WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.899 Welcome to Ontario Community Church, 00:00:02.899 --> 00:00:04.799 where we're dedicated to encouraging, 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:07.799 equipping, and engaging lives for Christ. 00:00:07.799 --> 00:00:10.000 Located in Ontario, Oregon, 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:11.720 Pastor Patrick Daly preaches 00:00:11.720 --> 00:00:13.800 insightful sermons from the Word of God, 00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:16.760 offering practical applications for modern living. 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.679 We're delighted to share this sermon with you. 00:00:19.679 --> 00:00:23.039 All right. Well, good morning, everyone. 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:28.519 Let's go ahead and head to our seats. 00:00:28.519 --> 00:00:32.000 It is great to be with you this morning. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:36.479 Today, we're going to go ahead and start a new sermon series. 00:00:36.479 --> 00:00:39.159 It's that second slide on here, 00:00:39.159 --> 00:00:43.159 which is our series is titled, 00:00:43.159 --> 00:00:46.439 Sacred Journey from Death to Life. 00:00:46.439 --> 00:00:51.280 I know that's a pretty powerful image when we're thinking of death to life. 00:00:51.280 --> 00:00:57.159 This is going to be our sermon series from this Sunday all the way to Easter Sunday. 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:00.159 The title for our sermon today is 00:01:00.159 --> 00:01:04.519 The Call to Repentance and Reflection. 00:01:04.519 --> 00:01:09.759 This is going to be the beginning again of our series during Lent. 00:01:09.759 --> 00:01:13.840 Lent is a time where we are focused on 00:01:13.840 --> 00:01:17.560 reflecting on the story about Jesus, 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:20.879 on Jesus's last days here on the earth. 00:01:20.879 --> 00:01:24.840 It's a time where we look and we reflect on his life, 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:29.000 his sacrifice, his ministry and his miracles, 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:31.719 but also his death on the cross, 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:35.800 his burial and his resurrection on the third day. 00:01:35.800 --> 00:01:38.840 And as we go from this sacred journey, 00:01:38.840 --> 00:01:43.000 we will begin journeying together in Scripture. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:45.719 And today, we will be exploring passages in your notes. 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:50.439 You'll see on here passages from Joel, chapter two, 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:55.480 from Luke 13 and then second Corinthians on here. 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:58.599 So I'll be going through three passages this morning, 00:01:58.599 --> 00:02:02.359 but before we go any further, I would like for us to open in a word of prayer. 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:05.640 Will you pray with me? Let's pray together. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:11.879 And Father, we thank you for this time and this time together in love and in unity. 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.919 And as we're beginning this new sermon series, 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:20.039 we ask that you are with us on this sacred journey through Scripture. 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:24.519 May we learn more about your son, Jesus the Messiah. 00:02:24.519 --> 00:02:27.400 We come before you with humble hearts. 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:33.399 Let us have open hearts and to love like you and open minds to be filled 00:02:33.399 --> 00:02:37.479 with the Holy Spirit and biblical truth. 00:02:37.479 --> 00:02:42.919 We ask that you help us to come to understand what it means to reflect on our lives 00:02:42.919 --> 00:02:47.319 and what does this word repent or repentance mean? 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:51.560 To change our mind from not knowing to knowing, 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.599 from unbelief to belief in you. 00:02:54.599 --> 00:02:59.799 May we turn to you and may we see how important it is to reflect 00:02:59.799 --> 00:03:05.079 and how we are to make an appeal for others to be reconciled, 00:03:05.079 --> 00:03:09.560 how we are to literally beg for others to be reconciled with Christ. 00:03:09.560 --> 00:03:15.079 We ask Father that you lead and that you guide us, as you always have, 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:17.560 in spirit and in truth. 