WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.599 Well, good morning, church. It's good to be with you all this morning. Would you turn with me to 2 Chronicles, chapter 33. 00:00:10.000 --> 00:00:19.660 2 Chronicles 33, that's page 357 in the Pew Bible. As we continue our series in this Old Testament book of Chronicles this summer, we're in chapter 33. 00:00:19.660 --> 00:00:30.800 So as we turn there, I wonder, if you were to sum up the Christian life in one word, which word would you choose? 00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:38.740 Well, on the one hand, you would be correct if you chose the word Christ, right? Jesus Himself. 00:00:39.460 --> 00:00:45.240 Christianity is all about the person and work of the Lord Jesus. But let's say you had to choose one more word in addition to that one. 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:48.760 Which one would you pick to sum up the Christian life? 00:00:49.659 --> 00:00:53.559 What did you say, Dorothy? Evangelism. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:55.519 Let's do it. What else? Anybody else? 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:58.079 Forgiveness. That's a good one. 00:00:59.819 --> 00:01:08.699 Faith, love, hope, obedience, good works, suffering, family, is that what you said, Danny? 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:10.599 Failure, yeah. 00:01:10.599 --> 00:01:16.239 Well, you know, it's interesting that Martin Luther, when he wrote his 95 Theses, he wrote this. 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.219 He said, this is his first of his 95 Theses. 00:01:21.179 --> 00:01:30.500 He says, when our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, repent, he willed that the whole life of believers should be repentance. 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:30.900 Repentance. 00:01:32.099 --> 00:01:38.120 Now, there's a word that sums up the Christian life, at least according to Luther and to many saints before him. 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:40.040 Repentance. 00:01:41.920 --> 00:01:49.200 Now, I imagine you could attend many religious gatherings, many church services even, and never even hear the word repentance. 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:58.400 You know, we can shy away from language of repentance because the word sort of sounds stuffy and grim and loaded with false guilt and empty religion. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:02.700 And I think that's a real shame, and it's a loss. 00:02:04.140 --> 00:02:10.420 Because the biblical concept of repentance is just brimming with hope. 00:02:10.419 --> 00:02:19.599 If we really understood repentance, we'd see that it's like a prison sentence being lifted. 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:25.819 It's like windows being opened and the fresh breeze filling the room. 00:02:27.339 --> 00:02:28.659 It's like a new chapter. 00:02:28.839 --> 00:02:29.779 It's like a fresh start. 00:02:29.780 --> 00:02:37.000 So I wonder, friends, are you in need of a new chapter today, a fresh start? 00:02:38.639 --> 00:02:44.020 And perhaps we need to consider afresh the biblical concept of repentance. 00:02:45.539 --> 00:02:47.080 Do you know what this word means? 00:02:48.139 --> 00:02:49.580 Does it fill you with hope? 00:02:52.060 --> 00:02:53.920 Well, that's what our text today is all about. 00:02:54.539 --> 00:02:58.680 It's a window into this rich biblical reality of repentance. 00:02:58.680 --> 00:03:03.879 Second Chronicles chapter 33 is the story of Manasseh. 00:03:04.680 --> 00:03:10.980 And as we'll see, Manasseh is notorious in the story of the Old Testament and not in a good way. 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:15.040 So as we turn to this chapter, let's pray and then we'll dive in. 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:15.800 Would you pray with me? 00:03:16.840 --> 00:03:21.939 Father, help us to understand what it is your Spirit is inviting us into through this passage, 00:03:22.100 --> 00:03:26.159 these great and deep spiritual truths that lead us into your very heart. 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:33.699 God, thank you that your Word is living and active and abundant and overflowing with the revelation of yourself 00:03:33.699 --> 00:03:38.419 so that we might know you and be who you've created us and redeemed us to be. 00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:41.019 So do that work now, we pray, by your Spirit. 00:03:41.599 --> 00:03:43.400 For Christ's sake, amen. 00:03:43.400 --> 00:03:50.060 So the first thing we see in 2 Chronicles 33 is our need for repentance, the need for repentance. 00:03:50.200 --> 00:03:52.460 Let me read verses 1 through 11. 00:03:52.980 --> 00:03:54.080 We'll set things up. 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:58.320 Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:06.939 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 00:04:07.640 --> 00:04:12.220 For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had broken down. 00:04:12.600 --> 00:04:19.220 And he erected altars to the Baals and made Ashteroth and worshipped all the hosts of heaven and served them. 00:04:19.220 --> 00:04:23.280 And he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, 00:04:23.400 --> 00:04:25.560 In Jerusalem shall my name be forever. 00:04:26.320 --> 00:04:30.760 And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:35.340 And he burned his sons as an offering in the valley of the son of Hinnom, 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:42.700 and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. 00:04:42.699 --> 00:04:48.860 He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 00:04:50.599 --> 00:04:54.819 And the carved image of the idol that he had made, he set in the house of God, 00:04:55.360 --> 00:04:57.740 of which God said to David and to Solomon his son, 00:04:58.120 --> 00:05:01.939 In this house and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, 00:05:02.039 --> 00:05:07.319 I will put my name forever, and I will no more remove the foot of Israel from the land that I appointed for your fathers, 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:11.800 if only they will be careful to do all that I have commanded them, 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.480 all the law, the statutes, and the rules given through Moses. 00:05:15.719 --> 00:05:20.259 Manasseh led Judah and the inhabitants of Israel, of Jerusalem, astray, 00:05:20.980 --> 00:05:25.219 to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel. 00:05:26.259 --> 00:05:29.899 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but they paid no attention. 00:05:29.899 --> 00:05:35.739 Therefore the Lord brought upon them the commanders of the army of the king of Assyria, 00:05:36.139 --> 00:05:42.519 who captured Manasseh with hooks and bound him with chains of bronze and brought him to Babylon. 00:05:45.439 --> 00:05:47.759 Well, as you might have guessed from these verses, 00:05:48.239 --> 00:05:52.859 Manasseh is remembered as one of the worst kings in the history of Israel. 00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:56.919 He has one of the longest reigns, 55 years, 00:05:56.920 --> 00:06:02.800 and for most of that long reign, he undoes nearly all of the good that his father Hezekiah had done. 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:09.780 And now when we look at a figure like Manasseh, it's easy to think, right, that we are so not like him. 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:16.200 We read about his evil and his idolatry, and we can think that we're doing pretty good in comparison, right? 00:06:17.200 --> 00:06:21.240 But you know, rather than comparing our outward deeds to Manasseh's outward deeds, 00:06:21.420 --> 00:06:23.420 let's press a little deeper into the heart. 