Rediscovering God-Centered Repentance and Love

Devotional

Day 1: Joyful Sorrow in Repentance

True repentance is not just about changing behavior but involves a deep, sorrowful acknowledgment of failing to treasure God above all else. This sorrow arises from recognizing God's Excellency and mercy, which paradoxically brings delight. It is not about self-pity but about realizing the beauty and worth of God that we have neglected. The more we grieve over our sin, the more we delight in God's mercy and Excellency. This joyful sorrow leads to a heartfelt turning away from sin, as we find delight in God's beauty. [13:59]

Psalm 51:17 (ESV): "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Reflection: Think of a time when you felt genuine sorrow for neglecting God. How can you turn that sorrow into a deeper delight in His mercy today?

Day 2: Ego-Devastating Love of God

The love of God is not about making much of us but about enabling us to make much of Him. In a culture that often equates love with self-esteem and being made much of, we must redefine love as God's work in us to find our ultimate joy in Him. True love is about seeing and savoring His glory, not about our self-exaltation. This God-centered love transforms our understanding of self-worth and calls us to find our ultimate joy in God's glory. [27:11]

2 Corinthians 5:15 (ESV): "And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

Reflection: In what ways have you sought to make much of yourself rather than God? How can you shift your focus to making much of Him today?

Day 3: The Role of Pain in Reflecting God's Glory

Our suffering can become a means to reflect God's power and grace. Like Paul, we can embrace our weaknesses as opportunities to showcase God's strength and find joy in His purposes. Pain and suffering are not merely obstacles but can be transformed into opportunities to reflect God's power and grace. By embracing our weaknesses, we allow God's strength to be made perfect in us, turning our pain into a testimony of His glory. [32:20]

2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV): "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Reflection: What is one area of weakness or pain in your life where you can invite God to showcase His strength today?

Day 4: The Danger of Self-Centered Worship

Many people equate God's love with being made much of, which can lead to a self-centered form of worship. True worship arises from delighting in God's Excellency and finding joy in making much of Him. This self-centered worship can distort our understanding of God's love, leading us away from true worship. Instead, we are called to delight in God's Excellency and find joy in making much of Him, which leads to a more authentic and fulfilling worship experience. [36:10]

Isaiah 42:8 (ESV): "I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols."

Reflection: Reflect on your worship practices. Are there ways in which they have become self-centered? How can you refocus your worship to delight in God's Excellency?

Day 5: A Call to God-Centered Awakening

To bring about a true spiritual awakening, we must restore the God-centeredness of repentance and love. This involves delighting in Christ as our supreme pleasure and laboring to awaken others to this joy. A true awakening requires a shift from self-centeredness to God-centeredness, where we find our supreme pleasure in Christ and work to awaken others to this joy. This call to a magnificently joyful life will cost us everything, but it is the path to true spiritual renewal and the fulfillment of our mission to reach the nations. [38:23]

Colossians 3:1-2 (ESV): "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth."

Reflection: What is one practical step you can take today to shift your focus from earthly concerns to seeking the things that are above? How can you encourage others to join you in this God-centered awakening?

Sermon Summary

In this time of reflection and prayer, we seek to restore a God-centered understanding of repentance and the love of God, drawing inspiration from the teachings of Jonathan Edwards. Our nation is in dire need of a Great Awakening, yet many have lost the profound, God-centered essence that once defined revival. To experience true spiritual renewal, we must recover the joyful, God-centered sorrow of repentance and the ego-devastating, God-centered love of God.

Repentance is not merely a change of behavior but a deep, sorrowful acknowledgment of our failure to treasure God above all else. It is a sorrow that arises from recognizing the Excellency and mercy of God, which paradoxically brings delight. This sorrow is not about self-pity but about realizing the beauty and worth of God that we have neglected. Jonathan Edwards, at the young age of 20, understood that true repentance involves a sweet sorrow, where the more we grieve over our sin, the more we delight in God's mercy and Excellency.

