Would you turn back to Acts chapter
11? Tonight, Lord willing, we're
going to look once again at the armor, not at the armor itself,
but why we are to put it on to stand. I've entitled the message
for tonight, Here I Stand. This morning I would like to
preach on repentance unto life. And let me say this, I'm not
only interested in us having the accurate definition of repentance. If it's no more than that, it's
really not doing us any good. I want us to repent. Repentance unto life. May the Lord grant us that. Now look at verse 18. When they heard these things,
they held their peace. Their objections were silenced. and glorified God, saying, then
hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. Repentance unto life. That was their conclusion. Now
look in verse one of this chapter, Now, we've considered Cornelius
and Peter's preaching to him and the gospel being open to
the Gentiles for the last couple of weeks. Now, look in chapter
11, verse 1, and the apostles and brethren
that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received
the word of God. News travels fast. In the church
at Jerusalem, they heard what had taken place with Cornelius. News travels fast. This was before
the internet. Still, news travels fast. And when Peter was come up to
Jerusalem, he left preaching to Cornelius. And when he's come
up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended
with him. They argued with him. disagreed
with him. Now, these were people who professed
to be believers, and I think they were, but they were still
caught up so much in circumcision, the way they had grown up. And
look what they said to him, thou wentest into men uncircumcised
and didst eat with them. Now, what they were doing at
this time was disagreeing with Peter. They said, Peter, you
were wrong in doing this. We don't agree with what you've
done. It was wrong for you to go into
the house of someone who is uncircumcised and preach to them. Now, Peter could have gotten
mad. That's the way I would have responded.
I know it. I'm doing what the Lord told
me to. The Lord impressed me to do this. I'm right and you're
wrong. That's the way I would respond.
I know myself. Peter might have thought, I'm an apostle. Who are you to tell me what to
do? Once again, that's probably the way I would have thought.
But Peter demonstrated such grace in the way he handled this. And
you and I can learn something from the way Peter handled this. He didn't correct them. He didn't
admonish them. He simply preached the gospel
to them once again, what God had taught him. Now, somebody
says, can a believer be this messed up like these Jewish believers
were? Well, sure they can, just like
you can, just like I can. Yes, a believer can be so wrong. And they were terribly wrong
in rebuking Peter for this. But look how Peter handled it.
Beginning in verse Four, but Peter rehearsed the matter from
the beginning and expounded it by order unto them saying, he
just giving back what God had given him. That's what gospel
preaching is, isn't it? He once again preached the gospel
to them. Verse five, I was in the city
of Joppa praying and in a trance, I saw a vision. A certain vessel
descended, as it had been a great sheet let down from heaven by
four corners, and it came even to me. This is what took place
in chapter 10. Upon the witch, when I had fastened
mine eyes, I considered, and saw four-footed beasts of the
earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice saying unto
me, Arise, Peter, slay, and eat. Now, these were animals that
the Old Testament forbid to eat. They were ungodly. clean. And God says, rise Peter, kill
and eat. Now that lets us know that the
whole Levitical system is gone. It's over. All these rules prescribed
in the Old Testament, they're over. They're gone. Anytime a
preacher tries to bring you under some kind of Old Testament law,
he's wrong as he can be. The Lord said to Peter, rise,
Peter, kill, and eat. But I said, not so, Lord, verse
eight. Nothing common or unclean hath
at any time entered into my mouth. Peter, as he does so often, says
something really stupid. He does at this time. But the
voice answered me again from heaven, what God hath cleansed,
that call not thou comet. And this was done three times,
and all were drawn up again into heaven. And behold, immediately
there were three men already come unto the house where I was,
sent from Caesarea unto me. These were the men Cornelius
had sent to him. Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubted. Moreover, these six brethren
accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house. I think
it's interesting that there are six brethren. You know, under
the law, you only had to have two to witness the truthfulness
of something, but here is six. And he showed us how he had seen
an angel, speaking of Cornelius, in his house, which stood and
said unto him, Send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose surname
is Peter, who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy
house shall be saved. Now that's so significant. They
weren't saved yet. They would not be saved until
they heard this message. People try to argue that Cornelius
was saved because of what the scripture says of him. You know,
