WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.439 Hi guys, I'm going to do the reading now. 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:09.080 Alright. 00:00:09.980 --> 00:00:15.140 This reading is taken from 2 Corinthians 7, verse 2-16. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.520 I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts, that we would live or die with you. 00:00:37.039 --> 00:00:41.579 I have spoken to you with great frankness. I take great pride in you. 00:00:42.500 --> 00:00:46.439 I am greatly encouraged in all our troubles. My joy knows no bounds. 00:00:47.420 --> 00:00:52.500 For when we came into Macedonia, we had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn. 00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:55.700 Conflicts on the outside, fears within. 00:00:55.700 --> 00:01:01.440 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:06.659 And not only by his coming, but also by the comfort you had given him. 00:01:07.520 --> 00:01:12.520 He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:14.780 so that my joy was greater than ever. 00:01:15.900 --> 00:01:19.980 Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. 00:01:19.980 --> 00:01:30.060 Though I did regret it, I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while. 00:01:30.659 --> 00:01:35.880 Yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. 00:01:36.820 --> 00:01:41.800 For you became sorrowful as God intended, and so were not harmed in any way by us. 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.939 Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, 00:01:46.939 --> 00:01:48.959 but worldly sorrow brings death. 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:52.620 See what this godly sorrow has produced in you. 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:59.679 What earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, 00:02:00.140 --> 00:02:01.819 what readiness to see justice done. 00:02:02.459 --> 00:02:05.979 At every point, you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. 00:02:06.799 --> 00:02:10.860 So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong, 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.020 nor on account of the injured party, 00:02:13.020 --> 00:02:19.500 but rather that before God you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are. 00:02:20.140 --> 00:02:21.560 By all this, we are encouraged. 00:02:22.520 --> 00:02:27.660 In addition to our own encouragement, we are especially delighted to see how happy Titus was, 00:02:28.040 --> 00:02:31.400 because his spirit has also been refreshed by all of you. 00:02:32.280 --> 00:02:35.520 I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. 00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:38.660 But just as everything we said to you was true, 00:02:39.100 --> 00:02:42.140 so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well. 00:02:42.139 --> 00:02:49.259 And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, 00:02:49.739 --> 00:02:51.319 receiving him with fear and trembling. 00:02:51.819 --> 00:02:54.699 I am glad that I can have complete confidence in you. 00:02:55.059 --> 00:02:56.099 This is the word of the Lord. 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:00.599 Great. Thank you, Jamal. 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:02.919 Let's pray as we come to God's word. Let's pray. 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:12.299 Gracious God, we want to just pause and ask now for your help as we look at your words. 00:03:14.519 --> 00:03:17.139 We're hungry. We want you to feed us. 00:03:17.319 --> 00:03:20.659 We're thirsty. We want to drink of the truth of your word. 00:03:20.759 --> 00:03:23.359 We're empty. We want you to fill us. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:27.660 We know our neediness, and we want you to meet our needs. 00:03:29.000 --> 00:03:31.660 And so we pray now that as we look at your word together, 00:03:31.800 --> 00:03:36.400 that you would guard our hearts, speak to us, we pray. 00:03:37.140 --> 00:03:38.900 Help us, we ask in Jesus' name. 00:03:39.800 --> 00:03:40.840 Amen. Amen. 00:03:40.840 --> 00:03:50.080 I think it's true that anything that is good or desirable can be faked, right? 00:03:50.439 --> 00:03:54.319 If something is good and you want it, it can be faked. 00:03:54.460 --> 00:04:00.620 So if you go to Shepherd's Bush Market, you could get yourself a fake Rolex. 00:04:01.659 --> 00:04:06.860 You could probably get yourself a pair of fake Nike trainers or fake perfume. 00:04:06.860 --> 00:04:11.900 Sometimes it's true that even things don't try that hard to be fake, do they? 00:04:12.020 --> 00:04:19.280 So if you shop at Aldi, like we do, you can get wheat biscuits instead of Weetabix, right? 00:04:19.379 --> 00:04:23.280 It's not even trying that hard to cover the fact that it is a fake, 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:25.900 or wheat shreds are shredded wheat. 00:04:26.900 --> 00:04:32.720 Even now we're in a world where the fake phones you up on your mobile phone, yeah? 00:04:32.720 --> 00:04:36.680 So my phone rings and I am offered a brilliant new contract. 00:04:37.300 --> 00:04:40.480 Whatever you're paying, sir, we will halve it. 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:43.160 Oh, I'm only paying five pounds a month. 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:45.620 Two pounds fifty and you'll get a brand new iPhone. 00:04:46.360 --> 00:04:47.640 It's a fake, isn't it? 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:50.780 Anything good and desirable can be faked. 00:04:51.200 --> 00:04:55.460 And what I hope we've seen over the last few weeks as we've been thinking about repentance 00:04:55.460 --> 00:04:58.500 and jumping around the Bible a little bit for that series, 00:04:58.500 --> 00:05:04.879 is that you can see that of all the spiritual goods, repentance is good and desirable. 00:05:05.860 --> 00:05:07.939 Repentance is right there at the top of the list. 00:05:08.519 --> 00:05:10.560 Repentance, we saw, didn't we, Peter says, 00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:14.319 opens the door for times of refreshing for the Lord's people. 00:05:15.160 --> 00:05:19.379 In Psalm 32, repentance brings joy and wholeness. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:24.120 If you read your Bible, you will notice that repentance is good and desirable. 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:25.420 It is brilliant. 00:05:27.300 --> 00:05:31.340 But, like a Louis Vuitton handbag or a Rolex watch, 00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:35.720 because it is so good, it is also often faked. 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:36.899 Faked. 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:41.319 Not everything that calls itself repentance is repentance. 00:05:41.920 --> 00:05:44.699 And that, you'll notice, is the idea in our passage this morning. 00:05:45.259 --> 00:05:48.160 You'll notice, if you've still got it open and if you've not, get back to it, 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:54.100 that Paul talks about sorrow for sin, but he distinguishes between two kinds of sorrow, 00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:57.900 a worldly sorrow and a godly sorrow. 00:05:58.660 --> 00:06:01.960 And while both might look the same for a moment, 00:06:02.620 --> 00:06:05.680 one godly sorrow leads to a genuine repentance, 00:06:05.940 --> 00:06:09.660 and the other, worldly sorrow, is a fake, and it leads to death. 00:06:09.660 --> 00:06:14.200 And our sermon this morning, as we finish this mini-series in repentance, 00:06:14.420 --> 00:06:21.280 we're going to think about how repentance is not just being sad at things going wrong 00:06:21.280 --> 00:06:23.100 or at the things that you have done wrong. 00:06:24.200 --> 00:06:29.020 I want to suggest to you that everybody feels sad for the things that they've done wrong. 00:06:29.520 --> 00:06:31.500 Everybody feels sad for the things they've done wrong. 00:06:31.960 --> 00:06:35.280 It is just a common human experience. 00:06:35.279 --> 00:06:37.379 We have a moral conscience. 00:06:38.139 --> 00:06:41.219 We feel a sense of sadness when we do things wrong. 00:06:41.419 --> 00:06:43.539 Some people are more sensitive than others, right? 00:06:43.619 --> 00:06:47.259 So some people feel particularly sensitive about things that they have done wrong, 00:06:47.299 --> 00:06:50.859 and other people, it seems to take something wilder for them to feel guilty. 00:06:50.939 --> 00:06:52.459 But we are all sad. 00:06:52.519 --> 00:06:54.579 So if I asked you this morning, you know, 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:59.779 do you feel sad for getting angry or lashing out or lying or cheating? 00:07:00.879 --> 00:07:03.139 Do you feel sad that you didn't listen to that good advice, 00:07:03.139 --> 00:07:05.159 that you pretended to be better than you really were? 00:07:05.559 --> 00:07:08.339 Are you sad at the relational breakdown and the hurt and the mess? 00:07:08.559 --> 00:07:09.539 We all are, aren't we? 00:07:10.159 --> 00:07:13.239 That is a common universal human experience. 00:07:14.159 --> 00:07:19.259 But being sad does not mean we've repented. 00:07:20.299 --> 00:07:21.579 Because the question to us, 00:07:21.699 --> 00:07:24.179 the question our passage is going to ask us this morning is, 00:07:24.599 --> 00:07:26.759 that sadness that you feel, 00:07:27.459 --> 00:07:31.459 is it godly sadness or is it worldly sadness? 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:32.539 Which is it? 00:07:33.139 --> 00:07:37.659 Is it the real deal from God which leads to genuine repentance and life? 00:07:37.899 --> 00:07:42.120 Or is it a fake sadness that leads to death? 00:07:42.859 --> 00:07:49.560 Because it's possible even for a Christian to be sad and yet unrepentant. 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.800 It's possible, isn't it, 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.620 that what we think is repentance is really just a knockoff of the real thing. 00:07:57.639 --> 00:08:00.620 Now to see that, we're landing in the middle of this letter 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:03.340 and we're going to have to do a bit of work to kind of understand it. 