It is my prayer that you receive this word with understanding and that your soul and your spirit will be nourished. In the book of Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2 verse 38, we read: “Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
Interestingly, this was the first sermon that was preached in the New Testament (after the resurrection of Jesus Christ). Peter said, “Repent…” Meaning, turn away from your bad character or lifestyle.
There must have been a noticeable deviation from the way of God that made Peter to charge them to repent. Sometimes the truth could be bitter, but if you can tell yourself the truth, that will be the beginning of deliverance. I remember many years ago, before I gave my life to Christ, I knew I had a problem: I could not stop smoking, I could not stop womanizing, I could not stop doing the sinful things – things that are the very opposite of what God wants from us. I was thoroughly a ‘bad guy’. I knew the truth that I could not go to heaven the way I was. I was not a friend of God. But the problem was that I was not ready to face the reality of the time, so I kept postponing my salvation until somebody came to talk to me about Jesus. What I am sharing with you now is about Jesus. It is the truth about real life, and it is the way to salvation.
Peter said to the people of Jerusalem: “Repent!” I do not know the kind of thing that you are struggling with now. I do not know the habitual sin that has bound you. But, I bring you the same word in the above scripture: Repent and let everyone of you be baptized and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Friends, the most powerful thing happened about 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ died for you and I that we might have life. It is a story we hear everyday and it seems to have lost its power. No, it has not. Nothing has changed because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. In that scripture in Acts, Peter was preaching for the first time. I like what happened because reading that scripture further down, after he had preached, the Bible says: “They were cut to their heart and said to Peter and the rest of the people, ‘Men and brethren, what should we do?’” This is a question you need to be asking your God and yourself, especially if you do not yet know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. What should we do to be saved? This is a very important question that we must answer. Peter said: To be saved, you must accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the remission of sin, and then you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? Baptism and the gift of the Holy Spirit are the things that follow repentance. The most important thing is for you to know and tell yourself: I am not pleasing God. I am not doing what is right. I am not pleasing God. My life has been a very selfish one. I have been doing what I want and not what God expects from me. I know that if I die today the way I am, I will not go to heaven. You have to tell yourself the truth: What do I do to be saved? Am I right before God? Two thousand years ago, God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ to take away the power of sin from us; and that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. Sin binds us. Sin destroys us. You may be sleeping around with a person who is not your wife or husband; you may be messing up your soul with alcohol and tobacco and you think this is life. No, that is going to destroy you. You can have power over those things that have kept you down for a long time. In Jesus, you have power to rule and reign over sin, alcohol, adultery, fornication and over every kind of evil. Power in the blood of Jesus is the benefit of the gift of salvation. Peter said, ‘Repent…” My dear friends, it is going to be terrible for you to die without Jesus. You may have religion and yet not have Jesus. It does not matter how you have been, but do not die without the Lord. Receive Him now. You must get to the point when you say: okay Lord, I am tired of living in disobedience to your word and doing what you hate. I am tired of doing what my spirit hates. I know how it is because I have been there before. I know how it is to sleep with a woman and feel bad right afterwards. And then want to drown the guilt with alcohol and tobacco and hemp and all kinds of things. Sin is worthless. You cannot drown your conscience, you cannot drown the voice of the Spirit of God calling you back to repentance. Hear me: Jesus said, if you come unto me, I will give you rest. Nobody that comes to Me will I reject. That is a promise from a faithful God. Peter said, “Repent…” I say to you today, with all the love in my heart, for the salvation of your soul: REPENT! Are you ready to give your life to Christ now? Do not say tomorrow. Do not mock others, but just believe and let us pray the most important prayer in the world. I prayed this prayer with my whole heart many years ago and since then my life has never been the same. Lord Jesus, be merciful unto me. I am a sinner. Come into my life, be my Lord, Saviour and Master. I believe You died for me. I confess Your Lordship over my life. From today, I will serve You. I believe that You are the Son of God, I thank You Father. Amen.
Heaven is rejoicing because of you, if you truly gave your life to Christ. Know that God will never leave you nor forsake you. Three things I tell new believers like you:
1. Get yourself a Bible and begin to read from the book of John.
2. Pray to God in the name of Jesus, He will answer you.
3. Look for a good Bible-believing church where Jesus is preached and taught in spirit and in truth. Begin to grow there, and your life will never be the same.
Father, in the name of Jesus, with all of my heart, I release your power and blessing into the lives of those that gave their lives to Christ. I come against every curse and every power of Satan and unbelief working against their lives. I command such powers to be loose in the name of Jesus. Lord, grant them the grace and the ability to receive the word of God and to believe that Jesus is Lord, and to walk on this path. I thank You because I know You have answered our prayers and there is joy in heaven in Jesus’ name. Amen.
NB: First published November 2013