he feared God and so on. Well, he went from Roman religion
of many gods to the Jewish religion of one God. He became a Jewish
proselyte, and he was very interested in the things of the Jews. He
gave money toward their temple. Well, you can say that about
a lot of religious people, can't you? A lot of people who don't
know the gospel. But Peter hears from him, you're
going to give us a message whereby we shall be saved. Verse Fifteen,
and as I began to speak, speaking these words by which they should
be saved, the Holy Ghost fell on them as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of
the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized you with water,
but you should be baptized with the Holy Ghost. For as much then
as God gave them the light gift as he did unto us who believed
on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I that I could withstand
God? I think it's interesting, he's saying to these Jewish brethren,
he said, I wouldn't have done it. But what can I do if God
did this? Who was I that I could withstand
God? I think that's so interesting about Peter. He always had a
hard time with Gentiles. You can go on through his history. This is going to repeat itself
again. It's something that he had a hard time with. Verse 18,
when they, these men of the circumcision, these Jewish brethren, When they
heard these things, they held their peace. They quit
objecting. They quit contending with Peter. They held their peace. And look
at this conclusion they drew. They glorified God, no longer
complaining about what was taking place, they glorified God. And
here is their conclusion, then hath God also to the Gentiles
granted repentance unto life. Now that's what I've entitled
this message, Repentance Unto Life. Now, whatever repentance is,
and it's my prayer that you and I will not only know what it
is, but that we'll repent. That's what I'm interested in.
I want to have this thing of repentance unto life. Whatever
repentance is, we see two things about it in this verse of scripture.
It's the gift of God, and it's caused by spiritual life. Repentance unto. Now, first,
repentance is the gift of God. You know what that means? That
means you won't repent unless God gives you that repentance,
just like faith. By grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. Not of
works, lest any man should boast. You could say just as accurately,
by grace are you saved through repentance, and that not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God. not of works, lest any man should
boast. Repentance is the gift of God.
Turn back to Acts chapter 5. Verse 31. This is Peter speaking. And he says, him hath God exalted,
speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. 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. Now here's two things that can
never be separated, repentance and the forgiveness of sins.
But repentance is his gift. That means you and I will not
repent unless he gives us this repentance. So Lord, give me
this repentance. Whatever repentance is, give
it to me. And notice he says it's repentance
unto life. Now this is I don't know if interesting
is the right word to use it, but I looked at all the different
versions of New International, New England, Revised, and they
all said, almost without exception, they said repentance which leads
to life. Do you see a problem with that?
Repentance that leads to life. That would mean There's something
I can do in an unregenerate state, repentance, that will lead me
to having everlasting, eternal life. Now, somebody says that's
nitpicking. No, it's not. It's the difference
between life and death. It's grace and it's works. If
you repent and then you're given life after you repent, that means
life is a reward to you for your repentance. That is salvation
by works. That's all that is. Repentance
does not cause life. Life causes repentance. What is the evidence of physical
life? You see somebody laying down
and you think maybe they're dead. They look at, how do you, what's
the evidence that they're still alive? Well, they're breathing
and their heart is pumping. That's the evidence of physical
life. I mean, I'm speaking ignorantly.
There may be other things. This is all I know. I remember
when Aubrey was an infant and I was convinced
she was going to have, what do you call that? Sudden infant
death syndrome. I was convinced. I get up every
night. Every night I'd get up and I'd feel, see if she's breathing.
You know, because that's the evidence of life. You got a pulse
and you're breathing. Somebody says, why did you think
something like that? I don't know. Why do I think a lot of the things
I think? You know, they're silly, but it was on my mind at any
rate. But what is the evidence of spiritual life? Faith and repentance. That is
the evidence, just like a pulse and breathing is the evidence
of physical life, faith and repentance are the evidence of spiritual
life. The Lord said in Mark 115, the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Repent. Change your mind regarding
any thought that you have that's contrary to believing the gospel. Paul said in Acts chapter 20
verses 20 and 21, I've kept back nothing profitable unto you,
but have showed you and taught publicly and from house to house.