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:05.379 We're jumping into the middle of something 00:08:05.379 --> 00:08:07.060 and that's not always the easiest thing to do 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:09.379 when we want to understand a part of the Bible. 00:08:09.779 --> 00:08:13.259 So let me try and explain to you briefly what's going on here in 2 Corinthians 00:08:13.259 --> 00:08:14.599 and stay with me if you can 00:08:14.599 --> 00:08:17.899 and then we'll come back to some big ideas about repentance. 00:08:19.139 --> 00:08:20.099 Okay, what you need to know 00:08:20.099 --> 00:08:22.559 is that in Acts 18, 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.899 Paul visited Corinth and started the church. 00:08:26.899 --> 00:08:30.159 Paul stayed in Corinth then for about 18 months, 00:08:30.319 --> 00:08:32.779 establishing the church, teaching the new Christians 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:34.459 and then he moved on. 00:08:35.199 --> 00:08:36.220 After moving on, 00:08:36.360 --> 00:08:40.100 Paul and the Corinthian church exchanged letters several times. 00:08:40.740 --> 00:08:43.740 Now, two of those letters are in our Bibles 00:08:43.740 --> 00:08:45.519 as 1 and 2 Corinthians, 00:08:45.779 --> 00:08:47.360 the other letters we don't have. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:50.019 And what's important for us this morning 00:08:50.019 --> 00:08:54.199 is to notice that between writing 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:57.360 Paul visits the church in Corinth again. 00:08:58.000 --> 00:08:59.660 But he's not there for very long. 00:08:59.960 --> 00:09:01.440 He only visits for a short time 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:02.780 because while he is there, 00:09:03.259 --> 00:09:05.980 somebody in the church opposes him 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:07.540 and his apostolic authority. 00:09:07.700 --> 00:09:09.900 So we don't actually know exactly what they did, 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:13.440 but in some manner they oppose him and his authority. 00:09:14.160 --> 00:09:15.700 It was really bad. 00:09:16.379 --> 00:09:19.420 And the badness of what he did is magnified 00:09:19.420 --> 00:09:22.200 not just because it was one person who opposed him, 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:24.240 but because the Corinthian church as a whole 00:09:24.240 --> 00:09:26.480 were largely ambivalent towards it. 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:29.580 And so they just stood by and let it happen. 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:31.200 And so Paul was undefended 00:09:31.200 --> 00:09:33.759 against this man's accusations and his rebellion. 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:35.400 So Paul left. 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:36.440 He was only there briefly. 00:09:37.520 --> 00:09:38.259 And having left, 00:09:38.340 --> 00:09:40.440 he then wrote to them another letter 00:09:40.440 --> 00:09:44.420 confronting the way that he'd been treated. 00:09:45.259 --> 00:09:46.300 We don't have that letter. 00:09:46.460 --> 00:09:47.280 It's not in our Bibles. 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:48.520 It's been lost in history. 00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:51.179 But it's mentioned in 2 Corinthians several times. 00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:52.879 So in 2 Corinthians 2 verse 4, 00:09:53.019 --> 00:09:55.779 Paul says that he wrote out of much affliction 00:09:55.779 --> 00:09:57.720 and anguish of heart, he says. 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:00.139 In other words, Paul was chewed up 00:10:00.139 --> 00:10:01.360 about the way he'd been treated 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:02.960 and the seeming ambivalence 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:04.699 of the church in Corinth towards him. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:07.579 And so he poured over that in his letter 00:10:07.579 --> 00:10:10.019 and spilt that out, 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:12.480 explaining in his letter why he was so grieved. 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:15.480 And so it's no surprise that in our passage this morning, 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:17.600 you hear that that letter that they received 00:10:17.600 --> 00:10:19.700 made them sorrowful. 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:23.560 They did not like reading this letter from Paul. 00:10:25.800 --> 00:10:27.680 In fact, 2 Corinthians 10, 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:30.080 it seems to suggest to you that some people 00:10:30.080 --> 00:10:32.620 even accuse Paul of being bold in his letters 00:10:32.620 --> 00:10:34.080 but weak face to face. 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:35.399 He writes stern letters, 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:36.539 but when you see him, he's nothing. 00:10:38.180 --> 00:10:39.360 Now, having written this letter 00:10:39.360 --> 00:10:40.399 calling out their behavior, 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:41.840 Paul is, as you might imagine, 00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:43.159 anxious to know how they're doing. 00:10:43.980 --> 00:10:45.120 How are they going to respond? 00:10:45.820 --> 00:10:47.279 Are they going to change their minds? 00:10:47.680 --> 00:10:49.960 Are they going to repent and move towards me again? 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:53.420 So he waits for a guy called Titus, 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:55.700 who is the guy who took his difficult letter 00:10:55.700 --> 00:10:56.920 to the church in Corinth. 00:10:57.159 --> 00:10:58.639 He waits for him to return 00:10:58.639 --> 00:11:00.080 with news of their reaction. 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:02.700 And this waiting is really difficult for Paul. 00:11:02.920 --> 00:11:04.600 He's anxious to know how they've responded. 00:11:05.100 --> 00:11:07.820 In chapter 2, Paul describes being in Troas 00:11:07.820 --> 00:11:10.279 whilst he's waiting for Titus to come back 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:11.960 and says that he's so distracted 00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:14.399 by this concern for the Corinthian church 00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:15.459 that he was unable, 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:17.639 even though the door was open to ministry, 00:11:17.740 --> 00:11:18.899 he was unable to do anything 00:11:18.899 --> 00:11:20.340 because he was just so overwhelmed 00:11:21.019 --> 00:11:23.439 by his concern for what the Corinthian church 00:11:23.439 --> 00:11:24.199 were thinking of him. 00:11:24.919 --> 00:11:26.259 But now, in chapter 7, 00:11:26.340 --> 00:11:27.939 you find that Titus has returned 00:11:27.939 --> 00:11:29.759 and brought good news. 00:11:30.419 --> 00:11:32.579 The Corinthian church were sad 00:11:32.579 --> 00:11:33.919 at how they'd wronged Paul. 00:11:34.459 --> 00:11:35.579 Paul expected that much, 00:11:35.659 --> 00:11:37.340 but the good news is that their sorrow 00:11:37.340 --> 00:11:38.779 was not worldly sorrow, 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:39.899 but godly sorrow. 00:11:40.559 --> 00:11:42.159 And it led them to repentance. 00:11:43.419 --> 00:11:45.600 Paul's opponent is temporarily put out 00:11:45.600 --> 00:11:46.559 of fellowship with the church, 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:47.620 the record is corrected, 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:49.679 and the relationship is restored. 00:11:50.539 --> 00:11:53.299 And that's what we are jumping into the middle of 00:11:53.299 --> 00:11:54.419 in chapter 7 here. 00:11:54.819 --> 00:11:57.220 And so if you can keep that kind of situation in mind, 00:11:57.480 --> 00:11:58.740 let me show you three things 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:01.039 about genuine repentance from 2 Corinthians 7. 00:12:01.199 --> 00:12:02.039 Let me show you firstly 00:12:02.039 --> 00:12:03.819 the importance of genuine repentance. 00:12:03.820 --> 00:12:08.000 I hope you see here 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:10.220 that Paul is really clear, isn't he, 00:12:10.260 --> 00:12:11.900 that without genuine repentance, 00:12:12.120 --> 00:12:14.120 there is no restoration of relationship. 00:12:15.580 --> 00:12:16.320 Paul's anxiety, 00:12:16.400 --> 00:12:17.920 I'm not sure whether anxiety is the right word 00:12:17.920 --> 00:12:19.520 because that implies that there's a wrongness to it, 00:12:19.540 --> 00:12:20.879 but it's not anxiety in that sense. 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:24.580 There's an eagerness from Paul for news. 00:12:25.300 --> 00:12:28.020 His inability to concentrate in troas 00:12:28.020 --> 00:12:30.260 comes from the relational breakdown 00:12:30.260 --> 00:12:31.680 with the Corinthian church, 00:12:31.679 --> 00:12:34.439 a relationship that cannot be restored 00:12:34.439 --> 00:12:35.899 unless the Corinthian church 00:12:35.899 --> 00:12:38.839 are willing to deal with their sin 00:12:38.839 --> 00:12:40.159 through genuine repentance. 00:12:42.339 --> 00:12:43.979 Of course, we know this, don't we, 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:45.219 from our own experience. 00:12:45.819 --> 00:12:47.919 If someone is not genuinely sorry 00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:49.439 for what they have done, 00:12:49.939 --> 00:12:51.319 for how they've mistreated you, 00:12:51.419 --> 00:12:52.179 for what they've said, 00:12:52.219 --> 00:12:52.979 or how they've behaved, 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:55.259 you cannot be truly reconciled, can you? 00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:58.179 It doesn't matter how willing you are 00:12:58.179 --> 00:12:59.039 to be forgiven, 00:12:59.039 --> 00:13:01.439 the absence of reconciliation 00:13:01.439 --> 00:13:04.299 is there if there's no genuine sorry. 00:13:04.919 --> 00:13:06.579 And that lack of reconciliation 00:13:06.579 --> 00:13:08.279 is a terrible burden to carry. 