Participants: John Lomacang (Host), Shelley Quinn
Series Code: 10HC
Program Code: 10HC000006
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00:24 Welcome to 3ABN's Fall Camp Meeting
00:27 Homecoming 2010 00:30 featuring inspired messages from your 3ABN family 00:34 along with uplifting Christian music 00:37 all to prepare your heart for the coming of the Lord. 00:45 Welcome to 3ABN's Fall 2010 Camp Meeting 00:49 here in Thompsonville, Illinois. 00:51 If you are still in driving distance, get in your car now 00:54 and come on down and enjoy the weekend with us 00:56 because God is blessing in a wonderful way. 00:59 Can we all say Amen to that? Amen! 01:01 And so there are still seats available and there is 01:03 no admission. The only thing that you need to do 01:06 to come on in is just come on in! 01:07 And we've been blessed with some wonderful messages. 01:09 And this one is no exception. 01:11 Shelley Quinn, a woman of the Word, one who exalts 01:15 the Lord of the Word and also exalts the Word... 01:17 she's going to be preaching a message about 01:19 salvation and redemption. 01:21 And so stay tuned. Invite a friend to sit down 01:24 and if you'd like to hit the record button 01:26 so that you can go back and share this message 01:28 with others of your friends and of your neighbors. 01:30 So thank you so much for tuning in. 01:32 As you know we like to always invite the Lord's presence 01:35 to be here, so bow your heads with me as we ask the Lord 01:37 to lead. Gracious Father in Heaven, 01:39 thank you so much for the power that will attend this meeting. 01:42 Bless and anoint Shelley, we pray, in a very powerful way 01:45 to the uplifting of Your precious name. 01:48 In Jesus' name we pray, Amen. 01:51 I've been also given the wonderful opportunity of 01:54 sharing a song. And I think that you know 01:56 it is true when the Bible talks about our redemption 01:58 it leads us to do something that we probably didn't 02:01 fully understand before, and this song says it wonderfully: 02:04 My Jesus, I Love Thee. 02:22 My Jesus, 02:25 I love Thee. 02:29 I know Thou art mine; 02:34 For Thee 02:37 all the follies 02:41 of sin I resign; 02:47 My gracious 02:51 Redeemer, 02:54 my Savior art Thou; 03:01 If ever I loved Thee, 03:07 my Jesus, 03:11 'tis now. 03:23 I love Thee because 03:29 hast first loved me, 03:36 And purchased 03:40 my pardon 03:43 on Calvary's tree; 03:52 I love Thee 03:56 for wearing 03:59 the thorns on Thy brow; 04:06 If ever I loved Thee, 04:12 my Jesus, 04:16 'tis now. 04:28 I love Thee in life 04:33 and I will love Thee 04:38 till death, 04:41 And praise Thee as long 04:47 as Thou lendest me breath; 04:54 I'll sing when 04:57 the death dew 05:00 lies cold on 05:04 my brow; 05:08 If ever... 05:11 If ever I loved Thee, 05:17 my Jesus 05:20 'tis now. 05:33 In mansions 05:36 of glory 05:40 and endless 05:43 delight; 05:49 I'll ever adore Thee 05:56 in heaven so bright; 06:02 I'll sing with 06:06 the glittering 06:09 crown on my brow; 06:18 If ever 06:22 I loved Thee, 06:25 my Jesus, 06:31 'tis now. 06:55 Thank you, John. 06:58 Let's pray. 07:01 Our Lord Jesus 07:02 and Heavenly Father, 07:04 Oh, we do love You! We ask that in the name of Jesus 07:09 You would open our hearts, Father, and pour out Your love 07:13 into our hearts that we might love You with all of our hearts 07:16 and mind and strength and love one another 07:18 as we love ourselves. In Jesus' name, Amen. 07:22 You know, before I begin on this afternoon's message 07:25 I want to share a little praise report... 07:28 no, it's a BIG praise report... with you. 07:31 I have been sharing over the last few years about 07:35 one of our sisters who lives in a Muslim nation 07:39 in Africa. And, bless her heart, 07:43 when she watched 3ABN for several years 07:46 and just to practice her English. She's highly educated, 07:50 and she was just wanting to practice her English. 07:53 Well she accepted Christ as her Savior 07:55 and she has had several years of a very tough road since 07:59 because she's been beaten almost daily by her husband 08:02 because of this. He is now planning a divorce. 08:05 But I have to tell you, her faith is so strong 08:09 and this Sabbath she is being baptized. 08:13 Can you say glory to the Lord? 08:16 I'm so excited about that! 08:18 Well last night we heard a wonderful message 08:21 and I thought it would have been so easy for Dr. Blanco 08:24 rather than calling his message The Loving One 08:28 to have given it the same title that my message has today 08:31 and that is: The Joy of Repentance. 08:34 Because certainly when we hear the story of the Prodigal Son 08:38 we know the joy of repentance, do we not? 08:42 He came home; the father threw a celebration for him. 08:46 But you know, it was the father's joy that Dr. Blanco 08:50 was really helping us understand last night. 08:53 I want to share with you something that 08:57 changed my life as the Lord began to help me 09:01 understand this whole process of repentance. 09:05 Sometimes if I tell somebody I'm going to talk about 09:08 the joy of repentance they say: 09:10 "Joy? What joy is there in repentance? " 09:14 Most of us think of the sack cloth and ashes 09:17 and the pain that comes from repentance. 09:20 But I want to start by talking about King David. 09:24 Don't you just love King David? 