The message that I gave in public is the message I gave in private.
There was no distinction. Same message. but testifying
to the Jews and to the Greeks, repentance towards God and faith
toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith. The different sides of the same
coin. You cannot have one without the
other, and the evidence of the one is The other, the evidence
that you've repented is that you believe. The evidence that
you believe is that you repent. Now, logically, life must precede
faith and repentance. Isn't that so? You can't repent
or believe unless you're first given life. And when you're given
life, that's when you repent. That's when you believe. Logically,
life must come first. But chronologically, they all
come at the exact same time. Somebody says, explain that to
me. Well, what that means is there's not some half a second
that you have life, and then all of a sudden, then you believe
and repent. You believe, you repent. You have spiritual life
at the exact same time. There was not a time when you
had life, but you'd not yet believed or repented. The evidence of
having life is faith and repentance. Repentance unto life. Where does life come from? What's the source of life? Or rather, who is the source
of life? God. in all three persons of the blessed
Trinity. God is the source of life. I love that passage of scripture
in Acts chapter 13 verse 48 where it says, as many as were ordained
to eternal life. It's talking about God's election. As many as were ordained to eternal
life believed. Why did Christ die? That we might
have eternal life. How is it that you have life,
the life of God in your soul? Because God, the Holy Spirit,
birthed you, gave you life, and brought you into the kingdom
of heaven. Now, life is seen by faith and
by repentance. We read in 2 Timothy 2.25, if
perventure God will grant them repentance, to the acknowledging
of the truth. You see, it's a gift. Now, turn
with me to 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter 3, verse 9. The Lord is not slack concerning
his promise. Don't miss that. He's not slack
concerning his promise. Salvation is according to the
promise of God. Life is according to the promise
of God. If you have faith in repentance,
it's because God gave it to you and it was all given to you in
the covenant of grace where God promised salvation. 2 Timothy
1.9, he saved us. And he called us with a holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which were given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. Now, everything that the believer
has, faith, repentance, life, love to Christ, it was all promised
by God in the covenant of grace. Now that's the promise he's speaking
of, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness, but is long-suffering to Usward." Who's the Usward? The elect. The elect. Are you sure? Absolutely. He's
long-suffering to Usward, the elect. And what's it say about
Usward? He's not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance. Now, if God's not willing for
something to happen, you know what? It ain't going to happen.
I think it's amazing that people try to use this as a scripture
to prove that God is not willing for anybody to perish, but he
wants everybody to be saved. You ain't going to get that from
his scripture. God is longsuffering to usward, not willing. Oh, he does according to his
will. If he's not willing for something to happen, it's not
going to happen. Not willing that any should perish, but that
all should come to repentance. Matthew 9, 13, I came not to
call the righteous. This is the words of the Lord.
I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to what? Repentance. Paul said in Romans chapter two,
verse four, it's the goodness of God that leadeth thee to repentance. Turn with me to Jeremiah 31 for
just a moment. Verse 18. Jeremiah 31 verse 18. I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning
himself thus. Thou hast chastised me and I
was chastised as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke. What he's saying
is you're chasing of me as far as I can see. It hadn't done
any good. I'm still just as bad. All the ways you've chastened
me have left me just as bad. And that's what he's saying.
Now look what he says next. Turn thou me, and I shall be
turned. For thou art the Lord my God,
surely After that, I was turned. What? I repented. And after that, I was instructed,
I smote upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded
because I didn't bear the reproach of my youth. When did he repent? After he was turned. And that's
why he said, turn me, Lord, and I shall be turned. Now, repentance is experienced
by seeing the Lord. Job said, I've heard of thee
with the hearing of the ears. I've heard all kinds of accurate
data concerning thee. I heard it. But now mine eye
seeth thee. Wherefore, I hate myself and
repent in dust and ashes. True repentance is predicated
entirely upon seeing who he is. And if you and I ever see who
he is, we will repent. Now, what does the word repent
or repentance mean? What does the word mean? This is so very important. The
word means to change your mind. You know, most people think,
well, repents means to change, to turn, to be different. It means to change your mind.
