"Rediscovering Repentance" - The Apostolic Connection
by Kenneth Carpenter

Kind: teaching
Scripture: Acts 2:37, Acts 2:38, Revelation 1:18, Acts 2:37, Hebrews 5:12, Hebrews 6:1-3, Matthew 3:1-2

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/kenneth-carpenter--rediscovering-repentance-the-apostolic-connection
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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chapter two and verse number 37 now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles men and brethren what shall we do then Peter said unto them repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost my title for this Bible lesson today is rediscovering repentance rediscovering repentance archaeologist archaeology is a science church that deals with past human life and activities archaeology is by studying the bones and the tools etc of ancient people it's a scientific study of material remains as fossil relics artifacts and monuments of past human life and activities it is the remains of the culture of the culture of a people into antiquities so when I begin to look at this subject of repentance and I want to make a statement today I only wear cufflinks on special occasions I'm not prone to wear cufflinks necessarily to Sunday morning Bible lessons I normally wear them at weddings or a banquet normally wear them I do not believe I've ever purchased they've been gifts given to me and but I wear them on special occasions I'm here today for a special occasion because Pentecost Pentecost is held as the birth of the church when the Spirit came on the day of Pentecost it is the birth of what is known as the New Testament church but can I tell us today and remind us we would have never had an upper room if there had not been a Calvary if there had not been a man named Jesus who crucified his flesh we would have never had a Pentecost so not only am I here today in celebration of the birth of our country I'm also here today to begin as a person who would study I want to go back and study the foundation of this church I want that to sink in from you see we're here barbecuing this weekend chicken and mashed potatoes and potato salad and picnics and all that it wasn't that way on July 4th 1776 he realized that it wasn't that way there weren't people in backyards with grilles and everybody was celebrating that document independence declaration Declaration of Independence do you know that the men that signed that knew very well they were signing their death warrants you know while the Declaration of Independence that John Hancock's name is so like so large you ever thought of you know the history that is he was so defiant about a king that was going to suppress them that he made this statement he said I shall write my name so large that the old king will not need to put his glasses on to see my name wrote it so big and they did pay for their lives they left home they knew when they signed that document many of them kissed their wives and children goodbye that morning and never saw them again never now we talk about the church today the birth of the church it might have it might have come out of the ground at Pentecost but the seed of the church is repentance repentance notice this that on that day of Pentecost when fifty days after the crucifixion as an archaeologist if we went back and we find 33 Pentecost before this there was a little rumor that went on about angels there was a little rumor that went on about a virgin who had conceived but everyone thought they knew the real what really happened so now Jesus is crucified and he's crucified by the religious people by his own he came into his own and his own received him not so he's crucified on a hill he's crucified by the pleading of his own people the Jewish people he's crucified fifty days later though in that same city of Jerusalem something happened to about a hundred 20 in an upper room they were filled with the Holy Ghost when this was noised abroad the multitude came together and they were confused and confounded and amazed because this group of a hundred and twenty followers of Jesus Christ including his mother Mary were there speaking in other languages the wonderful works of God they said what is this what meaneth this what meaneth this is the question they said to the 120 what meaneth this others monkey said they're just full of new wine they're just drunk but the Bible says that Peter standing up with the eleven lifted up his voice and he opened up the scripture and he said these men are not drunk as he suppose seeing it is but the third hour of the day but this is that which was spoken out by the Prophet Joel it shall come to pass in the last days saith the Lord that I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh he said what you're witnessing here is not the product of drunkenness but what you're witnessing here is the fulfillment of the Word of God they were familiar with Joel's prophecy they knew the book of Joel had declared that God would pour out his spirit upon all flesh and from that verse of scripture he said hearken unto me Jesus Christ of Nazareth a man approved of God among us by miracles signs wonders oh how he shook their world that day they knew about his miracles he said you took him and by it was determined by the determinate counsel of God you took him and with your wicked hands you have crucified the Justin and Peter began to preach the death burial and resurrection of this one called Jesus he began to tell them how he was crucified how he had been buried but by the power of God he had risen on the third day victorious over death hell and the grave matter of fact I like how Jesus puts it in revelation 1:18 he said I am he that liveth and was dead and behold I am Alive for evermore amen and have the keys of hell and death think about it Jesus Christ that mortal man although he was God robed in flesh he was Almighty God in the form of mortal man but after childhood after the crucifixion after the resurrection he is no longer mortal man he is immortal he will never taste of death again he will never die again he is immortal and the scripture says that he has become the firstfruits of them that slept or them that died what Blessed hope you and I have today what blessed comfort the consolation that you and I have today because he lives we live because he came out of the tomb we shall come out of the tomb because he is immortal today we shall be immortal and so he preached it to them oh yes he did he preached that Jesus was the Messiah that they had loaned Lord Jesus was David seed Jesus was who David was talking about of his own loins that would come out of him that would sit on the throne and so there in verse number 37 look at this with me Acts chapter 2 and verse number 37 now when they heard this would you say that with me again now when they heard this they said they were pricked in their heart now that word prick their means to stab they hurt stabbed in the heart they were stabbed they were pricked in their heart it hurt oh yes it hurt them Oh what have we done what did we delegate this what have we what have we thrown away what opportunity have we missed what have we done they were pricked in their heart you know something today if the gospel preaching has not pricked you you have not been saying now that's a bold statement that I shall never take back matter of fact I shall repeat it if the