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2 Corinthians 7:8,16 -True Repentance- Pastor Rick Beaudry 2025-03-30
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Second Corinthians chapter seven verses eight through 16. For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent. Though I did repent for I perceive that the same epistle has made you sorry though or but for a season. Now rejoice not that ye were made sorry but that ye sorrowed to repentance. For you were made sorry after a godly manner that ye might receive damage by us and nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold, a selfsame thing that you sorrowed after a godly sort. What carefulness it wrought in you. Yea, what clearing of yourselves. Yea, what in indignation. Yea, what fear. Yea, what vehement desire. Yea, what zeal. Yea, what revenge. In all things you have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. Wherefore though I wrote unto you, I did it not for this cause that had done the wrong, nor for this cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto unto you. Therefore, we were comforted in your comfort, yea, and exceedingly, the more joyed we joy for the joy of Titus because the spirit was refreshed by you all. For if I have boasted anything to to him of you, I'm not ashamed but as we spake all things to you in truth even so our boasting which I made before Titus is found a truth. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you whilst he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things. Father, thank you for your holy word. And Lord, as the church of Corinth was blowing it, Lord, they were sinning, they were not acting right, and Paul rebuked the guy that took his his mother's or his father's wife and that whole incestuous relationship in first Corinthians five. And then also dealing with, another person that was that was causing slander and division and and all sorts of, problems with the tongue of undermining Paul's ministry, and Paul having to address that straight on. And Lord, we thank you that Titus was able to visit. We thank you that church of Corinth responded. We thank you that Paul's encouraged. And as we move on through the book, Lord, we we we thank you, that we're gonna be equipped also to be able to deal with heresy, heretical people and things that come into the church whether it be immorality or aberrant teaching, Lord, that, will be instructed and taught and and able to, maintain the purity as best we can, knowing a little leaven leavens a whole lump. So bless now we pray, teach us once again, fill us to overflowing with your love Lord, in Jesus name we pray, amen. Would you please be seated? How did John the Baptist begin his public ministry? He said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. What's repent mean? It means to turn. Turn from the direction you're going. 180 degree turn and turn back toward toward God. Jesus began his public ministry in Matthew four verse 17 by saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The 12 that were sent by Jesus to proclaim the gospel in Mark six twelve preached that men should repent. In acts chapter two, the church, the holy ghost is coming upon the early church and, as the church is formed, the day of Pentecost. And Peter says, repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the gift of the holy ghost. Paul, when he went in acts chapter, 18, 17 to, Athens, the place where the Athenians on Mars Hill where they were all, always wondering some new thing that was coming along. And Paul exhorted the Athenians to repent saying, the times of this ignorance, Acts seventeen thirty, the times of this ignorance before Jesus came. Now Jesus has come. He's been crucified, buried, raised from the dead, everybody's responsible for that information. Because as he told, you know, Festus and King Agrippa and Bernice, hey, this wasn't done in the corner. The Roman government was up involved up to its up to its neck, you know. Pilate, you know, all of them. You guys know this wasn't done in a corner. He says, but God winked, you know, in times past. God God allowed based upon the limited information that people had. God gave space to repent. He wasn't so strong with judgment. The times of this ignorance, God winked at, but now commanded all men everywhere to repent. We're without excuse. Five of the letters that are written to the churches, Revelation chapter two and three to the seven churches, five of the letters contain a command from Jesus to repent. The church of Smyrna, like the church in Syria today, or Iran. The church of Philadelphia, like the churches in China, Iran, and Syria. Smyrna and Philadelphia were under fire. They were being persecuted. They were being executed, martyred. And Jesus had no word of of command for them to repent. His words were encouraging to them that you have little strength, church, to Philadelphia, but you got an open door in China. Continue to share the gospel, you know. You, you're gonna be crushed, Church of Smyrna. You're gonna be crushed like a flower, but you're gonna have the fragrance of Christ emanating from your from your lives there in Syria and in in Iran. And so the Lord encouraging them. In Revelation three nineteen, Jesus says, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent. As many as I love. This confrontation of the guy that took his mother's wife, it was it was because of love. In Hebrews 12, if you're not a child of God, you you don't get correction. But as many as the Lord loves, he chastens and he rebukes every son or, you know, or daughter. If you belong to the Lord, if you're a child of his, he doesn't want you going to hell, and if you get off track, he's gonna chasten you. He's gonna spank you. He's gonna get you back around. If you don't belong to him, you might be able to continue in that sins, but Jesus says, many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Be zealous therefore and repent, church of Laodicea. So what is true repentance? How often do we hear the word repentance today? How often do we hear the word repentance, in the churches today in America? Or the word sin? Or the word hell? You know, we have an easy believism. We have a we have a basically, you're taking it and you want Jesus to stamp approval on your lifestyle. You're gonna there's no repentance. You're gonna live like you're gonna live your best life now. And oh, by the way, I've got fire insurance too. When I die, I'm going to heaven. Well, you're living like a hellion. How would we know you're even a Christian? You know? Now many of you here, you have wonderful testimonies. For some of you, you fell asleep in the park drunk and naked, you know? Used to drink so much, you couldn't get home. Used to crash into cars. You were been in jail cells. Some of you had drug problems, alcohol problems, promiscuity, whatever it is. You have a testimony of who you once were, you were blind and now you see, and your wife, your husband, your family, they said, hey, something radical's happened to her. Something radical's happened to him. That's called repentance. That's called conversion. That's called your new creation in Christ Jesus. And they're watching you and they're like, man, he used to drink so much, man. They used to that's all they ever did was drink and cuss and swear and, you know, the whole thing, you know. What happened? You know, from buns to the heart, the mouth speaks, you know. All they wanna do now is read their bible and they're they're they're Jesus freaks now, preaching the gospel everywhere they go. What happened? That's called repentance. Isn't it a beautiful thing, that word? Repentance? If you were the same way, that would mean there was no repentance. You're the same as you were before, and people would question your profession of faith. They'd say, you're the same drag you were before, you know? There's nothing good about you. There's nothing nothing right about you. You know, what what are you talking about Jesus, you know? This Jesus, this you know, you guys make me sick. You're so insipid. You're powerless. Where's the transformation and the change in your life? If he's so great, how come he, you know, can't change you or hasn't changed you? And if you're honest, you'd have to say, well, it's because I haven't repented, Because I refuse to stop doing what I'm doing and I continue in that way. So what is repentance? Number one, repentance is contrition. Verse eight. For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent. Paul's saying I'm not gonna back off of it. Though I did repent for I perceive that the same epistle has made you