00:06:23.420 --> 00:06:29.500 And when we do that, I think we see two heart dynamics in Manasseh that are actually true of everyone. 00:06:30.400 --> 00:06:36.180 And so through Manasseh, we see why you and I and all of us have a deep need for this thing we call repentance. 00:06:37.280 --> 00:06:39.400 And that first heart dynamic is this. 00:06:39.780 --> 00:06:43.400 It's that our idolatry leads to the Lord's anger. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:45.759 The end of verse 6 says, 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:50.339 Manasseh did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 00:06:50.439 --> 00:06:52.120 That is, provoking the Lord to anger. 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:57.360 Manasseh, you see, chose to worship things that were not the one true God. 00:06:57.599 --> 00:07:02.420 He chose created things, gods of human invention, and worshipped them instead. 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:08.740 And now on the surface, it's easy to think that we're not so silly, right, as to worship statues, literally idols anymore. 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:14.160 But the reality is today, we still worship created things rather than our Creator. 00:07:14.900 --> 00:07:18.280 We take finite things and make them ultimate things in our lives. 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:24.199 Here's maybe a diagnostic question for you and for me. 00:07:25.740 --> 00:07:33.920 Is there something in your life other than God that if you lost it, you wouldn't be just sad or heartbroken, but you'd be devastated? 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:37.100 You wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning. 00:07:38.840 --> 00:07:41.020 Or maybe a slightly different way of asking that question. 00:07:41.120 --> 00:07:52.420 Is there something that so shapes your identity, your sense of self, that if you lost it or if it was threatened, you'd be completely disoriented, completely wrecked? 00:07:54.160 --> 00:07:57.580 What's the thing that kind of props you up as you? 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:00.920 Maybe it's your profession. 00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:07.199 You know, you've worked a lot of years to get where you are, and now you kind of can't imagine yourself without it. 00:08:08.400 --> 00:08:09.759 Or maybe it's a relationship. 00:08:10.300 --> 00:08:15.480 Or maybe it's just the approval of others, your family, your children, your co-workers, your peers. 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:19.580 Maybe it's even your sense of being a good person. 00:08:19.740 --> 00:08:23.500 You've labored long in your life to be a person of character, of moral worth. 00:08:23.500 --> 00:08:28.339 And that is the thing that sort of establishes your sense of self. 00:08:28.339 --> 00:08:39.240 Whatever your identity is, whatever it is, that if you lost it, you'd lose yourself, that's your God. 00:08:41.159 --> 00:08:48.159 You know, in these modern-day idols of our hearts, they not only kind of shape our identity, they also dictate our actions. 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:57.179 You know, much like previous kings that we've seen in the book of 2 Chronicles, Manasseh probably didn't wake up one morning and say, 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:00.139 you know, I think I'm going to do all the things that are listed in verse 6. 00:09:01.219 --> 00:09:02.240 What am I going to do today? 00:09:02.299 --> 00:09:04.579 I think I'll sacrifice my children to the Baals. 00:09:05.539 --> 00:09:09.659 I think I'll go out and perform some sorcery and start engaging in necromancy. 00:09:09.659 --> 00:09:15.039 You know, that's not where it starts, but that's where it leads. 00:09:17.939 --> 00:09:20.959 Most of us start by saying, I want to work hard and get ahead. 00:09:21.059 --> 00:09:23.339 I want to do what it takes to be successful in my career. 00:09:23.480 --> 00:09:24.339 I want to make a difference. 00:09:24.439 --> 00:09:25.500 I want to make my mark. 00:09:26.079 --> 00:09:31.559 But when the career or the relationship at last becomes Lord in our life, when it becomes our identity, 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:35.939 then we find that we're doing all sorts of things to serve it and to uphold it. 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:42.640 Then we find that we're doing all sorts of things to serve it and to uphold it that we would never have dreamed doing before. 00:09:44.800 --> 00:09:53.200 We start out thinking that, you know, well, maybe I'd have to fudge these reports. 00:09:53.640 --> 00:09:56.000 You know, that's not where we started, but that's where we end up. 00:09:56.640 --> 00:10:00.760 You don't start out thinking, oh, I'm going to compromise on all of my boundaries and personal integrity. 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:06.700 But three, four, five years in, we find we're doing things we wouldn't have considered possible. 00:10:10.139 --> 00:10:17.759 And, you know, not only does that place we end up in, not only does that wound our souls very deeply, 00:10:19.439 --> 00:10:21.779 it also alienates us from God. 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:30.899 By turning away from the true God to idols, the Bible is very clear that we put ourselves at enmity with God. 00:10:31.959 --> 00:10:36.980 We place ourselves under what the Bible calls God's anger or God's wrath. 00:10:38.459 --> 00:10:44.240 Again, verse 6 says that the Lord was provoked to anger at Manasseh. 00:10:45.819 --> 00:10:49.799 Now, remember, God's anger is not like human anger. 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:51.979 Human anger is what? 00:10:52.099 --> 00:10:55.879 It's uncontrolled, it's fickle, it's self-centered, it's destructive. 00:10:56.139 --> 00:10:58.120 Human anger rarely does anything good. 00:10:59.439 --> 00:11:04.099 But God's wrath, God's anger is nothing like that. 00:11:06.099 --> 00:11:13.759 God's anger is His perfectly just, perfectly controlled opposition 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:20.059 to all that dishonors Him and all that defaces the good world that He's made. 00:11:22.179 --> 00:11:27.179 God's anger, God's wrath is God's perfect no to evil and wrong. 00:11:30.899 --> 00:11:36.759 You see, the great tragedy of idolatry, it's not just the kind of horizontal consequences it creates 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:43.059 between us and the things around us, but it's the vertical enmity it creates between us and God. 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:49.279 In other words, idolatry doesn't just put us out of joint with creation much more tragically and much more seriously, 00:11:49.500 --> 00:11:51.679 it puts us at a joint with our Creator. 00:11:51.679 --> 00:12:00.059 And that's the first heart dynamic we see in Manasseh is that idolatry leads to this enmity with God. 00:12:00.139 --> 00:12:01.319 It leads to God's anger. 00:12:01.979 --> 00:12:07.399 The second dynamic that we see, we see in verses 10 and verse 11. 00:12:08.739 --> 00:12:13.079 And it's this, it's that there's a refusal to heed God's warnings, 00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:16.559 which leads to God giving us over to our sin. 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:18.359 Verse 10 reads, 00:12:18.959 --> 00:12:23.719 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and to His people, but they paid no attention. 