Youtube Video

MP3 Podcast

Summary

In this conversation, Kurtis Leaks emphasizes the critical role of repentance in evangelism, arguing that it is not merely a confession of sins but a transformative act that leads to freedom and a deeper relationship with God. He discusses the importance of confronting the truth of God’s holiness and the weight of sin, as well as the necessity of surrendering control to Christ. The conversation culminates in the understanding that repentance is essential for true discipleship and spiritual awakening.

Chapters

00:00 The Importance of Repentance in Evangelism
00:05 Understanding Repentance: A Call to Action
04:54 Confronting the Truth of Sin
14:04 Surrendering Self-Rule to Christ
23:33 Repentance as a Pathway to Discipleship
27:33 Conclusion: The Hopeful Message of Repentance

Transcript *This transcript was automatically generated and may contain errors.*

Kurtis Leaks (00:00)
evening.

So imagine waking up in a burning house. Smoke fills your lungs. Flames lick the walls. And the exit, the exit is just a few steps away. But instead of running toward the exit, you pause to organize and straighten up the burning house. This is what ignoring repentance in evangelism looks like.

choosing comfort over rescue. Repentance is not a dirty word. It is a doorway to freedom. But too many treat it like a locked gate with a beware of dog sign on it. In that they are afraid to touch or go near. You see, want revival without repentance.

We want grace without surrender, and we want heaven without turning around. My friends, this is not what the gospel is all about. Have you ever tried ⁓ fixing a GPS route while driving the wrong way? It doesn’t work.

You know, repentance is not just about knowing. It is about turning. Notice, we apologize to one another, takes place all the time. But when was the last time we truly, truly repented before God?

Consider what would be the greatest act of love you can offer someone. Would it be a hug? Would it be a prayer?

Try calling those who you come in contact with unto repentance. Repentance is a call, a call to repentance. This call is a call to come clean. It is not optional to proclaim a turning point. It is an opening to God’s grace. Notice what Jesus says in Luke, the Gospel of Luke, chapter 24.

in verse number 44. And this is considered, this would be the great commission. This is the time when Jesus just resurrected from the dead. And he met with his disciples. And he said in verse 44, then he said to them, these are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you.

that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures.

Then he said to them, notice, thus it is written and thus it is necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached to all nations, excuse me, should be preached in the name of Jesus Christ to all nations beginning at Jerusalem.

should be preach. Now we got a lot of should be preachers.

in our world today, what they should be preaching. Jesus, he tells his apostles, he says, repentance and remission of sins should be preached. Not saying that it will be, but it should be preached. And this is instructing and encouraging others to turn from sin.

to a life of obedience to the will of God so that those who believe and obey will never have their names written, excuse me, blotted out of the book of life according to Revelation 3.5. So three observations, three observations tonight that teaching repentance does in evangelism. The first observation I would like to look at is teaching repentance

And in evangelism, it confronts the truth. It confronts the truth. is, that is seeing what God sees. know, repentance begins with revelation. It’s not a guilt trip, but God’s truth breaking through the fog of sin. Teaching repentance in evangelism

We don’t wanna shame people.

What we want to do is show them the reality of the situation. Show them, first number one is show them the holiness of God. Not ourselves, but the holiness of the one who they should turn to. The holiness of God. I’m reminded of Hannah. know Hannah, she is Samuel’s mother.

And in chapter one of First Samuel, Hannah, she prays to God that he will give her a son.

And it goes on to say that God blessed her. He answered her prayers and gave her Samuel. And in the second chapter of First Samuel chapter two, notice what Hannah says. She says in verse number two of First Samuel chapter two, there is none holy like the Lord. There is none besides you.

There is no rock like our God. This verse highlights the uniqueness of God’s compared to any other creature or being, excuse me. And then notice what Paul says to that great church in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians chapter four and verse

Number seven, he says, for God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness. And then, you know, God calls his disciples to reflect his holiness in their lives, underlining the importance of living a holy life. And then there…

we have in Revelation. Revelation chapter four. This is considered the throne room in heaven. And notice there are four creatures in verse number eight. There are four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within.

And they do not rest day or night saying what? Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and who is and who is to come. This verse in Revelation ⁓ indicates the eternal nature of God’s holiness and his sovereignty over all creation. The holiness of God

signifies his complete separation from sin and imperfection. It is a defining characteristic of his nature, reminding believers of his purity and the standard to which we are called.

