The Results of Repentance

Summary

Cornerstone Chapel - Audio Podcast

Episode: "The Results of Repentance" (July 19, 2026)
Host: Pastor Gary (Cornerstone Chapel team)

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Overview

This episode focuses on the biblical concept of repentance—what it truly means, what leads to it, the consequences of resisting it, and, most crucially, the remarkable results it brings. Drawing from Acts chapter 3, Pastor Gary unpacks Peter’s sermon at Solomon’s Portico following the miraculous healing of a lame man, highlighting God’s heart for forgiveness and the transformative power of turning to Christ.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Context: The Aftermath of a Miracle (00:00–03:02)

• The early Church, mainly Jewish, is spreading the Gospel in Jerusalem.
• Peter and John heal a lame beggar at the temple gates.
  • The man stands, walks, and "entered the temple…walking, leaping and praising God" (01:57).
  • Crowd gathers, amazed, giving Peter an opportunity to preach.
• Memorable moment: Pastor's lighthearted reference to a childhood VBS song about the lame man.

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2. Peter's Gospel Message (03:04–05:38)

• Peter clarifies the miracle wasn’t by human power but by Jesus—the resurrected "Holy One, the Just, the Prince of life" (03:20).
• Peter charges the listeners: “You killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.” (03:44)
• The gospel hinges on repentance: "Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord." (04:24)

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3. What is Repentance? (11:03–16:50)

• What It Is NOT:
  • Not merely feeling sorry or guilty, being caught, or making up for bad with good (11:15–11:52).
  • "The Bible is clear that no one is good. No, not one." (11:52)
• What It IS:
  • "Repent" (Greek: metanoia)—a change of mind about one's condition and need for Christ.
  • Recognizing one's sinfulness and turning toward Christ’s grace.
  • Illustrated as a nautical term: “Metanoia means to about face or to change direction.” (13:31)
  • Twofold: Turning away from sin (apostrepho) and toward God (epistrepho) (15:00).

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4. Warning: Resisting Repentance (17:04–19:40)

• Continuing in sin brings spiritual destruction:
  • “Jesus would say…unless you repent of your sins and turn to God, you will perish.” (17:39–18:35; cf. Luke 13:3)
  • Persistent refusal results in “condemnation, judgment, and the wrath of God eternally in a place called Hell.” (19:03)
• Hell was not made for humans, but resisting God’s loving gift leaves one under judgment (19:05–19:40).

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5. What Leads to Repentance? (19:44–27:13)

• God’s Heart and Kindness:
  • God is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9, quoted at 20:00)
  • “He is patient with you. Can I get an Amen? Not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (19:44)
  • “God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.” (22:56; Romans 2:4)
• Godly Sorrow vs. Worldly Sorrow:
  • Godly sorrow means genuine brokenness over sin, not just regret for being caught (23:16–25:07).
  • David’s brokenness (Psalm 51) after his sin against Bathsheba as an example.
  • “What God desires is brokenness over sin. In our lives, you don't need to beat yourself up over sin. Jesus was beaten and bruised for you.” (25:43)
  • “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death.” (23:16; 2 Corinthians 7:10)

Notable Quote

"David's sin broke God's heart. Our sin, it breaks the heart of God." – Pastor Gary (25:07)

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6. The Results of Repentance (28:15–37:19)

Pastor Gary highlights three core results, later expanding the list from Scripture:

A. Remitting (Blotting Out) of Sins (28:23; 30:07)

• “When you repent, there is a remitting of your sins…God, when you repent, will blot out your record.” (30:07)
• Imagery: Ancient inks could be blotted out; God completely erases the record of sin through Christ.

B. Refreshing from God's Presence (32:42)

• "When you repent…there is joy and peace and this freedom from the power of sin. Because you’re filled with God’s Spirit.” (33:12)
• A supernatural “refreshing” replaces guilt and burden.

C. Returning of Jesus Christ (34:12–36:32)

• Repentance, in Peter's message, is tied to Christ’s second coming and the ultimate restoration.
  • “The only reason that Jesus is delaying his return is so more and more people come to repentance.” (36:06)

Extended List (37:26–39:47)

• Revival of a nation (2 Chronicles 7)
• Relationship with Christ (Revelation 3:20)
• Receiving the Spirit (Acts 2)
• Rejoicing in heaven:

  “When one sinner repents, there’s rejoicing in heaven by the angels.” (37:57; Luke 15)

• Rescuing from death (Romans 6:23)
• A daily walk: “The Bible says to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. For the believer, repentance is a daily thing.” (39:19)

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7. The Call to Respond—A Loving Plea (40:10–End)

• Repentance is a matter of urgent choice, not passive waiting.
  • “Love necessitates choice. And so because God loves you, he will never violate your freedom. You have a choice today to either receive the free gift of salvation, repent and trust in Christ, or resist this.” (40:10)
• “While you still have breath in your lungs, it is still possible to come out of darkness and repent.” (41:24)
• Satan’s lie exposed: “Satan wants you to think you’ve done too much wrong. God will not accept you... That’s not what the Bible says.” (41:18)
• Believers called to a continual attitude of repentance; nonbelievers invited to turn to Jesus now.