09:26 And in II Samuel chapter 11 the Bible tells the story 09:31 of this wonderful, godly man 09:34 who God called a man after His own heart. 09:39 Yet this wonderful, godly man 09:43 inflamed by torrid lust 09:46 he began to make a series of wrong moral choices 09:50 that took him down a path of disobedience 09:53 and degradation. 09:55 And after he was guilty of committing adultery 09:59 then he became guilty of plotting to have Bathsheba's 10:04 husband killed. So now he's guilty of murder. 10:07 And he finds himself - unknowingly - 10:11 blinded to his own condition. 10:13 He is right on the cliff of spiritual death. 10:17 But God in His mercy sends the prophet Nathan to him. 10:22 And Nathan tells him the story of this rich man 10:27 that had many, many flocks. 10:29 And yet when he had a visitor come to his house 10:32 he went out and he took the only little ewe lamb 10:37 that belonged to a man. 10:39 And that was his only treasured possession 10:43 was this one little ewe lamb. 10:45 Well David takes this lamb and serves it up for supper. 10:49 Well... Excuse me... David in the story 10:52 that Nathan's telling... the man takes the lamb 10:56 and serves it up for supper. 10:58 So what was David's reaction? Do you remember? 11:02 He was ready to chop off the man's head, wasn't he? 11:06 He was ready to do away with the man... 11:10 enraged that anyone could do such a thing. 11:16 Now what do you think happened? 11:19 How did his fury change when Nathan turned to him 11:24 and said: "You are the man. " 11:27 You see that David was thinking 11:31 "I'm a man after God's own heart. 11:33 Look at what God has done in my life. 11:36 I'm a good person. 11:38 I'm judging someone else for their bad act. " 11:41 He was blinded to his condition. 11:44 I think I'm a good person. 11:47 I'll bet you think you're a good person too. 11:51 But you know something, we don't know our own hearts, do we? 11:54 And what we need to remember is that in Matthew 5 12:00 Jesus says that hatred 12:05 equals heart murder... doesn't it? 12:08 And the act of taking someone else's life 12:12 is just what's coming from the evil in your own heart. 12:16 And He also says that thoughts of adultery... 12:22 He actually says the thought is the sin. 12:26 Adultery's just the fruit of the sin. 12:30 So what am I trying to point out? 12:32 Sometimes we look at ourselves and we think 12:35 "I'm not like him. " 12:37 "I'm not like that man that took the only little ewe lamb. 12:40 No, no... I'm a good person. " 12:43 And we look at David even and think: "Wow! 12:47 David got away with murder and adultery and everything else. " 12:50 But what God wants us to do is look into the reflection pool 12:54 of our own conscience 12:56 and realize how much we need to confess our sins 13:02 and repent. Because without confession and repentance 13:06 we don't even have the assurance 13:09 that our worship is acceptable before the Lord. 13:12 Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 24. 13:15 This is a verse that is very familiar to us. 13:18 But I want us to look at this 13:22 as we look at this process of repentance 13:26 and why it is in the end ultimately so joyful. 13:30 We need to first recognize our need to repent. 13:34 Psalm 24, and let's look at verses 3 and 4. 13:42 The Psalmist writes: 13:44 "Who may ascend unto the hill of the Lord 13:48 or who may stand in His holy place? 13:53 He who has clean hands 13:57 and a pure heart. " 13:58 Clean hands: that's symbolic of our actions. 14:03 The pure heart is symbolic of our thoughts. 14:05 What is this scripture saying to us? 14:08 If we want to go before the Lord of holiness 14:13 and righteousness, we need to come before Him 14:18 humbly and ask for forgiveness before we go 14:22 in to enter into His presence. 14:24 We need to have clean hands and a pure heart 14:29 to stand before God in prayer. 14:32 But you know, to us the fountain has been opened, hasn't it? 14:36 Praise the Lord! The guilt of sin is washed away 14:39 by the blood of the Lamb. 14:41 So we know it is not by our works of righteousness 14:45 that we are saved but according to God's mercy. 14:48 And we are cleansed from pollution of sin. 14:54 From the pollution of sin 14:57 by our day by day repentance, confessing our sins. 15:01 Now I want to go back to David for just a minute. 15:05 How did David react when Nathan 15:10 accused him of being the man? 15:13 You know, a hot-headed king could have told the prophet 15:16 "Off with your head. " 15:18 "Out of my sight! " 15:19 But that's not what David did. 15:22 When David recognized his own lawlessness 15:26 what did he do? 15:28 He said: "Against You, Lord, I have sinned. " 15:34 "I have sinned against the Lord. " 15:38 He recognized his sin; he was seized by remorse. 15:43 Have you ever felt that way 15:46 when suddenly your sin becomes to apparent to you 15:49 and you feel remorseful? 15:51 But then what did he do? 15:53 If you want to... we don't have time to do this right now... 15:56 but I want to encourage you if you really want to learn 15:59 about the art of repentance go to Psalm 51. 16:04 Read that Psalm because that is the Psalm 16:07 that David wrote after Nathan came to him. 16:10 And when... this is a very tender but intense 16:15 record of confession. 16:16 So now what we're going to do in the next few minutes 16:19 is we're going to be looking at the process of repentance. 16:23 What is repentance? 