Sermon – “RE”

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all[h] who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”[h]), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself.

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. 9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

18 Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy. 19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our[g] sins Into the depths of the sea.

17 Indeed it was for my own peace That I had great bitterness; But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

28 For this is My blood of the new[c] covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

17 “Yet now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. 18 But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. 19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, 20 and that He may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before,[a] 21 whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.

So you got my sermon title up there. Yes. Re anybody figured out. Ready to Eat well one quite where I was going with it and the other guesses. All right. And this past week in my voice. Last week I seen a little short video clip and there was an elderly elderly gentleman at a soup kitchen sudden over to table all by myself that it was getting late and evening is ready to go and there was a guy there with his wife it’s all been there going to start cleaning up for a while. Time to close the doors. So he goes over and he’s going to tell the really tell him it’s it’s time to go but he looks down. He’s got a game of Scrabble well. So the he says I want to play well he says we got a few minutes. So he sits down here with him so he makes a word and he puts down like the word new. Well the old guy puts and he gets like twenty points for the old dome and he puts our in front a new puts redo and he gets thirty points and he’s like. You get thirty points for two letters. So then he put. He puts another word down the old guy puts no Ari in front of it like he put fresh down the guy put our in front of it refresh it again it gets more points he goes is that all you have is or is a he says that’s all God’s got he gives up he says God wants us to receive his son. God wants to reconcile man to in self. God wants to refresh us. God wants us to find refuge under his mighty wings. You know god’s up he’s in surround little bit. He wants to regenerate us. He wants us to find remission for our sin. He wants to Renu a right spirit in us. He wants us to repent. He wants us to read he wants to restore us. He wants us to enjoy the resurrection. He wants us to receive the rewarded he has prepared for us. He wants to redeem us from our sins he wants us to respect him. That’s just a few there’s many more look in the back of the book and if you have a concordance and look at all. The reason there. God is in the Rebbe is nuts. He wants to really us. He wants to help us. Re to be refreshed he wants us to do all these things. So if you may not pick up on it that was a whole lot of words this is going to be more than a one part sermon probably going to be maybe several weeks I don’t want to get too carried away get old. But I’m probably going to use in some of these three words for the next couple weeks after today. God is good. Amen. Holly. I want to begin with redeem before I begin let us pray. Father God we thank you and praise you by we thank you that you sent Jesus our Redeemer. We thank you Father God that you want to renew is we thank you Father for your spirit you sent to be with us to encourage us to strengthen us to help us to draw you son to yourself and Father God I just sank if your Spirit is present every day in our lives and I praise your spirit be present today Father God open our hearts to receive the word that you have force and father got anything that is not of you let it be go on. While I just pray that you’d receive the glory any honor and again to Sankey for what you’re going to do through your word and through your presence in Jesus’ name amen. I want to begin with the Scripture from Romans Chapter three verses one thousand through twenty six hear the word of the Lord. Now we know that whatever the law all says it says to those who are under the law all. That every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God Therefore this is a very important verse therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Friends the law is good the law does have a place. It has a place in our lives. It helps guide us it helps lead us in the path of righteousness. But by that. Lall not one person will be say not one person will be justified in his sight by keeping the law. But now the righteousness of God. Apart from the law is revealed being witnessed by the law and prophets. Even the right to secede God through faith in Jesus Christ to all in or in all who believe for there is no difference for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God being justified freely by His grace through the redemption. There is that reword redeemed redemption. That is in Christ Jesus whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood through faith to demonstrate his right to snus because in his forebears God had passed over the sins that were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time his righteousness that he might be just and the justifier the one who has faith in Jesus. He is just and he is the justifier he did it. It’s not what we do it’s what he did. So redeem redemption Redeemer it’s all the same right. That means to pay the required required price to secure one’s release to secure the release of a convicted criminal. That’s what redeem means or redemption. The word is often used in a by. To provide a dynamic description of God’s saving activity towards mankind. He redeemed us from our sin. You know if you that how many had history in school right. OK if you had history in school. Many of us learned that in many of our southern states and their long long ago history. They had slave blocks all these slave blocks are places where human beings were sold to the highest bidder. You know many years ago we used to go to the auction the Koran action with my uncle Richard and you go down to these car auctions and they have all the cars out in his huge parking lot and you go out and you wander through the cars and you look at the car you think you might want to buy and you go around it you examine it. You look at it you look inside you look under the hood. You can even drive the car into cars marked on the windshield. What lane it’s going to go through because many of them have four and five lanes for cars to go through. So whenever that car goes through you’ve got