Notable Moment

“God is much closer than you think. God is near. He is one prayer away.” (42:16 – Pastor Gary)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I've never met someone who's repented and regretted it. Never.” (27:29)
• “Repentance is a turning away from a life of sin and darkness and a turning towards the loving arms of Jesus Christ, who died for your sin to make you right with God.” (16:50)
• “Why would you not want these amazing benefits?” (39:31)
• “Repent. Trust in Christ today.” (42:01)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:00–03:02 — Setting: Miracle at the gate and crowd gathers
• 03:04–05:38 — Peter’s sermon, foundational call to repentance
• 11:03–16:50 — In-depth definition of repentance: what it is and isn’t
• 17:04–19:40 — Warning about resisting repentance and its consequences
• 22:56 — “God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.”
• 23:16–25:43 — Godly sorrow, David’s brokenness, Psalm 51
• 28:15–39:47 — The fruits/results of repentance and expanded scriptural list
• 40:10–end — Final pastoral plea and prayer for listeners to repent and turn to Christ

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Episode Tone & Language

Pastor Gary balances warmth, pastoral concern, and direct honesty. There’s urgency without condemnation, humor (childhood VBS anecdote, Sharpie story), and a repeated call to grasp God’s love—a “cord of kindness” drawing everyone to Himself.

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Final Takeaway

Repentance isn’t just regret; it’s a conscious, lifelong turning from sin to God, rooted in His love, motivated by His kindness, and rewarded with forgiveness, peace, revival, and the hope of Christ’s return. If you haven’t yet, Pastor Gary gently but firmly urges: “Repent. Trust in Christ today.”

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For more verse-by-verse, heartfelt Bible teaching, listen to more episodes from Cornerstone Chapel.

Transcript

[Pastor Gary]

Acts chapter three. And if you're able to, would you stand for the reading of God's Word? Now, we're going to be starting in verse 11, and we're going to read Acts 3, verses 11, down to the end of the chapter. But before we just jump right into this section of Scripture, a little bit of the context, because what's going on here in Acts chapter three there, Jesus has risen from the dead. He's ascended back into heaven. You see in Acts chapter two, the outpouring of God's Spirit, the Holy Spirit comes upon the early church, 120 of them in an upper room. The Holy Spirit falls on these believers, and the church starts to get outside the walls of that room. And predominantly they're in Jerusalem still, because remember, the early church is made up of predominantly just Jews. And so they then are taking the gospel into Jerusalem, and many are coming to Christ and the gospel is spreading. What then happens here in Acts chapter three is Peter and John, two of Jesus closest disciples, as they make their way to the temple there in Jerusalem for their time of prayer, they run into this lame beggar, this man who has been lame for years, begging for money. And Peter gets the guy's attention, and he says, money, I don't have, but what I do have, I give to you. And by the power of God, using Peter's faith and Peter as just this willing vessel, God through Peter, he heals this man. And the Bible says that this lame man, he. He stands up, all of his joints kind of click back into place. And the Bible says in verse nine, and all the people saw him walking and praising God. It says that he walked and entered the temple with Peter and John, walking, leaping and praising God. For those of you who grew up in the church, maybe you had. You learned this song in VBS Growing up. We just had VBS this past week. Remember that song we'd sing about that man walking and leaping and praising God? No? Okay, that was awkward. Moving on. Maybe that. Maybe that's just me. I don't know if I made that

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

song up or not.

[Pastor Gary]

This man, he starts. He stands up, walking and leaping and praising God. And then verse nine, it says, all the people see this man and gather around him because they know this is the guy that's been begging here for years for our money. What in the world is he doing? Walking and jumping and praising the Lord.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

And.

[Pastor Gary]

And so this crowd gathers around them.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

And now Peter has their attention, and

[Pastor Gary]

he goes into this sermon, verse 11. Now, as the lame man who was healed held Onto Peter and John. All the people ran together to them in the porch, which is called Solomon's, greatly amazed. So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people. Now here's Peter's sermon.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Here.

[Pastor Gary]

Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? No. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate when he was determined to let him go. But you denied the Holy One. Now notice these titles Peter gives Jesus. You denied the Holy One and the Just and asked for a murderer. Who was that?

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

That was Barabbas.

[Pastor Gary]

You asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

the dead, of which we are witnesses.

[Pastor Gary]

Verse 16. And his name, that is Jesus, through faith in his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through him and has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. Yet now, brethren, brothers, sisters, I know that you did it in ignorance. Did what crucify Jesus. I know you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets that the Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. Now here's our key verse for this afternoon.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Verse 19.

