How To Overcome Sins Part 2

[0:00] Thank you for choosing to listen to today's message by Reverend Dr. David Entry. We know you will be blessed as you seek and serve God. We believe that this message will stir up a desire for more of God even as you listen.

[0:13] Be blessed. Well, well, well. It's a blessing to get a privilege to hear God's Word. And this morning I'm very happy and excited that I get to teach God's Word again.

[0:27] In our previous teaching, actually I'm continuing from the previous teaching. And the main title is on the topic, How to Overcome Your Sins.

[0:39] How to Overcome Your Sins. And as I said in the previous teaching, number one, how do you overcome your sins? Number one, repent. Repentance is the means to overcoming sins.

[0:52] Number two, repent. Repentance is the means to overcoming sins and receiving forgiveness of sins. Number three, repent.

[1:03] Repentance is the only way you can re-channel and redirect your affections, your allegiance, and your love for Christ and His work.

[1:14] So number one, repent. Number two, repent. Number three, repent. Repentance is the Greek word.

[1:27] A change, meta. Like metamorphosis. Change. Meta is change. And morphosis is form. Metamorphosis is to morphose. So it's form.

[1:40] Form comes from the word morphosis. Okay. So change form. This one is not metamorphosis, but it's metanoia. Noia is the mind. So you change your way of thinking or a change of thinking which leads to change of actions.

[1:56] Because you are the way the Bible says in Proverbs that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. So it's a change of heart, of thoughts that leads to change in actions.

[2:10] Praise the Lord. And I also spoke about how at call, according to Romans chapter 3, verse 10, 11, and 12. 10 says that, 10 and 11 and 12.

[2:21] It talks about how we have all gone astray. All right. Verse 11 said, none seeks God. None seeks after God. Romans chapter 3. None seeks after God.

[2:32] So if none seeks after God, from the least one to the greatest one, that's why the Bible says that, if you remember, they brought a prostitute or a woman who was caught in the very act of adultery.

[2:45] In John chapter 8, the Bible says from verse 6, she was caught in the very act. All right. And they brought her to Jesus and they said, the law, Moses in the law says that such a person must be stoned.

[2:59] What have you got to say? Because you are the one preaching grace and mercy. If you say we should stone him, it looks like it's against your message. And if you say we shouldn't stone him, that means you are going against Moses.

[3:12] You claim you came to fulfill Moses. Now tell us. And Jesus wrote on the ground. And the Bible says that as they persisted, insisted, he lifted his eyes and he said to them, he who is without sin, verse 8, he who is without sin, let him cast the first stone.

[3:28] He didn't say the others. The one, the one that has not got sin, let him start the process. And listen, this is why I brought you into this text. The Bible says that, and they all, I think it would be nice to read it.

[3:43] John chapter 8, verse 8. And again, he stood down to write. And they, when they, sorry. So verse 7 says that, when they continued asking him, he lifted himself, lifted up himself and said to them, he that is without sin amongst you, let him cast the first stone.

[4:01] Or let, let him first cast a stone at her. And again, he stood, he stood down and wrote on the ground. And then verse 9 says that, and they which had it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one.

[4:20] Watch this. Beginning at the eldest, even unto the least. What does this mean? The eldest, the greatest amongst us, does not seek God. To the least.

[4:32] So the point I'm making here is that human nature, by default, never moves towards God.

[4:43] Human nature, by default, moves away from God. Like the way if you leave your garden unattended, weeds by nature grow. You see, flowers don't arrange themselves nicely.

[4:57] Somebody must take responsibility of that. So somebody put it this way some time ago. I heard a man of God put it this way. It is not, it's not enough for gardeners to hate weeds.

[5:10] So to love flowers, they must hate weeds as well. So, because if you leave things to nature, nature actually goes away from God.

[5:21] Human beings by nature will not move towards God. That's why when Peter, in Luke chapter 5, verse 8, when they caught the fish, verse 8, he said, Depart from me, I'm a sinful man.

[5:35] Because sinful people actually do not move towards God. That's why if you go into a meeting or somewhere and people realize that, oh, you are a Christian. All right?

[5:46] You are a Christian. Or someone who sticks with God's word. Sometimes people who have not even heard you speak just don't like you. They hate you. You are an offense to them.

[5:58] There are times that, as a pastor, you may go into a function and people are not free to behave because you are there. Your presence reminds them of kind of the purity and the holiness of God as a man of God or as a strong Christian.

[6:12] But they wait. It's when you leave, then they start to let down their God. When a man of God is there, they can't say something. They can't behave in a certain way. In the same way, when anything of God, people just withdraw from naturally.

[6:27] Naturally. Sometimes people think they are religious, so they move towards God. The truth is no one seeks God. That's the point I'm trying to make here. So, it says that none seeks God.

[6:39] None seeks after God. So, we are all moving away from God. So, what is repentance? Repentance is to do a U-turn and start moving God's words. All right?

[6:49] So, repentance is moving God's words. It's not just stopping something, but it's moving God's words. Where I spoke about repentance has two aspects, the positive aspect and the negative aspect.

[7:01] The negative aspect is moving away from what is wrong. Positive aspect is moving away towards God. Every turn. So, every exit is entrance.

[7:12] Every turn, turning away from something, it automatically means turning to something. For instance, if I turn away from this, from you watching me, I turn to the Bibles.

[7:23] Okay? If I turn away from the Bible, I turn to you. So, turning away from something means turning to something. Again, repentance, you cannot have genuine repentance without turning to God and the precious of God.

[7:36] And that's what I want to explain a little further. And so, and I also explained that repentance has to do with forgiveness of sins.

[7:47] So, we repent as men to receive forgiveness of sins. God brings redemption from His side to give us, to grant forgiveness of sins. We repent to receive forgiveness of sins.

[7:58] Now, forgiveness, when we talk about repentance, I need to pause here to say to somebody or to explain to you what repentance isn't. Repentance is not the same, necessarily the same as regret.