Similarly, the love of God is not about God making much of us but about enabling us to make much of Him. In a culture that often equates love with self-esteem and being made much of, we must redefine love as God's work in us to find our ultimate joy in Him. Jesus' prayer in John 17:24 reveals that true love is about seeing and savoring His glory, not about our self-exaltation. This God-centered love transforms our pain and suffering into opportunities to reflect God's power and grace, as seen in Paul's response to his thorn in the flesh.

To call America to a true awakening, we must embody and preach this God-centered vision of repentance and love. We must delight in Christ as our supreme pleasure and labor to awaken others to this joy. This call to a magnificently joyful life will cost us everything, but it is the path to true spiritual renewal and the fulfillment of our mission to reach the nations.

Key Takeaways

1. Joyful God-Centered Sorrow of Repentance: True repentance involves a deep sorrow for sin that arises from recognizing God's Excellency and mercy. This sorrow is not self-pity but a delight in God's beauty, leading to a heartfelt turning away from sin. [13:59]
2. Ego-Devastating Love of God: God's love is not about making much of us but enabling us to make much of Him. This love transforms our understanding of self-worth and calls us to find our ultimate joy in God's glory. [27:11]
3. The Role of Pain in Reflecting God's Glory: Our suffering can become a means to reflect God's power and grace. Like Paul, we can embrace our weaknesses as opportunities to showcase God's strength and find joy in His purposes. [32:20]
4. The Danger of Self-Centered Worship: Many people equate God's love with being made much of, which can lead to a self-centered form of worship. True worship arises from delighting in God's Excellency and finding joy in making much of Him. [36:10]
5. A Call to God-Centered Awakening: To bring about a true spiritual awakening, we must restore the God-centeredness of repentance and love. This involves delighting in Christ as our supreme pleasure and laboring to awaken others to this joy. [38:23]
** [38:23]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:12] - Opening Prayer
[02:37] - America's Need for Awakening
[03:12] - Restoring God-Centeredness
[04:50] - Joyful Sorrow of Repentance
[06:02] - Jonathan Edwards' Influence
[09:22] - Repentance and God's Love
[11:46] - Edwards on Repentance
[14:21] - Awakening to God's Beauty
[17:15] - Story of David Brainerd
[22:23] - Treasuring Christ
[23:26] - Ego-Devastating Love of God
[27:11] - Jesus' Prayer for Glory
[30:10] - Paul's Thorn and God's Power
[35:05] - True Joy in God
[38:08] - Call to Awakening and Prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:

2 Corinthians 7:8-9
John 17:24
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

---

Observation Questions:

In 2 Corinthians 7:8-9, what does Paul say about the relationship between grief and repentance? How does this relate to the concept of "joyful God-centered sorrow" mentioned in the sermon? [10:56]
According to John 17:24, what is Jesus' desire for those given to Him by the Father? How does this reflect the sermon’s emphasis on God-centered love? [28:23]
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, what is Paul's response to his "thorn in the flesh," and how does this illustrate the sermon’s point about the role of pain in reflecting God's glory? [32:20]
How does the sermon describe the difference between self-centered and God-centered worship? What dangers are associated with self-centered worship? [36:10]

---

Interpretation Questions:

How does the concept of "joyful God-centered sorrow" challenge traditional views of repentance? What might this mean for someone’s personal spiritual journey? [13:59]
The sermon suggests that God's love is not about making much of us but enabling us to make much of Him. How does this perspective shift one's understanding of self-worth and identity? [27:11]
How does Paul's acceptance of his weaknesses in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 serve as a model for embracing suffering as a means to reflect God's power and grace? [32:20]
What does the sermon suggest about the role of delighting in God's Excellency and mercy in the process of repentance? How does this affect one's view of sin and forgiveness? [14:21]

---

Application Questions:

