Following Through with Repentance

Did anyone sense God speaking to him or her this last Sunday when Pastor Tim spoke of "Repentance: the Hardest Part"? If so, what have you done about it? 

If you are just joining us we have discussing the theme “Lord Change Us.” In the first week of this series Pastor Rey encouraged us to “Look Up,” to look to God, the true source of change. The following week he outlined the formula for doing that: complete cooperation.

This past Sunday Pastor Tim continued the series with his talk: “Repentance: the hardest step.”  He told the story of the crippled man who had lain beside a pool for 38 years, hoping for a miracle, wishing for someone to help him into the pool, and that an angel would stir the water and he would be healed. Instead of an angel he met Jesus, who, when learning about the length of his infirmity, asked him: “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:1-14)

The man replied with an excuse, but it didn’t satisfy Jesus. He told him: “Get up, pick up your mat, and walk.” In other words: stop making excuses, leave your old life behind, and step out in faith towards God.

Pastor Tim related it this way: every one of us who doesn't change has an excuse, just as the man did on the mat. But, also like the man, we need to have a conversation with God, so that God can get at the real reason change is not happening in our lives.  

Perhaps many of you are like me and you sensed God speaking to you in this message. What was God calling you to do Sunday morning? And what have you done in response?

To me, the most fascinating aspect of this story is what the crippled man did after he was healed. He began to make excuses again! When he got in trouble with the Pharisees for carrying his mat, he replied: “I’m just doing it because the man who healed me told me to.”

The light of the miracle must have faded in the everyday pressure of 2^nd Temple Judaism.  He was healed, but he chose not to live differently. Jesus would not have it. He came back to him and fought against the crowds to reach and warn the man: “stop sinning, or something worse might happen to you.”

What did God reveal to you on Sunday? And have you followed through with repentance, or are you back to your old ways, leaving the back door open to old habits, old friends, and hidden stashes of the old way of life?