[8:14] Regret. People sometimes can do things and regret. When a person regrets, let's look at regret. Regret, let me define it this way. Regret is feeling sorry for what you have done to yourself.

[8:26] That is regret. So, and it's not necessarily repentance. There are people who regret for what they have done to themselves and how much shame they brought to themselves, how much dishonor they have brought to themselves, how much disappointment they have brought to themselves.

[8:41] But that doesn't necessarily constitute repentance. So, feeling, having this shameful or sorry feeling about what you have done and has hurt you is not necessarily repentance.

[8:53] It is regret. Now, second word is remorse. So, regret is what you have done, sorry for what you have done to yourself. Remorse is sorry for what you have done to others.

[9:05] So, that is what happened to Judas when he betrayed Jesus. In Matthew chapter 27 verse 3 and 4, Bible says that when Judas realized that he has betrayed an innocent person.

[9:20] I think, let me read it. I'll read it from the NIV. Matthew chapter 27 verse 3. It says that when Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse.

[9:35] That's NIV. He was seized with remorse. King James, I think, uses repentance. But that repentance is actually not the repentance as the metanoia is.

[9:46] This is remorse. He was filled with remorse and returned the 30 pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. And the elders, I have sinned, he said, and I have betrayed an innocent blood.

[10:01] What is that to us? They replied, it's your responsibility. You wanted the money. Now, take it. Bear the guilt. So, that's why Judas was not saved.

[10:12] Because he didn't repent. But he was filled with remorse. So, one is regret is feeling sorry for what you have done against yourself. Remorse is feeling sorry for what you have done against others.

[10:25] But repentance, on the other hand, is feeling sorry for what you have done against God. That's the difference. So, that means that you can repent in the absence of the standards of God.

[10:39] In the absence of the demands of God. Or potentially, or possibly, no, in reality, in the absence of the word of God. Because there is no sin without the word of God.

[10:51] So, if the word of God is not there, you can't talk about sin. And you can't talk about repentance if you can't talk about sin. So, it is the word of God that determines the presence of sin. It's the presence of sins that determines the requirement for repentance.

[11:05] And so, repentance is actually feeling sorry for what you have done against God and his word and his work. That's genuine repentance.

[11:16] So, in Luke chapter 15 verse 21, talking about the prodigal son I mentioned in the previous teaching. When he went back to his father, he said, Father, I have sinned against heaven.

[11:28] Because I acknowledge that what I have done is displeasing to God. Brothers and sisters, the worrying aspect of body day Christianity, as it looks, as it appears, is that people come to church and they have not regretted and felt sorry for what they have done against God.

[11:47] They don't have worries about what they have done against God. That's why pastors have to beg you to come to church. Beg you to treat you like an egg.

[11:59] Handle you like an egg because you are so delicate. Because you are rich. You have money. You are important. You have links. You are a politician. Or you give a lot of donations. Drop it!

[12:10] It's not as important as... I'll show you something. No, we don't... You see, genuine repentance does not come to God with importance. It comes to God with humility and brokenness.

[12:24] I'll show you something. So, when it comes to repentance, it's actually feeling sorry about what you have done against God.

[12:36] Now, this will lead me to... I want to talk about the implications of true repentance. True repentance or how it works out. True repentance works out in three areas.

[12:48] Genuinely, if there's true repentance. Number one is their thoughts. Number two is your words. Number three is your deeds. So, your thoughts, your words, and your actions.

[12:59] Your thoughts, your words, and your actions. And repentance plays out as an implication on all these areas. Number one, repentance affects your thoughts.

[13:10] As I said, you have to acknowledge. You must know what you are repenting from. Or what you are repenting of. So, repentance knows that I am a sinner. Repentance acknowledges the fact that I'm a sinner.

[13:23] This probably... Let me just digress slightly and come back onto the top. It's the same thing, but I want to throw a bit more light on it. Remember, let's look at Matthew. Matthew chapter 4 verse 17.

[13:37] Talking about Jesus' teaching. When Jesus came. John the Baptist came. He said, repent. He said, that's his teaching. John chapter... Matthew chapter 3 verse 3. 2 and 3.

[13:47] He was preaching repentance. As I said in the previous teaching. Jesus also came. Now look at this. Matthew chapter 4 verse 17. From that time, Jesus began to teach and to say.

[14:02] Repent... Sorry. Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Think about it. From that time, Jesus began. He's the beginning of his ministry. He began to teach and to say.

[14:13] So, it's like the summary of his teaching. The sum total of what he was trying to tell people was repent for the kingdom of God. So, it doesn't mean that he was just going.

[14:25] Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent. No. That... But he was teaching. And all the things he was teaching. The summary is that repent for the kingdom of God.

[14:36] So, he began to teach and to say. Repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. The summary of his teaching. Now, that's when he began. Let's see when he ended.

[14:47] Very interesting. Very interesting discovery here. In Luke chapter 24. In Luke chapter 24, I spoke about it in the previous teaching.

[14:59] Luke chapter 24, verse 45. The Bible says that. Then he opened their understanding. Then he opened their understanding that they might understand the scriptures. Verse 46. And said unto them. Thus it is written.

[15:11] And thus it behooves Christ to suffer. In other words, this is necessary for the Christ to suffer. And to rise from the dead on the third day.

[15:22] So, it's necessary for the Christ to suffer. And to rise from the dead on the third day. Look at the next verse. That's not the end of the progression. So, it's necessary for him to suffer.

[15:35] That includes dying. Burying. And then rise on the third day. Is that the end? No. And that. After his reason. And that. Repentance and remission of sins.

[15:48] Be preached in his name amongst all nations. You don't say, oh, these people, they are different. So, I can't talk about repentance. These people, they are different. When people. The only door through which people come into Christ.

[15:59] Is the door of repentance. And I told you. Repentance is like. One side of. One side of this. One coin. So, every coin has two sides.

[16:09] So, one side is repentance. The other side is faith. You can never claim to have faith in Jesus Christ without repentance. You can never repent without faith towards God.

