Previously on EXCEPT YE REPENT – BIBLE STUDY SERMON

Matthew 3:8 (Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.)

Repentance is the joy of heaven. The angels of God rejoice over a single soul that repents. Repentance is the loss of hell when another soul is snatched from the dominion of darkness and added to the population of heaven.

Satan is working against this message. He has replaced it with other messages that have no negative impact on his kingdom but instead help to populate it.

Satan will not oppose you for establishing a church organization, but he will fight the moment your message begins to affect his kingdom negatively.

Repentance means turning away from your evil ways and bearing fruit worthy of repentance. If you are a thief, stop stealing. Stop fornicating. Stop backbiting. Stop participating in witchcraft. The life of a sinner who truly repents is worth more in the sight of God than thousands of stars and galaxies. It is the transformation of the soul that brings a sinner into sonship with Christ.

A rich sinner who has not repented is not worthy of heaven. Riches may mean that one has received his good things in this world, while eternity holds the opposite. Worldly glory ends in this life, but repentance lifts a person above the glory of this world and counts him among the redeemed.

There are many unrepentant pastors and leaders directing church affairs. Church titles are not signs of repentance. You can be a deacon or deaconess and still bear the mark of hell. There are many unrepentant sinners preaching to others. If the message you preach has no impact on your own life, how do you expect it to affect others?

Any message that does not bring repentance is not from God. What He wants from mankind is repentance and reconciliation with Him. What is the value of riches if they do not change you from being wicked to being righteous?

Whatever message you receive that does not bring you closer to God is counterfeit. If you die on a mountain while praying without repentance, you are still a sinner whose destination is hell.

How many sinners are praying on mountains for God to remove their problems, but not the source of those problems, which is sin? They are trying to cut off the branches of a tree while leaving the root intact. But every tree that my heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. That is what happens when you surrender completely to Him.

Do not assume that because God answers your prayers, He is the Lord of your life. His lordship is connected to His saviourhood. If He cannot be your Lord, He will not be your Saviour.

I was once arguing with one of my Sunday school teachers when she said that if God answers the prayers of those who live worldly lives, then God is not interested in holiness, and that we can live however we please since He answers prayers anyway.

I told her that if God answers your prayer, it does not necessarily mean you are in His favour. He answers because He respects His name, but He honours His Word even more than His name. It is those who honour His Word who truly honour Him.

If God answers the prayers of those who do not honour Him, it is to demonstrate His supremacy over His universe. God is the God of all flesh, and nothing is too difficult for Him. There are many people whose prayers God answered on earth, yet they still ended up in hell after death. Do not let Satan deceive you.

Which is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” or “Arise and walk”? If you arise and walk while your sins remain unforgiven, you are still a sinner awaiting divine judgment, even though you have been healed.

This is where many people miss it. If God answers their prayers and lifts them out of poverty, it does not mean their names are written in the Book of Life. Jesus said, “Do not rejoice because demons are subject to you in My name, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

Judas preached and cast out devils. He experienced the miraculous power of Jesus Christ, yet he retained the nature of a child of the devil and ended up in destruction.

Repentance means being born again. The things you used to do, you do no more. The company you used to keep, you separate yourself from. The places you used to go no longer interest you. Your life changes from being centred on the world to being centred on Christ.

This is a spiritual experience that no one can fully explain. Only the Spirit understands what is taking place in the spiritual realm. You become attracted to the things of God even while living in this world. If reading the Bible is unpleasant to you, if you prefer worldly music to gospel music, and if your soul is more attached to worldly companions than to the fellowship of the saints, then brother or sister, you are yet to repent.

The Word of God has not yet pierced to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit in your life. You have not yet experienced the circumcision of the heart that produces a positive transformation.

Satan gives without requiring repentance. Whatever he gives without repentance is intended to advance his kingdom on earth.

A woman once went to a man of God and requested a position in government. The man of God granted her request. Later, when she was appointed as a minister of the republic, the first thing she did was siphon public funds into private accounts.

Had she experienced genuine repentance before being exalted to such a high position, she would have used that office for the glory of God rather than bringing shame to the body of Christ.

An unrepentant heart placed her in a dangerous situation. That is why God seeks to change your heart before He changes your life.

Prayer: Father lord touch the heart of all your children and bring them to live a life of repentance to the glory of your name, in Jesus name, amen