to be in there and everybody gathers around that car and guess who gets to buy it. The highest bidder gets to buy that car right. So if you want to buy that car. You’ve got to be there is the auctioneer is gone and starts with the price you know you put your hand up here I want to know you know I want to do this kind of nerve racking. I think but anyway. But that’s what you can do you can go down there you go and you can examine that car you can look at it you can drive it you test it. But the highest bidder gets to buy that car. So think of these slave blocks and I think it was the same way they probably had the slaves out there lined up in the bars could come by and they could poke a make a profit they could squeeze Are all this is a strong one where you know they can look and see that they do pretty healthy How do they look at their teeth. Yeah they can look at all these things to consider whether or not they want to buy it at slave. Now it is said that many times that they would even the sellers before they would take their slaves to auction they would take and get their medical. Needs taken care of. They would want them to be as healthy as possible. They would even sometimes force them to exercise to build muscle tone because they want to good strong say slave to be sold in auction block. They would oftentimes even bomb a nice new set of clothes why because they want to get the most money possible out at Slate where the story is told down in the city of New Orleans one day there were some slaves on the auction block and there was a very attractive Negro girl about seventeen or eighteen years of age she had been taken from her parents and forced into slavery which understandably made her very bitter or she was put up on the blocks and of course again as it always goes the highest bidder received the reward for getting his life by a slave. So she was being turned over to the highest bidder. She defiantly said to him. Well what are you going to do with me. He said I’m going to give you your freedom. He hands her her papers of emancipation imagine her shock. She’s all the fine but this man freed or he set her free friends is this not of a wonderful example of what God did for us. He set us free. We are bought with a price. He set us free from our debt. You know our sinned it sin that mankind has you know it’s not just can’t. So God didn’t decide I’m just going to cancel all that dead. No it is fully paid. It is paid Christ’s blood and life which he surrendered for us on our behalf. Our ransom. That is how we have been delivered. Delivered from the sins that abound us held us captive. His. Debt paid our penal consequences. It has secured our freedom. Just like that man secured her freedom that day on a slave. It is the plain doctrine of Scripture that Christ saves us. Neither by the mere exercise of power that he has nor by his doctrine. Not by his example not by his moral influence upon the world. Not by the subjective influence on his people rather be natural or spiritual. But as a satisfaction to divine justice as an explicit nation for our sins a ransom for our sins a ransom from the curse of sin. He set us free. Galatians three thirteen fourteen. I need to look this one up because I count how to mix up in my. Scripture this week. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law having become a curse for us for it is written Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles and Christ Jesus that we might receive the promise of the spear through faith through faith Christ has redeemed us set us free. The next word. Should say words repent and remission I kind of put these two together because they go together. There are three Greek words used in the New Testament to describe repentance or repent. The very first word is meant to my Loma it is used to describe ha. Change of mind such as to produce regret in our minds or even remorse. Want to count a sin or wrong that we have done but it does not necessarily mean that there is a change of heart. The word is used in reference to the repentance of Judas in Matthew twenty seven three through five. It says Then Judas has betrayer saying that he had been condemned see and he saw that Jesus had been condemned was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priest and elders saying I have sinned by betraying innocent blood and they said What is that to us. You see to it. Then he threw down the pieces of silver in a temple when he parted and went out and hanged himself. I think Judas had a change of mind he knew in his mind he saw that Jesus had been condemned he saw that what he did not bring about the results they thought it would bring. But I think he only had a change of mind. He may have felt some guilt in his mind for what he did. That’s why I went out hanged himself but friends I truly believe with all my heart. That if Judas would have truly had a change of heart. If that connection between the mind and heart would have worked if he had change of heart. I truly believe that he would and bow down and said Lord for did me forgive me for have sinned against you. Ah believe that God would have forgave him. I believe that because I know your God the second word is metalhead know which means to change one’s mind and purpose as a result of knowledge. This is a Greek word used in Matthew three one one three two says in those days. John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. In Matthew force. Seventeen Jesus says and from that time Jesus began to preach and say repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. So you see the word but tanto is delivered different from the first word is still not quite that full mind heart transition. But it reveals knowledge knowledge is given to the mind it reveals that there is an urgency to repent. A why we should repent repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. So we ought to repent. I mean if he was speaking in that day we need to repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. We surely should be preaching that today. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand because his coming is surely closer today than it was then so repentance is a process. It can be a process yes sometimes there are those that I mean it strikes them they repent their completely remorseful their hearts change all once but sometimes it is a process we go through. Repentance means that I own responsibility for my part in what was a sinful behavior. Is when I accept responsibility for my part in what is and what will be a new behavior. It’s repentance is own responsibility for what was expects the accepting responsibility for what is and acting responsible now it is responsible action. It is not a matter of punishing ourselves for our past mistakes. It’s not hating ourselves for past failures. It’s not becoming depressed over these feelings of worthlessness that we might have. Repentance is the finishing and unfinished business of my past and choosing to live a new responsible life. Not repeating their own sinful nature. Then the third word is motto. Yeah but Tonia this is the description use ensure repentance is a change of mind. A change of purpose and life. This is used. In we do this we find true remission of sins. The term was consistently used in the litter to express the fundamental change that leads to a fundamental change in our behavior in our way of living and second Corinthians seven eight through eleven. Now this is the Message Bible I’m not sure. Yes you are right I’m a had a difficult time getting my stuff right. This week when a Senate coming from The Message Bible and I love the way this is worded it says I know I distressed you greatly with my letter. Although I felt awful at the time I don’t feel all that bad. Now that I see how it turned out the letter upset you but only for a while now I am glad. Not that you were upset but that you were jarred into turning things around color like that. It jarred you into turning things around you let the distress bring you to God not drive you from him. The result was all gain no loss the stress that drives us to God Does that it turns us around it gets us back in the way of salvation. We never regret the kind that kind of pain. But those who let distress drive them away from God or full of regrets end up on death beds of regrets. And now isn’t it wonderful. All the ways in which this distress has go to you closer to God your more alive. Your more concern. Morse. Sensitive more reverent more human more passionate more responsible. Look at it from any angle. You’ve come out of this with purity of heart. That is true repentance. When we come out of it with purity of heart. Nono said that repentance and remission goes together and it does because once a person truly repents they receive remission of their sins. Remission is a related word it means forgiveness the remission of sins is simply the forgiveness of sins true forgiveness. The King James version used the expression remissions of sins to mean released from the guilt or penalty of sin. Now I know everyone might say yes I know that I’m I know that I’m forgiving. I know that but your admission means that you’re completely release from the guilt of sin. I don’t want you to raise your hand. But you want to I don’t care how many here is ever struggled with guilt. Yes. Struggle with guilt. Yes even after of accepting Christ struggle with guilt I at the minute I have. That’s what I said downstairs and you remind notes. Yeah there’s been times I’ve struggled with guilt. But we don’t have to. We have been absolutely release from the guilt of sin. We have been forgiven. We don’t have to struggle with it. What we need to do if we’re struggling with it is we need to take authority over the one it’s tricky not into thinking that our sins were so bad we couldn’t be forgiven. Take authority over it. We should meditate on the Scriptures. Micah seven eighteen nineteen who is a God like you pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgress. Of the remnant of his heritage. He does not retain his anger forever because he did lights in mercy our God the lights in mercy church he did lights in it he will again have compassion on us. He will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the see how a Lou you are your sins have been cast into the depths of the say. Why are you still suffering with guilty guilty miss you know many years ago we was on vacation down it for Ginia beach and. I had the car keys in my pocket. And more out playing in the ocean as when I was younger. You serrata ways even without a board but was in little boards we had a boogie board. So I was rotten a ways even without that course and we have many ways one plan around there. Guess who lost the case. I would. I lost the case. Guess what did I find I’m. No and I’m just right there are longest sure playing around those keys were lost forever gone. So maybe what we ought to do if we have some sense that we’re dealing with that we feel guilty over write them down. Just go to the ocean drop them in there you’ll never find them again they’re gone. It says he cast them into the depths of the sea. Whilst mine was sure. So that’s a good clue of how far they are when they’re in the depths of the sea never to be found again. Friends don’t be guilty don’t suffer with the guilt. You are released from it. Amen amen. How about another one as I say it. Thirty eight seventeen. Indeed it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness but you have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption for you have cast all my sins behind your back. No I know that if I say what’s behind you right now you can say well there’s pews there’s a red door there’s you know you’re familiar with this area but if I told you and take you to someplace you’ve never been for and say Now I want you to tell me what’s behind you. You’re not going to be able to do it because you don’t have eyes and you can’t see what’s behind you. God cast our sins behind him he doesn’t look at them. I know he can see back there but that’s an illustrator he does not look at them they’re cast away. Psalms one of the three eleven and twelve for the heavens are high above the earth so great is his mercy toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the West so far has he removed our transgressions from us. I cannot say it any other way. I mean there’s three scriptures write them down. Meditate on one on him. If you’re suffering with guilt like a seven eighteen in one thousand Isaiah thirty eight seventeen some one hundred three eleven and twelve. We have been released from our sins when we have repented of our sins and receive remission of our sins. Matthew twenty six twenty eight says for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins for the forgiveness of sins yes thank you Lord. Lastly. Re Store. The Biblical meaning of the word restore is to receive back more than has been lost. Hallelujah. To receive back more than has been lost to the point that the final state is greater than the original condition. Soames twenty three three says he restored my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake in Acts three seventeen through twenty one. This is now brother and I know that you did it in. Ignorance as did also your rulers. But those things which God For told by the mouth of all his prophets that the christ would suffer. He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out. So that times. Here’s