gospel has not freaked you you have never been saying the word will freak you they were stabbed they were pricked in the heart I'll tell you how pricked have to have stab how pricked in the heart they were they didn't wait for the sermon to end now when they heard this they were pricked in their heart and said unto Peter and to the rest of the Apostles men and brethren what shall we do let me take you anytime you ever now here now when they heard this anytime we ever hear God's word without fail every time you preach without fail in order cause the audience to say what shall we do what shall we do we have crucified our Messiah we long for him we look for him what shall we do listen to what Peter urged them would you please hear the first word out of his mouth what was the first word out of his mouth what was it you know I really believe as a spiritual archaeologist today that we need to go back and examine dig what in that day did it mean to repent what did that mean because I am a little concerned that there are too many people going to the water and they don't understand what the doctrine of repentance is all about let's see if God never created anything that doesn't work he created the church it works if we follow his to actions dependence he said these words he's the first word that came out of his mouth was this repent repent now we won't study in this Bible class today exactly what does repentance me because this is where a lot of people although they've been baptized correctly you know we're really very skilled here and rightfully so we have rebaptised hundreds of people somebody said we've rebaptised thousands maybe even hundreds we baptize rebaptised hundreds of people because they were baptized incorrectly if it's possible to be baptized incorrectly could I introduce today that it is possible that people repent incorrectly if there would be a false baptism could it be true that there could be a false repentance maybe that's when the person is only sorry they got caught and maybe they are only sorry because of the situation that they're in you see true repentance is designed by God to change your mind and relationship toward God well in Hebrews chapter five verse number twelve the church their the the the people that Paul was writing to he told him something in Hebrews chapter 5 in verse number 12 he said this he said for when for wind for the time you ought to be teachers you have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the Oracles of God and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat now he says there's an issue here with Church he said when you all want to teach you can't teach because you don't understand the first principles of God's Word you could not teach higher math until you know two plus two equals four and not 22 you couldn't go to a higher level there until you have the basic principles and I really believe some people really struggle with God in God's Word because they've never mastered that first step called repentance Hebrews chapter 6 and verse number one since therefore leaving Hebrews 6 in 1 therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us go on unto perfection not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God and of the doctrine of baptisms in a blade on of hands and of the resurrection of the Dead and of eternal judgment this we and this will we do if God permit what Paul is saying here when he says in verse number one leaving the principles he is not saying forsaking the principles there's a difference between leaving something and forsaking something these six foundational principles that we are built upon have to be in place in our lives before we become teachers these six foundational principles have to be in place in our life and stay in place in our lives or ere God can ever use us they must be in our lives now we have just come down from a mountain of camp meeting oh we have come down from spiritual highs B can I just say today now that we're in the plane that God wants us to get these principles young men and young women students he wants us to get these under our feet because if we're not built upon these we cannot go further into a work for God six principles are mentioned here in Luke 6 one through three and the first that he mentions he goes on he says not laying again the very first foundation is it's not a it's not a coincidence Paul wasn't stuttering Paul was just throwing these six out said another land where they will be where they will he said you got to first have the foundation of repentance that's got to be in your life we can't gloss over it we can't neglect it we can't overlook it we can't look and say well you know I was baptized right and I did get the Holy Ghost and I did speak in a heavenly language and oh that's great but why am i struggling so the way I am why am i struggling in my Christian life well I don't have joy why can't I overcome these simple habits that will come and Rob me and then want to come and Diedre why am I always losing it why am I always why am i I'm not a good witness for Jesus Christ you can be baptized correctly that is a past event you can have the baptism of a holy ghost evident but tongues and that is a past that is a past event that happened in your life but repentance is something that stays with you continually you are continually keeping your mind in the frame of mind of living for John John the Baptist was a preacher of repentance Matthew chapter three and verse number one says this in those days Came John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judea and say what was your sermon repent ye for the kingdom of heaven is at hand in other words that was the first word that came out of John's mouth if we as an archaeologist today if we dig through the rubbish of tradition if we did for the croucher through the rubbish of time because that's what an archaeologist has to do he has to go to the site and then he has to dig down through the earth through many layers and then he gets down to where the things are found a spoon something written on a stone maybe a walkway they they dig down until they find a walkway and in to discover a whole little village is their check I today take some time and will you go with me to rediscover repentance today because I really believe that in our modern repentance is just a blinking of an eye it's about head it's a hand raised it's a decision it's not shaking of a deacons hand it's some kind of momentary mental thing thoughts you had about he's my Savior or maybe I repeated a sinner's prayer maybe I repeat it after the preacher can I wake us up today and say that that form of repentance is terribly horribly twisted from the original word that left the pages of God's Word let me be so fold as to say today may be so bold as to say today that God in the beginning made Adam and Eve man and woman and married them alright male and female now today in our culture two men or two women can get married all right how many knows that is a gross perversion of what originally happened now do you know why we have this gross perversion over here because no one has ever dug through the earth of our flesh and no one has ever went to the site of the original marriage and begin to dig down and say hey wait a minute God didn't allow two men or two women hey wait a minute this is not how this is to happen hey wait a minute though it is to be a male and a female