Okay, let's go to Acts chapter
2. Acts chapter 2. We're going to
pick up where we left off with verse 37. Acts 2 verse 37. It says, Now when they
heard, this is in italics. It means
the same thing. but it doesn't mean the same
thing. They'd been listening with their
ears, but this is when they heard. Big difference, isn't there?
True hearing is an issue of the heart. May God cause us now to
hear, and forever until he comes back. May God cause us to hear
with his heart. Lord, would you, if it caused
my heart to burn, my mind will burn. And false hearing is hearing
with the ear. That's what it is, hearing with
the ear. Somebody can say, well, I hear what you're saying. That's
not true hearing. True hearing is with the heart.
It says, now when they heard, how do you know that they really
heard? How do you know? It says they
were pricked in their heart. Pricked in their heart when they
heard. What did they hear? Verse 22 says, You men of Israel,
hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved
of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs which God
did by him in the midst of you, as you yourselves also know,
him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, you have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
Verse 32 says, This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we are
all witnesses. Verse 36, Therefore let all the
house of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same
Jesus whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Verse 37
says, Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart
and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and
brethren, what shall we do? What a question. That's a question
that God brings every one of His elect sinners to ask. Every one. What shall we do? Have you ever asked that question?
Have you ever asked that question? What shall we do? We've sinned
against God. God is holy. God is my judge. What shall we do? That's what
the rich young ruler asked the Lord. He said, what shall I do
that I might inherit eternal life? That's what the Philippian
jailer asked Paul and Silas. What must I do to be saved? Go
with me over to Luke chapter three. Luke chapter 3 verse 9, this
is John the Baptist speaking. He said, And now also the axe
is laid unto the root of the trees. Every tree thereof which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the
fire. And the people asked him, saying,
What shall we do then? What shall we do? That's the
question every sinner needs answered. What shall we do? Go back over
to Acts chapter 2. Acts 2 verse 37 says, Now when
they heard this, They were pricked in their heart and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what
shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Nothing,
you don't have to do anything. Now every one of us that has
a Bible, knows that I didn't quote that verse right. Is there some truth in what I
just said? I had to think about this for
a little while. There is some truth in what I
just said. The message of works is due and
the message of grace is done, right? I have no hand in salvation,
right? Totally of the Lord. But just listen to this. Is what
I just said what we believe and what the scripture teaches? The
answer is no. Are you shocked? Do you want
to quit? You want to leave Kingsport Sovereign Grace? Verse 37 says, now when they
heard this, they were pricked in their heart and said unto
Peter and to the rest of the apostles, men and brethren, what
shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, repent. Repent. The Lord will, and we're
going to put this on the internet. And I call on every sinner who
hears this message. to repent and be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. That's what Peter just said in
verse 38. What shall we do? Repent. Go with me to Matthew 4. Matthew 4 verse 17 says, From
that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent, for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. That's what God said. That is
what God preached. Go with me to Luke 24. Luke 24 verse 46 says, Our Lord
said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to
suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations beginning at Jerusalem, and you are witnesses of these
things." Now, what do you think I'm supposed to preach? You don't have to do anything.
Well, there's some truth in that. The Lord God said preach repentance
and the remission of sins. And that's what Peter just preached
in Acts chapter 2. Turn back over to Acts chapter
2. Verse 38 says, Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized, every one of
you, in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now let's start
with repentance. Alright? The importance of it. Repentance is important because
God said so. What other reason do we need?