00:13:09.259 --> 00:13:10.459 But what I want you to notice, 00:13:10.579 --> 00:13:11.980 which I think is the surprise of the passage, 00:13:12.059 --> 00:13:13.740 is not that it's just a burden for Paul. 00:13:13.799 --> 00:13:15.000 You might kind of expect that. 00:13:15.419 --> 00:13:16.259 What I want you to see 00:13:16.259 --> 00:13:17.959 is that a lack of repentance 00:13:17.959 --> 00:13:19.259 would have been a great burden 00:13:19.259 --> 00:13:20.759 for the Corinthian church. 00:13:20.980 --> 00:13:21.759 Look down at verse 10. 00:13:21.819 --> 00:13:22.599 I'm going to read verse 10 00:13:22.599 --> 00:13:24.000 a number of times through this sermon 00:13:24.000 --> 00:13:26.259 because verse 10 is really the point. 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:29.100 So if you get verse 10 in your minds 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:30.279 and that's what you go away remembering, 00:13:30.379 --> 00:13:30.960 you've understood. 00:13:32.080 --> 00:13:34.059 Godly sorrow brings repentance 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:35.799 that leads to salvation 00:13:35.799 --> 00:13:37.120 and leaves no regret. 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:40.340 But worldly sorrow brings death. 00:13:41.399 --> 00:13:41.919 Do you see this? 00:13:42.340 --> 00:13:44.279 Worldly sadness, worldly sorrow, 00:13:44.500 --> 00:13:46.460 sadness that it just happened, 00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:50.000 sadness at sin brings death, 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:52.259 death, while godly sorrow 00:13:52.259 --> 00:13:53.820 brings repentance and salvation. 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:56.679 Now, both sorrows, as we mentioned, 00:13:56.779 --> 00:13:57.899 might look the same at the start. 00:13:57.980 --> 00:13:59.220 I'm sure there's lots of tears 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:00.460 from both kinds of people. 00:14:01.019 --> 00:14:02.659 But the truth is that they both 00:14:02.659 --> 00:14:04.159 come from different places 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:06.500 and lead to different places, 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:08.320 different destinations. 00:14:09.440 --> 00:14:10.399 And what I want you to notice 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.600 is that Paul is writing to a church here. 00:14:13.460 --> 00:14:15.200 The salvation and death 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:17.639 that he is talking about in chapter 7 00:14:17.639 --> 00:14:20.240 are not necessarily the categories 00:14:20.240 --> 00:14:22.460 of heaven and hell. 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:24.960 They could be, couldn't they? 00:14:25.039 --> 00:14:25.220 Right? 00:14:25.319 --> 00:14:26.639 So it is true. 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:28.019 It is the gospel, isn't it? 00:14:28.059 --> 00:14:29.860 That if you individually 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:31.659 are only sad at your sin 00:14:31.659 --> 00:14:33.919 and do not repent and turn to Christ, 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:35.299 you will not be saved. 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:38.519 You will die in your sin 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:39.659 and for your sin, 00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:41.000 not just physically in death, 00:14:41.080 --> 00:14:42.299 but spiritually dead, 00:14:43.179 --> 00:14:44.799 separated from the mercy of God 00:14:44.799 --> 00:14:46.220 who made you for all eternity. 00:14:46.220 --> 00:14:50.019 But if you are genuinely godly sorry 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:50.980 for your sin, 00:14:51.639 --> 00:14:52.639 then with godly sorry, 00:14:52.740 --> 00:14:54.160 you will repent and you'll be saved. 00:14:54.360 --> 00:14:55.340 That's what we've been thinking about 00:14:55.340 --> 00:14:56.100 for the last few weeks. 00:14:56.440 --> 00:14:57.519 That's not what he's talking about 00:14:57.519 --> 00:14:58.379 here in chapter 7. 00:14:59.399 --> 00:15:00.680 This is talking about 00:15:00.680 --> 00:15:01.980 the Christian's repentance. 00:15:03.440 --> 00:15:05.879 How Christians should repent. 00:15:06.600 --> 00:15:08.680 Repentance is how the Christian life starts, 00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.220 but it's also how it goes on. 00:15:11.100 --> 00:15:12.060 And so for Christians, 00:15:12.200 --> 00:15:13.500 to people Paul calls saints, 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:15.000 called, adopted, and rescued, 00:15:15.000 --> 00:15:16.779 he says to them, doesn't he, 00:15:17.159 --> 00:15:19.419 ongoing godly sorrow and repentance 00:15:19.419 --> 00:15:21.299 is important to you. 00:15:22.320 --> 00:15:23.399 Because there is, 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:24.919 even for the Christian, 00:15:25.100 --> 00:15:26.440 a kind of death 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:28.899 and a kind of health or salvation. 00:15:29.360 --> 00:15:30.799 There is a rottenness 00:15:31.379 --> 00:15:32.360 in the Christian life 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:35.000 that comes from persistent unrepentance. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:36.960 and there is a health 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:37.759 and a life 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:38.879 that comes to the Christian 00:15:38.879 --> 00:15:40.500 through genuine repentance. 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:42.059 On our willingness 00:15:42.059 --> 00:15:43.419 to genuinely turn 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:45.100 from our ongoing battle with sin. 00:15:46.799 --> 00:15:48.559 I don't know what you're thinking. 00:15:48.779 --> 00:15:49.299 There is, 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:50.500 there's perhaps a chance 00:15:50.500 --> 00:15:51.360 that through this series 00:15:51.360 --> 00:15:51.919 on repentance, 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:52.759 you've been thinking, 00:15:52.860 --> 00:15:53.139 well, you know, 00:15:53.159 --> 00:15:54.139 this is all very well, Steve. 00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:56.740 Yeah, all this talk about repentance. 00:15:56.820 --> 00:15:57.600 I know that's important 00:15:57.600 --> 00:15:58.320 for people who don't come 00:15:58.320 --> 00:15:59.039 to church very much. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:15:59.960 You're probably not Christians. 00:16:00.400 --> 00:16:01.680 I've been a Christian for years. 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:03.780 Will you please say something 00:16:03.780 --> 00:16:04.980 that's relevant to me? 00:16:06.580 --> 00:16:08.300 I repented of my sin long ago. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:09.700 Please tell me something 00:16:09.700 --> 00:16:10.420 that will help me 00:16:10.420 --> 00:16:10.879 with the battle 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:11.960 for Christian maturity. 00:16:12.360 --> 00:16:13.139 I want to learn 00:16:13.139 --> 00:16:13.920 the deep truths 00:16:13.920 --> 00:16:14.740 of the Christian faith. 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:15.780 I want to know 00:16:15.780 --> 00:16:16.700 how to live as a Christian 00:16:16.700 --> 00:16:18.160 in the complicated situation 00:16:18.160 --> 00:16:19.780 that I find myself in now. 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:21.200 Well, listen, 00:16:21.300 --> 00:16:21.820 if that's you, 00:16:21.980 --> 00:16:23.500 here is the deep truth 00:16:23.500 --> 00:16:25.280 that leads to maturity. 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:27.120 Here's the deep truth 00:16:27.120 --> 00:16:27.960 that will help you 00:16:27.960 --> 00:16:28.780 live a Christian life 00:16:28.779 --> 00:16:29.720 in the complex world 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:30.279 that you're in. 00:16:30.419 --> 00:16:31.120 Here it is, right? 00:16:31.159 --> 00:16:31.459 You ready? 00:16:32.819 --> 00:16:33.220 Repent. 00:16:34.179 --> 00:16:35.379 Turn back to the Lord. 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:36.579 That's it. 00:16:37.259 --> 00:16:38.779 Repent and believe. 00:16:39.199 --> 00:16:40.360 Repent and believe. 00:16:40.439 --> 00:16:41.220 That's maturity. 00:16:42.159 --> 00:16:42.879 And it's maturity 00:16:42.879 --> 00:16:43.759 not just for us 00:16:43.759 --> 00:16:44.299 as individuals, 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:45.740 it's maturity for us 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:47.079 as a church, 00:16:47.220 --> 00:16:48.199 corporately as well, 00:16:48.600 --> 00:16:49.720 dealing with our sins 00:16:49.720 --> 00:16:50.480 and our failings 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:51.600 by taking them to the Lord, 00:16:51.959 --> 00:16:53.079 yet full of sorrow, 00:16:53.299 --> 00:16:55.659 but joyfully receiving salvation. 00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:57.379 So that as a church, 00:16:57.459 --> 00:16:58.039 we don't rot 00:16:58.039 --> 00:16:58.959 from the inside out 00:16:58.959 --> 00:16:59.799 with a kind of death 00:16:59.799 --> 00:17:00.819 of worldly sorrow 00:17:00.819 --> 00:17:01.919 that doesn't lead 00:17:01.919 --> 00:17:02.500 to repentance. 00:17:05.359 --> 00:17:06.119 A friend of mine 00:17:06.119 --> 00:17:08.200 works in cancer research. 00:17:08.399 --> 00:17:09.460 He's a professor. 00:17:09.619 --> 00:17:09.980 He's one of those 00:17:09.980 --> 00:17:10.980 really bright people, right? 00:17:11.059 --> 00:17:12.079 So it's very gracious 00:17:12.079 --> 00:17:12.859 of him to be my friend. 00:17:12.940 --> 00:17:13.220 But anyway, 00:17:13.359 --> 00:17:15.899 he works in something, 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:16.680 it's not chemotherapy, 00:17:17.019 --> 00:17:18.960 but it's more training 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:19.879 your own body 00:17:19.879 --> 00:17:21.720 to defeat cancer cells. 00:17:22.359 --> 00:17:23.440 He does explain it to me, 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:24.740 I don't understand it, right? 00:17:25.079 --> 00:17:26.279 He's had quite a lot of success, 00:17:26.279 --> 00:17:27.139 he's been on the television 00:17:27.139 --> 00:17:28.059 with it and that kind of thing. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:29.019 It's not quite there yet. 00:17:29.099 --> 00:17:29.920 But I want you to imagine 00:17:29.920 --> 00:17:32.180 that it works, okay? 