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Transcript

Repentance Restores · The Bible Bit Podcast

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  Welcome back. This is Kimmy Miller of Woman at the Well Ministries bringing
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  you another Bible bit for you to enjoy.
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  Repentance Restores.
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  Today as we walk through the scriptures, gleaning truth from God's Word,
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  we're going to continue discovering lessons God has for each of us through Jonah's
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  experience running from God,
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  as revealed in Jonah 1, 1 through 3, 4.
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  Today we are going to focus on the truth that conviction, true conviction,
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  causes genuine repentance.
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  True repentance is the acknowledgement of the wrong and then a complete turning away from it.
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  And praise God, Jesus promises that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and
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  just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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  1 John 1.9 God forgives us when we repent and confess our sins to him.
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  He remembers them against us no more. In fact, we are told this in Psalm 103.12,
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  when the psalmist David writes, As far as the east is from the west,
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  so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
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  It isn't our acts of disobedience that chain us to the ramifications of sin.
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  It is our refusal to acknowledge our wrongdoing, admit our sin,
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  repent of our sin, and the fact that we don't ask God to forgive us for our sins.
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  God will forgive every repentant sinner who brings their sins to Him in prayer.
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  As the consequences for Jonah's disobedience begin to unfold,
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  Jonah realizes the danger that his actions have caused everyone and finally
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  acknowledges his guilt.
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  He confessed that he was fleeing from the Lord and accepted responsibility for the storm.
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  And he said unto them, Take me up and cast me forth into the sea.
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  So shall the sea be calm unto you. For I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you.
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  Jonah 1.12 This is the beginning of Jonah's repentance.
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  For you see, true repentance begins when we stop blaming others for our sins
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  and admit our responsibility for the sin we have committed.
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  Sin is a choice we make. As children of God, we know right from wrong.
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  But sometimes we don't want to admit the truth or live by God's commands,
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  so we refuse to obey God's word and by choice willingly commit acts of sin.
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  These actions grieve God's heart and cause big problems for the one who sins, Galatians 6-7.
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  For Jonah, he found himself having to answer to those around him for a sin he committed in private.
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  God's sovereignty is on full display in this account in Scripture.
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  The storm, the casting of lots, and the calming of the sea all occurred under God's control.
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  Jonah could flee from a location, but he could not flee from God's presence.
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  You simply cannot go where God isn't. God is everywhere, meeting every care, providing every need.
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  God is faithful, as declared in Psalm 139, 7-10, which says,
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  Whither shall I go from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
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  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
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  If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
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  even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
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  God is always with us, Hebrews 13, 5.
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  Regardless of where we find ourselves, God's mercy meets us.
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  God meets us in our darkest, deepest hours and leads us through the problems into joyous blessings.
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  When we seek God, we find Him, Jeremiah 29, 13.
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  In His presence there is fullness of joy, and at His right hand there are pleasures
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  forevermore, Psalm 16, 11.
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  The great fish wasn't merely an instrument of judgment, but it was also an instrument
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  of preservation and protection.
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  Jonah's circumstances brought conviction which led to repentance that resulted
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  in Jonah's relationship with God being restored.
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  God forgives.
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  Jonah, too, gives a full account of Jonah's prayer to God from deep within the belly of the great fish.
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  His prayer demonstrates distress, confession, remembrance, and a renewed faith.
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  Sometimes God uses a place of trouble and uncomfortableness to awaken you spiritually.
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  Jonah recognized God's salvation. Jonah states, I went down to the bottoms of the mountains.
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  The earth with her bars was about me forever.
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  Yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O Lord my God.
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  When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord, And my prayer came in
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  unto thee, into thine holy temple.
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  Jonah 2, 6-7 Jonah realized and proved to each of us that deliverance comes
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  from God, not from any human strength.
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  Jonah couldn't rescue himself from the sea. But God's mercy is greater than any of our rebellion.
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  God may discipline his children, but his discipline oftentimes is wrought with amazing grace.
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  No believer is beyond God's reach. In the depths of our sin and darkness,
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  prayer is still possible, and God is still present.
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  Remember, you are loved. Jesus loves you.
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  Join us tomorrow as we continue to explore the lessons learned from Jonah's
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  attempt to flee from God.
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  Please visit Woman at the Well Ministries at WATWM.org for more resources,
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  podcasts, and to connect with us.
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  go to our website at WATWM.org to subscribe.