sorry though it were but for a season. So Paul rebuked the sin of the man with his father's wife and the Corinthian church, for tolerating the evil. They needed to be rebuked also because they were tolerating that evil within their church. Now here's how it goes today. You see somebody that's sinning, and you're a watchman, and you've got a responsibility. As many as I love, I chase and rebuke, Jesus said. The job of the pastor, the job of the scripture, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. The word of God is given by inspiration of God. It's God breed, and is profitable for doctrine. That means we're learning right now. Teaching for doctrine. For reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be equipped thoroughly furnished for every good work. So people need information. They need to know what's right and what's wrong because the world's been lying to them. The psychiatrist, the teachers, the whole culture's been lying to them. And although they have a conscience, and they they think they know, you know, what they're doing might be wrong, they need a direct, you know, confrontation. So here's how it goes. Judge not lest you be judged, buddy. Why are you judging me? So you go confront, and they're all of a sudden indignant. You're not supposed to judge me. The bible says don't judge. No. No. No. The bible says don't judge hypocritically. Don't be like a pharisee. Get the get the beam out of your own eye, then you can see clearly to pull the speck out of your brother's eye. That's what he's saying. I have to make judgments every single day. I mean, I ran a I ran a yellow light. It was really kinda yellow. And I had to make a judgment real quick because that car might turn in front of me, you know, that I was it was really stale. It was kinda getting old. And I did see a flash, so I might get something in the mail here soon, but I had a split second judgment I had to make. We make judgments all the time. All of us. We don't just go through life just like zombies, you know, acting like nothing matters. I mean, we're we're the church. We know right and wrong. We know adultery is wrong. We know fornication is wrong. Line, cheating, stealing is wrong. And one of the things I think we lose sight of is how wrong unbelief is. If I were to say you guys were drags and now you changed and all that, some of you raised in Christian homes. And you didn't do all the bad things. You're you were righteous. You did good things. You're a good girl. You're a good boy. Choir choir kids, you sang in the choir. Awesome. Awesome testimony. And that's what I would want for my children, my grandchildren. I don't want them to go through what I went through as an unbeliever till I was 20. I don't want them to go through that. And if my children get off track, I want them to repent. I want them to get right with God and stop doing that stuff. But some of us, we don't even realize how self righteous we can be and how unbelieving we can be. Unbelief hinders and quenches the work of the Holy Spirit. And so we we're we need to repent of that at times. And we need to say, hey, how big's your God? You're filled with fear, anxiety, the world's ending. I don't like prophecy. I'm gonna go to a church of denial. Why? Because my God's really small. And I'm worried about my kids, and I'm worried about my house and all my dreams and everything I want. Are you gonna articulate that? Would you would you please say that? That's what I think is going on, but tell me that. Tell I wanna hear that. Because they don't wanna say that because if they really hear what they're really saying, it's unbelief. Isn't it? Does that need to be repented of? Of of course. You're not gonna have a healthy view of the return of Christ and eschatology. You're you're you're gonna act like, you know, those that that don't know. Don't want them to. That wanna trust in the politicians to usher in a golden age. Can you be any more deceived than that? But you're the church. You shouldn't be deceived like that. You should have you should have more wits about you. So Paul rebuked them for the moral, for the immorality, but he's also rebuking them or or encouraging them, in regard to them finally seeing through this wolf that was amongst them that was undermining Paul's ministry, that was cutting Paul down. And as I said last week, those kind of things are a test within a church. There are those that that, wanna play neutral, wash their hands, and act like, hey, I'm supposed to just love. I'm supposed to just love. Well, what if it's tearing down the apostle Paul? What if it's tearing down the church of Corinth? What if it's gonna lead to even worse heresy by allowing it to continue? You know, he's he's gonna come clear with him, you know, I've I've espoused you as a chaste virgin under Christ, but I'm worried about you. Lest I've labored in vain, you know. And as the serpent beguiled Eve, how she was deceived, so you too would be deceived from the simplicity that's in Christ as we get to chapter 11. That if somebody were to bring a different Jesus or a different gospel or a different spirit, that you would go along with it in your tolerance. No. Don't be tolerant of evil. Don't be tolerant of heresy. Stand up against it. And I and I wanna encourage you guys because you you did. You stood up against it. You encouraged Titus. You let Titus know that, yeah, we agree with you, Paul. We agree. We're not we're not gonna tolerate that. We're we're not gonna allow that. And we're sorry. We're contrite. We're sorry that we put you through that. So a grieving conviction of sin within that sorrow. Second Timothy four verse two, Paul tells Timothy, preach the word, be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort. You can't water it down, Timothy. You can't water it down and make drunks feel comfortable. You can't water it down and make idolaters, great as Diana of the Ephesians, to make them comfortable just to get nickels and noses in the seats. That's dishonorable to God. And you're not doing them any any great service. They're gonna wind up going to hell. And pastors are gonna give account. They're gonna give account before Jesus for not warning, for not exhorting, rebuking, correcting, instructing in righteousness. They're gonna hate you. There's a certain segment of gonna hate you because their deeds are evil. And they love darkness rather than light. That's a sifting that takes place. That's conviction of the holy spirit that takes place. You're not supposed to be a politician. You're not supposed to try to appease the masses, you know? Just teach the word. The word of God's powerful enough to confront every every attitude and and and sin within. So with all long suffering and doctrine, for the time will come, we're there. The time will come. What time is it? When they will not endure sound doctrine. I'm not listening to that guy. I'm not listening to that. My Jesus is more loving than that. Really? Really? He's the one rebuking you. He's the one that's saying, as many as I love, I rebuke. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, which means healthy doctrine, which means the word of God. It doesn't mean psychology and fables, and I think so on YouTube. But after their own lust, so what's what's generating? It's a fleshly lust. So let's make the church more amenable to people's senses, to the baser nature, the soul, the mind, the lust of the flesh, not the spirit. Shall they heap to themselves teachers, so they're gonna choose their teachers. Hey, we'll pay you so much if you come and entertain this group of people here. Having itching ears, so they wanna be scratched where they where they itch. Tell us things that are that we wanna hear. And they shall turn away their ears from the truth. So the opposite of repentance. They once knew the truth, they've heard the truth, but now in this apostasy, this age of apostasy, this rebellion against the truth, the departure from the truth, they're gonna turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned onto what? Unto fables. That's tragic, man. Fables, falsehoods, doctrines of demons. And how is Satan supposed to package it? When Satan packages sin, he doesn't package the the forbidden fruit to Eve with worms popping all over the place. Maggots, you know? He doesn't show the long term effects of what it's gonna do to her. I always liken it to like a beautiful German chocolate cake, you know, that I can't resist or a cookie, you know. That's how he packages it for me. But inside that cake is where the poison is. Right? And the poison and rat poison, a lot of it's food for the rats. There's only a small percentage of rat poison that's the poison, you know? So you get the rats addicted to the to the falsehood, and that little leaven leavens the whole lump eventually. It permeates and begins to call that cause that degeneration and immorality and the sin that leads to corruption, that breaks down the family, that breaks down the home, that breaks down society, that immorality. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. So the communist understand that. The atheist understand, as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. So there's an effort in indoctrination, not education, to indoctrinate the young, especially the young in their formative years, that there is no God. That they evolved from monkeys or whatever. They teach it in the school and they got the graph there, the whole thing, as I was growing up. And, I didn't believe it. I I didn't know what to believe. I didn't believe any anything really. I believed there was a God. I knew there was a God. And I knew I was a sinner, but I didn't know Jesus and I didn't know the gospel. And I didn't know if evolution was right or not, it really didn't matter to me. We didn't bring that up while we were partying, know. It wasn't a topic of discussion. In Isaiah 30 verse 10, it says, prophesy not unto us right things. So listen, the people are telling Isaiah, prophesy prophesy, so you're gonna speak forth the word of God. Prophesy not unto us right things, Speak unto us smooth. That guy's smooth. Silver tongue. The word smooth means pleasant. Speak unto us. Don't don't tell us prophecy doom and gloom, the world come to an end. Tell us about the golden age, smooth things. Prophesy deceits. Deceive the people. People are saying deceive us. We'd rather be deceived. We're tired of hearing the truth. It it it convicts me. It makes me it makes me so afraid. The sky is falling. The sky is falling, Chicken Little, and you run around, oh, I'm so afraid. Jesus said, the world cannot hate you. In John seven verse seven, but me it hates because I testify of it that the works thereof are evil. Jesus has the audacity to tell all the politicians, all the bankers, all the especially the religious leaders how contemptible they are in the things they're doing. And he throws the tables over for their business. Religion's a big business. Twice, Jesus went in there one time with a whip, and whipped the money changers and turned their tables over. Oh, they're angry about that. Right? So angry. They plotted to kill him, to assassinate him. I mean, can you raise a guy like Lazarus from the dead? He's been dead four days. And you say, Lazarus come forth, and people are blown away in Bethany that Lazarus is alive. Ain't that what you want, Elon Musk? Is that what you want, globalist? You wanna figure out how people can live forever? What if you could package that? What if you could put a chip in his head and have Lazarus last forever, you know? No. They they say, we gotta kill this guy. It's expedient. It's profitable that we assassinate him, one person for the nation, unless we lose our nation. You know, they're Caiaphas is prophesying. It's expedient that one die. So they they and and why? Because all the people were going after him. We can't have all the people going after Jesus. You know, he's speeding the 5,000 with just a little boy sack lunch. Another 4,000 later, he's causing the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. Demons are being cast out. That's a bad dude, man. We gotta get rid of that guy. He's a threat. It's amazing, the demonic thinking of the religious leaders. So when people hate you for telling the truth, and they start to quote the two verses that they know, if it's a man, these are two verses all men know out there. One is, wife submit. Two, judge not, lest you be judged. Those are the two they know. And they don't even go to catechism or church, they know those. They want no accountability. Nope. Sorry, guys. Not gonna work. Your wife's too educated now. She's gonna go home and tell you, you're wrong. You're gonna be mad at me, and you're gonna say, we need to go to a different church if I go to church. Okay. Alright. We know who's in charge. Am I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? Paul says to the church of Galatia. Am I gonna be your enemy now because I'm telling you the truth? You guys gonna hate me? The Judaizers coming in here undermining you? The truth of God's word brings conviction and should be leading to repentance. Verse nine, now I rejoice not that you were made sorry, but that you sorrowed to repentance. For you were made sorry after a godly manner that you might receive damage by us and nothing. So Paul was glad that he didn't need to pull out the superpowers of an apostle. They're undermining him saying he's got a a really bad appearance, a hook nose bald, bow legged dude, weak in appearance, his eyes oozing pus. He's just not polished. He's not looking very good. And his speech is kinda contemptible and all, and they're all undermining him, and he's like, you what? You want me to bring the stick? I can bring it. You really don't want that, do you? So he's glad he doesn't have to call down fire from heaven. He's glad he doesn't have to use his apostolic authority in a way that would, you know, like like let's say you're you're Peter in Acts five, and Ananias and Sapphira are lying to you. Well, hey, you wanna drop some people dead? You know, you're lying to the holy spirit. You're lying to God. Did you buy the piece of land for such and such? Yeah. Such and such. Boom. You're dead. Wife comes in? Yeah. That sounds about right. Boom. She's dead. What kind of fear do you think went through the church? You know? Just for just for lying. You're lying in your heart right now. Right? What if what if you're lying to the holy spirit right now? What if you're not what if you're angry that you're convicted right now? I mean, every man's a liar. Why Ananias and Sapphira on our best day? We could drop dead. It always amaze me. Just for lying, Lord? For lying? Some people try and make it out because, you know, like they were supposed to give all the money to the church. No. The money was in their power. While it was in your power, wasn't it yours? It had nothing to do with that. It was the lying. It was they saw Barnabas sell a piece of land and bring it and laid it at the disciples' feet, and they wanted that kind of adulation too. So they went and concocted a plan, and and he said, you didn't lie to men. Here's the key. You lied to the holy spirit. The holy spirit's God. You lied to God. Bummer. Dig a grave. And so Paul was glad that he didn't have to discipline them more severely, that their sorrow led to repentance. And any mom and dad, you know what that's like. You you don't wanna have to discipline severely, Do you? Wouldn't it be great if the kids just listened to you, the words that are coming out of your mouth? And they're like, don't make me come over there. You know? You don't you don't wanna get off the couch. All you want is your drink, your sandwich, and your channel changer. That's it. Don't make me come over there. Well, I like the one that I hear Wayne and Brittany use and we all use. You want me to pull this car over? You want me to pull this car over? I'll do it. You know? And you take away their electronics, and boy, you got their attention nowadays. They just live for those electronics. But to spank them, to whip them, to, you know, really get them where it hurts, so to speak, you know, they'd rather take a spanking nowadays than you take away their electronics. Right? Alright. Just give me the spanking. That'll be over with, you know? But we don't I mean, I can't imagine, spanking little Ruthie, you know? I I just can't imagine it. And I'm glad I'm a grandpa. I don't have to. You know? Papa's Papa and grandmas don't spank. So it's Wayne and Brittany's job. And, you know, she's she's large and in charge, that little girl. I I I just she's amazing how in charge she is. And she's got this voice where when the kids aren't listening to what she wants, her mom and dad, she drops it down a couple octaves and it's like, do it. Give it me. It was like, oh, I gotta videotape that. That's a classic, you know? Maybe she's not demon possessed. It's just you know what she's doing? She's mimicking her dad when her dad uses that deep voice when the dogs don't do what they're supposed to do. You know? She's dropping it down, and she'll say, Evie, you know, and it's, woah. You know? It's amazing. But how I mean, what would you do with seven kids? I mean, how would you how would you even even