“While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. When Peter saw this, he said to them: ‘Fellow Israelites, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

“‘Now, fellow Israelites, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.’” -Acts 3:11-21

Peter’s Spirit-Led Transformation

It is beautiful to watch how far Peter has come and how much the Spirit of God, who lived in him, was transforming him. The more he lived out and preached the gospel without fear and hesitation, the more his boldness increased, and the more he saw God move. Our study of Acts paralleled with reading 1 and 2 Peter brings new light to the new man the Lord was fashioning.

The first crowd Peter addressed in Acts gathered because of the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost. This second display of God’s goodness caused others to gather, and Peter is prepared with a call to turn to the Lord. A miracle created an opportunity to preach the gospel. Interestingly enough, this was the place Jesus was nearly stoned for preaching the gospel to the Jews in John 10:22-39. Peter was undeterred, and the Spirit of God was welling up in Peter.

Every miracle that the Spirit did through Peter always followed with the good news of the gospel. His urgency was growing with every message he preached. And verse 19, highlighted above, is the heart of this particular message. And here is where I long to focus—the glorious gift of repentance.

The Call to True Repentance

Peter pleaded with those who already thought they belonged to God. These Jews who gathered believed they were righteous because they obeyed the law and made sacrifices for their sin—religion, steeped in the law but devoid of the real power to save them. Peter held their feet to the fire and pointed out that the blood of Jesus was on their heads. They were the ones who “‘killed the author of life’” and asked for the death of Jesus. In a bold and clear call, he pleaded with them that although they acted in ignorance, they were still guilty for their sin. But the good news of the matter is that the sovereign will of God to send His Son fulfills the prophetic expectations of the Old Testament. Nothing happened outside of God’s plan for a Perfect Sacrifice to die in their place.

A Call to Deeper Consecration

The words the Lord has spoken over my year is “deeper consecration.” I have set my heart on asking the Lord to daily circumcise my heart and cut away everything that doesn’t belong—every attention, affection, and attitude of my heart not directed wholly at Jesus. I seek to take communion daily to continually worship and apply the cross and resurrection to every part of my life. I don’t want any rock unturned in my heart. As the world grows darker and much of the Church blends into culture, I so long that my first love remains attached to the One who gave His life for me. I long to burn with a passionate fire for Jesus with my lamp filled with fresh pressed oil.

“‘You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.’” -Revelation 2:3-5

The Urgency for Today’s Church

My heart is heavy that we take to heart Peter’s words for us, Church. We are living in a lukewarm culture where many are falling away from the faith. Even International Transgender Day of Visibility fell on Easter this year, and the U.S. President’s proclamation further polarized the nation against Christians. Peter’s urgent plea to the religious of his day applies to us: repent and do a 180 in your thoughts and actions. It’s time to turn (back) to God for salvation so that refreshing can come because the great and glorious day of Jesus is coming. The return of Jesus was imminent for Peter in his perspective, as it should be for us.

According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, “refreshing” indicates “a recovery of breath,” figuratively known as revival. When we understand the supernatural gift and blessings of repentance, I think we would be more apt to run there more quickly. I had a pastor tell me for years that there was no need to ask for forgiveness because our sins were already forgiven. Why would we ask for something we have already received? It’s because we exist in an intimate love relationship with our Lord, and keeping short accounts and returning in word and deed speaks volumes about our intimacy with Him.

As Jack Hibbs notes in “Living in the Daze of Deception”: “It has been said that a gospel message given without the challenge and call to repent is an illegitimate gospel that produces an illegitimate birth. It invites people to start thinking, Yeah, that sounds like a good deal. I’ve got my Costco card, my Visa card, and now I can get my Jesus card too. This appeals to their flesh yet leaves them dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).”

Our sins have been forgiven because of the cross. He paid it all that we would stand in the perfect righteousness of Christ. But the apathy and secularism of our Christianity in America need repentance. We need a returning so that refreshing can come. He longs to restore and revive that which has died because of the effects of sin.

A Prayer of Repentance

From Peter Louis’s “Back to the Gospel”:

“Father, I know you forgive me because you have committed to doing so, but I want to come to you and ask for your forgiveness for this thing I have done. I hate this behavior that somehow keeps plaguing me. As a new creation in Christ, your son (or daughter), I despise this sinful behavior and want nothing to do with it. This is destructive and harmful behavior that I was never created for. Because of the cleansing and renewing blood of Jesus, I understand that this sin that manifested in me is not who I really am. Thank you that I have your permission to consider myself dead to it and alive to you!

“I am no longer a debtor to my flesh (Rom. 8:12) or have any obligation to honor the desires my flesh presents to me. Father, I simply put off this sinful behavior. I declare that I am not a victim of a sinful nature and am no longer prone to wander from you. Holy Spirit, renew my mind and help me to see myself as the Father sees me, even in the wake of my actions. By faith, I choose to put on my new self, which was created after the very likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:22-24). In humility, I identify with and receive the godly nature that you have freely given to me by the Holy Spirit.

“I am completely dead to the law. Thank you that your affection and blessings don’t come to me because I am perfect, but because I have hidden my life in your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for being my advocate to the Father in this moment. Thank you that you do not distance yourself from me or withhold your love because I screw up. According to your Word, you are drawing close to me to help me overcome this sin. Thank you for your patience and willingness to cleanse me completely from unrighteousness, Jesus. I believe that with you, I died to every last one of my sinful desires and that in every way, by the Spirit of God, I am alive to the Father!”

Let us return to the Lord in repentance so that refreshing and revival can come to the Bride of Christ, in the name of Jesus! We are desperate for you, Jesus. Maranatha!

A Few Key Notes

• We are looking for women who will join us in Dallas to go and share the love of Christ and the gospel message with people who are longing for hope. At Dallas Harvest Day, we will teach you how to share the gospel and then go and evangelize together. Meet at La Victoria, 1605 N. Haskell Ave., Dallas, TX 75204, at 9 a.m. this Saturday, April 6. Tell us you’re coming by emailing [email protected].
• We are hosting an Arise Missions Conference for women pastors, mission leaders, and women who want to begin a mission movement in their churches to mobilize and equip women to find their calling and role in the Great Commission. Join us on April 9 as we seek to build your faith and answer the why and how of missions. Register now!
• Come take the gospel to the nations with Arise. View our open teams and apply for one today!