[16:20] Remember, as I said the other time. Paul said, I preach faith towards God. Acts chapter 20, verse 21. Faith towards God. Oh, sorry. Repentance towards God.

[16:32] Alright. Repentance towards God. So, it's very important. I think it's rather in Hebrews chapter 6. Where it talks about the foundation of Christian life. Christian faith. Christian belief. The foundation of Christian teaching.

[16:44] It mentions six. But one is repentance from dead works. And then number two is faith towards God. So, repentance and faith. They go hand in hand. Faith towards God.

[16:55] Repentance from. And faith towards God. Repentance from. And faith towards God. Repentance from. And faith towards God. And so, it's two sides of.

[17:08] Two ends of one stick. One end is faith. The other end is repentance. If you're holding the stick. It means you have repentance and faith. Now, it says that repentance be preached for the remission of sins.

[17:18] Why do we preach repentance? That means that without repentance, there cannot be forgiveness of sins. Which I explained the other way. The other teaching. That it takes repentance to receive forgiveness of sins.

[17:30] So, watch this. And that repentance be preached to all nations. Now, this is the point here. Jesus Christ. This is just before he left. Now, let's look. Let's look at it. Verse 48 says that. And ye are witnesses of these things.

[17:42] Verse 49. And behold, I send you the promise of the Father. Stay in Jerusalem till you are endured with power from high. Verse 50. And he led them out as far as Bethany. And he lifted up his hands and blessed them.

[17:53] And verse 51 says that. And it came to pass. While he blessed them, he was. He parted from them and was carried into heaven. So, the last thing he spoke about was repentance. He said, go and preach repentance. I preach repentance.

[18:04] So, he started with repentance. And he finished his comments, his life or his statements on earth with repentance. So, it's like two ends.

[18:15] Okay. Cover of a book. The two ends of a book. Began repentance. Finished repentance. That tells us how important repentance is. Because Jesus said, go and preach repentance. He started with repentance.

[18:27] And when he was leaving, he said, okay, now I leave you with the message of repentance. Go to the world. To all nations with the message of repentance. Calling people to repentance. In Mark chapter 2 verse 17, he said, I did not come to the world to save the righteous, but to call repentance.

[18:44] Not to come and stay the way they are. Call sinners. I'm sorry. To call sinners unto repentance. So, Jesus Christ came to call sinners unto repentance. What are sinners supposed to do?

[18:56] They are supposed to respond in repentance. How come you come to church and you haven't repented? You are still retaining that same habit. Retaining. And you call it a struggle.

[19:09] You call it a weakness. The same thing you haven't changed. I want to show you how you can overcome this thing. And why the reason. Let me just say this now. The reason why people don't change and people say, I'm struggling with this, is because you haven't repented.

[19:26] If you have repented from sin, you won't struggle with that sin. But I'll go on to that in a minute. So, number one is your thoughts. So, it's cognition.

[19:38] What you know about sin. So, when we talk about repentance, it's like, it's in your mind, your thoughts. And then, see, what people do is they compare themselves with others.

[19:48] I don't even go to church, but I'm better than a lot of the people who go to church. Come on. Come on. What has that got to do with your salvation? What has that got to do with your salvation?

[19:59] I don't go to church. Oh, but I'm telling you, there are a lot of people who go to church. I'm far better now. Would you? Stop saying that. Don't compare yourself to others.

[20:09] Compare yourself to Christ. True repentance is compare a person coming in the light of Christ. Acknowledge that when it comes to Christ, I really, I really am useless.

[20:21] I'm hopeless. Listen to this. Then Jesus began to teach. In Matthew chapter 5, Bible talks about the attitudes or the teach. It's called the Sermon on the Mount.

[20:33] So, now they're explaining the teachings. This is when he said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Bible says that, verse 2, and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the what?

[20:45] The kingdom of heaven. Ah, ah, hold on, hold on. He said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Then in his teaching, when Bible broke down his teaching, he said, he was saying that blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.

[21:01] Okay. Okay. So, to enter the kingdom of God, to repent means that you come with a heart of poverty, impoverishment, spiritual impoverishment. It's not talking about material poverty, but it's talking about blessed are the, let's look at it, blessed are the poor in spirit.

[21:19] What does it mean to be poor in spirit? When you know, you compare yourself to the standard of God and realize that, boy, I'm in deep trouble. You compare yourself to the, to the life of Christ, to the standard of Christ, to the goodness of Christ, to the imperfection of Christ.

[21:35] And you say, oh man, I don't, I don't get anywhere near this, how rich man that I am. How? Blessed is the one who acknowledges that you don't amount to anything.

[21:46] So long as the standard of God is concerned and you can't help yourself. And so, the Bible talks about how Isaiah, he was preaching, he was preaching to repent, repent, all of you change, until the Bible says that in Acts chapter, sorry, Isaiah chapter 6, he entered the temple of God.

[22:02] He said, on the day of, on the day King Isaiah died, I entered the temple of God and I saw the Lord. I, I, I, talking about seated majesty in the, and his trail fills the temple.

[22:12] And then, uh, it, it, talk about the depictions, but one of the things he said in the verse 5, Isaiah 6, 5, it says that, then I said to myself, woe is me, for I am undone.

[22:23] I am a man of which unclean lips. Woe is me. Ha! When he saw the majesty of God, he knew that he was in trouble. Prior, prior to that, he was comparing, he was telling the people, you have to change, you have to change, you have to change, until he saw the state of his, his heart.

[22:39] How did he see it? When he came into contact with the glory of God, he came into contact with the standard of God, he came into contact with the reality of God. He realized he was poor. Blessed are the poor in spirit.

[22:52] And when you know you are poor, in fact, if you are poor, he is poor, she is poor, I am poor, they are poor, we all come together. If they add all our righteous deeds, it still falls so far low.

[23:05] We are so poor, when it comes to the standard of God, we only can look up to him in humility, so God help us. So number one, thoughts, pattern. So it plays out in your thinking, what's the thinking that I'm a sinner?