00:03:17.560 --> 00:03:21.880 It is in Jesus' name that we pray and we all say together, amen. 00:03:21.880 --> 00:03:26.280 You know, in the world that we live in today, it's hard to ignore the fact that 00:03:26.280 --> 00:03:32.760 it seems like any second, any moment that we watch TV or even if we listen to the radio 00:03:32.760 --> 00:03:37.320 or we scroll through social media, it's very hard to ignore the fact 00:03:37.320 --> 00:03:41.320 that there's just some crazy stuff that's going on in the world. 00:03:41.319 --> 00:03:47.639 We have the war that's between Israel and Hamas, we have the conflicts between Ukraine and Russia 00:03:47.639 --> 00:03:49.159 and that's just two. 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:53.639 There's more issues that are happening globally but also in our own country 00:03:53.639 --> 00:03:58.359 and of course, let's not forget, there are issues that happened in our community. 00:03:58.359 --> 00:04:03.639 These things that happen, they are certainly tragic events that we should not ignore, 00:04:03.639 --> 00:04:06.599 we shouldn't turn a blind eye towards. 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:11.719 It's in moments as these, it's a call for us as Christians to pray 00:04:11.719 --> 00:04:16.120 but also for us to turn to Him for direction. 00:04:16.120 --> 00:04:22.279 We pray to the Lord our God for direction and even for divine intervention at times. 00:04:22.279 --> 00:04:25.879 We find that as we turn to our first scripture reading 00:04:25.879 --> 00:04:33.719 that there is this imagery, there is this language of the coming of the day of the Lord. 00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:38.200 The day of the Lord as we're setting up the scene, it's coming near 00:04:38.200 --> 00:04:41.480 and there is this war that's on the horizon as you'll see. 00:04:41.480 --> 00:04:48.840 Go ahead and put up the Joel, our scripture reading, you can turn there as I'm explaining this. 00:04:48.840 --> 00:04:55.560 It seems that there is this war coming, there's this issue with locusts that's happening in the land 00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:59.960 and it seems certainly that there is no hope. 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:10.759 So let's turn together, it's going to be Joel chapter 2 verses 12 through 13 00:05:10.759 --> 00:05:25.240 and you'll find this in page 904 to 905. 00:05:25.240 --> 00:05:36.600 So let's turn there together. 00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:43.720 So Joel chapter 2 verses 12 through 13, it says here, 00:05:43.720 --> 00:05:50.519 yet even now declares the Lord, return to me with all of your what? 00:05:50.519 --> 00:05:57.479 With all of your heart, with fasting, with weeping and with mourning. 00:05:57.479 --> 00:06:03.959 Now listen to this, and rend your hearts and not your garments. 00:06:03.959 --> 00:06:09.000 Return to the Lord your God for he is gracious and merciful. 00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:15.799 Is he quick to anger? He's slow to anger and he's abounding in steadfast love 00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:22.920 and he relents over disaster. And this is where God is saying to people that 00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:29.480 despite the fact that there is all of these terrible things that are coming, 00:06:29.639 --> 00:06:37.000 now is the time to turn to the Lord. And with that events that happen in our own lives, 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:46.120 the time is now to turn to the Lord. God explains what it looks like to return to the Lord through 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:52.439 fasting, through weeping and through mourning. You see that right in the Scripture. 00:06:52.439 --> 00:06:57.959 And in verse 13, we see that God is saying something that is very interesting in here. 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:03.800 If you go to verse 13, God is saying to return to him right and how to go about it. 00:07:03.800 --> 00:07:11.000 And then it says in here, to what? To rend your hearts and not your garments. 00:07:11.000 --> 00:07:15.000 Return to the Lord your God. And I want to focus for a second here on 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:21.720 this idea of to rend your hearts and not your garments. And I have this image on here. 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:28.920 It's this image of, you know, it's just a generated image of someone who's focusing on 00:07:28.920 --> 00:07:32.040 their heart and not their garment. Well, when the world does that mean? 00:07:32.040 --> 00:07:38.920 Well, typically in verses like this, you find the tearing of the robe, right? In Jewish culture, 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:45.480 the tearing of the robe or the garment, it is a moment of mourning. It's a time of weeping. 