Repentance, Saying, "Yes," to God

That was a pretty long 10-minute break, wasn't it? You know, the food was just too good to pass up. At least for me it was. But we do need to go ahead with our second presentation. The first one that we had today showed the Kingdom of God as the solution to this world's problems. And we do need solutions. Many Bible prophecies paint a beautiful and inspiring picture, as we saw in the first presentation today. We know that this deeply troubled world is going to change drastically. God's Kingdom is coming, and frankly, the sooner, the better. And in Matthew 6, verse 9, Christ set us an example, told us to pray, and we should be praying daily for the return of Jesus Christ and the establishment of God's Kingdom. We should pray that God's Kingdom come soon. So, again, let's ask ourselves, who's going to be in that Kingdom? And how can we prepare to enter God's Kingdom? In Acts 2, verse 37, and this took place on the day of Pentecost in 31 AD, most likely 30 or 31 AD, now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart. Peter had been preaching about Jesus Christ, about the fact that Christ was the Messiah, and that they had crucified Christ. And so when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what shall we do? So they asked themselves, knowing that surely there must be something they had to do. What must we do? So that's the question we need to ask ourselves. At this point, and at this juncture, what is it God expects us to do? Again, we've gone through Mark 1, 14, and 15, where Christ came to Galilee preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and saying the time is fulfilled, the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent, and believe in the Gospel. We've gone through in detail what Christ said in the first part of these two verses. Now we want to focus on the repent. What does it mean to repent? And actually, next time, when we give our fourth Kingdom of God seminar, we'll talk about what it means to believe in the Gospel. But now we're going to talk about what it means to repent. Repentance is critical for us to understand and for us to be doing in our lives.

It is a key part of the message of the Kingdom of God. What exactly, again, is repentance.

Christ came to preach and to say, repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. John the Baptist came saying, repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. It is a consistent message throughout the Bible in the Old Testament and the New Testament.

We do need to repent, and repentance is key if we are going to be in God's Kingdom. So ask yourself, have you truly repented? Again, you have to understand what it means to repent.

How do you know that you've repented? In 2 Corinthians 13, verse 5, Paul says we are to examine ourselves to see whether or not we're in the faith. We need to continually ask ourselves, are we in the faith? We need to test ourselves. And he said, do you not realize that Christ is in you? Now he's talking about someone who is converted, someone who has the Spirit of God dwelling in them. He says, do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you unless, of course, you fail the test? If you don't do what you're supposed to do, if you're not in the faith, then Christ isn't living in you.

So we have to ask ourselves, are we passing the test? Are we in a repentant frame in mind? Because, again, repentance is key. And before we go to Jeremiah 17, verse 9 here, let's consider a few verses again in Matthew chapter 3 where we just read. To continue on in those verses, in verse 5, then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan went out to him to Christ and they were baptized, I'm sorry, they went to John the Baptist and they were baptized by him in the Jordan River confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and the Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, brood of vipers, he called them snakes, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come. Therefore, since you're here, bear fruits worthy of repentance. And do not think to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Now obviously, it's talking symbolically here about the way we live our lives. If we don't live righteous, godly lives, then we're going to be buried, we'll be burying bad fruit, evil fruit, and so we'll be cut down and thrown into the lake of fire.