[Pastor Gary]

Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out so that

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

times of refreshing may come from the

[Pastor Gary]

presence of the Lord, and that he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you, before whom heaven must receive, until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Him you shall hear in all things

[Pastor Gary]

whatever he says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear the prophet that is Jesus shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. Yes, and all the prophets from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed to you first. God, having raised up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities. The title of our Bible study today

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

is the Results of Repentance. Let's pray.

[Pastor Gary]

Lord, we first just pause and we commit our Bible study to you. God, I don't know who you've brought into this room today, but you do. You know exactly where each and every

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

single one of us are.

[Pastor Gary]

Some are far from you. Some are close to you.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Some are on the fence.

[Pastor Gary]

Lord, I pray that you would accomplish

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

your purposes in each of our lives, Lord, by your spirit, through your word,

[Pastor Gary]

you do the speaking.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Lord, you're our chief shepherd. Would you shepherd us now?

[Pastor Gary]

Would you lead us into deeper depths

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

of knowing you, of fellowship with you, God? We pray all this in Jesus wonderful name. And everybody said, amen.

[Pastor Gary]

You may be seated. Church. I can remember a time where I ran away from home. And it's hard to run away from Pastor Gary. And, you know, I'm the middle child. And so us middle children, we require just a little bit more attention. Let me just put it this way. The Pastor Gary you see Wednesdays and Sundays, teaching the Word, the spiritual maturity that he has, the wisdom that he has beyond his years. It's all because of me, okay? I take the credit for it.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Why?

[Pastor Gary]

Because as the middle child, I had my parents on their knees, praying, fasting, seeking the Lord. What are we going to do with this kid? He's such a mess. He drives us nuts. So I really stretched my dad's prayer life. And in that time, the Lord got ahold of his life, matured him, gave him wisdom, made him into a great Bible teacher. So all of that.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Guys, it's me, okay? And it's.

[Pastor Gary]

Cause I'm troubled. I'm troubled. And so anyways, I was running away from home. And as a boy, when you run away from home, what do you really need more than your underwear and your baseball trophies? So that's what I do. I piled in my undies and my baseball trophies into my bag and. And I said, I'm out of here, Pastor Gary. And so Pastor Gary, my dad and my mom, they come to the door and they watch me leave. And I get a few blocks down the road and I'm kind of looking back, seeing if they notice that I'm gone. And I see them at the door. My dad shouts out, repent. Oh, I'm kidding. He didn't say that. Guess what? He didn't do a thing. He didn't do a thing. He watched me walk out of the house. He's waving goodbye.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Nothing.

[Pastor Gary]

So I go to the backyard and

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

I sit in the grass, and I just wait till I'm hungry and I go back inside.

[Pastor Gary]

That's what the word repent means. It means to turn back, to turn around. Now, all of us have heard that word. Probably we've heard it either in a Bible study or a sermon. Although I'm convinced that most of our pulpits in America are not preaching or speaking on repentance as much as they should. The pulpits in America have been riddled with all of this self improvement, be the best version of yourself mumbo jumbo. They're not speaking on repentance. Did you know that John the Baptist, one of the first words out of the preaching ministry of John the Baptist was repented. Believe the good news, Jesus when he began his preaching ministry. In the book of Matthew, we see the very first word out of Jesus mouth as he began his ministry was repent. For the kingdom of heaven is near or the kingdom of God is at hand. Now again, many of us have heard that word repent, but what does it actually mean and how does it apply to our lives? Because sometimes in modern day when we hear that word repent, it's correlated with just these crazy street preachers that are shouting at us, repent or go to hell. But is that true? So what do we do with this word repentance? Peter in the middle of his message here, he's going to make it clear that all of us need to repent. And so in today's Bible study, I'd like to tackle these four questions with us regarding this topic of repentance. If John the Baptist preached on it, if Jesus our Lord and Savior preached on repentance, that we gotta get this thing straight. Listen, I want you to hear my heart on this. Jesus is coming back soon for his bride. The Bible affectionately refers to us as

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

believers as the bride of Christ. And he's coming back to receive his bride. In John chapter 14, Jesus said, I'm going away to prepare a place for you. And if I'm going away, I will come again and receive you unto myself. That where I am, there you might be also.

[Pastor Gary]

So you will meet Jesus one of two ways. Either you will meet him when Jesus comes back for us, or you will pass away, you will die, and you

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

will meet him on Judgment Day.

[Pastor Gary]

And you got to get this one word absolutely correct.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Repent.

[Pastor Gary]

You have to understand it and apply it to your life because if you don't, your eternity's at stake.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

I want you to hear my heart for you today.

[Pastor Gary]

So we're gonna unpack these questions. What is repentance?