00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:51.320 You'll find this in Genesis. This is not in your notes, but in Genesis, in 2 Samuel and in Job. 00:07:51.320 --> 00:07:57.080 Those are examples of the tearing of the robe. But it is in this specific moment where God is 00:07:57.079 --> 00:08:03.079 saying literally to, well, it's saying to tear your heart and not your clothing. 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:08.919 I'm not saying to literally rip out your heart though, but focus on what is affecting your heart 00:08:08.919 --> 00:08:17.560 instead of this action of tearing your clothes. It's a call from God for internal change rather 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:25.560 than this external action of the mourning or the ripping of clothes. And this reminds us of how God 00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:32.440 wants us to have a deeper relationship with him, not just a superficial one where you just go 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:38.600 through the motions or you just go through action. God does not want us to simply go through the 00:08:38.600 --> 00:08:46.120 motions or actions without the heart. For having a relationship with the Lord, it's a matter of 00:08:46.120 --> 00:08:54.840 the heart. Perhaps in your life, have you felt the need to return to God? Have you felt the pull 00:08:54.840 --> 00:09:03.240 from God to reflect and repent? Maybe there's been a separation. Maybe there's a call for you 00:09:03.240 --> 00:09:11.000 to pray to the Lord, to return to the Lord, maybe focus on your hearts. Do you feel such a call 00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:18.600 in your life? The tearing of the heart, it speaks of this idea of repentance, which is, we'll go 00:09:18.600 --> 00:09:25.240 over this further. It's the changing of one's mind. And in turn, it is turning back to God. 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:33.639 A modern day equivalent would be saying sorry for an action and changing your mind towards how you 00:09:33.639 --> 00:09:44.600 act. I want you to think about that. Really? Really? My page goes. You'll find in your notes, 00:09:44.600 --> 00:09:50.279 there's a chart that I have. I didn't put it on the screen, but it's a chart that you'll see in 00:09:50.279 --> 00:10:00.040 here. It's this chart of where you see that the Lord is gracious, merciful, slow to anger, 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:05.879 abounding instead fast love and relenting of disaster. And you know what's really interesting 00:10:05.879 --> 00:10:12.519 about this is that there's a pattern that is in Scripture, just like how we went over the book of 00:10:12.519 --> 00:10:19.960 Jonah, where we see in Jonah 4-2, you don't have to turn there. It's the same wording. It's the same 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:27.399 language describing this attribute of God being gracious, merciful, slow to anger, abounding 00:10:27.399 --> 00:10:32.360 instead fast love. It's just wonderful when we find a connection in Scripture like that. 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:38.439 And with that in mind, I'd like for us to turn to our second Scripture, which is going to be found 00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:48.360 in the Gospel of Luke. It's going to be Luke 13-1-5, and that's going to be on page 1037. 00:10:48.360 --> 00:11:08.680 So let's turn together. 00:11:08.679 --> 00:11:25.559 Let's read it together. There were some present at that very time who told him, who told Christ 00:11:25.559 --> 00:11:32.519 about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. What's going on there? 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:40.519 And he answered them, do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:46.519 all of the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? So someone's asking Jesus this question. 00:11:48.840 --> 00:11:56.039 No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you will also likewise perish. 00:11:56.039 --> 00:12:03.480 Then there's the story about those 18 on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them. Do you think 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:10.599 that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you. But unless 00:12:10.599 --> 00:12:20.279 you repent, you will all likewise perish. So you have this moment where you have two events that 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:30.360 are happening. You have this in what is that verse one, the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:35.079 with their sacrifice. Well, what's unfortunate is what's happening here is people are offering 00:12:35.079 --> 00:12:40.679 sacrifices and their blood was shed while giving doing their sacrifice, which was a terrible thing 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:46.519 that happened. And here you're reading about Pilate doing that. That's a tragic event that had happened. 