00:12:25.299 --> 00:12:31.539 God, in His great kindness towards Manasseh as He's performing all this evil and leading the people astray, 00:12:31.619 --> 00:12:34.879 God, in His great kindness, calls out to them through the prophets, 00:12:36.359 --> 00:12:40.119 warns them that they're rushing headlong towards a cliff's edge, 00:12:41.119 --> 00:12:43.079 but they turn a deaf ear. 00:12:43.939 --> 00:12:45.039 They ignored God. 00:12:46.559 --> 00:12:51.439 And then after that patient calling and beckoning and entreating, 00:12:51.579 --> 00:12:54.439 after the many years of God pursuing them, 00:12:55.339 --> 00:13:02.879 at last God, in His justice, gives them over to the very gods that they had chosen to worship. 00:13:03.959 --> 00:13:05.319 And that's what we see in verse 11. 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:10.719 Manasseh and the people, they took to themselves the gods of the nations, 00:13:10.719 --> 00:13:14.119 and so God gives them over to those very nations. 00:13:14.120 --> 00:13:22.220 Manasseh is defeated by the Assyrians and taken away as a captive to one of the Assyrian outposts in the city of Babylon, 00:13:22.460 --> 00:13:25.500 which at this point in history, the kingdom of Assyria controlled. 00:13:27.659 --> 00:13:32.440 You know, perhaps one of the most terrifying things that could happen to us as human beings 00:13:32.440 --> 00:13:40.580 is for God to give us exactly what we want when what we want is something apart from Him. 00:13:44.460 --> 00:13:47.900 It led Manasseh to total slavery. 00:13:47.899 --> 00:13:52.980 He thought he was choosing to worship the gods of the nations, 00:13:53.059 --> 00:13:54.759 and for a while it worked, or so he thought, 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.039 but after refusing God's gracious warnings, 00:13:57.340 --> 00:13:59.100 God eventually gave him over to those gods, 00:13:59.220 --> 00:14:00.959 and now he had no choice. 00:14:02.360 --> 00:14:04.319 Now he was captive to them. 00:14:04.320 --> 00:14:12.460 So why do we need repentance? 00:14:15.340 --> 00:14:20.440 We need repentance because the fallen human heart is at enmity with God. 00:14:21.379 --> 00:14:23.080 We worship idols of our own choosing, 00:14:23.200 --> 00:14:26.980 and this not only puts us on a direct path to spiritual slavery and self-destruction, 00:14:26.980 --> 00:14:30.620 it also puts us under God's just and eternal no, 00:14:31.740 --> 00:14:36.060 which is a darkness of separation from God Himself, 00:14:36.820 --> 00:14:40.500 who is the only source of lasting joy. 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:46.000 So is there hope for us? 00:14:48.259 --> 00:14:49.899 You know, you can live for a long time, 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:54.039 and you can kind of believe in your head and say things like, 00:14:54.320 --> 00:14:56.659 ah, I'm not perfect, I'm not a good person, 00:14:56.980 --> 00:15:00.779 and you know, what we mean by that a lot of the times is, 00:15:01.240 --> 00:15:02.899 ah, I'm just like everybody else, right? 00:15:02.980 --> 00:15:03.659 Nobody's perfect. 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:07.820 But you know, we can say things like that 00:15:07.820 --> 00:15:11.420 without ever realizing yet 00:15:11.420 --> 00:15:14.560 the real gravity of our sin, 00:15:15.420 --> 00:15:18.039 the real gravity of our spiritual condition. 00:15:21.519 --> 00:15:25.700 But what happens when the curtain is drawn back 00:15:25.700 --> 00:15:29.460 and you see yourself for the first time really, 00:15:29.960 --> 00:15:34.620 you know, when the lights in the basement of your heart are flipped on 00:15:34.620 --> 00:15:36.960 and you kind of see all that's been harboring there 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:38.280 and scuttling around in there, 00:15:38.340 --> 00:15:41.280 when you see the depth of your sin and selfishness, 00:15:41.360 --> 00:15:41.879 what then? 00:15:44.840 --> 00:15:47.420 What then when you realize that you've completely blown it 00:15:47.420 --> 00:15:51.000 and that in the face of God's holiness and justice, 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:53.240 you simply don't stand a chance? 00:15:55.259 --> 00:15:57.559 When you come to yourself one day and realize 00:15:57.559 --> 00:16:00.460 that you've actually gotten everything you wanted, 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:02.899 but you're actually not free, 00:16:03.340 --> 00:16:04.200 you're empty, 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:05.720 and you're enslaved. 00:16:05.720 --> 00:16:09.500 Is there any hope for us then? 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:15.120 And this is where 2 Chronicles chapter 33 00:16:15.120 --> 00:16:18.120 becomes a chapter of great hope for us. 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:23.620 For those of us who know how dark our hearts can really be, 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.460 because at this moment, 00:16:27.560 --> 00:16:29.360 repentance becomes the window 00:16:29.360 --> 00:16:31.420 that opens up to the sun. 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:35.519 Repentance presents itself as the fresh start 00:16:35.519 --> 00:16:36.799 in the new chapter. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:40.299 So we've seen in our chapter 00:16:40.299 --> 00:16:42.219 the need for repentance. 00:16:42.579 --> 00:16:43.860 We now come to the second point, 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:45.659 which is the nature of repentance. 00:16:46.319 --> 00:16:47.459 The nature of repentance. 00:16:47.620 --> 00:16:49.000 Let's read just the next two verses, 00:16:49.139 --> 00:16:50.360 verses 12 and 13. 00:16:51.599 --> 00:16:52.439 Verse 12, 00:16:52.440 --> 00:17:18.440 Then Manasseh knew 00:17:18.440 --> 00:17:21.460 that the Lord was God. 00:17:21.460 --> 00:17:26.120 What exactly is repentance? 00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:28.900 Well, according to verse 12, 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:30.980 it has two aspects. 00:17:31.100 --> 00:17:31.720 On the one hand, 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:32.319 the text says, 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:34.819 Manasseh humbled himself greatly 00:17:34.819 --> 00:17:36.920 before the God of his fathers. 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:37.980 You see, 00:17:38.039 --> 00:17:39.180 Manasseh came to admit 00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:40.920 that he had made a ruin of things, 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:43.400 and he let go 00:17:43.400 --> 00:17:45.079 of his self-justification 00:17:45.079 --> 00:17:46.240 and his excuses. 00:17:47.140 --> 00:17:48.660 He let go of all the ways 00:17:48.660 --> 00:17:49.860 he might have tried to minimize 00:17:49.859 --> 00:17:50.839 what he had done. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:53.779 He confessed that he was guilty 00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:56.439 and deserved nothing from God. 00:17:58.019 --> 00:18:00.000 He humbled himself greatly 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:02.139 before the God of his fathers. 00:18:03.299 --> 00:18:04.099 And then secondly, 00:18:04.240 --> 00:18:04.599 it says, 00:18:04.699 --> 00:18:05.879 He entreated the favor 00:18:05.879 --> 00:18:07.000 of the Lord his God. 00:18:08.359 --> 00:18:08.799 You know, 00:18:08.819 --> 00:18:09.719 it's one thing to admit 00:18:09.719 --> 00:18:10.479 that you've blown it. 00:18:10.519 --> 00:18:11.399 It's another thing 00:18:11.399 --> 00:18:12.599 to cry out for help. 00:18:13.879 --> 00:18:15.319 Simply wallowing in the mess 00:18:15.319 --> 00:18:16.119 of our own making, 00:18:16.119 --> 00:18:17.259 that can be just another form 00:18:17.259 --> 00:18:18.139 of self-centeredness, 00:18:18.219 --> 00:18:18.639 can't it? 00:18:19.919 --> 00:18:21.439 But calling out to another, 00:18:21.599 --> 00:18:22.619 calling out to God 00:18:22.619 --> 00:18:23.539 for rescue, 00:18:24.579 --> 00:18:27.319 that's what genuine repentance is. 00:18:27.939 --> 00:18:30.419 It's turning from ourselves 00:18:30.419 --> 00:18:31.099 to God. 00:18:32.179 --> 00:18:33.639 That's the nature of repentance. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:36.159 And there are plenty of prayers 00:18:36.159 --> 00:18:37.459 in Scripture that show us 00:18:37.459 --> 00:18:38.459 what this looks like. 00:18:39.679 --> 00:18:40.619 Psalm 51 being 00:18:40.619 --> 00:18:42.279 one of the most well-known. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:44.099 In Psalm 51, 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:44.740 David prays, 00:18:44.779 --> 00:18:46.059 Have mercy on me, O God, 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:47.719 according to your steadfast love. 00:18:48.719 --> 00:18:50.379 According to your abundant mercy, 00:18:50.579 --> 00:18:52.079 blot out my transgressions. 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:54.019 Wash me thoroughly 00:18:54.019 --> 00:18:54.899 from my iniquity 00:18:54.899 --> 00:18:56.439 and cleanse me from my sin. 00:18:57.639 --> 00:18:59.379 For I know my transgressions 00:18:59.379 --> 00:19:01.319 and my sin is ever before me. 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:02.539 Purge me with hyssop 00:19:02.539 --> 00:19:03.480 and I shall be clean. 00:19:04.480 --> 00:19:05.039 Wash me 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:06.299 and I shall be whiter than snow. 00:19:08.839 --> 00:19:09.379 You know, friends, 00:19:09.419 --> 00:19:10.339 the beauty of Scripture, 00:19:10.899 --> 00:19:12.000 the beauty of this Word 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:13.039 that God has inspired 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:14.180 and preserved for us 00:19:14.180 --> 00:19:15.119 is that you can take 00:19:15.119 --> 00:19:16.180 these words, 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:18.079 like the words of Psalm 51, 00:19:18.619 --> 00:19:19.839 and you can pray them 00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:20.399 as your own. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:22.440 God's giving you, 00:19:22.539 --> 00:19:23.000 as it were, 00:19:23.539 --> 00:19:24.639 the very path 00:19:24.639 --> 00:19:25.339 to walk on 00:19:25.339 --> 00:19:26.180 back to Himself. 00:19:27.399 --> 00:19:28.759 How kind of God 00:19:28.759 --> 00:19:30.659 to give us this Word. 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:33.180 So you can take these words 00:19:33.180 --> 00:19:34.279 and pray them as your own. 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:35.960 You know, repentance 00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:37.920 isn't some mysterious 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:39.339 spiritual practice 00:19:39.339 --> 00:19:41.959 for the religious elite, 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:42.500 right? 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:45.359 It's simply the cry of a heart 00:19:45.359 --> 00:19:47.059 that knows it needs 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:48.000 God's forgiveness 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:49.599 and God's freedom. 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:53.959 But you know, 00:19:54.019 --> 00:19:55.599 we wouldn't really understand 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:57.039 the nature of repentance 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.939 without seeing the very next point 00:19:59.939 --> 00:20:02.919 that 2 Chronicles 33 makes. 00:20:03.799 --> 00:20:04.919 2 Chronicles begins 00:20:04.919 --> 00:20:05.480 by showing us 00:20:05.480 --> 00:20:06.379 the need for repentance 00:20:06.380 --> 00:20:07.220 and then the nature 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:07.720 of repentance, 00:20:07.980 --> 00:20:08.700 but at the heart 00:20:08.700 --> 00:20:09.780 of this passage 00:20:09.780 --> 00:20:12.940 is the God of repentance. 00:20:15.260 --> 00:20:16.360 The God of repentance. 00:20:16.440 --> 00:20:17.640 Look again at verse 13. 00:20:17.640 --> 00:20:20.120 Manasseh prayed to God 00:20:20.120 --> 00:20:21.180 and God was moved 00:20:21.180 --> 00:20:22.160 by his entreaty 00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:24.060 and heard his plea 00:20:24.060 --> 00:20:25.000 and brought him again 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:25.640 to Jerusalem 00:20:25.640 --> 00:20:26.480 and into his kingdom. 00:20:26.600 --> 00:20:27.759 Then Manasseh knew 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:29.480 that the Lord was God. 00:20:31.380 --> 00:20:32.360 Friends, the God 00:20:32.360 --> 00:20:33.900 who steps forth 00:20:33.900 --> 00:20:35.060 from this chapter 00:20:35.060 --> 00:20:36.720 is a God 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:38.920 who is rich in mercy, 00:20:39.860 --> 00:20:41.720 who hears the prayer 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:43.120 of every sinner 00:20:43.120 --> 00:20:43.960 who repents. 00:20:46.100 --> 00:20:47.000 Did you come here 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:47.460 this morning 00:20:47.460 --> 00:20:48.259 thinking that God 00:20:48.259 --> 00:20:49.579 only hears the prayers 00:20:49.579 --> 00:20:51.039 of so-called good people 00:20:51.039 --> 00:20:52.339 or righteous people? 00:20:53.940 --> 00:20:55.220 I have news for you. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:57.339 There are no good people. 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:00.039 There are no righteous people. 00:21:02.700 --> 00:21:05.259 Listen to what Isaiah 57, 15 says. 00:21:07.619 --> 00:21:08.880 The prophet Isaiah says, 00:21:08.980 --> 00:21:10.059 For thus says the one 00:21:10.059 --> 00:21:11.460 who is high and lifted up, 00:21:11.519 --> 00:21:12.660 who inhabits eternity, 00:21:12.980 --> 00:21:14.039 whose name is holy. 00:21:14.819 --> 00:21:15.599 That's God. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.319 God says, 00:21:17.859 --> 00:21:18.899 I dwell in the high 00:21:18.899 --> 00:21:19.799 and holy place 00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:22.219 and also with him 00:21:22.219 --> 00:21:24.599 who is of a contrite 00:21:24.599 --> 00:21:26.159 and lowly spirit 00:21:26.159 --> 00:21:28.679 to revive the spirit 00:21:28.679 --> 00:21:29.339 of the lowly 00:21:29.339 --> 00:21:31.279 and to revive the heart 00:21:31.279 --> 00:21:32.179 of the contrite. 00:21:34.219 --> 00:21:35.599 God doesn't dwell 00:21:35.599 --> 00:21:36.799 in the midst of the righteous. 00:21:37.000 --> 00:21:38.039 He dwells in the midst 00:21:38.039 --> 00:21:39.039 of the repentant 00:21:39.039 --> 00:21:40.199 and the humble 00:21:40.199 --> 00:21:41.299 and the contrite. 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:44.519 God is an ocean of mercy 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:46.619 towards those who turn to him 00:21:46.619 --> 00:21:48.019 in humble repentance. 00:21:50.519 --> 00:21:51.659 Do you think 00:21:51.659 --> 00:21:53.399 this morning 00:21:53.399 --> 00:21:55.559 that he would not accept you? 00:21:58.399 --> 00:21:59.259 Do you think 00:21:59.259 --> 00:22:00.339 because of what you've done 00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:01.379 or who you've been 00:22:01.379 --> 00:22:05.119 that God would turn you away? 00:22:05.119 --> 00:22:08.019 And the truth is, 00:22:08.119 --> 00:22:08.219 friend, 00:22:08.279 --> 00:22:09.719 God knows everything about you. 00:22:11.179 --> 00:22:12.359 He knows your good deeds 00:22:12.359 --> 00:22:13.199 and your triumphs 00:22:13.199 --> 00:22:13.859 and your successes, 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:14.719 but he also knows 00:22:14.719 --> 00:22:15.699 the dark thoughts 00:22:15.699 --> 00:22:17.719 and the selfishness 00:22:17.719 --> 00:22:19.379 and the cursing 00:22:19.379 --> 00:22:20.619 and the jealousy 00:22:20.619 --> 00:22:22.000 and the pride. 