Certainly on Easter Sunday I need to tell a funny story or two to make people laugh. So scrambling around this week, I ended up in the corn field. But I thought I'd give it a try anyway.

What do you call three rabbits in a row, hopping backwards simultaneously? A receding hareline.

During Sunday School on Easter, the teacher pulled out an Easter egg for all the boys and girls to see. He held it up to his ear, shook it, and asked the children, "What's inside this egg?" One little boy aggressively raised his hand and shouted, "I know! I know! I know! Pantyhose!"

Last Sunday, Palm Sunday, 5-year-old Chase stayed home from church with a sitter because of a sore throat. When the family returned home, they were carrying several palm branches. Chase asked what they were for. The father explained, "People held them over Jesus' head as He walked by." "Wouldn't you know it," Johnny fumed, "the one Sunday I missed and Jesus shows up."

Well, I just want you to know that Jesus has shown up here in powerful ways in the last few weeks. And I believe His presence is real here today. A couple of weeks ago we began a journey that we're calling "Renew Our Spirit." As many positive things are happening at Chapin Baptist Church, there is still a sense that we need God to bring renewal in our lives and to spread a renewed spirit throughout our congregation.

Our theme verse for this journey is 2 Chronicles 7:14, which says, "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14). In this verse God gives us a formula for experiencing His healing and His blessings. A couple of weeks ago we talked about humbling ourselves before Him. Last week I talked about earnestly seeking the face of God when we pray.

Today we're going to deal with the next portion of the formula which says, "...turn from their wicked ways." The title of my message is "U-Turns." As it relates to a car, we all know what U-turns are. A couple of weeks ago I spent a few days in California. One difference from South Carolina roads I noticed is that at major intersections where there is a left turn arrow, there are signs indicating that it is okay to make a U-turn. That's pretty cool, especially when you're in an unfamiliar place and know that you messed up and need to turn around. South Carolina roads are more negative. I don't know if I've ever seen such a sign. They all say "No U-Turn."

Many places along our spiritual journey we need to make U-Turns with our lives. That's what God meant when He told His people that they needed to turn from their wicked ways. In other words, they needed to make some spiritual U-Turns before God would hear them and heal their land.

The common biblical word for these spiritual U-Turns is repentance. It suggests not just a feeling sorry for sinful behavior but a genuine desire to stop engaging in that behavior and a commitment to make a U-turn in your life. The Old Testament is filled with God's call for His people to repent. John the Baptist preached sermons about repentance. Jesus Himself told the people to repent. And after Jesus was resurrected, the church leaders preached sermons that called for people to repent.

In Acts 2 we find out what happened when Peter preached such a message. Let me set the stage for the verses I will read. Jesus has already been crucified on the cross. He died for your sins and mine. He came back to life on the third day and for a couple months afterwards He appeared to His followers on many occasions. In Acts 1 we read where at the end of these couple of months, He ascended into heaven, disappearing right before the eyes of many followers.

Not long afterwards these followers were gathered together in one place where they had been praying. Suddenly, a violent wind shook the place, and the Holy Spirit filled all these believers. And they began to speak in languages that were not their native tongue. They were actually proclaiming the gospel in different languages so that the many guests in Jerusalem from foreign lands actually heard the message in their native tongue. The skeptics in the group accused the Christians of being drunk.

Don't get so caught up into trying to understand this language phenomenon that you miss the main thrust of this story. After the crowd accused them of being drunk, Peter spoke up and delivered a sermon that captured the audience. By the time He was done, they were spellbound and wanted to know what steps they needed to take in response to his message.

What did Peter talk about to His audience that was mostly made up of Jews? Jesus. He preached Jesus. He died. He was buried. He rose again. He pointed his fingers at the crowd and reminded them that they were the ones who killed Jesus. He mentioned David, one of their heroes. "David? Great guy. Great leader. But he's dead. Gone. Buried. Jesus. Dead. But He came back to life and is still alive."

We pick up the story at the end of his message in verse 36. [Read 36-41.] Verse 37 is key. "When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?'" Peter responded with clear instructions. They needed to make a U-turn in their lives.

In these couple of verses I believe we discover the several stages of repentance every believer must go through if he genuinely desires the healing and blessings of God in his life. Let me give them to you first and then we'll talk about them. First, you must listen. Second, you must be broken. Third, you must desire change. Fourth, you must make the U-turn.