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:53.559 And also further down, you're seeing the Tower of Siloam where it fell and it killed 18 people. 00:12:54.439 --> 00:13:01.480 That's also a very tragic event. And then there's this, do you think that these people are worse 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:08.439 sinners? Are they worse sinners than others because of this tragic event? What is going on here? 00:13:08.440 --> 00:13:17.880 You have Christ who's responding in regards to a tragic event that happens. We see that when we 00:13:17.880 --> 00:13:24.760 live here on earth, there are tragic events that happen, things, disasters or bad events that happen 00:13:24.760 --> 00:13:30.200 in our own lives or to other people, things that we find in the news. It is a response to the question, 00:13:30.200 --> 00:13:35.960 who sin is greater? Clearly they had it coming. And you see that people believed it then. And 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:40.440 there's some people that believe it now. I'm sure that some of us have thought of this before. 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:48.200 It's easy to come to such a conclusion. But in the eyes of God though, sin, all sin is bad in the 00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:55.080 eyes of God. Just because a bad event, if a tower falls on you or you die in, you know, combat or 00:13:55.080 --> 00:14:00.519 you something tragic happens to you, that doesn't mean that your sin is worse off than the next person. 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:05.799 And that's the underlying lesson that we find in here because we find that Christ is saying, 00:14:05.799 --> 00:14:15.000 no, unless you repent, you will also likewise perish. That is the focus on here. Sin is a 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:21.639 separation from God. It is to miss the mark. And you see in Luke verse three in chapter 13 verse 00:14:21.639 --> 00:14:30.759 three and verse five, there is a repeating about repentance and perishing. Now I want to take a 00:14:30.759 --> 00:14:36.840 moment here in this idea of the word repentance. Some of us have heard before the idea that we 00:14:36.840 --> 00:14:43.480 must repent and we must believe, right? You also hear the word thrown around a lot, right? Repent 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:52.920 the Lord or you should repent of your sins. The word is defined as to think differently or to 00:14:52.920 --> 00:15:01.320 change your mind about someone or something. And I want to ask you, have you ever been moved or 00:15:01.320 --> 00:15:08.759 convicted to change maybe your action, maybe a certain mindset that you've had? Maybe it's time 00:15:08.759 --> 00:15:15.159 for you to reflect on who Christ is in your life and how you can change your mind to see that 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:21.879 Christ is more than just a teacher or a really cool guy, right? Or maybe it's something different 00:15:22.840 --> 00:15:29.159 that the Lord is trying to change your mind about a certain belief or something, maybe some healing 00:15:29.159 --> 00:15:36.679 that needs to happen. When we come to know the Lord, we allow for God to work in and through us 00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:43.239 so that we can change our mind. Listen very closely, repentance, changing our mind about who 00:15:43.239 --> 00:15:52.039 Jesus Christ is. This is to help us understand scripture. There are many verses that speak 00:15:52.039 --> 00:15:58.599 of believe in the Lord and be saved, right? In that there is the idea of repentance. 00:15:59.399 --> 00:16:06.120 In order to believe in the Lord, your mind has to be changed from unbelief to belief, 00:16:06.120 --> 00:16:13.000 from not knowing who the Lord is to coming to know the Lord. Repentance in the biblical sense 00:16:13.000 --> 00:16:20.360 is the understanding that our minds are to come to know who Christ the Lord is. Let me repeat myself 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:27.799 here. Repentance is changing our mind to come to know the Lord. It is going from unbelief to belief, 00:16:27.799 --> 00:16:33.399 from not knowing who Christ is to knowing who Christ is. And you'll see, I'm going to put this 00:16:33.399 --> 00:16:40.039 image on here, this picture of a butterfly. There's a word that you'll find here on your notes, which 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:48.759 is metanoia or metanoeo. Today I'll just focus on metanoia. It's pretty much the same thing. It's 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:55.799 the difference between repent and repentance. It's very similar. So metanoia, you may know the word 00:16:55.799 --> 00:17:03.719 meta, right? Like the company meta from Facebook, right? Meta means beyond or to change. And then 