So that's a very clear message that we should get from this account here in Matthew chapter 3. And these are powerful words to be thrown into the fire. If we are to flee from the wrath to come, we must repent. And repentance must be demonstrated by what the Bible calls fruit, which refers to clear and visible evidence of repentance. We had some fruit out here and still have some on the table. Fruit has size, it has shape, it has color, it has flavor. In fact, we like it. It tastes good. It's all very real and tangible. It's not to be mistaken. If you eat a pineapple, it tastes like a pineapple. Or if you eat an orange, it tastes like an orange. And the result of not bearing good fruit, as it says here, is to be cut down and thrown into the fire. So this tells us that we must prove by the way we live that we have repented of our sins and turned to God. So there should be some tangible signs that you have repented of your sins. There are certain things that you must be doing to show that you have repented. And if you're not doing those things, then that shows you have not repented. You haven't changed, you haven't turned from your life. Your former life of disobedience to God. So again, what about you? Have you repented? Let's go back here. Go back to where we were and consider Jeremiah 17 verse 9. It says, the heart is deceitful above all things. It's talking about the human heart, your heart. My heart is deceitful above all things. Satan is deceitful. He tries to deceive the whole world, and he tries to to get to our hearts because our hearts are deceitful. And they're desperately wicked. And the question is asked, who can know who can know your own heart? You know, frankly, God knows you a whole lot better than you know yourself. And you have to look to God for guidance and direction because your hearts are deceitful. They're desperately wicked. You can't really know them on your own. Only through God's guidance and direction and his spirit can you come to see yourself as you really need to see yourself. And only when you see yourself will you truly repent. Now in Romans chapter 3, the Apostle Paul says that there is none righteous, no not one. This is his observation. He's actually quoting from the Old Testament. There is none righteous, no not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside. There is none who seeks. They've all turned aside. There is none who does good, no not one. Now in the fullest sense, in the flesh, we're not good because this flesh is carnal. It's fleshly. The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God. It can't be subject to the law of God. So we have to walk in the spirit, not in the flesh. When we're walking in the flesh, then nothing good is happening. So there's none who does good, no not one. And the way of peace they have not known. So to be quite honest, every one of us is a sinner. Every one of us needs to repent. None of us come to the stature of Jesus Christ, who is perfect. Christ set the perfect example for us. We all fall short of that. And it says also that there is no fear of God before their eyes. And we see a world today that does not fear God. They are not a repentant people. They are not a righteous people. They have not turned to God. They do not know the way of peace. We must be different as God's people.

In Romans 3 verse 23, it clearly says that the wages of sin...

I'm sorry, it says all have sinned and all have fallen short of the glory of God. And then it says in Romans 6 23 that the wages of sin is death. So the fact is, what have you earned? And what have I earned? We've only earned death. That's what we've earned. That's the wages for the way we behaved and the way we've acted because we've all sinned. We've all fallen short of God's glory and the wages of sin is death. Thankfully, however, there's a second part to this verse, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. When we accept Christ as our Savior, when we fully accept Him as our Savior, and when we repent of our sins, then we may be given the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ who sacrificed Himself for us. But the fact is, we're all sinners and all must come to repentance. Otherwise, we will get what we deserve, which is death. So what I'd like to do now is talk about repentance and I'd like to go through six vital keys of repentance. Six vital keys. What is repentance? What does it mean?

How do we know that we repented? Let's consider the first vital key is to understand that repent means to change. Repent just doesn't mean to be sorry. In the mind, it means to change your actions. So in Acts 3.19, we read it before, repent therefore and be converted that your sins may be blotted out. So we have to change. We have to put sin out of our lives because repent means to change one's mind, first of all. First, we have to change our mind. If we're going to be able to change our behavior and our actions, we first have to work on the mind. Change the way we think. Our thoughts should become pure. Instead of the evil thoughts that we often have these days, we should start thinking in a more pure manner as time goes along. So we need to change our minds. That's what true repentance is all about. It's changing the way that we think. It's not thinking the old carnal way that we always thought. It's learning to put a governor on our thoughts and not allow ourselves to just go there and to continue to think the old ways. To repent means to change the way we think in our minds. To be converted, in the Greek it means to turn.

If you are converted, you are turning from something. I've used the example of a conversion ban. They convert it into something different. It's made a certain way, but then it becomes a conversion ban when it's changed or turned around to provide more comfort, a different service in terms of that particular conversion ban. It means to turn. It means to change direction. It means to change course. It means to go in another direction.

So ask yourself, have you repented? And are you converted? Are you going in a different direction than you did prior to coming to an understanding of God's way and God's truth? Or do you still have some changes that you need to make? See, that brings us to the second point. The first point, again, was realizing that repentance means to change. It means to turn from something to something else. It means to turn from our old way of doing things and our old way of thinking to a new and a better way. So the second point shows that repenting of just individual sins is, frankly, not enough. We have to repent of who we are. We have to repent of being a sinner. If we can't admit that we're a sinner, then we're not going to get anywhere. You have to see yourself well enough to admit that you are a sinner who needs repentance, who needs forgiveness, and your heart is deceitful above all things. It's desperately wicked. We need a change of heart.

In Romans 7, verse 21, in the New Century version of the Bible, Paul says, So I have learned this rule. Paul is writing this approximately 25 years after Christ was crucified. It was certainly long after Paul was struck down on the road to Damascus. It was after he had been converted. He says, So I have learned this rule. When I want to do good, evil is there with me. Perhaps you've noticed that yourself. You want to do what's wrong with you. You want to do what's right, but evil is there with me. In my mind, I am happy with God's law, but I see another law that works in my body, which makes war against the law that my mind accepts.