00:22:23.159 --> 00:22:24.919 Everything you've tried to hide, 00:22:25.579 --> 00:22:27.159 your creator sees it all. 00:22:27.160 --> 00:22:30.680 But still, 00:22:30.840 --> 00:22:32.019 do you think 00:22:32.019 --> 00:22:33.900 that he won't accept you 00:22:33.900 --> 00:22:34.720 if you turn to him? 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:37.000 Do you think 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:38.300 that there's no fresh start 00:22:38.300 --> 00:22:38.700 for you, 00:22:38.779 --> 00:22:39.680 no new chapter, 00:22:40.019 --> 00:22:41.040 no beginning again, 00:22:41.140 --> 00:22:41.660 no healing, 00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:42.279 no hope? 00:22:43.380 --> 00:22:43.660 Friends, 00:22:43.700 --> 00:22:44.460 if that is you, 00:22:44.580 --> 00:22:46.140 look again at Manasseh. 00:22:48.120 --> 00:22:49.259 What did God do 00:22:49.259 --> 00:22:50.800 with this notorious 00:22:50.800 --> 00:22:52.340 moral failure? 00:22:52.339 --> 00:22:57.659 When Manasseh humbled himself 00:22:57.659 --> 00:22:58.399 and turned to God, 00:22:58.500 --> 00:22:59.899 did he crash upon 00:22:59.899 --> 00:23:01.419 the rocks of God's justice? 00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:04.240 Was his soul turned back 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:05.240 and refused entry? 00:23:06.240 --> 00:23:06.839 No. 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:09.939 In mercy, 00:23:10.720 --> 00:23:13.319 God received him home. 00:23:14.839 --> 00:23:15.919 God welcomed him 00:23:15.919 --> 00:23:17.039 into the safe harbor 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:17.839 of his love. 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:20.619 The Father embraced him 00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:22.119 and reinstated him 00:23:22.119 --> 00:23:23.339 as his child. 00:23:27.159 --> 00:23:27.559 Friend, 00:23:27.619 --> 00:23:28.639 there is room for you 00:23:28.639 --> 00:23:30.759 around the table of God 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:31.819 no matter how great 00:23:31.819 --> 00:23:32.919 your sins may be. 00:23:34.439 --> 00:23:35.779 He has a seat for you 00:23:35.779 --> 00:23:36.639 and for everyone 00:23:36.639 --> 00:23:37.399 who repents. 00:23:40.359 --> 00:23:41.579 I think the most powerful 00:23:41.579 --> 00:23:42.659 part of this whole passage 00:23:42.659 --> 00:23:43.359 is found at the end 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.119 of verse 13 00:23:44.119 --> 00:23:47.319 where the chronicler says, 00:23:48.039 --> 00:23:49.659 then Manasseh knew 00:23:49.659 --> 00:23:51.259 that the Lord was God. 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:52.679 Then, 00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:53.719 then, 00:23:54.459 --> 00:23:55.739 when he had experienced 00:23:55.739 --> 00:23:56.779 God's radical, 00:23:57.439 --> 00:23:58.259 scandalous, 00:23:58.799 --> 00:24:00.519 prodigal grace, 00:24:00.959 --> 00:24:02.799 then Manasseh knew 00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:04.379 that the Lord was God. 00:24:04.679 --> 00:24:05.379 That's, 00:24:06.339 --> 00:24:07.819 when you really see 00:24:07.819 --> 00:24:08.699 who God is, 00:24:10.579 --> 00:24:11.819 that's where 00:24:11.819 --> 00:24:13.819 the godness of God 00:24:13.819 --> 00:24:15.279 burns the brightest 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:18.559 in the radical forgiveness 00:24:18.559 --> 00:24:19.299 of sinners 00:24:19.299 --> 00:24:20.420 through his own 00:24:20.420 --> 00:24:22.019 sheer mercy. 00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:25.579 So, friend, 00:24:25.639 --> 00:24:27.099 if you have not experienced 00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.799 that radical mercy 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:30.899 in repentance, 00:24:31.899 --> 00:24:36.220 you do not yet know 00:24:36.220 --> 00:24:38.779 this great God of the Bible. 00:24:38.779 --> 00:24:40.819 He is greater 00:24:40.819 --> 00:24:42.559 and more merciful 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:44.259 and more kind 00:24:44.259 --> 00:24:45.799 than you could ever imagine. 00:24:49.940 --> 00:24:50.420 Now, 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:51.500 as we consider 00:24:51.500 --> 00:24:53.079 this Old Testament text, 00:24:53.519 --> 00:24:54.819 as we consider Manasseh 00:24:54.819 --> 00:24:56.139 receiving this radical 00:24:56.139 --> 00:24:57.139 grace and forgiveness, 00:24:59.039 --> 00:24:59.279 you know, 00:24:59.299 --> 00:25:00.460 it's true for Manasseh, 00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:02.059 living as he was 00:25:02.059 --> 00:25:02.799 under the Old Covenant, 00:25:02.940 --> 00:25:03.519 that, you know, 00:25:03.559 --> 00:25:04.579 he only knew 00:25:04.579 --> 00:25:05.740 at that time 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:06.559 in redemptive history 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:08.720 that God had forgiven him. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:11.799 But the saints 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:12.559 of the Old Testament 00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:13.799 could only see 00:25:13.799 --> 00:25:14.779 in the faintest, 00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:15.839 dimmest way 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:18.799 how God would accomplish 00:25:18.799 --> 00:25:20.159 that forgiveness. 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:23.579 But from the perspective 00:25:23.579 --> 00:25:24.940 of the New Testament today, 00:25:25.419 --> 00:25:28.419 we see just how radical 00:25:28.419 --> 00:25:30.879 God's mercy truly is, 00:25:31.319 --> 00:25:32.980 just how central it is 00:25:32.980 --> 00:25:35.079 to his own being. 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:39.539 After all, 00:25:39.619 --> 00:25:39.740 you know, 00:25:39.819 --> 00:25:40.779 you read an Old Testament 00:25:40.779 --> 00:25:41.460 text like this 00:25:41.460 --> 00:25:41.899 and you think, 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:42.220 well, 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:44.419 what became 00:25:44.419 --> 00:25:46.039 of God's just anger 00:25:46.039 --> 00:25:47.139 against Manasseh's 00:25:47.139 --> 00:25:48.079 idolatry and evil? 00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:49.299 Right? 00:25:50.059 --> 00:25:51.139 Did God just decide 00:25:51.139 --> 00:25:52.399 to stop being just 00:25:52.399 --> 00:25:53.279 and righteous and holy? 00:25:54.759 --> 00:25:55.740 Did God just sort of 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:56.859 stop being God 00:25:56.859 --> 00:25:57.839 in order to be merciful? 00:26:00.579 --> 00:26:01.399 And that, of course, 00:26:01.460 --> 00:26:02.119 is a great tension 00:26:02.119 --> 00:26:02.619 that runs throughout 00:26:02.619 --> 00:26:03.619 the whole Old Testament. 00:26:03.619 --> 00:26:05.079 How can God be both 00:26:05.079 --> 00:26:07.099 holy and merciful? 00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:08.199 How can God be both 00:26:08.199 --> 00:26:10.719 just and the one 00:26:10.719 --> 00:26:11.559 who justifies, 00:26:11.659 --> 00:26:13.259 who forgives sinners? 