00:17:03.719 --> 00:17:13.559 noia is mind. So it is to go beyond the mind or to change one's mind. It is the idea about this is 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:21.960 changing your mind about who Christ is and believing in him. Instead of focusing on who sin is greater, 00:17:21.960 --> 00:17:29.079 focus on coming to know who the Lord is. So when we see this verse where it's saying specifically 00:17:29.079 --> 00:17:38.200 to repent, it's metanoia or metanoeo. Repent repentance, right? It's talking about changing 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:46.519 your mind. And in the context of this verse, Christ is talking about how every evil, every deed, 00:17:46.519 --> 00:17:54.440 every sin in the eyes of God is seen as equal. Now I know here on the earth, that's very hard for us 00:17:54.440 --> 00:18:01.319 to fathom, right? Stealing $1 is different than stealing $10,000, but it is still sin in the eyes 00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:10.440 of God. It's still missing the mark, so to speak. And in our application of this, we can realize 00:18:10.440 --> 00:18:18.680 that repentance, again, is part of the process of believing in the Lord. I realize that very often 00:18:19.559 --> 00:18:25.320 you'll see a lot of people who say repentance as in repent of your sins. Well, when you hear that, 00:18:25.320 --> 00:18:32.360 it's change your mind about sin. Does that make sense? Right? Repent of your sin. Repent and believe 00:18:32.360 --> 00:18:39.080 would be change your mind about Christ, right? Change your mind and believe. So turn your mind, 00:18:39.079 --> 00:18:45.480 turn your heart to the Lord. And it can be true in many cases. We must remember that the core concept 00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:54.199 here is the idea of repenting, repentance, repentance, changing of one's mind. Why did I put a butterfly 00:18:54.199 --> 00:19:02.039 up here? You heard the word metamorphosis, right? Where you see a caterpillar, right? How it transforms 00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:09.480 meta-changing, a morphosis, right? Morphous to change form. And in a similar manner, 00:19:09.480 --> 00:19:14.359 metanoia would be the changing of one's mind. I didn't want to put a transforming of the brain. 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:20.599 I don't know what that would look like here. So a butterfly serves as a really, in my mind, 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:27.000 a better visual representation of changing one's mind. It's just like how in scripture says, 00:19:27.000 --> 00:19:33.079 do not be conformed of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your what? Your mind, 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:39.880 right? Change your mind about who Christ is. I want you to really 00:19:42.279 --> 00:19:46.920 changing of what's one's mind. That is the representation. And I hope that when you think 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:51.960 of repentance, maybe you'll think of a butterfly next time. And at this time, I'd like for us to 00:19:51.960 --> 00:20:00.519 turn to our third verse, which is going to be in 2 Corinthians 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 20. 00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:08.600 And this is going to be found on page 1037 in your ESV, the Bible. 00:20:08.599 --> 00:20:21.159 Oh, 1140. 1146. 00:20:24.279 --> 00:20:26.919 Keeping you guys on your toes or is it the other way around, right? 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:37.720 All right. 1146. There you go. 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:45.560 Second Corinthians chapter 5 verse 20. So that's page 11, 1148. Let's turn there. 00:20:46.840 --> 00:20:50.360 Forget what it says on the screen. We need to know really where it's at. 00:20:50.359 --> 00:20:59.559 Okay. Let's start from verse 18. Okay. 00:21:01.879 --> 00:21:09.399 It says here, all this is from God who through Christ reconciled us to himself 00:21:10.199 --> 00:21:19.399 and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ was reconciling the world 00:21:19.400 --> 00:21:28.600 to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 00:21:29.320 --> 00:21:37.400 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ. God making his appeal through us. We implore you on 00:21:37.400 --> 00:21:45.080 behalf of Christ to be reconciled to God. Let's finish off in that last one. For our sake, 00:21:45.079 --> 00:21:54.679 he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. Very 00:21:54.679 --> 00:22:02.519 powerful language in here. We've talked about repentance. We've talked about repenting, right? 