Repenting Of Unrepentant Repentance - [Jonah 3:5-10]

1 view

0 comments

00:01
Well, I don't know if you know this or not, but there's a new religion There's a new religion in the world. It's a religion of Tolerance, it's the new word tolerance
00:12
It's maybe the most virtuous virtue these days Tolerate other people now, of course, we want to be tolerant folks in the sense that if people disagree
00:22
We're still kind to them and nice to them, but that's not what the world wants in this new religion called tolerance
00:29
We have to celebrate what other people do If they do something unrighteously, we have to cup clap and we have to applaud and we have to say that's good and that's right
00:42
Tolerance really is code. It's a strategy for selfishness and unrighteousness Don't you tell me what
00:48
I'm doing is wrong and I won't tell you what you're doing is wrong I want to do whatever I want and I'll let you do whatever
00:55
You want problem is when you have a new religion
01:02
It does things to all religions. And so this new religion says now it's blasphemous to talk about sin
01:09
It would be accursed to talk about repentance Because if you're gonna use the word sin and repentance that means you don't like what
01:19
I do that means my adultery that means my Homosexuality that means my my gay marriage isn't right
01:27
I always think to myself. Yeah, but if I'm just a chemical reaction formed with evolutionary
01:35
Processes then why do you really care what I think? What should it matter to you? What another chemical reaction is thinking or not thinking or reacting?
01:45
but deep down people know that there's a God and it's hard to sleep at night when you realize the actions that I do are going to Condemn me are going to damn me
01:56
And so I need to create a new religion where right is wrong and wrong is right and evil is good and good is evil
02:03
And so today you don't ever heard hear the word repent anymore Because that would be hate speech.
02:10
You don't hear the word sin anymore hardly because that's hate speech Spurgeon said brethren, we shall not adjust our
02:19
Bible to the age, but the age to the Bible I mean, of course the world says
02:26
Unrighteousness is good and they give applause to it Remember Romans 1 though they know
02:32
God's righteous decree that those who practice such things Deserve to die they not only do them, but they give hearty approval to those who practice them and here's the thing
02:51
If the world says sin is good and righteous I'm not that shocked
02:57
Are you are we shocked at the world system that unbelievers act like unbelievers and the world system acts like the world system
03:05
We shouldn't be shocked. But what's shocking is the wholesale? Capitulation of people in churches and evangelical churches who are now calling good evil and evil good
03:16
Why do they do that? Why are people in churches saying, you know, here's this new movement
03:21
Here's homosexual marriage and and and homosexuality is righteous behavior. It needs no repentance.
03:26
It's not a sin What causes a person in a church to do that? Well, I could think of a few maybe one is they don't know what the
03:32
Bible teaches Right. So when someone says, you know, Jesus never addressed homosexuality if you don't know the
03:38
Bible, you don't know how to respond I could think of another reason and that is fear
03:46
We're afraid because if we do say You know God made you and he's going to be your judge
03:56
There's good news. There's a Savior for you for this kind of sin and God forgives all kinds of sin
04:02
He his son's atonement is so great Jesus his death on the cross was so sufficient so Magnificent so majestic that this death could save murders like Saul This death could save deniers like Peter this death could save adulterers like David this death could save Abortionists this death could save ladies who have committed abortion along with their their male counterparts
04:30
Christ death is so great, but you've got to recognize first that this is sinful behavior but we're afraid to say that because Most of us don't like our taxes to go up most of us don't like our churches to be closed down and most of us like our freedom and So what will our family say?
04:50
What will society say? We don't want to talk about sin anymore and repentance because we're afraid
04:57
Or maybe it's just Idolatry because we say we want instead of truth -telling we want acceptance instead of telling people the truth in love we want
05:07
Freedom, but here's the thing You can't get to heaven without repentance
05:14
You can't get to heaven without recognizing sin is sin and the only sin bearer is Jesus And so the world is saying don't you tell me you quote, you know, this is hate speech and we're going to shut you down and the
05:28
Bible says You can't go to heaven without repentance Thinking about this new word tolerance before we look at the text today.