00:26:17.259 --> 00:26:17.959 And friends, 00:26:18.039 --> 00:26:20.339 that great dilemma 00:26:20.339 --> 00:26:21.239 that runs through 00:26:21.239 --> 00:26:21.959 the Old Testament 00:26:21.959 --> 00:26:23.619 and sits there 00:26:23.619 --> 00:26:24.979 like a great question, 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:27.279 begging for an answer, 00:26:27.279 --> 00:26:27.420 answer. 00:26:30.339 --> 00:26:30.740 Friends, 00:26:30.819 --> 00:26:31.799 the answer finally 00:26:31.799 --> 00:26:32.660 comes to light 00:26:32.660 --> 00:26:34.899 when in the fullness 00:26:34.899 --> 00:26:35.660 of time, 00:26:36.879 --> 00:26:38.139 God became incarnate 00:26:38.139 --> 00:26:38.700 in the person 00:26:38.700 --> 00:26:39.660 of Jesus Christ. 00:26:41.399 --> 00:26:43.279 Because in human flesh, 00:26:43.839 --> 00:26:44.259 God, 00:26:44.379 --> 00:26:44.779 in Jesus, 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:46.460 would bear human sin 00:26:46.460 --> 00:26:47.819 and He would bear 00:26:47.819 --> 00:26:48.599 the wrath 00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:49.299 that human sin 00:26:49.299 --> 00:26:50.440 deserved on the cross. 00:26:50.440 --> 00:26:51.420 God's justice 00:26:51.420 --> 00:26:52.960 would be fully displayed 00:26:52.960 --> 00:26:55.880 in wrath against sin, 00:26:56.519 --> 00:26:58.400 wrath against human sin. 00:26:59.539 --> 00:27:00.840 All the punishment 00:27:00.840 --> 00:27:01.640 that sin deserved 00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:02.860 was poured out 00:27:02.860 --> 00:27:07.480 so that in exchange, 00:27:08.620 --> 00:27:09.100 God, 00:27:10.440 --> 00:27:11.880 while still being just, 00:27:13.180 --> 00:27:14.000 could extend 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:16.440 utter free forgiveness 00:27:16.440 --> 00:27:18.120 to everyone 00:27:18.120 --> 00:27:19.299 who humbles themselves 00:27:19.299 --> 00:27:21.120 and turns to God 00:27:21.120 --> 00:27:22.940 in repentance and faith 00:27:22.940 --> 00:27:24.720 and receives Christ 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:25.259 as their own. 00:27:27.820 --> 00:27:28.680 In other words, 00:27:29.519 --> 00:27:30.340 Manasseh's sin 00:27:30.340 --> 00:27:31.240 and all the saints 00:27:31.240 --> 00:27:32.000 of the Old Testament 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:33.580 and your sins 00:27:33.580 --> 00:27:34.140 and mine 00:27:34.140 --> 00:27:34.580 and the sins 00:27:34.580 --> 00:27:35.980 of everyone who repents, 00:27:36.380 --> 00:27:37.080 they were paid 00:27:37.080 --> 00:27:37.740 by another. 00:27:38.799 --> 00:27:39.440 They were laid 00:27:39.440 --> 00:27:40.720 on Christ at the cross 00:27:40.720 --> 00:27:42.740 and all that remained 00:27:42.740 --> 00:27:43.460 for Manasseh 00:27:43.460 --> 00:27:44.220 and all that remains 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:44.799 for you 00:27:44.799 --> 00:27:45.680 and for me 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:47.279 is God's mercy. 00:27:49.860 --> 00:27:51.019 And so repentance 00:27:51.019 --> 00:27:52.480 really is a fresh start. 00:27:52.580 --> 00:27:53.600 It really is a new chapter. 00:27:53.940 --> 00:27:54.880 It really is a curtain 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:55.600 being torn open 00:27:55.600 --> 00:27:56.160 to the sun. 00:27:57.700 --> 00:27:59.700 And because of who God is, 00:28:00.140 --> 00:28:00.860 because of what God 00:28:00.860 --> 00:28:01.560 has accomplished 00:28:01.560 --> 00:28:02.320 through Jesus, 00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:03.960 this fresh start, 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:04.820 this new chapter, 00:28:04.920 --> 00:28:05.920 this curtain thrown open, 00:28:06.039 --> 00:28:07.519 it's never going to be closed. 00:28:08.480 --> 00:28:08.700 I mean, 00:28:08.720 --> 00:28:09.299 how many times 00:28:09.299 --> 00:28:09.980 have you kind of tried 00:28:09.980 --> 00:28:11.039 to make a good start 00:28:11.039 --> 00:28:12.220 only to fall down again, 00:28:12.400 --> 00:28:12.700 right? 00:28:13.960 --> 00:28:14.820 But you see, 00:28:14.819 --> 00:28:16.460 this clean slate, 00:28:16.839 --> 00:28:18.439 this perfect righteousness 00:28:18.439 --> 00:28:19.399 isn't something 00:28:19.399 --> 00:28:20.519 you're trying to achieve. 00:28:20.599 --> 00:28:21.500 It's something that's given 00:28:21.500 --> 00:28:22.819 to you out of God's mercy. 00:28:26.099 --> 00:28:26.819 So you see, 00:28:26.899 --> 00:28:27.939 when God forgives, 00:28:28.019 --> 00:28:28.980 when God hears 00:28:28.980 --> 00:28:29.799 and accepts us 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:30.819 in His Son, 00:28:30.899 --> 00:28:31.799 in Jesus Christ, 00:28:31.919 --> 00:28:32.879 it's permanent 00:28:32.879 --> 00:28:34.079 and it's final 00:28:34.079 --> 00:28:36.099 and there's no going back. 00:28:38.579 --> 00:28:39.299 Christ died 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:40.759 not just for your past sin 00:28:40.759 --> 00:28:41.759 or your present sin, 00:28:41.879 --> 00:28:43.299 but for all your future sins 00:28:43.299 --> 00:28:43.740 as well, 00:28:44.460 --> 00:28:45.639 they're all covered 00:28:45.639 --> 00:28:47.619 and that ocean 00:28:47.619 --> 00:28:48.879 of God's mercy 00:28:48.879 --> 00:28:51.419 never runs dry. 00:28:52.419 --> 00:28:54.039 You can never hit 00:28:54.039 --> 00:28:54.879 the bottom of it. 00:28:56.299 --> 00:28:57.659 However deep you think 00:28:57.659 --> 00:28:58.940 your sins have carried you, 00:28:59.000 --> 00:29:01.319 His mercy is deeper still. 00:29:03.839 --> 00:29:05.519 This is the God of repentance. 00:29:05.519 --> 00:29:05.759 repentance. 00:29:06.519 --> 00:29:07.500 This is the God 00:29:07.500 --> 00:29:08.099 of the Bible. 00:29:12.019 --> 00:29:12.940 Now before we go 00:29:12.940 --> 00:29:13.660 to the Lord's Supper 00:29:13.660 --> 00:29:14.400 in just a minute 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:15.639 and receive the bread 00:29:15.639 --> 00:29:16.059 and cup 00:29:16.059 --> 00:29:17.339 as signs and seals 00:29:17.339 --> 00:29:18.139 of God's mercy 00:29:18.139 --> 00:29:18.740 in Christ, 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:20.099 why don't we apply 00:29:20.099 --> 00:29:21.119 this message 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:21.859 about repentance 00:29:21.859 --> 00:29:22.740 in two ways? 00:29:23.759 --> 00:29:24.660 And we actually see 00:29:24.660 --> 00:29:25.319 these two ways 00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:26.460 in the rest of our passage. 00:29:27.079 --> 00:29:28.099 First one is this. 00:29:28.599 --> 00:29:29.379 If you've turned 00:29:29.379 --> 00:29:29.859 from sin 00:29:29.859 --> 00:29:30.379 and trusted 00:29:30.379 --> 00:29:31.139 in God's mercy 00:29:31.139 --> 00:29:31.700 in Christ, 00:29:31.700 --> 00:29:34.059 then what this passage 00:29:34.059 --> 00:29:35.500 invites us to do 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:37.120 is to bear 00:29:37.120 --> 00:29:37.840 the fruit 00:29:37.840 --> 00:29:38.819 of repentance. 00:29:39.840 --> 00:29:40.519 The fruit 00:29:40.519 --> 00:29:41.059 of repentance. 00:29:41.299 --> 00:29:41.880 This is what we see 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:43.200 in verses 14 through 17. 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:44.600 I won't read those verses, 00:29:44.720 --> 00:29:46.160 but you can scan over them 00:29:46.160 --> 00:29:47.460 in that paragraph 00:29:47.460 --> 00:29:48.319 in the Pew Bible. 00:29:48.860 --> 00:29:49.759 And what you do, 00:29:49.860 --> 00:29:50.720 what you see there 00:29:50.720 --> 00:29:52.660 is that Manasseh 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:53.799 returns to Jerusalem 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:56.120 and having been put right 00:29:56.120 --> 00:29:56.580 with God, 00:29:56.660 --> 00:29:57.940 he begins to put things right. 