Reflect on a time when you experienced sorrow for your sins. How can you shift this sorrow to be more God-centered, focusing on His Excellency and mercy rather than self-pity? [13:59]
In what ways can you redefine your understanding of love to align with the sermon’s message that true love is about making much of God? How might this change your relationships and priorities? [27:11]
Consider a current struggle or "thorn" in your life. How can you view this challenge as an opportunity to reflect God's power and grace, similar to Paul's experience? [32:20]
The sermon warns against self-centered worship. How can you ensure that your worship is truly God-centered, focusing on His glory rather than personal gain? [36:10]
The sermon calls for a God-centered awakening. What practical steps can you take to embody and preach this vision of repentance and love in your community? [38:23]
How can you cultivate a deeper delight in Christ as your supreme pleasure, and what changes might this require in your daily life and spiritual practices? [22:40]
Identify one area in your life where you have been seeking self-worth through being made much of by others. How can you redirect this desire towards finding joy in making much of God? [25:43]

Sermon Clips

Repentance of sin is a sorrow arising from the sight of God's Excellency and mercy, but the apprehension of Excellency or Mercy must necessarily and unavoidably beget pleasure in the mind of the beholder. This is impossible. Tis impossible that anyone should see anything that appears to him excellent and not behold it with pleasure. [12:30]

If we are to bring people in America to the sorrow of repentance, we must first awaken in them a delight in the Excellency of God, otherwise the sorrow is not a sorrow of not embracing the excellent God. It is a strange thing that in order for us to have a nation on its face weeping, we must have a nation awakened spiritually to the all-satisfying beauty of God. [14:09]

To call America to this, in a way that glorifies God and exalts Christ, we must treasure Christ and cherish Christ and value Christ and Delight in Christ as our Supreme and Central pleasure above all other things, and then we must preach and pray and labor and strive to awaken the world to Delight in Christ above all things. [22:29]

It will be very hard to bring America or the Nations as we turn to the global Dimension tomorrow. It'll be very hard to bring America and the Nations to experience the love of God as it ought to be when we do not see how ego devastating is the god-centeredness of the love of God. [23:16]

We have defined the love of God in such a way that it comes in and serves egocentrism, and if God will serve my ego I will really feel loved, and I will feel so warm and I will sing worship songs to him and go to church on Sunday as long as he's the servant of my esteem. [24:38]

God's love for you in the Bible is not making much of you; it is God sending a son and dying and then sending a spirit in order to enable you to joyfully make much of him. God's love for you is not his making much of you; it is enabling you to have the all-satisfying, eternally glorious and happy experience of making much of him forever. [26:39]

Jesus prays before he goes to pay for it, "Father, I desire that they also whom you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." Jesus' next to last prayer for you was that you would be able to see his glory. [28:27]

Heaven is not a Hall of Mirrors; they will all be gone. Heaven is a place where Christ replaces mirrors, and if you do not find your full and Lasting satisfaction in seeing him, this prayer is cruel, and it is not cruel. It is meant to create people who see Christ now and are changed from one degree of glory to the next into his image. [29:05]

My power, Paul, is going to make made perfect in your pain and respond like this: therefore, I will boast all the more gladly in my pain, this Thorn, because you have taught me now through this Thorn both I and others will be enabled to see more of you, love more of you, delight and more of you, make more of you in this world. [30:40]

How shall we call America to Awakening when most of our categories including repentance and the love of God have been gutted and stripped of their god-centeredness? Answer: you will be different. You will be different. You will put God and God's god-centeredness back into repentance with a joyfully god-centered sorrow. [38:13]

I don't call you to a sad life. I call you to a magnificently joyful life that will cost you your life. If we are going to reach America and if we are going to reach the Nations, we must die so that we might live in this kind of god-centered joy. So Delight your heart in God as Central and supreme in your emotions Above All Things. [39:57]

I ask that our eyes would be opened, o God. Would you Open the Eyes of this people that they might see the radically joyful god-centered sorrow of repentance as they Delight first in you above all things and then are brokenhearted because they do not live consistently with that Delight. [40:31]

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

Transcript

What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?

Were there any personal stories shared?

Rediscovering God-Centered Repentance and Love

Devotional

Day 1: Joyful Sorrow in Repentance

Day 2: Ego-Devastating Love of God

Day 3: The Role of Pain in Reflecting God's Glory

Day 4: The Danger of Self-Centered Worship

Day 5: A Call to God-Centered Awakening

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Rediscovering God-Centered Repentance and Love

Share