PT-2 Intro to Acts 3:19-26

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/11/2017 12:20 AM

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus:  PT-2 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."”

            We ended our last SD by talking about the word “Repentance” as we looked up its meaning and then said that we would next look at a parable that comes from Matthew 21:28-31 which will illustrate what true repentance really is: 

“28 "But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ’Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29 “And he answered, ’I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 “The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ’I will, sir’; but he did not go. 31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.”

            John MacArthur writes “Note that the second son not only changed his mind but also followed that decision with a change in his behavior.  John the Baptist demanded that anyone claiming to have repented validate such a confession with the evidence of a changed life (Matt. 3:6-8).  That is the nature of true repentance.”

            According to Acts 17:30 it is God’s design for men to repent:  “30  "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.”  MacArthur adds “To accomplish that purpose, He uses at least four prompters.  First, the knowledge of God’s revealed truth should cause men to repent.  In Matthew 11:21-24, Jesus sharply rebuked the cites of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for refusing to repent:

‘21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you."’

“Luke 16:30 illustrates the sufficiency of the Word to cause repentance:  ‘But [the rich man in Hades] said, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’  But he said to him, If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’

            “The apostle John defined his purpose in writing his gospel in these words:  ‘Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name’ (John 20:30-31).  God has given men all the evidence they need to arrive at the proper conclusion about Jesus Christ.  Those who refuse to repent are without excuse.”

            We will begin looking at the second prompter to accomplish the purpose of repentance in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “100.”

Today’s Bible question:  “By what is the love of God shed abroad in our hearts?”

Answer in our next SD.

9/11/2017 12:45 AM