16:26 You know we usually have kind of a pat little answer 16:29 of what it means. But as I was seeking the Lord 16:33 and saying "Father, I need to truly understand this. 16:36 I need to understand how to repent, " 16:38 He gave me five steps. And I think it's important 16:41 that we understand God's guidelines. 16:44 So these are the five steps that we're going to look at today. 16:47 Repentance begins with the recognition of sin. 16:51 After that comes godly sorrow. 16:55 Then we confess our sin. 16:58 And the next and important thing is that after we confess 17:01 that we receive God's forgiveness 17:05 and then we change our conduct. 17:08 So let's look at those five steps. 17:10 When we come to recognize our sin... 17:14 How do we recognize our sin? 17:16 How do I know that what I am doing is wrong? 17:20 When we examine our lives in the light of God's Word 17:25 then the character of our conduct 17:29 is exposed as it were. 17:31 Have you ever done that? 17:33 Sometimes you're just feeling really good about yourself 17:35 and you pick up the Bible and you start studying 17:37 and you come to something and you think: 17:40 "Oh, Lord, I'm so sorry. 17:42 You know, I'm gossiping. 17:46 I'm murmuring. I'm doing such and such. " 17:50 But as you read the Word 17:52 and you're being washed by the water of the Word 17:55 we recognize our sin. 17:57 The Holy Spirit's convicting power. 18:00 It's between the Word and the Spirit that we are convicted 18:04 of our sin and we begin to think differently. 18:07 We see the foul essence of sin. 18:11 You know the word sin: I say it is a perfect acronym. 18:16 SIN... that's a perfect acronym for what's at the root of it. 18:19 The S stands for selfishness 18:23 and selfish acts of sin. 18:27 The I stands for ignorance. 18:29 These are sins of omission. 18:32 The selfishness is things that we do even though 18:35 we know it's wrong to do it. 18:37 We do it anyway... feels good. 18:41 The I is for ignorance: that's unintentional sin. 18:45 Things that we do not realizing 18:48 because we don't know what's in God's Word. 18:52 And then the N stands for neglect. 18:55 This is things that we know that we ought to do 18:58 but we don't do them... perhaps because we've just become 19:01 overly busy. I did a study 19:06 on sin not too long ago. 19:10 And it was as I was writing the book Pressing into His Presence 19:14 from which this teaching comes. 19:16 And I have to tell you... it was a sobering study. 19:21 As I began to catalog the sins 19:25 and there was about, oh, I forget 19:28 12 plus maybe even 15 different categories of sin. 19:33 And I thought "Oh, Lord, help me! " 19:37 But you know, it's important. 19:40 If... if repentance begins at the recognition of sin, 19:44 we need to see sin for what it really is. 19:47 I just want to share three of those things with you today, 19:51 and these are the three: To sin is to miss the mark 19:55 of God's righteous requirement. 19:57 Let me give you two scriptures for that. 19:59 James 4:17 says: "To him who knows to do good 20:03 and does not do it, to him it is sin. " 20:07 Is that a sin of commission or omission? 20:11 Omission. 20:14 When we know we should be doing something 20:18 and we don't do it, we're sinning. 20:21 That is a sin of omission. 20:24 Romans 14:23 says: "Whatever's not from faith is of sin. " 20:29 When we are going out here and we think: 20:32 "Well I'm not sure if God would approve of this, 20:34 but I'm going to go ahead and do it anyway. " 20:36 That's not of faith and it's a sin. 20:39 Of course, the one that you probably can quote 20:43 to me is I John 3:4. 20:48 "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness. " 20:52 And sin is lawlessness. 20:55 See, we are committing an iniquity... lawlessness. 20:59 That means an intentional or unintentional 21:04 breaking of God's law. 21:07 And then here's the one that gets me more than anything 21:11 and I think it'll get all of us 21:13 and that is: anything that is a deviation from God's 21:19 holy and righteous character is a sin. 21:22 All unrighteousness is a sin. 21:25 I John 5:17 sums it up that simply: 21:30 all unrighteousness is sin. 21:34 I want to ask you a question. 21:37 Have you sinned today? 21:39 Have you missed the mark, the bullseye, of God's requirements? 21:44 Have you realized that you're doing something that doesn't 21:48 really attain to the character of Jesus Christ or of the Lord? 21:52 Romans 3:23 states "All have sinned and fallen short 21:57 of the glory of God. " What's the glory of God? 22:00 What is that? His character. 22:03 All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 22:07 That "fall short" in the Greek the tense 22:10 is one of continuous action. 22:12 What it is saying is: "All have sinned 22:16 and are falling short of the glory" - the character - 22:20 "of God. " I fall short of His character every day, 22:23 how about you? 22:25 So the reason it is so important for us 22:29 to see our sin is because 22:32 that's the beginning of recog... I mean, 22:34 recognition of sin is the beginning of repentance. 22:37 And we should rejoice in the recognition of sin. 22:42 What? Yeah! Rejoice when you recognize you're sinning. 22:48 That means the Word's doing it's job. 22:51 That means the Holy Spirit is doing His job. 22:54 And as we recognize our sin 22:57 then we can go before the Lord. 23:01 You know, the reason we need to recognize our sin is 23:03 so that we recognize our need for repentance. 