Turn and LIVE!

If you are returning to the LORD with all your hearts, then rid yourselves of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths and commit yourselves to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines. – 1 Sam 7:3

If there’s ever as a message that’s appropriate for our generation today, it is this:  Put away your fake and false gods, and commit yourselves fully to the Lord!

If we want to be free from the things that bind us up, the things that oppress us, then we must make a decision to put away those things and devote ourselves to the Lord.  Really, there is no other way!  Jesus said “you cannot serve two masters…” and it’s true. If we try and hang on to our sin, even just a little bit, then we’ll never be free. The fact is, when we offer ourselves to sin, we become its slave:

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? – Rom 6:16

Which is why the power of repentance is so important.  Not only does God forgive us, He gives us the power, through His Holy Spirit, to be set free from the power of sin!

You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. – Rom 6:18

The fake and false gods of our time: sensuality, money, power, drink & drug, they will lead us into bondage and affliction… every single time.  Who needs it?  Put away your gods, turn to the Lord, and LIVE!

...till the whole world hears

Pastor Clay

The Power of Repentance

This morning Tammy and I are heading up to Duke to have my surgically implanted torture device removed (happiness!).  I want to sincerely thank all of you who have been and will be praying for the procedure!  It shouldn’t be a big deal: They’ll put me to sleep, take out a few screws, and wake me up.  I should be home for dinner (which I am looking forward to after not eating since last night!)

This Sunday we’ll be going into chapter 7 of 1 Samuel. The ark has been returned, but after the event at Beth Shemesh (50,070 died after peeking into the ark), the Israelites are as afraid of God as the Philistines were! So they move the ark to Kirjath Jearim, and according to the scriptures, “all the house of Israel lamented after the LORD.”   The reality of God, His power, His majesty, His mighty hand, has had a different effect on the Israelites than it did the Philistines.  Instead of turning God away, they are turning to God.  In essence, the house of Israel is coming to a place of repentance before God.

Repentance is a topic that is often overlooked, a practice that is often disregarded, because it brings us into conflict with one of our deepest weaknesses: Our inability to admit we have done something wrong.

However repentance is one of the most important elements of our spiritual walk. Matter of fact, without it we would have no spiritual walk at all, as repentance is the beginning point of our relationship with God. But it not only is the beginning point, it helps us stay in fellowship with the Lord.

Join us Sunday as we look into the power of repentance.

... till the whole world hears,

Pastor Clay