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Because we have to have a working definition.

[Pastor Gary]

Number two. What happens to one who resists repentance. Number three, what leads to repentance? And then finally, number four, what are

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

the results of repentance?

[Pastor Gary]

So first question, what is repentance? Now, before we understand what repentance actually is, I wanna make a few things clear to us concerning what repentance is not. All right. Repentance is not just feeling sorry about your sin, just feeling bad about your sin. Repentance is not just simply feeling bad about doing bad things. Repentance is not feeling sorry about your sin because you were caught. Repentance is not trying to do good stuff to make up for the bad stuff you've done.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

All right?

[Pastor Gary]

The Bible is clear that no one is good. No, not one. And so on judgment day, God is not gonna weigh the scales hoping that your good stuff outweighs your bad stuff. The Bible says that our good works are like filthy rags compared to a holy God. And I don't know about you, but if that were the case that it was just based on scales, our salvation, I have little to zero confidence that my good would outweigh my bad. And so repentance is not just doing enough good stuff to outweigh my bad stuff or feeling sorry or guilty about the bad stuff we've done. That's not what repentance is. Here's what repentance, biblically speaking, is. Peter, in his message, he would say, repent, and that is the Greek word metanoia. Metanoia is two Greek words combined. Meta, meaning to change, and noia or nous, meaning the mind. So repentance literally means to change the mind. Well, to change your mind in what regard or aspect? To change your mind or to change your thinking in regard to your own condition, That I am not a good person, that I was actually born as a sinner. David would say, surely I was conceived in my mother's womb as a sinner. And so it's so important that we first recognize and change our thinking regarding our own condition. Again, the Bible is clear. There's no one good, no, not one, that all of us have fallen short of God's glory. So to change your mind in regards to yourself, that I am not good, and to change your attitude or your thoughts regarding your need for Christ,

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

that

[Pastor Gary]

you realize I can't do enough good to have peace with God. I am a dirty sinner in need of a Savior. It's the change of your mind regarding your attitude towards sin. It's a turning away from sin and a turning towards the grace and love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. See, in classical Greek, metanoia, repent. That was actually a nautical term that meant to turn this boat around, See, if two boats were going into dangerous waters, one captain would shout out to the next, repentance. Metanoia means to about face or to change direction. You and I are going one way without the Lord, towards death and destruction because of our sin. The Bible says the wages of sin is death. What is a wage? A wage is a payment. We are being paid in death, spiritual death, because of our sin. And to metanoia, to repent means to change course, to go from unbelief to. To belief and trust in Christ, to forsake a life of sin and to turn towards the grace and forgiveness of Christ. And Peter stamps this truth in Acts chapter three by again saying that repentance is both this turning away from something and this turning towards something else. And he first says in Acts 3:19, he says, now repent of your sins and turn to God. The new King James Version says, and be converted if you have an NLT or an niv. The word converted isn't there. It's the phrase turn to repent and turn to God. That phrase turn to in the Greek is epistrepho, EPI meaning upon or to, and, and strepho, meaning to turn. See, repentance is a turning toward God. But in order to turn toward God, Peter says you have to be turning away from something else. And that's where he would then go on to say in Acts 3, verse 26, there's a few verses later to you first. God, having raised up his servant, Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away every one of you from your iniquities, your sins. And that phrase, turning away, it's a similar word to epistrefo, but it's apostrefo. See, those words share the same suffix, but there's a different prefix there. Again, epistrepho. EPI means to turn towards, upon or to, and apo means separation. So apostropho means a turning away from. See how belief in Christ, trust in Jesus, and repentance, there are two sides to the same coin. Repentance is a turning away from a life of sin and darkness and a turning towards the loving arms of Jesus Christ, who died for your sin to

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

make you right with God.

[Pastor Gary]

Does everybody get this? Are you guys awake? It was a rough night last night for myself, so I need a little participation.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

I'm a little tired this morning, but we're relying on God's strength So it's

[Pastor Gary]

a turning away from and a turning towards Jesus Christ. This is what biblical repentance is. Now, I need to shoot straight with you, and I'm just delivering the mail this morning. But what happens to one who resists repentance? You say, that's great, but I want to continue in my sin. I don't need Christ. I want to continue to live apart from the Lord because I don't need Him. The Bible says sin is fun for

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

a season, but it ends up leading to destruction.

[Pastor Gary]

But I'm good to go. That might be your attitude. I don't need the Lord. I don't need Jesus.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

I'm going to live my life and

[Pastor Gary]

I'm going to be the master of my life. What happens to the one who resists repentance? What happens to the 1? What are the ramifications of one who stays in sin and rejects the free gift of Jesus Christ? This is what the Bible says, and I'm not going to sugarcoat it with you. This is what the Bible says. I'm delivering the mail to you today. Jesus would say in Luke 13:3, Jesus would say, you will perish. Now understand the seriousness of these verses. Jesus would say, you will perish too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. Acts 17:30. He commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him, for he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man that is Jesus. He has appointed and he proved it to everyone who this is by raising

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

him from the dead.