23:07 J.D. and I were on a plane recently 23:09 and I was sitting next to a man who was an attorney. 23:12 And we were talking at great length about the Lord. 23:15 He was brought up as a Catholic. 23:17 Hasn't been to church for many, many years. 23:20 But he kept saying: "I'm a good person. 23:22 I don't need to go to church. I don't need to repent. 23:25 I don't need... " He didn't see his need for a Savior. 23:29 But turn to Micah chapter 7 if you will, please. 23:35 Micah chapter 7. That's right after Jonah. 23:38 The reason that we can rejoice in recognition 23:43 of our sin debt is because God delights in mercy 23:49 and He stands ready to forgive us. 23:51 His heart beats with pity for the penitent sinner, 23:56 and He will not leave your head hanging low. 24:01 Look at Micah chapter 7 and verse 18 is where we'll begin. 24:06 I love this verse! 24:09 Micah 7:18: "Who is a God like You 24:14 pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression 24:20 of the remnant of His heritage? 24:22 He does not retain His anger forever... " 24:27 Why? "Because He delights in mercy. 24:32 He will again have compassion on us and will 24:34 subdue our iniquities. " 24:37 And then he says it directly to the Lord: 24:39 "You will cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea. " 24:45 So when you recognize your sin, yes... 24:49 That's going to bring up step two: godly sorrow. 24:54 Godly sorrow should fill your heart. 24:57 But don't think that's where it's gotta end. 25:00 We go from recognition of sin to godly sorrow. 25:04 As we begin to interpret the love of a God 25:07 who was willing to die for us while we were yet sinners 25:12 what happens is this awakens in us 25:16 this wonder and this want to please Him. 25:22 And we begin to regret our sins, 25:26 and godly sorrow produces a change of heart 25:29 that leads us to repentance and salvation. 25:33 That's what II Corinthians 7:10 says is that 25:36 godly sorrow produces 25:40 repentance leading to salvation. 25:44 And the Bible tells us in Romans 2:4 25:47 "Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance 25:51 and longsuffering not knowing that the goodness of God 25:57 leads you to repentance? " 25:59 So the next time you feel that godly sorrow 26:03 praise the Lord for it! 26:06 Say: "Father I thank you that You are opening my eyes 26:09 to recognize my sin and my need for a Savior. " 26:12 "Thank you Lord for filling my heart with this godly sorrow 26:17 to lead me to repentance. " 26:20 So that leads us to step three. 26:22 Once we have reached this condition 26:24 confession is our next critical step. 26:27 Turn to Psalm 66. 26:30 Psalm 66. Please hear what I'm about to say. 26:35 Sin erects a barrier 26:40 that hinders our prayers to the Lord. 26:44 We've already looked at "Who can ascend to His hill 26:48 and stand before the Lord except he with clean hands 26:52 and a pure heart? " Look at Psalm 66:18 26:56 and we'll see this sin barrier that's separating us 27:00 from our holy God. 27:03 Psalm 66:18... David says: 27:08 "If I regard iniquity in my heart... " 27:11 what's going to happen? 27:13 "The Lord will not hear. " 27:15 Hear what? What won't the Lord hear? 27:18 He's not going to hear your prayers. 27:22 You know, so many people come to the Lord 27:24 and as they're praying all they're doing is seeking 27:28 the hand of the Lord. 27:30 It's kind of like what Dr. Blanco was talking about 27:34 last night. It's like the son who was saying: 27:37 "Give me, give me. Gimme, gimme, give me. " 27:41 But what God wants us to do 27:44 is to recognize how badly sin hurts Him. 27:47 And He wants us to come before Him 27:50 and to say to Him: "Father, oh thank you for helping me 27:55 to see my sin. Lord, I'm here to confess my sin. " 27:59 Turn to Hosea 5:15. 28:02 Hosea 5:15. 28:04 Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea. 28:06 Because God wants us to know that there's a way to get rid 28:12 of this sin barrier. 28:14 He shuts His ears to the unrepentant sinner. 28:18 He requires that we acknowledge our offenses towards Him. 28:22 Hosea 5:15... this is God speaking and He says: 28:28 "I will return again to My place... " 28:32 Until what? 28:35 "Until they acknowledge their offense. 28:39 Then they will seek My face. 28:44 In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. " 28:50 God is saying: "I'm withdrawing. " 28:53 What part does light have with darkness? 28:58 What fellowship does Belial have with the righteous? 29:04 What God is saying is: 29:07 "I can't... you can't stand in My presence 29:10 until you confess your sins, acknowledge your offense. " 29:14 So when we begin to confess our sins 29:19 it demonstrates we've had a change of mind about 29:22 our own sin-sick behavior 29:24 and through confession we seek forgiveness of our sins. 29:28 We acknowledge our need for a Savior. 29:31 And I have to share something with you. 29:33 Don't ever get to that point where you think 29:36 "Well I'm a fourth generation Adventist Christian. 29:40 I know all about it. 29:43 I can tell you all about the 2,300 days. " 29:46 If you get to thinking because of your heritage 29:50 that you are a good person, a righteous person, 29:55 you're wrong. The only thing that makes you righteous 29:59 is Jesus Christ. 