Therefore, the Lord Almighty says this: Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, declares the Lord, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations.
Jeremiah 25:1-11.
I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years
God can humble us if we are unwilling.
The response of God’s people to Jeremiah’s prophecy was.
Jeremiah 26:10-11.
When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went up from the royal palace to the house of the Lord and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the Lord’s house.
Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, This man should be sentenced to death because he has prophesied against this city. You have heard it with your own ears!
God promises to act on our behalf if we humble ourselves.
2 Chronicles 7:13- 14.
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
God promises to act on our behalf if we humble ourselves.
I thank the Lord for all the rain we have had because a number of years ago we as a country prayed for rain.
The Lord spoke to me in a special way through Maryna’s devotional on Thursday about prayer and I had a really good time in His presence on Thursday morning.
God promises to act on our behalf if we humble ourselves.
On Friday night I started to adapt my ministry as the Lord spoke to me after reading Jeremiah 26.
Again early Saturday morning The Lord woke me up and continued to lay a burden on my heart for prayer and humbling ourselves before Him.
So this month of May I want to challenge us as a Church to make it a month of prayer and humbling ourselves before God.
How should we pray?
I started to think about this on Saturday morning and what came to mind was the fervent prayer of Elijah.
James 5:16-18.
Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.
Again, he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.
How should we pray?
We all too often remember the second part of this prayer but what about his prayer that it would not rain?
How many people would turn up for a national day of prayer to pray that it would not rain?
If two years of lockdowns and loss of business and income and deaths and even more years of corruption and theft in our country have not brought us to our knees then what will it take.
How should we pray?
People are very good at protesting and breaking and burning things, but how about some humility instead of this plague of entitlement that typifies our modern day society.
Churches that preach the “Feel good Gospel of Blessing and Prosperity” are filled but where truth is taught and people are called to “Repentance” the pews are empty.
Are we dependant on God?
Or are we independent, self-sufficient? Do we really need God or do we think that we can do it on our own?
There is a tendency to drift from the Lord in times of blessing and health and abundance. Prayer, if there was any, ceases because we don’t need anything from God, and that is the root of the problem.
We see pray as asking God to do things or to give us things instead of seeing prayer as a way to align ourselves with God’s will.
How should we pray?
Firstly let’s consider this question.
Would our brand of Christianity in South Africa cope or survive if we were in Ukraine?
We complaining about potholes, grass not been mowed, litter and load shedding etc but have you seen the pictures of Mariupol?
People come out to protest against vaccinations but aren't there plenty of other issues that are far more pressing?
Are we weeping for the blatant sin and immorality all around us, are our ears closed to the cry of the poor and needy, does the eternal damnation that awaits millions concern us, are we concerned about our own lack of hunger and thirst for righteousness?
How should we pray?
We live in a world in which we are hearing about rights all the time, today is a holiday for workers rights and we have human rights and women’s rights etc and now Christians are marching against vaccinations and Churches rights and children’s rights.
Maybe there is something wrong with me, but I don’t see any evidence that these actions have been birthed in prayer. They may seem like good ideas, but I wonder if they are God ideas.
When the Apostles were told to stop preaching did they organize a protest for freedom of speech?
No they prayed for boldness to preach the Gospel.
How should we pray?
Acts 4:18 &24 &29-31
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus….
On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them.
Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus. After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly
How should we pray?
Acts 4:33-35 & 40-42.
When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. Then he addressed the Sanhedrin:…
His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.
Humility was necessary for Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel 4:20-27.
The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth, with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the wild animals, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds.
Your Majesty, you are that tree! You have become great and strong; your greatness has grown until it reaches the sky, and your dominion extends to distant parts of the earth.
Humility was necessary for Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel 4:20-27.
Your Majesty saw a holy one, a messenger, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump, bound with iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, while its roots remain in the ground.
Humility was necessary for Nebuchadnezzar.
Daniel 4:20-27 (continued)
Let him be drenched with the dew of heaven; let him live with the wild animals, until seven times pass by for him.
This is the interpretation, Your Majesty, and this is the decree the Most High has issued against my lord the king: You will be driven away from people and will live with the wild animals; you will eat grass like the ox and be drenched with the dew of heaven.
Daniel 4:20-27.
Daniel 4:20-27.
Seven times will pass by for you until you acknowledge that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes. The command to leave the stump of the tree with its roots means that your kingdom will be restored to you when you acknowledge that Heaven rules.
Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.
3. Humility accompanies true repentance.
Job 42:5-6.
My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.
3. Humility accompanies true repentance.
Luke 15:21.
The son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
Beware of false humility.
Colossians 2:18-23.
Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you……
Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:
Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
Humility is not low self esteem.
The mistake is made that humility is having an inferiority complex or a low self esteem, but that is not so, even inferiority and self pity is used to get attention.
Jesus, God incarnate, humbled Himself and chose to put the interests and well being of others ahead of His own.
Philippians 2:3-5.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Humility is better than sacrifice.
Micah 6:6-8.
With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Humility is better than sacrifice.
Isaiah 66:1-6.
Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.
Where is the house you will build for me? Where will my resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things,
and so, they came into being? declares the Lord.
These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.
But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person,
and whoever offers a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incense
is like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations.
Humility.
Proverbs 15:33.
Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.
Proverbs 22:4.
Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.
The best way to humility is the way Christ chose: “Serve others”.
Mark 10:45.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…
Humility
is a
decision.
Colossians 3:12.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Romans12:16.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Humility is the foundation of repentance.
James 4:8-10.
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.