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:09.000 Meta-noia, right? To change one's mind. And in changing one's mind, when we come to believe in 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:17.079 the Lord, we should become ambassadors for Christ. So here it's talking about being reconciled to God, 00:22:18.440 --> 00:22:24.759 right? Reflection and repentance. And this is the verse where the apostle Paul is urging those who 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:31.880 know Christ to be ambassadors for Christ. So what does it mean to be an ambassador? It means to be 00:22:31.880 --> 00:22:38.920 a representative of Christ, right? So I put this image here. It's probably not the best of images, 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:44.920 but you get the idea, right? Being an ambassador for Christ, being a light in the darkness, carrying 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:51.080 out the work and the mission, right? To go out to make disciples to proclaim the gospel, 00:22:53.720 --> 00:23:01.080 to do this all for Christ. There's this very important idea which is to be reconciled to 00:23:01.080 --> 00:23:07.560 Christ. And since we are a new creation when we believe in the Lord, we are saved by grace through 00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:15.480 faith. And we are encouraged to spread the good news of the gospel to others. How are you a 00:23:15.480 --> 00:23:23.399 representative? How are you an ambassador for Christ? The word to be reconciled has a similar idea of 00:23:23.399 --> 00:23:30.519 being changed, but it's the idea of restoration. When you think of reconcil, right? When you think 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:40.680 of accounting almost or banking, right? You want to reconcile. In this case, it's restoration with 00:23:40.680 --> 00:23:46.440 the Lord. In other words, when you hear someone say, make your life right with God, 00:23:47.559 --> 00:23:54.920 that would be being reconciled is to have your life right with God. So reconciliation is the 00:23:54.920 --> 00:24:01.880 restoration of a relationship. And it means the relationship with God. And I want us to make note 00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:08.039 that when we're reading this verse, Paul is making an appeal for us to be reconciled in Christ. 00:24:08.920 --> 00:24:15.880 This is one of those verses where you have the idea of personal accountability and responsibility 00:24:15.880 --> 00:24:22.600 to believe in the Lord. I cannot force you to believe in the Lord. You must come to that decision 00:24:22.599 --> 00:24:28.279 on your own. This is one of those things, one of those verses, right? Where it says, 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:37.480 going back to the verse, we implore you on behalf of Christ. That's translated implore is we beg you 00:24:38.599 --> 00:24:45.480 to be reconciled with Christ. When's the last time you've begged someone to come to know the Lord? 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:49.240 Right? I mean, I know there's obviously different approaches and how we 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:55.480 share in the good news of the gospel, but this is where the apostle Paul is saying, hey, look, 00:24:55.480 --> 00:25:02.920 this is how important it is to be reconciled to the Lord. How important it is for us, 00:25:03.480 --> 00:25:10.680 for this change in our minds to happen to believe in the Lord. So this is one of those verses. 00:25:10.680 --> 00:25:17.799 It's about us making that decision. Again, I cannot make that decision for you. What I can do though 00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:26.039 is pray for you. I can share in the word of God and I can show you it's like planting the seeds, 00:25:26.039 --> 00:25:32.039 right? And in the same way, that is what we are called to do. When we think of evangelism, 00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:37.480 when we think of sharing in the good news of the gospel to others, think about the relationships 00:25:37.480 --> 00:25:43.799 that you have. Sometimes it is through opening the Bible. I'll tell you a really short story here 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:52.599 here. In my time in Hawaii, there is an individual that I met who did not know the Lord and had a 00:25:52.599 --> 00:26:02.359 very, say a very small view of scripture. Does the Bible say this? It had to do with God's love, 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:07.639 right? That's a very common one. And I come to find out that this person worked at a church, 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:14.759 was a church secretary, and I'm not saying all church secretaries are this way, but this particular 00:26:14.759 --> 00:26:23.560 individual didn't open a Bible before, worked in a church, never opened a Bible before, and didn't 00:26:23.560 --> 00:26:32.120 know the gospel story. Now, how that happened, I have no idea. But it was in that moment in sharing, 