30:02 And we've got to go before Him day by day and acknowledge 30:06 our need for Him. Because when confession is accompanied 30:10 by godly sorrow and a sincere desire to change 30:14 God will forgive us and cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 30:19 I John 1:8-9. "If we say that we have no sin, 30:25 we deceive ourself and the truth is not in us. 30:29 But if we confess our sins, 30:33 He is faithful and just to forgive us 30:37 all of our sins and cleanse us from" how much unrighteousness? 30:41 "all of our unrighteousness. " 30:44 And again, this verb confess 30:48 is the present active condition. So what John was saying is 30:53 "We keep on confessing. " 30:56 Never become callous to the act of confessing your sin. 31:01 Confession is the clearinghouse of the conscience. 31:05 And you know what? Once... This is God's prescribed way 31:10 to purify us and it results in the renewal 31:13 of a robust relationship with the Lord. 31:16 It's the place where misery meets mercy, if you will. 31:19 So go ahead and bring your sins into His light 31:23 because you're not going to be telling Him anything 31:24 that He doesn't know. He's just waiting for you 31:28 to acknowledge your sin. 31:31 You should still be in Hosea... Flip on over to Hosea 14 31:35 because I want to show you something. 31:38 The scriptures say to take words with you 31:44 when you return to the Lord. 31:47 Hosea 14:1. 31:49 Hosea 14:1... "Return to the Lord your God 31:54 for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 31:56 Take words with you and return to the Lord. 31:59 Say to Him: 'Take away all my iniquity. 32:02 Receive us graciously. ' " 32:05 Take words with you. 32:07 And look at verse 4. This is God answering: 32:11 "I will heal their backsliding. 32:14 I will love them freely 32:17 for my anger has turned away. " 32:20 If we walk in the light as He is in the light 32:24 the blood of Jesus will cleanse us of all sin. 32:28 And our great reward of confession is that 32:33 now we have a clear conscience before God. 32:36 And you know what I John 3:21 says. 32:40 "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us 32:44 we have confidence before God. " 32:47 A lot of us spend our time groveling before the Lord 32:52 when what He is saying is: "Child, you've confessed 32:56 your sins. Step forward to repentance now 32:59 and receive My forgiveness. " 33:02 "Receive My forgiveness. " 33:05 Sometimes this is a challenge. 33:08 It's easier I heard someone say earlier this morning... 33:11 "God forgives me. 33:13 I just don't do a very good job of forgiving myself. " 33:16 Well see, when we receive God's forgiveness 33:19 this is how we disarm the devil 33:21 and we extricate ourself from that quicksand 33:25 trap of his of condemnation. 33:27 I met a lady that... Actually she has been calling 33:31 here... I've not met her, excuse me. 33:33 She has called here for a number of years, 33:36 always with the same request. She's in her 80's 33:41 and she had an abortion - an illegal abortion - 33:43 when she was much younger 33:45 and she cannot get that off her mind. 33:47 And she's prayed and prayed and prayed 33:49 for God to forgive her. 33:52 And I keep telling her: "He has. 33:55 Receive it; receive it. " 33:58 And she finally made that breakthrough. 34:00 She finally received that forgiveness. 34:05 You know, one of my favorite stories is found in 34:09 Luke chapter 7. 34:12 We're not going to go there 'cause we don't have time 34:15 today unfortunately. But it's verses 36 to 50 34:18 if you're just a note taker. Luke 7:36-50. 34:21 And this is when Jesus is telling a very judgmental 34:26 Pharisee the story of a creditor and two debtors. 34:31 One of the debtors owed a little; 34:33 the other owed a lot. 34:35 So Jesus turns to the Pharisee after He's told the story 34:39 and He said: "So which do you presume would love 34:42 the creditor more: 34:44 The one who was forgiven a little 34:46 or the one who was forgiven a lot? " 34:49 Well, the Pharisee rightly chose. 34:51 He said: "The one who was forgiven a lot. " 34:54 But the thing is that Jesus was telling the story 34:59 in reference to a woman of ill repute 35:01 who was washing His feet with her tears at that moment. 35:07 Who took an alabaster box and broke it open 35:11 and was pouring this very expensive spikenard on His feet. 35:16 And the Pharisee was recoiling at this act. 35:20 And the punch line is this: 35:23 This self-righteous Pharisee 35:26 didn't recognize his need for a Savior. 35:29 What was going on in his heart was: "I'm better than her. 35:34 I don't even see my need for a Savior. " 35:37 And he loved Jesus very little. 35:41 But the woman who was weeping at His feet 35:45 had once been filled with unspeakable shame 35:48 and a sense of unutterable unworthiness 35:53 and Jesus had forgiven her. 35:56 And now she could not contain her love. 36:00 She was pouring out all she had at His feet. 36:05 And then Jesus said in Luke 7:47: 36:11 "Therefore I say to you 36:13 her sins which are many are forgiven 36:17 for she loved much. 36:19 But to whom little is forgiven 36:22 the same loves little. " 36:24 You know what some people's problem is 36:27 who don't have enough love for the Lord? 36:31 They don't recognize how much sin they've had to have 36:34 cast into the sea. 36:36 They don't realize how much they've been forgiven of. 36:39 The more you acknowledge your sin, 36:43 have that sense of godly sorrow, confess your sin, 36:48 receive the forgiveness of God 36:49 the more you're going to love Him. 36:52 I know that when I consider what He's had to clean me up from 36:56 oh, it makes me love Him all the more 36:59 to think that His extreme grace just wiped out that debt of sin 37:04 that I could never repay. 