[23:19] Blessed are the poor in spirit. Now when it comes to your thoughts, the thought brings, it means that conviction of sins. So in your thoughts, you have conviction of sins.

[23:29] You are convicted. Oh, I need help. In your thoughts, you have conviction of sins. Now, the next aspect of the implication of repentance or how it plays out is not just your thoughts, it's your words.

[23:42] The things you are saying. When we talk about your words, when a person is repenting or repents, you can hear the kind of things they say. Confession of sins.

[23:53] So when it comes to your thoughts, it's conviction of sins. When it comes to words, it's confession of sins. And when it comes to confession of sins, you have to understand this about confession of sins.

[24:06] Confession of sins, you have to have this attitude towards confession of sins. Number one, you must take sin serious. So you must say, or you must be serious about the situation. Or maybe after.

[24:17] No, you have to, once you acknowledge that this sin is serious, you have to handle it with seriousness. Serious about your confession. Speak to God. I really don't like this. And when it comes to confession, to watch this, Bible says, confess your sins one to another.

[24:32] Brother, that secret sin is not likely to leave you alone. Nobody knows that you are doing that. When you are genuine about it, you don't keep it secret. You sometimes find somebody who is trustworthy.

[24:46] You can trust. Genuine. And you speak about this, the situation that's going on in my life. Until you confess. You confess to God. That's one thing that the Catholic Church does. Where people go and sit behind the priest, or in front of the priest with something covered.

[24:57] And they confess their sins. I'm not saying that's what we should all be doing. But Bible says, confess your faults one to another. James chapter 5, I think there's 14, 15. Confess your faults to another, so you shall be healed.

[25:08] So we have to confess. You must learn how to secret sins. Speak about if there's genuine repentance. That's the point I'm saying. If there is genuine repentance, there will always be willingness to confess the sin.

[25:19] To confess. I admit that this is wrong. I admit that this is what I did. I admit. So, but when it comes to confession of sins, your attitude towards confession is you have to be serious about it. Number two, with fear of God.

[25:30] Number two, you have to be specific. Don't say, oh, I've done a lot of things. What do you mean by a lot of things? Did you do all the a lot together? No, specific.

[25:42] This is what I did. I did this. I did this. I did this. This is what I have done. So you have to be specific to God. God, this thing that I have done. Or this thing that I have been doing. I turn my back against it. Or when you are confessing to somebody you trust or somebody who can help and you trust.

[25:57] You are speaking about, you know, this is what I have done against my wife. This is what I have done against my wife. How come you have confessed but people don't, people who are trust with your spiritual sound around you.

[26:08] Nobody knows about a sin you are forsaking. I think there is. I think there is. It leaves a question mark on the genuineness of the repentance. Because when you repent, you are willing to address it.

[26:20] You are willing to confront it and speak about it. And so number one, you have to be serious. Number two, be specific. And number three, be sensible. It's not everyone you can go out telling about what you have done.

[26:30] So you have to be sensible about confession of sins. All right. Be specific. Sorry. Be serious. Be specific. Be sensible. And so now, when it comes to thoughts, then back to how repentance plays out. When it comes to your thoughts, your implication of repentance, your thoughts, your words, your actions.

[26:45] When it comes to your thoughts, it is conviction of sins. When it comes to your words, it is confession of sins. How about your deeds? When it comes to your deeds, it is correction of sins. You don't say, I have repented.

[26:56] I have spoken about it. And go back to it. You correct it. You correct it. In Luke chapter 3, verse 8. Thank you, Holy Spirit.

[27:08] This is when John the Baptist was preaching to them. He told them, bring forth fruit worthy of repentance. And begin not to say within yourself, we have Abraham as our father. For I say unto you, God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.

[27:24] So, he says, bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. If you repented, there are deeds that will show.

[27:36] There must be a radical change in your behavior and your deeds. It will show. All right. So, bring forth truth worthy of repentance. Look at the verse 12. Then came also publicans to be baptized.

[27:49] And he said unto him, Master, what shall we do? Listen to what he said. He said unto them, we are stating, said unto them, exact no more than that which is appointed unto you.

[28:02] Because the publicans, they were tax collectors and they were extorting money from people. They came to repent and baptize. They said, what should we do?

[28:13] So, if you are repenting, then don't go and take more. Stay within your limits. Stop doing that thing. I said sometime ago in my teaching, repentance means stop doing it. Repentance means stop doing that.

[28:24] Repentance means stop doing it. So, look at verse 14. And so just likewise demanded of him, saying, and what should we do? And he said unto them, do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely, and be content with your pay.

[28:40] So, there must be a change in action. Change in action. Correction of the things you are doing wrong. Correction of sins. So, when it comes, this is how repentance, the implication of repentance.

[28:54] Number one, change your thoughts. Regarding your thoughts, it means conviction of sins. Regarding your ways, confession of sins. And regarding your actions, correction of sins.

[29:06] Praise God. This leads me to the very next important aspect of repentance, which is the four signs or the four main aspects of true repentance.

[29:19] The four, what, if there's true repentance, what shows that there's true repentance? Alright. Or what does it entail? If there's true repentance.

[29:31] True repentance. True repentance. And genuine repentance entails, number one, acknowledgement of your sin. It's just practically, I've said it in the thoughts.

[29:45] Alright. So, acknowledgement of your sins. Lord, I'm poor. I need your help. Acknowledgement of your sins. You elevate your life in the light of, so, you bring your life and evaluate it in the light of the life of Christ.

[30:04] And you realize that, oh man, I'm poor. I need help. So, number one is acknowledge your sins. You acknowledge your sins that I know I have sinned.

[30:15] That's why anytime I lead people to Christ, I say that, say, Lord, I know I am a sinner. So, you can't tell people to say I'm a sinner. But what else? Jesus came to save sinners.

[30:26] So, if you are not a sinner, what are you doing with him? Find somewhere else and go. Jesus came to save sinners. He came to save sinners. And now, I'm repeating the situation.