00:26:32.119 --> 00:26:38.199 well, what does scripture have to say? Let's go, they were asking about 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 00:26:39.879 --> 00:26:45.879 Well, can we expand it a little more on John 3.16? There was more talk about it, but just that little 00:26:45.879 --> 00:26:52.119 moment. Did this person believe in the Lord and they were saved? I don't think so, but maybe they 00:26:52.119 --> 00:26:58.279 did. And all I know is that the seed was planted, though. Taking that time and being intentional 00:26:58.279 --> 00:27:04.279 with someone, that's what matters. And saying, hey, look, I know there's a lot of stuff you're 00:27:04.279 --> 00:27:08.759 working through, but I'm still going to be here and pray for you. And if you ever have a question, 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:18.759 here's my number, you can text or call me. That interaction only happened once. And it might 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:23.639 have been the only time that ever happened. And I still pray for this individual. I don't want to 00:27:23.640 --> 00:27:35.000 give names, but it's the idea with that. And so it is in times like this, where we should be encouraged 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:41.560 to come to know the Lord and to have our minds changed about him, to believe in the Lord and be 00:27:41.560 --> 00:27:50.680 saved. We should take time to reflect upon our everyday living and our own lives. And let us 00:27:50.680 --> 00:27:57.480 consider the idea of repentance. We've seen in our first reading from the book of Joel, the importance 00:27:57.480 --> 00:28:03.400 of turning to the Lord, regardless of what bad things are happening in the world, regardless of 00:28:03.400 --> 00:28:10.120 locusts or regardless of war, famine or whatever it is that's happening in life. You still have the 00:28:10.120 --> 00:28:17.720 opportunity. Turn to the Lord before it's too late. And then we find in Luke, we found about this idea 00:28:17.720 --> 00:28:27.480 about metanoia. Salvation is a matter of coming to know the Lord and believing in him. Do you have 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:33.640 heart knowledge of who the Lord is? Or do you just know Jesus as this cool, you know, 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:42.600 hipster guy with long hair? I mean, how do you view the Lord? We've also seen that, again, no 00:28:42.599 --> 00:28:48.199 matter what happens in the world, there's still time, but we don't know how much time we'll have 00:28:48.199 --> 00:28:54.359 here on earth. So be encouraged to make that decision for Christ. There's the understanding that 00:28:55.240 --> 00:29:00.039 in the Gospel of Luke, with that tower that fell down and the slaughtering that happened from Pilate, 00:29:02.919 --> 00:29:11.159 focus on repentance. And it's almost as though Christ was saying, thank God, this didn't happen to 00:29:11.160 --> 00:29:17.720 you. Now come to know the Lord. That's kind of harsh. It really is, but it's the truth. 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:24.040 Again, let's not ignore though, in saying that, let's not ignore bad events that happen. 00:29:25.080 --> 00:29:30.120 Christ calls for us to change our mind about who he is. And when bad things happen, it goes to show 00:29:30.120 --> 00:29:39.160 how precious life is. Maybe you have once believed that Christ, maybe you only know Christ is just 00:29:39.160 --> 00:29:46.200 a cool guy or a cool teacher. Maybe you've believed that and you need to change your mind as seeing 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:54.440 Christ as Savior, as Messiah, as Lord. Perhaps you need to repent and come to see that the Lord is 00:29:54.440 --> 00:30:01.560 good, that he is gracious, kind, merciful, slow to anger, and abounds in that steadfast love. 00:30:02.440 --> 00:30:07.480 Maybe you need to come and see that Christ died on the cross for all of our sins, 00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:13.720 that he performed these wonderful miracles that he taught many parables and 00:30:15.640 --> 00:30:23.400 he spoke of being the Son of Man and he spoke about hell as well. Maybe you just need to simply 00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:30.120 reflect on your heart and ask God what needs to be changed in your heart, in your mind, 00:30:30.119 --> 00:30:36.919 and even in your own life. How can God renew your spirit? How can God transform your mind? 00:30:36.919 --> 00:30:45.239 How can God work in your life? And we learn in that second Corinthians reading how we 00:30:45.879 --> 00:30:54.439 are to be an ambassador or a representative of Christ that we are to implore, we are to beg people 00:30:54.440 --> 00:31:01.640 to be reconciled with Christ. Now, granted again, relationships, conversations, in that particular 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:13.720 sense, yes, beg. In Christ there is salvation and there is restoration that happens in him. 00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:22.039 Let this be a call for repentance for those of you who do not know the Lord and for those of you 00:31:22.039 --> 00:31:27.720 struggling or you're on an uneasy path. Maybe you've seen tragic things that have happened 00:31:28.440 --> 00:31:34.279 and maybe it's time to focus on to the Lord or reflect on how God is working in your own life. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:43.559 Even when we don't see it and I'm reminded of John chapter 20 verse 29, which goes on to say, 00:31:43.559 --> 00:31:51.559 have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet 00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:57.240 believe. That is such a hard passage. But I know for many of us we would have loved to see water 00:31:57.240 --> 00:32:03.720 turn into wine. We would have loved seeing the healing of the sick, the mute, right, the deaf 00:32:03.720 --> 00:32:14.920 being able to hear, the blind being able to see. Seeing Jesus Christ walk on water would be amazing. 00:32:14.920 --> 00:32:22.279 Seeing Lazarus come out and being raised from the dead man. I hope we would have, 00:32:23.319 --> 00:32:28.440 we all would want to see that but as that verse says, blessed are those who have not seen and 00:32:28.440 --> 00:32:35.320 yet believe. And that's a very powerful verse. And as we are beginning this Lenten season and this 00:32:35.320 --> 00:32:43.400 sacred journey, I would like to encourage and invite all of you to be on this Lenten journey to 00:32:43.400 --> 00:32:52.440 Easter. This time for us to reflect on the Lord and to be on this spiritual journey to Christ 00:32:52.440 --> 00:33:00.440 and in believing in Christ, be on that spiritual journey with Christ. Take this time to focus on 00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:07.000 your spiritual walk with the Lord. And I encourage that you take to heart with these three verses 00:33:07.000 --> 00:33:15.160 have to say in regards to repentance and reflection and also act upon them. Whether this is through 00:33:15.160 --> 00:33:21.880 turning to God, focusing on your heart, repentance or spreading, sharing the good news of the 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:29.880 gospel to others, be encouraged to live out the message from this morning. Maybe you need to spend 00:33:29.880 --> 00:33:35.080 time with the Lord and connect with him, open the word of God, pray. Maybe you need to be in 00:33:35.080 --> 00:33:42.680 Christian community with other believers in Christ. Maybe you need to just really soak in the fullness 00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:52.600 of God's word. Maybe there needs to be restoration in your life. In any sense, this season, 00:33:53.799 --> 00:34:00.920 it is not just about preparing for Easter. It is a reminder of Christ's life, his works, 00:34:01.480 --> 00:34:08.599 the suffering, the death, the burial and the resurrection on the third day. It is about hearing 00:34:08.599 --> 00:34:15.880 the call from God and respond by having that active faith. Let this lent be a time where we draw 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:23.400 close to God, but also may we be ambassadors of Christ's unfailing love. Let's pray together. 00:34:24.679 --> 00:34:30.759 And Father, as we conclude our time this morning, we ask that you are with us as we leave this place. 00:34:30.760 --> 00:34:38.040 Let the word of truth, let the seeds of transformation, may they change our minds and our 00:34:38.040 --> 00:34:45.640 minds to know you and to grow in you. May our hearts be softened to live and to love like you. 00:34:46.680 --> 00:34:53.000 May we come to know you, may we believe in you, may we grow in faith in you, and may we be encouraged 00:34:53.000 --> 00:35:01.239 to do good in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask that we can reflect on this message and on this 00:35:01.239 --> 00:35:09.480 teaching of your word, that our minds can continue to be molded in you, that we can have that faith 00:35:09.480 --> 00:35:16.119 in you and grow in you. We ask Father that you are with us throughout this Lenten journey, 00:35:16.119 --> 00:35:24.839 this sacred journey towards you. May we draw near to you in our lives. It is in the name of Christ, 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:31.400 our Redeemer, that we pray and we all say together, Amen. Amen. 00:35:32.759 --> 00:35:38.279 Thank you for tuning in to the Ontario Community Church sermon podcast. For more about our church 00:35:38.279 --> 00:35:44.759 and how you can get involved or support our mission, please visit ontariocommunitychurch.org. 00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:53.560 May God's blessings be with you.