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:36.039 And he has in this treatment 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:39.259 an infallible cure for cancer. 00:17:39.259 --> 00:17:42.579 And imagine then 00:17:42.579 --> 00:17:44.339 that you receive a diagnosis, 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:46.559 a terminal diagnosis 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:46.940 for cancer. 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:48.019 There's no hope, 00:17:48.119 --> 00:17:49.099 the cancer will kill you. 00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:51.740 And so you come to my friend 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:52.759 and he offers you 00:17:52.759 --> 00:17:54.160 the wonder drug, right? 00:17:54.740 --> 00:17:55.740 And you take it. 00:17:56.500 --> 00:17:57.339 Cancer is defeated, 00:17:57.519 --> 00:17:58.180 there's great joy, 00:17:58.279 --> 00:17:58.819 you were dead, 00:17:58.879 --> 00:17:59.720 you're now alive. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:01.539 Imagine though, 00:18:01.539 --> 00:18:02.799 that as you go on, 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:03.700 you discover 00:18:03.700 --> 00:18:05.319 that the cancer 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:05.980 is still there 00:18:05.980 --> 00:18:07.019 and it's coming back 00:18:07.019 --> 00:18:07.619 a little bit. 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:09.559 You see the marks 00:18:09.559 --> 00:18:10.220 on your skin 00:18:10.220 --> 00:18:11.420 and the lumps in your body. 00:18:11.900 --> 00:18:12.480 What do you do? 00:18:13.799 --> 00:18:14.859 I guarantee 00:18:14.859 --> 00:18:15.940 that you don't say, 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:16.319 do you know what? 00:18:16.359 --> 00:18:17.119 Well, I took the cure 00:18:17.119 --> 00:18:18.139 about 10 years ago 00:18:18.139 --> 00:18:19.500 so I'm not going to bother 00:18:19.500 --> 00:18:20.119 with it anymore. 00:18:20.339 --> 00:18:21.440 I'm not really interested anymore. 00:18:21.960 --> 00:18:22.440 Of course you wouldn't. 00:18:22.500 --> 00:18:23.420 Would you go back? 00:18:23.839 --> 00:18:25.639 Give me some more of that. 00:18:25.879 --> 00:18:26.799 I need more of that. 00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:29.059 I thought then 00:18:29.059 --> 00:18:29.639 that's what I need 00:18:29.639 --> 00:18:30.319 but I realize now 00:18:30.319 --> 00:18:31.359 I need more of it. 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:32.700 Please, give me some more. 00:18:32.700 --> 00:18:35.299 And that's what's going on here. 00:18:35.539 --> 00:18:36.960 Sin, wickedness and rebellion 00:18:36.960 --> 00:18:37.680 is the disease 00:18:37.680 --> 00:18:38.420 of the human race. 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:39.120 We all have it. 00:18:39.160 --> 00:18:39.819 It will kill us. 00:18:39.860 --> 00:18:40.880 It will eternally kill us. 00:18:41.259 --> 00:18:42.440 Christ is the solution. 00:18:44.019 --> 00:18:44.720 God the Father 00:18:44.720 --> 00:18:46.200 in his love and mercy 00:18:46.200 --> 00:18:47.200 sent his son 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:48.059 to die in our place 00:18:48.059 --> 00:18:49.019 so that we can be forgiven 00:18:49.019 --> 00:18:49.920 and shown mercy 00:18:49.920 --> 00:18:51.240 and restored as human beings. 00:18:51.700 --> 00:18:52.640 Great joy 00:18:52.640 --> 00:18:54.900 that you don't receive him 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:55.720 just once. 00:18:55.880 --> 00:18:56.860 You need to keep 00:18:56.860 --> 00:18:57.940 coming back to him 00:18:57.940 --> 00:18:58.759 and receiving him 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:01.940 because we're not perfect yet. 00:19:02.700 --> 00:19:03.620 And so when we sin 00:19:03.620 --> 00:19:04.140 what do we do? 00:19:04.200 --> 00:19:05.240 We return to the cross. 00:19:05.340 --> 00:19:06.100 We own our sin 00:19:06.100 --> 00:19:07.200 and with godly sorrow 00:19:07.200 --> 00:19:07.920 we repent 00:19:07.920 --> 00:19:09.720 so that that joy 00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:10.380 is ours again. 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:12.640 And here's the thing. 00:19:13.019 --> 00:19:14.740 It's as we are humbled 00:19:14.740 --> 00:19:16.200 by this process 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:18.200 of realizing our ongoing sin 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:19.720 and turning to God 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:21.460 we become less 00:19:21.460 --> 00:19:23.340 and he becomes more. 00:19:23.740 --> 00:19:24.819 We are humbled 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:26.279 and he is glorified. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:28.080 And God in his wisdom 00:19:28.080 --> 00:19:29.039 thinks 00:19:29.039 --> 00:19:31.140 that you as a Christian 00:19:31.140 --> 00:19:31.759 this morning 00:19:31.759 --> 00:19:33.480 are best perfected 00:19:33.480 --> 00:19:34.579 through a lifetime 00:19:34.579 --> 00:19:35.879 of being humbled 00:19:35.879 --> 00:19:37.059 and him being glorified. 00:19:37.500 --> 00:19:38.339 That's what he thinks. 00:19:39.660 --> 00:19:41.140 And so for us as a church 00:19:41.140 --> 00:19:42.240 we are to be a community 00:19:42.240 --> 00:19:42.879 of repentance. 00:19:43.180 --> 00:19:43.440 Why? 00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:45.119 Well because the alternative 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:46.119 is to be a community 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:46.759 of death 00:19:46.759 --> 00:19:48.579 where sin is just kind of 00:19:48.579 --> 00:19:49.539 brushed under the carpet 00:19:49.539 --> 00:19:50.440 and not dealt with 00:19:50.440 --> 00:19:52.099 and rots away 00:19:52.099 --> 00:19:52.740 our life together. 00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:53.579 That's the importance 00:19:53.579 --> 00:19:54.539 of repentance, right? 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:55.700 The importance of repentance. 00:19:56.240 --> 00:19:56.839 Let's think about 00:19:56.839 --> 00:19:57.480 the source 00:19:57.480 --> 00:19:58.440 of genuine repentance. 00:19:59.400 --> 00:20:00.259 Come back to verse 10. 00:20:00.259 --> 00:20:01.900 Godly sorrow 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:02.720 brings repentance 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:03.940 that leaves the salvation 00:20:03.940 --> 00:20:05.259 and leaves no regret 00:20:05.259 --> 00:20:06.660 but worldly sorrow 00:20:06.660 --> 00:20:07.819 brings death. 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:09.980 Now notice with me 00:20:09.980 --> 00:20:11.259 that godly sorrow 00:20:11.259 --> 00:20:12.180 brings repentance. 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:13.000 It's similar. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:14.319 Verse 11 if you look at it. 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:16.059 See what godly sorrow 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:18.079 has produced in you. 00:20:18.619 --> 00:20:20.140 Verse 9 carries a similar idea. 00:20:20.299 --> 00:20:21.420 It says that they became 00:20:21.420 --> 00:20:23.599 sorrowful as God intended. 00:20:24.379 --> 00:20:25.220 Now we're going to think 00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:26.299 in a moment about the marks 00:20:26.299 --> 00:20:27.180 of genuine repentance 00:20:27.180 --> 00:20:28.100 but let's just think 00:20:28.100 --> 00:20:28.880 more specifically 00:20:28.880 --> 00:20:30.279 about what this godly sorrow 00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:31.560 actually is. 00:20:32.080 --> 00:20:33.480 What does it mean 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:35.720 to be godly sorrowful 00:20:35.720 --> 00:20:36.460 for our sin? 00:20:37.539 --> 00:20:39.180 Paul in writing his letter 00:20:39.180 --> 00:20:40.360 to the church in Corinth 00:20:40.360 --> 00:20:41.539 calling out not just 00:20:41.539 --> 00:20:42.620 the man who opposed him 00:20:42.620 --> 00:20:43.720 but the whole church 00:20:43.720 --> 00:20:44.820 who just stood by 00:20:44.820 --> 00:20:45.299 and watched. 00:20:45.460 --> 00:20:47.220 He knew that that letter 00:20:47.220 --> 00:20:48.259 would make them sad. 00:20:48.360 --> 00:20:48.960 That was a given. 00:20:49.580 --> 00:20:50.320 No one likes to have 00:20:50.320 --> 00:20:51.000 that conversation. 00:20:51.820 --> 00:20:52.940 But his hope and prayer 00:20:52.940 --> 00:20:54.360 was that God 00:20:54.360 --> 00:20:55.580 would be at work in it. 00:20:55.579 --> 00:20:57.339 That God would use 00:20:57.339 --> 00:20:58.259 his letter to convict 00:20:58.259 --> 00:20:59.139 them of their sin. 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:00.679 That God would show them 00:21:00.679 --> 00:21:01.579 what they've done wrong 00:21:01.579 --> 00:21:02.799 so that they might repent 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:03.859 and make things right. 00:21:04.699 --> 00:21:05.539 Now listen let me show you 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:06.399 two things here. 00:21:06.659 --> 00:21:07.460 His first assumption 00:21:07.460 --> 00:21:08.539 is that godly sorrow 00:21:08.539 --> 00:21:09.259 is essentially 00:21:09.259 --> 00:21:10.559 it's a work of the spirit. 00:21:13.039 --> 00:21:14.279 You can be sad 00:21:14.279 --> 00:21:15.000 at your sin 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:16.519 in your own strength 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:18.339 but godly sorrow 00:21:18.339 --> 00:21:19.299 requires a work 00:21:19.299 --> 00:21:19.980 of the spirit. 00:21:21.259 --> 00:21:22.399 And so Paul's hope 00:21:22.399 --> 00:21:23.939 was not so much 00:21:23.940 --> 00:21:25.220 in the church 00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:26.000 but his hope 00:21:26.000 --> 00:21:26.860 was in God 00:21:26.860 --> 00:21:27.580 as he wrote. 