[30:36] The problem in the modern day church is there are a lot of people who have streamed into church without repentance, without having repented. Some come and accept Jesus Christ. Accept Jesus Christ as though they are extending an offer or a courtesy of acceptance to him or a courtesy of approval.

[30:53] Yeah, you are the man. No, it's not. Actually, it shouldn't be like that. He should come as a beggar. Not come like someone coming to endorse Jesus. He is not looking for votes. He came to save sinners.

[31:05] So, when you are coming, you come as a beggar. Like the woman with the, the woman with the labasta box. Let's read it in Luke chapter 7.

[31:17] I'm already in Luke, so let's just jump to Luke chapter 7. Right from 38, 36 talks about how a woman, Jesus came to the Pharisee's house.

[31:32] You know, one of the Pharisees demanded him that he would come into his house to eat. And he went to the Pharisee's house. And behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner. Watch this word. Which was a sinner.

[31:43] When she knew Jesus sat at meat at the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment. Stood at, watch this, stood at his feet behind him. Weeping.

[31:56] Don't, don't ignore this word. In fact, weeping. Weeping. I'll, I'll, I'll speak up. I'll mention it. I don't think I would like to talk about it again. But, like, I would like to open a scripture.

[32:06] This particular poem. Because I don't have time to. But, he said, she came weeping. This woman came to Jesus weeping. And began to wash his feet with her tears. This is genuine weeping.

[32:17] The tears were coming. Wash with his, his, his feet with her tears. And did wipe, she did, she did wipe them with the hair of her head.

[32:28] Can you imagine? A woman's hair is her glory. Imagine how much she spent because she's a prostitute. So, she will spend a lot on herself to look glorious. So, her hair must be very costly. It didn't say her wig. Not her wig.

[32:40] Her hair. Most people are using their wig to worship. Can you throw that wig off? And then let your hair do the work. Let your glory, the actual glory. It's easy to serve God convenience.

[32:52] When things are good. When it doesn't impact on your work. It doesn't impact on your income. It doesn't impact on your relationship with your boyfriend. It doesn't impact on your relationship with your girlfriend. It doesn't impact on your relationship with your dodgy deals.

[33:05] It doesn't impact on your relationship with your neighbors and the people you love. And you want to be accepted by them. Then you will do it. So, we only do things for Christ. When it does not impact on our life and our priorities.

[33:18] Okay. But this woman, she removed, she took her own hair. Her own hair. She took it and wiped with her tears. Wiped the feet of Jesus. And not just that.

[33:29] And she brought the ointment. Very expensive perfume she brought. She came and spent on Jesus. Spent on Jesus. Spent on the church. Spent on the work.

[33:40] Spent on Jesus Christ. Very expensive. And she did all that. Now, then the onlookers will always have something to say. Said, if Jesus was a prophet, he would have known that this woman is.

[33:51] And would not allow her to be rubbing his feet with her hair. And Jesus was quiet. And she was using her hair. And they said, look at this man. He's not a prophet.

[34:01] He should have known that this woman is a prostitute. Then Jesus said, Simon, I have something to say. There was a man. Two people owed him. One owed 50. The other one, you can say $50 or 50 pounds.

[34:13] And the other one owed $500 or $500. Just their currency is different. And then he said, the man, because they didn't have money, the man forgave all of them. Which of them would be grateful? Which of them would love most?

[34:24] And the man said, I guess, Simon said, I guess it's going to be the one who's been forgiven. Whose bigger, 500 pounds has been canceled. Debt has been canceled.

[34:35] He said, and then Jesus turned to Simon and said to him, I came to your house. He said to him, see this woman. I entered the house.

[34:45] Verse 44. I entered into your house. Thou giveth me no water for my feet. But she has washed my feet with her tears. And wiped them with the hair of her head.

[34:58] Thou giveth me no kiss. But this woman, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil you did not anoint. But this woman has anointed my feet with ointment.

[35:13] Therefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much. But to whom who little is forgiven, loves little. So she understood the gravity of her sin.

[35:27] She acknowledged that I'm a sinner. That's where she started from. Don't come to church like you are coming to help God. Those people who come to church, I have a lot to do for the church. You know, please, please.

[35:37] The church doesn't. No church needs your help. You need the help of God. So, he says that I do this to Christ.

[35:47] Okay, so whatever I'm doing. Paul said, necessity is laid on me. Woe is me if I preach not the gospel. Verse 16. Necessity is laid on me. Woe is me if I preach not. If I do it willingly, I have a reward.

[35:58] If I do it against my will, I don't have a choice. I have to do it. That's why I'm called. And so, the woman loved more because she knew where she's coming from. She knew her since I've been forgiven.

[36:09] Number two. So, number one. Number one is acknowledge your sins. Number two. Repentance. Two repentance includes sorrow over sin. The woman came. She was crying.

[36:21] In Matthew chapter 5. Jesus said, blessed are. Let's go back there and I'll come back to. Look. Thank you, Jesus. Matthew chapter 5.

[36:32] Verse 3. Blessed are the poor and spirit for the earth is the kingdom of God. Blessed are they that mourn. You mourn over your sin. That's what the woman was doing. She wasn't mourning because someone has hurt her.

[36:43] But she saw herself in the light of God's glory. In the light of God's standard. In the light of God's goodness. And she felt sorry for what she has done against God. And there's repentance.

[36:53] True repentance. Bible says that godly repentance works sorrow. 1 Corinthians chapter. 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Verse. 2 Corinthians chapter 7.

[37:08] Yeah. Verse. 8-9. Yeah. Verse 9. It said, Now I rejoice. Not that you were made sorry. But that your sorrow.

[37:19] So, ye sorrow to repentance. For ye were made sorry after a godly manner. And that ye might receive damages or damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow works repentance to salvation not to be repented of.

[37:35] In other words, I don't have to regret for making you feel sorry for what you have done against God. If the preaching is making you feel bad about your sins towards God, then it's necessary.