God said to do it. He said, repent for the kingdom
of heaven is at hand. Look at Acts chapter 3 verse
19. It says, repent ye therefore and
be converted that your sins may be blotted out. when the times
of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. That
sounds pretty vital, doesn't it? And to say, well, I know
that that's what God wrote, but that's not what God means. That's
not true. God wrote what he means. God
wrote what he means. He means it in context, and this
is why we're turning, turning, turning to see it in the context
of scripture. But God wrote what he means. repent that your sins may be
blotted out. Go with me to 2nd Corinthians
chapter 7. 2nd Corinthians 7 verse 10 says,
For godly sorrow, and that's sorrow over sin. Godly sorrow
worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of. That means
that salvation won't be taken back. But the sorrow of the world
worketh death. Repentance to salvation. And
again, who's saying all this? Gabe Stoniker or God? Repentance is vital and repentance
is wonderful. It puts a smile on my face. You
do not have to frown, grit your teeth, and close your fist when
you say it. You know that? Go with me to Luke 15. This is
truly enjoyable. Luke 15, look at verse 7. I say unto you that likewise
joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than
over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. Repentance
is a joyful thing. It's one of the most joyful things
I know of, and we're going to see why in just a minute. We've
always viewed it as a hard thing. You know, you have to say all
the good things to God's people and to the world, you just scream,
repent. It's actually one of the most
enjoyable things I know of. This matter of preaching and
salvation. is something that the Lord said
the angels desire to look into. They're all looking down at this
world. They are not all knowing like
God is. They do not know what's going
to happen the next day like God does. They're in the same boat
we are and they're watching these things take place. And they see one rebel against
God who will not bow the knee to God and hates God. All of
a sudden they watch his path get crossed with a messenger
of truth. And then that man sits down and
the message is preached. And the man is just struck by
it. And the man goes home and he
opens a word to see if these things are so. And the man is
struck by it and he cries, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
And all the angels erupt with joy over one sinner that repented. God saved another one. Isn't
he good? One more going to be with us
forever. It's a joyful thing. Now, what
is repentance? Go with me to Acts chapter five. Acts chapter 5 verse 31 says,
Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a prince and
a savior for to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sins. The first thing to know about
repentance is, it is a gift. That's the first thing. It's
a gift for to give repentance. Look at Acts chapter 11. Acts 11 verse 18 says, When they
heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God,
saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance
unto life. It's a gift that God gives unto
life. That's a pretty joyful thing,
isn't it? I adore repentance. Go with me to Romans chapter
2. Verse 4 says, or despisest thou the riches
of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing
that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Repentance is something God leads
a sinner to. Through the riches of his goodness,
and the riches of his forbearance and the riches of his long-sufferingness. What is repentance? Go with me
over to 2 Timothy 2. 2nd Timothy 2 verse 24 says the
servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all
men apt to teach patient in meekness, instructing those that oppose
themselves. If God peradventure will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. That's what repentance is. Repentance
means a changed mind. The acknowledging of the truth. Now, you don't have to turn.
Everybody knows this. Just listen to me as I read Ephesians chapter
2. It says, And you hath he quickened who
were dead in trespasses and sins? Wherein in time past you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation
in times past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh and of the mind. And were by nature the children
of wrath, even as others, but God changed your mind. That's what happened. That's
what happened. God changed my mind. How did he do that? He quickened
us. What he did is he changed our
heart. That's what he did. He took out that old stony heart
and he squeezed it in his hand until he broke it. And then he
put in a heart flash. He quickened us. Those men came
to Peter and they said, what shall we do? Peter didn't say,
just keep on believing that you're God. And salvation is in your
hands. And Jesus is just a man who came
and he technically does live in heaven and he should be able
to put in a good word for you and hopefully everything will
work out all right. He didn't say that, did he? He said, first
thing, You need to have a changed mind about God. That's the first
thing. You must. So it's a work then,
right? No. We just read four verses
of scripture that said it's a gift. It's a gift. This man, Jesus
of Nazareth, whom you crucified, he's been raised up. He's seated
on his throne. He's your Lord. He's your Christ. What does that mean? It means
he's your God. Men and brethren. What shall
we do? Here's the answer. Bow the knee
to Jesus Christ, our God. That's repentance. That's what
we're by the grace of God going to do. Lord, forgive me for my
sin. Here's why. He said, I came not
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Now go back to Acts chapter two
with me. Verse 38 says, then Peter said
unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and you shall receive
the gift of the Holy Ghost. Now, what exactly is he saying?
Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins. Look at Luke 24 one more time.
Go back over to Luke 24. Verse 47 says, and that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Remission means I looked it up
in the concordance and this is what it means. Freedom. It means
freedom. Preach this changed mind about
God and preach freedom from sin. That's what you preach. How does
this freedom from sin come? Immersion into Christ. That's how it comes. Let's go
back over to Acts chapter 2. Verse 38 says, Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized. Baptized means immersed. That's what the word means. Be
immersed, every one of you, in the name. In the name. The angel told Mary, Call his
name Jesus. Why? It's because he shall save
his people from their sins. His name means Savior. That's what the name means. Be
immersed, every one of you, in the Savior for the remission
of sins. There is only one way. It's to be immersed in him. It's to be immersed in his body,
immersed in his blood. All the work must be in him. All the hope must be in him. Is Peter exhorting them to get
in water? Yes. Why? It's our confession of a
changed mind. That's why. It's our confession. It's acknowledgement of the gift
that he has given. That's what it is. God said,
go and tell how great things the Lord hath done for you. It's
confession of his goodness and confession of his forbearance
and confession of his long suffering kindness. It's confession that
he's freed me from my sin. That's all it is. And this is
what he said. If thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. Men and
brethren, what shall we do? Let's bow the knee to God and
totally, completely, wholeheartedly believe on and believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, immerse us in the Savior. Immerse us in the Savior. That's
what we need. All right, let's stand together.