00:29:58.900 --> 00:29:59.680 He starts rebuilding 00:29:59.680 --> 00:30:00.140 the city, 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:00.920 he starts serving 00:30:00.920 --> 00:30:01.940 and protecting the people 00:30:01.940 --> 00:30:02.860 the way he should have been, 00:30:02.960 --> 00:30:03.880 and most importantly, 00:30:04.059 --> 00:30:05.140 he starts restoring 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:06.100 the proper worship 00:30:06.100 --> 00:30:07.019 of God in the temple. 00:30:07.120 --> 00:30:08.180 He gets rid of the idols 00:30:08.180 --> 00:30:09.720 and worships God alone. 00:30:11.580 --> 00:30:12.340 And you see, friends, 00:30:12.380 --> 00:30:13.240 that's the pattern 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:14.000 for everyone 00:30:14.000 --> 00:30:14.900 who experiences 00:30:14.900 --> 00:30:16.080 genuine repentance 00:30:16.080 --> 00:30:17.120 and the mercy of God. 00:30:18.299 --> 00:30:19.580 Your life will begin 00:30:19.580 --> 00:30:20.840 to bear the fruit 00:30:20.840 --> 00:30:21.660 of that repentance. 00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:23.660 When you turn to God 00:30:23.660 --> 00:30:24.720 and receive His mercy, 00:30:24.820 --> 00:30:25.720 your life will begin 00:30:25.720 --> 00:30:26.539 to change. 00:30:27.940 --> 00:30:28.740 Now notice, 00:30:29.860 --> 00:30:31.360 God's free mercy 00:30:31.360 --> 00:30:33.779 comes to Manasseh 00:30:33.779 --> 00:30:36.640 before Manasseh 00:30:36.640 --> 00:30:37.620 changes his life. 00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:41.140 God's heart is changed 00:30:41.140 --> 00:30:42.019 by God's grace 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:43.900 and then his life is changed. 00:30:44.500 --> 00:30:45.120 In other words, 00:30:45.559 --> 00:30:46.920 Manasseh doesn't earn 00:30:46.920 --> 00:30:47.680 God's forgiveness 00:30:47.680 --> 00:30:48.880 by his good works. 00:30:48.940 --> 00:30:49.759 He never could. 00:30:51.140 --> 00:30:52.420 Before experiencing 00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:53.440 God's mercy, right, 00:30:53.559 --> 00:30:54.380 he didn't even want 00:30:54.380 --> 00:30:55.220 to listen to God, 00:30:55.299 --> 00:30:56.740 let alone serve and obey Him, 00:30:56.740 --> 00:30:57.720 but now, 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:59.400 having come to know God 00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:01.039 through God's mercy, 00:31:01.200 --> 00:31:02.579 Manasseh's life changes. 00:31:04.180 --> 00:31:06.180 And so will yours, friend. 00:31:07.299 --> 00:31:08.980 God will take your life 00:31:08.980 --> 00:31:11.859 and begin to remake it 00:31:11.859 --> 00:31:13.000 and restore it. 00:31:14.000 --> 00:31:15.259 It won't be all at once. 00:31:15.799 --> 00:31:17.140 It will be a process 00:31:17.140 --> 00:31:18.460 of growth and change. 00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:19.700 Not everything 00:31:19.700 --> 00:31:20.720 will get better overnight. 00:31:22.180 --> 00:31:23.380 Verse 17 of our passage 00:31:23.380 --> 00:31:24.660 actually acknowledges this 00:31:24.660 --> 00:31:25.700 when it says that 00:31:25.700 --> 00:31:27.460 the people still sacrificed 00:31:27.460 --> 00:31:28.380 at the high places 00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:29.420 even though they were 00:31:29.420 --> 00:31:30.200 sacrificing now 00:31:30.200 --> 00:31:30.940 to the Lord only. 00:31:32.580 --> 00:31:32.900 You see, 00:31:32.960 --> 00:31:33.720 there were lingering 00:31:33.720 --> 00:31:35.420 consequences of Manasseh's 00:31:35.420 --> 00:31:36.440 old life that he still 00:31:36.440 --> 00:31:37.300 had to contend with. 00:31:37.360 --> 00:31:38.600 It didn't all magically 00:31:38.600 --> 00:31:39.140 get better, 00:31:39.340 --> 00:31:41.500 but all the same, 00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:43.860 Manasseh, 00:31:43.920 --> 00:31:44.740 for the few years 00:31:44.740 --> 00:31:45.640 that he had left, 00:31:46.340 --> 00:31:47.300 was a new person 00:31:47.300 --> 00:31:49.880 in a living relationship 00:31:49.880 --> 00:31:51.120 with a living God 00:31:51.119 --> 00:31:51.879 and his life 00:31:51.879 --> 00:31:53.799 was bearing fruit. 00:31:54.959 --> 00:31:56.819 It was not too late 00:31:56.819 --> 00:31:57.839 for Manasseh 00:31:57.839 --> 00:31:59.819 to begin a new life 00:31:59.819 --> 00:32:00.219 with God 00:32:00.219 --> 00:32:01.399 and it's not too late 00:32:01.399 --> 00:32:02.359 for you or I either. 00:32:05.399 --> 00:32:07.500 So I think this paragraph 00:32:07.500 --> 00:32:08.159 of our text 00:32:08.159 --> 00:32:09.239 begins to ask us 00:32:09.239 --> 00:32:09.879 some questions. 00:32:10.039 --> 00:32:10.519 The Holy Spirit 00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:11.899 begins to invite us 00:32:11.899 --> 00:32:12.799 to ask, 00:32:12.919 --> 00:32:14.099 how is God calling 00:32:14.099 --> 00:32:15.519 you and me 00:32:15.519 --> 00:32:16.159 to bear 00:32:16.159 --> 00:32:17.319 the fruit of repentance? 00:32:17.319 --> 00:32:20.259 How is he calling you 00:32:20.259 --> 00:32:21.319 to live your life 00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:22.200 in response 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:23.480 to God's free mercy? 00:32:25.740 --> 00:32:26.759 Is there an idol 00:32:26.759 --> 00:32:27.339 that you need 00:32:27.339 --> 00:32:28.039 to get rid of? 00:32:29.539 --> 00:32:30.960 Is there an act of love 00:32:30.960 --> 00:32:31.879 that you need to begin? 00:32:33.539 --> 00:32:34.639 Which of the virtues 00:32:34.639 --> 00:32:35.879 is God forming 00:32:35.879 --> 00:32:37.019 in you at the present? 00:32:37.099 --> 00:32:37.839 How is he making you 00:32:37.839 --> 00:32:38.679 more like Christ? 00:32:39.779 --> 00:32:40.720 How is your life 00:32:40.720 --> 00:32:42.099 becoming more and more 00:32:42.099 --> 00:32:43.240 of a living offering 00:32:43.240 --> 00:32:43.819 to him, 00:32:44.139 --> 00:32:44.740 to God, 00:32:45.079 --> 00:32:46.259 in service to others? 00:32:47.319 --> 00:32:51.119 That's the first application. 00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:52.259 For those who have 00:32:52.259 --> 00:32:52.819 turned to God 00:32:52.819 --> 00:32:53.339 in repentance, 00:32:53.919 --> 00:32:54.839 bear the fruit 00:32:54.839 --> 00:32:55.460 of repentance. 00:32:55.899 --> 00:32:57.419 Not to earn God's mercy, 00:32:57.720 --> 00:32:59.079 but in glad response 00:32:59.079 --> 00:32:59.500 to it. 00:33:02.259 --> 00:33:02.879 Now we see 00:33:02.879 --> 00:33:03.740 the second application 00:33:03.740 --> 00:33:05.379 in the final part 00:33:05.379 --> 00:33:06.419 of our passage 00:33:06.419 --> 00:33:07.519 to the end of the chapter, 00:33:07.639 --> 00:33:08.740 verses 18 through 25. 00:33:08.899 --> 00:33:09.179 And again, 00:33:09.220 --> 00:33:10.119 we won't read those verses, 00:33:10.240 --> 00:33:11.519 but you can scan over them 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:12.579 in the passage 00:33:12.579 --> 00:33:13.279 in front of you. 00:33:14.579 --> 00:33:15.859 And these final verses 00:33:15.859 --> 00:33:17.159 speak to those 00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:18.600 who have not yet 00:33:18.600 --> 00:33:20.019 turned to God 00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:21.100 in repentance. 00:33:22.040 --> 00:33:23.180 And what these verses 00:33:23.180 --> 00:33:24.019 are all about 00:33:24.019 --> 00:33:25.460 is the urgency 00:33:25.460 --> 00:33:26.660 of repentance, 00:33:26.900 --> 00:33:27.960 the urgency of it. 00:33:29.640 --> 00:33:31.019 These last couple paragraphs 00:33:31.019 --> 00:33:31.880 tell us about 00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:33.200 Manasseh's son, 00:33:33.980 --> 00:33:35.120 his son named Ammon. 