[37:46] But it's not meant to leave you feeling useless. Okay. So, it says that it doesn't have to be repented of. So, the point I'm making is that when there's genuine repentance, there will be genuine sorrow towards sin or for the sins.

[38:06] Sorrow for the sins. When a person has repented, they take sin seriously. They do not play about with sin.

[38:17] They take sin seriously. Sin breaks their hearts. When you are genuinely repented, sin breaks your heart. You take sin seriously.

[38:28] When we are genuinely repented, we don't entertain or we don't find entertainment or joy in watching people sin. Either in movies or we don't find excitement in that because sin breaks our heart.

[38:41] That's someone who has repented. Sin breaks our heart. So, you see, the point I'm making is that if you have repented, brother, if you have genuinely repented, how come you say, oh, I don't know, I keep doing it?

[38:54] The thing is not breaking your heart. You are able to accommodate it. But when you genuinely repent, sin breaks your heart. You don't find entertainment around it. In Luke chapter 18 verse 13, Bible talks about this publican who came to the temple.

[39:09] He was coming to pray. The Pharisee came to pray. But he also came. Bible verse 13 said he beat his heart. He beat his breast. He couldn't even lift his heart. He said, oh, Lord, forgive me as sinner. Yeah.

[39:20] He feels sorry about the state. He said, oh, no. You don't even cry over your sin. Cry over your sin.

[39:33] He said, oh, pastor, you should understand. Pastor, you know, we are all men. That's the language of someone who has not repented. Oh, God must bless me. We go preaching the blessings instead of repentance.

[39:45] That's why churches are filled with people who are looking for blessings who haven't repented. And when you try to correct them, ha, he said the day is coming. He will say, Lord, Lord. And he said, not all those who say, Lord, Lord.

[39:57] He said, people who call, Matthew chapter 7 verse 21 to 23. He said, on that day, some people will say, Lord, I cast out devils in your name. He said, I don't know you. I don't know you. Depart from me.

[40:08] And Bible says that the foundation of the Lord, 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 19. Nevertheless, the foundation of the Lord stands for him. Having the seal. There's a seal on the foundation of the Lord.

[40:19] What's the seal? He said, God knows those that are his. He knows those who belong to him. And here he says that depart from iniquity. He said, depart from me. You didn't depart from iniquity. So you have to depart from me.

[40:30] You didn't depart from iniquity. So you have to depart from me. People who haven't changed. Pastor. Pastor. Let me share this with my pastor friend. Pastor. The person who has not repented.

[40:42] It can be very complex and difficult to pastor them. Because you have to be very sensitive about everything about them. Because they can flip anytime. And you have to careful how you handle them.

[40:55] Because they haven't actually repented. Do you know why I'm saying that? Because when you mourn over your sin. It generates a certain disposition. It changes your orientation.

[41:06] You are not proud. And you don't see yourself as I've achieved this. I've done this. But on the other hand. You rather become very humble. Bible said blessed. Let me read it again.

[41:17] Matthew chapter 5. Look at this. Thank you Holy Spirit. Matthew chapter 5 verse 4. Blessed are they that more. For they shall be comforted. Then it goes to. Blessed are the meek. For they shall inherit the earth.

[41:30] There's a level of meekness. Humility. The woman humbled herself. Went low. Use her hair. That's really low. To use your hair. To wash somebody's. To clean somebody's feet.

[41:41] That means you've gone very low. Genuine sign of repentance. A broken person becomes very. A repentant person is very humble. You are.

[41:51] There's a disposition. You hate sin. You don't want to come near sin. Quickly. So number one. You acknowledge your sin. Genuine repentance means acknowledging of sin. Number two. Genuine repentance includes sorrow over sin.

[42:04] Number three. Genuine repentance is turning away from sins. It's not just sorrow. You feel sorry over sin. You turn away from the sins. You hunger after righteousness.

[42:15] So you turn your back. Repentance means turn away from your sins. You. You. You. You. You. As I said. You are changed. Your entire. Orientation.

[42:26] You are oriented. Orientated differently. You have a different orientation. Disposition. You are more disposed and inclined. Towards righteous things. You actually develop.

[42:38] You end up developing. A desire. An insatiable. Desire. Insatiable taste. Or desire. For holiness. You just want the holy things of God. You pursue the holy.

[42:48] It means someone has really changed. You are pursuing the holiness of God. It's an unquenchable desire for holiness. It changes a proud and a boastful person into a humble person.

[43:01] That's genuine repentance. Praise the Lord. In Luke chapter. Eighteen. Verse twenty-two. Jesus told the man. Go and sell. He said. What shall I do to be saved?

[43:11] Go and sell all that you have given to the poor. The man went. He said. I can't do that. I can't put these things away. I'm too attached to these things. These are my priorities in life. But when you are genuine repentance. You are repentant.

[43:23] Or genuine repentance. In genuine repentance. We. We are willing to live all our priorities. All the priorities of our lives. And come and follow Jesus. You are everything.

[43:33] That is important. This is important to me. This is important to me. We are willing to live those priorities. In order to come and follow Jesus Christ. When a person has genuinely repented. It's a total turning.

[43:44] Of the inner man. Your inner man has turned away. From sin. To walk with God. In the way of his word. So. It's not just a mental thing. You have turned. And watch this.

[43:55] I'm about to say something very important. It. When someone is genuinely repentant. Has repented. Genuine repentance. Is. You are not. You are not. Just trying to avoid going to hell.

[44:08] Because who. Wants. Want to avoid that. So. Avoiding going to hell. That's what we call. You are trying to avoid the penalty of sin. It's not necessarily a sign of repentance.

[44:21] But. So you are not just trying to say. Oh. I don't want to be punished in hell. I don't. There are people who are in church. Who. It's because they don't want to be punished in hell. That's why they are. But it's not because. They have developed.

[44:32] An. In. Internal. Desire. Towards God. Away from sin. So it's not moving. Migrating from your sin. Or moving away from your sins. Towards God.