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:29.100 Paul's hope 00:21:29.100 --> 00:21:29.799 was that God 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:31.100 would use his letter 00:21:31.100 --> 00:21:31.960 to bring about 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:32.720 what only God 00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:33.460 is able to do 00:21:33.460 --> 00:21:35.019 which is a godly sorrow 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:36.000 that leads to repentance. 00:21:36.799 --> 00:21:37.680 That's the first thing 00:21:37.680 --> 00:21:38.539 it's a work of the spirit. 00:21:39.900 --> 00:21:40.880 The second thing 00:21:40.880 --> 00:21:41.279 to notice 00:21:41.279 --> 00:21:42.279 is that you cannot 00:21:42.279 --> 00:21:43.080 then mature 00:21:43.080 --> 00:21:43.759 as a Christian 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:45.480 without an ongoing 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:46.420 Holy Spirit 00:21:46.420 --> 00:21:47.039 awareness 00:21:47.039 --> 00:21:47.940 of your sin. 00:21:49.120 --> 00:21:49.880 We're going to do this 00:21:49.880 --> 00:21:50.500 a number of times 00:21:50.500 --> 00:21:51.140 this morning right? 00:21:51.140 --> 00:21:52.020 So we're distinguishing 00:21:52.020 --> 00:21:52.980 between becoming 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:53.360 a Christian 00:21:53.360 --> 00:21:54.200 for the first time 00:21:54.200 --> 00:21:55.620 and our ongoing 00:21:55.620 --> 00:21:56.580 growth as a Christian. 00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:57.780 So when you become 00:21:57.780 --> 00:21:58.240 a Christian 00:21:58.240 --> 00:21:59.180 for the first time 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:00.420 God by his spirit 00:22:00.420 --> 00:22:01.560 opens your eyes 00:22:01.560 --> 00:22:02.520 to see your sin 00:22:02.520 --> 00:22:03.320 and your need of Christ 00:22:03.320 --> 00:22:04.320 and you run to him 00:22:04.320 --> 00:22:05.040 and flee to him. 00:22:05.560 --> 00:22:06.280 And the process 00:22:06.280 --> 00:22:06.920 of growing 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:07.560 and going on 00:22:07.560 --> 00:22:08.000 as a Christian 00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:08.940 is that you become 00:22:08.940 --> 00:22:10.700 increasingly aware 00:22:10.700 --> 00:22:11.540 of your sinfulness 00:22:11.540 --> 00:22:12.520 and run to Christ 00:22:12.520 --> 00:22:13.160 for salvation. 00:22:14.720 --> 00:22:15.780 And so you might hope 00:22:15.780 --> 00:22:16.200 might you 00:22:16.200 --> 00:22:17.580 that the Christian life 00:22:17.580 --> 00:22:18.220 might be different 00:22:18.220 --> 00:22:18.560 to this. 00:22:18.700 --> 00:22:19.600 You might hope 00:22:19.599 --> 00:22:20.439 that the Christian life 00:22:20.439 --> 00:22:21.399 was growing 00:22:21.399 --> 00:22:22.099 in a sense 00:22:22.099 --> 00:22:23.159 of awesomeness. 00:22:23.519 --> 00:22:23.619 Right? 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:25.379 That might have been 00:22:25.379 --> 00:22:26.159 your preferred 00:22:26.159 --> 00:22:28.179 version of the Christian life 00:22:28.179 --> 00:22:29.559 that day by day 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:30.299 you'd wake up 00:22:30.299 --> 00:22:30.699 and think 00:22:30.699 --> 00:22:31.839 I am more brilliant 00:22:31.839 --> 00:22:32.379 than I thought 00:22:32.379 --> 00:22:33.059 I was yesterday. 00:22:34.139 --> 00:22:35.019 That is not 00:22:35.019 --> 00:22:36.000 the Christian life. 00:22:36.579 --> 00:22:37.500 It turns out 00:22:37.500 --> 00:22:38.480 that in God's wisdom 00:22:38.480 --> 00:22:39.459 the road to maturity 00:22:39.459 --> 00:22:40.879 is marked by sorrow 00:22:40.879 --> 00:22:42.439 at our ongoing sin. 00:22:43.339 --> 00:22:44.219 We need to be careful. 00:22:44.419 --> 00:22:44.519 Right? 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:45.279 Godly sorrow 00:22:45.279 --> 00:22:47.439 is not hopelessness. 00:22:48.119 --> 00:22:48.779 It is possible 00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:49.619 to overdo this 00:22:49.619 --> 00:22:49.920 isn't it? 00:22:50.139 --> 00:22:50.819 It is possible 00:22:50.819 --> 00:22:51.980 to beat ourselves up 00:22:51.980 --> 00:22:53.299 as if sadness 00:22:53.299 --> 00:22:53.940 for sin 00:22:53.940 --> 00:22:55.000 atones for sin. 00:22:55.099 --> 00:22:55.720 Christians behave 00:22:55.720 --> 00:22:56.379 like that sometimes 00:22:56.379 --> 00:22:56.660 don't they? 00:22:57.119 --> 00:22:58.139 Christian churches 00:22:58.139 --> 00:22:59.119 can be like that. 00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:00.220 You know 00:23:00.220 --> 00:23:00.720 Christian churches 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:01.339 love to make 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:02.000 their congregations 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:03.079 feel perpetually guilty 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:03.819 because you can make 00:23:03.819 --> 00:23:04.299 them do whatever 00:23:04.299 --> 00:23:04.779 you want 00:23:04.779 --> 00:23:05.259 if you can make 00:23:05.259 --> 00:23:05.819 them feel guilty. 00:23:06.299 --> 00:23:07.500 But that's not it here. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:09.139 Rather the point 00:23:09.139 --> 00:23:10.059 is that you cannot 00:23:10.059 --> 00:23:11.680 grow in your love 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:12.359 for Jesus 00:23:12.359 --> 00:23:14.299 without at the same time 00:23:14.299 --> 00:23:15.160 also growing 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:15.940 in your knowledge 00:23:15.940 --> 00:23:16.859 of your need 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:17.660 for Jesus. 00:23:18.779 --> 00:23:20.460 and so 00:23:20.460 --> 00:23:21.259 as you see 00:23:21.259 --> 00:23:21.940 your sin 00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:23.440 you delight 00:23:23.440 --> 00:23:23.980 that Jesus 00:23:23.980 --> 00:23:24.839 is the solution 00:23:24.839 --> 00:23:26.099 and God 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:26.759 by the spirit 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:28.059 makes you love 00:23:28.059 --> 00:23:28.559 Christ 00:23:28.559 --> 00:23:29.599 and hate sin 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:30.519 and be sorrowful 00:23:30.519 --> 00:23:30.980 at it. 00:23:32.039 --> 00:23:32.980 I think this is 00:23:32.980 --> 00:23:33.599 the nub of this 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:34.359 for us this morning 00:23:34.359 --> 00:23:35.779 that the Lord 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:37.299 does this work 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:38.539 matures you 00:23:38.539 --> 00:23:39.399 and me as Christians 00:23:39.399 --> 00:23:40.460 by 00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:41.859 this is in part 00:23:41.859 --> 00:23:42.980 by showing us 00:23:42.980 --> 00:23:43.420 our sin 00:23:43.420 --> 00:23:44.039 and our ugliness 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:45.680 and showing us 00:23:45.680 --> 00:23:46.200 Christ. 00:23:46.200 --> 00:23:48.319 perhaps a 00:23:48.319 --> 00:23:49.220 wounded friend 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:50.039 tells you a difficult 00:23:50.039 --> 00:23:50.600 truth that you 00:23:50.600 --> 00:23:51.319 didn't want to hear 00:23:51.319 --> 00:23:53.080 and so you realise 00:23:53.080 --> 00:23:53.980 just a little bit more 00:23:53.980 --> 00:23:54.660 that you are more 00:23:54.660 --> 00:23:55.340 sinful than you 00:23:55.340 --> 00:23:56.000 perhaps thought. 00:23:57.880 --> 00:23:58.319 Now of course 00:23:58.319 --> 00:23:58.980 that means doesn't it 00:23:58.980 --> 00:23:59.620 that if you pray 00:23:59.620 --> 00:24:00.580 to grow as a Christian 00:24:00.580 --> 00:24:01.580 what you are praying 00:24:01.580 --> 00:24:02.519 in part at least 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:03.080 is that you would 00:24:03.080 --> 00:24:04.160 be grieved at your sin 00:24:04.160 --> 00:24:05.580 that you might keep 00:24:05.580 --> 00:24:06.480 turning to Christ 00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:07.000 the doctor 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:07.720 for our sin. 00:24:09.480 --> 00:24:10.220 Let me try and be 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:10.860 a bit more concrete 00:24:10.860 --> 00:24:11.220 about this. 00:24:11.259 --> 00:24:11.740 How does this work? 00:24:11.779 --> 00:24:12.380 Let me give you a couple 00:24:12.380 --> 00:24:13.299 of personal examples. 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:15.220 It was pointed out 00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:16.279 to me a couple 00:24:16.279 --> 00:24:16.839 of weeks ago 00:24:16.839 --> 00:24:17.980 I was in a phone 00:24:17.980 --> 00:24:18.759 conversation with 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:19.399 a church member 00:24:19.399 --> 00:24:20.399 and they said to me 00:24:20.399 --> 00:24:22.220 listen you were 00:24:22.220 --> 00:24:24.220 dismissive and defensive 00:24:24.220 --> 00:24:25.700 over the concerns 00:24:25.700 --> 00:24:26.599 that I raised with you. 00:24:27.519 --> 00:24:28.359 It wasn't particularly 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:28.919 easy to hear 00:24:28.919 --> 00:24:29.559 and actually 00:24:29.559 --> 00:24:30.079 ironically 00:24:30.079 --> 00:24:31.639 my instinctive reaction 00:24:31.639 --> 00:24:32.980 was to be dismissive 00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:33.599 and defensive 00:24:33.599 --> 00:24:34.519 of the person 00:24:34.519 --> 00:24:35.039 on the phone. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:35.759 That was what was 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:36.619 going on in my heart. 00:24:37.579 --> 00:24:38.559 But I realised 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:39.599 they were right. 00:24:40.359 --> 00:24:41.079 They were right. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:42.599 I was sad. 00:24:43.299 --> 00:24:44.059 Oh Steve 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:45.099 why did you do that? 00:24:45.259 --> 00:24:46.019 Why did you speak 00:24:46.019 --> 00:24:46.599 like that? 00:24:47.819 --> 00:24:48.740 And I had to say 00:24:48.740 --> 00:24:48.960 to them 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:49.839 listen I'm really sorry. 00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:51.659 Shouldn't have done that. 