00:33:36.120 --> 00:33:36.779 And they tell us 00:33:36.779 --> 00:33:37.400 how Ammon 00:33:37.400 --> 00:33:39.519 followed in his father's 00:33:39.519 --> 00:33:40.880 evil and sin, 00:33:41.019 --> 00:33:41.820 but then refused 00:33:41.820 --> 00:33:43.100 to follow in his father's 00:33:43.100 --> 00:33:44.380 example of humble repentance. 00:33:44.380 --> 00:33:44.620 repentance. 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:48.200 And the end for Ammon 00:33:48.200 --> 00:33:49.060 is very tragic. 00:33:49.960 --> 00:33:50.520 After reigning 00:33:50.520 --> 00:33:51.820 for only two years, 00:33:53.140 --> 00:33:54.180 the kingdom slips 00:33:54.180 --> 00:33:54.860 from his grasp, 00:33:54.960 --> 00:33:56.020 his servants conspire 00:33:56.020 --> 00:33:56.640 against him, 00:33:56.900 --> 00:33:57.660 and his reign 00:33:57.660 --> 00:33:58.660 and even his life 00:33:58.660 --> 00:33:59.380 is cut short. 00:34:02.820 --> 00:34:03.600 Now friend, 00:34:03.720 --> 00:34:04.580 unlike Ammon, 00:34:05.060 --> 00:34:05.960 you may live 00:34:05.960 --> 00:34:06.700 for many, 00:34:06.820 --> 00:34:07.520 many, many, 00:34:07.520 --> 00:34:08.619 many more years, 00:34:08.619 --> 00:34:11.279 but that does not 00:34:11.279 --> 00:34:13.179 change at all 00:34:13.179 --> 00:34:14.519 the urgency 00:34:14.519 --> 00:34:16.579 of spiritual things. 00:34:17.839 --> 00:34:20.239 Don't let another day 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:20.880 go by 00:34:20.880 --> 00:34:23.400 without heeding 00:34:23.400 --> 00:34:24.639 this invitation, 00:34:24.839 --> 00:34:25.619 this call 00:34:25.619 --> 00:34:28.059 to turn to God 00:34:28.059 --> 00:34:29.599 and receive his mercy 00:34:29.599 --> 00:34:31.099 and his fresh start. 00:34:32.159 --> 00:34:33.440 Think about it. 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:36.179 what will your idols 00:34:36.179 --> 00:34:37.500 ultimately give you? 00:34:38.900 --> 00:34:40.200 Where will they lead? 00:34:43.019 --> 00:34:44.760 Only farther away 00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:45.980 from the God 00:34:45.980 --> 00:34:46.820 who made you, 00:34:47.420 --> 00:34:48.240 from the God 00:34:48.240 --> 00:34:49.119 in whom 00:34:49.119 --> 00:34:50.700 is the only source 00:34:50.700 --> 00:34:52.220 of lasting peace 00:34:52.220 --> 00:34:53.420 and purpose 00:34:53.420 --> 00:34:54.639 and joy. 00:34:56.400 --> 00:34:57.920 So humble yourself 00:34:57.920 --> 00:34:58.579 before him. 00:34:59.920 --> 00:35:00.700 Admit that you've 00:35:00.700 --> 00:35:01.880 sinned against him, 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:02.740 you've turned away, 00:35:02.739 --> 00:35:03.239 and you've turned 00:35:03.239 --> 00:35:04.199 a deaf ear to him. 00:35:04.339 --> 00:35:05.839 Confess your helplessness 00:35:05.839 --> 00:35:07.859 and entrust yourself 00:35:07.859 --> 00:35:08.479 wholly 00:35:08.479 --> 00:35:10.619 to the mercy of God 00:35:10.619 --> 00:35:12.639 displayed in Jesus Christ 00:35:12.639 --> 00:35:13.099 for you. 00:35:15.419 --> 00:35:16.459 What exactly 00:35:16.459 --> 00:35:17.419 do you wait for 00:35:17.419 --> 00:35:18.739 to take such 00:35:18.739 --> 00:35:20.239 an amazing offer 00:35:20.239 --> 00:35:22.459 to come with nothing 00:35:22.459 --> 00:35:23.739 and receive everything 00:35:23.739 --> 00:35:24.599 for eternity? 00:35:27.439 --> 00:35:28.639 Why not let 00:35:28.639 --> 00:35:29.539 your fresh start, 00:35:29.639 --> 00:35:30.299 your new chapter, 00:35:30.419 --> 00:35:31.759 begin today? 00:35:32.739 --> 00:35:35.119 Jesus says 00:35:35.119 --> 00:35:35.839 to everyone 00:35:35.839 --> 00:35:37.379 who comes to me, 00:35:37.459 --> 00:35:38.399 I will in no way 00:35:38.399 --> 00:35:39.059 cast out. 00:35:39.299 --> 00:35:40.159 No matter how far 00:35:40.159 --> 00:35:40.739 you've been running, 00:35:40.819 --> 00:35:41.559 no matter how deep 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:42.159 you've fallen, 00:35:42.979 --> 00:35:43.619 the Lord Jesus 00:35:43.619 --> 00:35:45.119 is ready to receive you. 00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:46.959 He's ready to magnify 00:35:46.959 --> 00:35:48.479 the glory of his mercy 00:35:48.479 --> 00:35:49.299 in your life 00:35:49.299 --> 00:35:50.319 and establish 00:35:50.319 --> 00:35:51.859 and restore you. 00:35:53.459 --> 00:35:54.519 This is the urgency 00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:55.139 of repentance. 00:35:57.059 --> 00:35:57.739 Entrust yourself 00:35:57.739 --> 00:35:58.079 to him. 00:35:58.079 --> 00:36:00.360 Let's pray. 00:36:00.360 --> 00:36:00.400 Let's pray. 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:12.159 In our busy, 00:36:12.759 --> 00:36:13.659 noisy, 00:36:13.819 --> 00:36:14.639 distracted lives, 00:36:14.699 --> 00:36:15.619 we have a rare moment 00:36:15.619 --> 00:36:15.980 now 00:36:15.980 --> 00:36:17.980 to be quiet 00:36:17.980 --> 00:36:20.039 and to reflect 00:36:20.039 --> 00:36:22.239 in the presence of God. 00:36:22.559 --> 00:36:23.619 So let's take a moment 00:36:23.619 --> 00:36:24.159 of quiet 00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:25.340 and reflection 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:26.340 in God's presence. 00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:31.460 If you're a Christian, 00:36:31.620 --> 00:36:32.100 if you've turned 00:36:32.100 --> 00:36:33.000 to God in Christ, 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:33.680 if you've received 00:36:33.680 --> 00:36:34.300 his mercy, 00:36:34.960 --> 00:36:37.480 how is God calling you 00:36:37.480 --> 00:36:38.300 to bear fruit? 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:42.360 Let's ask him now 00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:43.200 to show us, 00:36:43.880 --> 00:36:44.480 ask him now 00:36:44.480 --> 00:36:45.200 to show you 00:36:45.200 --> 00:36:46.680 and to give you 00:36:46.680 --> 00:36:47.340 the strength 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:48.039 by his Spirit 00:36:48.039 --> 00:36:48.880 to live 00:36:48.880 --> 00:36:50.659 out of this mercy 00:36:50.659 --> 00:36:51.480 you've been given. 00:36:59.519 --> 00:37:00.619 If you're not a Christian, 00:37:00.820 --> 00:37:01.039 then, 00:37:02.420 --> 00:37:02.860 friend, 00:37:02.900 --> 00:37:03.779 the door stands open 00:37:03.779 --> 00:37:04.219 to you. 00:37:06.099 --> 00:37:07.059 God's abundant mercy 00:37:07.059 --> 00:37:08.099 is ready to receive 00:37:08.099 --> 00:37:08.960 all who repent. 00:37:12.139 --> 00:37:12.840 If you're ready 00:37:12.840 --> 00:37:13.659 to hear that call, 00:37:13.739 --> 00:37:14.179 you might pray 00:37:14.179 --> 00:37:15.159 something like this, 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:17.199 Lord Jesus Christ, 00:37:17.199 --> 00:37:19.559 I admit 00:37:19.559 --> 00:37:20.259 that I'm weaker 00:37:20.259 --> 00:37:21.719 and more sinful 00:37:21.719 --> 00:37:22.819 than I could ever admit. 00:37:25.039 --> 00:37:25.839 But through you, 00:37:25.899 --> 00:37:26.460 I'm more loved 00:37:26.460 --> 00:37:27.019 and accepted 00:37:27.019 --> 00:37:28.639 than I could ever dream. 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:31.079 Thank you 00:37:31.079 --> 00:37:31.939 for paying my debt 00:37:31.939 --> 00:37:32.619 on the cross, 00:37:33.359 --> 00:37:34.399 taking what I deserved 00:37:34.399 --> 00:37:35.480 in order to offer me 00:37:35.480 --> 00:37:36.559 complete forgiveness. 00:37:38.460 --> 00:37:39.379 Knowing that you've been 00:37:39.379 --> 00:37:40.319 raised from the dead, 00:37:41.319 --> 00:37:42.759 I turn from my sins 00:37:42.759 --> 00:37:44.699 and receive you 00:37:44.699 --> 00:37:46.799 as my Savior and Lord. 00:37:47.879 --> 00:37:48.259 Amen. 00:37:48.259 --> 00:37:48.379 Amen.