[Pastor Gary]

Paul would echo something similar in Romans 2:5. He says, but because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath when his righteous judgment will be revealed. The Bible is clear that those who resist repentance will experience the condemnation, the judgment, and the wrath of God eternally

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

in a place called Hell.

[Pastor Gary]

Now you need to know this. Hell was originally created for Satan and

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

his demons, not for mankind.

[Pastor Gary]

But when mankind rebelled against a kind, loving God, sin entered the world. And because God is just and holy, he doesn't. He can't turn a blind eye to wickedness. He must punish sin as the judge of the universe. And so for the one who resists repentance and trust in Christ, they too will experience this same eternal condemnation. You have to understand the seriousness of this.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

But I also want you to understand God's heart.

[Pastor Gary]

The Bible makes it clear that these are the consequences or ramifications for the one who resists repentance. But this is God's heart. The Bible says, what leads us to repentance. What brings us to a place of repentance? This is what the Bible says. Peter, the same Peter who preached this message in Acts 3, would write his own letter and say this in second Peter chapter 3. He would say, the Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness, but instead He. He is patient with you. Can I get an amen? Not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. You see, this is God's heart for humanity that he wants none to perish, but all to come to repentance. You see that word where it says he doesn't want anyone to perish? That word, anyone. In the Greek it means anyone. All right, we don't have to overcomplicate this. He doesn't want anyone to perish, but he wants all to come to repentance. This is God's heart. He doesn't want anyone to go to that place called hell, originally designed for Satan and his demons. He wants all to come to know him, to turn from sin and trust in him. And it's all motivated because of his deep love for you. He says, if you would come to me and you would repent, this was my heart for you. No matter what you've done, no matter where you've been, no matter the evil thoughts you've thought, no matter the dirt and the shame and the guilt that you carry. God desires that you would repent and know him because he wants to forgive you and wash you, and he wants to bring you into the family of God. This is his heart for everyone and anyone. That's why John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life. The club of the whosoevers belongs to anyone who would repent. This is God's heart for you. So what leads us to repentance? Well, it's God's heart you got to know. God's heart for you, but it's also the kindness of God. God's kindness is what leads us to repentance. Romans 2:4 says, or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance. See, some of you grew up in a very legalistic setting where you thought that God was just waiting to hit you over the head with a stick because you didn't Read your Bible. And you thought if I didn't read my Bible today, God loves me just a little bit less. No. You see, God is being so patient with you. He's being so kind, so loving, so long suffering. If you would just recognize his patient. Listen, God is patient. He's more patient than any of us in this room. But his patience has a time limit. He's given us one life to get right with Him. And so while you're living in this window, get right with the Lord. Because in the meantime, the Bible says he is drawing us with cords of kindness. He is drawing you with his cords of kindness. The Bible says he doesn't treat us as our sins deserve. He is being patient. He is being kind. Why? Because he wants that kindness to lead you to repentance. He wants you to see and know his heart that I love you, that I don't want you to experience condemnation,

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

but I want you to come outside of that. I want you to know me.

[Pastor Gary]

And so he's showing us his kindness while we are still alive and have breath in our lungs. His kindness is intended to lead you to repentance.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Paul says so.

[Pastor Gary]

It's not only God's heart and God's kindness that's intended to lead us to that place of repentance. But. But what God desires is this godly sorrow. Paul would say in 2nd Corinthians 7:10, Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death. What's the difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow? Big difference. And I mentioned it a moment ago. Worldly sorrow is just feeling sorry for your sin because you got caught. Worldly sorrow is, yeah, I kind of feel bad. But we justify our sin. We make excuses for our sin. We try to explain our sin away. That's worldly sorrow. The Bible says that brings death. Trying to justify sin, make excuses for our sin, that's worldly sorrow. But godly sorrow, the Bible says, is what really brings repentance and it leads to salvation. Now, what is godly sorrow? In the Old Testament, there's this situation where many of you know this account.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

David has an affair with Bathsheba. David lusts after this woman, has an affair with her, and actually has her husband murdered. The Bible says that God sends the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin.

[Pastor Gary]

And the Bible says in Second Samuel, in the new King James Version, it says that David's sin displeased God.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Displeased God.

[Pastor Gary]

And that word displeased in the Hebrew,

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

it's the Hebrew word raah. And it means to break or shatter. You see, David's sin broke God's heart. Our sin, it breaks the heart of God.

[Pastor Gary]

For those of you who are parents, when you see your kids going astray,

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

it breaks your heart, doesn't it? It's no different with our heavenly Father. David's sin displeased Raah. It broke God's heart.

