Sunday, September 14, 2014

September 15, 2014

"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  Luke 13:1-5

I want you to imagine a scenario that you may be all to familiar with and one we all dread. Having not felt well for awhile you finally go to the doctor for a physical exam. Your doctor finds some things that concern him so he sets you up with an appointment with a specialist. As you leave your Drs. office you are anxious because he seemed so concerned.

You see the specialist and he runs several tests. Upon getting the results he sits you down and explains to you that they have found a cancerous tumor and it has to be removed as soon as possible. He seems pretty confident that if you will have surgery you should have a high probability of beating the cancer. His recommendation is to have it done as soon as you can.

God forbid that should happen, but if you were faced with that decision I am sure you would want that cancer taken out - all of it. I doubt if you would tell the surgeon to take most of it but leave a little of it in there.

And yet we often take that attitude toward sin.

We are like the shoplifter who got saved and wrote to a department store, "I've become a Christian and I can't sleep at night because I feel guilty, so here is $100 I owe you."

Then he signed his name and in a little postscript at the bottom he adds, "If I still can't sleep, I'll send you the rest!"

Repentance is to sin what surgery is to cancer. And sin is like a cancer because it can kill you and like cancer you need to get it all out. When you repent you turn from sin - every known sin in your life - and turn to God. It is a spiritual and moral u-turn! It doesn't work to repent of some sins while holding on to a few. You can't flirt around with sin. You can have in for a pet. It will destroy you if you don't repent of it.

Jesus gave this choice - Repent OR Perish! If you want to perish don't bother to repent. But if you don't want to repent then you will perish.

Wabush, a town in a remote portion of Labrador, Canada,was completely isolated  years.  But recently a road was cut through the wilderness to reach it. Wabush now has one road leading into it, and thus, only one road leading out. If someone would travel the unpaved  road for six to eight hours to get into Wabush, there is only one way that person could get out of town - by turning around and going back the other way.

Everyone of us, by birth, arrives in a town called Sin. As in Wabush, there is only one way out - a road built by God himself. But in order to take that road, one must first turn around.and that complete about face is what the Bible call repentance and without it there is no way out of town - no way out of sin.

Jesus says to you as He did to these men, "Repent or perish."


September 14, 2015

"Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”  Luke 13:1-5

Repent is an inclusive word - everyone will need to repent or they will perish.

Second, REPENT is a Decisive Word

The story is told of a shoplifter who writes to a department store and says, "I’ve just become a Christian, and I can’t sleep at night because I feel guilty. So here’s $100 that I owe you."

"Then he signs his name, and in a little postscript at the bottom he adds, "If I still can’t sleep, I’ll send you the rest."

That is NOT true repentance! Repentance must be accompanied by true godly sorrow! Repentance is not motivated by the desire to feel better, it is driven by the desire to BE better!

"Repent" is a crucial word. "Repent" is a critical word. Repent is an absolute necessity. This is borne out in the following things: you must REPENT or you will PERISH!

When you are diagnosed with a potentially terminal disease and a radical treatment is prescribed, you know you receive what the Surgeon is calling for or you will perish. That is a decision that must be made sooner rather than later.

It is not a time for distraction or speculation it is time for decisive action. The Surgeon is not interested in discussing medical theories with you or wildly speculating on why some people get cancer and other people don’t, he wants you to commit to dealing with YOUR cancer.

In this encounter with Jesus these men were trying to avoid the issue by speculating about what was wrong with these other people. Jesus will not allow you to avoid the issue. Through His Holy Spirit He will relentlessly confront you and convict of your sin. That is the whole point of repentance.

Repentance is a definite decision made with the intention of turning AWAY from sinfulness and turning 180 degrees TOWARD God! Repentence is the "Christian U-Turn" in that it is a decision to immediately stop the sins that lead you away from God and turn around to return to Him by faith.

If you do not want to perish (be destroyed for eternity) then you will want to repent and return to God!