another reword times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. And that he may send Jesus Christ who was preached to you before whom heaven must receive until the time of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of his holy prophets since the world began. I found an article by a woman named Brenda Thomas and she says this about the restoration power of God. Whatever the enemy has tried to take away from you. God wants to restore it. God wants to make it better than before. That’s the kind of father he is every day we have choices put before us. We can be tempted to get hurt wounded or depressed. We can complain and remain in this same old awful condition where we can praise God and raise up raise him up one of the first things that the enemy will try to steal from us is our joy. He wants to get a SAD. He wants to make a sorrowful he wants us to be oppressed and depressed. Remember what it was like when you first saved. There was joy unspeakable then by Remember when your first savior like how it was so excited because I’ve been forgiven. Reza years ago by Sometimes we tend to lose that joy. God doesn’t want us to lose that joy he never wants us to lose that joy. Nehemiah eight ten tells us the joy of the Lord is your strength. It is important for Christians to have joy in their life. If you don’t have joy you don’t have the strength. The joy of the Lord is my strength doing at the. Devil steal your joy. Don’t stay in the valley of despair and depression don’t allow a people say to control you you control your own destiny. Everyone might not be thrilled with you but God is the God of courageous you loves you he is through he is through with you. He is fine with you. When I think of restoration. I go back to cars again. I’ve seen pictures of some old cars at some people’s taken and restored. Now. Some young people may not know it but sometimes the older cars actually had a solid metal frame and. Yeah. It’s got snow on the Today they got unit bodies. But the old cars had a big old metal frame and you can on both the body the car and take it all the way off the nerves a big metal frame with the tires in the dry shift and the engine you know of the chassis you can add that. So I’ve seen guys it’s taken away cars in a strip the body all the way off of it. They take in the engine out of it. I know one guy in particular did this with a truck. And he took that for a most of the time when you bought it would buy a new car even back then you know the frame didn’t have the same quality of pain wanted that the outer body did you might just have like a flat black want to but I’ve seen these guys take them completely apart. Sandblast the frame put all new bushings in suspension and all that on there but they would even take that frame and they would prime and paint it with nice shiny glossy black paint or whatever color just shiny and good looking is the outside of the car the body then they would rebuild the engine and probably give it more horsepower they might change it to fuel injection instead of the carburetor. If you know what that means. They would take the old brake shoes off and put disparate and rotors on there they would put the body back on air many times the interior was even better. The new so that car when they were done that extensive restoration. Sometimes it may take months or even years but it was usually better than the new condition of that car its stop quicker. It would run faster because it had more horsepower. It was more comfortable to ride than the older before it was restored the final condition is better than the original condition. I want to read from Isaiah sixty one one through eight again this is the Message Bible. It doesn’t even have that one. OK. And this is what God does for us the Spirit of God The master is on me because God anointed me. He sent me to preach the good news to the poor heal the broken hearted announce freedom to all captives pardon all prisoners. God sent me to announce the year of his grace a celebration of God’s destruction of our enemies and to comfort all who mourn to care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion give them became days of roses instead of ashes. You see this what’s God wants to do for us give us roses instead of asses messages of joy. Instead of news of doom. Appraising heart instead of a languid spirit renamed them oaks of righteousness planted by God to display his glory. They’ll rebuild the old ruins raise a new city out of the wreckage. That’s what God can do with our lives. He can raise up our lives out of the old wreckage and make us new Reno us Re Store us Amen. They’ll start over on the ruined cities take the rubble left behind and make it new God can do that with us. Amen. You are outsiders who heard your flocks and foreigners to work your fields but you’ll have the title priest. If God honored as ministers of our God. You will feast on the beauty of nations. You will based in their glory. Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your fair share of contempt your inheritance of the law in the land will be doubled in your joy go on forever. Because I God love fair love fair dealing in hate thievery and crime. I’ll pay your wages on time and in full and establish my turn a covenant with you I said downstairs that we can sometimes say yes this is the Oracle God because verse say eight said because I God love fair dealing in I hate thievery and crime. I can say today thus saith the Lord he hates thievery and crime. And he loves dealing fairly with his people. I can say that because His Word says that thus saith the Lord we can tell that criminal or that the God hates thievery. I can say that truthfully because his Word declares it. His Word tells us that thus saith the Lord and He will deal with them. We need to repent and turn from that I thank God for the restoration that he brings in our lives when we surrender to him when we repent and receive remission of our sins. I thank him. Thank him for helping us overcome the things that bind us the things that trap us that he sets us free. And I can assure you. Today because of the restoration that our final being will be better than anything we’ve ever known. And I’m not saying it will happen here on a server. But I know when we are resurrected. We will be stronger than we’ve ever been. Or minds will be sharper. Then they’ve ever been. Or joy will be greater than it ever has been the final restoration will be better than anything we have ever seen or emagine because that’s who or God is he wants to restore some make us better. He wants to restore it better than we have ever even known. Before because that’s who our God is He is the God that likes to re us restore us refresh and renew us Amen.