[Pastor Gary]

And so, in response, because David responds humbly to this rebuke, he writes Psalm 51. And he pours out his brokenness to the Lord. And he says, I would have brought you sin offering and sacrifices, but that's not what you wanted. He says, a broken and a contrite heart. These things, O God, you will not

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

despise or turn away.

[Pastor Gary]

You see, what God desires is brokenness over sin. In our lives, you don't need to beat yourself up over sin. Jesus was beaten and bruised for you. Jesus was beaten on your and my behalf. So you don't need to beat yourself up over sin. But we do. The Bible calls us to experience this brokenness over sin. God, I am so sorry for what I have done. I have done things, said things and thought things that have broken your heart. God, would you forgive me? David said that when he held onto this unconfessed sin, it was like his bones were wasting away. It was like his body was shriveling into nothing. So God desires us to have this brokenness over our sin. And brokenness requires humility. No trying to scoot around sin or cut corners or try to excuse our sin away or justify it. No. God, I confess my sin to you. To confess means to agree with God. God, I agree with you that what I have done is wrong. God, forgive me. That is godly sorrow. That is brokenness.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

That is contrition.

[Pastor Gary]

So the Bible says that godly sorrow is what leads to true repentance, which when you're broken over your sin, it motivates you to turn away from it. God, I don't want anything to do with that sin any longer. That godly sorrow leads us to repentance. And that repentance, the Bible says, brings salvation. And Paul says, and in that there is no regret.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

I don't know about you, but there are many, many things I've done in my life that I have so much regret over. All of us have regrets.

[Pastor Gary]

You know that commercial, I don't know

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

if it's still on or not, but

[Pastor Gary]

there's that commercial where this guy gets a tattoo.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

No regrets.

[Pastor Gary]

Oh, you could tattoo that on my heart. I have so many regrets in life. But Paul says there is one decision, there's one decision you can make that you will never have any regrets over. It's repentance. I have never met someone who's repented and regretted it. I've never met anyone who's been broken over sin to and trusted in Christ that has regretted it. Never. And Paul says that this decision to trust in Christ, to repent, it leads to salvation. And this decision has no regrets attached to it.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

No regrets. These are the things that lead to repentance. And then finally, number four, what are the results of repentance?

[Pastor Gary]

What does the Bible promise that one can experience

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

when they repent?

[Pastor Gary]

What are the fruits of repentance? What are the benefits or the results of repentance? I have three things for us found in this text. Number one, a remitting of your sins. Number two, a refreshing from God's presence.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

And number three, a returning of Jesus Christ.

[Pastor Gary]

Glance back at the text with me in the middle of Peter's sermon here in verse 19, he would say repent therefore and turn to God so that number one, your sins may be blotted out. When you repent, there is a remitting of your sins. There is a blotting out of your sins. That word blot out in the Greek means, it means to wash or wipe away. See, back in the day when they would write they didn't necessarily have permanent markers like some kind of a permanent Sharpie. So when they would use ink, the text necessarily, the ink wouldn't necessarily bite into the paper like a permanent marker would today. It was just literally yesterday I was home alone with my 2 year old son and, and you know, he's able now. It's a really fun season with a two year old and it's a very dangerous season as well. Cause he's able to get into all the different cabinets and we gotta put all like all the little locks on the cabinets and all this stuff. And so there's this one cabinet he's kinda learned to kind of climb up to and it's the cabinet with all the markers and all the crayons and Sharpies. So yesterday I had my back turned for a second, just a second, and he had gotten one of the sharpies

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

out with the cap off. And I just see him like this.

[Pastor Gary]

And when you see a two year old with a Sharpie in hand, it's. I don't know, it's like your mind is apparently it goes into like life or Death mode for some reason. So he's like this, just looking at me, like testing me. And I'm like this. And I start negotiating with him. What do you need? Juice box? Passy, I'll give you anything. And he's kind of holding it up like that. And he gets close to the couch, and he's starting to go, huh? He's getting close to the couch. Our nice white couch. Why did we buy white? I don't know. That's one of the regrets I have. He's got this Sharpie next to the couch. He's like threatening me. And I'm like, you dirty little sinner, you give that back. And he's got his. Oh, he's tested my patience. And I run over, I dive over, I grab the Sharpie. Oh, mission accomplished. Where was I going with that?

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

The Sharpie.

