Acts 3:19-21 – So repent [change your inner self—your old way of thinking, regret past sins] and return [to God—seek His purpose for your life], so that your sins may be wiped away [blotted out, completely erased], so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord [restoring you like a cool wind on a hot day]; and that He may send [to you] Jesus, the Christ, who has been appointed for you, whom heaven must keep until the time for the [complete] restoration of all things about which God promised through the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.
Today is our forty fourth anniversary at Victory Church. The Lord has been good to us all of these years. I have many great memories of His church and all of the people that comprise it. I think often about the simplicity and joy of the Jesus Movement that birthed our church. It was all about Jesus and He was changing lives. Then there was the outpouring of 1994 that filled Victory with joy and celebration. As I write this blog there are new rumors of revival in the air from Asbury University up in Kentucky. The college students in a Methodist college have been praying and worshipping around the clock since last Wednesday morning. What do all of these things have in common? It is His church; the Lord is filled with zeal to protect and to enliven His church. I am looking forward to celebrating today at our anniversary and rejoicing in some of the great memories; but that is not what today is about. Today is a new day of expectancy. The world is troubled, the church is expectant. New days of revival are in the air.
How can each one of us step into God’s new day for us individually and for whatever church the Lord has planted you in? The key is found in today’s passage, did you see it? Its that old fashioned word no one like to hear, repentance. Repent was the message John the Baptist preached to prepare for the ministry of Jesus. Repent was the message of Jesus as He announced the kingdom of God is here. Repent, believe on Jesus, and be filled with the Spirit was the message of the apostles on the day the church was born. The Lord has promised seasons of renewal when we allow the Lord to work His repentance into our world. Being willing to change is the key to renewal. Happy anniversary to the people of Victory today. Let’s celebrate in joyful anticipation, the Lord is doing a new thing in us beginning right now.
Thanks Pastor!!!!!!