When You See
Foundation Statement: This area of repentance plays a huge role in three things in
life: (1) Your prosperity (2) Your protection (3) The degree that you are used
by God (If you are interested in prospering, if you are interested in being
protected, and if you want to be used by God, you better get interested in
repentance)
I.
Is it important that you
walk in the light that the Lord gives you?
A. If the Lord gives you
light and you don’t walk in it to you it’s sin-James 4:17
1.
The
Lord gave this guy light on something and this guy knows what is right
a. He sees to do good
because the Lord showed it to him, but seeing it he doesn’t do it and walk in
it
2.
To
him who saw it, it is sin – To him who had light on it, to him it is sin
a. If he doesn’t walk in the
light of what he knows is right, then to him it is sin
B. Many times the Lord has
given people light and they see it and they know they are not walking in it and
rather than confessing and forsaking it they try to cover their sin and hide
it-Proverbs 28:13
1.
If
you are covering your sin that means you see and know that you are wrong,
elsewise you wouldn’t be trying to cover it
2.
The
danger is if you continue not walking in the light that the Lord has given you
and if you don’t confess it and forsake it and repent you will not prosper, you
will not get mercy, but you will perish and be destroyed and you didn’t have to
be
3.
Proverbs
29:1-If you continue down this path you can get to the place where God himself
can’t help you and there is no remedy for situation
II.
Seeing you’re wrong and
not repenting is the most serious thing a Christian can do and it’s the thing
that grieves God the most
A. Matthew 21:28-32-When you
see, it is vital that you repent
1.
28-30-The
Father gave both of his sons light and they both knew what was right and what
was good by telling them to go work in his vineyard
a. The first one said no and
that he wasn’t going to walk in the light that he had but he saw that was
wrong, he knew in his heart that was wrong and afterward he repented
b. The second one said he
would go, but didn’t go; He has light, he knows what was right, he sees that he
is wrong and he did not repent
1)
He
probably covered and didn’t confess (I was going to, but I got busy and I got a
life etc.)
2.
29-His
Father said go and he said no; That’s not good, but it didn’t keep him from
being used and prospering and advancing because afterward he repented
a. 30-His Father said go and
he said yes, but didn’t go and didn’t repent and it affected his life
3.
31-So
when you’re wrong the will of God is that you repent and change
a. Not only was it the will
of the Father that they go work in the vineyard, but it is the will of the
Father that when you see you are wrong that you repent and change
4.
32-Their
problem is after they saw that they were wrong, they didn’t repent; it wasn’t
just that they didn’t believe it was after
they saw the truth they wouldn’t repent and believe
a. The lives of crooks and prostitutes were being changed and it
was clear to them that John was of the truth and of God and they knew they were
wrong but they wouldn’t repent
b. In their heart they knew John was of the truth and was of
God, but they closed their eyes and pretended like they didn’t know
1)
You’re acting like you
don’t know that God said that to you
c. Why did the publicans and harlots prosper and advance and
have a higher place in the Kingdom than them? It wasn’t because they had lived
more “holy” lives or sinned less.
It was because when they got light, WHEN THEY SAW that they were wrong
they repented and changed.
B. This becomes an issue of the highest order: You see that you
are wrong, but you won’t repent (you won’t acknowledge it is wrong and change)
1.
This
WILL bring destruction, peril into your life; this will disqualify you and keep
you from being used of God; this is the place where there is no remedy for you
and the destruction that’s coming will not be avoided if you don’t repent-2
Peter 3:9, Proverbs 29:1, 2 Timothy 2:24
2.
You got people losing
their place, their grace, their assignments and anointing because of a refusal
to repent; they didn’t lose those things because of ugly sin, they lost them
because they wouldn’t repent
C. One of the best things you
can do as a Christian, one of the most prudent things you can do as a
Christian, that will foster and further and advance your prosperity and your
usefulness to God is that when you see that you are wrong, when you get light
you repent, you change
1.
John
13:5-10-When Peter saw he was wrong, he repented
a. 3-5-Jesus has light from
the Father, got light from the Father and he knows why he’s doing this
b. 6-People in authority
over you, you do not question like this; This is irreverent
c. 7-Peter doesn’t have light
about what’s going on here
d. 8-Jesus wants to wash his
feet, Peter said no; that’s not good; You don’t tell somebody in authority over
you what they are going to do or what they are not going to do or what they
need to do
e. 8-When Peter got a little
light and saw he was wrong afterward he repented
2.
Peter
denied Jesus three times, but the moment he got light and saw he repented-Luke
22:54-62
a. When the Lord turned and
looked upon Peter and gave Peter light he repented
1)
Peter
denied Jesus and according to Jesus is set to be denied by Jesus before the
Father-Matthew 10:33
b. Mark 16:7-Go tell my
disciples and Peter; it wasn’t that Peter wasn’t one of his disciples it was
that he wanted Peter know son I’m not done with you and you might of missed it
and denied me and certainly that’s not a good thing, but when you saw, when you
get light, you repented and you have a meek and humble heart and you’re
coachable and I’m not looking for perfection and looking for this quality
you’ve displayed
c. Who did God use on the
day of Pentecost to preach the first message of the NT church? Peter preached
and 3,000 people got saved. In Acts
3, the first miracle of the NT Church, who did God
use? He used Peter