05:37
Did Jesus even talk about tolerance? I think that would be a good study if tolerance is the n -word of tolerance is the new language if tolerance is the new religion
05:45
What did Jesus say and I can only find Jesus's reference to tolerance in one? occasion written in Luke and Matthew Jesus said whatever city you enter and they do not receive you go out into its streets and say
05:58
Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you yet be sure of this
06:05
The kingdom of God has come near and Jesus said it will be more Tolerable in that day for Sodom than for that city.
06:15
Woe to you Chorazin. Woe to you Bethsaida for if the miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you they would have
06:24
Repented long ago sitting in sackcloth and ashes ashes But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgment than for you
06:32
So why don't we take our Bibles and turn to Jonah chapter 3 today a chapter of repentance
06:40
Jonah 3 a chapter of Repentance and so what we're going to do today and in the book of Jonah's will work through verses 5 through 10
06:49
And you're going to see the greatest revival in the world through the worst evangelist in the world and you're gonna receive the response of evangelism is
06:58
Repentance and everywhere we look in this passage. There's going to be repentance all leading up to this
07:04
Have you? repented Have you repented, you know, there are people in churches that have not repented and so we want to make sure
07:13
I mean, how awful would it be to hear the message week after week after week? How awful and horrible would it be to be a kid who grows up in a
07:21
Bible teaching church to then say, you know? But I haven't repented. I Haven't turned from sin think differently about sin and then the flip side of repentance is faith
07:32
And I haven't trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ all this talk about repentance in Nineveh in the king's heart.
07:38
It would be Wrong for me not to ask you if you have repented. I Love the testimonies of Russians and so when
07:47
Russians become baptized they give their testimony and here's what they do They stand in the waters of baptism.
07:53
They say 1989 and October 2nd was the day I Repented it's just the language.
08:00
It's the vernacular of a Christian Have you repented when did you repent? I? Love Jonah because it draws it out while the world says tolerate
08:09
Accept don't discuss sin. And if you don't have sin, then there's nothing to repent from And yet Jonah makes it clear that repentance is very important now
08:20
I want you to know that I'm not like some Reformers in 1650 in France in the southern
08:25
France area who would preach 50 sermons in a row on repentance 50 in a row.
08:32
Can you imagine? I'm you know, after I get done with Jonah I'm thinking about which book to preach from so I have some ideas and people have given me ideas
08:39
But what if I just said, you know for the next 50 weeks? We're gonna go through two words in the English text like this
08:45
French Reformer repent ye and One of the sermons
08:50
I kid you not was four and a half hours long And the thing is it's not just in Jonah John the
09:03
Baptist repent for the kingdom of God is at hand. It's near. It's not just Jonah Jesus said
09:12
Repent for the kingdom of God is near just like John the Baptist Jesus said repent and believe the gospel.
09:20
Jesus said I'm not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
09:26
Jesus sent his twelve out and they preached that the people should Repent Peter preached in Acts chapter 2 both times talking about repentance
09:38
Paul preached Mars Hill and commands every people to Repent Acts chapter 20.
09:46
They must turn to God in repentance and have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ So here's what we're gonna do today
09:51
I'm gonna read verses 1 through 4 and then I'm gonna give you three repentances found in verses 5 through 10
09:58
But let's make it for today because we're gonna talk about the three repentances in Jonah And then we'll talk about your repentance and mine.
10:07
So four repentances. We'll talk about today from Jonah 1
10:13
Excuse me, Jonah 3 verses 5 through 10, but let me read the first four verses to kind of catch us up You know Jonah has fled from the presence of the
10:20
Lord from his Prophet prophetic duty and God got him to Nineveh Anyway through the ship through the fish through the sea and now it says in verse 3
10:32
I'm sorry chapter 3 verse 1 then the Word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time saying
10:37
Arise go to Nineveh that great city that important city call out against it the message that I tell you
10:43
So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh According to the Word of the Lord now
10:48
Nineveh was an exceedingly great city three days journey in breadth Jonah began to go out into the city going a day's journey and he called out simple message five
10:59
Hebrew words Some grace built in with the 40 days, but it's a message of judgment
11:05
Yet 40 days and Nineveh shall be overthrown That was the message.
