The First Baptist Preacher Series

Are you pointing people to God? I encourage you to continue to use your kindness cards to show people God’s love by performing acts of kindness. I’ve heard dozens of great stories. Pat Harris wrote me: “Good morning Brother David. I paid the tab for the car behind me in the Chick-fil-A drive through. It turned out to be $6. Later when I opened my order, an extra sandwich was in my bag. Coincidence? I don’t think so.”

2. WE FIND FORGIVENESS WHEN WE MAKE A U-TURN TOWARD GOD

The Bible says, “John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”

John’s message was simple: “Repent and be baptized.” The gospel is a short and simple message. For instance, there are only 297 words in the Ten Commandments; Jesus told the Prodigal Son parable using only 504 words. An average 30-minute message from me is 3,800 words. Compare that to how many words are in the Affordable Care Act Bill, also known as Obamacare: 234,812. Simple is good.

The word “repent” means to have a change of mind that leads to a change in your behavior. John’s preaching didn’t win him any awards. In Mark 6 we’re going to see where his preaching led to him being arrested and beheaded.

People don’t like to hear that they need to repent. They think they’re fine just the way they are. There are some churches today that no longer talk about sin. They are simply centers for human improvement. But the message of the Bible is that we are all sinners and if we want to experience God’s forgiveness, we must admit we’re sinners and turn toward God.

Joseph Parker was the pastor of City Temple in London during the last part of the 19th Century. He was known as one of the strongest preachers in Britain. He wrote: “The man whose message is ‘repent’ sets himself against his age and will be battered mercilessly by the age whose moral tone he challenges. There is but one end for a man … off with his head. You had better not preach repentance until you have pledged your heart and your head to heaven.”

The message of repentance is found throughout the Bible. Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He told the people, “Repent, or you’re going to drown.” But they laughed at him. Jonah went to the wicked city of Nineveh and preached, “Repent, or God is going to destroy your city.” And in that case, the people repented, and God spared their city.

God’s requirement to repent hasn’t been repealed. The Apostle Peter said, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” (Acts 3:19)

Repentance involves a spiritual U-turn. In many cities a U-turn is illegal; but in Tyler U-turns are now mandatory. Many of you can remember a time before the city built the medians in the middle of Loop 323 and other roads in Tyler. Before then, many motorists would rush out into what is sometimes called “the suicide lane.” Now we have become a city of U-turners. You may not like the medians, but they have reduced the number of accidents and probably saved many lives.