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:52.559 It was me. 00:24:52.639 --> 00:24:53.500 I was defensive. 00:24:53.980 --> 00:24:54.879 I was dismissive 00:24:54.879 --> 00:24:55.919 of your concerns 00:24:55.919 --> 00:24:56.599 and I shouldn't have been. 00:24:57.940 --> 00:24:58.980 I was reading 00:24:58.980 --> 00:24:59.359 this week 00:24:59.359 --> 00:25:00.839 that this blew my mind. 00:25:01.200 --> 00:25:01.919 I was reading this week 00:25:01.919 --> 00:25:02.599 that God doesn't 00:25:02.599 --> 00:25:03.339 love efficiency. 00:25:03.879 --> 00:25:03.960 Right? 00:25:04.599 --> 00:25:04.799 See 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:06.399 I love efficiency. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:07.879 I think that the best 00:25:07.879 --> 00:25:08.539 way to do anything 00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:09.480 is the fastest way 00:25:09.480 --> 00:25:10.039 to do anything. 00:25:10.579 --> 00:25:11.180 But have you thought 00:25:11.180 --> 00:25:11.559 about the fact 00:25:11.559 --> 00:25:12.259 that God doesn't 00:25:12.259 --> 00:25:12.839 love that? 00:25:13.700 --> 00:25:14.619 God could have 00:25:14.619 --> 00:25:15.619 created this world 00:25:15.619 --> 00:25:16.579 in an instant 00:25:16.579 --> 00:25:17.119 like that 00:25:17.119 --> 00:25:17.859 but he didn't. 00:25:18.500 --> 00:25:19.419 He took time. 00:25:19.779 --> 00:25:20.539 There was a process. 00:25:21.879 --> 00:25:22.940 God could make 00:25:22.940 --> 00:25:23.359 you and me 00:25:23.359 --> 00:25:24.460 perfect in an instant. 00:25:24.579 --> 00:25:25.079 Take us straight 00:25:25.079 --> 00:25:25.519 to glory 00:25:25.519 --> 00:25:26.419 the moment we come 00:25:26.419 --> 00:25:26.680 to faith. 00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:28.259 We might wish he did 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:30.579 but he has a process 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:31.440 that takes time. 00:25:32.379 --> 00:25:33.159 And so I've realised 00:25:33.159 --> 00:25:33.879 this this week 00:25:33.879 --> 00:25:34.539 thinking oh 00:25:34.539 --> 00:25:36.399 your love of efficiency 00:25:36.399 --> 00:25:36.940 Steve 00:25:36.940 --> 00:25:38.019 might actually 00:25:38.019 --> 00:25:38.940 at times be sinful. 00:25:39.740 --> 00:25:40.519 You need to be sorry 00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:40.920 for that 00:25:40.920 --> 00:25:41.759 and repent of that. 00:25:44.319 --> 00:25:45.680 See God is very patient 00:25:45.680 --> 00:25:46.039 isn't he? 00:25:46.420 --> 00:25:46.920 Isn't he? 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:48.039 He's not in a rush. 00:25:48.660 --> 00:25:49.180 And so in our 00:25:49.180 --> 00:25:49.879 Christian maturity 00:25:49.879 --> 00:25:50.740 this is how it goes 00:25:50.740 --> 00:25:51.039 isn't it? 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:52.039 We see our sin 00:25:52.039 --> 00:25:53.539 we have sorrow 00:25:53.539 --> 00:25:54.259 for our sin 00:25:54.259 --> 00:25:55.920 we say sorry 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:56.900 for our sin 00:25:56.900 --> 00:25:58.160 and we receive 00:25:58.160 --> 00:25:59.420 salvation for our sin. 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:01.139 So let me ask you 00:26:01.139 --> 00:26:01.839 if you're a Christian 00:26:01.839 --> 00:26:02.440 this morning 00:26:02.440 --> 00:26:03.559 let me ask you 00:26:03.559 --> 00:26:04.259 where is God 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:05.039 grieving you 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:05.559 at the moment? 00:26:06.960 --> 00:26:07.680 What is it 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:08.559 that the Holy Spirit 00:26:08.559 --> 00:26:10.019 has his finger on 00:26:10.019 --> 00:26:10.960 in your life? 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:13.019 It's painful 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:14.399 you know it 00:26:14.399 --> 00:26:14.659 don't you? 00:26:14.879 --> 00:26:15.639 It's probably 00:26:15.639 --> 00:26:16.619 very sad 00:26:16.619 --> 00:26:18.519 but let me encourage 00:26:18.519 --> 00:26:19.480 you not to resist 00:26:19.480 --> 00:26:20.299 his work 00:26:20.299 --> 00:26:21.359 his grief 00:26:21.359 --> 00:26:23.259 is not his final goal 00:26:23.259 --> 00:26:24.139 salvation 00:26:24.139 --> 00:26:25.200 is his goal 00:26:25.200 --> 00:26:26.799 but he takes you 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:27.700 through grief 00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:29.240 that you might be 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:30.480 godly sorrowful 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:31.119 at your sin 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:32.180 that you might 00:26:32.180 --> 00:26:32.659 repent 00:26:32.659 --> 00:26:33.980 and receive salvation. 00:26:33.980 --> 00:26:37.079 That's the source 00:26:37.079 --> 00:26:38.660 of genuine repentance 00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:39.579 godly sorrow 00:26:39.579 --> 00:26:40.240 finally then 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:40.819 let's think about 00:26:40.819 --> 00:26:41.380 the marks 00:26:41.380 --> 00:26:42.259 of genuine repentance 00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:43.980 if you look again 00:26:43.980 --> 00:26:44.700 at verse 11 00:26:44.700 --> 00:26:45.360 you'll notice 00:26:45.360 --> 00:26:46.079 that instead of 00:26:46.079 --> 00:26:46.640 repeating 00:26:46.640 --> 00:26:47.819 godly sorrow 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:48.759 produces repentance 00:26:48.759 --> 00:26:49.599 he swaps out 00:26:49.599 --> 00:26:50.299 the word repentance 00:26:50.299 --> 00:26:51.140 for a list 00:26:51.140 --> 00:26:51.680 of different 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:52.660 characteristics 00:26:52.660 --> 00:26:53.140 so look down 00:26:53.140 --> 00:26:54.480 at verse 11 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:55.460 see what this 00:26:55.460 --> 00:26:56.039 godly sorrow 00:26:56.039 --> 00:26:57.079 has produced in you 00:26:57.079 --> 00:26:58.279 you expect the word 00:26:58.279 --> 00:26:58.720 repentance 00:26:58.720 --> 00:26:59.259 but instead 00:26:59.259 --> 00:26:59.860 you get a list 00:26:59.860 --> 00:27:00.480 of seven 00:27:00.480 --> 00:27:01.420 different characteristics 00:27:01.420 --> 00:27:02.259 take a look at them 00:27:02.259 --> 00:27:03.700 earnestness 00:27:03.700 --> 00:27:04.600 that is a 00:27:04.600 --> 00:27:05.440 seriousness 00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:06.920 to not stop 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:07.559 until the right 00:27:07.559 --> 00:27:08.480 thing is being done 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:09.600 it's a recognition 00:27:09.600 --> 00:27:10.980 that this business 00:27:10.980 --> 00:27:12.500 is important business 00:27:12.500 --> 00:27:14.299 eagerness to clear 00:27:14.299 --> 00:27:14.799 yourself 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:15.680 not as in a right 00:27:15.680 --> 00:27:16.980 to sort of argue 00:27:16.980 --> 00:27:17.600 that it wasn't really 00:27:17.600 --> 00:27:18.340 you who did it 00:27:18.340 --> 00:27:19.840 but to put right 00:27:19.840 --> 00:27:20.660 what was wrong 00:27:20.660 --> 00:27:22.160 to straighten things out 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:23.860 indignation 00:27:23.860 --> 00:27:24.519 crossness 00:27:24.519 --> 00:27:25.299 I think here 00:27:25.299 --> 00:27:26.120 in the context 00:27:26.120 --> 00:27:26.779 that the offense 00:27:26.779 --> 00:27:27.360 to Paul 00:27:27.360 --> 00:27:29.140 anger at its wickedness 00:27:29.140 --> 00:27:30.559 this was wrong 00:27:30.559 --> 00:27:32.019 this shouldn't have happened 00:27:32.019 --> 00:27:32.759 Paul should not 00:27:32.759 --> 00:27:33.319 have been treated 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:34.039 like that 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:35.180 alarm 00:27:35.180 --> 00:27:36.220 wow 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:37.539 I can't believe 00:27:37.539 --> 00:27:38.400 that Paul was treated 00:27:38.400 --> 00:27:38.740 like that 00:27:38.740 --> 00:27:39.639 this is shocking 00:27:39.639 --> 00:27:40.879 it's almost as if 00:27:40.879 --> 00:27:41.740 they've woken up 00:27:41.740 --> 00:27:42.619 to what they did 00:27:42.619 --> 00:27:43.839 longing 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:45.079 again in the context 00:27:45.079 --> 00:27:45.660 it's longing 00:27:45.660 --> 00:27:46.759 for relational 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:47.440 reconciliation 00:27:47.440 --> 00:27:48.180 with Paul 00:27:48.180 --> 00:27:48.660 who left 00:27:48.660 --> 00:27:49.279 so quickly 00:27:49.279 --> 00:27:50.639 concern 00:27:50.639 --> 00:27:51.579 again a concern 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:52.180 for Paul 00:27:52.180 --> 00:27:52.940 readiness 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:54.059 to see justice 00:27:54.059 --> 00:27:54.519 done 00:27:54.519 --> 00:27:55.819 again a desire 00:27:55.819 --> 00:27:56.639 to put things 00:27:56.639 --> 00:27:56.960 right 00:27:56.960 --> 00:27:57.579 to hold 00:27:57.579 --> 00:27:58.339 Paul's opponent 00:27:58.339 --> 00:27:59.019 to account 00:27:59.019 --> 00:28:00.639 and so Paul 00:28:00.639 --> 00:28:01.139 concludes 00:28:01.139 --> 00:28:01.420 that 00:28:01.420 --> 00:28:02.160 they have 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:02.619 proved 00:28:02.619 --> 00:28:03.139 themselves 00:28:03.139 --> 00:28:03.660 innocent 00:28:03.660 --> 00:28:04.500 in this matter 00:28:04.500 --> 00:28:05.700 not because 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:06.180 they proved 00:28:06.180 --> 00:28:06.680 that they didn't 00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:07.799 actually do it 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:08.920 not at all 00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:09.779 rather that 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:10.559 they have dealt 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:11.240 with their guilt 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:12.500 in the right way 00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:13.660 