11:11
So let's take a look at the first repentance found in Jonah Chapter 3 verse 5 and it's repentance of the people the response to any biblical proclamation is acceptance repentance belief trust
11:26
Agreement, there's lots of different words. And so the evangelist comes he preaches a message of judgment and the people respond
11:33
This is amazing. I mean who could believe this would ever happen and the people of Nineveh chapter 3 verse 5
11:42
Believed God you could translate it believed in God if you'd like They called out for a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least of them
11:55
He preaches the message and by the way, the Word of God is so powerful Jonah doesn't even like him
12:03
Doesn't even care for remember. It wasn't that long ago that Jonah's attitude was basically let him go to hell. I'm not going
12:08
I Know you're gonna save these people and I don't want to be any part of it And now Jonah repents and Jonah Begins to proclaim and now they begin to believe the responses
12:18
They believe the greatness of the Word of God and the greatness of God in spite of the messenger
12:26
What's the text say people of Nineveh believe God? I mean, it's a three -day journey It's a three -day experience to have revival and he doesn't even have enough time to put up the tent yet Because day one they begin to repent they repent a day one day two day three not needed
12:45
Now you think you know, if you don't need your Bibles that well, I get it. I understand.
12:50
I've read the story before Remember when Jeremiah preached think about this It's so amazing in Jonah because this isn't par for the course necessarily you show up and everybody repents if I told you to go to Baghdad today and just walk around and say
13:03
Muhammad's a false prophet and Jesus Christ is the only way and if you don't believe it You're gonna die in your sins and just start walking around for three days and see what happens
13:11
But that's almost what happened with Jeremiah. Think about it. Listen, Jeremiah 26
13:17
Jeremiah finished speaking all that the Lord commanded him to say to the people the priest and the prophets and all the people
13:25
Seized him saying you must die They hear the message of repentance.
13:31
And so the wicked heart says we're going to kill you That makes the Jonah story all that more spectacular
13:38
Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord? They said to Jeremiah and all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the
13:45
Lord Why for a little meeting? No they gathered around and they surrounded him when the officials of Judah heard these things they came up from the king's house to the house of the
13:53
Lord and sat in the entrance of the new gate of the Lord's house then the priest and the prophets spoke to the officials and all the people saying a death
14:01
Sentence for this man. He preaches judgment. You got to kill him and here we have the
14:09
Ninevites Remember these wicked people. These are the people that said hmm How we gonna have an object lesson of our brutality?
14:16
Let's skin people alive and use the skin for wallpaper down by the harbor and now
14:23
Jonah preaches and they believe the text says they believe God This is hope this is trust if I was thinking with Reformation language, they have knowledge
14:35
They have a scent and they have trust. That's the Hebrew word. They really believed and It shows on the outside as well.
14:42
Look at the text. They called for a fast Here's the fruit of repentance put on sackcloth from the greatest of them to the least and So what's happening in our hearts our hearts are convicted our hearts are struck our hearts are
14:58
Mourning and so while we can't put things on our heart We can put things on our body to be symbolic of what's going on in our hearts.
15:06
So let's put some coarse cloth on our bodies let's let's
15:13
Let's do what a Jew would do and a Jew would say let's put on Sackcloth and fast by the way, the
15:20
Ninevites wouldn't do this The Ninevites would give some libation the Ninevites would be on their face praying to their false.
15:25
God Ninevites repentance was not sackcloth and ashes but Hebrew repentance was and these people heard about the
15:32
God of the Hebrews the God who created that land in the sea and now They repent like a Hebrew would they believe mourning over their sins
15:42
One prophet one sermon one God one five and five Hebrew words and they believe
15:50
Revival breaks out first day against all odds Now some people think if you if you examine the word carefully in verse 5 they believed
16:01
God Now some people would say this isn't real belief because it doesn't say they believe the Lord Yahweh And so they'll pick and and they'll say you know what there can't be such a big revival
16:11
We don't have any historical records of this revival. And so they didn't really believe it was just this external belief
16:17
Because it doesn't say Lord there. It says God there and so Scholars like Walton would say quote this isn't saving faith.
16:25
It's just moral transformation Stewart said they remained by all accounts the same polytheistic
16:33
Syncretistic pantheist they had been all along So I ask you the question. Do you think they really believed and I just look at the text and what does the text say?
