Sunday, January 26, 2020 - U- TURN
Pastor Roger C. Marcos
January 26, 2020
Worship is an act of love. It is a demonstration of love. We serve God and we worship God each Sunday when we gather together to sing his praises and listen to his word, but there is so much more to worship than that. WORSHIP IS A JOY NOT A TASK.
24 I told you that you would Die in your Sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” John 8:24 NIV
Now when we talk about making a U-Turn we’re talking about the biblical concept of repentance.
REPENTANCE = TO CHANGE THE MIND. Is necessary and valuable because it brings about change of mind being a person to hate sin and Love God.
Two Words For Repent
- Metamelomai- “After Care” Remorse or Regret.
- Metanoeo-“After Knowledge” A Change of mind that Include
REGRET- RESOLVE- REFORM- RESTORE
8 For even if that letter of mine made you sad, I am not sorry I wrote it. I could have been sorry when I saw that it made you sad for a while. 9 But now I am happy-not because I made you sad, but because your sadness made you change your ways. That sadness was used by God, and so we caused you no harm. 10 For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation-and there is no regret in that! But sadness that is merely human causes death. 2 Cor. 7:8-10
1. FROM UNBELIEF TO FAITH. No one is going to make a U-Turn with their life until they see the need for it. When I’m driving my car down the road, I’m not going to make a U-Turn until I recognize that I’ve been driving the wrong way.
If you need a move of God in your life today, and it hasn’t come to pass, one thing could be stopping it. Maybe you’ve been needing healing in your body for a long time, or you’re facing a financial challenge so big, you don’t know how you’ll overcome it. You’ve likely prayed about your situation again and again, but the passage of time may have left you wondering-Why hasn’t it come to pass?
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon: 14 When they returned to the crowd, a man came to Jesus, knelt before him, 15 and said, “Sir, have mercy on my son! He is an epileptic and has such terrible attacks that he often falls in the fire or into water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”
17 Jesus answered, “How unbelieving and wrong you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here to me!” 18 Jesus gave a command to the demon, and it went out of the boy, and at that very moment he was healed.
19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked him, “Why couldn't we drive the demon out?”
Whenever we ask why we aren’t seeing His miracle-working power, Jesus answers back, “Because of Your Unbelief” Mat. 17:20, KJV
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
It can be tough to hear, but it is unbelief, not the will of God, that is the cause of so much defeat in the lives of believers. It’s not that we don’t want to believe, for the most part; it’s that we haven’t learned how to overcome the tiniest bit of unbelief that resides in our hearts. Often, we don’t even know it’s there until we take a closer look.
That was likely the case in Jesus’ own hometown where “he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” Mat. 13:54-58, KJV
What is unbelief?
Unbelief is believing something other than what God has said about a situation. You can believe Jesus was raised from the dead, you can believe He is your Lord, you can believe He is coming soon, but if you don’t believe and do what He says, you are operating in unbelief. You can believe in Him, but still not believe what He says. The Bible calls this an evil heart-a hardened heart (Hebrews 3:12). And a heart of unbelief grieves God.
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
Why is belief so important? Because “If you can believe, all things are possible” (Mark 9:23, NKJV).
And that’s where God wants us to live-in the realm of what is possible through Him, and Him alone. That’s what sets believers apart from a lost and dying world.
Today, you may feel like the man with the demon-possessed child who had cried out to the Lord for help when he said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Mark 9:24, NKJV
24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
If you desire to be a man or woman who believes in the promises of God without wavering, you can keep the weeds of doubt out of your garden by putting into action these
way to overcome unbelief.
- Knowing God’s Will. Ignorance is the devil’s playground. He knows if he can keep you from knowing all that belongs to you, he has you. A lack of knowledge results in unbelief-and the devil is right there to take advantage-telling you you’re sick, broke, depressed and a failure.
Let’s look at it this way - pretend that the non-Christian’s life is like a person traveling with no roadmap that thinks they are headed in the right direction. But somewhere along the line things aren’t looking like they should - they thought they were headed out to the country, but the further they drive the more tall buildings they see. They pull into a convenience store, buy a map, and realize they’ve been headed the wrong direction, so they turn around and start driving the right way.
Now let’s apply that to our spiritual lives - I can be going down the road of life, living in complete disobedience to God, but until I see a spiritual road map and begin to believe in Christ, I’m going to keep going in the wrong direction. Jesus tells us we have two options:
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” - Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)
I will choose the narrow gate when I’ve been convinced that my life is headed the wrong direction, and I will be convinced I’m headed in the wrong direction when I begin to place my faith in Jesus Christ.
24 I told you that you would Die in your Sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins.” John 8:24 NIV
2. FROM LIVING FOR SELF TO LIVING FOR GOD.
Now let’s get back in our car for a minute and pretend that we’ve realized we are headed the wrong direction, stopped and bought a map that tells us the right way to go, but when we get out on the road we start heading the wrong direction again.
We know the right way, but we’ve decided to go the wrong way anyway. This is a real problem that many of us face - we’ve had an initial act of repentance, but quickly begun to live a life of sin all over again. And while we need to recognize we are not saved by doing good works, we are expected to live in obedience to God, and obedience to God is demonstrated when we continue following His directives for our lives.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. - Romans 6:11 (ESV)
When I repent I am saying to God, “I am not just turning from my old way of life, I am killing it off and burying it; the old man is out the door.” Because until I do that I’m not going to be empowered to live for God’s glory.
“Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” - Matthew 3:8 (NLT)
In other words, there is going to be some evidence of change in my life that will stand as proof positive that I am a child of God. Are there going to be times of weakness when I give in and need to repent again? Sure! But if I’m serious about this those times will become less and less frequent. When I make a U-Turn with my life I am turning away from dishonesty, from lust, from jealousy, from greed, and from all the things that were taking me away from God. Because until I allow God to help me remove those things from my life, I will not be able to live in obedience to Him.
3. FROM SEPARATION TO SALVATION.
Now back to my car trip again - I can choose to keep going the direction I’m going and not make the U-Turn that God requires. God gives me the ability and the choice to turn toward Him or away from Him. But I need to understand that He will not only honor that choice in the here and now, but that He will honor it for all of eternity. If I never repent and turn to God, I will never be in a relationship with Him; in fact, He promises me that I will go down the road of eternal destruction.
“I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:5 (ESV)
There it is, in black and white - no fluff, no brushing past it, no looking the other way. Jesus says plain and simple that I can choose for him and receive salvation, or choose against Him and continue down the path of separation forever. “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” - Acts 17:30-31 (ESV)
There is a judgment coming, and those who have repented and turned their lives over to God will be with Him for eternity, and those who do not will be judged unfit for the kingdom of God. Now look at what God is offering - none of it is something that you wouldn’t want to have. He offers us a clean slate, all sin removed from our lives, all guilt taken away, joy, peace, security, eternal life, hope, and blessings a thousand fold. There is nothing He wants to give us that is unpleasant or that will harm us in any way. He just asks that we acknowledge that His way is the best way, and that we place our trust in Him instead of in ourselves.
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” - Acts 3:19-20a (ESV)
I don’t know about you, but those “times of refreshing” are something that I sorely need in this world, and I can’t find it anywhere else. I need, and you need, to turn our lives over to God and let Him be in control.
Conclusion:
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19-20a (ESV)
Belief- A Change of Mind
Repentance- A Change of Lifestyle
Confession- A Change of Allegiance
Baptism- A Change of Relationship