The crowd of non-believers listened intently to Peter's message. But here's the kicker. It was actually God speaking through Peter. And they were listening. They had rejected Jesus. Some of them may have even been instrumental in crucifying Him. And it finally began to dawn on them that the one they killed was actually the Son of God. They crucified God's only Son.

I need to explain what this has to do with you today. Because most people don't see the need for repentance because they had nothing at all to do with Jesus getting nailed to a tree. But I must remind you that it was your sins and mine that put Him there.

Some of you are running from God. You may be in your seat for Easter worship. But when you entered the building today, you already made up your mind that this was going to be a one-Sunday deal for you. You're skimming through life on your own with very little spiritual influence. You're not ready for any level of spiritual commitment. You have too many other things going on now that are more important. You need to listen to what God is saying to you today. You're living your life in sin. You're living away from the very Christ who died on the cross for you. And your spiritual neglect and spiritual apathy is what nailed Him to the cross. You're guilty.

Many of you consider yourselves to be pretty decent Christians. But let me ask you as a fellow Christian. When is the last time you genuinely repented from your sins? What sins? What about the lie you told? What about the disrespect that you showed your parents? What about the lust in your heart? What about your prejudices toward those from a different race? What about the sorry attitude you've had? What about your lack of commitment to the work of God's kingdom? What about all the profanity that spews out of your mouth? What about your unwillingness to work out your family problems? What about the bitter spirit you have and your unwillingness to forgive? What about lack of spiritual passion? What about the critical spirit? Do I need to keep going?

Listen to me. God is not pleased with any of those actions. And if you are guilty of any of them and have not genuinely repented, you're living your life in sin. Your fellowship with God is broken. You need to repent.

I can usually tell when someone is serious about making U-Turns in their life. They go through a period of brokenness. They recognize that their attitudes, their actions, or their lifestyle have not been Christlike. They openly acknowledge their sin before God. And they allow God to break them.

After Peter's sermon which confronted the hearers with the truth, the Bible says, "They were cut to the heart." What an accurate description of brokenness. Their hearts were pierced because they were confronted with their sin and the Spirit convicted their hearts. They were broken.

Many people's idea of repentance is like Pete Rose. In his autobiography in 2004 he finally admitted after denying any wrongdoing for 15 years that he bet on baseball games while he was manager of the Cincinnati Reds. Last September he established a website so that he could personally apologize to any fan he had offended. For only $299 (plus 4.95 for shipping and handling), Pete Rose will send you an autographed baseball that reads, "I'm sorry I bet on baseball." Sounds like a true spirit of brokenness doesn't it?

When is the last time you became so overwhelmed at your sinfulness that you went through a period of brokenness before God? Brokenness cannot be manufactured. The reason many people can't relate to what I'm talking about right now is that they've brushed aside their sinful ways for so long that their hearts have hardened to the point that they are no longer sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. I don't think you individually or this church corporately will ever be on the receiving end of the fullness of God's healing and blessing until we allow Him to break us.

After the period of brokenness you've got to desire some changes in your life. After having their hearts pierced by the truth, the Jews then asked, "What shall we do?" They didn't just hear a good sermon. They wanted to know what they could do to bring their lives in line with the message.

It's one thing to acknowledge your sinfulness. It's another thing to earnestly desire to make changes in your life so that you can pull out of your sinful behavior. I see this too often when trying to assist couples going through marital strife. Both husband and wife feel remorse for their role in the conflict. What are you going to do about it? Well, I just don't think I can ever love him again. I don't think I will ever be able to trust her again. So instead of proactively doing the things that will make the marriage work, too often they just bail or simply succumb to having a meaningless marriage.

Let's say God has broken you. What are you going to do about it? What's going to be different? Who do you need to go to and apologize? What habits are you going to discard?

Review the progression with me. You need to listen. What is God trying to say to you? You must allow God send you through a period of brokenness. You must desire to make necessary changes in your life. And, finally, you must make the U-Turn.

What direction is your life taking right now? Would you say you are moving toward God or away from God? If you're at a standstill, then your back is actually turned away from Him. You need to make a U-Turn. And that U-Turn involves repentance. Although brokenness is no fun, my prayer is that God will begin a process of piercing your heart to the point that you finally stop, listen, confess, and make that U-Turn which will make such a positive difference in your life.

Resurrection. New life. Fresh start. That's what many of you are crying out for this morning. You've allowed the stresses and sin of life to put you in the mode of the old sinful nature. God wants to breathe fresh resurrection life in you. How do you get it? Repent and make the U-Turn that will put you back on the road to joy and significance.