Turn Ye Unto Me

We turn a lot of things in life. We turn a key in a lock. We turn faucets on and off. We turn on and turn off lights. We turn on computers. Retail stores turn over inventory. In business, sometimes you have to turn a company around. It is heading in the wrong direction, the company is about to go under, sometimes even high profile companies, then they hire a hot shot CEO and that person comes in and turns the company around. We do indeed turn a lot of things, but there’s nothing more important than turning ourselves. 

Please listen to Zechariah 1:1-6: In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, The Lord hath been sore displeased with your fathers. Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the Lord. Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever? But my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not take hold of your fathers? and they returned and said, Like as the Lord of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath he dealt with us.

Turn ye unto Me and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. God is telling the Israelites through the prophet Zechariah that your fathers or ancestors wouldn’t listen to Me, they didn’t turn from their evil ways and He’s saying DON’T BE LIKE YOUR FATHERS! These same words apply to America today. You could replace the word fathers with leaders: DON’T BE LIKE YOUR LEADERS! (Woe to them that call evil good and good evil).

God also pleaded with the Israelites through the prophet Ezekiel. God says in Ezekiel 18:20 the soul that sins, it shall die. Ezekiel 18:30 continues: Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Verse 31 says: Cast away all your transgressions, for why will you die? Then God says these amazing words in Ezekiel 18:32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves and live. God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He’s also pleading here, turn from your wicked ways and live. Live eternally.

Make no mistake, God commands us to turn unto Him. God commands us to repent and trust Jesus. Acts 17:30-31 says: And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.  In these two little verses, God commands us to repent because He is going to judge everyone by the righteousness of Jesus – whom He raised from the dead.

Are you catching the gravity of the situation? God is going to judge you and the standard He is going to use is the righteousness of Jesus. The Son of the Living God lived a sinless life. He never sinned one single time. Do you really think that you can measure up to that high and lofty standard? How do you think God is going to see you if His standard is perfection? None of us can meet that standard. The only way you can meet that standard is to join it. The only way you can be seen as righteous as Jesus is if you are that righteous and the only way you can be that righteous is if He gives you His righteousness.

Jesus is willing to give you His righteousness tonight. Are you willing to receive it? Are you willing to admit that you need it? Are you willing to admit that you are wicked sinner and that you need saved? These are important questions because God resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble. If you aren’t willing to humbly come to Jesus, admitting that you are a sinner and that you need His righteousness, He won’t give it to you. He won’t claim you as one of His people. Matthew 1:21 tells us that Jesus shall save his people from their sins. If you are not one of His people, then you are still standing in your own righteousness and frankly, God sees all of our righteousnesses as filthy rags.

Oh you must have a repentant heart to be saved. You must turn from your sins and turn to the Lord. Acts 3:19 states: Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Jesus said: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel (Mark 1:15).

So why do you need to repent? Why do you need to turn from your sins and turn to the Lord? Because we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Our wages, all we work for on our own is death (Romans 6:23). All you ever work for is death; physical death in this life and spiritual, eternal death in the next unless you turn from your sins and turn to Christ. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). You must receive this gift. You must receive His righteousness in order to be saved and you receive it through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

We have all sinned. We have all rebelled against Almighty God. We deserve death. We deserve physical death and everlasting torment in Hell after we die. This is what we deserve for our rebellion against God. This is what we deserve for our hostility toward God. All unrepentant sinners are enemies of God (Romans 5:10, James 4:4, Colossians 1:21).

But praise and thank God that He commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). God, in His great mercy, sent Jesus to be our substitute; to be our atonement, to be the acceptable sacrifice for our sins. If we turn from our sins and trust Jesus. If we admit that we are sinners and cry out to God for forgiveness and put our faith in Jesus Christ.

1 John 4:9-10 says: In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation means the wrath was satisfied. If you repent and put your faith in Jesus, God’s wrath is satisfied. If not, then His wrath remains on you. Don’t continue living your life with the wrath of God upon you. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:12-13).

Repent and surrender your life to Christ. Do this tonight and live, really live for the first time. You can be made alive in Christ Jesus tonight. Come to Jesus and live. Ezekiel 33:11 states: Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Please don’t miss this. God says that He doesn’t have any pleasure in your dying in your sins and your spending eternity in Hell. He says, why will ye die? He says turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways. Turn ye from your wicked ways and live. People accuse us of only speaking about death, Hell and damnation. We do speak of these things because the Bible speaks of them. Hell and torment awaits every unrepentant sinner who dies in their sins. But we come out here and witness to you because we join God in saying, turn ye, turn from your evil ways and live.

If the Holy Spirit is convicting you tonight, turn away from your sins and surrender your life to Jesus. Oh do this tonight and be saved. The Lord says Turn ye unto Me. Turn ye unto the Lord tonight. Repent and believe the Gospel. Come to Jesus and be saved. Come out from under the wrath and condemnation of God that you are currently under. We are not judging you. We were just as big of sinners as everyone else. We had to humble ourselves and cry out to God for mercy. We are begging you, we are pleading with you to get right with God. We are exhorting you to turn ye and live. Turn away from your sins and turn to Jesus and receive everlasting life. Turn ye and live.

(A rough version of this message was lifted up on the square in downtown Springfield, MO on July 24, 2015)