[44:42] I said. Repentance is movement. God works. Movement. God works. So. It's not just. I don't want the punishment of sin. But you actually. Even don't want.

[44:53] You begin to develop. A distance. An abhorrence. For sin. In itself. That. You don't like the punishment. But you also don't like the power of sin.

[45:04] Over your life. And you don't like the pollution of sins. And the presence of sins. So. When someone has genuinely repented. They do. It's not only the punishment of sins. They don't like.

[45:14] But they don't like the power of sin. Over their life. The pollution of sin. Around them in the world. And they don't actually also like. The presence of sin. Sin makes you feel uncomfortable. That's why you cannot be watching sin.

[45:25] On. On TV. And be laughing. And smiling. Or social media. And be smiling. Because sin. Offends you. When you are genuinely. You've genuinely repented. I was telling some. Somebody. I was trying to explain it to somebody.

[45:36] Let's say. There's this. Man. Who married. He likes a lot of dogs. He said. I always want dogs. So he bought. In his house. He's had. He's bought so many dogs. Several dogs. Different types of dogs.

[45:47] And cats. I love dogs and cats. But he married. He didn't have a child. They're trying to have a child. And after 10 years. Him and his wife. Finally has a child. They had a child. And so. Ah.

[45:57] Beautiful. And then guess what. After a while. About 6 months later. The wife was cooking in the kitchen. And 2 of the dogs went and took. They left the child in the. In the Moses basket. And 2 of the dogs went.

[46:09] And started tearing the child. And killed the child. What you've waited for all your life. These dogs have destroyed. Did you see the pain in your heart.

[46:21] Towards dogs. You will not only get rid of dogs. But you even want to see a cat around you. That's the extreme. Because of. The sorrow.

[46:31] This sin causes you. Sin has not caused you. A lot of. Enough sorrow. Towards God. Are you really sorrowful. Over your sin. I'm talking about somebody. Who says I'm born again.

[46:41] But you don't have sorrows. Over your sin. You start a relationship. With a girl. The first thing. You are thinking about. Is sex. The first thing. Christian mother. Christian mother. Christian mother.

[46:52] Your first thing. Talking about. You are talking about. Sex. And you start moving towards that. A relationship. And so. But everybody does it. Get out of that house. You are sharing a house.

[47:02] With someone you are not married to. And you are living like you are married. Get out of the house. Other than that. You have not actually repented. Get out. I don't know where to go. Find somewhere else. Where you can go. Where you won't find sin. You won't find yourself.

[47:13] In the sinful environment. Move out. Praise God. I'm talking about repentance. Repent. For the kingdom of God is as sin.

[47:24] Jesus' own ways. So. Repentance means that. You. When a person has repented. There's hatred for sin. And desire for righteousness. It's like.

[47:34] I want. I want to have Christ. And his righteousness. And I'm willing to forsake all other things. And just get him. I want to have Christ. It's not just having Christ.

[47:45] But Christ has you too. That's genuine repentance. Repentance. So. When a person is genuinely repentant. Has repented. There is an internal. It's that. It's more of an internal response. Because somebody will say.

[47:57] Okay. But guess what. But you are saying that. You have to change your life. But we are not saved by works. It's by grace. So. How do you differentiate? No. No. No. Repentance. In this stance.

[48:07] When we talk about repentance. It's not pre-salvation effort. To get your life sorted out. So. You have always been planning. I have to stop this thing. I am growing. I have to stop. No. No. Repentance is not the same as.

[48:19] Pre-salvation efforts. To get yourself sorted out. So. Now. When you come to church. Okay. I have stopped this. I have stopped. No. That's not repentance. It's not. Genuine repentance. Has a lot. It's a gift of God.

[48:29] Acts chapter. Acts chapter 11. Verse 18. It said. God has. Therefore. God has granted. Unto the Gentiles repentance. It's a gift from God. Number. And then. Second Timothy chapter 2.

[48:40] Verse 25. It said. God has given them repentance. Or granted. It's a gift from God. So. Then. Where do I come in? It's a gift from God. From your inner man. That God. Provokes. Or grants. And then.

[48:51] You respond to it. And. Enact it. So. It's first of all. A gift from God. It's different from. You want to sort out your life. Because. You have been smoking too much. Or you have been causing too much.

[49:02] Issues. You have been stealing too much. No. No. It's more about. You want to move away from something. Or. You are responding. To the desire of God. In your heart. Praise the Lord. So. That is what repentance is.

[49:13] And then. Number four. So. Number one. Is acknowledge your sin. Number two. To repentance. Includes. Sorrow. Over your sins. Number three. It turns away from your sins. And then.

[49:23] Number four. It transfers your heart allegiance to Christ. Your heart allegiance. Christ becomes your everything. You follow Christ without. Without. Reservation.

[49:35] In Matthew chapter 10 verse 37. It says that. Unless. You. You. Abandon all these things. You cannot. Be. My. Matthew 10. 37. Says that.

[49:47] He that loves father mother more than me. Is not worthy of me. And he that loves son daughter more than me. So. You. Everything. You forsake everything. In the light of. Pershing. In order to be able to pursue God.

[49:58] So if your. Your mother. Said. If you want to be a Christian. And you are no more my child. So mom. I love you. But I can't deny. What he has done for me. I can't change who I am. So.

[50:10] It's very important. It's like. When it comes to genuine. When it comes to genuine repentance. Nothing. Nothing competes with your affections for Christ. All right. So when you genuinely repent.

[50:21] Your allegiance is to Christ. Nothing competes. With your. Not even offense. I not like that. When the pastor is preaching. But when I love God so much. So I agree. Nothing competes with your affection.

[50:33] For Christ. Not your ego. Christ gets the. Pre-eminence. Affections. Or. You don't get Christ. That's what repentance is.

[50:44] So either Christ gets your pre-eminence. He gets the pre-eminence affection. The overrag. He's the most important thing in your life. Or you don't get Christ. When people come to. They say. Oh. Come and give your life to Christ.