That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and it makes me its prisoner. It takes me captive. And so Paul says, What a miserable man I am who will save me from this body that brings me to death. This body of sin. What is going to change? And he gives the answer in verse 25, I thank God for saving me through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus Christ is the Messiah. He is the one that forgives our sins. We are saved by grace. We are not saved by keeping the law. We are saved by grace. So in my mind, I am a slave to God's law. But in my sinful self, I am a slave to the law of sin. Now we are to become slaves of God and no longer slaves of sin. We are servants to whom we obey. So it's talking about change. It's changing from the old ways of thinking and the old ways of doing things, to being different. Instead of being a slave to the law of sin, we need to become slaves to God's law, which in a proper way, it means to strive to obey God and keep his laws.

The law is holy and just and good, the Bible says. And yet religious leaders all around the world say the law has been done away. The law has been nailed to the cross.

Don't believe those lies. The law has not been done away. The law is still in effect. It is still binding for a Christian.

But we have to admit that we are sinners and that we have to change and we have to overcome. Now, a third vital key is to realize that not just sorrow or remorse, it's not just about sorrow or remorse. People can be sorry for things that they've done, but it doesn't mean they're going to change. It's like the drunk who comes home and beats up his wife says he's sorry, but he does it again the next week.

That's not repentance. That's not changing. That's continuing in this bad behavior that God says you can't walk that way. You have to change direction. You have to be different. So it's not just sorrow. It's not just being remorseful. It's actually doing something about these things. Now, in fact, I wanted to read what Paul says in the New Living Translation regarding what we just read about the way Paul was behaving. Many years after his conversion, he was still fighting this battle. He was still struggling with himself. The New Living Translation says, everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. So sin is breaking God's law and doing anything that is contrary to that law. And as Jesus Christ explained in the Sermon on the Mount, sin goes beyond just physical acts. He said that if we just look on a woman with lust for her, we have already committed adultery in our hearts. And that if we have anger and hatred for others in our hearts, if we consider them worthless, good for nothings, that isn't all that different from actually murdering them. We've murdered them in our hearts. So the New Living Translation in regards to 1 John 3, 4 says, everyone who sins is breaking God's law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. 1 John 3, 4 says, whoever commits sin transgresses the law, for sin is the transgression or the breaking of God's law.

Now Romans 8, verse 7 says, the carnal mind is enmity or hostile against God.

It hates God. It is opposed to God. It rejects God. So this goes against the grain of human philosophy and our own opinion about humanity or ourselves. We often think that we're okay, just as I am. God will accept you just as you are. In fact, there's a very popular song that goes that way, just as I am, without one plea and so forth. But the Bible says we need to change and not just stay the same. We should overcome. And then here's what I wanted to read from the New Living Translation regarding Romans chapter 7, verses 21 through 25, regarding the struggle that Paul went through. Paul said, I have discovered this principle of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. Now this doesn't mean he always did what was wrong. In fact, most of the time Paul did what was right. Most of the time he walked in righteousness, but there were times in his life when he felt this way that I do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart, but there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am. Oh, wretched man that I am, is what it says in New King James. Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God the answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is in my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature, I am a slave of sin. So there are times when we Christians feel that way. There are times when we feel that way. We know that we've let down, we've gotten away from God, we haven't done our part, there's been a distance between us, and so we sin against God, and we know what Paul's talking about. And also in 1 John 1 verse 8, it says here that if we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves. The New King James says if you say you have no sin, you are a liar, and the truth is not in you. So we have to admit that we're sinners if we're ever going to change. So the third point is repentance is not just about remorse or sorrow. It really is about changing. We must of course be sorry for the sins we've committed. We should be deeply remorseful, but that alone is not enough. In 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 10, Paul says for the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There is no regret for that kind of sorrow, but worldly sorrow which lacks repentance results in spiritual death. The Bible says that a drunkard is not going to inherit the kingdom of God. That's what the Bible says about someone who continues in that type of sin and doesn't repent. That's true of any sin. If we don't repent of our sins and if we continue in those sins without repentance. Repentance is a one-time thing. At baptism, when we repent, we receive God's Spirit, but it's an all-the-time thing from that point forward. It is a process of conversion. So we have to have a repentant mind. If we've sinned, then we have to go to God and pray for forgiveness. Then after we have to get up and start obeying God. If we fall again, then we get back up and we do what's right and we grow and we overcome. We see fruit. We see changes. If we're not changing, then we're not repenting. It is important that we see change because it's only the overcomers that God is going to grant to sit with him on his throne. All right, that leads us to the fourth point.