37:07 God desires that we open our hearts 37:10 and receive His forgiveness. 37:13 As He grants us forgiveness He gives us liberty 37:17 and access to Him. 37:19 The God of new beginnings whose mercies are 37:22 new every morning, and our situation changes. 37:26 We no longer have to wander in the wasteland of sin. 37:30 Isaiah 43:18-19 God says: 37:33 "Forget the former things; " 37:35 do not dwell on the past; 37:38 "See, I am doing a new thing! 37:41 Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? 37:45 I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. " 37:49 "Come let us reason together. 37:53 Though your sins be like scarlet 37:55 they shall be white as snow. " 37:58 David understood this, 38:01 and in Psalm 51 he says: 38:04 "O wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. 38:09 Cleanse me from my sin. 38:11 Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. " 38:14 Oh Lord Jesus, wash me repeatedly in Your blood. 38:19 Oh I need You, Lord. 38:22 Wash me and I will be clean. 38:26 And David prayed 38:28 that God would restore the joy of His salvation. 38:32 There's nothing like recognizing you've been forgiven 38:36 to restore the joy of your salvation. 38:38 You know, I've got a little note here. 38:42 When you get what you deserve, that's justice. 38:47 When you don't get what you deserve, it's mercy. 38:52 But when you get what you don't deserve, that's grace! 38:57 Amen! Grace! Turn to I Kings... 39:01 I Kings chapter 14. 39:06 Grace is where the joy of repentance truly begins. 39:12 I Kings chapter 14. Let me set this up. 39:19 God has told the prophet Ahijah 39:23 He's got a message for King Jereboam, 39:26 and he's prophesying the destruction of the house 39:30 of Jereboam. Jereboam... the unrepentant king... 39:35 is about to get justice, right? 39:37 So let's look at verse 8. 39:41 "You have not... " This is the message that 39:44 that's to be taken to King Jereboam. 39:47 "You have not been as My servant David, 39:50 who kept My commandments, who followed Me 39:55 with all of his heart 39:57 to do only what was right in My eyes. " 40:02 Now wait a minute! 40:04 Hang on just a second. 40:06 What does this mean? 40:08 You see, this message is after King David died. 40:12 This is God's message... God speaking. 40:15 He said: "Take this message to King Jereboam: 40:17 You've not been like David 40:19 who followed after Me with all of his heart. 40:24 Who kept all My commandments. 40:25 Who did only that which was right in My eyes. " 40:28 Now wait a minute, Lord. 40:30 What do you mean he kept Your commandments? 40:33 Guilty of adultery; guilty of murder. 40:35 What do you mean he did only what was right in your eyes? 40:39 You know what that scripture proves to me? 40:42 God forgets what we ask Him to forgive. 40:48 When we pray and ask God... 40:50 David in the Psalm 51 when he is praying 40:53 asking the Lord to forgive his great sin 40:57 God blotted out that sin. 41:01 He cast it into the sea and God forgot that sin. 41:06 God's not a man that He can lie. 41:09 Let me give you some more scriptures. 41:12 Psalm 103:12. Just jot these down. 41:16 Psalm 103:12. 41:18 "As far as the east is from the west, 41:21 so far has He removed our transgressions from us. " 41:24 Isaiah 43:25. 41:27 "I, even I, am He who blots out and cancels 41:33 your transgression, for My own sake, 41:36 and I will not remember your sin. " 41:39 Have you ever forgiven anybody 41:41 and forgot about their sin or a debt that they owed you 41:45 for your own sake because it was troubling you so much 41:48 that you thought "Man, it's not worth it? " 41:51 See God... When we ask for forgiveness, God says: 41:54 "Hey, as much for your sake as for Mine because 41:57 I'm a holy God. That sin just... just... 42:00 wrecks... It wrecks My day. It gives Me that emotional pain. " 42:04 And so He's saying: " I forgive and blot out 42:08 what you've confessed and asked for forgiveness. 42:11 For My own sake I do it. " 42:14 Isaiah 44:22. 42:17 God's speaking again. "I have blotted out like a thick 42:21 cloud your transgression... like a cloud your sins. 42:25 Return to Me for I have redeemed you. " 42:28 And even in the New Testament it says the same thing. 42:31 Hebrews 8:10-12. 42:33 God says this is the covenant: "I'll put My laws in their minds 42:37 write them on their hearts. I'll be their God; 42:40 they'll be My people 42:41 and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember 42:47 no more. " 42:49 When we confess our sins in sincere-hearted repentance, 42:53 God applies the blood of Jesus 42:56 to blot out their stain. 43:00 They're covered and cancelled in the memory of God. 43:03 He looks upon our record... all He sees is the blood of Jesus. 43:09 Hallelujah! Does that make you joyful? 43:11 So now turn to Micah chapter 7. 43:15 Again, Micah is nestled there between Jonah and Nahum. 43:18 Micah chapter 7. 43:22 I have big stars in my Bible by this scripture. 43:25 I love this scripture. 43:28 To me it is the joy of repentance. 43:30 Micah 7:7. 43:33 Micah writes and he says: 43:36 "I will look to my God. 43:40 I will wait for the God of my salvation. 