Reminding people of the reality of the holiness of God, reminding the people of the reality of the weight of sin. The weight of sin. Paul would tell that Roman church, he said, the wages of sin is death. What is the weight? Why should we turn from sin? What is the weight of sin? It is death. Notice a theologian,

named Ravi Zacharias. He once said, sin takes you where you do not want to go. And not only that, it says it keeps you longer than you want to stay. And then he goes on to say, and it costs more than you are willing to pay. What is the weight of sin? And when I read this,

A theologian’s comment, it reminds me of, remember the prodigal son.

The prodigal son, he spent all he had. He wasted all he had on riotous living. It cost him more than he was willing to pay. He went further. He was willing to go. It took him places he did not want to go. And that’s what sin does. what teaching repentance in evangelism, what it looks like,

We are calling people to turn from sin. And not only that, the reality of the beauty of grace, the beauty of grace. No one, no one in here, including myself, no one online, no one in the world deserves grace. But the beauty of…

Notice, the beauty of it, Paul would tell young Titus in Titus chapter two, verse number, excuse me, in verse 11, he says, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared unto some, has appeared unto most.

to all, to all men, teaching us what? To deny, turn, reject ungodliness, worldly lusts. And we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. Notice, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. So the beauty.

The beauty of grace. Now the Greek insight.

Repentance will give us a better understanding of what we’re trying to do while teaching repentance in evangelism. The Greek terminology for repentance is considered a compound. Meta, noil. Meta is a change after being with.

Noil is think properly, think differently after being with. It is a change of mind. To repent is to think differently afterwards, to change your mind.

but not lightly. It is a deep reorientation of perception. So after we hear the gospel, after we hear that great message of Jesus Christ saving us from an eternal damnation, we must think differently after tasting that sweet gift of God.

Evangelism, teaching repentance and evangelism must help people see and not only just hearing the facts. So teaching repentance. Repentance isn’t about making people feel bad. That’s not our aim. That’s not our goal. But you should feel shame because of sin. It separates you. You should. But that’s not our main goal. It is about helping them to see what they’ve never seen before.

So secondly, secondly.

I started late and I didn’t.

I’m not good with keeping time. Okay, but they taught us this in prison school. Okay, teaching, teaching, repressing evangelism, it concedes the throne. It surrenders ⁓ who’s in charge.

We all want to be in charge of something, whether it’s the household, your wives, the children, whether at work. You want to be in charge. It makes you feel good. But teaching repentance and evangelism, it concedes the throne. Who’s in charge? Repentance is not about, excuse me, is not just admitting wrong.

It is abandoning self-rule. In a chapter of mere Christianity titled The Perfect Penitent, C.S. Lewis, who was a British artist and a scholar and a Christian apologist, he discusses what Christians mean by the word repentance. He says, now what was a sort of whole man, whole man, ⁓ had gotten himself into?

He had tried to set up on his own to behave as if he belongs to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement. He goes on to say, but he is a rebel who must lay down his arms, laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realizing that you have been on the wrong track.

and getting ready to start life over from the ground floor. is the only way out of the hole. This process of surrender, this movement, speed astern, is what Christians call repentance. Now repentance, he says, is no fun. It is something much harder than merely eating humble pie. It means, notice.

unlearning all the self-conceit and self-will that we have been training ourselves into for thousands of years. It means killing part of yourself, undergoing a kind of death.

teaching repentance in evangelism, it must call people to more than just belief.

It is Lordship.

surrendering to a supreme power, a ruler, to a king, to a master, which is Jesus Christ. You know notice what he said in Matthew 28, 18. All authority has been given unto me in heaven and in earth. When someone repents, notice, they dethrone their ego.

their self-importance and enthrone Christ. Right? And this is why John the Baptist preached, repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. And a kingdom implies that there’s a king and King Jesus is his name.

Notice what Paul would say. He said in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse number 5, for we do not preach ourselves, but we preach Christ Jesus, our Lord, our Kyrrioth, our master, our king, and ourselves, we just bond servants for Jesus’ sake. So repentance is the moment a person

and stops negotiating with God and starts obeying God. Now ⁓ I know ⁓ a young man a long time ago, young man, he just turned 18 years old and he did something that triggered him or allowed him to go to jail. And in that jail cell, and in that jail cell,

Please give me your ideas. I’ll serve you. I’ll do whatever it Please give me your ideas. And guess what?