Repentance involves a change of mind accompanied by a change of life. So it starts in the mind, but it permeates our entire lives. We are to become lights to the world. We're to learn to love our enemies, Christ said. Okay, that permeates not just the mind, but the way we live, the way we treat people. So it is a change of mind and life. There was a scribe that came to Jesus Christ and asked him which is the first or most important commandment. You may remember that account.

Here in Mark 12, verse 33, this scribe says, man must love God with all of his heart, with all of his mind, and with all of his strength, and he must love his neighbor as he loves himself. Of course, that was Christ's teaching, and Jesus noticed how wise his answer was, and so he told him, you are not far from the kingdom of God. So we have to learn to love God with all of our heart, with all of our mind, with all of our strength, and we also need to learn to love our neighbor as ourself. When we do that, then we're not far from the kingdom of God, because those are the two great commandments. Love toward God, love toward our neighbor. That is a change of mind and a change of life. In Isaiah 55, it says, let the wicked leave their way of life. In other words, it says, leave it behind. Leave your wicked way of life behind. Change your way of thinking. Let them turn to the Lord our God, because he is merciful, and he is quick to forgive. So here we see we are to turn around. If we're going in the wrong direction, if we're sinning in a certain way, and it's ruining our lives, then we need to turn around and go the other direction. It is a change of mind and a change of life.

So repentance is more than changing a few things. It is a complete change of our lives. In Romans 6, verse 4, the Apostle Paul says, for we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.

Baptism is a symbol of being crucified with Christ. Going under the watery grave of baptism, we go under the watery grave, we've repented of our sins, we've accepted Christ as our Savior, and our sins are washed away in the waters of baptism. And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us because Christ died for us, and we've accepted Him as our Savior. And just as Christ was raised from the dead, when we come out of that watery grave, it's like a resurrection to a new life, a new creation. We are to be different. Now we also may live new lives, as it says here in Romans 6, verse 4. Again, it's about a change of mind and a change of life.

Leading to the fifth point, talking more about not just a change of direction, but a change of our purpose for living. Why are we here on the earth? What's really important to us? Why are we here and what makes us tick? Why are we living? What kind of vision do we have for the future? It is a change of direction, meaning, and purpose for our lives. So notice how the apostle Paul described the person who had repented and is truly trying to serve and obey God. Notice in Romans 12, verse 2 that we are not to be conformed to this world, but we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so that we can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. If we really want to do God's will, then we have to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We have to stop being like this world because this world isn't going in God's direction.

Therefore, once we do that, our minds are transformed and we can then prove what is good and acceptable to God. And then along with this change in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 17, here it says, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Again, the old way of living has passed away. Behold, all things have become new. We are new creations in Jesus Christ. So again, what does baptism symbolize? It represents the old person, the old self dying and going down into that watery grave to be buried. The old person is supposed to stay in the grave, dead and buried. A new person is to rise up out of that watery grave, a new creation, living a new life transformed by Christ living again within him or her by the power of God's Spirit. The old things, the old person have passed away. The new person now lives in his place. Now that leads us to a sixth and final point regarding repentance, a sixth key. And that is unconditional surrender to God. We must learn to unconditionally surrender. Now maybe you've heard the old saying, God is my co-pilot. Has anyone ever heard that? God is my co-pilot? But there's a corollary to that and it's this. If God is your co-pilot, then you need to change seats. Because if he's your co-pilot, you're in charge and he's supposed to be going along with you, but that's not how it works. If you have truly repented and turned to God, then you're no longer the pilot. He's the pilot now and you're more or less just along for the ride. Of course, it takes an ongoing effort on your part to yield to God and to allow him to rule your life. So we're talking now about a total unconditional surrender to God. Luke 14, verse 26, it says, if anyone comes to me but loves his father, mother, wife, children, brothers, or sisters, or even life more than me, he cannot be my follower. So ask yourself, is there anything that you love more than God and God's way of life?

If there is, then that has become an idol for you and you're actually breaking a commandment. So you have to put God first in your life. God must be first, or you cannot truly be God's follower. It is important, again, to put God first. It takes an unconditional surrender to God.

