God Keeps His Promise to the Repentant

0:00In the shadow of your wings, I will abide forever, and hear my spirit sings, I will rejoice in you, my God. Welcome to in the shadow of your wings, with Pastor John Marins of the Grandby Christian Church. The Grandby Christian Church desires the loss to be saved, and the believer to passionately pursue Christ and all that they do. Let's join Pastor John Marins for today's message. Friends tonight, I want to share with you this wonderful truth. Not only does God keep his promises, but God keeps his promises to the repentant. Friends last week, we talked about this fact that in the eyes of God, and it should be in our eyes as well, a promise is a promise. And we need to know this about the promises of God.

1:03They have a purpose. Listen to 2 Peter 3, 8 and 9, but beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord's not slack, slow, delayed, concerning his promise as some men count slackness, but is long suffering. He's patient. He's forebearing toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So his patience is meant to lead us to repentance, and there are some tremendous promises that are associated with repentance that we want to talk about tonight. Shall we pray and ask God to help us? Father, we know that times in our life there's a need for drastic repentance. When we're committing sins and not even caring about the consequences of our sins, Father, bring us to our knees.

2:07Thank you for revival services where we've repented in the past. Thank you for sending morning services where we came forward and made things right. God help us to understand the importance of repentance tonight, but beyond repentance help us to understand that you do things for people. You promise to do things for people who are repentance. So God, in the midst of this broadcast, would you just show us things that you want us to repent of, and then help us to be faithful to do that. We're praying all this in the name of Jesus Christ who call for repentance at the very first part of His ministry. Amen. There was a tension in Isaac's home and a huge need for repentance. I think several people in Isaac's home need to repent. Jacob betrayed his brother. He saw bartering with him for his birthright and then outright stealing his blessing. You know, when Jesus realized all this was coming down around him, he began to weep, but then he began to plan the murder of his brother, Jacob.

3:13But aren't you glad that God worked in their lives in a powerful way toward the end of their lives, brought them together? In Genesis 33, 4, we read about them coming together and embracing one another and weeping. Sin separates repentance, unites. It brings reconciliation and it brings also some wonderful promises to those who will repent. Let's look at seven promises to those. The God makes to those who will repent. Here's the first I will hear from heaven. This promise comes from 2 Chronicles 7-14. But this idea of hearing from heaven is directed toward a group of people who are repenting. 2 Chronicles 7-14 says, if notes this condition, if my people which are called by my name, God isn't asking here. For the non-Christian, those outside the faith of Christ to repent, he's calling the church to repent.

4:14He says, if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and here it is, turn from their wicked ways. Then the promise is this, I'll hear from heaven. I remember counseling a young man one time and he said sometimes when I pray it just feels like there's no hearing of my prayers in heaven. It's like there's brass above my head. Well, the problem was he was living in morality. What did he need to do? He need to pray a prayer of repentance and get right with God. Then God would hear his prayer. It's promised. The repentant are heard by God in heaven when they pray. The second promise, I'll forgive their sins. If my people will turn from their wicked ways, I'll hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins. Why is it that some people expect God to forgive them when there's no repentance? God doesn't want us just to be sorry for our sins.

5:16God doesn't want us to cry about our sins and then do nothing. He wants us to repent. And if we will repent, He promises that He will forgive our sins. That burden of guilt will be removed and it will be removed instantaneously. I remember a time when I really got right with God and confessed some of the deepest sins of my life to another Christian who was calling upon me to repent. I remember the next morning waking up and looking at myself in the mirror and realizing that, Hey, I like that guy again. It wasn't being egotistical. It was just realizing that I've been forgiven. God had heard my prayer. Third promise, I'll heal their land. Do you want America healed? Do you want America to be the kind of place where you want to raise your kids and grandkids? Well, then we as the church must seek the face of God in humility. We must turn from our wicked ways. When we turn from our wicked ways, then God is able to heal our land.

6:17Again, there are so many people talking about the fact that the world needs to change and that we need to make more laws to help people to live correctly. So the church needs to repent. And as the church repents, God will work in power within the worship services and in the lives of those people attending church. And He will bring healing to our land through believers who are repented. Here's a fourth promise. I will cleanse them from all unrighteousness. This promise is found in 1 John, chapter 1, verses 5-9. Let me read it for you, would you? Next thing is the message which we've heard of Him and declared to you that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him in walk and darkness, we lie and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He's in the light, that's repentance. Turning from our old ways and starting to walk with Jesus, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

7:22Verse 8, if we say we have no sin, we deceive only ourselves. We deceive ourselves. And the truth is in us. But if we confess our sins, He is fable and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Here's the promise that God makes to the repentant. I will cleanse you from all of your unrighteousness. It's kind of like the difference between a dish that is in a dishwasher that hasn't been run yet and then in a dish that's in the dishwasher after it's been run, it's clean. It's sterilized. Here's a fifth promise. I will not remember their sins. Jeremiah 31, 34, And they shall teach no more every man, his neighbor, and every man, his brother, saying, no, the Lord, or they shall know me from the least of them, even to the greatest of them. Say, the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin.