16:41
They believe God. I Think I can prove that they were really believers number one
16:49
Jesus said in Luke 11 that when They heard it quote they repented at the preaching of Jonah Jesus said they repented and also we're gonna see
17:01
God not punish the Ninevites and if anybody can see through a fake heart a hypocritical heart a moralistic external heart only
17:11
I think the Lord can and so God sees them and he sees real repentance and real belief and He's not going to judge them.
17:19
And so this is a real revival. They really become believers in Yahweh And it was perfect Providence too, because the
17:28
Ninevites were people who were Superstitious they had just seen an eclipse history tells us and so some other omen might come some other prophet might come
17:39
National crisis and they hear the words and they believe they didn't say we want signs we want wonders
17:45
We want to see people slain in the spirit. We want to see people speak in tongues They just heard the message and they believe straight up.
17:51
That's the first repentance There's a second repentance found in verses 6 through 9 Jonah 3 3
17:59
Repentances, this is the second one the Ninevites repent and now the word trickles to the king and he repents to verses 6 through 9 the word reached the king of Nineveh So Jonah must not have gone to the king first.
18:16
He goes to the town He begins to preach and now word gets to Ninevite King and he arose from his throne
18:22
You can feel the language the Hebrew language is just fast I mean he hears it and he responds quickly the people responded quickly with sackcloth
18:31
Great to the least and here the king Rose from his throne removed his robe covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes
18:42
Well, I'll get around to repentance later You know I'll live my life a little bit and kind of kind of be wild now in college and then
18:50
I'll settle down later and repent it wasn't that at all what Kings had robes they were Beautiful they were expensive
18:57
They were elaborate and he just throws it down and goes out put sackcloth on and sits in ashes
19:03
I can tell you this he wasn't sitting in ashes in his palace. You don't have ashes on the floor in the palace
19:08
You've got to go outside to the street and he's sitting the king in front of the people in front of his
19:15
Kingdom on the ground without his robe sackcloth and ashes That's quick repentance.
19:22
It's fast repentance sitting in ashes
19:29
Publicly No longer worshiping Dagon the fish God no longer worshiping the
19:35
Assyrian fish goddess fish goddess Nosh and OSH from the
19:43
Kings to the poorest people repentance sounds like Ezekiel 26 to me then the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered
19:55
Garments. Oh The Kings repenting we better make a royal rule and decree for repentance verse 7 and he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh you can imagine his his
20:09
People around him the counselors around him quickly trying to do this
20:16
Here's the proclamation published through Nineveh By the decree of the king and his nobles let neither man nor beast heard nor flock verse 7 taste anything
20:25
Let them not feed or drink water We want to show that our repentance is from the heart this is not just lip service we're going to repent by our own actions and By our animals actions to Make it look like the horses are sorry too.
20:43
So that's kind of weird That's what they did back in those days a historical account with the historian
20:51
Herodotus said in a time of mourning quote they shaved their heads cut the manes of their horses and Mules and abandoned themselves to such cries of grief that the whole city was loud with the noise of them.
21:07
I Mean, I'm so repentant that in this culture I'm going to take off my good clothes put on bad clothes sit in ashes and then make sure
21:16
I you know, shave my dog You look at my dog. You'll even recognize something's going on self -denial
21:29
Helplessness repentance Lord, we mean it this show sincerity is what we're after verse 8
21:35
But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth Let them call out mightily to God Let everyone turn from his evil way
21:45
That's general. Just if you've got a wicked evil way turn from it Then the Jews also like to give something specific so generally turn from your evil way and something specifically and from the violence that is in his hands and Remember how violent the
21:59
Ninevites were? So if there's any evil way in you generally just let's turn from it And if there's any kind of specific violence, that's that we're doing let's stop that too
22:08
Right, by the way, the word violence in Hebrew is Hamas violence
22:15
Let's call out with strength. Let's call out with conviction. Let's call out with responsibility individually responsibility
22:23
I'll own it verse 9
22:30
Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger so that we may not perish
22:37
Hey, there's a possibility and we know it's more than a possibility because Jonah knows what we know verse 2 of Chapter 4.
