There are moments in life when we feel it before we can name it. A kind of flatness settles in. Our prayers feel hollow. Our passion for God quietly dims. We show up, we go through the motions, but somewhere along the way the life drained out of us and we are not sure exactly when it happened or how to get it back.
If that is where you are right now, you are in good company. Even Lazarus, one of Jesus’ closest friends, died. Scripture tells us Jesus wept at his tomb, not because death had won, but because death had touched someone He loved. And then He called Lazarus out of it. The same power that raised Lazarus from the grave is the power available to you today. Jesus is not finished with you. He wants to call you out of whatever tomb you have been lying in.
We want to talk about three things that can bring you back to life spiritually. Think of it as CPR for the soul: Confession, Profession, and Repentance.
C Is for Confession: Agreeing with God
Confession is not a dramatic act. At its simplest, it means agreeing with God. It means we stop explaining, stop excusing, stop justifying, and we just say, “You’re right, God. I am not.”
1 John 1:8–10 puts it plainly. If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. There may not be anyone reading this who would claim to be sinless, but many of us quietly rank our sins. We tell ourselves our sin is not as bad as someone else’s. The trouble is, it only takes one sin to separate us from a holy God. We were all born with a nature bent toward what God hates, and apart from Him, that drift never corrects itself.
Here is where grace becomes staggering. Verse nine says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Not most of it. All of it. God does not ask us to clean ourselves up before coming to Him. He asks us to come. He does the cleaning.
Think about it this way. You tell a child to go get cleaned up, and they come back still carrying the smell of yesterday’s soccer practice. You ask if they washed their hands, their hair, behind their ears. The answer is no. Sometimes that is exactly what we do with God. We present ourselves as cleaned up when we are anything but, because the truth is we cannot clean ourselves up. He is the one who does that work. He is the one who washes us. All we have to do is agree with Him that we need it.
This is the beauty of confession. We are not bringing God new information. We are simply getting on the same page as the One who already knows everything and loves us anyway.
P Is for Profession: Saying It Out Loud
Confession addresses what we have done. Profession addresses who we believe in. In a world where people claim to serve God without being clear about which God they mean, profession matters.
When we talk about God with a capital G, we mean the One who said, “I am that I am.” The One who created everything we see and everything we are. The God above all gods, beside whom there is no other. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, who came in flesh and bone to show us exactly who God is and how God operates in this world. As John 1:14 says, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father.
Romans 10:8–10 tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead, we will be saved. With the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness. With the mouth a person confesses, resulting in salvation.
There is something significant about saying it out loud. God works in our hearts first, drawing us to understand that we have offended a righteous and holy God. When that understanding takes root, we open our mouths and say it: I need a Savior. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the One I give my life to.
We do not give our lives to a church. We do not give our lives to a pastor or a ministry leader. We give our lives to Jesus. The church is simply where we go to do that together with other people who have made the same confession.
Public profession of faith matters because it creates accountability. Not condemnation, not judgment, but accountability. When we stand alongside others and say we are following Jesus, we are essentially saying there are people in my life who have the right to call me back when I drift. That is uncomfortable, and it is also exactly what we need. Most people do not resist church because of Jesus. They resist it because they do not want anyone looking at their lives. Accountability feels like exposure. But the church at its best does not expose us to shame us. It speaks truth to bring us back.
Romans ten, verse thirteen reminds us that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. And Philippians chapter two, verses nine through eleven promises that one day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Every part of creation will eventually get there. It is simply a whole lot better to start practicing now.
An abundant life does not only mean abundant blessings, by the way. It also means abundant challenges, a conscience that grows more sensitive, and a conviction that stirs when you step out of line. Things that never used to bother you will start to bother you. That is not condemnation. That is the Holy Spirit doing His work inside of you, pointing you toward who you are becoming. The old way of living starts to feel like a coat that does not fit anymore, because God is genuinely changing you.
R Is for Repentance: Turning and Walking a New Direction
Repentance is one of those words that sounds more religious than it is. It is a churchy word, which is probably why a lot of people brace when they hear it, but it was the very first word Jesus preached. He did not open His ministry with a prosperity message. He came preaching repentance, because He knew that turning is where transformation begins.
Repentance is not just feeling bad about what you did. Feeling bad is remorse. Repentance is a genuine change of direction. It means we stop walking the way we were walking and we start walking the way Jesus walked. We say yes to His path, not just as a one-time moment, but as an ongoing way of living. We say, “I agree with who You are. I agree with who You say I am. I need You. I do not have it all together. You love me anyway. So I am handing my life over to You, and I am going to walk according to Your way.” That is the most courageous thing a person can do.
Practical Steps for Coming Back to Life
If any part of this message is landing somewhere deep, here is how to begin. Start by getting honest with God. You do not need a script or a special setting. Agree with Him that you have sinned and that you need His forgiveness. He already knows. You are just finally saying so.
Next, say it out loud. Tell someone you trust that you have placed your faith in Jesus. Find a community of believers where you can grow and be known. That is what the local church is for, and it is worth showing up for.
Finally, ask the Holy Spirit to begin showing you where your life needs to turn. Do not try to overhaul everything at once. Just be willing to take the next step He shows you and then the one after that. Repentance is not a single moment; it is a lifetime of small yes decisions made in the direction of God.
Come As You Are to New Vision Church
If you are searching for a place to take that first step, or a place to come back to life in your faith, we would love to have you with us at New Vision Church in Fayetteville, GA. We gather every Sunday at 9:45 AM at 479 Inman Road, and we also host special events at 193 Johnson Avenue. Come as you are. No cleanup required. That is God’s job, and He is very good at it.