even get to the end of the day, you know, and have any peace of mind? It's it's mind boggling, but but, you reap what you sow. You just reap what you sow. I love it as a grandparent. But anyway, Paul's glad that he didn't have to be more severe, and it'd be like Zelensky. You know how he's Zelensky? Why don't you just go for a peace, you know, peace deal? Why don't you just be, you know, a real leader and love your people enough to not allow them just be destroyed, genocided here, you know? How could you possibly be grabbing people off the street? Anybody off the street, they're grabbing them, and then listening to them into the into this genocide. And it's it's just mind boggling the the severity. In Isaiah 51 verse 17, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, oh God, thou will not despise. When your kids come to you and they already know they're in trouble and they confess and their lips quivering and and who took the cookie? Who took the cookies? You weren't supposed to have a treat. You weren't supposed to and then their lips, I did it, you know. I that's never happened to me. I've never done that. Try to get away with it. He did it. In Isaiah 66 verse two, to this man will I look even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembles at my word. The proud heart is an unrepentant heart. Think of the parades, the gay pride parade. Is there any repentance in that? Look at the pride. Look at the in your face. God, in your face, God, in your face society. We're gonna do it like Sodom and Gomorrah. Nobody's gonna stop us. We don't want the virgin daughters that Lot has. We want these two new men that are here to know them, to have our way with them, and you watch the legislation moving more and more in the direction. Now you understand that the gay homosexual lifestyle used to be illegal. Sodomy used to be illegal. It also used to be with the psychiatric association's listing of of a mental illness on that list of being an illness as being mentally ill. Presently, where does pedophilia, where does it factor in? How is it viewed by psychiatrists, by doctors, by society? Oh, they're working in a direction to make it normal. Working in a direction to take away the laws that protect children, changing the vernacular saying it's good for them according to Oprah if it's done right, these pedophiles. And they're proud about it. Loud and proud. No repentance, no remorse, no godly sorrow that leads to repentance. God resists the proud and he gives grace to the humble. Unless we're all the way over on one side attacking one particular sin or lifestyle or group of people, how about in Luke 18, where the Pharisee and the publican were before Jesus, and the Pharisee began to boast of how righteous he was. Hey, I was raised in a Christian home. I've been a Christian my whole life. I've never lived like those sodomites, those people. I fast, I give, I tithe, I do everything I'm supposed to do. I don't even miss a week of church at Calvary Bremerton, man. I'm holy. And the public and the tax collector so hated, wouldn't so much as lift up his eyes even to heaven, but smote his breast and said, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. You see, the pharisee prayed thus with himself. His prayer doesn't even get past the ceiling. God's not listening to that kind of prayer from that kind of person. That person doesn't even know God. But the sinner who recognizes sinfulness, recognizes the cross, recognizes the blood of Jesus as payment for their sin, they're able to smite their breasts. They're able to show the humility, the contrition, and say, be merciful to me, a sinner. And Jesus said, that man went away justified just as if he'd never sinned. And that's the way we need to be on a regular basis. The proud in heart is an unrepentant heart. The proud in heart is a blind person. A person headed for destruction. God resists the proud and he gives grace, unmerited favor to the humble. What is repentance? Contrition? Secondly, cleansing. Don't you wanna be cleansed? Do you wanna continue to be an actor to be a hypocrite? Don't you wanna be cleansed? Don't you want the Lord to just wash and cleanse you of all unrighteousness? Why persist in the parade? Why persist in, you know, acting like there is no God, acting like, you know, I get to do whatever I want and everybody else be damned that even questions me, you know? It's my right, it's the way I was born, it's the way he made me. All the different lies of rationalization and and and such, the blame game. I'd wanna be cleansed. He says verse 10, for godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of. In contrast, but the sorrow of the world worketh death. So first of all, godly sorrow. What's godly sorrow? It means to see as God sees it. To hate sin. A sorrow of heart knowing we have failed God. We have broken our father's heart. The sorrow of heart of contrition that leads to repentance which continue simultaneously becomes salvation. So God sends his holy spirit to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. Jesus said he would send the comforter of sin because they believe not on me. Of righteousness, you wanna be righteous? You wanna prove you're righteous? Then you ascend to the father. Can you ascend to the father? We're gonna convict the world of sin because they don't believe in me. So the only sin that's not forgiven is blasphemy of the holy spirit of rejecting Jesus Christ. That's the only sin that gets you into hell. Convict the world of sin. He died for the sins of the whole world, especially for those who believe. But people that refuse to believe are still in their sins. He came not to condemn the world, but the world through him might be saved. He that believes not is condemned already. You're already condemned. So to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, because I send to the father, and of judgment because the prince of this world, devil's judged. And so the holy spirit working in and through the teaching of God's word, the reading of God's word as you read, as you pray, as we read, as we pray, as we collectively, corporately, are in God's word right now, as the holy spirit speaking to each of us, and I haven't talked to your wife about you, the holy spirit knows you better. I don't know these things about you, but the Holy Spirit does. And the Holy Spirit has a way of speaking to each of us because the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword dividing us under soul and spirit and joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. AI can't do that. The devil can't do that. Only God the Holy Spirit can know your heart and hear your heart. Jesus could be in a room and he could perceive and know what Simon the Pharisee's thinking. He knows what you're thinking. That's that's that's an attribute of God. God's standing before you, Simon the Pharisee. And you're thinking that Jesus isn't all that great of a prophet because this woman's here, and she's a a woman of ill repute, and she's, you know, she's washing Jesus' feet with her tears. She's contrite. She's broken before Jesus. She's taken a very expensive amount of perfume and and anointing him, and she's drying and washing his feet with her hair. And Simon, you didn't get me any basin of water. You didn't give me nothing. No oil to to anoint my head with oil. You gave nothing, man. Those that are forgiven much, they love much. That's what she's doing. She's loving. She's responding to my love on the cross is what she's doing. She's worshiping me. She's grateful. But you're so self righteous, Simon the Pharisee, in Luke seven, that you don't have a clue what's going on. You're just a religious hypocrite, an actor. Some of the worst keeps people from the truth. Become salvation. You're turning from your sin, you're turning unto God, you've been convicted by the Holy Spirit, which means to agree with God. And then you confess your sin. If we confess, first John one nine, if we confess our sin, which means to agree to the conviction. So holy spirit says, Rick, I'm talking about you. Don't worry about her. Don't worry about him. Don't worry about that other person. Well, what about John? Jesus said, don't worry about John. If I will thee tarry till I come, what is that to you Peter? Follow thou me. Alright. Okay. Who's gonna sit on the left hand? Who's gonna sit on the right hand? Who's gonna be the greatest? Bunch of whiners. We're all whiners. Even Salome get on got in on it. Hey, my son James and John, the sons of thunder. Why don't you put one on the left, one on the right? Can you drink the cup that I'm gonna drink? The cup of