Faith on the Go: Hope Amidst Judgment: God's Invitation to Repentance

0:00 Welcome to the final episode of our Faith on the Go series. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and today we're concluding our journey through Romans 1, 18-32, with an episode filled with hope and restoration. The title of today's message is Hope in the Mist of Judgment, God's Call to Repentance. We've covered the sober reality of humanity's rejection of God in our Downward Spiral series. Today, I want to remind you that even in the midst of judgment, God extends his hand, inviting us to return to him.

0:41 Go with me to Romans 18-32. I won't be reading all of it, but maybe I should. Let me find it as we close out our final episode of Romans 18 through 32. You know, why not read the whole episode? Why not read it, right? Romans 1, it's going to be 18. I think I'm reading it from the New King James. Let me find it. I wasn't planning on reading it. Apparently, I'm feeling led to read it. So I'm going to go ahead and read it. We're going to start with 18. And in the New King James Version, they have these subtitles.

1:23 And this subtitle says, God's wrath on unrighteousness. I'm just going to read it. It says, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

2:05 Because although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools and changing the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and creepy things. Therefore, God also gave them up to uncleanliness and the lust of their hearts to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than creator, who was blessed forever.

2:51 Amen. For this is the reason God gave them up to vile passions, for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also the men leaving the natural use of women, burning their lust for one another. Men with men committing what is shameful and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error, which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness.

3:38 There are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. That was a mouthful. We see here that God is not playing. And as we look at the world today, you can pretty much go through and do a checkoff list of what you see in the world.

4:21 That the world is in a downward spiral. Going against what God has already said. Man doesn't belong with man. Woman doesn't belong with woman. And when those things start to kind of, when those things get into the world, it starts to create other evilness. But he also says in that verse 32, which we covered last week, he says here, he says, who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice those things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but those who approve and practice of them. This passage outlines the consequences of rejecting God's truth.

5:04 When we think about sin, this is an example. When you think about sin, it's like you have a glass of people use like Kool-Aid or your favorite drink. And if you put one drop of feces in it, is it still your favorite drink? No, it's not. And so when we add one drop of sin into our life, it's just like adding that one drop of feces to your favorite drop of Kool-Aid. It's still not good. But God has given us, God said, we can repent of that sin and it cleanses us from all unrighteousness, according to 1 John 1, 8 and 9.

5:44 But this passage outlines the consequences of rejecting God's truth. So Let's say that you don't repent, that you reject God's truth. And he says, this is worthy of death. God did not miss words in his word that this is worthy of death. Still within this, there is also a divine call of repentance, a chance to realign our hearts and lives with his will. And so if you wake up and you're still breathing, you still have a chance to get it right with the Lord. You still have a chance to spend forever, ever with the Lord in heaven.

6:25 How do we recognize this? It says, God's judgment is not a final condemnation, but a wake-up call, a chance to turn back before it's too late. The goal of his righteous judgment is restoration and not destruction. I would not end this Bible podcast on a negative note saying everybody's going to hell if they did this and that and the other. that's just not how God is. He gives you warning after warning after warning. Maybe this is your 23rd warning, and he's saying, hey, give it up, because what you're doing is worthy of death.

7:06 This is your wake-up call. Wake up. This is your chance to turn back before it's too late. too late. God's goal is righteous judgment, is restoration and not destruction. 2 Timothy 2.22, easy to remember. 2 Timothy 2.22, it says, flee also youthful lusts, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. It says flee. Flee means run, get out of there.

7:48 Also, youthful lust. You find out when you're young, you do kind of stupid stuff, right? But as you get older, you do start to change, but you pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who are called and calling the Lord with a pure heart. But Paul encouraged believers not only to flee from sin, but to actively pursue righteousness and surround themselves with others who seek God. Difference if you just run from it, but you have to run to something else. Otherwise, that sin will catch up with you, and then what happens?

8:30 You ever see a person maybe recover from something? It could be something simple as maybe alcoholism or even have a drug addict or a sexual addict or any simple anything that you gave up. And then all of a sudden you didn't replace it with the word of God or something else that positive, I will say with the word of God, though. Guess what happened? It caught up with you. So I always say that you want to flee, but you also want to pursue after something else, righteousness. And you also want to surround yourself with people who will support you, who are seeking God, who can surround you in prayer.

9:13 True repentance means turning away from sin and moving toward a life of faith and purity. Question for you, are there areas where you heard God's warning but delayed responding? What steps can you take to realign with his truth? Is this a warning or a wake-up call for you to get it right with the Lord? If it is, just run towards him. He has his arms open wide and he is waiting for you. You never know what's on the other side of that sin until you actually give it back to him. Jesus died on the cross for you so that you don't have to live like that.

9:56 Repentance is more than just saying, I'm sorry. It's about a heart posture that seeks God above all else. Matthew 6.33 says, Jesus 633, it says, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things should be added to you. Jesus gives us a blueprint for living in alignment with God. It says, but seek first the kingdom of God. But seek, like that, but seek. It's like, but seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all these things will be added onto you. You know, when you think about a lot of this stuff is coming out in the news.

10:40 I don't really watch it, but I kind of, every time now again, you get a thread about, you know, things that's going on. That people have sold their souls to be stars, to be movie stars, to be rich and famous. And they did not seek the kingdom of God. And so when you're not seeking God, you would do anything to maintain that status. And as you're finding out that they have done pretty much a lot of evil things to maintain that status. But when you seek God, there's no tricks or games. You know, God doesn't get you to the top and then pull the rug out from under you like Satan does.