22:46
I knew you're a gracious God and merciful slow to anger abounding in steadfast love and relenting from disaster
22:55
The Assyrians who feared no one they were at the top of the food chain in the military world and they say you know
23:02
What we might perish But we might not who knows I still think this is fascinating that the word of the
23:13
Lord comes through a prophet who didn't even care about the people and then the whole city is Turned right side up Salvation is from the
23:22
Lord by the way this language here in verse 9 sounds like chapter 1 verse 6 It sounds like the captain the captain came to him and said why did what do you mean you sleeper arise?
23:31
Call it your God. Perhaps the God will give us a thought that we may not perish same thing
23:38
Maybe God will relent. Maybe God will have kind of this emotional feeling and he'll he'll see our repentance.
23:45
He'll see the sackcloth He'll see the ashes. He'll see the animals and then he won't wipe us out Maybe he'll change his mind
23:54
Maybe the Lord will relent verse 10 So far in the text we've seen the people of Nineveh repent the king of Nineveh repents and now
24:09
God repents Some of you just raise your head like what's that all about who has
24:14
King James or revised standard version it would say God repents Could translate it
24:19
God relents as well. Let's define what it means. But for the moment, let's talk about God's Repenting if you just can't stand it.
24:28
Okay. God's relenting verse 10 When God saw what they did All right.
24:34
This is language again. Of course. He saw what he did. They did it's he's omniscient How they turn from their evil way
24:41
Wouldn't get God's response to this God Relented KJV God repented of the disaster of the evil that he said he would do to them and he did not
24:55
Most translators say God relented because then we don't get in the sticky wicket of repentance that God changes his mind, but God is immutable
25:06
God doesn't change his mind God's sovereign. He has one decree He doesn't do flowchart kind of thinking and so the language of relenting is a little easier for us to stomach
25:18
Either way though. This is an anthropomorphic description using terms for men and women that we would understand and use them for God God's sovereign
25:29
God's omniscient. God's never learned anything. God wasn't up there saying whoo -hoo. Now they finally changed
25:34
I don't have to do what I said. I do I need to undo what I have decreed This is from our perspective it seems like God has changed
25:42
God doesn't change men change But as one man said as a result of the changes that occur in men often
25:49
God appears to change See God wasn't surprised 40 days judgments gonna come if you don't repent you're gonna get judged repentance came
26:01
God is not a man that he should lie nor a son of man that he should change his what? Mine numbers 23 and 1st
26:09
Samuel 15 How do I describe God with human terms? He said he was gonna judge and he's not judging.
26:16
Let's call that relenting or repenting if you'd like No fire and brimstone on this city
26:24
The Sodom of a city was spared by the mercy of God. God doesn't change his plan, but the response to sinful people seems like God has
26:37
The message goes out Repent and the people repented and the king repented and God relented to the message of Jonah, so I think
26:54
I'd be remiss if I didn't ask you the question The people repent the king repents
27:01
Can you say can you look back in your life and say? There's a time frame. It's it's fuzzy.
27:06
I don't know the exact day Maybe you can pick the exact day that I change my thinking about who
27:12
God is and who I? Am I used to think I was good. I used to think I was holy
27:18
I used to think I I did the right thing and and I don't think that anymore This is especially important now hear me.
27:25
This is very important We live in a society 80 % of the people in this culture where we live in right now are
27:33
Roman Catholics. Oh, they don't all practice, but they would say they would be strangely
27:42
Serendipitously this week. I found a file an old folder with real paper inside.
27:48
I don't mean a folder you know software folder my finder file, but a real folder and I open it up and To my pleasure and to my happiness.
27:57
It was about 40 or 50 pages of some of my homework from 1973 13 years old stacks and stacks and stacks some of the homework had a hundred some of it had 75
28:11
I did find kind of a fluke and aberration. It said 35 % in this particular test and it was my confirmation study material from the
28:23
Lutheran Church You get baptized when you're a baby, and I need to confirm that I still believe these so I took a class
28:30
I couldn't believe all the stuff that I knew What about the evil kings? What about Jehoshaphat?
28:36
What about Jeroboam all these things? I thought I know all that stuff Here's why repentance is so important I Growing up and many of you growing up and the society this church is providentially placed into that is a
28:49
Roman Catholic system world neighborhood Friends I believed as a
28:56
Lutheran that Jesus was the eternal Son of God I Believed the
29:02
Father Son and the Holy Spirit. I believed in a triune God. I believe that God was a creator He spoke things and they just came into existence.
