PT-1 Intro to Acts 3:19-26

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/9/2017 10:10 AM

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus:  PT-1 Intro to Acts 3:19-26

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 3:19-26

            Message of the verses:  “19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; 20 and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, 21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time. 22 "Moses said, ’THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you. 23 ’And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.’ 24 “And likewise, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and his successors onward, also announced these days. 25 “It is you who are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ’AND IN YOUR SEED ALL THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH SHALL BE BLESSED.’ 26 “For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways."”

            As we look at these verses we will be looking at the conclusion of Peter’s sermon which he began with the proceeding verses that we have been studying.  In these verses we will be looking at the necessity of repentance.

            We can see that the importance of repentance is found in the Old Testament as God was primarily dealing with the people of Israel, to whom He stated through the different prophets that they were stiff-necked and a rebellious people.  Jeremiah talks about this in Jeremiah 8:4-5 “4 "You shall say to them, ’Thus says the LORD, "Do men fall and not get up again? Does one turn away and not repent? 5  "Why then has this people, Jerusalem, Turned away in continual apostasy? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return.”  Ezekiel says the following in Ezekiel 14:6 “6  "Therefore say to the house of Israel, ’Thus says the Lord GOD, "Repent and turn away from your idols and turn your faces away from all your abominations.”  In 2 Kings 17:13 we see a summarization of the sad history of God’s dealings with Israel in the Old Testament “Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah through all His prophets and every seer, saying, "Turn from your evil ways and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets."”  John MacArthur writes “The primary ministry of the prophets was to bring Israel to repentance.  Yet the nation refused to heed them, and suffered the terrible consequences of destruction and captivity.”

            The problem is that things did not change nor did the message change when we get to the New Testament times.  The New Testaments begins with the book of Matthew and John the Baptist saying in 3:1-2 “1 Now in those days John the Baptist *came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 2  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."”  Matthew 4:17 states “17  From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."”  Jesus brought the same message of repentance.

            As we have been studying these first few chapters in the book of Acts we see the importance of repentance in the preaching and teaching of the Apostles of our Lord.  Peter’s sermon in chapter two had the necessity of repentance in it, and so does this one we are studying in chapter three also.  We will see this continue as we continue to study the book of Acts as repentance is necessary for one to become a believer in Jesus Christ, to become a born-again Christian.  I will conclude this SD with a quote from John MacArthur as he writes about what repentance is:

“Repentance is a key New Testament term.  The literal meaning of metanoeo (repent) is ‘to change one’s mind or purpose.’  Repentance involves far more than a mere intellectual decision.  It is a change of mind that issues a change of behavior.  Peter’s use of epistrepho (return), a word used frequently in the New Testament to speak of sinners turning to God (Luke 1:16-17; Acts 9:35; 11:21; 14:15; 15:19; 26:18, 20; 2 Cor. 3:16; 1 Thess. 1:9; 1 Peter 2:25), reinforces that meaning.”

            We will begin with a parable that our Lord spoke found in Matthew 21:28-31 in our next SD to give an illustration on repentance.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is good for me to re-visit the true meaning of repentance at this time in my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will use this time of study on repentance to bring about what He desires to bring about in my life at this time.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Matthew and Luke.”

Today’s Bible question:  “How old was Abraham when Isaac was born?”

Answer in our next SD.

9/9/2017 10:35 AM