In verse 33, it says, in the same way, any of you who does not give up everything, everything that he has cannot be by disciple. So we must be willing to give up all, whatever it is God would ask of us. Certainly the old carnal ways, the evil ways, we're supposed to give those things up. But even some things that, for example, riches, for one thing, if God calls on us to give it up, we have to be willing to do that. There was a certain ruler who asked Christ in Luke chapter 18 verse 18 saying, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What do you want me to do? And Christ said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good, but one, and that is God. See, the fact of the matter is that Christ discerned that this ruler didn't really understand fully who he was talking to. He says, why are you calling me good? There's only one good, that's God. Now, Jesus Christ is God. He's the Son of God. So, Jesus Christ is good.

So, he was just making a point here that, you know, why are you calling me good? Do you realize who I am? Do you see who I am? Or do you just see me as a human being, as a teacher, a good teacher, but not your Lord and Master? And so, he says, why do you call me good? No one is good, but one, that is God. You know the commandments, and then he lists a number of the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Isn't that the seventh commandment? Out of the ten commandments, this is number seven. Do not murder, that's number six. Do not steal, number eight. Do not bear false witness, is number nine. Honor your father and your mother, number five. Now, he doesn't mention all of them.

He mentions some of them, mostly having to do with how you treat your neighbor, but he didn't go through all the commandments. Did he have to? Some people think, well, he had to go through all of them, or surely they can't all be in effect, but that's foolishness. He clearly showed he meant the ten commandments. He didn't read them all, but he clearly meant all of the ten commandments. And the man said, all these things I have kept from my youth. You know, this was a Jewish man. He was one who was keeping the Sabbath, for example. He was keeping the commandments. So when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, you still lack one thing, so all that you have, and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me. But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. This was a rich man. He didn't want to have to give up everything and follow Christ. So he became sorrowful. Instead of being happy to give it all up, he became sorrowful. Now we need to be willing to give up anything and everything that God requires of us. I remember I kind of struggled to make a living, to some degree. I did okay after I graduated from college, but it wasn't until I really started making a lot of money. That's when I got the call into the full-time ministry. That's when I was asked if I would be willing to go into the full-time ministry. I was frankly making more money 30 years ago than I am today. When I gave up that job, I was making more then. These are the kind of tough decisions that all of us must learn to make if we're going to follow God. Instead of going after riches, that's really not what this life is all about. Not this life following God. It's not about how many riches we can amass, but it's whether or not we're going to obey God.

So we have to make choices in our lives. So will you take the challenge from God and change your ways to follow His guidance and instruction rather than your own and the way of this world? Only you can answer that, but here's what God Himself says through the prophet Isaiah. He says this in Isaiah 55, verses 6 and 7. He says, Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He's near. God can still be found today, but I wonder how much longer it will be before God intervenes and the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord begins. And perhaps it will be too late to make certain changes that will help us escape the things that are coming. There are certain things that are coming. Luke 21 says, Watch you therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape the things that shall come to pass, things that will come upon the earth.

So it says, Seek God while He may be found. He can still be found today. There's still time. Let the wicked forsake His way. Let the unrighteous man forsake his thoughts. Let Him return to the Lord and He will have mercy on Him. Let Him return to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. So this is what we need to be doing right now. We need to be seeking the Lord. What should you be doing? Seeking the Lord with all of your heart, with all of your might, with all of your strength. Seeking Him with all that you have in you.

And then, again, answering the question, What should you do?

In Acts 2, verse 36, and we alluded to this already earlier today, but it says here, So let everyone in Israel know for certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, to be both Lord and Master. These are Peter's words on the day of Pentecost. 31 A.D. when the New Testament church was beginning, he says, You crucified your Lord and Master, the Messiah. And Peter's words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, brothers, What should we do?

And, of course, we know the answer. What should you do? Peter replied, Repent and be baptized. So if you're not yet baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, then you're not fully a child of God.

God's Spirit is to dwell in you. So some of you who are younger, you know, God's leading you in that direction. As you get older, you'll need to make that commitment, need to make that decision. And God will expect you to do that. Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. If you're older, then you might ask yourself, What am I waiting on? You know, Why am I putting this thing off for years and years and years?

What am I waiting on? It's, you know, no one is too old to be baptized. I've known of people that have been baptized in their 80s. There's probably been people baptized in their 90s. You know, if God calls you late in life, if you come to repentance, you accept Christ as your Savior, it doesn't matter your age.

It's time to act. Peter said to them, Change your hearts and lives and be baptized. So that's what people need to do. They need to repent of their sins. They need to be baptized. They need to become a part of God's family. God does have a family. It says in Colossians 1 13, God has freed us from the power of darkness. Satan is the power of darkness. He freed us from Satan's power and he's brought us into the kingdom of his dear son. In a sense, we're already citizens of God's kingdom if we are baptized and converted.