[Pastor Gary]

The ink. The ink. In ancient times as they would use ink, it wasn't like our Sharpie today that your 2 year old could threaten to kind of mark up your couch with. It was an ink that wouldn't bite into the paper immediately and you had time to blot it out or to wipe it away. Peter says, a result of repentance is this remitting of your sins. God, when you repent, will blot out your record. It's like white out or like tied to go. You get a stain on your shirt, you tied to go, that thing in the name of Jesus Christ, and you blot out that stain out of your nice shirt. And Peter says, when you repent, God, because of what Christ has done on your behalf, he will blot out your record so that on Judgment Day when it's just you and God, there will be absolutely no record to your account because of what Christ has done on our behalf. Christ, the Bible says, he who knew no sin became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God. So when Jesus looks at us, he looks at his perfect son, Jesus, there is no record attached to your name because of your repentance and trust in Christ. This is a result of repentance, a blotting out of your sin. Number two, he says, when you repent, there's gonna be this refreshing from God's presence. He says, repent therefore, and turn to God so that, number one, your sins might be blotted out. And number two, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. See, when you repent of sin and

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

you come out of darkness and you come into the light, you say, God, my attitude towards the old Life is gone. I don't want sin any longer. I'm trusting in Christ. What God will then do is he

[Pastor Gary]

will fill you with His Holy Spirit.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

And this supernatural refreshing will come over your life.

[Pastor Gary]

If you've never experienced this refreshing presence

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

of God on your life, it might mean you've never truly repented of sin.

[Pastor Gary]

I'm not saying you have to have this crazy emotional experience. No. But the believer now has peace because of what Christ has done. When you repent of sin and trust in Christ, God imparts to you this supernatural peace that comes upon your life. There is now just this joy and this peace and this freedom from the power of sin. Cause you're filled with God's spirit and. And there will be just this refreshing outpouring upon your life. Not this perfection. Not saying that we're going to be perfect. We're still going to wrestle with sin. But our attitude for sin is completely different. And we've come into the light of Christ. We've been washed, our record, our sin blotted out by God and his forgiveness.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

And just this refreshing outpouring of God's presence comes upon your life. And many of you know what I'm talking about. Some of you don't. Don't leave here today without repenting.

[Pastor Gary]

He says, a remitting of your sins is a result of repentance. A refreshing from God's presence is a result of repentance. And then thirdly, a returning of Jesus Christ. He associates repentance with Christ's return. Check this out in verse 20. So in verse 19 again he says, repent and be converted, that your sins might be blotted out so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, verse 20. And that he may send Jesus Christ, who was preached to you, before whom heaven must receive until the time of restoration of all things, which God has spoken by the mouth of all his

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

holy prophets since the world began.

[Pastor Gary]

What Peter essentially is saying here

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

is

[Pastor Gary]

Peter essentially offered Israel the opportunity to hasten the return of Jesus by embracing him on a national level. Something that must happen before Jesus will return. And Jesus would speak about this in the book of Matthew, in Matthew 23, he would say, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.

[Pastor Gary]

Now check this out. He says, see, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see me no more till you say Blessed is he who comes in the

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

name of the Lord.

[Pastor Gary]

See, the Bible says in Romans 11 that Israel will one day experience this national spiritual revival. And when that occurs, Jesus will come again and he will descend to the Mount of Olives. And then they will say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. You see, Peter correlates repentance with the return of Christ. And this isn't just God's heart for the Jews, but for the whole world. You see, the only reason that Jesus is delaying to come back is so that more and more people come to repentance. It's the only reason. That's why Peter would say in 2 Peter 3, 9, for God desires that no one would perish but all to come to repentance. The only reason Jesus is waiting is so that you might repent. Now, aren't you glad if you know Christ, that Jesus waited long enough to return until you and I came to know Him?

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Right.

[Pastor Gary]

I'm so glad Jesus waited long enough for me to slip into that window of salvation. And if you don't know Jesus, you've never repented of sin and trusted in Christ. The only reason Jesus is waiting is because he still is holding his arms out to you saying, come, this is your opportunity. Jesus is delaying so that you might repent because he wants more and more people to repent and come into the kingdom. It's the only reason he's waiting. The Bible says until the full number of Gentiles come in, and then so all Israel shall be saved. And. And then Jesus will return to the Mount of Olives and he will return with them saying, blessed is he who

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

comes in the name of the Lord.

[Pastor Gary]

See, Peter says repentance will occur and

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Jesus return will occur. Do you know him today?

[Pastor Gary]

Now, the last two services, they didn't

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

get this because I didn't really have enough time, but I've got like five other points.