And I've heard preachers almost criticize this definition, like
that's just too simple. No, it's not. It's what the word
means. Change your mind. Now this is
a very, I've given this illustration before, but it is a good illustration
of changing your mind. When I was a boy, I hated tomatoes. Hated the smell of them, the
texture of them. I didn't want any tomatoes coming
in my mouth. If I saw a tomato, it wasn't going in my mouth.
Somebody says, well, what about ketchup? Well, yeah, I love ketchup.
I can't explain that to you. I love meat sauce and all. But
tomatoes, if I saw any physical evidence of a physical tomato
out the door, you know what? It hadn't changed a bit. I still
hate tomatoes. If any of you ever come over,
have me over to your house and you have tomatoes in salad, don't
put them in my salad because I don't even like the, it just
ruins everything for me. If a tomato touches, it's no
good. I hate tomatoes. When I was a boy, I hated Brussels sprouts. I hated the way they smelled.
I hated their texture. If they got in my mouth, I wanted
to spit them out. I hated them. You know what? I love them now. And it's my
favorite vegetable. Brussels sprouts. Love them.
What happened? My mind was changed. I used to
hate them. Now I love them. Now that is
what repentance is. If you ask the average person
what repentance means, they would say, well, if you repent, that
means you repent of your sins, you're very sorry for your sins,
you turn from your sins, and you do not return to your sins. That's what repentance is. Now,
let me say, we ought to turn from our sins. We ought not ever return to our
sins. And we ought to be sorry for
our sins. Anybody disagree with that? Well,
it doesn't matter what you do. If you do, you're wrong. We ought
not sin. We ought not return to our sins
and we ought to be sorry for our sins. That's a given. How sorry, sorry enough. Have
you ever had someone say, I'm sorry. And they were insincere. Not very good. Is it? Um, what if you return to that
sin, that particular sin, does that mean you never repented?
And let me ask you this, and I want you to be honest with
this. How many sins do you return to every single day? Every single day. Does that mean you've never repented? If that's what repentance is,
nobody in this room or out of this room has ever repented. That's just so. If repentance is the ability
to stop some sin and never return to it, what is the only thing
that will give you assurance of salvation? how you've personally
handled sin. Getting insurance? No. No. Turn with me to Proverbs
chapter 28. Verse 13. Proverbs chapter 28, verse 13. He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have
mercy. Now somebody thinks, That's completely
contradictory to what you just said. It says here that the only
way we'll find mercy is if we confess and then forsake our
sins. Now remember, you can only understand
a verse of scripture in light of the gospel. If the only way
I will have mercy is if I first confess and then stop that sin,
forsake it and don't commit it anymore, only then will I find
mercy. That is salvation by works. Mercy being the reward for you
confessing and forsaking that sin. Well, what's the scripture
saying then? Let's look at it again, verse
13. He that covereth his sins shall
not prosper. You remember somebody who tried
to cover their sins? Adam and Eve making a covering
for their sins so as they thought God would not see them. A fig
leaf apron of human righteousness that they thought would cover
up. Now anybody that tries to cover up their sins shall not
prosper. But whoso confesseth and forsaketh,
notice the them, if you get a King James version, them is in italics. That means it was placed there
by the translators, but it was not in the original. If you look
at them, you think of confessing and forsaking their sins, and
indeed, I'm not saying it's okay to not confess I'm not saying
that at all, but that's not what this passage of scripture is
saying. It's not saying you need to first confess and then forsake
that sin and then you'll have mercy. It's saying whoso covers
his sin shall not prosper, but whoso forsakes, whoso confesses
and forsakes this thing of trying to cover your sins by your works
and you look to Christ only. That's the person who finds mercy. Now, trust Christ and turn from
your sins. Trust Christ and anything is
death in the pot. If I say trust Christ and whatever
it might be, you're not even gonna hear the trust Christ part.
All you're gonna hear is the and part, what I need to do. What does the Bible say about
this thing of repentance? Well, the Lord said, I've already
quoted this scripture, Repent and believe the gospel. What's
the gospel? It's how that Christ died for
our sins according to the scripture. What did Christ do according
to the scripture? He put those sins away. He made
them to not be. He made it to where I stand perfectly
righteous before God. Repent of anything contrary to
that. and believe the gospel. Repentance and faith go hand
in hand. Paul, I've already quoted this.
