Full On Repentance // Overboard with Jesus, Part 6

A Different Perspective Official Podcast

As politically incorrect, unpopular and old fashioned things go, the subject of repentance would have to be right up there near the top of the list. Repentance? What the blazes does that mean anyhow? Who even talks that way anymore these days? Give me a break!

When I come across a subject like repentance (and I'll explain what I think that word means in a moment) I tend to think about how I viewed religious jargon before I became a Christian. I remember some nutter standing on a milk crate in the local mall waving a Bible in one hand and shouting, "repent, repent" and thinking to myself, "yeah right, now there's a message the world wants to hear, idiot."

I was driving a pretty expensive car back in those days, living in a luxury house, pursuing a business career. Life was, on the surface at least, pretty darn good. So who needs repentance? Ever felt yourself thinking along those lines? The problem is that left to our own devices we have a tendency of making a hash out of our own lives.

Now the average born again atheist would take issue with that, the average born again atheist out there is thinking to themselves, "here they go again these religious nutters telling us that we're no good, telling us that we can't make it on our own" and to be completely honest with you, that’s how I used to think.

I thought of myself as smart and successful and I was driven to work hard and to achieve so the message of repent, which I guess most people associate with turning away from sin, (boy there's another incredibly unpopular concept these days – sin).that message was not something that I was ready to hear. How about you?

We're smack bang in the middle of a series of messages at the moment called Overboard with Jesus. It's kind of based around that pretty well known story of Peter getting out of the boat on the Sea of Tiberias in the middle of a storm, Matthew chapter 14 verses 22 to 33:

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the crowds and after he had dismissed the crowds he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came he was there alone but by this time the boat, battered by waves, was far from the land for the wind was against them and early in the morning he came walking towards them on the sea.

But when the disciples saw him on the sea they were terrified saying 'it's a ghost' and they cried out in fear but immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, 'take heart it is I, do not be afraid'. Peter answered him, 'Lord if it's you command me to come out to you on the water'. He said 'come.

So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water and came towards Jesus but when he noticed the strong wind he became frightened and beginning to sink he cried out 'Lord save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him saying to him 'you of little faith, why did you doubt?' When they got into the boat the wind ceased and those in the boat worshipped him saying 'truly you are the Son of God.

It's a pretty remarkable story and I love Peter's heart. So intent was he on following Jesus that he was prepared to follow Him out of the boat onto the water in the middle of a deadly raging storm and with all my heart I believe that that's the sort of follower that Jesus is looking for today, not a lukewarm, namby pamby, pew warming, middle of the road, my life doesn't count for much type of Christian but someone who's prepared to get out of the boat in the storm even though they may sink to follow Jesus wherever He may lead.

Someone who's prepared to be all in, full on for Jesus. and today and for the rest of the week I want to chat about a few practical real ways that we can do that, be all in, be full on for Jesus. The first way is in this area of repentance. See Jesus had a way(He still does in fact) of cutting through all the nonsense and self-delusion and getting right to the heart of an issue. In His famous Sermon on the Mount He said this:

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew chapter 5 verse 3.

In other words, blessed are those who recognise their spiritual poverty, blessed are those who stop deluding themselves and think that life is all good, that they're successful and comfortable and they don't need anything else. You see that's what pride does, it stops us from recognising what's really going on in our lives.

It stops us from admitting to ourselves let alone to others the spiritual poverty that lies deep within, the spiritual poverty that leads us off in the wrong direction until the emptiness of life, the burdens of life, the consequences of a life chasing after the mirage, the illusion of comfort and success and material things, so deeply afflicts us that words can't describe what it is we feel.

I see it all the time. Can I say I see it in people who don't have any faith at all and tragically I see it in people who profess a faith in Jesus, who warm the pews of a Church each Sunday, who sings the songs, pray the prayers and go through the motions?

Listen to me, whether religious or not, whether professing a faith in Jesus or not we can be beset and afflicted by a deep spiritual poverty that we just won't admit to ourselves because we've invested so much time and energy chasing the things we've been chasing after, getting to this desperate place in life that we're just too proud to admit that we got it wrong and that has consequences.

So how do you turn that around? Well interestingly that's exactly what the word repentance means, to turn things around, to admit that you got it wrong but there's an important element that's required to take that measure. Have a listen to this, 2 Chronicles chapter 7 verses 13 and 14:

When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain or I command the locusts to devour the land or send pestilence among the people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, praise, seek my face and turn from their wicked ways then I will hear them from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

See that element that's required is humility. It's being prepared to get real with ourselves and go back to God and admit to Him and ourselves that our ways, our rebellion, our stupidity, well because frankly that's what it is, simply haven't worked. And God's promise to us, and you read it over and over again in the Bible, is that when we turn around away from our wicked ways, when we seek His face, He'll listen, He'll forgive, He'll heal and He'll bless. Plain and simple. 1 John chapter 1 verse 19:

If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves, that the truth is not in us but if we confess our sins He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

You see the alternative of that is the status quo and over twenty years ago now I came to the realisation that the status quo simply wasn't an option. How about you? How's your life going? Are you perhaps one of those people who kind of believes in Jesus but, well somehow it's not going so well for you? Then there's every chance that the reason for that is that you're holding something back from God, some sin, some rebellion, something in your life that you haven't given over to Him.

Remember, 'blessed are the poor in spirit', the ones who admit their sin and their poverty to God for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. It's time to get Overboard with Jesus in the storm, just like Peter did. It's time to stop pussy footing around with our faith and get real and live a life that's all out for Jesus and that starts with being honest, with admitting, with turning away from that sin that's been plundering our lives and turning back to Jesus. Acts chapter 3 verses 19 and 20:

Repent therefore and turn to God so that your sins may be wiped out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.

So, how about it?