their repentance 00:28:13.660 --> 00:28:14.599 is visible 00:28:14.599 --> 00:28:16.299 and real 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:18.059 and so they are 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:18.879 therefore innocent 00:28:18.879 --> 00:28:21.279 now in a way 00:28:21.279 --> 00:28:21.859 those marks 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:22.920 are context specific 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:23.319 aren't they 00:28:23.319 --> 00:28:24.119 we're not Paul 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:24.960 we're not the 00:28:24.960 --> 00:28:25.720 Corinthian church 00:28:25.720 --> 00:28:26.700 but just notice 00:28:26.700 --> 00:28:27.400 a couple of things 00:28:27.400 --> 00:28:28.319 notice first 00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:29.319 how earnest 00:28:29.319 --> 00:28:30.359 action 00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:31.559 marks real 00:28:31.559 --> 00:28:32.299 repentance 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:34.279 earnest action 00:28:34.279 --> 00:28:35.159 marks real 00:28:35.159 --> 00:28:35.659 repentance 00:28:35.659 --> 00:28:38.779 if you are 00:28:38.779 --> 00:28:39.539 really 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:40.480 godly 00:28:40.480 --> 00:28:41.259 sorrowful 00:28:41.259 --> 00:28:42.019 for your sin 00:28:42.019 --> 00:28:43.419 you will seek 00:28:43.419 --> 00:28:44.279 to do something 00:28:44.279 --> 00:28:45.119 about it 00:28:45.119 --> 00:28:46.659 not atoned 00:28:46.659 --> 00:28:47.299 for your sin 00:28:47.299 --> 00:28:48.079 because Christ 00:28:48.079 --> 00:28:48.799 alone can do 00:28:48.799 --> 00:28:49.159 that 00:28:49.159 --> 00:28:50.339 but seeking 00:28:50.339 --> 00:28:51.359 to put things 00:28:51.359 --> 00:28:51.960 right 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:53.799 receiving forgiveness 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:54.659 and making 00:28:54.659 --> 00:28:55.619 recompense 00:28:55.619 --> 00:28:57.419 genuine repentance 00:28:57.420 --> 00:28:58.480 does not try 00:28:58.480 --> 00:28:59.360 and cover it up 00:28:59.360 --> 00:29:00.220 does not try 00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:00.660 to pretend 00:29:00.660 --> 00:29:01.400 it didn't happen 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:01.940 or pretend 00:29:01.940 --> 00:29:02.640 it didn't matter 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:03.640 you know 00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:04.740 if we're serious 00:29:04.740 --> 00:29:05.700 of repenting 00:29:05.700 --> 00:29:06.400 of anger 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:07.600 or pride 00:29:07.600 --> 00:29:08.519 or lust 00:29:08.519 --> 00:29:09.680 or cold heartedness 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:10.380 towards the Lord 00:29:10.380 --> 00:29:11.880 if you are genuinely 00:29:11.880 --> 00:29:12.880 repentant for those 00:29:12.880 --> 00:29:13.100 things 00:29:13.100 --> 00:29:14.640 you will seriously 00:29:14.640 --> 00:29:15.680 go about action 00:29:15.680 --> 00:29:16.539 to do something 00:29:16.539 --> 00:29:17.340 about it 00:29:17.340 --> 00:29:18.300 and stop 00:29:18.300 --> 00:29:19.200 you will be 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:20.279 earnest about it 00:29:20.279 --> 00:29:20.980 it will be the most 00:29:20.980 --> 00:29:21.779 serious thing 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:22.420 you are doing 00:29:22.420 --> 00:29:24.740 if you are serious 00:29:24.740 --> 00:29:25.480 of repenting 00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:26.300 about relationship 00:29:26.300 --> 00:29:26.940 fallout 00:29:26.940 --> 00:29:27.620 of slander 00:29:27.620 --> 00:29:28.259 or gossip 00:29:28.259 --> 00:29:29.120 or tearing others 00:29:29.120 --> 00:29:29.440 down 00:29:29.440 --> 00:29:30.800 you will earnestly 00:29:30.800 --> 00:29:31.860 seek to do something 00:29:31.860 --> 00:29:32.460 about it 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:33.500 to put it right 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:34.800 to set the record 00:29:34.800 --> 00:29:35.600 straight as far 00:29:35.600 --> 00:29:36.279 as you are able 00:29:36.279 --> 00:29:38.420 perhaps you can put it 00:29:38.420 --> 00:29:38.960 the other way around 00:29:38.960 --> 00:29:39.680 to make it clearer 00:29:39.680 --> 00:29:41.279 if your sadness 00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:42.080 at your sin 00:29:42.080 --> 00:29:43.440 if my sadness 00:29:43.440 --> 00:29:44.380 at my sin 00:29:44.380 --> 00:29:45.560 causes me 00:29:45.560 --> 00:29:46.840 to do nothing 00:29:46.840 --> 00:29:48.580 other than try 00:29:48.580 --> 00:29:49.000 and pretend 00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:49.860 it's not there 00:29:49.859 --> 00:29:51.539 I have not been 00:29:51.539 --> 00:29:52.859 godly sorrowful 00:29:52.859 --> 00:29:53.479 for my sin 00:29:53.479 --> 00:29:55.679 I am worldly sorrowful 00:29:55.679 --> 00:29:56.240 for my sin 00:29:56.240 --> 00:29:57.159 and that leads 00:29:57.159 --> 00:29:58.399 to rottenness 00:29:58.399 --> 00:30:03.479 earnest action 00:30:03.479 --> 00:30:04.599 means that 00:30:04.599 --> 00:30:05.500 genuine repentance 00:30:05.500 --> 00:30:06.299 is more 00:30:06.299 --> 00:30:06.779 doesn't it 00:30:06.779 --> 00:30:07.559 than just saying 00:30:07.559 --> 00:30:08.539 sorry to God 00:30:08.539 --> 00:30:09.919 oh how I would 00:30:09.919 --> 00:30:10.519 love that 00:30:10.519 --> 00:30:10.879 right 00:30:10.879 --> 00:30:12.399 oh Steve 00:30:12.399 --> 00:30:13.319 you were dismissive 00:30:13.319 --> 00:30:13.919 and defensive 00:30:13.919 --> 00:30:15.039 when I spoke to you 00:30:15.039 --> 00:30:16.539 about my concerns 00:30:16.539 --> 00:30:17.219 oh it's okay 00:30:17.219 --> 00:30:17.939 I prayed to God 00:30:17.939 --> 00:30:18.500 about that 00:30:18.500 --> 00:30:19.639 it doesn't matter 00:30:19.640 --> 00:30:20.120 anymore 00:30:20.120 --> 00:30:22.040 it's not that 00:30:22.040 --> 00:30:22.440 is it 00:30:22.440 --> 00:30:24.900 we need 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:25.280 don't we 00:30:25.280 --> 00:30:25.700 to be able 00:30:25.700 --> 00:30:26.420 to say sorry 00:30:26.420 --> 00:30:27.100 to one another 00:30:27.100 --> 00:30:29.240 as well as the Lord 00:30:29.240 --> 00:30:30.720 because it is 00:30:30.720 --> 00:30:31.460 living out 00:30:31.460 --> 00:30:32.300 sorry towards 00:30:32.300 --> 00:30:33.900 the offended person 00:30:33.900 --> 00:30:34.980 repentance 00:30:34.980 --> 00:30:35.900 towards God 00:30:35.900 --> 00:30:37.300 involves recompense 00:30:37.300 --> 00:30:38.120 towards others 00:30:38.120 --> 00:30:39.560 it wasn't possible 00:30:39.560 --> 00:30:39.900 was it 00:30:39.900 --> 00:30:41.320 for the Corinthian church 00:30:41.320 --> 00:30:42.860 to say a private 00:30:42.860 --> 00:30:44.060 sorry for a public 00:30:44.060 --> 00:30:44.480 wrong 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:45.380 to Paul 00:30:45.380 --> 00:30:46.960 they had to take 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:47.960 public action 00:30:47.960 --> 00:30:49.000 they had to 00:30:49.000 --> 00:30:49.799 remove the man 00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:50.559 from the church 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:52.180 and in chapter 2 00:30:52.180 --> 00:30:52.880 it seems as though 00:30:52.880 --> 00:30:53.740 Paul is urging them 00:30:53.740 --> 00:30:54.620 to bring him back 00:30:54.620 --> 00:30:55.700 so they don't squash him 00:30:55.700 --> 00:30:56.740 with unbearable sorrow 00:30:56.740 --> 00:30:58.940 and then notice 00:30:58.940 --> 00:31:00.500 so not only does it 00:31:00.500 --> 00:31:01.579 require earnest action 00:31:01.579 --> 00:31:02.200 really also 00:31:02.200 --> 00:31:03.019 genuine repentance 00:31:03.019 --> 00:31:04.059 is really only visible 00:31:04.059 --> 00:31:04.980 over time 00:31:04.980 --> 00:31:06.740 repentance here 00:31:06.740 --> 00:31:08.079 is not just a quick 00:31:08.079 --> 00:31:09.620 conversation with Paul 00:31:09.620 --> 00:31:10.740 it took time 00:31:10.740 --> 00:31:12.660 and so for us 00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:14.059 the more serious 00:31:14.059 --> 00:31:14.799 the sin 00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:16.720 the more time 00:31:16.720 --> 00:31:17.980 genuine repentance 00:31:17.980 --> 00:31:18.940 takes 00:31:18.940 --> 00:31:21.000 let me try and be 00:31:21.000 --> 00:31:21.379 clear on this 00:31:21.379 --> 00:31:21.799 if you 00:31:21.799 --> 00:31:23.139 if you've been 00:31:23.139 --> 00:31:24.240 unfaithful to your 00:31:24.240 --> 00:31:25.480 husband or your wife 00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:27.379 repentance is not 00:31:27.379 --> 00:31:28.980 just saying sorry 00:31:28.980 --> 00:31:30.000 once in a moment 00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:32.019 it's not just one 00:31:32.019 --> 00:31:33.159 tearful conversation 00:31:33.159 --> 00:31:35.079 it might begin there 00:31:35.079 --> 00:31:36.240 but it will involve 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:37.240 more than that 00:31:37.240 --> 00:31:38.500 it will involve 00:31:38.500 --> 00:31:38.879 a willingness 00:31:38.879 --> 00:31:39.859 to be transparent 00:31:39.859 --> 00:31:40.879 in the years to come 00:31:40.879 --> 00:31:42.299 to share your messages 00:31:42.299 --> 00:31:43.299 and show your phone 00:31:43.299 --> 00:31:44.799 to receive the help 00:31:44.799 --> 00:31:45.759 that you need from others 00:31:45.759 --> 00:31:47.000 to work through the struggles 00:31:47.000 --> 00:31:48.220 that's what genuine 00:31:48.220 --> 00:31:49.279 repentance will involve 00:31:49.279 --> 00:31:51.879 it takes time 00:31:51.879 --> 00:31:54.159 but there's one more 00:31:54.159 --> 00:31:55.319 mark of genuine repentance 00:31:55.319 --> 00:31:55.819 I wonder whether you 00:31:55.819 --> 00:31:56.339 noticed it 00:31:56.339 --> 00:31:57.240 it's there in verse 10 00:31:57.240 --> 00:31:57.839 which I'm going to read 00:31:57.839 --> 00:31:59.039 to you again as we finish 00:31:59.039 --> 00:32:00.879 godly sorrow brings 00:32:00.879 --> 00:32:01.460 repentance 00:32:01.460 --> 00:32:03.200 that leads to salvation 00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:04.500 