[50:55] Accept Christ. It's like. I'm coming to. I'm doing Christ a favor. No. But people haven't considered. Will Christ actually accept you? Christ cannot accept anyone. Who does not. Make him the priority.

[51:07] Christ just wants to be the priority. That's what it means. That you have accepted Christ. Christ has become your priority. And it shows in your behavior. It shows. There's a radical change of life. And then. In Luke.

[51:19] And actually. In Luke chapter 13. Verse 3. Jesus said. If you don't repent. You will likewise perish. Verse 5. If you don't repent. You will likewise perish. And then Luke chapter 14. Verse 25 to 27.

[51:29] Jesus spoke about the parable. He spoke about. How. If you are not. If you don't lose all these things. Turn your back to the world. And deny yourself. Take your cross and follow me. You can't be mine.

[51:40] So. Everything goes. And Jesus becomes central in your life. That is what shows that a person has genuinely repented. When you repent. Your faith is in Christ. You love him more than life itself.

[51:51] That's what it means. Jesus becomes the centerpiece of your life. Life's affection. You love him more than life itself. It's so important to understand. And.

[52:03] Yeah. I think I want to run up now. So when you become born again. Or when you repent. That means the old man dies. And dies gladly. You are happy the old man is dead. It's not like. Oh.

[52:13] I'm sorry. You don't regret it. You don't regret leaving that boy. You don't regret leaving that guy. You don't regret leaving that company. Because of the mess that you were doing there. What's going on. You don't regret it.

[52:24] You don't regret coming off Instagram. You don't regret it. You don't regret walking away from that. You don't regret walking away from the drug dealing. Dealing in drugs.

[52:34] And now you don't have money. You have lost your car. But you are happy to place God first. Place Christ first. That is genuine repentance. You don't regret it. Bible says it's not to be repented of.

[52:47] So. Old man dies. And dies gladly. The new man loves Christ without limits. And will never go back. You love Christ without limits. And you don't go back.

[52:57] That's a sign of repentance. And. Christ becomes the centerpiece of your life. And then Christ belongs to you. And you belong to Christ. That's. So you love Christ. The old man dies. You love Christ.

[53:08] He's the centerpiece of your life. And he belongs to you. And you belong to him. That is the sign of a genuine repentance. Paul said. I was a sinner. Chief among sinners. But I obtained grace. See.

[53:18] So it's not condemnation. You are coming. Anytime you are moving towards God. You know that. You are receiving grace. You are receiving mercy. Faith. Hope for eternal life.

[53:30] These are the things that you are being introduced to. So it's not like just walking away from anything at all. It's genuine introduction to Christ. So in conclusion. May I just say this.

[53:42] The signs that show that you have repented. Number one. Radical change of life. Number two. Faithfulness. You are a man of faith. You trust God more. Number three. Without. You are without regret for the changes.

[53:53] You don't care about what has happened. All this is points from 2 Corinthians chapter 7 verse 10 and 11. But because of my time. I'm just mentioning it. Number one. It's a radical change of life. Number two. You are faithful.

[54:03] Of faithfulness towards God. Full of faith. Of trusting more. Number three. You. Without regret. You don't regret for the life you have left behind. Number four. You hate sin. You denounce sin.

[54:14] Renunciation of sin. You hate sin. And turn your back to sin. Number five. You become alarmed at the sight of sin. When sin is coming around. You become alarmed. Oh. Oh. I don't want sin. You become alarmed. Alarmed at the sight of sin.

[54:26] Number six. You desire. And you have admiration for the one who is preaching the word of God like this to you. That will help you to change. You actually admire them. You just desire. It's a sign of. It's a sign of genuine repentance.

[54:37] So I'm talking about signs of genuine repentance. Radical change of life. Faithfulness and trusting God. Or faithfulness towards God. Without regret for the changes. Renunciation of your sins.

[54:47] Being alarmed at the sight of sins. And then. Desiring or admiration and desire. For the helper. For the preacher. For the preacher. The one who is coming to preach or help you. To walk with God.

[54:58] You just love them. And then number seven. You love God. You love God. You are so zeal. You have zeal for God. Jesus said. He who sin is forgiven. Loves much. Who much is forgiven.

[55:10] Loves much. Luke chapter 7 verse 48. And then number eight. You make no excuses for sin. You have indignation towards sin. You don't make excuses for sin. No excuses for sin.

[55:20] You don't explain it away. You know normally. Things like that. And acknowledge that sin is a violation of God's law. You don't explain sin away. You just acknowledge it's a violation of God's law. And there should be no control.

[55:31] Oh you know. It cause an emotional issue. Because you know. The way I was born. The way I was raised. The things I went through. The things I went through. May I say this. Listen. When you are very angry with sin.

[55:43] And you feel sorry about sin. It's not. You are not angry with the sin in society. God is more concerned about your anger. With the sin inside you. Not the sin in society.

[55:54] Yeah. Does that mean we don't care? We care. But it starts with being intolerant. You uphold the sin inside you. More than you. Abortion is not good. I stand against abortion. Or other things.

[56:05] The laws the government is making. Or people are doing this. And people are not married. And they are fornicating. Is that your business? Is that your body they are using? The problem is that you yourself. You uphold the sin inside you.

[56:16] That's where it starts from. So. As I said. The science that shows that you have genuinely repented. Right. Change of life. Faithfulness. Without regrets. Renunciation of sins.

[56:27] You become alarmed at the sight of sin. Desire and admiration for the preacher. Love for God. You don't make excuses for sin. Amen.

[56:38] God bless you. I pray that this has been a blessing. It's a lot. Please take your time and listen to the word. Over. We thank God for using his servant. Reverend Dr. David Entry. To share this awesome word.

[56:48] If this message has blessed you in any way. Please spread the word by sharing it. And send us an email. To amen. At karis.org Remember to stay connected with us. On Facebook.

[56:59] Instagram. YouTube. And Twitter. For regular updates. On what God is doing here. At Karis. Stay blessed. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

[57:09] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.