11:21 But when we prioritize God's kingdom in our thoughts and actions, Everything else in life begins to fall into place according to his will. Now, a lot of times people think that it happens overnight, you know, and sometimes God can do a miracle in your life. And as soon as you turn to God, boom, boom, bam, all those things start happening. But then there's some things you have to learn and grow into and then boom, boom, bam. And so a lot of times God can be a last minute thought. And sometimes God will do what he does because he loves us. So you just have to seek him first. And he has something special for you and your timing is for you.

12:03 It says, pursuing his righteousness protects us from spiritual violence. Drift and keep us grounded in his grace. I love that. If you, I live in Nebraska and I lived in Michigan, you never had the snow drift, you know, so if you live where the sand can drift, and so drift means things can kind of move from side to side, you know, and so you don't want to be drifting. You want to be stable in God's word, so you want to pursue his righteousness, and it protects you from being double-minded, right?

12:44 From protecting you from being, you know, double-mindedness or wishy-washy. But you can be firm in what he is because he is firm. God's word is stable, right? It's unshakable. And so that will give you that opportunity. When you pursue him in righteousness, it will keep you straight. You won't say one day you're doing good the next day you're doing bad. Sometimes that happens, but one day you're not pursuing God and next day you're pursuing the devil. You're pursuing God no matter what, a good, bad, or ugly day. You're always going to be after him because you are seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness.

13:27 Some translation says his way of doing things and making things right. And so question for you, Is God indeed first in your daily decisions? Or have you allowed the distractions to take priority? You know, sometimes we have to do a mental check on our lives. A mental, physical, usually it's February. No, it's March. So it's March. And so we're in our third month of the year. What does that look like to you? Are you still keeping your promises to God? What does that look like to you? What does that look like to you? What does it look like to you?

14:09 Keep seeking him first, no matter what. If you haven't done that, then do a reset. It's okay. Do a reset and start all over. It's still March. It's still March 1st, right? It's still in the early parts of March. And then no matter how far we've strayed, God's call to repentance comes with a promise of restoration. He desires to bring us back into fellowship with him and renew our hearts and mind. So how do we embrace repentance? You know, if you're new to it, you know, some people are like, you still, as you're learning it, you repent every day.

14:53 You're like, oh, I messed up, I messed up. As you get mature in it, you go like, you just do your, I think I messed up. The Holy Spirit begins to check you before you mess up. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. So there's four points that I want you to remember on how to embrace repentance. Number one, acknowledge your need for God. Recognize areas you're falling short and bring them to God in prayer. Remember those dying world spirals because no one's stopping you and you just keep going or you can just hit your brakes and say, I had enough of this worldly way. I'm going to stop, reach up and ask God for help.

15:34 And then bam, I'm going to acknowledge that I need God. And then he's going to begin to pull you up out of that downward spiral. Number two, confess and surrender. Be honest with God about your struggles and surrender them to him. That's the only person that can help you. Acknowledge your need for God and then just be honest with him. I mean, he said he'll never leave you or forsake you. So he's been right there all along. And so you just confess and get back on track and get out of that spiral, that spiral. Number three, pursue community. Surround yourself with people who encourage your spiritual growth.

16:16 You surround yourself with people who discourage you on your spiritual growth. Now do the reverse. Surround yourself with someone who will encourage you on your spiritual growth. Amen to that, right? And then number four, stay in the word. The word is like your instruction book for life. Let scripture guide you and remind you of God's promises. Listen to the stories of the people who follow God and listen to the ones who didn't, right? You know, it's the idea to say, well, you know, I think I better follow God because that worked out for them. There's some stories where they didn't follow God and it didn't work out for them.

16:59 I mean, so the Bible keeps a balanced life. Let's say it keeps it real on what it looks like to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and his way of doing things. It also shows those who try to seek something else and the response that they get. What is their outcome? And so it's been so good. As we wrap up this series, I just want to encourage you to embrace the hope found in repentance. God's arms are always open to receive you. It doesn't matter how far you've wandered, he's calling you back home. Take time this week to reflect on the areas where you stray and make a commitment to pursue righteousness with your whole heart.

17:47 Pray to God for strength, to resist distractions and remain focused in his kingdom. There's so many distractions. But ask yourself why. Why are there so many distractions? So get focused, get a routine, and just seek first the kingdom. And then you'll see that you'll find out that things will begin to line up. I always say get a regular appointment with God. Get up at a regular time. You have a date with God. Don't be late. Pick it in the morning, pick a little time in the evening, you got a lunch break, just a little time with the Lord, right?

18:31 And then you'll find out that as you're seeking him, then you're going to get more direction. Things will become clearer, the fog will lift, and you'll be endued with some wisdom and knowledge on what to pursue next. And then you'll be surprised how that downward spiral that you felt that you were out of control will begin to slow down, and you'll get your life back. Why? Because you're seeking first God's kingdom. You're not seeking the opposite. Okay? So God's judgment isn't meant to destroy. It's meant to lead us to life. But sometimes people have to hit rock bottom before they really get the hint, you know.

19:15 But if you're still breathing and you're still alive, then you have restoration. God has restoration for you. Remember that repentance is an invitation to experience his mercy and grace in full measure. So remember, just repentance is turning away from evil, just turning your back on it and just going after God, fleeing it, running as fast as you can away from sin and running towards God. I'd like to thank you for joining me on Dialogue of Black Women. I'm your host, Connie Morris, and I want you to stay blessed.

19:55 Stay focused on His promises, and remember, there's always hope in Christ. Stay tuned for our next journey on Faith on the Go. So walk this out, this journey of faith, truth, and grace. And remember, God is still in the restoration business. Amen.