I not turn to swear to God. But what I’m trying to say is that we have to surrender our lives in teaching repentance and evangelism. That’s what it looks like. Repentance is not just confession, not what I was doing in the jail. That’s not repentance. But it’s a coronation, crisis coronation.

And repentance, repentance in evangelism, it changes direction. It changes direction. Repentance is not merely internal. It’s not internal. It is a movement. It’s something that we can see, visualize. Repentance, ⁓ notice what Wayne Grudem said in

systematic theology, he said, it is important to realize that mere sorrow for one’s action or even deep remorse over one’s action does not constitute genuine repentance. Unless, he said, unless it is accompanied by a sincere decision to forsake sin.

against God.

being committed, being committed against God for worldly sort of grief may involve great sorrow for one’s actions and probably also for a fear of punishment, but no genuine renouncing of sin or commitment to forsake it in one’s life. True repentance, sincere repentance produces visual.

visible fruit. New habits turning from the old habits that’s what a new creature does. New creature in Christ he turns from his old ways. Behold all things are new. New habits, new desires, new patterns. Evangelism must teach that repentance is inseparable from salvation. Notice

On that great day of Pentecost, Peter, he proclaims a powerful message of Jesus Christ, death, burial, and resurrection. Verse number 36, says what? Therefore let all the house of Israel know it surely that Christ, that God, had made that same Jesus whom you crucified both Lord and Christ. And when they heard this, they were pricked to their hearts. They said it to Peter and the rest of the apostles.

Men and brethren, what shall we do? And what did Peter say? Now notice, whatever Peter says, and on that next line, whatever Peter says, that’s what we must do in order to obtain salvation. He said, repent only. No, Baptism only. He said, repent and be baptized. Every one of you.

in the name of Jesus Christ, and this is for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. He says, for the promise is to you and to your children and to all that are far off, even as many as the Lord our God will call. Many other signs he testified saying what? yourselves. Repentance is not inseparable

from salvation.

So this term, this term is a pivot that leads to discipleship. I’m heating it up for you. ⁓ I’m heating it up for you. I’m heating it up for you. The process of learning to follow Jesus fully, faithfully, and fruitfully. It involves being a disciple, which means being a learner, a student.

who is attached to, attaches themselves to a teacher, imitating not just their words, but also their way of life.

Jesus is the great teacher, our great teacher, Rabbi. We ought to be ⁓ mimicking, imitating Christ, not only in word, but indeed also. Teaching repentance and evangelism, what does it look like? Turning from a world of sin to an everlasting Savior who is

Jesus Christ. Repentance is not just turning from sin, it’s turning toward a purpose. And evangelism, evangelism without mentioning repentance is like a parachute.

or excuse me, offering a parachute without telling someone they are falling. Repentance is paramount in evangelistic efforts. Repentance is not a harsh message. It’s a hopeful message. It’s a doorway to freedom, a birthplace of transformation, and an engine

to discipleship. When teaching repentance and evangelism, we’re not calling people out, but we’re calling them forward. Right? Without evangelism, and I’m glad, I’m so glad that we have a topic on evangelism, because without evangelism, the word of God, the gospel, would not extend throughout the world. It is very important to hear the gospel.

So important to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ because it produces faith in the savior of the world. Without faith, which is the foundation of those who are his followers, it is impossible to please God. And CJ ⁓ Grimes, did an amazing job on that last night. And not only that, faith encourages us to confess that Jesus Christ is the son of God.

Forest is going to tear the roof off with that tomorrow and then baptism baptism is

because it

It gives you a rebirth and a Hiram. Oh, just hold on to your seats. Hiram is gonna tear it up on Thursday night. But what about repentance? Why is it so challenging? Is it because we love darkness opposed to light?

If God commands us to change our lives, which including turning from sin, then why is it such an obstacle? And these are questions that we should be asking or that should be brought forth when evangelizing for the Lord. There is power in teaching repentance and evangelism, and the fruit of that is change lives.

or change lives. Every awakening, every awakening begins with repentance. We should be courageous. We should be bold to teach and preach repentance, not as a punishment, but as a pathway to God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank you so much.