43:44 My God will hear me. 43:46 Do not rejoice over me, my enemy. 43:50 When I fall I will arise. 43:52 When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. " 43:56 Now listen: 43:58 "I will bear the indignation of the Lord because 44:01 I have sinned against Him 44:04 until He pleads my case 44:10 and executes justice for me. " 44:13 I will bear His indignation until He pleads my case. 44:19 You have an Advocate with the Father 44:22 who is pleading your case. 44:25 Pleading His blood. And then he says: 44:27 "He will bring me forth to the light. 44:30 I will see His righteousness. " 44:35 Hallelujah! You know, that makes my feet want to 44:38 do a dance, and if I didn't know that where I was right now 44:41 I would. I just... I love that scripture. 44:45 "Don't rejoice over me, my enemy. " 44:49 Don't rejoice over your brother's failings and fumblings 44:54 and fallings. Pray that God will help them rise. 45:00 So at the conclusion of these four steps: 45:03 recognition of our sins, 45:04 the godly sorrow that seizes our heart, 45:07 the confession, and then receiving God's forgiveness, 45:11 taking it by faith and saying "Yes, Lord. " 45:14 What happens is... the verdict's been rendered. 45:19 A blood-bought pardon is ours. 45:21 Those sins are not longer on our record. 45:23 We stand justified, acquitted 45:26 by the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ 45:28 as He puts that righteousness by faith... 45:31 He puts that robe over us. 45:33 But now we must continue to the final point 45:37 in the repentance process 45:39 because this is where grace abounds. 45:43 Without this step we would be contained to hobble along 45:47 with these habits of sin. And step number five is this: 45:50 we've got to change our conduct. 45:54 The fifth and final step of the repentance process 45:58 is where transformation and triumph are forged. 46:02 And here's how it works. 46:04 We're headed in this direction and we meet Jesus. 46:09 We're going the wrong way and here comes Jesus. 46:12 And as we come along, we just keep passing Him by. 46:15 He just keeps showing up 46:17 until He has convinced us and we recognize our sin. 46:22 And in godly sorrow, just because of the love in His eyes, 46:26 godly sorrow begins to fill our hearts. 46:29 And we finally say: "Yes, I confess my sin, " 46:32 and He lets us know we're forgiven. 46:34 And then what happens is He helps us; He picks us up. 46:40 He turns us around a 180-degree turn 46:44 and heads us right back in the direction of the Father. 46:49 So this represents sanctification 46:55 by the imparted righteousness of Jesus. 46:59 And as the process of sanctification begins to bloom 47:03 in our heart the seduction of sin begins to wither. 47:07 With absolute confidence in Christ's ability to save 47:11 we can develop an unwavering commitment 47:16 to Him that allows for no compromise 47:20 with the royal system. But the process of repentance 47:25 is incomplete unless we turn from self to God. 47:31 Did you hear that? 47:33 The process of repentance is incomplete 47:37 unless we turn from our selfish ways back to God's way. 47:43 Because genuine repentance results in the rejection of sin. 47:48 Have you ever known anyone? I had a friend - 47:51 turn to Acts 5 while I'm talking here, please - 47:57 I had a friend of another religion 48:00 who would go daily to confess his sins. 48:06 Every night he would go out drinking. 48:10 Dated a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. 48:14 He'd go... He went and partied. Did a little bit of 48:17 recreational drugs. We didn't know him at that time. 48:21 We met him actually right after he'd become a Christian. 48:23 But every day he would go repent. 48:26 Ask for absolution from the sins 48:29 then he'd go out and do it again! 48:31 Did he ever really repent? 48:34 No! That's not repentance. 48:37 Genuine repentance not only results in the rejection of sin 48:43 but in the return of our devotion to God. 48:48 Acts chapter 5... let's look at verse 31 48:51 because repentance is a gift granted by God. 48:55 Acts 5:31. 48:59 "Him... " - speaking of Jesus, 49:02 "God has exalted to His right hand 49:06 to be Prince and Savior to give repentance to Israel 49:12 and forgiveness of sin. " 49:15 You cannot repent by yourself. 49:19 Turn to Romans chapter 8. 49:21 Turn to Romans chapter 8 49:24 because if there's one thing I want you to go away from... 49:28 taking away from this today 49:31 is that when you come daily before the Lord 49:34 and confess your sins and receive God's forgiveness 49:38 that you pray and ask God 49:42 to grant you repentance. 49:46 You need to ask God. That is a gift to be received. 49:50 So you need to pray and say: "Lord, 49:53 please forgive me for murmuring and complaining 49:58 and being negative when You have blessed me so. 50:03 You parted the Red Sea for me 50:05 I don't know how many times in my life. 50:08 Lord, I know You... It's the same as those... 50:11 those Hebrew children out in the desert. 50:13 You've struck the rock and water's miraculously appeared. 50:16 You've given me manna 50:18 and yet, Lord, I murmur and complain. 50:21 Forgive me, Father. But Lord, more than forgive me 50:25 grant me repentance. Romans chapter 8... 50:28 look at verses 13 and 14. 50:31 "If you live according to the flesh, " what's going to happen? 