[Pastor Gary]

And so I just ended with these three points. But when I was in my in prep time, the Lord just kept bringing Bible verses to my mind. I'm gonna just rattle off these. This is a free gift. This is like God's grace. Others two services, they didn't get this dessert that I'm about to dish out to you. Now listen, there's not repentance, the results of repentance, there's not only a remitting of your sins, a refreshing from God's presence, a returning of Jesus Christ, there's a revival of a nation. The Bible correlates repentance with revival in 2nd Chronicles 7, there's also a relationship with Jesus. In Revelation chapter 3, he, he would say, repent. Repent. And then hear me knocking at the door of your heart. And if you repent and you open the door, I will come in and eat with you. And he with me. God wants relationship with you, but it begins with repentance. Repentance also results in a receiving of the Spirit. In Acts chapter two, there's also a rejoicing in heaven. Now check this out. In Luke chapter 15, Jesus would talk about two different parables. And he would use these two parables to say this, that even when one sinner repents, there's rejoicing in heaven by the angels. See? Repentance results in rejoicing in heaven. It's an amazing thing. Finally, number eight, a rescuing from death. Paul says that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus Our Lord. And 2nd Corinthians 7 says that when you repent, God rescues you from spiritual death. Now why would you not want this? Listen, for the believer, if you think, oh, I repented a long time ago, repentance is one and done, no, you're misunderstood. The Bible says to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. So for the believer, repentance is a daily thing, a life surrendered to Christ. Is this daily turning from sin and abiding in Christ by the power of

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

God's Spirit living in you?

[Pastor Gary]

So don't get it twisted now, for the new believer, for the person, let me rephrase it this way. For the person who has never repented and trusted in Christ, why would you

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

not want these amazing benefits?

[Pastor Gary]

Why would you not want to experience the amazing results of repentance? Having your sins blotted out, being forgiven of your sins, having no record on Judgment Day, this refreshing presence of the Lord in your life, and Jesus returning for you.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

And then the rest of the list. Why would you not want this? See, the Bible says that God is love. This is where we'll end it. And whenever a pastor says that, it means, I got like 30 more minutes. The Bible says that God is love. Love isn't just something that God does.

[Pastor Gary]

Love is who he is. God is love. And love necessitates choice. And so because God loves you, he

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

will never violate your freedom.

[Pastor Gary]

You have a choice today to either receive the free gift of salvation, repent and trust in Christ, or resist this. Jesus would say in John chapter three,

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

like, why would you not want this? Jesus would say in John chapter three, because men Love their darkness. Men love their darkness. And for fear of being exposed, they do not come into the glorious light of Jesus Christ. I implore you today, please come to Christ. Repent of your sin. Come out of darkness. See, what Satan does is Satan likes to make you think that you're trapped. Satan wants you to think you've done too much wrong. God will not accept you into his family. You are too far gone. You are stuck. That's not what the Bible says. Again. The Bible says that God desires that none would perish but all to come to repentance. While you still have breath in your lungs, it is still possible to come out of darkness and repent, to trust

[Pastor Gary]

in Christ, to turn from a life

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

of sin and to trust in what

[Pastor Gary]

Jesus has done for you. Not trying to improve yourself, but coming to the foot of the cross saying, God, I am a sinner. I don't want that life. I want Christ and freely accept the gift he's given you. He died for your sin because of his love for you and rose from the dead. Come out of darkness and come into his light. Agree with God that you're a sinner and you need a savior and that

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

he provided it through Jesus Christ.

[Pastor Gary]

Don't leave here today without doing that.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

Repent. Trust in Christ today. I want to give you an opportunity

[Pastor Gary]

to do that right where you're seated. Listen, God is one prayer away.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

God is much closer than you think. God is near. He is one prayer away.

[Pastor Gary]

And if you're unsure, if you've ever truly repented of a life of sin

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

and fully trusted in Jesus Christ, do that today. Do that today. I want to give you an opportunity as we go in prayer.

[Pastor Gary]

If that's you, you want to repent of sin and trust in Christ, you whisper a prayer to the Lord and it's as simple as this.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

God, I don't want a life of sin.

[Pastor Gary]

Forgive me of my sin.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

I trust in Jesus today. I believe he died for me and rose from the dead. Come into my life.

[Pastor Gary]

Ask him to come in and forgive

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

you and wash you. Say, I repent and I trust in Christ today. If you're watching online, you can do this right where you're seated at your

[Pastor Gary]

phone or computer, you can do this. God is so close and he's holding out his arms wide open. If that's you, you repent.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

You pray, you invite Christ to come into your life. Believers around the room, be praying, be praying. Lord, move in a wonderful way, Move in a powerful way across this whole room, across the waves of the Internet to those watching move in a wonderful way. You're calling people to repentance you're drawing us with cords of kindness. I pray that for many today they would repent and trust in Christ. Save Lord you are mighty to save you tell us in your word you're mighty to save Lord would you save today by your power. Thank you God for Acts chapter 3 thank you God that you are kind and forgiving. Lord forgive us of sin we turn towards you and your mercy your grace and forgiveness today pray that you would

[Pastor Gary]

be with my brothers and sisters throughout the rest of this week. Lord be with them, encourage them, go before them, remind them just how much you love them and may we go in your grace and peace. We pray all of this in Jesus

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

name and all God's people together said amen guys I love you so much.

[Pastor Gary]

God loves you and we'll see you next time.

[Co-Pastor or Bible Study Leader]

God bless you guys.