29:08
I believe that he was a judge I believe there was a hell a literal hell. I believe Jesus lived a perfect life.
29:13
I believe that he was a perfect preacher I believe that nobody talked like he did with parables and I have the test quizzes to Affirm all these things that I believed
29:23
He died on the cross. There's no other way of salvation except Jesus's perfect life and death on the
29:29
Calvary Calvary's cross for sinners. I believe he was literally raised from the dead. I believe that he's coming back
29:35
I believed all these things and most of your neighbors believe them, too
29:44
You're not going to meet many of your neighbors who say Jesus was a fraud So, what's the rub and why is repentance important?
29:53
the value of Christ's death How is it appropriated to a person?
29:59
How is it given to a person? How is it received by a person and The Lutheran Church would teach me and the
30:06
Roman Catholic Church would teach her followers that it is received through faith
30:13
Plus the sacraments Faith plus baptism faith through the
30:18
Lord's Supper faith through other sacraments the other five. I Never was told when
30:25
I was a kid in the Lutheran Church. You must repent You must be born again.
30:31
Why? Because I already was right with God because I received my rightness with God through my baptism
30:38
And it doesn't take you very long to go to a Roman Catholic funeral today And the first thing they say is so and so is in heaven for what reason?
30:47
Repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ Because they've been what? Repentance and faith remember if you have a coin on on the tail side is like repentance
30:59
I agree with God about what he says about me sin salvation exclusivity of Jesus and the rest
31:06
I agree with him and I turn from and I turn to with faith and I believe what
31:12
God says When my kids were really little and I was trying to teach them ideas about the Bible and abstract thoughts and I'd make them march
31:19
In the kitchen, sometimes we'd march around the kitchen table seven times. What story must have that have been? Sometimes I would put salt on their hands and make them lick the salt.
31:30
I wonder what story that might have been remember lots wife sometimes when
31:37
I would go to the stories where David acted like a crazy man and he was like scratching on the doors and had A bunch of saliva coming out of his mouth
31:45
Well, I did it of course because I was trying to teach the kids Glad there weren't iPhones back in those days and I would have the kids walk to the wall and I said you can't stop walking
31:58
Until I say the word repent and then once you get about your nose to the wall I'll say repent and you turn around and go the other way
32:06
Because that's what repentance is. I Understand and now I turn the other way. I turn from my sins first Thessalonians chapter 1
32:13
I forsake my old gods and I've turned to the Living God. That's repentance
32:20
What's the difference between a Protestant and a Roman Catholic what's the difference between my Lutheranism and evangelical
32:27
Bible belief it's not that we Say they deny the Trinity.
32:32
They deny the deity of Christ. They deny the virgin birth. They deny atonement. They deny resurrection
32:37
They deny second coming they deny the teaching of Jesus. They don't deny any of those things They only deny
32:45
That it comes through the benefits of Christ come through faith alone Repentance and faith alone.
32:53
And so if you're here today and you say well, I'm trusting in my baptism I'm trusting in being good some of my biggest fears are by the way that There are children growing up in this church and you think you're gonna get to heaven because your mommy and daddy go
33:08
You get to heaven by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance Listen to Luke 11 the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment and condemn it
33:20
Because they repented at the preaching of Jonah and behold something greater than Jonah is here.
33:26
That's what Jesus said You've heard my message week in and week out. Jesus says
33:31
I preached for three years and you won't believe me and Jonah I mean, I love you.
33:37
Jesus says and I've been preaching every day. You won't believe me But Jonah doesn't even like the people he preaches to and he preaches judgment one message from a disobedient prophet and everybody believes
33:49
And can you imagine just hearing the message of sovereign grace distinguishing grace? How would you like to be forgiven you can be forgiven in Christ Jesus alone and then say no
33:59
I'm just not going to do it. The Ninevites then would be better repenters than you
34:05
They didn't say well, I've got a kind of you know, go crazy in college a little bit. Then I'll settle down I've got to get this money earned first, and then
34:12
I'll settle down Jesus said in the
34:21
Great Commission Repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations
34:29
You can't get to heaven without repentance So I ask you again if you repented you born again.
34:36
Certainly there has to be someone here in such a Large group that has not repented.