50:35 "You die. But if" by whom? 50:38 "If by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, 50:44 you will live. 50:46 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God 50:49 these are the sons of God. " 50:53 It is only by the Spirit's power that we can repent. 50:59 It is only as we have a cooperative relationship 51:05 with God that we can turn away from our sin. 51:09 You know, David was fully aware of this. 51:12 And that's why in Psalm 51 verse 10 he said: 51:16 "O Lord, create in me a clean heart. 51:21 Renew a steadfast spirit in me. " 51:24 Because it's God who works in you 51:28 to will and to do according to His good pleasure. 51:34 Matthew 28. 51:37 Jesus... Excuse me... Matthew 11 verse 28. 51:41 Jesus gives us some very comforting words. 51:45 He says: "Come to Me 51:50 all you who labor and are heavy laden 51:52 and I will give you rest. 51:54 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me 51:57 for I am gentle and lowly in heart 52:00 and you will find rest for your souls 52:04 for My yoke is easy and my burden is light. " 52:09 See, what's going on here in this whole process of repentance 52:13 is we're going in the wrong direction in some area 52:16 of our life. We meet up with Jesus. 52:19 We... we recognize our sin. 52:22 We have that godly sorrow seize our heart. 52:26 We confess our sin; we receive that forgiveness. 52:29 And you know what? The power to turn around is 52:32 He yokes us to Him and He turns us around 52:35 and here He goes... we're yoked together. 52:39 You know, I was praying once about 52:43 learning how to surrender. 52:45 And as I was praying, what I saw in my mind 52:47 was this teensy, weensy little bitty sugar ant 52:50 next to a huge elephant. 52:52 And the Lord said to me in that still, small voice - 52:57 I didn't hear an audible voice - 52:59 but He impressed His thought on my mind by the power 53:02 of the Holy Spirit. And He said: "Shelley, 53:05 you're greatest human strength 53:09 could be compared to this little tiny sugar ant 53:11 whereas Mine could be compared to this elephant 53:15 millions of times larger. 53:17 Why would you want to try 53:20 to walk the Christian walk by your own power 53:25 when you can draw on Mine? 53:30 Reminds me of what Paul wrote to the Galatians. 53:33 "You foolish Galatians! 53:35 Having begun in the Spirit are you now trying to perfect 53:39 your walk in the flesh? " 53:41 All right, fess up. How many of you have tried to perfect 53:45 your walk in the flesh? Come on... let's be honest. 53:48 Both of my hands have to go up. 53:51 It happens... and God's trying to get our attention 53:56 and say: "You can't do it. " 53:59 The joy of repentance... Now think of - 54:02 and forgive me for using this analogy - 54:05 just think of this elephant who is now... and this tiny 54:08 little sugar ant is now yoked with this elephant. 54:14 Who's carrying the load? 54:17 The elephant's carrying the load! 54:19 That's what it's like when you and I are yoked to Jesus 54:23 when He says: "Take My yoke upon you. " 54:25 But can you image this teensy, weensy little sugar ant 54:28 way up here high in the air. Elephant is carrying the load. 54:32 And all of his little legs just going 90-to-nothing 54:35 saying: "Let me down... I want to do it my way. " 54:37 But that's what we do to God, isn't it? 54:42 And God doesn't want us to. 54:44 The joy of repentance is that being yoked with Jesus Christ 54:49 we're filled afresh with His Spirit. 54:52 He's the One that completes the good work He began in us. 54:56 If we surrender control of our lives to Him, 54:58 He will cause us to be all that He calls us to be. 55:03 Jesus said in Matthew 12:10 55:06 "A bruised reed He will not break 55:09 and smoking flax He will not quench. " 55:12 Do you feel battered and bruised by your mistakes? 55:16 Come to Christ... He will heal you. 55:20 Has your first-love passion for Christ faded? 55:26 Is it dissipating? Is the wick of your spiritual 55:29 lamp smoldering and about to go out? 55:32 Come to Christ. He will add the oil of joy 55:37 to your life and your lamp will burn brightly. 55:40 Five steps of repentance: help me quickly. 55:43 The first step is what? Recognition of sin. 55:47 What's the second step? Godly sorrow. 55:51 And the third step? Confession. 55:54 The fourth step: receive God's forgiveness. 55:57 And the fifth step is to turn around. 56:01 Turn to Acts chapter 3:19 56:03 because this is the culmination of repentance. 56:08 Acts 3:19. 56:10 The Bible says in the New Testament in Acts 3:19: 56:14 "Repent therefore and be converted that your sins 56:19 may be blotted out 56:22 so that times of refreshing may come 56:26 from the presence of the Lord. " 56:28 Repentance is a glorious gift from God. 56:31 It brings times of refreshing that speeds our recovery 56:36 from the sting of sin and it revives us spiritually. 56:40 Isaiah 30:15 He says: 56:44 "In returning to Me, resting in Me, you shall be saved. 56:47 In quietness and in trusting confidence 56:50 shall be your strength. " 56:53 Repentance gives us confidence before the Lord 56:56 and assures us of His power to save. 57:00 Repentance brings rest to our weary souls. 57:04 God grants us forgiveness, 57:07 and when He grants us forgiveness 57:10 He grants us repentance. 57:12 A precious price... a gift of such a price 57:15 it's beyond compare. Receive it with joy. |
Revised 2014-12-17