This is so important, please listen carefully. Paul spoke
of repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance toward God, a change of mind toward God. Now I know something about this.
I have judged God so much. I sit in judgment on him. I don't
agree with the way he does things. How could a good God let something
like that happen? How could a loving God let something like that happen?
All the pain and misery in the world. And here we have a worm
of the dust sitting in judgment on God. Something wrong with
that picture. I've judged God. He's too holy. He's too severe. He's too harsh. It's not right that he would
elect some and pass others by. It's not right that Christ should
only die for the elect. Why? God's being a respecter
of persons. I don't like that, sitting in judgment on God. I find no safety in his absolute
sovereignty. Now I feel no safety without
it. See, my mind has been changed. I used to not like God's absolute
sovereignty, Him controlling everything. Now I see that my
salvation is dependent upon that. My mind has been changed. There were many attributes I
didn't like of God. If I would have been honest,
if I could change God, I would. I would. I wouldn't let that
take place. I wouldn't let, if I could. But
you know what? My mind has been changed. I love God exactly as He is. As He's revealed in His word. I love every attribute of God
and I wouldn't change Him or anything He does if I could.
He's perfect. My mind has been changed. My mind's been changed about
myself. You know, there was a time I thought if I have every, if
I can just get all my ducks in a row and get in the right circumstances,
maybe I could please God. My mind's been changed. I know
I can't. I see that I'm nothing but sin in and of myself. My
mind's been changed. Didn't used to really believe
that. I do now. You know, I can even remember
when I was a little boy going over the Ten Commandments. I can remember
at one point thinking I kept seven of the ten. My mind's been
changed. I haven't kept one commandment
one time. My mind has been changed with
regard to salvation. I really believe that
Jesus Christ is all my salvation and I need nothing else. My mind has been changed. That's
what repentance is. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
six. Verse one, therefore leaving
the principles, the ABCs of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection,
not laying again the foundation. Now what he is saying is we shouldn't
have to always be laying the foundation. This ought to be
automatic. just as the ABCs ought to be
automatic to you, and you're never going to learn to read
if you don't have the ABCs down pat. That's what he's talking
about. We shouldn't have to always be teaching the ABCs. Teach them
in the first grade. By second grade, they ought to
have them down. By third grade, surely they ought to have them
down. Now, that's what he's talking about. We shouldn't have to always
be teaching the ABCs, the first principles, the oracles, the
first things. Now, what's the first thing he
mentions? The foundation of repentance from dead works. I repent of any work that I ever
thought I could do that could please God. Every work done before
God saved me was nothing more than a dead work. I repent of
such ridiculous things as free will and my holy living as being
something to please God. I repent of all that. I repent
of dead works and look to Christ only. You know, there are two words that
go together quite often. I've read it once, repentance
and the remission of sins. I read that in Acts chapter 5.
God exalted to give to Israel repentance and forgiveness of
sins. What did John the Baptist come
preaching? He came preaching the baptism of repentance for
or concerning the remission of sins. When the Lord is parting
after he's resurrected and he's going back to heaven, he tells
his apostles, this is what you're to preach, repentance and the
remission of sins. Now those, if you want to understand
repentance, here it is. Every one of us by nature thinks
that the remission or the forgiveness of sins is going to come to us
because we did fill in the blank. My sins will be forgiven if I'm
sorry, if I believe, if I repent, if I straighten up my life, If
I get victory over this sin or that sin or quit doing this thing
or that thing, I'll get victory. I'll receive the remission of
sins. The forgiveness of sins is at
the end of the equation. If I, I'll be given forgiveness. When you're granted repentance,
you repent of that kind of thinking. and you see that all of salvation
begins with the complete forgiveness of sins for the sake of Jesus
Christ. Why are your sins forgiven? For
Christ's sake, not for anything that I do, for Christ's sake. Peter said to Simon Magus, repent
of this thy wickedness, for thou thoughtest the gift of God could
be bought. Every one of us think that. Something
we can do to buy God's precious gift. Repent of this thy wickedness. Now let me tell you a phrase
that's not found in the Bible, repent of your sins. Did you
know that? It's not even found in the Bible.