34:42
There are other words in the Bible that talk about repentance without using the word Have you inclined your heart under the
34:49
Lord your God Joshua 24? Have you circumcised yourself spiritually to the
34:54
Lord Jeremiah 4? Have you washed your heart from wickedness? Break up follow ground turn from your wicked way
35:07
Westminster Confession says this about Repentance a sinner out of the sight and sense not only of the danger that is if you don't repent you go to hell, but also the filthiness and odiousness of his sins as Contrary to the holy nature and righteous law of God and upon the apprehension of his mercy in Christ To such as are penitent the repenter grieves for and hates his sins as to turn from them all unto
35:36
God Purposing and endeavoring to walk with God in all his ways and commandments
35:42
I mean wouldn't it be a shame if the king of Nineveh repented the wicked
35:50
Ninevites repent and Then you go out of here today without having repented John Murray said
35:58
Four things in your mind will change if you've repented You think differently about God you think differently about yourself
36:07
You think differently about sin, and you think differently about righteousness You know the backdrop to all this so many people would say you know what
36:19
I want Jesus as my Savior But I won't take him as my Lord that just means
36:25
I'd like Jesus to forgive my sins But I don't want to repent you can't have
36:34
Jesus for Savior not Lord because he's both Charles Spurgeon said to his pastor students if the professed convert
36:45
Distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will to repent, but does not mean to attend to it
36:54
You young pastors are not to pamper to his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved
37:02
And so I will follow professor Spurgeon if you have not repented from your sins and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ I don't care what your baptism did
37:10
I don't care what your Lord's Supper did I don't care what the last rites do you aren't going to heaven But the good news is this
37:17
I Said to myself when I looked at those confirmation papers Lord You were so good to me to give me teaching in the
37:25
Bible. I could have grown up as a Hindu I could have grown up as an animus. I could have been running around Being a druid at nighttime or something my parents actually took me to a place where I learned some of the
37:37
Bible and I could understand God's holiness and God's righteousness and God's Judgment on sin and who
37:43
Jesus was God. Thank you for that background I praise you that you can even take that and turn it into something good
37:50
So some of you know the Bible, but you haven't repented
37:58
Fuller said you cannot repent too soon because you do not know how soon it may be too late.
38:06
I Mean, can you imagine the Lord Jesus? I Have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance
38:13
How would you like to be forgiven? And the message isn't from Jonah to people he hated the message is from the
38:22
Lord Jesus Christ lay down your weapons of Rebellion and believe on the
38:28
Lord Jesus Christ and the Bible says you shall be what? saved
38:34
Would you like to be saved from your sins and all that kind of language is?
38:42
tossed out when we have to tolerate and Accept and buy into it
38:48
It couldn't be a more devilish satanic system and it couldn't be worse for people because then they'll never have the long
38:56
Finger of Nathan on the sternum spiritually you are the man. Let's pray father
39:04
I thank you for this time. I'm thankful that the Ninevites repented. It's amazing
39:11
And father you are going to judge the Ninevites yet you relented But I think of hundreds of years later all the
39:21
Ninevites sins Were punished but they were punished on your innocent son
39:27
Christ Jesus Kind of love is that Behold what manner of love the father's given to us
39:36
Father that we should die for our lack of repentance We should be cast into hell for our sins and yet your son paid them all paid in full at Calvary He said to tell us die
39:47
It's finished paid in full every single sin of every single Christian and everyone who would ever believe paid for by Jesus Christ Jonah was right.
39:57
You are gracious. You are merciful and slow to anger Father, I pray that no one would rebuff such a great offer of forgiveness of sins through repentance and faith
40:08
Maybe there's somebody old here. Maybe there's some young young people. I pray that you'd give them
40:14
Repentance, I pray that you would grant them eternal life It's amazing to me to think that through a sinful man like me the truth of the gospel could be
40:24
Given forth and you could take someone out of darkness and put them into your marvelous light Father, thank you that your word is powerful and it does its work and if Ninevites can repent
40:36
So can moralistic civil Good in their own eyes people today.
40:44
I pray that not one person would leave this building today Unreconciled to you.
40:49
I pray that you would reconcile them and Grant them redemption found in Christ Jesus through the proclaimed word believe on the