God's wrath? Oh, yeah. It didn't have a clue. Didn't have a clue. Well, you're gonna get a little taste of it. But that those positions are appointed by my father. If we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. There's the Christian's bar of soap to maintain fellowship. Because if we say we have no sin, we're a liar and the truth isn't in us. We all sin, we continue to sin. And we all continue to confess that sin, and we all continue to repent of sin every day. I'm still trying to get Kathy to call me Lord. She's sinning. She's supposed to call me Lord. She's never gonna. She's always gonna be a sinner. Always. Sarah called Peter Lord. Lord Rick. Doesn't that sound good? Lord Rick, do you want a sandwich? Yeah. That's like that's gonna work. Or he can harden his heart and deny God's loving effort to save him from his sins, which means you're lost. When you resist the Holy Spirit, when you refuse to turn from your sin. So you have a choice. Billy Graham had a ministry in 1949 Hollywood, long time ago. You can follow this up. Doctor Jadwin Orr is a foremost student on revival, revival, the Azusa revival, revivals in the LA Basin years ago. And then also doctor J. Oswald Sanders, also in the same vein, the same way as a missionary. And these are books I've read and things that I studied, and one of the things that illustrated, because I had a hard time, I had a real hard time when I was in school of ministry, because they invited a psychiatrist in to teach us guys who are gonna be pastors what they called biblical counseling. And, you know, that's fine. I know that pastor Chuck wasn't the one that made this appointment, you know, or brought this guy in. But apparently, a lot of the pastors and their wives go and meet this guy on a regular basis. So that tells you where the pastors are. With all the psychotropic drugs, which blew my mind. I thought we I thought we were supposed to lead, guys. So anyway, this doctor proceeded to tell us that he had a client come in and they her and her partner were having trouble with, communication. And what would you do guys if you were counseling this woman and she brought her partner in and it was another woman? And I'm like, I would emphasize that they need to be born again. The problem's not communication. The problem is they're not saved. Let's get to the root of the problem. They need to be saved. Oh, No. No. No. No. No. They're saved. And I'm like, excuse me? So now I'm the only guy in the school, got 20 guys that understands how egregious, how heretical that is. They all jump in and agree with the the doctor, and, and I start shaking. It's what I do when I'm heresy, makes me shake. And and under my breath, said, born again lesbians? Now today, that might be commonplace. This was in '19, you know, '91. And pastor Chuck fortunately was still in the pulpit, and I went and talked to him and made some calls and wasn't gonna stand for it, and they got rid of that that guy. But before they did that, they turned around and they looked at me. The guy said or the doctor said, what difference is that sin than your sin of gluttony? And I'm like, really? Let me just snap your neck. I'll show you. Just snap your neck. I'll show you. And so I began to research gluttony, which I wasn't guilty of. Gluttony is not being overweight. Gluttony is eating for pleasure and then girding it, you know, vomiting and then eating again. That's a that's being a glutton and a wine bibber. And so I researched that, but I also researched what's it mean, repentance. I need to understand the word repentance. And so I went and got doctor jed, know, teaching on it, some other guys teaching, and metanoia, and he says in our day and age, it used to be a spear that had a very sharp point, but they've lessened the point. It used to be all not only a change of mind, but a change of will that affected the will that you would turn from that sin. Now it's just a change of mind. And, no, it's far greater than that. It's a change of mind that affects your that will be evidenced by the decisions you make, the things that you do. So I began to listen to the illustration that he gave, and he said that Billy Graham was with Stuart Hamblin and some other singers and people at this Hollywood kind of house with a home bible study, and Billy's there, and and he's preaching the gospel, and this Hollywood producer, big prominent, well known Hollywood producer, and his mistress both got saved. They both received Christ that night. Now he illustrates repentance this way, and some of you have heard this. The mistress went home to the condo or whatever where she was living, and she immediately changed the locks because this Hollywood producer had a key to her apartment, her house. That's repentance. The Hollywood producer, when he heard that was the cost, that was the what it what what you're really signing up for, he's, oh, no. Have no I just wanted the eternal life part. Had no intention of changing his lifestyle. Rejected it. So there that's an illustration of those that repent and those who refuse to repent, and just wanna add Jesus to the equation for nobody wants to go to hell. Right? And so that's that's stuck with me and helped me to not fall into this this it's gotten far worse since 1991 when I was there, but it equipped me to not get sucked into all that in the name of love, you know. Now in the name of love, let's be sanctified, let's be holy, like we talked about. And and so that's a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. But there's a worldly sorrow, and with that worldly sorrow, it could be like Judas where he betrays the Lord with for 30 pieces of silver and then realizes he made a mistake, realizes he sinned, realizes his plan's not gonna work, and he takes the 30 pieces of silver back to the religious leaders and throws it down at their feet, I betrayed innocent blood, what's that to us? You know, and, and he goes out and he hangs himself. He's angry because his his sin didn't work, his plan didn't work to force Jesus to be the Messiah and all, to show them his strength and all, and, it didn't work. And and so he went out with a worldly sorrow. Why? Because of what he was wanting. And then you have another example of Peter, of godly sorrow that led to repentance. He denied the Lord on three occasions that night, right, before the cock crowed, And he went out and wept bitterly, just like Judas did. Some the weeping's a weeping of regret. A weeping of regret like Esau. Esau, we're told in Hebrews 12 found no place of repentance though he sought it with tears. Well, wasn't the repentance of a godly sorrow he was looking for, it was the repentance of Isaac. Hey, change the game for me. You gave the birthright, you know, and you gave the blessing, you know, to Jacob. Can we reverse that now? No. There's no place of repentance. We can't reverse that. What's what's happened's happened. But that's all he was interested because it was a worldly sorrow. He lost out on the world. But Peter went out and wept bitterly, and the Lord Jesus, you know, let Peter know that Satan desires you, Peter. He wants to sift you as wheat. He wants to thump on you, buddy. And when you're converted, when you finally come through this, Peter, strengthen the brethren. But Peter know this, that I'm praying for you. I'm praying for you Peter, that your faith fail not. What's Peter doing after the resurrection? After he saw the resurrected Christ, he's so dejected because he's a strong man. Though everyone's gonna betray you, not me, not this night. I've got a left hook. I've got a I've got a sword. I'm gonna cut off Malchus' ear, man. I'm gonna take his head off. And then you do it, and then you cuss, and you say you don't even know the man. You curse. I mean, you're doing things you never thought you could ever do in your weakness, in your fear of death. So he goes back to fishing, doesn't he? He's so dejected, he's so broken, he goes back to fishing. And a bunch of the boys go with him, don't they? Children, you caught any fish? No. Well, how about we go back to when we first started? Cast your net on the other side. Cast the net on the other side, and the nets are bursting. Remember that? Remember when I first called you and I told you, I'll make you fishers of men? Well, I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna do that in your life. Children come and dine, come to the shore. I'm not a vegetarian, I'm a carnivore. I've got some fish here for you. Broiled fish. Ain't ain't that exciting? That make me excited. Top chef, master chef Jesus cooking for us. Boys go to the shore, and he says to Peter, do