Now that doesn't mean we ought not repent, have a change of
mind regarding our sins. I'm not, I'm not even suggesting
that we ought to be disgusted and, and oh Lord deliver me from
sin. Um, but you don't find the phrase
repent of your sins in the Bible. Now, if you want to know what
repentance is, this is what we're going to close with. Turn to
Luke chapter 15. This is the great chapter on repentance that
the Lord gives. Luke chapter 15. Verse 1, then
drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him. Well, I want to be one of those
people, don't you? Draw near to hear him. And the Pharisees
and scribes murmured, saying, this man receives sinners and
eateth with them. There's something wrong with
this. And then the Lord gave three parables in answer to this. Look what he says in verse seven.
I say unto you that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one
sinner that repenteth. You see, that's the subject of
this. Joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth. Look in
verse 10. Likewise I say unto you there's
joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. So this is the subject. repentance. What does it look like? What
is repentance? I know it brings joy in heaven.
What is repentance? Well, we're given the most beautiful
illustration of it, I think, you see in the Word of God. Verse
11, and he said, A certain man had two sons and the younger
of them said to his father, Father, Give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. What a sense of entitlement. Give me my inheritance now. What
would you have said? Forget it. Ain't gonna happen. But this father was so gracious,
he gave him his portion. Verse 13, and not many days after
the young son gathered all together and took his journey into a far
country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. The fool and his money soon go
separate ways. He spent it all, had a good time. The life of partying is what
that's talking about, riotous living, that's where the prodigal
comes from, that's where the word comes from. And when, verse
14, he had spent all there arose a mighty famine in
that land and he began to be in want. What a blessing, but what did
he do? He went and joined himself to
a citizen of that country. He joined a church. And what'd they do? They put
him to work. They sent him into the field
to feed swine. And he would fain have filled
his belly with the husks that the swines did eat, and no man
gave unto him. And when he came to himself,
that's repentance. He had a complete change of mind
about his father and about himself. That is repentance. When he came
to himself, all of a sudden, he saw things completely different. is repentance. When he came to
himself, he said, how many hired servants of my father's have
bread enough to spare and I perish with hunger. What was I thinking
when I left the presence of my father? What good's it done me? I'm in a state of want. I'm perishing
with hunger. They have more than they could
wish. Verse 18, I will arise and go
to my father and I'll say, father, I've sinned against heaven and before thee. And I'm no more worthy to be
called thy son. That sense of entitlement he
had has vanished. I wouldn't dare even presume
to take the place of a son. I know I deserve to be cut off
eternally, and I'm not asking you to make me a son. That was his attitude. Make me as one of thy hired servants. The only hope I have is what
you make me. Make me, and I'll be mighty happy
to just be a slave in your house. Take the lowest spot. And he
arose, you see that repentance, that change of mind? And he arose
and came to his father, but when his father was yet a great way
off, when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him. His father was looking for him
and his father knew he was going to return. He had compassion and ran and
fell on his neck and kissed him. His father was so overjoyed that
he'd returned. Now let me remind you the story
of this, the star of this story is not the prodigal. It's the
father. He ran, fell on his neck in joy
and kissed him in the scripture. It literally kissed him with
many kisses. And the son said unto him, father,
I've sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and am no more
worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants,
bring forth the best robe, the robe of the righteousness of
my son. Don't hand it to him, put it
on him. and put a ring on his hand signifying
my eternal love and shoes on his feet to continue in the gospel
and bring hither the fatted calf, kill it and let us eat and be
merry for this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost
and is found and they began to make merry. That is the story
of repentance. May God grant me and you repentance
unto life. Let's pray. Lord, we I ask that you unite
our hearts at this time in prayer, asking for the same thing, repentance
unto life, repenting of everything that's contrary to thy son being
all to you. all in salvation and all to us. Lord, grant us this repentance,
a repentance that causes us to look to thy son only. In Christ's blessed name we pray,
amen.