If we have God's Spirit dwelling in us, then we are already children of God awaiting Christ's return. We are to be ambassadors for Christ today. The Son paid for our sins and in him we have forgiveness. We've already been forgiven our sins if we've accepted Christ and repented. So we are to walk worthy, as it says here in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 12.

We are to produce fruit. Fruit of God's Holy Spirit, love and joy and peace and patience and long suffering, goodness and gentleness and faithfulness and self-discipline, self-control. That's how we walk worthy of God who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. So we are to walk worthy. We are to change our lives. We are to be different. So what are we to repent of?

What are we supposed to do? Repent of what? Repent of sin. Sin is the transgression of the law. Now we have some booklets at our table here that you're welcome to take with you as you leave. If you don't already have them, perhaps you already have all the booklets, but clearly sin is the transgression of the law and the Ten Commandments summarize God's law, the moral code that God wants us to live by.

So the Ten Commandments explain to us about what sin is, about each of the Ten Commandments, and not just the letter of the law but the spirit of God's law. Of course, one of those commandments is the fourth one, remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. And in Hebrews it also says that we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together as we see the day approaching. God says you should be here, not just once in a great while, but we meet here every Sabbath.

Now we're here every Sabbath at 1 30 unless something unusual is happening. This is where we are at 1 30 here in this area. So you're welcome to come back every Sabbath fellowship with us. Let God talk to you and speak to you. Remember the Sabbath day, keep it holy from sunset to sunset. This is the seventh day Sabbath. That's why we're meeting here today. We don't meet on Sunday because that's not the day God sanctified and set apart.

God sanctified and set apart the seventh day, not the first day of the week, but the seventh day. And yet most people who are considered Christians keep Sunday. Today is the day that we are to be observing and we are to be transforming our lives.

If you haven't read the booklet on the process of conversion, transforming your life, you really need to get that booklet and read it as well. Transforming your life, the process of conversion. And as Peter said, repent and be baptized every one of you. Coming in our next Kingdom of God seminar, we're going to talk about what it means to believe the gospel.

He said to repent and believe the gospel. If we truly believe the gospel, then we will learn to walk in faith. And we need to be people of faith. People who have faith, not fear, not the wrong kind of fear, not people who fear man, people who have the proper fear of God, who truly have faith and believe in the gospel.

Christ is coming back as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That's going to be his title. So who are the kings and priests that he's going to be king over? Who are the lords that he will be lord over? He's talking about the saints, the people of God, the firstfruits of God who are being called now. They are to rule and reign with Christ, as we saw earlier, for a thousand years on earth.

So now is the time God is calling you. You know, you're here for a reason today. God wants you to respond and not continue to let these words fall on deaf ears. If we don't do anything with them, we have become a hearer of the law, not a doer of the law. The book of James talks about the importance of being a doer of the law, not a hearer only.

So if we want to be in God's kingdom, then we do have to change our thinking. We have to change the course and direction of our lives. We have to learn to do those things that are pleasing to God. Then we'll see God's kingdom in the future, that glorious kingdom that we heard about today in the first session. So will you be there? Will you be a part of God's kingdom? Remember, Isaiah said, seek God while he may be found. Call upon him while he may be near, while he is near. And thankfully, we don't have to do this alone. We do have God Almighty to help us. And his desire is to save us. So if he's calling you now, and why would you be here? If he wasn't, if he's calling you now, then he will help you in every way to succeed. So you needn't fear anything because God will give you the victory. Christ paid the penalty for your sins. He paid the penalty for my sins. He wants to free us from that death penalty and open up the pathway to eternal life in his glorious kingdom. That pathway to life is the way of repentance. And here, too, the Father and Jesus Christ will help us to live the right way as we learn to submit our lives to him, as we learn to surrender to him. Moreover, God is preparing a people. He's preparing his church. In fact, the motto of the United Church of God is to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God to the world and also to prepare a people for the return of Christ. And here, too, the Father and Jesus are preparing a people for the return of Christ. So God is preparing a people who walk the path of repentance together. Again, we're not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. We need each other. We need to learn that the word of God expounded each Sabbath, and we need to have that fellowship and encouragement that we can have from one another. We are to strengthen and encourage God's lead together. So please think deeply on the things that we've covered today. Are you ready to live a transformed life? Christ said the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel. So in our next seminar in just a few months, we'll talk about what it means to truly believe in the gospel and to act on what that means.