and leaves no regret 00:32:04.500 --> 00:32:06.220 but worldly sorrow 00:32:06.220 --> 00:32:07.200 brings death 00:32:07.200 --> 00:32:09.000 here's the final mark 00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:10.240 of genuine repentance 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:10.460 repentance 00:32:10.460 --> 00:32:12.700 no regret 00:32:12.700 --> 00:32:13.960 no regret 00:32:13.960 --> 00:32:16.059 now it doesn't mean 00:32:16.059 --> 00:32:16.759 I don't think 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:17.539 that we don't regret 00:32:17.539 --> 00:32:18.359 the sin 00:32:18.359 --> 00:32:19.500 that's not I think 00:32:19.500 --> 00:32:20.240 the point here 00:32:20.240 --> 00:32:22.180 it would genuinely 00:32:22.180 --> 00:32:23.140 have been better 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:24.099 had the Corinthian church 00:32:24.099 --> 00:32:24.980 not treated Paul 00:32:24.980 --> 00:32:25.539 as it did 00:32:25.539 --> 00:32:27.359 the regret here 00:32:27.359 --> 00:32:28.819 modifies the repentance 00:32:28.819 --> 00:32:30.799 so it's that genuine 00:32:30.799 --> 00:32:31.400 repentance 00:32:31.400 --> 00:32:33.420 never regrets 00:32:33.420 --> 00:32:34.900 that it repented 00:32:34.900 --> 00:32:36.180 you know 00:32:36.180 --> 00:32:37.380 it never regrets 00:32:37.380 --> 00:32:38.359 that it saw its sin 00:32:38.359 --> 00:32:39.620 and was grieved by it 00:32:39.619 --> 00:32:41.399 and then repented 00:32:41.399 --> 00:32:43.679 in a way that's surprising 00:32:43.679 --> 00:32:44.179 isn't it 00:32:44.179 --> 00:32:45.279 surely you 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:47.139 you regret being sad 00:32:47.139 --> 00:32:49.000 but why doesn't 00:32:49.000 --> 00:32:50.059 genuine repentance 00:32:50.059 --> 00:32:51.019 include regret 00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:53.219 well because it receives 00:32:53.219 --> 00:32:54.399 the blessing of forgiveness 00:32:54.399 --> 00:32:56.199 which is more than 00:32:56.199 --> 00:32:57.559 compensation for the sadness 00:32:57.559 --> 00:32:59.219 you know 00:32:59.219 --> 00:33:01.419 you wouldn't regret 00:33:01.419 --> 00:33:03.059 taking the cure 00:33:03.059 --> 00:33:03.619 for cancer 00:33:03.619 --> 00:33:03.939 would you 00:33:03.939 --> 00:33:04.659 if you had cancer 00:33:04.659 --> 00:33:05.619 you would 00:33:05.619 --> 00:33:06.939 delight in it 00:33:06.940 --> 00:33:08.220 you would be grateful 00:33:08.220 --> 00:33:08.980 for it 00:33:08.980 --> 00:33:10.539 and so real repentance 00:33:10.539 --> 00:33:12.160 walks through grief 00:33:12.160 --> 00:33:12.880 and sadness 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:14.720 but arrives at joy 00:33:14.720 --> 00:33:16.740 a joy that in verse 4 00:33:16.740 --> 00:33:17.900 knows no bounds 00:33:17.900 --> 00:33:19.480 as it brings salvation 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:20.640 that is better than sin 00:33:20.640 --> 00:33:21.700 the reconciliation 00:33:21.700 --> 00:33:23.019 was even better 00:33:23.019 --> 00:33:26.720 let me try and finish 00:33:26.720 --> 00:33:27.440 with a story 00:33:27.440 --> 00:33:28.539 that will hopefully land 00:33:28.539 --> 00:33:29.460 some of these thoughts 00:33:29.460 --> 00:33:30.759 for us this morning 00:33:30.759 --> 00:33:32.640 it's a true story 00:33:32.640 --> 00:33:33.400 I share it because 00:33:33.400 --> 00:33:34.400 it's been shared publicly 00:33:34.400 --> 00:33:35.980 I don't know the person 00:33:35.980 --> 00:33:37.080 involved 00:33:37.080 --> 00:33:39.080 his name was Dave 00:33:39.080 --> 00:33:40.540 and he was the pastor 00:33:40.540 --> 00:33:41.500 of a church 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:43.240 until the point 00:33:43.240 --> 00:33:44.400 at which his adultery 00:33:44.400 --> 00:33:45.019 was uncovered 00:33:45.019 --> 00:33:47.540 and he had to stand down 00:33:47.540 --> 00:33:49.620 shortly after 00:33:49.620 --> 00:33:50.800 standing down 00:33:50.800 --> 00:33:52.019 as a pastor 00:33:52.019 --> 00:33:54.920 Dave suffered a heart attack 00:33:54.920 --> 00:33:56.820 and very nearly died 00:33:56.820 --> 00:33:58.880 and he wrote this 00:33:58.880 --> 00:33:59.980 a few weeks ago 00:33:59.980 --> 00:34:01.060 on his substack 00:34:01.060 --> 00:34:02.000 he wrote this 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:05.880 during my rebellious years 00:34:05.880 --> 00:34:08.420 I both wanted to die 00:34:08.420 --> 00:34:10.260 and was terrified 00:34:10.260 --> 00:34:11.480 of dying in equal measure 00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:14.119 I wanted a way of escape 00:34:14.119 --> 00:34:15.960 a way out of the web 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:16.559 of deceit 00:34:16.559 --> 00:34:17.320 that I had woven 00:34:17.320 --> 00:34:19.219 and yet the thought 00:34:19.219 --> 00:34:20.739 of standing before Jesus 00:34:20.739 --> 00:34:22.119 without having come in clean 00:34:22.119 --> 00:34:23.300 was terrifying 00:34:23.300 --> 00:34:25.099 though I know 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:25.639 I would have been 00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:26.300 welcomed home 00:34:26.300 --> 00:34:26.820 at that time 00:34:26.820 --> 00:34:27.719 because my salvation 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:28.500 doesn't depend 00:34:28.500 --> 00:34:29.420 on the extensiveness 00:34:29.420 --> 00:34:30.239 of my repentance 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:31.539 but on the sufficiency 00:34:31.539 --> 00:34:32.559 of Jesus' life 00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:33.379 death and resurrection 00:34:33.379 --> 00:34:34.719 and reign to save me 00:34:34.719 --> 00:34:36.139 however living 00:34:36.139 --> 00:34:37.279 with a clean conscience 00:34:37.279 --> 00:34:38.219 is nonetheless 00:34:38.219 --> 00:34:39.779 liberating 00:34:39.779 --> 00:34:42.519 as the ambulance 00:34:42.519 --> 00:34:43.459 careered towards 00:34:43.459 --> 00:34:44.179 the hospital 00:34:44.179 --> 00:34:45.399 scattering cars 00:34:45.399 --> 00:34:46.199 in all directions 00:34:46.199 --> 00:34:47.899 my heart 00:34:47.899 --> 00:34:49.639 was at peace 00:34:49.639 --> 00:34:51.839 I did not feel 00:34:51.839 --> 00:34:52.559 panicked 00:34:52.559 --> 00:34:54.079 or frightened 00:34:54.079 --> 00:34:56.179 I felt safe 00:34:56.179 --> 00:34:58.500 because I was safe 00:34:58.500 --> 00:35:00.699 my day could have 00:35:00.699 --> 00:35:01.719 ended in heaven 00:35:01.719 --> 00:35:03.760 in the ultimate sense 00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:04.199 for me 00:35:04.199 --> 00:35:05.460 that would have been 00:35:05.460 --> 00:35:06.239 perfect 00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:07.579 literally 00:35:07.579 --> 00:35:09.699 that my friends 00:35:09.699 --> 00:35:10.719 is the power 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:12.739 of godly grief 00:35:12.739 --> 00:35:14.659 genuine repentance 00:35:14.659 --> 00:35:16.699 that leads to clear 00:35:16.699 --> 00:35:17.719 conscience living 00:35:17.719 --> 00:35:18.780 before the Lord 00:35:18.780 --> 00:35:20.380 before whom one day 00:35:20.380 --> 00:35:21.059 we will stand 00:35:21.059 --> 00:35:22.559 who alone 00:35:22.559 --> 00:35:23.300 has a solution 00:35:23.300 --> 00:35:23.960 for our sin 00:35:23.960 --> 00:35:24.880 in Christ alone 00:35:24.880 --> 00:35:26.320 so let's pray 00:35:26.320 --> 00:35:27.780 that he would give us 00:35:27.780 --> 00:35:29.400 that godly grief 00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:34.780 let's just take a moment 00:35:34.780 --> 00:35:35.480 of quiet 00:35:35.480 --> 00:35:35.880 maybe 00:35:35.880 --> 00:35:37.660 the spirit 00:35:37.660 --> 00:35:38.480 in your own heart 00:35:38.480 --> 00:35:39.320 is putting his finger 00:35:39.320 --> 00:35:39.840 on something 00:35:39.840 --> 00:35:42.000 maybe you want to talk 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:42.420 to the Lord 00:35:42.420 --> 00:35:43.099 about that now 00:35:43.099 --> 00:35:45.179 may may may 00:35:45.179 --> 00:35:45.179 00:35:45.179 --> 00:35:45.519 may 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:46.099 may 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.099 00:35:46.099 --> 00:36:16.079 Thank you. 00:36:16.099 --> 00:36:36.259 Heavenly Father, we are so, so prone to try and deal with our ongoing battle with sin, with anything other than repentance and faith in Jesus. 00:36:36.260 --> 00:36:47.900 Even as Christians, we do that really stupid and dumb thing of just pretending that we're better than we really are because we're afraid you might not love us if you know what we're really like. 00:36:47.900 --> 00:36:52.460 And it's stupid, Lord, because you know exactly what we're like. 00:36:52.880 --> 00:36:57.820 And knowing what we're like, you love us and sent your son to die for us. 00:36:57.820 --> 00:37:03.340 And so, Lord, we pray individually and corporately. 00:37:04.059 --> 00:37:07.059 We want to have less of our sin and more of Jesus. 00:37:08.120 --> 00:37:09.300 Please, we pray. 00:37:10.220 --> 00:37:16.700 May you grow in us this godly grief at the ways in which we offend others and offend you. 00:37:17.480 --> 00:37:22.000 That we might, through godly grief, repent and have more of Christ. 00:37:22.000 --> 00:37:27.619 We pray, please, that you might grow us as Christians. 00:37:28.360 --> 00:37:33.880 That we might be increasingly humble and willing to serve one another. 00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:37.940 And increasingly persuaded of your glory and your goodness. 00:37:37.940 --> 00:37:48.099 And so, Lord, we want to pray this morning for anybody who maybe hasn't even experienced the forgiveness of the Lord Jesus for the very first time. 00:37:48.760 --> 00:37:50.720 How important that is, Lord. 00:37:51.380 --> 00:37:53.320 And so, we pray that they might turn to you. 00:37:54.740 --> 00:38:01.800 And we pray also maybe for an individual Christian who is holding on to something they shouldn't be. 00:38:02.880 --> 00:38:04.519 Please, Lord, we pray this morning. 00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:12.920 May you give them godly grief that they might turn in repentance and receive salvation and wholeness from the Lord Jesus. 00:38:13.759 --> 00:38:14.759 In whose name we pray. 00:38:15.480 --> 00:38:15.739 Amen.