you love me? The Lord's restoring you. You're coming to repentance. He's gonna restore you now. Restoration comes after repentance. If you're wondering why you're still on the shelf, it's because you're not confessing your sin. Because you're not sorry enough for your sin. You're blaming your wife, you're blaming your husband, you're blaming everybody else, you're blaming God. Quit blaming. Look in the mirror. Confess your sin. Confess that you're undone. Confess you're wrong. Allow the Lord to restore you. Allow him to restore you to fellowship. If we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and to cleanse us. You need to be cleansed. The sorrow of the world at work at death. Esau found no place of repentance though he sought it with tears. Judas went out and hung himself. But Peter had a godly sorrow. I love a godly sorrow. I love that the Lord's mercies are new every morning. I love that there's no condemnation. He's not gonna condemn me. I love that his intention is to restore me and to change me from within, and if need be, chasing me. And I might have to suffer the consequences of my sin, but I haven't lost my salvation. I don't have to go get resaved, but I don't need to be an idiot and ruin everything. Godly sorrow leads to repentance and restoration. When David sinned in Psalm 51 verse four, he said against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. This morning I read Psalm 32, I read Psalm 38, I read Psalm 51. Those are three Psalms that David wrote that describe that year that he suffered trying to cover his sin. Are you trying to cover your sin? He sinned with Bathsheba, didn't he? Committed adultery. He sinned against Uriah, taking his wife and and then murdering him. Those are big sins. I'll never say Moses was a murderer, but David murdered. Alright? David murdered. And Ahithophel, his adviser, brilliant man from a secular standpoint, and Elon Musk, brilliant. Ahithophel had a granddaughter, and that granddaughter was named Bathsheba. So David, you did it. You just took this man's wife, and she got pregnant, the baby died, and you tried to just cover it and move on like nothing happened. But David, if you read Psalm 32, Psalm thirty eight and fifty one, David's dying inside. He's sick. He's a sick man. He's suffering physical problems as a result of no sleep, and the guilt, and the estrangement in his walking relationship with the Lord. He's been cut off. But God hasn't cut him off, David's cut himself off. As a prodigal, the Lord didn't move, we moved. When we backslide, the Lord didn't move, we moved. And when we run out of money, when we are eating pig's food, many times we come to our senses, and we begin to rehearse our speech of repentance, so to speak. But God's been waiting for that turn. That's repentance. That's a one eighty turn. And just as you start to turn toward home, he runs to you. And if you won't, run toward him. If it's not bad enough yet, then he'll send Nathan the prophet. He hates to watch you suffer in that in that hypocrisy. In your sin, you're the king and you're trying to cover your sin. Whosoever tries to cover his sin is not gonna prosper. You're not gonna prosper. You're not gonna get away with it. Your sin will find you out, Moses said. God's not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. It's gonna come out. So you better sin. He's gonna give you space for repentance. He's gonna give you time to repent, so repent now. Don't wait for him to have to raise the bar higher in his discipline of us. And Nathan says, David, you're the man. And that was the best thing that David could experience at that point in his life. That God was gonna send somebody loving enough to confront him and tell him the truth. That God was gonna let David off the hook, so to speak, where David could humble himself and begin to weep before the Lord. A man after God's own heart, he knew how to repent. King Saul was not a man after God's own heart. King Saul was a people pleaser and a blamer and excuses and such. David sinned and he suffered the consequences of Absalom stealing the kingdom and Absalom taking a harem of David's wives up on top of, you know, the temple and going in onto them with a tent and all to, you know, mock David. And Ahithophel to, try and counsel Absalom and and, then David and his guys sent Hushai and Hushai, undermined the counsel of Ahithophel. Ahithophel, he was angry and he had a worldly sorrow. He went out and hung himself. Why is this David getting away with this? That was my granddaughter. That was my son-in-law Uriah. This is egregious. This is terrible sin. How about your sin, Ahithophel? How about my sin? What's God saying to me this morning? And David watched his daughter Tamar be raped by Amnon. David watched Absalom try to steal the kingdom. David watched Joab thrust a dart in the chest of Absalom. And David, in realization of what he caused, what his sin cost, he said Absalom, Absalom, would to God I would have died for you. Hate to see you die like this, and be so estranged for me. But David didn't go to Absalom when Absalom killed Amnon because Amnon raped Tamar, and Absalom stood at the gate and met the people and began to steal the hearts of the people for five years. David should've went to his son and say, son, I blew it. This is my fault. Come home. But he didn't. It's really, really hard to watch how our sins affect our children. We should have got right with God much much sooner. And David says against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight. Notice verse 11, for behold, the self same thing that you sorrowed after a godly sorrow that what carefulness it wrought in you. Yea, what clearing of yourselves. Yea, what indignation. Yea, what fear. Yea, what vehement desire. Yea, what zeal. Yea, what revenge. In all things you have approved yourselves To be clear in this matter, it's a trial. The whole church comes under a trial. We're all being approved or or disproved when the slander or gossip, the wolf comes in, the heresy comes in. Likes, dislikes, all that kind of stuff. And he said, hey, you came through it. Your hearts were cleansed. You're clear in this matter, which means you're clean, you're pure. The word careful means eager to do right. You got a teachable heart. You're eager to do right. I I I love to teach. I love to help people, but they need to have a teachable heart. They need to be eager to do right. I didn't come here to be the craziest guy in the Peninsula. And when I start to plant my feet and and make it unequivocally clear what the truth is, Not based upon what I think, based upon what the word of God says, and science says, and common sense says, and reasoning ability says. It's irrefutable. So why are you arguing with me? Not you. But if they're teachable, oh, how we could help them. There's so much more we have for them. We hate to see a new believer stumble. And that was my main concern. Eager to do right. Clearing means apologetic. Where's where's the where's the apology? Where's the soft heart? Why are you raising the ante? Indignation, angry over sin. You're you're angry over sin and what it can cause people. Be careful if you show any kind of righteous indignation towards sin today. They'll send you a book and say you got a demon of anger in you. You see? You need that demon of anger cast out of you, pastor. Fear. A godly fear, reverence. The eminent desire means alarm. You're alarmed. You're alarmed to how this can affect people. You have a zeal. You have a you're heat. You're passionate to do good. There's a revenge in you. You're willing to see justice. Vengeance is mine. I'll repay, saith the lord. That's where I lay it. Lord, you deal with him. In all things, 11 b. In all things you have approved. You come through the fire, you've been found right. You've approved yourselves to be clear in this matter. You made it through. You're innocent. You're washed in the blood of the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus saved you. What is true repentance? Number one, contrition. Number two, cleansing. Number three, confirmation. How do we know? How do we know you're really a believer? Yeah. I'm a I'm a pot smoking believer in Jesus Christ. I'm an adulterer believer in Jesus Christ. I'm a fornicating believer in Jesus Christ. I'm a lion snake, but I believe in Jesus Christ. How do we know? That's who you were before. He's not like that anymore. She's not like that anymore. There's a change. They've changed. That's why the William Booth with the Salvation Army, they go rescue the drags. They rescue people that need Jesus. And the drunks get sober. The drug addicts