8:24No more. Jeremiah is talking about a tremendous time of repentance, renewal and revival. And in that atmosphere of repentance, God promises that He's not going to remember our sins. You say, God knows everything. How could He not remember our sins because He chooses not to remember our sins? In fact, the Scripture says, though, your sins be a scarlet, they shall be wide as snow, though they're red as crimsome, they shall become like wool. And He's able to separate us from our sins as far as the East is from the West. Isn't He able also to choose not to remember our sins and not to hold them against us anymore? I will not remember their sins. I will remember their sins no more. Fifth promise made to the repentance, the truly repentance. I will work all things together for good. Listen to Romans 8, 28, we know that all things work together for good. To them that love God and those who love God are going to be obeying God. To them that are called according to His purpose, that means listing to the voice of Jesus when He says repent.

9:30We know that God works all things together for good. Remember there was a time in Joseph's life where he said to his brothers, you meant it for evil, as a slave to Egypt, God meant it for good. Can't God take all the difficult things in our life, all the problems in our life, all the past sins in our life which are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ and then turn it together for good? Absolutely. Here's the seventh and last promise. And I will sanctify them for use for every good purpose. Listen to 2 Timothy 2, 21. If, therefore, a man purges himself from these and his listed sins already, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified. In other words, if you've gotten right with God and repented, purging yourself from sin, crying out and confessing your sins, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use and prepared unto every good work.

10:33And I used to teach them things incorrectly, all the things incorrectly. China, as we grow and mature and as we ask for forgiveness, as we change, as we repent ourselves, we come to the understanding, you know, that I was teaching things incorrectly and I need to repent. And I want to teach it correctly from now on. I used to teach in them that there were certain sins that you could commit. They would disqualify you from service, but what does the Scripture say? He will be prepared if he cleanses himself and purges himself by the blood of Jesus, prepared unto every good work, every good work that God wants you to do. He will work through you if you will repent. He promises us. Now let's talk about some applications as we close. First application, an essential part of repentance of our sins is the confession of our sins, first John 1.9, if we confess our sins. Remember that? He faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanses from all unrighteousness. If we mess up, we need to fess up and get washed up.

11:35So repentance has to be a company with confession. It's an essential part if we're going to experience the promises of God. Another application, when God gives us a miracle, let's draw near to Him in deeper repentance. In deeper repentance of anything that needs to be repented of Matthew 11-20, then Jesus began to abrade the cities where most of His mighty works, His miracles were done, because they didn't repent. When God gives you a miracle, one of the reasons He gives you a miracle is so that you'll understand His awesome power and come to a reverence of Him which causes you to repent. Again, when God gives us a miracle, let's draw near to Him in deeper repentance if needed. Another application. Let's back up our words of repentance with works consistent with repentance. Acts chapter 26, verse 20, Paul there declares to those in Damascus that in Jerusalem throughout all the region of Judea

12:40and also to the Gentiles that they should repent and turn to God performing deeds and keeping with their repentance. Friends, God doesn't separate faith and works, men do, but God doesn't. We're saved by grace through faith, but genuine faith genuinely works. And if we're saying we're repentant without being consistent and really seeking to work out our salvation, then that repentance isn't real. Real repentance is life changing. We choose by God's grace to do things differently. In one final admonition, let's repent and follow through with the gospel of Christian baptism. Remember when Peter was praying to God in the upper room and the Holy Spirit came down upon them and He began to speak in tongues and then to preach? It says in Acts 238 that He preached this.

13:41Now ask what the people that were listening to Him that were under conviction needed to do. He said, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. And you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost for the promises to you and your children who are hauled or are far off as many as the Lord our God shall call. Let's repent and be baptized. We don't baptize unrepentant people. We don't baptize unbelievers, but when a person repents they need to come to Jesus Christ in faith and obedience. They need to be baptized, shall we pray? God, we thank you so much for the power to repent and we thank you so much for the promises that you make to us when we do repent. So give us grace as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ to confess our sins, repent of our sins and experience the wondrous grace that you give to us as we do. Father, we want to be good with this. So help us to be pure in all that we say and do.

14:41And to repent whenever we fail you in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to In the Shadow of Your Wings with Pastor John Marins of the Granby Christian Church. If you don't have a church home, they would like to invite you to join them this Sunday for Morning Worship at 1045. The church is located at 969 Granby Miners Road in Granby, Missouri. Have a blessed weekend and remember to abide in the shadow of His Wings. I will rejoice in you, my God, in the shadow of your ways. Amen.