get sober. People get married, they have families, they have children. They raise them in the nurture and admonition of the lord even when they were weren't raised in a Christian home. Confirmation, he says, wherefore though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you. So confirmation of God's love. God loves you too much to leave you in darkness, to see believing the lies of the devil still in your sins. So you have confirmation that, you know, the Lord's not gonna correct you or confront you if you're not one of his. As many as I love, I rebuke and chase and be zealous therefore and repent, Jesus said in Revelation three nineteen. In Proverbs twenty seven six, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. You really love somebody, you love your kids, you're gonna confront them. You're not gonna let them continue in that sin that's destroying them in the name of love. And we have many in the church today that, you know, try to appease the gay and the lesbian, all the sin that's in our culture and say that's love. That's not love. Check out Andy Stanley's church this past week. They exposed some aberrant teaching and counseling for the LBGTQ folks, you know, coming through there. There's been some stuff that's tried to get into Calvary Chapel of of where they have what they call, what is it? You're gay, but you're abstinent. I'm a gay guy, I'm a youth leader, I'm gay, but I'm abstinent. You guys are amazing how you keep coming up with this stuff. I'm a have to go back to the library and find a tape to listen to because no, I don't. God didn't make you that way. You're not gay. If you're in Christ, you're a new creation. The old things have passed away, all things have become new. Well, there's still the desire toward men. So we're gonna do the same thing with pedophiles? You're a pedophile? We're gonna have you in the Sunday school working with the children, but you're abstinent in your pedophilia? No. I'm sorry. You're not saved. God's gonna change you from within. We've seen many people come out of the LBGTQ, and no matter what legislation there is against in The UK and around the world for trying to rescue people from that lifestyle, it's called the gospel. It's the gospel. And when we give the gospel, it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. And we're not the we're not the enemy because we're trying to rescue people from sin, you know? Because we're sinners. Takes one to know one. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Paul confronted in love. Are you giving God just lip service? What is repentance? Contrition, cleansing, confirmation, fourthly and finally, confidence. Verse 13. Therefore, we were comforted in your comfort, yay, and exceedingly the more joyed, we joy with the joy of Titus because his spirit was refreshed by you all. So Titus expressed confidence in you. He experienced the fruit of your love and was refreshed. When Titus went to visit there, Paul was worried like, oh, they're gonna reject Titus. There's gonna be this big war going on. No. It was confirmation. Confidence. You guys are you guys are showing the fruit of love. You're loving God more than anybody else. Verse 14, for if I have boasted anything to him of you, I am not ashamed. But as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting which I made before Titus is found of truth. Is found a truth. So like a proud father, Paul is boasting of the Corinthians in that they've proven to be true with the witness of Titus as he went there. Hey hey, Paul. They're doing great. They're growing in the things of the lord. They're loving one another. They're not tolerating immorality anymore. Their their eyes are open. They're not being deceived by that wolf that was there. They, love you very much. They miss you. They they love your letters. Keep writing. Come visit. You know? Paul, you're a hero of them. You're a hero to them. You're a father in the faith to them. They've come through the trial. They've come through. We have confidence in them. And his inward affection is more abundant toward you whilst he remembers the obedience. There you are. There's the proof. The confirmation, the confidence, the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. So obedience is the evidence of true repentance. Paul had confidence in the Corinthians that they would obey God's word. That they were there for the long haul. That Jesus is the head of that church, not Paul, and not some other prophet that's come through there. That they're looking to Jesus, the author and the finisher of their faith. Samuel told King Saul to obey is better than sacrifice. David was a man after God's own heart because David knew how to repent. Do you know how to repent? Saul was an excuse maker, a people pleaser. Oh, the people. I could hear the bleeding of the people. He was supposed to kill king Agag and all the spoil. And he saved some of the animals so that he could make it a religious thing. Oh, we got the animals. It's for God. We're gonna we're gonna sacrifice them for God. No. To obey is better than sacrifice. In Isaiah one, the Lord says a similar thing, know. You guys still go to church. You go to temple, you're sacrificing these animals and all, but come now and reason. Let's let's reason. You guys aren't living it. If you love me, keep my commandments, Jesus said. Obedience obedience is a mark of true salvation. In John eight thirty one, Jesus said, to those Jews which believed on him. So now we have the professors. The Jews which believed on him, if conditional, how do I know somebody's really a believer? If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed. Oh, there's some proof. There's some confidence there. And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. So that liberty, that freedom of being freed from sin. Not living in the middle trying to argue over what you can still do, you know, be in the world still and still be a Christian. First John one six, if we say, now watch this phrase, if we say, if we say, if we say, lip service. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not the truth. First John two four, he that say it, I know him and keeps not his commandments is a liar and the truth isn't in him. But who so keeps his word in him verily is the love of God perfected, hereby know we that we are in him. He that say it, he abides in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walk. We're not talking about legalism. We're talking about a pattern of life. Your desire is to live a life pleasing to God by the keeping of his word. Nobody can be perfect in that. That's why if you say you have no sin, you're a liar and the truth isn't in us. But if we confess our sin, he's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin, to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. The blood of Jesus Christ, God's son, continually cleanses us of all unrighteousness. So I am confronted with my sin by the Holy Spirit. I'm convicted about my sin, and I agree with the Holy Spirit. Yeah. I blew it. God forgive me. There you go. Fellowship restored. Now repent. Don't keep doing it. Stop doing it. Enjoy your fellowship with God. Didn't lose your salvation just outside of fellowship. In Matthew seven twenty one through 23, many are gonna come to him in that day, the professors, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not do many wonderful works and miracles in your name? And Jesus gonna say what? Away from me, I never knew you. You that practice iniquity, Christianity is a relationship. You can be religious and not know God and not be saved. Titus one six teen, they profess that they know God, but in works, they deny him. As we evaluate your life, Jesus said, you'll know them by their fruit. The fruit of your life is you're still an adulterer. You're still a drunk. You're still hooked on pharmakia. It's not just just an herb, it's sorcery. Quit smoking the doobies. Repent. Well, I take gummies. Well, if it's medicinal, take it up with God. I'm not smart enough. I don't wanna go get another tape. Alright? It is pain management. That's a that's a that's a difficult one. Much better than the opioids. Right? I'm not a salesman for it. But the pastors are selling gummies. Why does the pastor wanna sell gummies? He's got back pain. I'm gonna sell gummies to everybody. You're an idiot. That's not your calling. Preach the gospel. Teach the word. Quit trying to make another buck. You're already worth 50,000,000. Oh, with my name though, I can be like George Foreman, the George Foreman grill, you know. I'm sure you can. But it's obnoxious. I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things. Confidence. Repentant. Yielded to God. Sinners saved by God's grace. God's grace giving us space. The Lord gives you space to repent. He doesn't just see a sin and then bam. He gives you space. He gives you time to think about it. Your marriage doesn't just fall apart as in a moment. It's over a period of time of you meditating upon things, thinking upon things, doing the wrong things. You sow a thought, you reap an action. You sow an action, you reach reap a habit. You sow a habit, you reap a character. You sow a character, you reap a destiny. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. He's given you space to repent. Don't be defiled in your mind, in your heart, in your actions. It's all starts in the mind. Allow the word of God. Husbands, wash your wives in Ephesians five. Wash your wives hearts with God's word. Wash their minds with all the filth that's out there. The word of God washes us. Attend a church that teaches God's word, where she gets convicted, where he gets convicted on a regular basis. I had a guy come up to me one time and he was just like, you know, like, I don't know, indignant. I think I got convicted here today. I think you the way you're teaching convicted me. Well, let me check. Yeah. You're still alive. Yeah. Yeah. That's what happens when you're alive. We've all sinned, comes short of glory of God. It happens sometimes, you know. Sinners saved by God's grace. Have you turned from your sins unto God? Is he confident in you? God's long suffering not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to what? To repentance. Or in Romans two verse four, you got the grace card out. Or despise thou the riches of his goodness. Yeah, he's good. God's good every day. And forbearance and long suffering. Yeah. He's forbearing. He's long suffering with us. Not knowing that the goodness of God leads to your repentance. The gospel is good news. And the good news should prompt you to not fall into the bad news. The good news is your Jesus died for you and your sin. Amen. The bad news is if you reject the good news, now there's bad news, you're going to hell. So it's the goodness of God, for God so loved you that he gave his only begotten son. That's the good news. But if you don't appreciate the good news, if you don't value the good news, then there's nothing left but you choosing to perish. Why? Because your deeds are evil and you love darkness rather than light. The Lord could send two witnesses to witness for three and a half years to this population of people. And God could cause, you know, demons to come and torment and torment the world, all the worldlings, the earth dwellers, they're just more and more angry at God. And then God could allow the anti Christ supposedly to kill the two witnesses, And what do these earth dwellers do? Do they repent? No. They have a party. They party because their champion, the antichrist, be God's champion. Yeah. We'll just wait a few days with your Skynet and everybody watching your cell phones. These two guys are gonna stand up and going up into heaven. Then what you gonna do? You know? So our God wins. So don't despise the riches and the goodness of God. Don't don't think because he hasn't judged you yet that you're getting away with anything. He's long suffering. He's not willing that you would perish. In the days of Noah, spent a hundred and twenty years letting Noah build the ark. He had room for a whole lot more people than just Noah and his family and those animals. Jesus said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. As many as I love rebuke and chase and be zealous therefore, repent. Is your life, your profession of faith indicative of true repentance? Is America a repentant nation? Is the message America needs to hear the one that Jonah gave Nineveh? Forty days and you're gonna perish? And the city from the king on down, they all put on sackcloth and ashes and repented. That isn't a message in the churches today in America. The message in the churches today is your best life now, and we're headed into a golden age. You believe that stuff? You're filled with pride. Your nation's filled with pride. You think God will give you a reprieve? Or you're gonna perish? How about we preach, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand? Jesus is coming again. And we're watching, we're looking out, we're ready, we know prophetically what time it is. Those holding on to the old, holding on to this world, holding on to the things of the world, the only reason we're still here is because God wants more people saved. If he gives us a reprieve, it's so that we can get the gospel out to more people, so that more people would hear of his wondrous love. Not to make Americans more comfortable to enter into their golden age. You missed it. You missed it. Church of Laodicea, be careful. Father, we come before you. And Lord, we thank you for the sobering of your word, the sobering of your holy spirit that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Thank you, Lord. I'm in a good group of people here. Sinners. Sinners saved by grace that you look at us, Lord, and you call us saints. Set apart, made holy. Thank you, Lord, that you're making us holy. Thank you for the privilege, the blessing, the power of your holy spirit that helps us, Lord, to evaluate the direction we're going, and to make a decision, Lord, with your help to repent, to turn from our sin, and and and choose to read your word, to attend church, to do things that build up, that strengthen us rather than give into the world and be absorbed with things that tear down, that don't profit, that don't draw us closer to you. Lord, help us to be examples in these last days. That Lord, all things are lawful for us, but all things are not expedient, and we won't be brought into the power of any, Lord. Help us to walk in that holiness that you've called us there unto, Lord, to be sanctified, to be set apart for the master's use. Lord, we pray that you bring our prodigal children home, that they'd experience repentance. We pray that our leaders within the church would come to the place of repentance, within government come to a place of repentance. That just as the city of Nineveh from the animals, even the animals were all of them down. Lord, they had an attitude, a posture. They had a godly sorrow that led to repentance, and they didn't know what you were gonna do, and these are heathens. But you're merciful. And Lord, they that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy. Help us to not be observing lying vanities, Lord, that keep us from your mercies that are new each morning. Lord, call this nation to repentance. Let us be an example, to be a light to the world, to repent of our sins. Judgment begins in the house of God. Let it begin with us, Lord. Help us, we pray. Pour out your holy spirit. Empower us to live the Christian life in the power of the spirit, Lord. We can't do it without your help. In Jesus' name we pray. And while your heads are bowed, as your eyes are closed, as you continue to pray, is there anybody here this morning? You've wandered in and you don't know Jesus. The Holy Spirit knows you. The Holy Spirit drew you. The Holy Spirit's wooing you. Jesus said, no man can come unto me except the father who has just sent me. Draw him. You're being drawn. And whosoever comes to me, I'll in no wise cast out. Are you ready to exercise your free will to say yes to Jesus? As many as received him to get to them gave he the power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed on his name. Are you believing on his name this morning? Just lift your hand up, maybe on Facebook. Just pray this prayer. Lord Jesus, thank you for sending your son to die for me. Thank you that his blood has washed and cleansed me and paid for all my sins. Lord, please write my name in your lamb's book of life. Lord, please give me your righteousness that I'd walk in that newness of life, transform and change me, cause me to be born again, to be born of the spirit. As I turn from my sins, as I turn unto you, as I cry out with the publican, God be merciful to me a sinner. Lord, pour out your grace, pour out your love. Fill me to overflowing with your spirit, with your love. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
About This Podcast
Calvary Chapel Bremerton - Sunday Service
Listen to Rick Beaudry, Pastor of Calvary Chapel Bremerton, teach the Word of God cover to cover, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse. Be edified and built up in your faith with solid Bible teaching. New episodes on Mondays in the Pacific Standard Timezone.
